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The  International  Geography 


Let  things  be — not  seem, 
I  counsel  rather, — do,  and  nowise  dream  ! 
EARTH'S  YOUNG  SIGNIFICANCE  is  ALL  TO  LEARN 
The  dead  Greek  lore  lies  buried  in  the  urn 
Where  who  seeks  fire  finds  ashes. 

Robert  Browning. 


T 


he  International 
Geography.     By 

Seventy    Authors.     With  489 
Illustrations.      **      **       **      ** 


Edited  by  Hugh  Robert  Mill 

D.Sc.  (Edinburgh),  LL.D.  (St.  Andrews),  F.R.S.E. 

Fellow  or  Honorary  Corresponding  Member  of  the  Geographical  Societies  of 
London,  Edinburgh,  Paris,  Berlin,  Budapest,  Amsterdam,  Brisbane,  and  Philadelphia 


NEW    YORK 

D.    APPLETON    AND    COMPANY 
1909 


COPYRIGHT,  1899,  1908,  BY 
D.  APPLETON  AND  COMPANY 


A II  rights  of  translation  and  reproduction  reserved 


AUTHORS   OF   THE   INTERNATIONAL 
GEOGRAPHY 


A'lTOFF,  D.,  Paris.— THE  RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.  ^ 

BAILLIE,  A.  F.,  Consul  for  Paraguay,  London.— PARAGUAY,  URUGUAY. 

BAINES,  SIR  ATHELSTAN,  C.S.I.— THE  INDIAN  EMPIRE. 

BARTON,    C.   H.,   Maryborough. — THE    CONTINENT    OF    AUSTRALIA, 

QUEENSLAND. 

BATALHA-REIS,  J.,  London.— BRAZIL. 
BERNARD,  PROFESSOR  A.,  Algiers.— NEW  CALEDONIA. 
BERTRAND,  PROFESSOR  A.,  Santiago.— CHILE. 
BISHOP,  MRS.,  F.R.G.S.— KOREA. 
BRYCE,  RIGHT  HON.  J.,  O.M.,  F.R.S.— NATAL,  TRANSVAAL,  ORANGE 

RIVER  COLONY. 

CARNEGIE,  HON.  D.  W. — WESTERN  AUSTRALIA. 
^•CHAIX,  PROFESSOR  E.,  Geneva — SWITZERLAND.  ^ 
— *CHISHOLM,  G.  G.,  Editor  of  The  Times  Gazetteer.— -THE  CONTINENT  OF 

EUROPE,  CHINESE  EMPIRE. 

^COLE,  PROFESSOR  GRENVILLE  A.  J.,  Dublin. — IRELAND.-"" 
CONWAY,  SIR  MARTIN.— THE  ARCTIC  RECORD. 
DAVIS,  PROFESSOR  W.   M.,  Harvard  University.— THE  CONTINENT  OF 

NORTH  AMERICA,  THE  UNITED  STATES. 
DICKSON,  DR.  H.  N.,  Reading.— CLIMATE.    • 
DOWNING,  DR.  A.  M.  W.,  F.R.S.,  Director  of  the  Nautical  Almanac.— 

MATHEMATICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 

— ^DU..FIEF,  PROFESSOR  J.,  Brussels. — BELGIUM.  <r 
~NERODI,  DR.  BE"LA,  President  of  the  Hungarian  Geographical  Society. — 

HUNGARY.  ^ 

FERGUSON,  THE  HON.  JOHN,  C.M.G.,  Colombo.— CEYLON. 
^FISCHER,  PROFESSOR  T.,   Marburg  University.— ITALY,  SPAIN.  ~< 
FORBES,  DR.  H.  O.,  Director  of  the  Liverpool  Museum.— THE  MALAY 

ARCHIPELAGO. 

GOLDSMID,  MAJOR-GENERAL  SIR  F.  J.,  K.C.S.I.— PERSIA. 
GREGORY,  PROFESSOR  J.  W.,  F.R.S.,  University  of  Glasgow.— THE  PLAN 

OF  THE  EARTH,  EAST  EQUATORIAL  AFRICA. 
HEAWOOD,   E.,    Librarian   of    the    Royal    Geographical   Society.— THE 

CONTINENT  OF  AFRICA,  AFRICAN  ISLANDS. 

HEILPRIN,  PROFESSOR  A.,  Academy  of  Sciences,  Philadelphia.— MEXICO. 
HERBERTSON,  DR.  A.  J.,   Reader  of  Geography  in  the  University  of 

Oxford.— THE  CONTINENT  OF  ASIA,  THE  CONTINENT  OF  SOUTH 

AMERICA. 

HILL,  R.  T.,  U.S.  Geological  Survey.— CUBA,  PORTO  Rico. 
HINDE,  CAPT.  S.  L.— THE  CONGO  FREE  STATE. 
HOSKOLD,  H.  D.,  Buenos  Aires. — THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC. 
HUME,  DR.  W.  F.,  Egyptian  Geological  Survey.— EGYPT. 
JOHNSTON,   SIR   H.  H.,   G.C.M.G.,   K.C.B.— BRITISH  WEST  AFRICA, 

BRITISH  CENTRAL  AFRICA,  TUNISIA. 
•-s     \N,  PROFESSOR  C.  M.,  University  of  Amsterdam.— THE  NETHERLANDS, 

DUTCH  NEW  GUINEA. 


242374 


vi   Authors  of  the  International  Geography 

KEANE,  DR.  A.  H. — THE  DISTRIBUTION  OF  MANKIND. 

KELTIE,  DR.  J.  SCOTT,  Secretary  to  the  Royal  Geographical  Society.— 

POLITICAL  AND  APPLIED  GEOGRAPHY. 

^  KIRCHHOFF,    PROFESSOR    A.,    University    of    Halle.— THE    GERMAN 
EMPIRE.   *r 

KOLBE,  REV.  DR.  F.  CM  Cape  Town.—  (See  Dr.  T.  Muir.) 
~^LAPPARENT,    PROFESSOR   A.    DE,   Member  of  the   Institute,   Paris. — 
FRANCE  (PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY).^"" 

MACGREGOR,    SIR    W.,    K.C.M.G.,    formerly    Lieutenant-Governor    of 
British  New  Guinea. — BRITISH  NEW  GUINEA. 

MARKHAM,  SIR  C.  R.,  K.C.B.,  F.R.S.— ECUADOR,  PERU,  BOLIVIA. 

MASON,  W.  B.,  Tokyo.— JAPAN. 

MILL,  DR.  H.  R.— GEOGRAPHY  :  PRINCIPLES  AND  PROGRESS,  LAND- 
FORMS,  THE  UNITED  KINGDOM,  etc. 

MOCKLER-FERRYMAN,  LIEUT.-COL.  A.  F.— NIGERIA. 

MUIR,  DR.  T.,    C.M.G.,   F.R.S.,  Superintendent   of   Education   in   Cape 
Colony  (and  DR.  F.  C.  KOLBE).— CAPE  COLONY. 

MURRAY,  SIR  JOHN,  K.C.B.,  F.R.S.,  of  the  "  Challenger."— THE  OCEANS, 
THE  ANTARCTIC  REGIONS. 

MYRES,  PROFESSOR  J.  L.,  University  of  Liverpool.— TRIPOLI. 

NANSEN,  DR.  FRIDTJOF,  G.C.V.O.— THE  ARCTIC  REGIONS. 
^NIELSEN,   PROFESSOR    YNGVAR,   University  of   Christiania. — SWEDEN, 
NORWAY.  <x^ 

PENCK,  PROFESSOR  A.,  University  of  Berlin. — AUSTRIA. 

PETHERICK,   E.   A.— NEW   SOUTH  WALES,  VICTORIA,  SOUTH  AUS- 
TRALIA. 

PFEIL,  COUNT.— THE  GERMAN  COLONIAL  POSSESSIONS. 
-*  PHILIPPSON,  PROFESSOR  A.,  University  of  Bonn.— THE  DANUBIAN  AND 
BALKAN  STATES.  *->" 

PLAYFAIR,  SIR  R.  LAMBERT,  K.C.M.G.— MAROCCO,  ALGERIA,  ADEN, 

MALTA,  GIBRALTAR. 
"""  ^RAVENEAU,  PROFESSOR  L.,  Paris. — FRANCE  (GENERAL  GEOGRAPHY).* 

RAVENSTEIN,  E.  G.— MAPS  AND  MAP-READING. 

REEVES,  HON.  W.  P.,  Agent-General  for  New  Zealand  in  London.— NEW 
ZEALAND. 

REGEL,  PROFESSOR  F.,  University  of  Wtirzburg.— COLOMBIA. 

ROBERTSON,  SIR  G.  S.,  K. C.S.I.,  M.P.,  formerly  British  Agent  in  Gilgit.— 
AFGHANISTAN. 

RODWAY,  J.,  Georgetown,  Demerara. — THE  WEST  INDIES,  THE  COLONIES 
OF  GUIANA. 

SAPPER,  DR.  K.,  Coban,  Guatemala.— CENTRAL  AMERICA. 

SELOUS,  F.  C. — SOUTHERN  RHODESIA. 

SIBREE,  REV.  J.,  Antananarivo.— MADAGASCAR. 

SIEVERS,  PROFESSOR  W.,  University  of  Giessen.— VENEZUELA. 

SMYTH,  H.  WARINGTON,   formerly  Director  of  the  Department  of  Mines 
in  Siam. — Si  AM. 

THOMSON,  PROFESSOR   J.  ARTHUR,  University  of  Aberdeen.— THE  DIS- 
TRIBUTION OF    LIVING  CREATURES. 

THORODDSEN,  DR.  TH.,  Copenhagen.— ICELAND. 

TYRRELL,  J.  BURR,  formerly  of  the  Geological  Survey  of  Canada.— THE 
DOMINION  OF  CANADA,  NEWFOUNDLAND. 

VASCONCELLOS,   CAPT.  ERNESTO,  Portuguese  Royal  Navy.— PORTUGAL, 
PORTUGUESE  COLONIES. 

WILSON,   GENERAL  SIR  CHARLES  W.,  K.C.B.,  F.R.S.— ASIATIC  TURKEY. 

ZIMMERMANN,  MAURICE,  Paris.— THE  FRENCH  COLONIES. 


PREFACE 


EARLY  in  1897  I  was  requested  by  the  publishers  to  prepare  and  edit  a 
compact  handbook  of  geography  on  a  new  plan,  the  suggestion  being 
made  that  each  section  should  be  written  by  a  specialist  or  recognised 
authority  of  high  standing.  Subject  to  the  limitation  of  getting  the  whole 
world  into  one  volume,  I  was  given  a  free  hand.  As  the  value  of  the 
work  depends  so  much  on  its  composite  authorship,  it  may  be  well  to 
explain  at  the  outset  how  the  book  was  planned  and  carried  out.  Every 
page  is  new,  each  section  being  written  expressly  for  this  work  and  never 
previously  published. 

The  allotment  of  space  was  made  after  comparing  a  number  of  the 
leading  systematic  text-books  in  all  languages,  and  taking  account  of  the 
area,  the  population  and  the  degree  of  accurate  knowledge  regarding  the 
different  countries.  The  original  allocation  of  space  has,  however,  been 
slightly  altered  at  the  representation  of  the  authors.  As  the  book  is 
intended  to  appear  at  first  in  the  English  language  only,  the  parts  of  the 
world  occupied  or  controlled  by  the  English-speaking  nations  have  been 
treated  more  fully  than  the  rest ;  but  without  giving  the  excessive  promi- 
nence to  the  native  country  which  is  characteristic  of  books  intended 
only  for  school  use. 

The  United  Kingdom,  though  occupying  much  less  space  than  in  most 
English  text-books,  is  treated  in  greater  detail  than  any  other  large 
country.  This  is  because  the  materials  for  its  geographical  description  are 
perhaps  more  ample  and  as  yet  less  studied  than  those  of  almost  any 
other  region.  The  United  States  could  not  be  considered  in  equal  detail, 
but  the  novel  and  scientific  plan  adopted  for  the  chapter  dealing  with 
them  makes  it  perhaps  the  most  instructive  in  the  book,  and  it  is  also  the 
longest.  The  countries  of  Europe,  especially  those  recognised  as  Great 
Powers,  have  also  been  treated  more  fully  than  is  usual  in  English  or 
American  books,  and  from  a  point  of  view  that  cannot  fail  to  throw  new 
light  on  their  nature  and  people.  No  part  of  the  world  dominated  by 
Western  civilisation  is  viewed  as  a  foreign  land  ;  but  is  opened  to  study 
from  within. 

General  rules  as  to  style  and  method  of  treatment  were  drawn  up  as 
follows : — 

RULES  FOR  CONTRIBUTORS. 

1.  Each  author  should  write  in  the  language  most  familiar  to  him.    The  contributions 
shall  be  translated  under  the  superintendence  of  the  Editor. 

2.  Every  contribution  must  be  written  continuously,  not  in  the  form  of  tables  or  dis- 
connected sentences.    When  statistics  are  given  the  tables  should  be  placed  at  the  end. 

2 


viii  Preface 


3.  The  Editor  is  solely  responsible  for  the  final  form  of  the  work,  and  in  order  to 
ensure  uniformity  he  must  be  permitted  to  make  any  changes  in  literary  style  and  arrange- 
ment of  matter  which  he  considers  necessary  ;  but  authors  are  held  responsible  for  facts 
and  figures,  which  are  to  be  approved  by  them  in  the  final  proof. 

4.  Subject  to  the  possibility  of  minor  alterations  mentioned  in  No.  3,  authors  are 
given  absolute  freedom  in  their  choice  of  facts  and  in  the  relative  space  devoted  to  the 
different  divisions  of  the  subject  which  they  undertake. 

5.  In  the  description  of  a  country  the  following  order  should  be  adopted  : — 

(i)  The  general  configuration  and  geology  of  the  country  as  a  whole,  including  its 
river  systems,  its  climate  and  natural  resources,  with  a  very  brief  outline  of  the 
fauna  and  flora, 
(ii)  The  people  as  to  race,  language,  history,  and  mode  of  government. 

(iii)  Manufactures,  industries,  and  external  trade,  laying  stress  on  the  main  staples  of 
trade,  and  on  the  industries  peculiar  to  the  country.  The  system  of  internal 
communications. 

(iv)  Political  divisions  considered  individually,  with  notices  of  towns.  All  towns  with 
populations  of  100,000  and  upwards  must  be  noticed ;  and  all  other  towns 
which  are  of  special  importance.  Care  should  be  taken  in  every  case  where  it 
is  possible  to  indicate  in  a  few  words  the  characteristics  of  the  site  which 
determined  the  position  of  the  town,  or  the  geographical  conditions  which 
minister  to  its  prosperity. 

(v)  A  statistical  table,  giving  the  area  and  population  at  the  last  two  censuses  of  the 
whole  country,  or  in  federal  countries  of  the  constituent  States ;  the  average 
values  of  exports  and  imports  for  three  five-yearly  periods,  ten  years  apart,  e.g. 
for  1871-75,  1881-85,  1891-95  ;  the  chief  towns  with  their  population  at  the  two 
last  censuses. 

6.  The  introductory  general  discussions  of  mathematical,  physical,  commercial,  political, 
etc.,  geography  are  to  be  written  from  a  strictly  geographical  point  of  view,  and  in  a 
purely  general  manner — *>.,  referring  only  to  phenomena  or  conditions  which  are  not 
restricted   to    particular  regions.      Only  the  most  thoroughly   established  and  vitally 
important  facts  should  be  stated.    The  object  is  not  to  give  a  treatise  on  the  subject  named, 
but  to  supply  the  few  general  facts  and  principles  necessary  to  the  comprehension  of  the 
special  geography  of  individual  countries. 

7.  The  general  description  of  a  continent  must  refer  only  to  the  largest  and  most 
determinative  features,   and  these  should  be  taken  in  the  following  order :    Coasts, 
Surface,  Geology,  Climate,  Flora,  Fauna,  Anthropology,  History,  including  territorial 
changes  of  the  largest  order. 

A  list  of  the  most  eminent  geographical  authorities  was  next  drawn  up, 
as  a  rule  three  names  being  selected  for  each  subject ;  and  in  October, 
1897,  seventy-nine  letters  of  invitation  to  contributors  were  posted,  the 
latest  date  for  receiving  the  MS.  being  fixed  as  July,  1898.  Forty-seven 
of  the  authors  first  invited  at  once  agreed  to  contribute.  When  a  refusal 
was  received  a  second  author  was  applied  to,  and  nineteen  of  these 
accepted.  In  ten  cases  a  third  author  had  to  be  applied  to,  and  on  three 
occasions  four  refusals  were  received  before  an  affirmative  answer. 
Altogether  in  order  to  secure  the  co-operation  of  the  seventy  authors  whose 
work  appears,  letters,  and  sometimes  many  letters,  had  to  be  exchanged 
with  122  persons  in  all  parts  of  the  World  from  Norway  to  New  Zealand. 

Each  section  bears  the  author's  name.  Those  which  I  compiled  merely 
from  literary  knowledge  are  noted  as  "By  the  Editor,"  and  in  them  I 
have  to  acknowledge  the  help  of  Miss  E.  J.  HASTINGS  ;  those  under  my 


Preface 


IX 


name  relate  to  subjects  which  I  have  specially  studied.  The  first  piece 
of  MS.  was  received  on  December  13,  1897  ;  the  last  not  until  March  11, 
1899.  The  MS.  of  fifty-three  authors  (to  seven  of  whom  English  is  a 
foreign  language)  was  written  in  English,  that  of  eight  in  German,  of  five 
in  French,  and  one  each  in  Dutch,  Danish,  Spanish,  and  Portuguese. 

The  foreign  contributions  were  translated,  and  the  whole  MS.  for  the 
book  carefully  revised  in  order  to  secure  as  much  uniformity  of  terminology 
and  spelling  as  possible.  Proofs  were  then  sent  out  to  the  authors  and  their 
corrections  given  effect  to  before  the  final  revision  in  pages.  In  many  cases 
page-proofs  were  also  submitted  to  the  author. 

The  most  serious  editorial  difficulty  encountered  was  in  the  spelling 
of  place-names.  An  effort  has  been  made  to  secure  a  consistent  system, 
but  it  has  only  partially  succeeded.  The  transliteration  of  Russian  names 
was  adopted  after  much  consideration  ;  the  chief  inconsistency  it  retains 
is  the  use  of  y  as  a  consonant  before  e  and  a,  and  as  a  vowel  before  *".  The 
spelling  of  native  names  in  languages  without  a  recognised  alphabet  has 
been  brought  into  harmony  with  the  Royal  Geographical  Society's  rules 
in  all  cases  where  the  pronunciation  is  known.  Indian  names  are  given 
throughout  the  work,  almost  without  exception,  in  the  form  preferred  by 
the  author  of  the  chapter  on  India.  As  an  example  of  the  perplexities 
of  spelling,  it  may  be  noted  that  different  authors  used  the  words — Maho- 
metan, Mahomedan,  Mohammedan,  Muhammedan,  Musselman,  Musalman, 
Moslem,  and  Muslim,  for  the  people  following  the  faith  of  Islam,  and 
sheer  despair  of  deciding  as  to  the  best  form  led  to  the  nearly  uniform  use  of 
what  is  certainly  the  worst — Mohammedan.  It  is  inevitable  that  some  incon- 
sistencies remain  unconnected. 

The  arrangement  of  the  subject  matter  in  Part  I.  follows  the  natural 
order  of  the  science.  In  Part  II.  the  order  is  that  of  a  natural  sequence 
commencing  with  Europe  on  account  of  its  historic  claims,  and  taking  the 
countries  in  geographical  order  from  west  and  north  to  east  and  south. 
The  Russian  Empire  having  to  be  treated  as  a  whole  makes  it  necessary 
to  anticipate  part  of  the  general  description  of  the  continent  of  Asia,  which 
naturally  follows,  and  leads  on  to  Australasia.  The  Pacific  Islands  form  a 
natural  link  with  the  American  continents,  and  the  circuit  of  the  world  is 
completed  in  Africa,  and  concluded  by  the  Polar  regions. 

The  index  has  been  prepared  with  the  intention  that  it  should  include 
the  name  of  every  place  about  which  any  information  is  given  in  the 
text,  every  geographical  term  which  has  a  technical  meaning,  references 
to  the  chief  resources  of  countries,  and  the  names  of  all  authors  and  of  the 
leading  geographers  cited  in  the  text.  But  it  has  been  controlled  by  the 
omission  of  casual  references,  which  would  occupy  space  and  not  repay  the 
trouble  of  turning  up.  It  is  mainly  compiled  by  Mrs.  H.  R.  MILL,  whose 
constant  collaboration  in  all  the  work  of  translation  and  editing  has  materi- 
ally shortened  the  time  of  preparation  of  the  book. 

The  illustrations  are  limited  to  sketch-maps  and  diagrams.     Views  are 


x  Preface 

excluded  from  considerations  of  space  alone ;  it  is  fully  recognised  that 
well-selected  pictures  are  of  great  value  in  all  geographical  descriptions. 
The  numerous  sketch-maps  are  intended  to  bring  into  prominence  special 
features  not  usually  shown  in  atlases,  or  apt  to  be  lost  in  the  abounding 
detail  of  ordinary  maps.  They  must  be  looked  upon  as  of  value  only  for 
the  limited  purpose  for  which  they  are  put  forward.  All  the  maps  have 
been  specially  drawn  (with  the  exception  of  the  plans  of  towns  supplied 
by  Messrs.  J.  Bartholomew  &  Co.,  which  will  be  recognised  by  their 
fulness  of  detail) ;  they  are  either  original  or  adapted  from  official  maps  or 
from  those  published  in  geographical  journals  or  other  scientific  works.  I 
have  particularly  to  thank  my  friend  Mr.  E.  HEAWOOD  for  the  excellent 
maps  he  has  prepared,  and  I  am  also  indebted  to  Mr.  B.  B.  DICKINSON  and 
Mr.  A.  W.  ANDREWS  for  the  drawing  of  Fig.  242,  and  to  Dr.  A.  J. 
HERBERTSON  for  the  map  of  the  rainfall  of  Europe  (Fig.  53).  Mr. 
SKEAPING,  of  George  Newnes,  Ltd.,  Mr.  ADDISON,  and  Mr.  J.  BATCHELOR 
have  also  supplied  a  number  of  the  drawings,  and  Messrs.  Philip  &  Son 
those  illustrating  Chap.  III.  After  the  density  of  population  diagrams 
had  been  prepared  it  was  pointed  out  to  me  that  the  idea  of  representing 
this  condition  by  the  number  of  points  on  a  square  inch  had  already  sug- 
gested itself  to  Mr.  Holt  Schooling,  and  been  used  by  him  in  the  Strand 
Magazine,  vol.  ix.— Jan.  to  June,  1 895.  The  flags  of  the  nations  are  introduced 
on  account  of  the  importance  attaching  to  the  flag  in  all  countries  as  the 
mark  of  political  unity  and  national  individuality ;  the  colonial  badges 
because  of  the  apt  manner  in  which  they  often  give  expression  to  the 
natural  conditions  of  the  region.  These  have  all  been  drawn  by  Mr. 
SKEAPING.  The  climate  curves  showing  the  mean  temperature  and  rainfall 
for  each  month  in  a  number  of  places,  have  been  compiled  from  the 
original  data  by  Dr.  A.  J.  HERBERTSON  and  Mr.  P.  C.  WAITE,  Edinburgh. 

The  statistics  following  each  section  were,  as  a  rule,  sent  by  the  author ; 
but  in  a  few  cases  they  have  been  supplied  or  supplemented  from  the 
"  Statesman's  Year  Book."  Statistics  are  given  mainly  to  serve  as  an  index 
to  the  growth  of  countries  by  the  comparison  of  figures  for  different  dates. 
It  must  be  remembered  that,  except  for  Europe,  North  America,  and  the 
colonies,  most  of  the  figures  available  are  only  approximate  estimates,  or 
sometimes  nothing  more  than  expert  guesses  ;  and  they  may  be  given 
variously  in  different  sections.  In  no  case  are  the  odd  units,  tens,  or 
hundreds  in  population  of  any  importance,  and,  as  a  rule,  the  three  first 
figures  of  any  quantity  are  all  that  are  of  real  value  for  purposes  of  com- 
parison. The  values  for  countries  using  a  gold  standard  are  expressed 
throughout  in  pounds  sterling  in  the  English  edition  and  in  dollars  in 
the  American  edition,  conversions  being  made  on  the  basis  of  £  i  =  $5. 

The  lists  of  Standard  Books  are  intended  to  give  the  titles  of  the  best 
books  dealing  exclusively  with  the  special  subject  or  region  under  con- 
sideration. A  selection  of  good  general  books  on  Geography  is  given  at 
the  end  of  this  preface.  Really  "standard  "  books  are  not  very  numerous, 


Preface  xi 

and  some  which  are  cited  occupy  their  place  only  in  default  of  better. 
Care  has  been  taken  to  exclude  the  titles  of  any  works  known  to  contain 
untrustworthy  statements ;  on  the  other  hand,  many  excellent  books, 
perhaps  more  worthy  to  appear  than  some  which  have  been  given,  are 
omitted  inadvertently  or  through  ignorance. 

I  have  to  acknowledge  gratefully  the  assistance  rendered  in  reading  the 
proofs  by  Professor  W.  M.  DAVIS  and  Dr.  J.  W.  GREGORY  for  the  chapter 
on  "  Land-Forms,"  by  Dr.  J.  E.  MARR  and  Dr.  J.  SCOTT  KELTIE  for  the 
"United  Kingdom,"  by  Dr.  G.  M.  DAWSON,  C.M.G.,  for  "British  North 
America,"  by  Dr.  FRANCISCO  P.  MORENO  for  the  "Argentine  Republic," 
and  by  the  Agents- General  of  several  colonies  for  revising  the  sections  on 
which  they  are  authorities. 

Special  thanks  are  due  to  Mr.  FRANK  MUNDELL  for  his  vigilance  and 
care  in  reading  the  whole  of  the  proofs,  and  in  facilitating  the  task  of  seeing 
the  first  edition  through  the  press  in  1 899. 

The  results  of  the  various  Census  Reports  for  1900  and  1901  have  been 
incorporated  in  the  later  editions,  and  the  chapters  have  been  thoroughly  revised 
by  the  editor  as  well  as  by  the  authors  or  by  competent  specialists,  thanks 
being  due  in  particular  to  Mr.  E.  HEAWOOD  and  Dr.  A.  J.  HERBERTSON 
for  much  help.  The  illustrations  have  been  revised  and  many  of  them  re- 
drawn, and  the  lists  of  standard  books  improved. 

H.  R.  M. 

62,  Camden  Square,  London,  N.W. 
July,  1907. 


STANDARD  GEOGRAPHICAL  BOOKS 
OF  REFERENCE 

E.  Reclus — "Nouvelle  Geographic  Universelle,"  19  vols.  Paris,  1876-94. 
Also  a  translation,  London. 

A.  Kirchhoff  (editor) — "  Unser  Wissen  von  der  Erde."  Vienna,  1876 — in 
progress. 

"  Stanford's  Compendium  of  Geography  and  Travel."    New  Issue.    London, 

1809-1903. 

k  Vivien  de  St.  Martin  and  M.  Rousselet — "  Nouveau  Dictionnaire  de  Geo- 
graphic Universelle."  6  vols.  Paris,  1879-95.  Also  supplement  1898- 
1900. 

G.  G.  Chisholm— "  The  Times  Gazetteer.''     London,  1895,  (reprint)  1899. 

"  Encyclopaedia  Britannica "  (Geographical  Articles  in  Supplementary  Vol- 
umes), 1902. 

"Chambers's  Encyclopaedia"  (Geographical  Articles).  10  vols.  Edinburgh. 
Latest  edition. 

J.  S.  Keltic  and  I.  Renwick— "  The  Statesman's  Year  Book."  London- 
Annual. 

H.  Wagner — "  Geographisches  Jahrbuch."  Gotha — Annual  [for  trustworthy 
summaries  of  geographical  progress]. 

O.  Baschin — "  Bibliotheca  Geographica,  herausgegeben  von  der  Gesell- 
schaft  fur  Erdkunde  zu  Berlin."  Berlin — Annual.  [Gives  a  nearly 
complete  list  of  the  geographical  publications  of  the  year.] 

L.  Raveneau — "Bibliographic  Geographique  Annuelle.  Annales  de  G^o- 
graphie."  Paris — Annual.  [An  annotated  list  of  the  best  geographical 
publications  of  the  year.] 

"The  Geographical  Journal."  Published  monthly  by  the  Royal  Geo- 
graphical Society,  London.  [Original  records  of  the  most  recent 
travel,  and  the  fullest  monthly  geographical  bibliography  and  list  of 
maps.] 

\  "The  Scottish  Geographical  Magazine."  Published  monthly  by  the  Royal 
Scottish  Geographical  Society,  Edinburgh. 

"The  Geographical  Teacher,"  London.  [The  publication  of  the  Geo- 
graphical Association.] 

^  "  The  National  Geographic  Magazine."  Published  monthly  by  the  National 
Geographic  Society,  Washington. 

"Journal  of  the  American  Geographical  Society  of  New  York." 
^>  "  Journal  of  Geography."     New  York.     [For  teachers.] 
\  "Petermanns   Mitteilungen."     Gotha — Monthly.      [The   Standard  German 
geographical  journal,  remarkable  for  its  excellent  maps.] 


Geographical   Books  of  Reference      xiii 

"  Erganzungshefte  zu  Petermanns  Mitteilungen."  Gotha — published  occa- 
sionally. [These  separate  numbers  contain  important  geographical 
memoirs  or  records  of  travel.] 

"Annales  de  Geographic."     Paris — six  numbers  annually. 

H.  Haack — "  Geographen-Kalender."  Gotha — Annual  [Handy  summa- 
ries of  geographical  progress,  names  and  addresses  of  the  geographers, 
and  geographical  publications  of  all  countries]. 

^  Lippincott's  New  Gazetteer."     London,  1906. 

REFERENCE  ATLASES. 

"  Stielers  Hand-Atlas."    Gotha,  1902-1903.     [This  finely  engraved  atlas  is 

also  issued  in  separate  sheets.    The  plates  are  always  kept  up  to  date 

of  publication  and  very  few  copies  are  printed  at  a  time.] 
W.  and  A.  K.  Johnston— "  The  Royal  Atlas."    Edinburgh.     [The  finest 

British  atlas,  but  expensive.] 
J.  G.  Bartholomew — "  The  Twentieth  Century  Citizen's  Atlas."     London, 

1902.     [The  cheapest  high-class  atlas.] 

F.  Schrader — "Atlas  de  Geographic  Moderne."     Paris,  1890. 
O.  Spamer  —  "Grosser  Hand-Atlas."      Leipzig,  1897.     [This  is  based  on 

Schrader's  Atlas  with  additional  maps.     Both  are  characterised  by  the 

number  of  their  small  maps,  town  plans,  etc.] 
H.  Habenicht— "  Taschen  Atlas."      Gotha.      [The  most  perfect  pocket 

atlas.    A  new  edition  is  published  almost  every  year.] 
"  L'Annee  Cartographique."    Paris — Annual.     [Maps  showing  all  changes 

due  to  the  explorations  and  treaties  of  the  year.] 
Vidal  Lablache— "  Atlas  General."    Paris,  1894. 


CONTENTS 


PAGES 

LIST  OF  AUTHORS            .......  v 

PREFACE            ........  vii 

BOOKS  OF  REFERENCE     .           .           .           .           .           .           .  xii 

CONTENTS  xv 


PART  I. 

PRINCIPLES  OF  GEOGRAPHY. 

CHAP. 

I.  GEOGRAPHY;  PRINCIPLES  AND  PROGRESS.     By  Dr.  H.  R. 

Mill .        1-13 

II.  MATHEMATICAL  GEOGRAPHY.    By  Dr.  A.  M.  W.  Downing, 

F.R.S 14-25 

III.  MAPS  AND  MAP  READING.    By  E.  G.  Ravenstein    .  .  26-35 

IV.  THE  PLAN  OF  THE  EARTH.    By  Prof.  J.  W.  Gregory,  F.R.S.  36-45 

V.  LAND-FORMS;  THEIR  NATURE  AND  ORIGIN.      By  Dr. 

H.  R.  Mill  .  .  ...  .  .  .      46-59 

VI.  THE   OCEANS.      By  Sir  John    Murray,   F.R.S.,   and    Dr. 

H.  R.  Mill 60-71 

VII.  THE  ATMOSPHERE  AND  CLIMATE.    By  Dr.  H.  N.  Dickson      72-82 
VIII.    THE  DISTRIBUTION  OF  LIVING  CREATURES.    By  Prof.  J. 

Arthur  Thomson  .....  82-95 

IX.  THE  DISTRIBUTION  OF  MANKIND.  By  Dr.  A.  H.  Keane  96-108 
X.  POLITICAL  AND  APPLIED  GEOGRAPHY.  By  Dr.  J.  Scott 

Keltic    .......        109-121 


HERALDIC  COLOUR-SCHEME  FOR  FLAGS  122 


PART  II. 

CONTINENTS  AND   COUNTRIES. 
BOOK   I.-EUROPE. 

XI.  THE  CONTINENT  OF  EUROPE.    By  G.  G.  Chisholm          .  123-137 

XII.  THE  UNITED  KINGDOM  IN  GENERAL.    By  Dr.  H.  R.  Mill  138-152 

Scotland        ......        152-161 


xvi  Contents 

FACES 

England  and  Wales     .....  161-187 
Ireland.     By  Prof.  Grenville  A.  J.  Cole    .  .          187-196 

XIII.  THE  SCANDINAVIAN  KINGDOMS  :— 

Sweden  and  Norway.     By  Prof.  Yngvar  Nielsen  .  197-208 

Denmark.     By  the  Editor             .             .            .  208-211 

Iceland.     By  Dr.  Th.  Thoroddsen      .            .  .212-215 

XIV.  THE  Low  COUNTRIES  :— 

The  Netherlands.     By  Prof.  C.  M.  Kan  .  .         216-223 

Belgium.     By  Prof.  J.  du  Fief            .  .            .  223-230 

Luxemburg.     By  the  Editor         .            .  .         231-232 

XV.  THE  FRENCH  REPUBLIC  :— 

Physical  Geography.     By  Prof.  A.  de  Lapparent  .  233-239 

General  Geography.     By  Prof.  L.  Raveneau       .  239-255 

XVI.  SWITZERLAND.    By  Prof.  £mile  Chaix      .           .  .  256-265 

XVII.  THE  GERMAN  -EMPIRE.    By  Prof.  A.  Kirchhoff       .  266-297 
XVIII.    THE  AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN  MONARCHY:— 

Austria-Hungary.     By  Prof.  A.  Penck  .  .  298-301 

Austria.     By  Prof.  A.  Penck        .  .  .         302-315 

Hungary.     By  Dr.  Bela  Erbdi  .  .  .  315-323 

Bosnia-Herzegovina.     By  Prof.  A.  Penck  .         324-326 

XIX.      THE  DANUBIAN  AND  BALKAN  STATES.    By  Prof.  A. 

Philippson  : — 
Rumania   ......         327-330 

The  Balkan  Peninsula  ....  330-335 

Servia  335~337 

Montenegro      .  .  .  .  .  .337 

Bulgaria     ......         338-339 

European  Turkey        .....  340-344 

Greece       ......         344-349 

Crete    .......  350-351 

XX.  ITALY  AND  MALTA  :— 

Italy.     By  Prof.  T.  Fischer  .  .  .  352-365 

San  Marino.     By  the  Editor  ....  365-366 

Malta.     By  Sir  R.  Lambert  Playfair         .  .  366-367 

XXI.  THE  IBERIAN  PENINSULA  : — 

Spain.  By  Prof.  T.  Fischer  .....  368-377 
Andorra.  By  the  Editor  ....  377-378 
Gibraltar.  By  Sir  R.  Lambert  Playfair  .  .  378-379 

Portugal.    By  Capt.  E.  de  Vasconcellos .  .         379-385 

XXII.  THE  RUSSIAN  EMPIRE.    By  D.  Aitoff:— 

General             .            .            .            .            .  .  386-389 

Configuration         .....  389-401 

Climate  and  Anthropogeography        .            .  .  401-409 

Towns        ......  409-42 1 


Contents 


xvn 


BOOK    II.— ASIA. 

PAGES 

XXIII.  THE  CONTINENT  OF  ASIA.    By  Dr.  A.  J.  Herbertson  .  422-438 

XXIV.  ASIATIC  TURKEY  AND  ARABIA.    By  Sir  C.  W.  Wilson, 

F.R.S.  :— 

Anatolia        ......  439-445 

Cyprus.     By  Sir  R.  Lambert  Play  fair  .            .  .  445-446 

Mesopotamia             .....  447-448 

Syria        .......  448-451 

Arabia            ......  451-456 

XXV.  THE  COUNTRIES  OF  IRAN  :— 

Persia.     By  Sir  F.  Goldsmid     .  .  .  457-463 

Afghanistan.     By  Sir  G.  S.  Robertson,  M.  P.        .        464-468 

XXVI.  INDIA  AND  CEYLON  :— 

The  Empire  of  India.     By  Sir  Athelstan  Baines          .  469-502 

Portuguese  India.     By  Capt.  E.  de  Vasconcellos       502-503 

French  Possessions  in  India.     By  M.  Zimmermann          503 

Himalayan  States.     By  the  editor  .  .  503 

Ceylon.     By  Hon.  J.  Ferguson  .  .  .  503-507 

XXVII.  INDO-CHINA:— 

Siam.     By  H.  Warington  Smyth    .  .  .        508-511 

Straits  Settlements  and  the  Malay  States.     By  the 

Editor          ......  511-515 

French  Indo-China.    By  M.  Zimmermann  .        515-520 

XXVIII.  THE  CHINESE  EMPIRE.    By  G.  G.  Chisholm       .  .  521-536 

Hongkong.    By  the  Editor  .  .  .        536-537 

Macao.     By  Capt.  E.  de  Vasconcellos  .  .          538 

Kiau-chou.     By  Count  Pfeil  ...  538 

Remote  Provinces  of  Chinese  Empire  .  .  538-541 

Korea.     By  Mrs.  Bishop      ....        542-544 

XXIX.  JAPAN.    By  W.  B.  Mason  .  .  .  -545-554 

XXX.  THE  MALAY  ARCHIPELAGO.    By  Dr.  H.  O.  Forbes    .       555-574 

The  Philippines  .....  558-559 

British  Borneo          .....        559/~56o 
The  Dutch  East  Indies  ....  560-573 

Portuguese  Timor.     By  Capt.  E.  de  Vasconcellos  573 


BOOK  III.— AUSTRALASIA  AND  POLYNESIA. 

XXXI.  THE  CONTINENT  OF  AUSTRALIA.    By  C.  H.  Barton  .        575-586 

XXXII.  EASTERN  STATES  OF  THE  COMMONWEALTH  : — 

Queensland.     By  C.  H.  Barton  .  .  .  587-593 

New  South  Wales.     By  E.  A.  Petherick    .  .        593-601 

Victoria.    By  E.  A.  Petherick  ....  602-610 
Tasmania.    By  the  Editor  ....        610-613 


XV111 


Contents 


XXXIII.  CENTRAL  AND  WESTERN  STATES  OF  THE  COMMON- 

WEALTH : — 

South  Australia.     By  E.  A.  Petherick  . 
Western  Australia.     By  Hon.  D.  W.  Carnegie     . 

XXXIV.  NEW  ZEALAND.     By  Hon.  W.  P.  Reeves 

XXXV.  MELANESIA  :— 

British  New  Guinea.     By  Sir  William  Macgregor 
German  New  Guinea.     By  Count  Pfeil      . 
Dutch  New  Guinea.     By  Prof.  C.  M.  Kan      . 
New  Caledonia.     By  Prof.  A.  Bernard 
Smaller  Melanesian  Islands.     By  the  Editor  . 

XXXVI.  THE  ISLANDS  OF  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN.    By  the  Editor 

Fiji  .  .  .  .    "       . 

Western  Polynesian  Chain  .... 

Marshall  Islands.     By  Count  Pfeil 
South  Polynesian  Chain       .... 
Scattered  Groups  ..... 

Hawaii 


614-620 
620-626 
627-634 

635-638 
639-641 
642-644 
644-646 
646-648 
649-662 

651-653 
653-656 

654-655 
656-658 
658-660 
660-662 


BOOK   IV.-NORTH    AMERICA. 

XXXVII.  THE  CONTINENT  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.    By  Prof. 

M.  Davis         ..... 
XXXVIII.  COLONIAL  NORTH  AMERICA  : — 

Dominion  of  Canada.     By  J.  B.  Tyrrell    . 
Newfoundland  and  Labrador.    By  J.  B.  Tyrrell 
St.  Pierre  and  Miquelon.     By  M.  Zimmermann    , 
Bermuda.     By  the  Editor 

XXXIX.    THE  UNITED  STATES.    By  Prof.  W.  M.  Davis 
XL.         MEXICO.     By  Prof.  A.  Heilprin   . 


W. 


664-678 

679-704 
704-707 
707-708 
708-709 
710-773 
774-78i 


BOOK  V.— CENTRAL  AND   SOUTH  AMERICA. 

XLI.        CENTRAL  AMERICA  :— 

The  Central  American  Republics.     By  Dr.  K.  Sapper  782-789 

British  Honduras.     By  the  Editor .            .            .  789-790 

XLII.       THE  WEST  INDIES  :— 

General  Features.     By  J.  Rodway        .            .  .  791-793 

Cuba.     By  R.  T.  Hill           .            .            .            .  793-798 

Porto  Rico.     By  R.  T.  Hill           .        .            ,  .  798-801 

Haiti  and  Santo  Domingo.     By  J.  Rodway           .  801-802 

West  Indian  Colonies.     By  J.  Rodway            .  .  803-812 

XLIII.     THE  CONTINENT  OF  SOUTH  AMERICA.    By  Dr.  A.  J. 

Herbertson  ......  813-823 

XLIV..    .  THE  ANDEAN  COUNTRIES  : — 

Colombia.     By  Prof.  F.  Regel    .           .           .  824-829 


Contents 


xix 


Ecuador.     By  Sir  Clements  R.  Markham,  F.R.S.   . 

Peru.     By  Sir  Clements  R.  Markham,  F.R.S.     . 

Bolivia.     By  Sir  Clements  R.  Markham,  F.R.S. 

Chile.    By  Prof.  A.  Bertrand      . 
XLV.      THE  PLATA  COUNTRIES  : — 

The  Argentine  Republic.     By  H.  D.  Hoskold 

Uruguay.     By  A.  F.  Baillie 

Paraguay.     By  A.  F.  Baillie  . 

The  Falkland  Islands.     By  the  Editor  . 
XLVI.      BRAZIL.     By  J.  Batalha-Reis    . 
XLVII.     NORTHERN  SOUTH  AMERICA  : — 

The  Colonies  of  Guiana.     By  J.  Rodway 

Venezuela.    By  Dr.  W.  Sievers 

BOOK  VI.— AFRICA. 

XLVIII.   THE  CONTINENT  OF  AFRICA.    By  E.  Heawood  . 
XLIX.     NORTH  AFRICA  : — 

Marocco.     By  Sir  R.  Lambert  Playfair 
Algeria.     By  Sir  R.  Lambert  Playfair    . 
Tunisia.     By  Sir  H.  H.  Johnston      . 
Tripoli.     By  J.  L.  Myres  .... 
Egypt.     By  Dr.  W.  F.  Hume 
L.         EAST  AFRICA  :— 

Eastern  Equatorial  Africa.     By  Prof.  J.  W.  Gregory, 

F.R.S 

Abyssinia  ..... 

Eritrea         ...... 

Obok.     By  M.  Zimmermann    . 

Somaliland  .  . 

British  East  Africa        .... 

German  East  Africa.     By  Count  Pfeil 
Portuguese     East    Africa.       By     Capt.     E.     de 
Vasconcellos ..... 

British  Central  Africa.     By  Sir  H.  H.Johnston      . 
LI.        WEST  AFRICA  :— 

Spanish  West  Africa.     By  E.  Heawood 
French  West  Africa.     By  M.  Zimmermann 
Liberia.     By  E.  Heawood 

British   West   African    Colonies.     By  Sir  H.   H. 
Johnston  ...... 

Nigeria.    By  Lieut.-Col.  Mockler- Ferryman 
German  West  Africa.     By  Count  Pfeil 
The  Congo  Free  State.    By  Capt.  S.  L.  Hinde  . 
Portuguese  West  Africa.    By  Capt.  E.  de  Vascon- 
cellos 


PAGES 

829-833 
834-840 
840-843 
843-848 

849-856 
856-859 
859-862 
863-864 
865-877 

878-883 
884-888 


889-903 

904-906 
906-913 
913-916 
916-918 
918-929 


930-940 
934-935 

935 
935-936 

936 

937-940 
940-944 

944-946 
946-951 

952-953 
953-959 
959-960 

060-969 
969-972 
972-974 
974-979 

979-984 


xx  Contents 

PAGES 

LII.      SOUTH  AFRICA: — 

Cape  Colony.    By  Dr.  T.  Muir,  F.RS.,  and  Dr. 

F.  C.  Kolbe         .....      985-993 
Natal.    By  Right  Hon.  J.  Bryce,  F.R.S.  .  993~997 

Southern  Rhodesia  and  Bechuanaland.     By  F.  C. 

Selous      ......    997-1003 

Orange  River  Colony.    By  Right  Hon.  J.  Bryce, 

F.R.S.  .....        1004-1006 

Transvaal  Colony.    By  Right  Hon.  J.  Bryce,  F.R.S.  1007-1011 
German  South-West  Africa.    By  Count  Pfeil         .  1012-1013 
Islands  of  South  Atlantic.    By  E.  Heawood      .        1013-1014 
LIII.      ISLANDS  OF  THE  WESTERN  INDIAN  OCEAN  : — 

Madagascar.    By  Rev.  J.  Sibree       .  .  .  1015-1020 

Mauritius  and  Dependencies.     By  the  Editor        1020-1024 
Reunion.     By  M.  Zimmermann       .  .  .  1024 

BOOK   VII.— THE    POLAR   REGIONS. 

LIV.      THE  ARCTIC  RECORD.     By  Sir  Martin  Conway        .  1025-1033 
THE  ARCTIC  REGIONS.    By  Dr.  F.  Nansen        .        1033-1046 
LV.      THE  ANTARCTIC   REGIONS.     By  Sir  John  Murray, 

F.R.S.  ......  1047-1053 

INDEX     ........        1053-1088 


The   International  Geography 

PART   I 

PRINCIPLES   OF   GEOGRAPHY 


CHAPTER   I.— GEOGRAPHY:    PRINCIPLES   AND 
PROGRESS 

BY  HUGH  ROBERT  MILL,  D.Sc. 

The  Plan  of  the  Book. — The  object  of  this  book  is  to  present  in  one 
volume  an  authoritative  summary  of  the  whole  of  Geography  as  fully  as 
space  permits.  The  limit  of  size  makes  it  impossible  to  treat  any  part  of 
the  subject  exhaustively,  but  by  sacrificing  such  details  as  may  be  found 
better  expressed  in  the  maps  of  an  atlas  it  is  possible  to  give  prominence 
to  the  essential  tacts.  Like  most  treatises  on  geography,  this  is  divided 
into  two  unequal  and  contrasted  parts.  The  first  deals  with  the  Principles 
of  Geography  and  their  applications  in  the  most  general  sense.  It  is  com- 
pressed into  small  compass,  because  the  aim  kept  in  view  is  rather  to 
illustrate  the  principles  by  their  application  to  actual  cases  than  to  produce 
a  theoretical  work.  The  second  part  accordingly  deals  more  fully  with 
the  Countries  of  the  World  at  the  present  day ;  each  article  involving  the 
application  of  some  or  all  of  the  general  principles  stated  in  the  first  part. 

The  book  is  neither  a  Gazetteer  nor  an  Encyclopaedia,  but  is  intended  to 
give  a  readable  account  of  the  character  of  all  countries  as  regards  land 
and  people  in  language  which  is  neither  technical  nor  childish.  Such 
special  terms  as  are  necessary  for  the  purpose  of  exact  description  are 
explained  in  the  index. 

In  the  treatment  of  each  country  some  deviation  is  made  from  the 
general  plan  common  to  all,  in  order  to  explain  the  peculiarities  of  its 
national  life  and  to  bring  out  its  individuality.  The  structure  of  the  region 
and  its  action  on  the  race  is  the  leading  motive  in  the  description  of  old 
countries  ;  the  reaction  of  the  race  on  the  region  takes  the  first  place  in 
the  description  of  new  lands  undergoing  development ;  but  in  every  case 
the  ground-work  is  a  true  description  of  the  country  as  it  is  to-day.  Here, 
as  well  as  in  the  avoidance  of  those  errors  which  beset  even  the  most  care- 
ful compiler,  this  book  has  a  special  claim  to  consideration,  because,  with 


PETRI  API  ANI  ET  GEMMAE  FRIS. 
Gfographia.  EUS  fimiLtudo. 


2  The  International   Geography 

few  exceptions,  each  country  is  treated  by  an  experienced  traveller,  a 
resident,  or  a  native.  The  authorship  may  indeed  be  viewed  as  part  of 
the  subject,  being  itself  an  outcome  of  the  land  described. 

Geography  Defined. — The  literal  meaning  of  Geography — the 
Description  ot  the  Earth — is  limited  by  usage  to  the  description  of  the 
Earth's  surface  ;  but  the  sense  in  which  description  is  to  be  taken  in  this 
definition  must  be  explained.  That  it  is  a  graphy  and  not  a  logy  has 
actually  been  brought  forward  by  men  otherwise  worthy  of  respect  as  an 
argument  against  geography  being  a  science.  It  need  only  be  pointed  out 
in  reply  that  if  a  name  derived  from  the  Greek  is  necessarily  a  definition, 
astrology  should  still  be  held  a  science.  The  very  first  modern  text-books 
of  geography  insisted  strongly  on  the  distinction  between  Chorography,  or 

Topography,  and  Geography.  A 
quaint  diagram  from  the  "  Cosmo- 
graphia  "  of  Apian  and  Gemma  Frisius 
in  1584  (Fig.  i),  illustrates  choro- 
graphy, after  Ptolemy  by  the  meta- 
phor of  a  small  detailed  sketch  such 
as  that  of  an  eye  or  an  ear,  while 
geography  is  like  the  complete  draw- 
ing of  a  portrait.  The  chorography 
of  the  old  writers  has  too  often  been 
expounded  and  taught  under  the  name 
of  geography,  and  hence  misconcep- 
tions have  arisen.  Geography  is  a 
part  of  that  greater  science  which 
was  called  Cosmography  in  the  Middle 
Ages  and  Physiography1  in  modern 
times  ;  but  it  is  something  more. 
A  formal  definition  of  the  modern 
science  may  be  put  thus : 
Geography  is  the  exact  and  organised  knowledge  of  the  distribution  of 
phenomena  on  the  surface  of  the  Earth,  culminating  in  the  explanation  of  the 
interaction  of  Man  with  his  terrestrial  environment. 

The  Position  of  Geography. — In  the  field  of  knowledge  geography 
occupies  a  peculiar,  even  unique  position.  As  the  meeting-place  of  the 
physical  and  the  human  sciences,  it  is  the  focus  at  which  the  rays  of  natural 
science,  history,  and  economics  converge  to  illuminate  the  Earth  in  its  rela- 
tion to  man.  It  is  impossible  to  treat  any  natural,  much  more  any  human 
science  as  a  portion  of  knowledge  "  clean-cut  from  out  and  off  the  illimit- 
able," for  the  margins  of  all  sciences  are  confluent.  Geography  is  akin  to 
physics  in  its  organisation,  inasmuch  as  it  is  a  generalisation,  or  rather  a 

1  Prof.  Davis  confines  the  name  physiography  to  that  department  of  physical  geography 
which  has  been  termed  by  other  writers  geomorphology,  but  the  word  was  used  in  the  general 
sense  by  Linnaeus  about  1736,  and  was  popularised  by  Huxley  in  1877. 


Choregraplua. 


Eiusfimilitudo. 


FIG    i. — An  Early  Simile  of  Geography 


Geography  :    Principles  and  Progress      3 

synthesis,  of  units  each  of  which  may  be  viewed  as  a  highly  specialised 
branch  of  science  in  itself.  The  unity  of  physics  results  from  the  fact  that 
the  physicist  looks  on  nature  in  the  universal  aspects  of  matter  and  energy ; 
the  unity  of  geography  results  from  viewing  nature  in  the  limited  but 
still  general  aspect  of  the  phenomena  which  affect  the  surface  of  the 
Earth.  The  materials  for  bringing  the  generalising  science  of  geography 
to  the  dignity  of  completeness,  are  not  yet  all  collected;  but  the  plan  is 
already  grandly  outlined.  Incompleteness  of  data,  however,  is  an  incen- 
tive to  progress,  and  a  guarantee  of  substantial  advance  being  made  when 
the  right  direction  is  foreshadowed  by  a  theory.  The  theory  of  geog- 
raphy which  gives  life  and  unity  to  the  details  of  topography,  and  the 
various  facts  borrowed  from  such  cognate  special  sciences  as  astronomy, 
geology,  oceanography,  meteorology,  and  history  is  the  far-reaching  theory 
of  evolution.  Writing  in  the  twentieth  century  it  is  scarcely  necessary 
to  point  out  that  this  theory  is  not  antagonistic  to  the  doctrine  of 
creation.  Evolution  exhibits  a  constant  succession  of  changes  in  a  definite 
direction — from  lower  to  higher,  from  simple  to  complex — inevitably  sug- 
gesting some  external  guidance,  and  not  touching  the  question  of  ultimate 
origin. 

The  Departments  of  Geography. — The  subject-matter  of  geography 
may  be  classified  in  various  ways,  each  representing  an  aspect  from  which 
the  whole  may  be  considered,  but  it  is  simplest  to  follow  the  order  of  evolu- 
tion, selecting  and  arranging  the  divisions  so  that  the  classification  becomes 
a  statement  of  the  principles  of  geography,  in  which  each  part  depends  on 
that  which  precedes  and  conditions  that  which  follows.  The  fundamental 
department  of  geography  views  the  Earth's  surface  from  the  standpoint  of 
the  one  absolute  science— ^Jajjieniatjcs.  It  deals  with  the  measurement 
of  the  Earth,  the  whole  question  of  geodesy  and  surveying,  and  that  of  map- 
projections  and  map-construction.  It  takes  account  also  of  the  strictly 
calculable  phenomena  of  the  Earth's  movements  and  its  relations  to  the 
other  members  of  the  solar  system,  ascertaining  the  times  of  the  seasons 
and  of  the  tides,  and  fixing  the  measure  of  time  itself.  Mathematical 
'  Geography  presents  us  with  a  globe  of  a  definite  size,  covered  for  a  certain 
proportion  of  its  surface  to  a  particular  depth  by  an  ocean  in  which  tides 
are  raised  by  external  attraction,  rotating  on  a  definite  and  practically 
unchanging  axis  and  so  acquiring  the  polarity  which  enables  positions  to  be 
found  both  in  latitude  and  longitude  by  reference  to  external  bodies;  the 
axis  being  so  inclined  to  the  plane  of  the  orbit  as  to  bring  the  succession 
of  the  seasons  and  the  reciprocal  swing  of  day  and  night  differently  to  every 
zone  of  the  surface. 

This  aspect  passes  directly  into  that  of  the  less  definitely  known  and 
less  calculable  phenomena  of  Physical  Geography,  which  takes  account  of 
the  differences  in  material  and  in  function  of  the  parts  of  the  Earth — the 
rigid  lithosphere,  the  mobile  hydrosphere,  and  the  all-embracing  atmos- 
phere. Geology,  oceanography,  and  meteorology  contribute  to  supply  the 


4  The  International  Geography 

means  of  understanding  the  forms  and  functions  of  the  Earth.  The  arrange- 
ment of  the  continental  ridges  above  the  hollow  plains  of  the  ocean,  and 
the  forms  into  which  these  ridges  are  wrought,  acquire  significance.  The 
power  of  solar  radiation  calling  into  movement  the  currents  of  water  and 
air,  and  the  deviation  in  moving  bodies  due  to  rotation,  firmly  lock  together 
the  mathematical  and  physical  aspects  of  geography.  Physical  geography 
finally  shows  us  the  spinning,  tilted  globe,  throbbing  with  the  innumerable 
activities  which  solar  and  telluric  energy  impart  to  terrestrial  matter ;  sea 
and  air  beating  upon  the  land  and  fashioning  its  scenery,  while  the  mathe- 
matical bounds  of  climate  are  almost  neutralised  by  rearrangements  due  to 
the  interchange  of  tropical  heat  and  polar  cold.  Throughout  these  actions 
the  immense  control  exercised  by  land-forms  is  to  be  traced  in  the  disturb- 
ances of  the  movements  of  air  and  water  from  the  order  which  would 
prevail  if  a  smooth  ocean  or  an  uncrumpled  land-surface  covered  the  whole 
Earth. 

The  carving  of  the  crests  of  the  land  has  yielded  soft  soil  which 
swathes  the  lower  slopes  in  flowing  sheets  warmed  by  the  Sun  and  moist- 
ened by  the  shower;  but  bare  soil  or  vacant  sea  or  air  do  not  meet  the 
eye  over  the  greater  part  of  the  globe's  surface.  Living  things  possess  the 
world,  and  the  purpose  of  Biogeography  is  to  trace  out  the  reasons  why 
particular  species  occupy  the  regions  where  they  are  now  found.  The 
result  shows  that  those  conditions  which  form  the  subject  of  physical 
geography  are  the  main  controlling  elements  in  the  distribution  of  plants 
and  animals.  The  regions  of  forest,  steppe  and  desert  are  fixed  by  the 
form  and  position  of  the  continents  and  by  the  climate,  which  in  most 
cases  is  also  largely  dependent  on  the  same  control.  Geography  so  far 
takes  account  of  the  greater  part  of  one  aspect  of  evolution,  from  the 
development  of  the  solar  system  itself,  following  down  the  cooling  Earth 
with  its  crumpling  crust  until  the  surface  is  covered  with  the  products  of 
life.  Some  geographers  even  bring  in  the  layer  of  living  matter  to  com- 
plete four  parts  of  the  physical  globe — the  lithosphere,  hydrosphere,  atmos- 
phere and  biosphere. 

Amongst  all  the  species  of  animals  which  dwell  upon  the  land  subject 
to  the  severe  control  of  geographical  environment  one  rises  so  far  superior 
to  the  rest  as  to  require  a  special  division  of  geography  to  take  account  of 
its  distribution.  This  is  the  human  species.  Alone  amongst  the  animals 
man,  in  virtue  of  his  higher  intelligence,  has  the  power,  while  always  under 
the  control  of  his  surroundings,  to  react  upon  his  environment  in  such  a 
way  as  to  render  its  action  more  beneficial  to  himself.  By  cultivation  and 
breeding  he  alters  the  character  and  the  distribution  of  plants  and  animals, 
by  works  of  draining  and  irrigation  he  modifies  the  natural  watering  of  the 
land,  by  cutting  canals  and  building  dykes  he  changes  the  relative  posi- 
tions of  land  and  sea,  even  to  the  severance  of  continents.  Engineering 
works  enable  him  to  overcome  the  resistance  to  free  movement  presented 
by  vast  stretches  of  waste  land,  great  rivers,  mountains,  and  the  ocean 


Geography  :   Principles  and  Progress      5 

itself.  The  object  of  Anthropogeography  is  to  study  the  distribution  of  the 
varieties  of  mankind,  their  degree  of  culture,  and  the  manner  of  their 
groupings  and  movements.  It  is  obvious  that  the  whole  of  the  other 
aspects  of  geography  are  tributary  to  this,  and  the  greatness  of  anthropo- 
geography  and  its  practical  importance  make  it  necessary  to  subdivide  it, 
the  subdivisions  being  farther  advances  in  evolution. 

The  distribution  of  man  as  an  animal  is  merely  one  of  the  problems  of 
biogeography  ;  the  consideration  of  human  activity  on  the  Earth's  surface 
is  the  main  purpose  of  anthropogeography  ;  but  when  divisions  of  mankind 
acquire  a  higher  civilisation  and  a  firmer  hold  on  definite  regions  of  the 
Earth's  surface,  occupying  them  to  the  exclusion  of  other  tribes,  and,  it 
may  be,  extending  the  territory  by  annexing  that  of  neighbours,  Political 
Geography  acquires  importance.  It  takes  account  of  boundaries  of  settle- 
ments, sites  of  towns  and  ports,  and  the  lines  of  travel  or  migration.  Up 
to  this  point  geography  may  be  studied  as  a  purely  physical  science,  but 
here  history  has  to  be  appealed  to  in  order  to  understand  how  boundaries 
came  to  occupy  their  present  position,  and  how  the  people  possessing  a 
country  have  entered  or  been  formed  in  it  in  the  past.  Many  other  con- 
siderations also  have  weight ;  strategic  value,  for  example,  converts  into 
determining  factors  many  features  which  are  of  no  particular  significance 
physically. 

While  the  motives  for  distant  travel  have  often  been  political — the  out- 
come of  military  ambition — and  often  religious,  at  the  prompting  of 
missionary  zeal,  the  chief  cause  which  drives  people  to  distant  lands  and 
guides  migrations  and  colonisation  is  personal  advantage.  This  may 
either  take  the  wide  form  of  economic  necessity,  due  to  the  failure  of 
supplies  in  the  original  home,  or  the  more  individual  form  of  trading. 
Commercial  Geography  has  to  do  mainly  with  the  discovery,  production, 
transport  and  exchange  of  useful  and  desirable  things.  In  order  to  under- 
stand it  the  fashions  and  fancies  of  the  various  sections  of  the  human  race 
(e.g.,  the  purely  fanciful  value  set  upon  the  diamond)  have  to  be  con- 
sidered, as  well  as  the  influence  of  historical  tradition  and  of  the  laws  of 
geographical  distribution. 

Geographical  Changeableness.  —  From  each  successive  point  of 
view  the  phenomena  to  be  taken  account  of  in  geography  have  become 
successively  more  complicated,  more  changeable  and  less  predictable. 
The  rigid  degree-net  of  the  mathematical  geographer  with  its  definite  and 
unchangeable  frigid,  temperate  and  torrid  zones,  was  represented  as 
accurately  five  hundred  years  ago  as  now,  and  no  change  in  it  can  ever 
occur.  The  data  of  physical  geography  are  harder  to  discover,  more 
laborious  to  acquire,  and  to  some  extent  liable  to  change.  We  cannot 
as  yet  produce  a  perfect  topographical  map  of  the  continents,  nor  a 
passable  hypsographical  map  to  show  their  elevations,  nor  anything  more 
than  a  foreshadowing  of  a  geological  map  of  the  world.  Within  historic 
times  new  islands  have  appeared,  stretches  of  coast  have  been  submerged, 


The  International  Geography 


shores  built  up  into  land,  and  old  mountains  have  been  shattered  into  dust 
by  volcanic  explosions.  The  natural  divisions  which  separate  distinct 
faunas  and  floras  are  still  questions  of  dispute  ;  no  two  biological  maps  are 
alike,  and  even  if  the  distribution  of  species  could  be  accurately  charted 
to-day  they  would  be  antiquated  to-morrow  by  natural  changes.  This 
tendency  to  grow  out  of  date  is  still  more  marked  in  political  maps.  The 
frontiers  of  countries  waver  in  the  field  of  history  ;  maps  of  Europe  which 
were  perfect  in  1800  became  nearly  useless  in  1815  ;  and  those  justly 
viewed  as  excellent  in  1870  had  to  be  superseded  in  1878.  No  map  of 
South  America  can  be  coloured  into  countries  in  a  manner  acceptable  in 

any  two  of  its  contiguous 
States.  But  all  these  as- 
pects of  geography  are 
relatively  permanent  com- 
pared to  the  commercial 
as  shown  by  the  pro- 
ducing areas,  markets  and 
lines  of  transport  and  com- 
munication which  appear 
in  a  commercial  atlas. 
The  customs  barriers, 
more  impenetrable  in  their 
way  than  any  of  nature, 
are  continually  shifting  in 
position  and  varying  in 
severity,  old  mines  become 
exhausted  and  new  ones 
FIG.  2.— The  Departments  of  Geography.  are  discovered,  old  lands 

pass  out  of  cultivation,  and 

new  lands  spring  into  importance  through  irrigation,  even  taste  and  fashion 
change,  and  with  them  the  collecting  grounds  of  the  materials  for  their 
gratification. 

The  Pyramid  of  Geography.— To  summarise  at  a  glance  this 
scheme  of  the  aspects  and  objects  of  geographical  science  we  may  consider 
them  as  forming  a  pyramid  (Fig.  2),  broad-based  on  the  smooth  hewn 
blocks  of  mathematics,  rising  through  tiers  of  firmly  laid  stones  from  the 
quarries  of  the  physical  sciences,  and  the  less  sure  products  of  biology  and 
anthropology  to  the  irregular  courses  of  political  geography  and  the  rubble 
heap  of  commercial  geography  which  caps  if  it  does  not  crown  the  edifice. 
Here  an  extension  of  the  metaphor  may  be  permitted.  The  incoherent 
and  shifting  cap  of  the  pyramid  is  not  without  its  influence  on  the  rest. 
As  rain  filtering  through  a  great  piece  of  masonry  dissolves  the  mortar  of 
the  upper  parts  and  redeposits  it  lower  down,  so  the  streams  of  economic 
interests  have  spread  downwards  through  the  whole  structure  of  the 
geographical  pyramid  binding  it  together.  Commercial  motives  consoli- 


Geography  :   Principles  and  Progress      7 

date  national  life,  accentuate  racial  differences,  redistribute  animals  and 
plants,  modify  physical  conditions,  start  investigations  into  the  nature  of 
the  Earth,  and  even  invade  the  solid  ground-work  of  mathematics  with 
practical  suggestions. 

^The  Practical  Value  of  Geography. — It  may  be  that  some  readers 
are  repelled  rather  than  attracted  by  the  foregoing  attempt  to  explain  the 
nature  and  contents  of  geographical  science.  If  this  be  so  it  would  be 
well  to  read  carefully  the  description  of  some  one  country,  and  endeavour 
to  trace  out  the  part  each  separate  aspect  of  geography  plays  in 
accounting  for  the  character  of  the  land,  and  the  relation  of  its  people  to 
it.  It  is  often  supposed  that  while  geography  is  very  useful  to  the  sailor, 
the  soldier,  the  missionary,  and  the  traveller,  who  have  to  go  from  place  to 
place,  or  to  the  merchant  who  has  trading  interests  in  distant  lands,  it  has 
little  concern  with  the  life  of  the  stay-at-home  citizen.  This  is  quite  a 
mistake.  Many  of  the  interests  of  the  present  day  are  largely  geographical, 
and  the  daily  paper  acquires  a  fresh  and  fuller  interest  when  it  is  read  in 
this  light.  Even  to  know  where  the  places  one  reads  of  are,  what  is  their 
climate,  and  how  they  are  peopled,  is  something;  but,  taking  the  wider 
view  of  geography  as  the  science  which  aims  at  explaining  the  adjustment 
of  people  to  land,  there  is  scarcely  a  problem  of  past  history  or  of  present 
politics  and  economics  in  any  country  which  cannot  be  elucidated  by  the 
application  of  its  principles.  When  it  is  once  realized  that  geography  is 
not  merely  a  description  of  the  immobile  surface  of  the  Earth,  but  a  com- 
prehensive study  of  the  influence  which  the  land  exercises  on  its  people, 
and  of  the  reaction  of  the  people  on  their  own  and  on  other  lands,  the 
value  of  the  science  and  its  practical  utility  will  reveal  themselves  in 
many  ways.  Some  may  perhaps  consider  that  geography  is  made  to 
include  too  much,  that  it  is  made  the  centre  and  the  circumference  of 
human  knowledge ;  but  this  is  simply  an  effect  of  perspective.  Geography 
is  not  claimed  to  include  the  sciences  whose  results  form  its  raw  materials, 
any  more  than  a  house  can  be  said  to  include  the  quarries,  the  forests  and 
the  mines  which  have  yielded  its  stone  and  timber  and  metal-work. 

The  Course  of  Geographical  Discovery.— The  history  of  every  branch 
of  inquiry  is  full  of  value,  and  in  the  following  articles  there  are 
many  paragraphs  dealing  with  the  past  events  which  have  led  to  present 
conditions.  There  is  not  space  here  to  allow  of  any  attempt  to  give  even 
an  outline  of  the  history  of  geographical  discovery  or  geographical 
theories;  but  a  few  of  the  greatest  landmarks  must  be  recalled.  The 
most  ancient  civilisations  were  those  of  the  great  nations  which  grew  up 
on  the  plains  of  the  Euphrates,  the  Nile,  the  Ganges,  and  the  rivers  of 
China.  Each  of  these  formed  a  centre  whence  the  surrounding  lands 
were  explored  to  a  certain  extent  and  the  results  placed  on  record.  The 
records,  however,  did  not  affect  the  farther  progress  of  discovery.  The 
Mediterranean  or  Graeco-Roman  civilisation  was  the  centre  whence  grew, 
like  spreading  water-rings  round  the  spot  where  a  stone  has  fallen,  the 


FlG.  3. — The  World  according  to 
Hecatceus. 


8  The  International  Geography 

wave  of  exploration  which  has  revealed  the  world,  and  rendered  possible 

the  Oceanic  or  world-wide  civilisation  of  the  present. 

Geography  among  the  Greeks. — That   the    early    Greeks    viewed    the 

world   as  a  flat  disc  of  land  is  revealed   in  Homeric  poetry,  and  in  the 

descriptions  of  the  earliest  maps  like  that  of  Hecataeus  in  B.C.  500  (Fig.  3). 

The  Mediterranean  Sea  penetrating  this 
land  divided  it  into  two  parts — Asia  and 
Europe.  Round  the  circumference  of  the 
whole,  at  an  unknown  distance,  ran  the 
great  Ocean  River  which  connected  all 
the  seas.  Herodotus  recognised  the  Red 
Sea  as  separating  the  ancient  "  Asia  "  into 
two  parts,  Asia  and  Africa,  and  thus  the 
three  continents  of  the  Old  World  were 
known  and  named  before  430  B.C. 

The  coast  of  the  Mediterranean  was 
fully  explored  at  a  very  early  date,  and 
colonies  of  Greeks  established  at  favourable 
points.  About  330  B.C.  Pytheas,  a  Greek 

colonist  of  Marseilles,  sailed   out  into  the  ocean,  and  explored   its  shore 

northward,   discovering  the   British    Islands.      About  the  same  time   the 

armies  of  Alexander  the   Great  extended   the  knowledge  of   the  Greeks 

eastward  as  far  as  India ;  and 

the    spherical     form     of    the 

Earth,     early    suspected      by 

Greek    philosophers,   was    for 

the   first   time   clearly   proved 

by  Aristotle.     The  attempt  to 

fit    the    cecumene    or    known 

world  to  the  sphere  revealed 

the  immensity  of  the  unknown 

surface  of  the  Earth,  and  gave 

opportunity     for     speculations 

as  to  the  existence  of  inhabi- 
tants beyond  the  zone  of  kill- 
ing heat  to  the  south  and 

near  the  region  of  fatal  cold 

and  darkness    to    the     north 

(Fig.   4).     It  was  easier  from 

the    development    of    mathe- 


FlG"  *-The 


Pomponius 


matical  astronomy  to  estimate 

the  size  of  the  globe  than  to  measure  the  extent  of  the  known  lands,  for 
although  distances  north  and  south  were  early  found  by  astronomical 
observations,  distances  east  and  west  could  only  be  guessed  at  by  estimates 
of  the  length  of  marches.  Hence  it  happened  that  when  Ptolemy  of 


Geography  :  Principles  and  Progress     9 


Alexandria  produced  his  great  work  on  geography  in  A.D.  150,  he  believed 
that  the  known  land  extended  from  west  to  east  half  way  round  the  globe, 
/.  e.,  for  1 80°  instead  of  130°,  as  is  the  case.  As  he  also  adopted  21,000  miles 
as  the  value  of  the  equatorial  circumference  of  the  Earth  instead  of  nearly 
25,000,  he  made  out  that  the  east  coast  of  Asia  was  only  about  9,000  miles 
west  of  the  west  coast  of  Europe.  As  he  estimated  the  extent  of  the  known 
land  from  north  to  south  at  only  80°,  it  was  natural  for  him  to  use  a  word 
corresponding  to  breadth  for  this  direction,  and  one  corresponding  to  length 
for  extension  from  west  to  east,  and  thus  our  words  latitude  and  longitude 
had  their  origin.  The  most  curious  feature  on  Ptolemy's  map  (Fig.  5)  is  the 
great  eastward  extension  of  South  Africa,  which  he  believed  to  enclose  the 
Indian  Ocean  on  the  south ;  this  belief  in  a  closed  ocean  did  much  to 
discourage  attempts  to  reach  India  from  Europe  by  sea.  Ptolemy's  work 
marked  the  culmination  of  ancient  geography,  and  after  it  appeared  no 
further  advance  was  made  for  more  than  twelve  centuries. 

Geography  in  the 
Middle  Ages. — From 
the  fall  of  the  Roman 
Empire  onwards  geog- 
raphy shared  in  the 
general  neglect  of  all 
natural  science.  The 
theory  of  the  sphericity 
of  the  Earth  was  sup- 
posed to  be  in  conflict 
with  Scripture,  and  was 
consequently  abandoned 
by  the  Christian  monks 
who  were  the  only  up- 
holders of  any  form  of 
learning  in  Europe  during  the  Middle  Ages.  They  made  a  few  fantastic 
guesses  to  account  for  such  natural  phenomena  as  they  could  not  overlook ; 
but  they  did  some  service  to  geography  by  recording  the  travels  of  many 
zealous  missionaries,  who  penetrated  to  all  parts  of  Europe  and  made  some 
daring  journeys  through  Asia.  These  records,  however,  were  for  the  most 
part  rendered  ridiculous  by  the  stories  of  mythical  wonders  which  were 
accepted  greedily  in  a  credulous  age.  The  great  journey  of  Marco  Polo 
(1271-1295)  across  Asia  and  through  the  eastern  archipelagoes  was  made 
possible  by  the  conquests  of  the  Mongol  emperor  Jenghiz  Khan,  whose 
power,  though  a  menace  to  Christian  Europe,  was  a  guarantee  of  peace 
and  security  throughout  the  vast  breadth  of  Asia.  The  one  class  in 
Europe  who  utilised  correct  geographical  methods  at  this  period  was  the 
seafaring  population  of  the  Mediterranean,  whose  compass-charts  of  that 
sea  were  remarkably  accurate.  The  Arabs,  however,  had  kept  up  the 
knowledge  of  Ptolemy's  work,  which  they  had  translated  from  the  Greek ; 


FiG.  5. — The  Known  World  according  to  Ptolemy, 
A.D.  150. 


io          The  International  Geography 

Arab  geographers  throughout  the  Middle  Ages  were  familiar  with  the 
spherical  form  of  the  Earth,  and  their  travellers  added  much  to  the  know- 
ledge of  the  interior  of  Africa.  The  power  of  this  cultured  people  was 
broken  by  the  crusading  armies  and  by  the  incursions  of  the  barbarous 
Turks  who,  sweeping  across  Asia  Minor,  threw  themselves  into  Europe, 
and  capturing  Constantinople  in  1453  scattered  all  over  Christendom  the 
learned  men  who  had  preserved  there  the  Greek  language  and  literature. 
From  this  time  onwards  Ptolemy's  work,  which  was  translated  into  Latin 
and  printed  in  1462,  was  accepted  as  the  standard  in  all  matters  of 
geography,  until  the  great  explorations  of  the  succeeding  period  made 
fresh  works  necessary. 

The  Era  of  Voyages  of  Discovery. — The  desire  to  find  a  sea- 
route  from  the  Mediterranean  to  the  spice-yielding  lands  of  the  East  was 
greatly  strengthened  in  the  first  quarter  of  the  fifteenth  century  by  the 
hampering  of  the  overland  Eastern  trade  by  the  Turks.  About  1418 
Prince  Henry  of  Portugal,  subsequently  surnamed  the  Navigator,  devoted 
himself  to  the  encouragement  of  exploration  along  the  coast  of  Africa  with 
the  object  of  seeing  whether  there  might  not  be  a  passage  into  the  Indian 
Ocean  on  the  south.  This  work  was  continued  after  his  death  in  1460, 
until  Bartholomew  Diaz,  in  1486,  rounded  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  About 
this  time  maps  were  constructed  in  which  the  exaggerated  breadth  of  Asia 
assigned  by  Ptolemy  was  increased  from  the  interpretation  of  Marco 
Polo's  routes,  so  that  Japan  was  made  to  appear  only  8,000  miles  west  of 
Portugal.  From  the  study  of  these  maps  Christopher  Columbus  was  con- 
vinced that  Asia  could  most  easily  be  reached  by  sailing  west.  In  1492, 
after  years  of  effort,  he  succeeded  in  getting  ships  from  Spain,  and  in  little 
more  than  two  months'  voyage  he  discovered  new  islands  which  he  named 
the  West  Indies  because  he  believed  them  to  lie  off  the  coast  of  Asia. 
The  excitement  created  in  Europe  on  his  return  was  immense,  and  at 
once  inaugurated  a  period  of  the  most  daring  sea-voyages  known  to 
history.  It  was  followed  by  the  re-discovery  of  North  America  by  Cabot, 
the  gradual  feeling  out  of  the  great  continent  of  the  New  World  which  barred 
all  prospect  of  sailing  directly  west,  and  by  the  first  sea-voyage  to  India  by 
Vasco  da  Gama  in  1498,  following  up  the  Eastern  route  so  long  advocated 
by  Prince  Henry.  The  keenness  of  the  rivalry  of  Portugal  on  the  east- 
ward passage  and  Spain  on  the  westward  led  to  the  rapid  exploration  of 
the  new  coasts  and  an  almost  desperate  search  for  some  way  round 
America  by  the  north  or  by  the  south.  This  culminated  in  the  most 
splendid  feat  of  human  daring  at  sea,  the  voyage  of  Magellan  through  his 
strait  and  across  the  Pacific  in  1 520.  The  return  of  his  expedition  by  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  after  finding  the  western  route  to  the  Spice  Islands, 
placed  the  true  form  of  the  Earth  beyond  doubt  for  ever,  even  to  the  least 
imaginative ;  and  so  closed  the  brilliant  quarter  century  which  had  pushed 
the  Mediterranean,  from  all  antiquity  the  centre  of  the  world,  to  one  side, 
off  the  main  tracks  of  trade. 


Geography  :   Principles  and  Progress    1 1 

Later  Explorations. — Throughout  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  cen- 
turies the  merchant  adventurers  of  northern  Europe  reaped  the  full  advan- 
tage of  their  newly  discovered  position  in  the  centre  of  the  oceanic  world, 
and  planted  their  colonies  and  trading  posts  almost  on  every  shore. 
Australia  was  discovered,  though  its  importance  was  not  recognised.  The 
efforts  to  find  a  north-west  and  north-east  passage  to  India  were  continued 
valiantly,  but  they  failed  to  do  more  than  open  up  new  fishing  grounds. 
While  travellers  brought  back  reports  of  their  discoveries,  the  geographers 
and  cartographers  of  Europe  were  engaged  in  producing  annotated  editions 
of  Ptolemy  and  new  text-books  and  atlases  setting  forth  the  new  facts. 
Amongst  them  were  the  great  cartographers  of  Flanders  and  the  Nether- 
lands— Mercator,  Ortelius,  and  Blaeu,  and  such  authors  as  Waldseemiiller 
(who  in  1507  first  proposed  the  name  America),  Munster,  whose  Cosmo- 
graphia  of  1 544  is  a  curious  blending  of  old  legend  with  new  fact,  and 
Varenius,  who  first  gave  expression  to  modern  theories.  Athanasius  Kircher, 
though  given  to  fantastic  speculations,  greatly  promoted  the  study  of  physical 
geography  in  the  seventeenth  century. 

The  Eighteenth  Century. — Notable  advances  in  the  art  of  navigation, 
especially  the  invention  of  the  sextant  and  the  perfection  of  the  chronometer, 
enabled  the  positions  of  distant  places  to  be  fixed  for  the  first  time  with 
accuracy,  and  detailed  surveys  of  coasts  and  countries  were  set  on  foot. 
Arcs  of  the  meridian  were  measured  with  a  high  degree  of  precision,  and 
the  true  dimensions  of  the  Earth  became  known.  Much  of  the  interior  of 
North  America  was  explored,  and  the  coasts  of  the  Pacific  charted  for  the 
first  time.  Captain  James  Cook  stands  out  pre-eminent  amongst  the  numer- 
ous bold  maritime  explorers  of  the  century,  for  he  combined  for  the  first 
time  scientific  method,  nautical  skill  and  indomitable  enterprise.  In  his  first 
great  voyage  of  circumnavigation  (1768-71)  he  surveyed  the  coasts  of  New 
Zealand  and  the  east  of  Australia.  In  his  second  (1772-75)  he  circumnavi- 
gated the  world  close  to  the  Antarctic  Circle  and  put  a  stop  to  the  agreeable 
illusion  that  a  vast  temperate  southern  continent  existed.  In  his  third  voy- 
age (1776-79)  he  surveyed  much  of  the  west  coast  of  North  America,  and 
discovered  the  Sandwich  Islands  where  his  splendid  career  came  to  an 
untimely  end.  The  French  geographer,  D'Anville,  is  memorable  not  so 
much  because  he  filled  the  maps  of  the  period  with  fresh  details,  but  because 
he  subjected  all  the  data  from  which  maps  had  previously  been  compiled  to 
the  most  rigorous  criticism,  and  rejected  everything  which  was  conjectural, 
or  could  not  be  verified. 

The  Nineteenth  Century  and  After.— The  advances  made 
during  the  nineteenth  century  were  so  great  that  this  volume  is  largely 
a  summary  of  the  results  then  attained.  Africa  and  Australia  were  com- 
pletely explored,  parts  of  Asia  were  traversed  for  the  first  time  since 
Marco  Polo  passed  that  way;  the  area  of  the  unknown  polar  regions 
was  much  reduced;  the  whole  of  America  roughly  surveyed,  and 
practically  all  Europe  mapped  with  high  accuracy.  Geological  sur- 
3 


12          The  International  Geography 

veys  have  followed  the  topographical  in  all  civilised  and  in  many 
undeveloped  countries,  and  the  distribution  of  plants  and  animals  has  been 
widely  and  systematically  studied.  The  cruise  of  H.M.S.  Challenger 
( 1 872-76)  was  by  far  the  greatest  voyage  of  purely  scientific  investigation  ever 
attempted,  and  it  has  thrown  a  flood  of  light  on  the  conditions  of  the  oceans 
and  of  oceanic  islands.  Although  separated  by  almost  a  hundred  years  A. 
von  Humboldt,  who  explored  Central  and  South  America  and  parts  of  Asia, 
and  Fridtjof  Nansen,  who  approached  nearer  the  North  Pole  than  any  man 
before  him,  may  be  taken  as  representative  types  of  the  scientific  travellers 
of  the  nineteenth  century.  Of  naturalist  travellers  A.  Russel  Wallace  may 
be  specially  named.  In  the  great  army  of  missionary  explorers  David 
Livingstone  stands  pre-eminent ;  and  amongst  those  actuated  by  other 
aims,  no  name  approaches  that  of  H.  M.  Stanley.  The  modern  develop- 
ments of  cartography  are  best  illustrated  in  the  work  of  Stieler,  Arrowsmith, 
Petermann,  A.  Keith  Johnston,  and  J.  G.  Bartholomew  ;  and  large  modern 
text-books  by  the  great  works  of  Malte-Brun  commenced  in  the  first 
decade,  and  of  Elis£e  Reclus  completed  in  the  last  decade  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  The  leaders  in  the  science  whose  work  has  been  most  fruitful  in 
guiding  the  researches  and  forming  the  opinions  of  recent  geographers  were 
Humboldt,  Ritter,  and  Peschel,  to  whose  influence  the  remarkable  develop- 
ment of  higher  geographical  learning  in  Germany  may  be  directly  traced. 
But  Charles  Darwin,  not  so  much  by  his  researches  in  physical  geography, 
though  they  are  important,  as  by  his  services  in  establishing  and  making 
familiar  the  theory  of  evolution,  has  done  more  than  any  geographer  of  the 
nineteenth  century  to  advance  the  science  by  popularising  the  co-ordinating 
clue  which  unifies  it. 

The  Progress  of  Geography. — While  progress  in  most  sciences 
in  all  countries  has  been  largely  due  to  the  work  of  University  professors 
whose  duty  it  is  to  study  and  to  teach  it,  geography  has,  until  very  recently, 
been  served  rather  by  the  voluntary  association  of  persons  interested,  who 
have  formed  geographical  societies  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  The  first  was 
founded  at  Paris  in  1821,  the  second  at  Berlin  in  1828,  and  the  third,  which 
is  now  the  most  influential,  at  London  in  1830.  The  largest  is  the  National 
Geographic  Society  at  Washington  which  had  30,000  members  in  1908.  There 
were  in  1901  no  less  than  89  active  geographical  societies  in  Europe  with  more 
than  60,000  members,  6  in  Asia,  8  in  North  America,  5  in  South  America,  3. 
in  Africa  and  4  in  Australia  -,115  altogether.  There  are  also  more  than  1 50  dif- 
ferent geographical  journals  or  magazines  published  regularly  in  all  parts  of  the 
world.  It  may  safely  be  said  that  this  argues  a  more  wide-spread  interest  in 
geography  than  exists  in  any  other  science ;  and  the  reason  for  that  interest  is 
that  geography  is  of  practical  every-day  utility  to  the  average  citizen  of  the  world. 

The  accompanying  map  (Fig.  6)  shows  graphically  how  far  the  founda- 
tions of  geography  have  been  laid  by  exact  surveys,  and  how  in  the  polar 
regions,  in  the  heart  of  Asia,  Africa  and  South  America  there  still  .remain 
somewhat  extensive  areas  concerning  which  we  are  absolutely  ignorant- 


Geography:   Principles  and  Progress     13 

But  these  will  be  filled  up  before  long,  and  the  threat  has  been  heard  that 
then  the  geographer  will  have  no  more  work  to  do.  This  is,  however,  a 
mistake.  The  geographer  will  only  then  be  able  to  begin  his  real  work. 
He  will  have  to  secure  geological,  biological  and  anthropological  surveys 
of  equal  quality,  and  then  at  last  all  the  data  will  be  complete  to  his  hands 


FIG.  6.— The  Value  of  the,  Maps  of  the  World. 

for  perfecting  the  theory  which   explains   the  relation  of  man  to   his 
terrestrial  home. 

STANDARD  BOOKS. 

E.  Reclus.    "  Nouvelle  Geographic  Universelle."    Paris,  1878-95.    20  vols. 

M.  Klar  (and  others).     "Die  Erdkunde"  [to  be  completed  in  30  vols.].     Leipzig  and  Vienna, 

1903. 
H.Wagner.    "  Geographisches  Jahrbuch."    Gotha.    Annually.    [This  gives  summaries  of  recent 


geographical  advances.] 
"  Lehrbuch  der  Geographic." 
and  R.  A.  Gregory.    "  Physic 


Vol.  I.     Leipzig,  1000. 


T.  H.  Huxley  and  R.  A.  Gregory.    "  Physiography.    An  Introduction  to  the  Study  of  Nature.1 

London. 

H.  R.  Mill.    "  The  Realm  of  Nature."    London.    New  ed.    1897. 
u  Hints  to  Teachers  and  Students  on  the  choice  of  Geographical  Books."    London, 

1897.     [Contains  lists  of  books.] 

Sir  E.  H.  Bunbury.     "  History  of  Ancient  Geography."     2  vols.     London.     1879. 
H.  F.  Tozer.     "A  History  of  Ancient  Geography.       Cambridge.     1897. 
Vivien  de  St.  Martin.     "  Histoire  de  la  Geographic."     Paris.     1873. 

C.  R.  Beazley.     "  The  Dawn  of  Modern  Geography."     London.     3  vols.     1897,  1901,  1905. 
J.Jacobs.     'r  The  Story  of  Geographical  Discovery."     London.     1898. 

The  volumes  publisned  by  the  Hakluyt  Society  in  London  contain  annotated  reprints  or 
translations  of  all  the  more  important  early  journeys  and  voyages  of  discovery. 


CHAPTER  II.— MATHEMATICAL   GEOGRAPHY 

BY  A.  M.  W.  DOWNING,  D.Sc.,  F.R.S., 

Superintendent  of  the  "Nautical  Almanac" 

Mathematical  Geography  deals  with  the  form  and  dimensions  of 
the  Earth,  and  the  methods  employed  for  determining  and  representing 
the  positions  of  places  upon  its  surface.  In  this  chapter  we  shall  also  have 
occasion  to  refer  to  the  Seasons  and  Tides  as  phenomena  arising  from  the 
influence  of  the  Sun  and  Moon  upon  the  Earth,  which  are  of  the  utmost 
importance  in  the  economy  of  the  latter  considered  as  a  habitable  planet. 

The  general  idea  of  the  rotundity  of  the  Earth  is  one  that  has  long 
been  familiar,  and  may  readily  be  inferred  from  a  variety  of  easily  observ- 
able phenomena.  Probably  the  most  convincing  of  these  is  the  observation 
that  the  outline  of  the  shadow  of  the  Earth,  as  seen  upon  the  disc  of  the 
Moon  during  a  lunar  eclipse,  is  that  which  only  a  spherical  body  could 
produce.  The  Earth,  therefore,  we  may  conclude  is  spherical,  or  nearly 
spherical,  in  form,  and  (as  it  can  be  circumnavigated)  is  limited  in  extent. 

To  determine  accurately  the  form  and  dimensions  of  the  Earth — by 
which  we  mean  those  of  the  surface  of  the  ocean  as  they  would  be  if  the 
ocean  covered  the  entire  Earth — recourse  must  be  had  to  measurements  on 
the  Earth's  surface,  in  combination  with  observations  of  the  stars.  And  it  is 
to  be  noted  that  observations  of  the  stars  are  valuable  in  this  connection 
on  account  of  their  vast  distances  from  the  Earth.  The  Earth's  diameter 
is  found  to  be  insignificant  when  compared  with  the  distances  of  the  stars, 
and  the  latter  can,  accordingly,  be  used  as  fixed  marks  of  reference,  pos- 
sessing this  important  property — that  lines  proceeding  from  distant  parts  of 
the  Earth's  surface  to  the  same  star  may  be  considered  to  be  strictly 
parallel.  But  this  is  not  so  in  the  case  of  bodies  comparatively  near  us, 
such  as  the  Sun  or  Moon.  It  is  necessary  to  apply  corrections  to  the 
observed  positions  of  these  to  reduce  them  to  what  they  would  have  been 
had  the  observations  been  made  at  the  centre  of  the  Earth.  This  is  called 
the  correction  for  parallax. 

Definitions  of  Terms. — At  this  point  it  will  be  convenient  to  intro- 
duce the  definitions  of  certain  terms,  some  of  which  will  be  frequently 
employed  in  the  subsequent  pages  of  this  chapter.  It  is  assumed  that  the 
reader  is  familiar  with  the  ordinary  phenomena  due  to  the  rotation  of  the 
Earth  on  its  axis ;  how  each  of  the  heavenly  bodies  appears  to  rise  in  the 
east,  to  attain  a  certain  maximum  altitude  depending  on  its  position,  and 
then  to  set  in  the  west ;  how  certain  of  the  stars  appear  to  observers  in  the 
northern  or  southern  hemisphere  never  to  rise  or  set,  but  to  describe 

14 


Mathematical  Geography  15 

circles  round  points  in  the  heavens  called  respectively  the  north  and  south 
poles.  And  we  assume  that  the  reader  is  aware  that  these  phenomena  are 
due  to  the  fact  that  the  Earth  rotates  round  an  axis  which  is  situated  in  the 
direction  of  the  line  joining  the  north  and  south  poles  of  the  heavens. 

The  Poles  of  the  Earth  are  the  points  in  which  its  axis  meets  the  surface 
— north  and  south  respectively. 

The  Equator  is  the  circle  described  round  the  Earth  at  an  equal  dis- 
tance from  the  poles,  and  dividing  it  into  two  hemispheres.  The  plane  of 
this  circle  passes  through  the  centre,  and  is  at  right  angles  to  the  axis. 

The  Celestial  Equator  is  the  circle  marked  out  in  the  heavens  by  the 
extension  of  the  plane  of  the  terrestrial  equator  to  meet  the  vault  of  the  sky. 

The  Zenith  is  the  point  overhead  of  the  observer  where  a  plumb-line 
suspended  at  his  station  would  pierce  the  sky  if  produced  upwards  ;  the 
point  opposite  to  the  zenith  (underfoot,  of  course)  is  called  the  Najjjx. 

The  Visible  or  Sensible  Horizon  is  the  circle  traced  out  by  the  extremities 
of  a  plane  passing  through  any  place  on  the  Earth's  surface,  and  perpen- 
dicular to  the  line  joining  the  zenith  and  nadir  of  the  place.  The  Rational 
Horizon  is  the  circle  traced  out  by  the  extremities  of  a  plane  passing 
through  the  Earth's  centre,  and  parallel  to  the  sensible  horizon.  It  should 
be  noted  that,  on  the  immensely  distant  surface  of  the  celestial  vault,  the 
two  traces  referred  to  sensibly  coalesce  into  one  single  circle,  which  will 
hereafter  be  called  the  horizon. 

Vertical  Circles  are  great  circles  of  the  celestial  sphere  (i.e.,  circles 
whose  planes  pass  through  the  centre  of  the  sphere)  drawn  through  the 
zenith  and  nadir,  and  perpendicular  to  the  horizon. 

The  Altitude  of  an  object  is  measured  on  the  vertical  circle  passing 
through  it,  and  is  its  angular  distance  from  the  point  of  intersection  of  the 
vertical  circle  with  the  horizon. 

The  Zenith  Distance  is  measured  on  the  same  circle,  but  from  the  zenith 
instead  of  from  the  horizon.  It  is,  therefore,  the  complement  of  the  altitude. 

The  Azimuth  of  an  object  is  the  angular  distance  of  the  point  of 
intersection  of  the  vertical  circle  passing  through  it  with  the  horizon, 
measured  from  the  north  or  south  point  of  the  horizon. 

Hour-Circles  are  great  circles  passing  through  the  poles  of  the  celestial 
sphere,  and  therefore  perpendicular  to  the  celestial  equator. 

The  Meridian  is  the  great  circle  passing  through  the  zenith  and  the 
poles ;  the  terrestrial  meridian  being  the  trace  of  the  plane  of  this  circle 
on  the  Earth's  surface.  The  meridian  intersects  the  horizon  at  the  north 
and  south  points  of  the  latter.  The  meridian  marks  the  point  of  greatest 
altitude  in  the  apparent  diurnal  path  of  each  star,  due  to  the  Earth's  rotation. 

The  Hour- Angle  of  a  celestial  object  is  the  angle  at  the  pole  between 
the  meridian  and  the  hour-circle  passing  through  the  object.  It  evidently 
is  zero  when  the  object  is  on  the  meridian. 

The  Latitude  of  a  place  on  the  Earth's  surface  is  the  angle  between'  its 
plumb-line  and  the  plane  of  the  equator.  If  the  Earth  were  a  perfect 


1 6         The  International  Geography 

sphere,  the  direction  of  the  plumb-line  at  any  place  on  the  Earth's  surface 
would  coincide  with  the  direction  of  the  line  drawn  from  the  point  to  the 
centre.  But,  as  we  shall  see  presently,  the  figure  of  the  Earth  deviates 
slightly  from  that  of  a  sphere,  and  geographical  latitude  must  be  referred 
to  the  direction  of  gravity,  not  to  that  of  the  Earth's  radius,  at  the  place. 
Latitude  is  measured  from  o°  at  the  equator  up  to  90°,  north  or  south,  at 
either  pole. 

The  Longitude  of  a  place  on  the  Earth's  surface  is  the  angle  at  the  pole 
between  the  initial  meridian  (that  of  Greenwich,  for  instance)  and  the 
meridian  passing  through  the  place.  It  is  measured  from  o°,  at  the  initial 
meridian,  up  to  180°,  east  or  west. 

Determination  of  Latitude. — The  fundamental  proposition  with 
regard  to  latitudes  on  the  Earth's  surface  (which  is  assumed  in  every 

method  used  for  determining  latitudes) 
is  that  the  latitude  of  a  place  equals  the 
altitude  of  the  celestial  pole. 

This  will  be  clear  from  Fig.  7,  in 
which  ADBE  represents  the  terrestrial 
meridian  of  the  place  (its  ellipticity 
enormously  exaggerated),  AB  the  equa- 
torial, and  DE  the  polar  diameter  of 
the  Earth,  O  the  position  of  the  ob- 
server, Z  his  zenith,  and  OH  the  hori- 
~~""  zontal  plane.  Through  O  draw  OP 

parallel  to  DE,  which  is  the  direction 
of  the  celestial  pole.  The  altitude  of  the  pole  is  POH,  and  the  latitude 
of  p  is  ZNA,  from  the  definition  given  above.  But  these  angles  are  equal, 
as  QP  is  perpendicular  to  AB,  and  ZN  is  perpendicular  to  OH. 

To  determine  the  latitude  of  a  place  it  is,  therefore,"  only  necessary  to 
find  the  altitude  of  the  celestial  pole  at  that  place.  The  most  obvious  way 
of  doing  this  is  to  select  a  circumpolar  star,  i.e.,  a  star  which  appears  to 
describe  a  circle  round  the  pole  without  ever  setting  below  the  horizon. 
The  altitude  of  this  star  should  be  measured  at  its  upper  meridian  passage, 
and  again  at  its  lower  meridian  passage  (between  the  pole  and  the 
horizon),  and  the  half  sum  of  these  altitudes,  when  corrected  for  refraction, 
will  be  the  altitude  of  the  pole.. 

The  latitude  can  also  be  determined  by  observing  the  meridian  altitude 
of  a  celestial  body  whose  position  is  known.  Let  HZN  (Fig.  8)  be  the 
meridian,  Z  the  zenith,  P  the  pole,  S  the  known  body  passing  the  meridian, 
and  HN  the  horizon.  As  the  position  of  the  body  is  known,  the  angular 
distance  from  the  pole,  PS,  is  known,  and  the  angular  distance  HS  is  the 
observed  altitude.  Therefore  PH  is  known,  which,  taken  from  180°,  gives 
PN  the  altitude  of  the  pole,  or  the  latitude. 

The  latitude  at  sea,  or  in  an  unsettled  country,  is  generally  found  by 
observing,  with  a  sextant,  the  Sun's  maximum  altitude,  which  of  course 


Mathematical   Geography  17 

occurs  at  noon.  The  sun  is  watched  for  some  time  before  reputed  noon, 
until  it  is  observed  that  his  altitude  has  ceased  to  increase.  The  maximum 
value  is  then  recorded,  which,  when  the  proper  corrections  are  applied, 
gives  the  latitude  in  accordance  with  the  foregoing  method. 

Determination  of  Longitude.  —  The 
difference  of  longitude  between  any  two  places 
on  the  Earth's  surface  is  simply  the  difference 
of  local  times  at  the  two  places  at  the  same 
instant  of  absolute  time.  The  determination 
of  the  longitude  of  any  place,  therefore,  in-  "  FlG  g 

volves  the  two  operations  of  finding  the  local 
time,  and    comparing    it    with    the    corresponding   time   of    the    initial 
meridian. 

Time  is  measured  by  the  rotation  of  the  Earth  on  its  axis.  The  interval 
between  two  successive  passages  over  the  same  meridian  of  a  star  is  called  a 
sidereal  day,  and  of  the  Sun  a  solar  day.  Owing  to  the  fact  that  the  motion 
of  the  Earth  in  its  orbit  round  the  Sun  is  unequal  at  different  times  of  the 
year,  the  solar  day,  as  above  defined,  is  not  of  constant  length.  At  one 
time  of  the  year  a  longer  interval  elapses  between  successive  passages  of  the 
Sun  over  a  meridian  than  at  another.  On  this  account  the  actual  solar  day 
is  unsuitable  as  a  measure  of  time  for  practical  purposes.  In  its  place  we 
use  the  average  solar  day  as  a  standard  of  measurement,  and  time  thus 
measured  by  a  mean  Sun  is  called  mean  solar  time.  It  is  to  this  time  that 
our  clocks  are  regulated.  The  time  shown  by  a  sun-dial  is  true,  or,  as  it  is 
called,  apparent  solar  time.  The  difference  between  mean  and  apparent 
solar  time  is  called  the  equation  of  time.  When  the  Sun's  centre  is  exactly 
on  the  meridian  of  any  place  it  is,  of  course,  apparent  noon  at  all  places 
situated  on  that  meridian.  The  equation  of  time  being  applied,  we  have, 
then,  the  instant  of  mean  noon  at  all  these  places.  Now  in  twenty-four 
mean  solar  hours  the  mean  Sun  passes  over  every  meridian  in  succession, 
or  over  360°,  so  that  in  one  hour  he  moves  from  one  meridian  to  another 
which  is  15°  to  the  west  of  it ;  and  so  on  at  the  same  rate  throughout  the 
twenty-four  hours.  It  is  this  consideration  that  enables  us  to  convert 
differences  of  local  times  into  differences  of  longitude.  A  little  considera- 
tion will  show  that  when  it  is  noon  on  the  initial  meridian  (that  of  Green- 
wich, for  instance)  it  is  earlier  for  places  to  the  west  of  Greenwich  by  the 
amount  of  one  hour  for  each  15°  of  west  longitude  ;  and  similarly  it  is  later 
for  all  places  to  the  east  of  Greenwich. 

The  first  requisite,  then,  for  the  determination  of  the  longitude  of  a 
place  is  to  find  the  local  time.  This  may  be  effected  by  observing  when 
the  Sun  or  a  known  star  passes  the  meridian.  But  the  navigator  or 
traveller  generally  determines  time  by  observing,  with  a  sextant,  the 
altitude  of  the  Sun  when  at  a  distance  from  the  meridian.  This  method 
assumes  that  the  latitude  of  the  place  is  known.  In  the  triangle  PZS 
(Fig.  9)  where  P  is  the  pole,  Z  the  zenith,  and  S  the  Sun,  the  side  PZ,  being 


1 8          The  International  Geography 

the  complement  of  the  latitude,  is  known,  also  PS,  the  distance  of  the  Sun 
from  the  pole  is  known,  and  ZS,  the  zenith  distance,  is  the  complement  of 
the  observed  altitude.  From  these  data  the  hour-angle  ZPS  is  found,  and 
hence  the  interval  from  noon,  and  finally  the  mean  time.  The  difficulty 
in  the  determination  of  longitude  consists  in 
finding  the  corresponding  time  on  the  initial 
meridian.  The  most  obvious  way  of  doing 
this  is  to  carry  a  chronometer,  which  indicates 
it ;  and  this  is  the  practice  resorted  to  on  board 
ship.  If  chronometers  could  be  constructed 
which  would  maintain  their  rate  for  an  in- 
definite time,  notwithstanding  changes  of  temperature  or  other  disturbing 
causes,  there  would  be  no  further  difficulty.  But  this  is  still  far  from 
being  the  case,  and  other  expedients  have  to  be  resorted  to  either  where 
greater  accuracy  than  can  be  obtained  by  relying  on  a  chronometer  is 
desired,  or  where,  from  any  circumstance,  it  is  found  impossible  to 
employ  this  method.  The  most  accurate  method,  and  that  which  has 
superseded  all  others  where  its  use  is  practicable,  is  the  transmission  of 
time-signals  by  telegraph.  The  local  time,  as  determined  on  any  meridian, 
is  telegraphed  to  the  station  on  the  initial  meridian,  which  in  turn  sends  its 
local  time  to  the  first  station,  and  thus  the  difference  of  local  times  at  the 
two  stations  is  recorded  at  each  station.  Where  the  telegraph  is  not 
available,  recourse  must  be  had  to  the  observation  of  some  astronomical 
phenomenon,  the  time  of  the  occurrence  of  which  on  the  initial  meridian 
is  known,  or  may  be  ascertained.  Of  these  we  may  mention  the  measure- 
ment of  the  distances  of  the  Moon  from  certain  bright  stars,  technically 
called  the  lunar-distance  method,  and  the  observation  of  the  times  of 
disappearance  or  of  reappearance  of  stars  at  their  occultation  by  the  Moon, 
a  method  which  is  susceptible  of  great  accuracy  in  the  hands  of  skilful 
observers. 

It  may  be  noted  that  all  the  mathematical  and  astronomical  data  of  use 
to  navigators  and  travellers  are  published  annually  in  the  Nautical  A  Imanac, 
compiled  for  the  British  Government,  and  similar  publications  issued  by 
other  nations.  The  necessary  calculations  are  made  so  far  in  advance  as 
to  allow  these  ephemerides  to  be  published  two  or  three  years  ahead  of 
the  year  to  which  they  refer. 

It  is  evident  that  the  exact  position  of  a  place  on  the  Earth's  surface  is 
known  when  its  longitude  and  latitude  are  known.  The  longitude  tells  us 
on  what  meridian  the  place  is  situated  ;  the  latitude,  its  angular  distance 
from  the  equator  measured  on  that  meridian.  These  two  quantities  are 
called  the  co-ordinates  of  the  place.  With  the  third  co-ordinate,  i.e.,  the 
altitude  of  the  place  above  the  mean  sea-level,  we  need  not  concern  our- 
selves here.  Two  co-ordinates  are  always  sufficient  to  fix  the  position  of 
a  point  on  a  suface. 

Form  and   Magnitude  of  the   Earth.— Having  the    means    of 


Mathematical  Geography  19 

determining  the  latitudes  and  longitudes  of  places  on  the  Earth's  surface, 
we  are  in  a  position  to  ascertain  its  exact  form  and  dimensions.  In  order 
to  effect  this,  it  is  necessary  to  measure  the  exact  number  of  feet  or  miles 
between  points,  in  different  parts  of  the  Earth,  which  differ  in  longitude 
or  latitude  by  an  ascertained  number  of  degrees.  The  methods  employed 
to  effect  the  accurate  measurement  of  great  distances  on  the  Earth's 
surface  by  means  of  a  trigonometrical  survey  form  an  essential  part  of 
geodesy,  into  the  details  of  which  we  cannot  enter.  Suffice  it  to  say  that 
by  means  of  an  elaborate  system  of  measurements,  such  as  are  referred  to 
above,  the  general  shape  of  the  terrestrial  meridians  has  been  ascertained 
to  be  that  of  an  ellipse  ;  and  the  general  figure  of  the  Earth  to  be  that 
which  would  be  produced  by  the  revolution  of  an  ellipse  round  its  shorter 
axis,  or  a  spheroid  of  revolution,  as  it  is  technically  called. 

The  semi-axes  of  these  meridianal  ellipses,  or  the  equatorial  and  polar 
radii  of  the  Earth,  are  20,926,202  feet  and  20,854,895  feet  respectively,  and 
the  ratio  of  their  difference  to  the  equatorial  radius,  or  the  ellipticity  of  a 
meridian,  is  ^93^-5.  The  uncertainty  attaching  to  these  values  of  the 
Earth's  radii  may  be  taken  to  be  about  235  feet  in  excess  or  defect.  The 
length  of  a  degree  of  latitude  and  of  a  degree  of  longitude  in  any  latitude  0 
may  be  found  in  feet  from  the  formulas  : — 

i°  of  Latitude  =  364,609' 12  —  1,86672  Cos  20  +  3-98  Cos  4  0 

i°  of  Longitude  =  365,542-52  Cos  0  —  311-80  Cos  30+  0-40  Cos  5  0. 

A  table  giving  the  lengths  for  every  5°  of  latitude,  computed  from  these 
formulae,  will  be  found  at  the  end  of  the  chapter.  It  should  be  noted  that 
some  of  the  measurements  that  have  been  made  appear  to  indicate  that 
the  equator  of  the  Earth  is  not  a  true  circle  (as  is  assumed  above),  but  an 
ellipse  differing  slightly  from  a  circle,  the  difference  between  the  semi- 
axes  being  about  1,500  feet.  In  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge,  how- 
ever, it  is  better  to  assume  a  regular  spheroid  for  the  standard  surface  of 
the  Earth,  and  to  regard  all  variations  from  it  as  local  or  accidental 
phenomena. 

There  are  two  other  methods  of  ascertaining  the  form  of  the  Earth 
which  are  quite  independent  of  that  referred  to  above,  and  of  each  other, 
which  may  be  mentioned.  One  is  from  observations  of  the  variation  of 
the  force  of  gravity  at  different  places  on  the  Earth's  surface  ;  the  other 
is  from  observations  of  the  Moon,  some  of  the  irregularities  in  whose 
motions  are  due  to  the  deviation  of  the  figure  of  the  Earth  from  a 
sphere.  The  results  of  these  methods  are  fairly  in  accordance  with  the 
more  direct  measurements. 

The  flattening  at  the  poles  of  the  Earth  is  a  necessary  consequence  of 
its  rotation,  and  may  be  mentioned  as  affording  evidence  of  it. 

The  Use  of  the  Globes. — In  order  to  utilise  fully  our  knowledge  of  the 
form  and  dimensions  of  the  Earth,  it  is  necessary  that  we  should  be  able  to 
represent  the  whole,  or  portions  of  it,  on  a  convenient  scale,  to  which  refer- 
4 


2O          The  International  Geography 

ence  may  be  made  as  occasion  may  require.  Representations  of  the  Earth 
in  the  form  of  a  globe,  or  of  maps,  must  now,  therefore,  occupy  our  atten- 
tion. The  terrestrial  globe  is  obviously  the  most  simple,  and  in  some  ways 
the  most  accurate,  form  of  representation.  When  constructed  of  an  easily 
manageable  size,  it  is  not  possible  to  represent  the  Earth  as  other  than 
a  perfect  sphere,  the  difference  between  the  equatorial  and  polar  radii, 
which  amounts  to  13^  miles,  being  too  small  a  quantity  to  be  shown 
on  an  ordinary  globe.  For  the  same  reason  the  spherical  surface  is 
represented  as  everywhere  perfectly  smooth  ;  even  the  highest  mountains 
being  insignificant  on  the  scale  we  are  considering.  It  is  important, 
however,  to  notice  that  it  is  only  on  a  spherical  surface  that  the  different 
countries,  seas,  &c.,  of  the  Earth  can  be  represented  in  their  proper 
proportions  throughout  the  whole  extent  of  the  surface.  And  that  when 
represented  on  a  plane  surface,  as  in  maps,  there  must  necessarily  be 
distortion  of  some  of  the  parts.  In  this  respect  the  globe  has  an  immense 
superiority  over  the  map. 

It  is  assumed  that  the  reader  is  familiar  with  the  properties  and 
ordinary  uses  of  a  terrestrial  globe  ;  that  he  knows,  for  instance,  that  the 
circles  of  latitude  are  all  parallel  to  the  equator  (hence  called  parallels 
of  latitude),  and  are  all,  except  the  equator  itself,  small  circles  of  the 
sphere.  Also  that  the  meridians  all  pass  through  the  pole,  and  are  all 
equal  great  circles ;  that  the  degrees  of  latitude  are  equal  to  each  other 
throughout,  and  that  a  degree  of  longitude  in  latitude  0  equals  the  equatorial 
degree  multiplied  by  Cos  0.  The  globe,  as  ordinarily  used,  affords  a  rough 
and  ready  method  of  solving  problems,  the  accurate  solution  of  which 
requires  a  knowledge  of  spherical  trigonometry. 

Map  Projections. — The  globe  is  not,  for  most  practical  purposes,  a 
suitable  instrument  for  the  representation  of  the  Earth's  surface.  For  this 
purpose  maps  are  usually  employed,  when  portions  of  the  surface  are 
required  to  be  represented  in  a  more  convenient  form.  A  map  is  nothing 
more  than  a  representation,  upon  a  plane,  of  some  portion  of  the  surface  of 
a  sphere.  But  as  it  is  impossible  to  make  a  spherical  surface  coincide  exactly 
with  a  flat  surface,  no  map  can  represent  the  different  portions  of  the  Earth 
in  their  true  magnitudes  and  true  relative  positions.  In  the  construction  of 
maps,  therefore,  various  methods  of  projection  (as  it  is  termed)  are  adopted, 
so  as  to  give  results  that  may  be  most  suitable  for  the  particular  ends  in  view. 
Some  of  the  methods  are  perspective  representations  of  the  Earth  as  it 
would  appear  to  an  eye  placed  in  certain  positions  with  regard  to  its 
surface.  These  are  chiefly  employed  in  the  representation  of  hemispheres. 
Other  methods  are  developments  of  parts  of  the  Earth's  surface,  and  are 
only  suitable  for  the  accurate  representation  of  restricted  portions.  We 
proceed  to  describe  a  few  of  the  more  important  projections,  premising 
that,  in  what  follows,  we  neglect  the  ellipticity  of  the  Earth. 

Perspective  Projections. — The  perspective  representation  of  an 
object  will  be  different  according  to  the  position  which  the  eye  occupies 


Mathematical  Geography 


21 


with  regard  to  the  object,  and  to  the  plane  of  projection,  or  surface  on 
which  the  representation  is  made.  In  projecting  hemispheres  the  eye  is 
supposed  to  be  placed  vertically  above  or  below  the  plane  of  projection, 
which  is  always  that  of  a  great  circle  of  the  sphere.  The  position  of  the  eye 
determines  the  character  of  the  projection.  Those 
most  commonly  employed  are  the  Orthographic, 
the  Stereographic,  and  the  Equidistant. 

In  the  Orthographic  projection  the  eye  is  sup- 
posed to  be  placed  at  an  infinite  distance,  so  that 
all  lines  drawn  from  it  to  the  object  may  be  con-  FiQ-  I0- 

sidered  parallel.  Every  point  of  the  hemisphere  is,  therefore,  referred  to 
the  plane  of  projection  by  a  perpendicular  let  fall  on  it,  and  in  this  way 
a  representation  of  the  hemisphere  is  mapped  on  its  base.  It  is  obvious, 
from  Fig.  10,  that  only  the  central  portions  are  truly  represented  in  this 
projection,  whilst  the  outlying  portions  are  greatly 
distorted  and  diminished  in  size. 

In  the  Stereographic  projection  the  eye  is  sup- 
posed to  be  placed  on  the  surface  of  the  sphere  at 
E  (Fig.  n),  and  to  view  the  concave  surface  of  the 
opposite  hemisphere,  every  point  of  which,  as  P,  is 
referred  to  the  plane  of  projection  by  the  line 
PME.  In  this  projection  the  similarity  of  por- 
tions of  the  spherical  surface  is  better  preserved 
than  in  the  preceding  one.  The  projected  dimen- 
sions are,  however,  distorted  in  a  contrary  manner,  being  unduly  enlarged 
in  receding  from  the  centre. 

As  when  the  eye  is  supposed  to  be  placed  at  an  infinite  distance  the 
outlying  portions  of  the  map  are  unduly  diminished,  and  when  the  eye  is 
supposed  to  be  on  the  surface  of  the  globe  the 
outlying  portions  are  unduly  enlarged,  there  will 
be  some  intermediate  position  of  the  eye  where 
one  of  these  distortions  will  counteract  the  other. 
This  is  the  principle  of  the  Equidistant  projection, 
or  the  Globular  projection,  as  it  is  sometimes 
called.  In  this  the  eye  is  supposed  to  be  at 
E  (Fig.  12)  on  the  diameter  of  the  sphere  per- 
pendicular to  the  plane  of  projection,  and  at  a 
distance  from  the  surface  EB  =  radius  X  -^  If 
then  P  be  the  middle  point  of  the  quadrant  AD, 
it  is  referred  to  the  plane  of  projection  by  the 
line  PME,  and,  by  the  principles  of  elementary 
geometry,  OM  =  MD.  And  we  shall  find  that  other  equal  arcs  on  the 
hemisphere  are  projected  into  nearly  equal  lines.  In  the  equidistant 
projection  the  relative  dimensions  of  the  objects  delineated  are  therefore 
much  better  preserved  than  in  those  previously  described.  It  does  not, 


FIG.  ii. 


FIG.  12. 


22         The  International  Geography 


however,  exhibit  figures  similar  to  those  on  the  sphere,  and  in  this 
important  particular  is  inferior  to  the  stereographic  projection.  Its 
special  value  is  for  the  representation  of  distributions  in  which  it  is 
desired  to  compare  areas  by  measurement. 

Conical  Projections. — It  is  a  well-known  property  of  a  cone  that  its 
curved  surface  can  be  spread  out,  or  developed  on  a  plane,  without  any 
alteration  in  the  figure  and  dimensions  of  its  parts.  This  property  is  made 
use  of  in  the  Conical  projection.  A  part  of  the  Earth's  surface  lying  between 
two  parallels  of  latitude,  not  very  distant  from  each  other,  ABCD  (Fig.  13), 
will  not  differ  much  from  part  of  the  surface  of  a 
cone,  OPQ,  whose  axis  coincides  with  the  polar  axis 
of  the  sphere  and  which  touches  the  sphere  midway 
between  the  parallels.  And  if  the  latter  surface  be 
developed  on  a  plane,  the  countries,  &c.,  may  be 
delineated  in  more  exact  proportions  than  in  any  of 
the  perspective  projections.  The  parallels  of  lati- 
tude will  be  represented  on  the  surface  of  the  cone 
by  circles  described  with  its  apex  (O)  as  centre,  and 
passing  through  points  on  OP  which  are  at  dis- 
tances from  the  points  of  contact  P,  equal  to  those 
which  the  parallels  occupy  on  the  sphere.  The 
meridians  will  be  straight  lines  (OP,  OQ)  drawn 
from  the  apex  to  the  points  in  which  the  meridians 
on  the  sphere  intersect  the  middle  parallel  of  lati- 
tude. It  is  obvious  that,  in  this  projection,  the 
dimensions  are~stnctly  preserved  for  the  middle 
latitude  only.  On  this  account  modifications  of  it 


FIG.  13. 


are  often  employed  to  obviate  the  increase  in  the  distances  measured 
along  the  parallel  above  or  below  the  middle  latitude.  One  of  these 
consists  in  the  substitution  of  curves  for  straight  lines  to  represent  meri- 
dians. In  this  modification  the  degrees  of  longitude  are  marked  upon 
each  parallel  in  their  proper  proportion,  and  curved  lines  are  drawn 
through  the  corresponding  points. 

Another  modification  of  the  conical  projection  consists  in  regarding  the 
cone  not  as  touching  the  sphere,  but  as  intersecting  it ;  so  as,  for  instance, 
to  intersect  it  at  two  parallels  equally  distant  from  the  middle  latitude.  This 
arrangement  enables  the  geographer  to  embrace  a  considerably  wider 
zone  in  latitude  in  his  map,  whilst  preserving  an  extremely  near  approxima- 
tion to  exactness  in  his  representation. 

Mercator's  Projection. — The  last  kind  of  projection  to  which  we 
will  refer  is  that  known  as  Mercator's  projection.  In  this  projection  a 
cylinder  is  supposed  to  circumscribe  the  sphere,  touching  it  at  the  equator. 
The  points  on  the  sphere  are  referred  to  the  cylinder  by  lines  drawn 
from  the  centre.  The  cylinder  is  then  unrolled  into  a  plane.  The 
equator  is  represented  by  a  straight  line,  and  the  meridians  by  straight 


• 

Mathematical  Geography  23 

lines_at-rigfet  angles  to  it,  and  all  at  equal  distances  from  each  other.  The 
parallels  of  latiftde  are  also  straight  lines.  But  as  the  degrees  of  longitude 
are,  in  this  projection,  made  equal  at  all  latitudes,  in  order  to  preserve  the 
proper  proportion,  the  degrees  of  latitude  are  increased  on  the  map  in  the 
same  ratio  as  the  degrees  of  longitude  are  diminished  on  the  sphere. 
This  projection  gives  a  true  representation  as  to  form,  but  varies  greatly 
in  the  scale  of  different  parts.  The  polar  regions  are,  of  course,  enor- 
mously enlarged.  Though  not  very  suitable,  therefore,  for  strictly  geo- 
graphical purposes,  charts  drawn  on  Mercator's  projection  are  of  the  greatest 
importance  for  navigation,  arising  from  the  fact  that  the  meridians  and 
parallels  are  represented  on  them  by  straight  lines.  On  this  account  the 
course  of  a  ship  from  point  to  point  will  also  be  represented  by  a  straight 
lineT;  Ihe  rhumb  line,  or  line  intersecting  the  meridians  at  a  constant  angle, 
being,  in  tfiis  case,  a  straight  line.  In  the  other  projections  considered  the 
rhumb  line  would  be,  in  most  cases,  an  inconvenient  curve.  The  advan- 
tages of  Mercator's  projection,  in  laying  down  the  course  of  a  ship,  are 
therefore  sufficiently  obvious,  and,  except  for  voyages  in  very  high  lati- 
tudes, charts  constructed  on  this  principle  are  always  used  for  navigational 
purposes. 

Great  Circle  Courses. — The  navigator,  as  a  rule,  guides  his  vessel 
between  any  two  places  by  sailing  along  a  line  which  corresponds  in 
direction  with  one  of  the  points  of  the  compass.  It  is  obvious,  however, 
that  this^cojirse  will  not,  in  general,  lie  along  a  great  circle  of  the  sphere  ; 
in  which  case  it  will  not  be  the  shortest  distance  between  the  two  points. 
It  is  sometimes  found  desirable,  in  practice,  for  a  ship  to  adopt  "  great 
circle  "  sailing  (as  it  is  called)  in  preference  to  the  more  usual  "  Mercator  " 
sailing.  The  direction  and  length  of  the  arc  of  a  great  circle  joining  any 
two  places  are  calculated  by  the  rules  of  spherical  trigonometry  from  their 
latitudes  and  difference  of  longitudes.  And  it  is  found  that  the  economy  in 
distance  in  great-circle  sailing  is  greatest  in  high  latitudes  between  places 
not  differing  much  in  latitude.  Thus  in  sailing  between  Cape  Horn  and 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  a  saving  of  200  miles  is  effected  by  adopting  the 
great-circle  route. 

Duration  of  Daylight. — The  variations  of  the  seasons  depend  on 
the  inclination  of  the  Earth's  axis  of  rotation  to  the  plane  of  her  orbit,  or 
the  ecliptic.  This  inclination  is  about  66£°,  and  the  axis  remains  sensibly 
parallel  to  itself  during  the  year.  About  March  2oth  the  Earth  is  so 
situated  that  the  plane  of  her  equator  passes  through  the  Sun,  and 
therefore  the  line  separating  the  illuminated  from  the  unilluminated  por- 
tions of  the  Earth  passes  through  the  poles,  or  day  and  night  are  every- 
where equal.  The  same  thing  happens  on  September  22nd,  when  the 
Earth  reaches  the  opposite  point  of  her  orbit. 

On  June  2ist  the  Earth  is  so  situated  that  its  north  pole  is  inclined 
towards  the  Sun  by  23^°,  so  that  that  pole  then  receives  sunlight  throughout 
the  twenty-four  hours,  as  well  as  all  the  region  lying  within  the  Arctic 


24          The  International  Geography 

circle,  i.e.,  within  a  distance  of  23^°  from  the  pole.  And  everywhere  in  the 
northern  hemisphere  the  day  is  longer  than  the  night,  tSe  difference  in 
length  depending  on  the  latitude.  At  the  same  time  in  the  southern  hemi- 
sphere the  days  are  shorter  than  the  nights  ;  whilst  at  the  south  pole,  and 
over  the  region  extending  23^°  around  it,  which  lies  within  the  Antarctic 
circle,  it  is  continual  night.  It  will  be  understood,  then,  that  from  March 
2oth  to  September  22nd  the  days  in  the  northern  hemisphere  are  longer 
than  the  nights,  and  it  is  summer  for  that  hemisphere.  During  the  same 
period,  in  the  southern  hemisphere,  the  nights  are  longer  than  the  days, 
and  it  is  winter  there. 

During  the  winter  months  of  the  northern  hemisphere  these  conditions 
are,  of  course,  reversed,  whilst  at  the  equator  the  day  and  night  are  of 
equal  length  at  all  times  of  the  year. 

These  results  are,  however,  somewhat  modified  when  we  take  into 
account  the  effect  of  refraction  in  increasing  the  apparent  altitude  of  the 
Sun,  as  is  done  in  the  table  below.  Thus  in  latitude  65°  55',  owing  to  the 
effect  of  refraction  in  increasing  the  apparent  altitude,  the  Sun's  centre 
appears  just  on  the  horizon  at  midnight  at  the  summer  solstice  ;  whilst  at 
the  winter  solstice,  in  this  latitude,  the  Sun's  centre  is  above  the  horizon 
for  2h.  38m.  In  latitude  67°  10',  owing  to  the  same  cause,  the  Sun's  centre 
appears  just  on  the  horizon  at  noon  at  the  winter  solstice  ;  whilst  at  the 
summer  solstice,  in  this  latitude,  the  Sun's  centre  is  above  the  horizon  for 
twenty-four  hours.  Between  these  limits  of  latitude,  therefore,  there  is  a 
twenty-four-hour  day  at  midsummer,  but  not  a  twenty-four-hour  night  at 
midwinter. 

Tides. — The  Tides  consist  of  the  regular  rise  and  fall  of  the  water  of 
the  ocean,  the  average  interval  between  successive  corresponding  high 
waters  at  any  place  being  about  24!!.  5om.  But  this  is  also  the  average 
interval  between  two  successive  passages  of  the  Moon  across  the  meridian. 
It  is  also  observed  that,  at  a  given  place,  the  time  of  high  water  occurs 
when  the  Moon  has  passed  the  meridian  by  a  certain  interval,  and  again 
when  the  Moon  has  passed  the  anti7meridian  (or  the  meridian  180°  distant) 
by  the  same  interval.  These  phenomena  at  once  suggest  that  there  is  a 
causal  connection  between  the  Moon  and  the  tides. 

The  Sun  produces  a  tide  as  well  as  the  Moon,  but  much  less  in  amount 
on  account  of  its  greater  distance.  The  effect  of  the  Sun's  action  is 
apparent  at  new  and  full  Moon,  when  the  tide-raising  forces  due  to  the  two 
bodies  act  conjointly  and  produce  the  magnified  effect  known  as  spring- 
tides. Also  when  the  Moon  is  in  the  first  or  third  quarter  the  forces  act 
against  each  other,  thus  producing  the  neap-tides,  in  which  the  ebb  and 
flow  are  less  than  the  average. 

It  is  impossible  within  the  limits  of  a  short  chapter,  descriptive  of  the 
general  features  of  mathematical  geography,  to  discuss  the  theory  of  the 
tide-raising  power  of  the  Moon  and  Sun  exercised  by  their  differential 
attraction  on  opposite  sides  of  the  Earth.  This  must  be  sought  for  in 
special  treatises. 


Mathematical  Geography  25 

TABLE  GIVING  THE  LENGTHS  IN  BRITISH   FEET  OF  i°  OF  LATITUDE  AND 

1°  OF  LONGITUDE  AT  DIFFERENT  LATITUDES,  AND  MAXIMUM  AND 
MINIMUM  NUMBER  OF  HOURS  PER  DAY  DURING  WHICH  THE  SUN'S 
CENTRE  IS  ABOVE  THE  HORIZON,  ALLOWING  FOR  REFRACTION. 


Latitude. 

o 

o 

5 

10 
15 

20 
25 
30 

35 
40 
45 
5o 
55 
60 

70 


Length  of 
10  of  Latitude. 

362,746   . 

362,774   • 

362,858   . 

362,995 

363,180 

363.408 

363,674 

363,968 

364,281 

364,605 

364,930 

365.245 

365.540 

365,808 

366,040 

366,228 

366,366 

366,451 

366,480 


Length  of 
of  Longitud 

365.231 
363,851 
359.719 

352,866 

343,342 
331.213 
316,569 

299,515 
280,177 
258.698 
235.236 
209,967 
183,083 
154,787 
125,293 
94830 
63.632 
3L940 
o 

Above  Horizon, 
e.     Summer  Solstice.    Winter  Solstice.     Latitude. 

H.    M.                           H.    M.                           o 
....        12     6        ....        12     6        ....        0 
..         12   22         .-       --         IT   48         ..       .            C 

....         12   38 
..       ..         I258         . 

..     ..       13  18 
..     ..       1338 

.    ..      II  30 

.      ..         II    12 

10  52 
10  32 

.  .     .  .    10 
..     ..     15 

.  .      .  .      20 
..       ..      25 

..     ..       1428 
..     ..       1458 
....      15  32 
....       16  18 
..     ..       17  16 
....       18  44 

..       ..         21    46 

..        944 
9  16 
..        842 
80 
74 
5  44 
3  24 

..     ••     35 
.  .     .  .     40 
..     ..    45 
..     ..     So 
•  •     •  •     55 
..     ..    60 
..     ..    65 

....      24    o 

....         24     0 

....      24    o      . 
....      24    o      . 

00 

o    o 

.      ..           00 
.      ..          00 

::  ::  S 
..  ..  85 
..  ..  90 

STANDARD   BOOKS. 

Sir  J.  F.  W.  Herschel.     "Outlines  of  Astronomy."     London,  1859. 

A.  Souchon.     "  Traite  d' Astronomic  pratique."     Paris,  1883. 

C.  A.  Young.     "A  Text-book  of  General  Astronomy."     Boston,  U.S.A.,  1891. 

A.  R.  Clarke.     "  Geodesy."     Oxford,  1880. 

W.  R.  Martin.     "  Navigation  and  Nautical  Astronomy."     London    1891. 

Sir  G.  H.  Darwin.    "  The  Tides  and  Kindred  Phenomena  in  the  Solar  System."    London,  1898. 

S.  Gunther.     "  Handbuch  der  Mathematischen  Geographic."     Stuttgart,  1890. 

"  Hints  to  Travellers."     Published  by  the  Royal  Geographical  Society.     London,  1906. 

*_'  Encyclopaedia  Britannica"  (latest  edition),  Art.  "  Mathematical  Geography." 

").     "Compendium  of  Spherical  Astronomy."     New  York  and  London. 


S.  Newcomb.     "  Compendium  of  Spherical  Astronomy. 


London,  1906. 


CHAPTER  III.— MAPS  AND    MAP   READING 

BY  E.  G.  RAVENSTEIN. 

Maps  and  their  History. — A  map  (from  mappa,  napkin)  is  a 
delineation  on  a  plane  of  the  whole  or  of  a  portion  of  the  surface  of  the 
Earth.  A  collection  of  maps  is  called  an  Atlas,  a  term  introduced  by 
Mercator,  who  explains  the  meaning  of  the  word  he  chose  by  a  figure  of 
the  Titan  of  that  name  bearing  a  globe  upon  his  shoulders. 

Maps  are  of  very  ancient  origin.  The  land  surveyors  of  the  civilised 
states  of  antiquity  undoubtedly  produced  plans  which  met  all  practical 
requirements,  whilst  the  needs  of  the  navigator  were  served  by  Peripli  and 
charts.  At  a  very  early  age,  too,  these  plans,  combined  with  the  informa- 
tion collected  by  travellers,  were  utilised  in  the  production  of  maps  of 
provinces  and  even  of  the  whole  of  the  habitable  world.  When  Hecataeus 
(500  B.C.)  warned  his  countrymen  against  engaging  in  a  conflict  with  Darius, 
he  enforced  his  arguments  by  pointing  out  the  vast  extent  of  the  Persian 
Empire  upon  a  map  of  the  "  entire  circuit  of  the  world,"  which  had  been 
engraved  upon  a  brazen  tablet.  (Fig.  3,  p.  8.) 

For  the  first  maps  with  degree  lines  marked  upon  them  we  are  probably 
indebted  to  Dicaearch  of  Messena  (350-290  B.C.),  who  introduced  the  parallel 
of  Rhodes  as  a  diaphragm,  or  separator,  between  the  northern  and  southern 
habitable  worlds.  But  it  was  only  after  Eratosthenes  (296-196  B.C.)  had 
approximately  determined  the  size  of  the  Earth,  and  Hipparchus  (190-120 
B.C.)  had  taught  map  makers  to  lay  down  places  according  to  their  observed 
latitude  and  longitude,  that  scientific  cartography  can  be  said  to  have  come 
into  existence.  Thales  (600  B.C.)  had  already  invented  the  gnomonic  pro- 
jection, Hipparchus  introduced  the  stereographic  and  orthographic  pro- 
jections, but  map  makers  like  Marinus,  the  great  predecessor  of  Ptolemy, 
seem  to  have  been  contented  with  producing  plane  charts,  the  meridian 
differences  of  which  were  correct  only  along  the  parallel  of  Rhodes,  until 
Ptolemy  (140  A.D.)  published  his  famous  map  of  the  world  on  a  conical  pro- 
jection. (Fig.  5,  p.  9.)  The  principles  laid  down  by  Ptolemy  for  the  compi- 
lation of  maps  apply  in  our  time  as  they  did  in  his,  and  to  their  development 
and  the  improvements  of  instruments  and  methods  of  observation  modern 
maps  are  indebted  for  their  comparative  accuracy  and  scientific  value. 

The  most  valuable  contribution  of  the  Middle  Ages  to  the  progress  of 
cartography  consists  of  the  so-called  "  Compass  charts,"  specially  designed 
for  the  use  of  mariners,  and  based  solely  upon  compass  bearings  and  an 
estimate  of  distances,  without  reference  to  any  latitudes  that  may  have 
been  available  from  actual  observation.  The  coast  lines  on  these  charts 
are  given  with  remarkable  fidelity. 

26 


Maps  and  Map   Reading  27 

Scale  of  Maps. — The  scale  of  a  map,  or  the  proportion  which  it 
lineally  bears  to  the  actual  size  of  the  region  represented,  is  expressed 
either  in  the  form  of  a  fraction  whose  numerator  is  i,  or  by  reference 
to  some  well-known  unit  of  length.  The  former  is  the  method  more 
usually  followed,  and  more  to  be  recommended,  as  it  is  independent  of  the 
various  measures  of  length  in  use  among  different  nations.  Thus,  when  it 
is  stated  that  the  scale  of  a  map  is  i-ioo,oooth  of  nature,  or  i  :  100,000,  we 
know  that  every  lineal  unit  on  the  map  represents  100,000  such  units  in 
nature.  Or  it  is  stated  that  every  inch,  as  measured  on  the  map,  represents 
one  or  more  miles  in  nature.  Thus,  a  scale  of  i  statute  mile  to  the  inch 
(which  is  that  of  the  British  Ordnance  Survey  general  map)  is  the  same  as- 
a  scale  of  i  :  63,360,  for  63,360  inches  are  equal  to  one  statute  mile. 

Measurement  of  Distances  on  Maps. — The  scale  to  be  found  on 
nearly  all  maps  is  that  of  the  equator  or  of  the  central  meridian,  and  hence 
it  follows  that  this  scale  can  be  used  for  measuring  distances  only  when 
the  area  embraced  within  the  map  is  small.  In  the  case  of  maps  of  exten- 
sive regions  or  of  continents,  owing  to  the  distortion  or  exaggeration 
inherent  in  all  projections,  its  application  would  yield  misleading  results,, 
quite  apart  from  errors  resulting  from  an  expansion  or  shrinking  of  the 
paper  in  the  process  of  printing.  In  proof  of  this  we  may  refer  to  a 
hemisphere  laid  down  upon  Lambert's  equivalent  projection,  whose  scale, 
as  measured  along  the  central  meridian  or  equator,  we  suppose  to  be 
i  :  125,000,000.  The  scale  of  the  same  map,  as  determined  by  the  meridian 
encircling  it,  is  i  :  80,000,000,  whilst  a  "  mean  "  scale,  equal  to  the  square  root 
of  the  proportion  which  the  area  of  the  map  bears  to  the  actual  area  on  the 
globe,  would  be  i  :  112,000,000.  The  only  exception  from  this  rule  occurs  in 
the  case  of  maps  on  an  equidistant  projection,  but  even  in  their  case  ap- 
proximately correct  distances  can  only  be  obtained  when  measuring  from 
the  centre  towards  the  circumference. 

In  those  few  cases  in  which  the  distance  to  be  measured  follows  the 
equator  or  a  meridian,  we  may  determine  the  interval  in  degrees  and 
minutes,  and  thus  obtain  an  approximate  result  in  geographical  miles,  of 
which  sixty  are  equal  to  one  degree  of  the  equator.  The  result  would,  of 
course,  be  only  an  approximation,  except  under  the  equator,  where 
i  minute  =  i  geographical  mile1  =  6,080-27  feet.  The  degrees,  as  measured 
along  a  meridian,  vary  in  length  from  59^594  to  60*204  geographical  miles. 
As  a  rule,  the  distance  desired  should  be  measured  on  a  globe  of  suitable 
dimensions,  or  calculated  from  trigonometrical  formula  to  be  found  in 
every  mathematical  text-book.  Where  a  globe  is  available,  a  scale  should 
be  drawn  on  a  slip  of  paper,  the  edge  of  which  is  to  be  applied  to  the 
places  the  distance  between  which  it  is  proposed  to  measure. 

The  length  of  coast  lines  or  of  river  courses  should  be  measured  on  a 

1  The  geographical  or  sea«mile,  60  to  I  degree  of  longitude  on  the  equator,  must  not  be 
confused  with  the  British  or  Statute  mile  (used  in  this  book  when  miles  are  mentioned 
without  qualification)  69-2  to  i  degree  or  5,280  feet  in  length. 


28         The  International  Geography 

globe,  or,  at  all  events,  on  a  map  of  large  scale.  Errors  due  to  the  pro- 
jection may  be  in  a  large  measure  eliminated  by  treating  each  trapezoid, 
bounded  by  parallels  or  meridians,  as  a  distinct  map,  the  precise  scale  of 
which  will,  of  course,  have  to  be  determined  before  the  measurement  is 
made.  In  the  operation  itself  a  "  space-runner,"  such  as  can  be  obtained 
from  any  mathematical  instrument  maker,  may  prove  of  service. 

Measurement  of  Areas  on  Maps. — The  measurement  of  areas  is 
most  readily  effected  when  the  map  is  on  an  equivalent  projection.  If  a 
plate  of  glass  have  engraved  upon  it  small  squares  the  relation  of  which  to 
the  area  of  the  map  is  known,  the  area  is  obtained  by  placing  the  glass 
over  the  map  and  counting  the  squares  required  to  cover  the  country 
whose  area  it  is  desired  to  ascertain.  Or  the  area  may  be  calculated 
directly  with  the  aid  of  a  Bar  or  Polar  Planimeter.  Another  way  is  to 


FIG.  14.— Picture  Map  of  Part  of  London,  showing  Blackfriars  Bridge,  St.  Paul's  Cathedral, 
Southwark  Biidge,  London  Bridge,  the  Tower,  and  the  Tower  Bridge. 

take  the  areas  of  all  full  quadrilaterals  from  a  table  of  the  areas  of  quad- 
rilaterals of  the  Earth's  surface,  such  as  is  to  be  found  in  the  "  Geographical 
Tables,"  published  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and  add  to  the  result 
the  areas  of  outlying  portions  of  quadrilaterals. 

Plans. — It  is  obvious  that  the  detail  which  it  is  possible  to  introduce 
into  a  map  depends  more  especially  upon  the  scale  to  which  it  is  drawn. 
Accordingly  we  distinguish  between  plans,  topographical  maps,  and 
general  maps.  The  scale  of  a  Plan  should  be  sufficiently  large  to 
enable  separate  houses  and  plots  of  land  to  be  clearly  distinguished.  A 
scale  of  i  :  500  would  'suffice  for  this  purpose,  and  occasionally  even  a 
much  smaller  scale,  say  i  :  10,000.  As  a  plan  only  embraces  a  very  small 
area  the  sphericity  of  the  Earth's  surface  is  not  taken  into  account  by  the 
surveyor,  the  principles  of  plane  trigonometry  alone  are  involved,  and  the 
only  instruments  really  needed  are  a  chain,  a  cross-staff,  ana  (when  alti- 
tudes or  sections  are  required)  a  level. 


Maps  and  Map  Reading 


29 


Topographical  Maps. — Topographical  Maps  must  be  on  a  scale 
sufficiently  large  to  enable  the  draughtsman  to  show  plans  of  towns  and 
villages,  roads,  and  other  features,  without  excessive  exaggeration.  No 
map  on  a  smaller  scale  than  i  :  200,000  will  enable  this  to  be  done.  The 
details  for  such  a  map  may  be  taken  from  available  parish  maps  on  a 
larger  scale,  from  plane-table  surveys,  and  even  from  rougher  compass 
surveys.  In  combining  these  materials,  in  the  case  of  a  country  of  con- 
siderable extent,  account  has  to  be  taken  of  the  sphericity  of  the  Earth, 
the  position  of  at  least  one  point  has  to  be  fixed  by  careful  astronomical 
observation,  the  length  of  a  degree  has  to  be  measured,  and  the  country 
covered  with  a  network  of  triangles  starting  from  a  base-line  and  checked 
in  the  course  of  the  triangulation  by  one  or  more  bases  of  verification. 
The  first  map  produced  on  such  scientific  principles  was  that  of  France  by 


FlG.  15. — Topographical  Map  of  the  Part  of  London  shown  in  Fig.  14. 

Cassini  de  Thury,  the  first  sheet  of  which,  on  a  scale  of  i  :  86,400,  was 
published  in  1750,  and  the  last  in  1793. 

In  England  several  counties  had  been  triangulated  about  the  same 
time,  but  a  regular  trigonometrical  survey  was  only  begun  in  1784,  when 
General  Roy  measured  a  base-line  on  Hounslow  Heath.  This  survey  was 
subsequently  extended  to  the  whole  of  the  United  Kingdom.  In  spite  of 
the  slow  progress  of  the  work  of  the  survey,  and  some  details  which  are 
open  to  criticism,  it  may  be  safely  asserted  that  no  country  of  so  great  an 
area  possesses  a  map  which  can  compare  in  accuracy  with  that  produced 
by  the  "  Ordnance  Survey "  Office.  The  surveyors  have  supplied  the 
contoured  lines  of  elevation  from  careful  measurements,  and  not  from 
mere  estimates  or  barometrical  observations,  as  is  still  the  case  with  most 
official  maps  in  other  countries.  The  survey  has  produced  town  plans 
{i  :  500  or  i :  2,500),  parish  maps  (i  :  2,500),  county  maps  (i :  10,560  or  6  inches 
to  the  mile),  and  a  general  map  (1:63,360  or  i  inch  to  the  mile),  as  well  as 
maps  on  the  smaller  scales  of  2,  4  and  10  miles  to  an  inch  (1:126,720' 


30         The  International  Geography 

i :  253,440,  and  1 :  633,60x3).  The  beautiful  but  tedious  process  of  engraving 
on  copper  has  been  largely  superseded  by  more  rapid  processes.  The  maps 
may  be  purchased  at  most  post-offices  in  the  United  Kingdom. 

Trigonometrical  surveys  have  now  been  extended  over  the  whole  of 
Europe,  except  northern  Russia  and  portions  of  the  Balkan  Peninsula. 
The  maps  are  published  on  various  scales:  i:  100,000  in  the  case  of  Ger- 
many, Scandinavia,  France,  Italy,  and  Portugal;  1:75,000  in  the  case  of 
Austria  and  Servia,  &c.  In  addition  to  these  general  maps,  the  various 
survey  departments  issue  plane-table  sections  (planchette-minutcs,  Mess- 
ttschbldtter,  &c.),  usually  on  a  scale  of  1:25,000.  The  publication  of 
maps  or  plans  on  a  still  larger  scale  is,  as  a  rule,  left  to  be  done  by  local 
authorities. 

Trigonometrical  surveys  outside  Europe  have  as  yet  been  undertaken 
only  in  detached  areas.  India  led  the  van  in  this  useful  scientific  enter- 
prise, its  trigonometrical  survey  being  very  complete.  Japan  may  claim 
credit  for  being  the  first  Eastern  State  to  have  a  scientific  Survey  De- 
partment. In  Africa  a  commencement  has  been  made  by  the  French  in 
Algeria  and  Tunis,  and  by  the  British  from  Cape  Colony.  In  the  United 
States  isolated  surveys  were  begun  in  1830,  but  the  work  has  been 
carried  on  systematically  only  since  1 879,  partly  by  the  Coast  and  Geodetic 
Survey,  and  partly  by  the  United  States  Geological  Survey,  which  has  a 
topographical  branch.  In  addition,  surveys  of  some  States  have  been 
carried  out  by  the  authority  of  the  State  legislature.  The  maps  vary  in- 
scale  according  to  the  nature  of  the  country,  the  north-western  States 
being  on  a  scale  of  1:62,500,  the  Rocky  Mountain  region  on  a  scale  of 
1:250,000.  The  features  of  the  ground  are  shown  by  contours.  The 
relative  degree  of  accuracy  in  the  mapping  of  the  continents  is  shown 
graphically  in  Fig.  6,  p.  13. 

General  Maps. — Under  general  maps  may  be  included  all  those  on 
a  smaller  scale  than  topographical  maps.  Their  production,  where  regular 
surveys  are  available,  is  a  very  simple  matter.  The  original  materials  are 
reduced  mechanically  by  the  use  of  squares,  or  more  directly  by  panto- 
graph or  photography,  to  the  scale  desired.  The  information  which  it  is 
thought  right  to  give  in  view  of  the  object  which  the  map  is  to  serve  must 
be  selected  with  judgment.  Many  details  have  to  disappear,  the  place  of 
others  is  taken  by  signs  or  symbols,  and  exaggeration  becomes  necessary ; 
but  the  draughtsman  must  take  care  to  bring  out  those  features  which  are 
most  characteristic  of  the  country  delineated.  This  applies  especially  tc- 
the  hills,  which  are  too  frequently  merely  sketched  in,  or  omitted  alto- 
gether, on  account  of  the  cost  of  indicating  them. 

Where  regular  surveys  are  not  available  the  map  has  to  be  compiled 
with  the  help  of  all  materials  more  or  less  trustworthy — a  task  involving 
much  labour.  The  compiler  first  of  all  lays  down  those  places  the  position 
of  which  has  been  determined  by  trustworthy  astronomical  observations  ; 
he  then  adjusts  to  these  points  the  route  surveys  or  sketches  made  by  ex- 


Maps  and  Map  Reading 


31 


plorers,  and  finally  adds  information  derived  from  native  sources.  The 
result,  in  many  cases,  hardly  compensates  for  the  labour  involved  in  the 
production  of  such  a  map,  yet,  until  quite  recently  it  was  the  only  means 
of  gaining  an  idea  of  the  geographical  features  of  the  greater  part  of 
Africa  and  of  Inner  Asia,  and  notwithstanding  the  progress  of  regular 
surveys,  and  the  better  work  brought  home  by  explorers,  the  time  is  still 
far  distant  when  the  services  of  the  compiler  can  be  dispensed  with. 

Initial  Meridians. — The  initial  meridian  now  almost  universally 
adopted,  in  accordance  with  a  recommendation  of  an  International 
Geodetic  Congress,  which  met  at  Washington  in  1884,  is  that  of  Green- 
wich ;  but  other  meridians  are  still  frequently  employed,  especially  in 
French  maps,  and  in  those  of  the  national  surveys  of  other  nations.  The 
assumed  meridian  of  the  island  of  Ferro,  in  the  Canaries  (Fig.  453),  was 
once  largely  used  on  account  of  the  convenient  manner  in  which  it  divides 
the  world  into  an  eastern  and  a  western  hemisphere.  The  following  is 
a  list  of  observatories  whose  meridians  have  been  so  used : — 

LONGITUDE    OF   OBSERVATORIES. 


Longitude  E.  of  Greenwich. 


Sydney,  N.S.W. 

Madras     . . 

Bombay  . . 

Pulkova  (St.  Petersburg) 

Helsingfors,  Fin  and 

Cape  Town 

Stockholm 

Rome 

Munich 

Christiania 

Brussels  (Old  Town) 

Paris  (Observatoire  National) 


151  12  23 

80  14  50 

72  48  55 

30  19  4° 

24  57  17 

18  28  41 

18    3  30 

12  28  40 
II  36  32 

10  43  25 

4  22  II 
2  20  15 


Longitude  W.  of  Greenwich. 


Madrid 

Lisbon  (Naval  Obs.)      . . 

Ferro,  assumed  as 

Rio  de  Janeiro 

Santiago  de  Chile  (New  Obs.) 

Washington  (Old  Obs.) 

Mexico 


3  4i  15 
9  8  23 

17  39  45 
43  10  21 
70  41  39 
77  3  I 
99  6  39 


Delineation  of  the  Ground. — In  olden  times,  and  occasionally 
even  to  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century,  the  inequalities  of  the 
ground  were  indicated  by  serrated  ridges  or  groups  of  mole-hills,  varying 
in  size  and  number  in  accordance  with  the  supposed  height,  extent,  and 
character  of  the  mountain  ranges  they  were  intended  to  represent.  Only 
occasionally  did  a  draughtsman  rise  above  this  inartistic  level  and  give  a 
picturesque  outline  to  his  hills,  by  drawing  them  in  perspective,  or 
attempting  to  portray  their  characteristics  by  washes  in  ink.1 

Hatchings  (hachures)  were  first  introduced  in  the  beginning  of  the 
•eighteenth  century.  The  method  was  fully  developed  in  La  Condamine's 
map  of  Quito,  published  in  1751,  and  popularised  by  Arrowsmith.  In  this 
crude  system  of  hill  shading  almost  everything  is  left  to  the  judgment  and 
artistic  skill  of  the  draughtsman.  A  scientific  basis  for  delineating  the  features 
of  the  ground  was  first  supplied  by  Philip  Buache  in  1737,  when  he  placed 
before  the  French  Academy  a  map  of  the  Channel,  on  which  the  configura- 
tion of  the  sea-bed  was  indicated  by  contour  lines,  i.e.,  lines  which  run 

1  Instructive  examples  of  early  attempts  at  hill  sketching  are  the  wonderful  maps 
drawn  by  Leonardo  da  Vinci  (1452-1519),  K.  Tiirsfs  "  Landtafel"  of  Switzerland  (1495), 
Apian's  map  of  Bavaria  (1568),  and  Gyger's  map  of  the  Canton  of  Zurich  (1667). 


32         The  International  Geography 

through  all  points  at  the  same  level,  like  the  line  of  contact  of  sea  and  land 
in  calm  weather.  He  suggested  that  this  method  might  advantageously  be 
extended  to  the  delineation  of  the  land,  and  this  was  done  for  the  first  time 
in  1791,  when  Dupain-Triel  published  a  contoured  map  of  France.  A 
scientific  framework  or  skeleton  for  delineating  the  ground  had  thus  been 
furnished  ;  the  contour  lines  drawn  at  equal  intervals  sufficing,  if  numerous 


Scale  I  in..  I  mile  (I  63360) 
Contours  at.  intervals  of  25  feet. 


FiG.  16. — The  Guildford  Gap  :  Contoured  Map. 

enough,  not  only  to  show  the  actual  height  of  the  land  but  the  form  and. 
gradient.  Crowded  contour-lines  indicate  a  steep  slope,  contour-lines  far 
apart  a  gentle  slope. 

Something  more  than  contour-lines  was  needed  to  give  plasticity  to 
maps.  Various  methods  have  been  introduced  for  effecting  this  purpose. 
By  increasing  the  number  of  contours  the  shape  of  the  hills  can  be 


FIG.  17.— The  Guildford  Gap  :  Hills  shaded. 

brought  out  more  distinctly,  and  this  "Horizontal  style"  yields  very 
satisfactory  results  if  well  done.  Another  method  consists  in  covering  the 
contours  with  hatchings  crossing  them  at  right  angles,  and  thus  drawn  in 
the  direction  of  the  greatest  descent.  This  is  the  "Vertical  style." 
Lehmann(i783)  proposed  that  the  scale  of  shade  should  correspond  to  the 
degree  of  declivity,  and  that  the  map  should  be  supposed  to  be  illuminated 
vertically.  His  principles  have  met  with  very  general  acceptance,  and  it 


Maps  and  Map  Reading  33 

is  now  admitted  that  only  a  combination  of  contours  (preferably  printed  in 
a  colour  different  from  that  of  the  hill  shading)  with  hatchings,  can  yield 
a  satisfactory  representation  of  the  features  of  the  ground.  There  are, 
however,  cases  in  which  an  oblique  illumination  may  yield  better  results, 
and  washes  of  Indian  ink  or  tints  may  be  substituted  for  the  hatchings. 
The  colour-printed  Ordnance  Survey  maps  illustrate  both  methods. 

Another  method  for  bringing  out  the  vertical  structure  of  a  country  in 
its  general  features,  is  that  of  tinting  the  intervals  between  the  contours, 
thus  producing  a  "  strata  map."  Where  the  number  of  these  "  strata  "  is 
limited  the  same  tint  may  be  employed  throughout,  its  depth  increasing 
with  the  altitude,  but  where  the  features  to  be  shown  are  more  complicated 
it  may  become  necessary  to  employ  various  colours,  and  upon  their  judi- 
cious selection  must  depend  the  beauty  and  expressiveness  of  the  map. 

The  Orthography  of  Geographical  Names.— Care  should  be 
taken  that  the  orthography  of  geographical  names  should  enable  the  reader 
of  a  map  to  pronounce  them  with  at  least  approximate  correctness.  The 
rules  laid  down  by  the  Council  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society 
should  therefore  be  adhered  to  as  far  as  possible.  They  are  exceedingly 
simple.  Names  in  countries  using  Roman  letters  are  to  be  retained  as 
spelt  by  the  respective  nations,  as  are  also  names  in  other  languages  which 
by  long  usage  have  become  familiar  to  English  readers.  All  other  names, 
however,  are  to  be  spelt  phonetically,  as  pronounced  on  the  spot.  The 
vowels  are  to  be  sounded  as  in  Italian,  the  consonants  as  in  English,  and 
no  redundant  letters  are  to  be  introduced.1  The  diphthong  ai  is  to  be  pro- 
nounced as  in  aisle  ;  au  as  ow  in  how ;  aw  as  in  law.  CJi  is  always  to  be 
sounded  as  in  church  ;  g  is  always  hard  ;  y  always  represents  a  consonant  ; 
whilst  kh  and  gh  stand  for  gutturals.  One  accent  only  is  to  be  used,  the 
acute,  to  denote  the  syllable  on  which  stress  is  laid.  It  is  obvious  that  in 
numerous  instances  these  rules  must  prove  altogether  inadequate  when 
attempting  to  express  the  sounds  of  a  foreign  language.  The  admission  of 
additional  diacritical  marks  such  as  "  and  w  to  express  quantity,  and  the 
diaeresis,  as  on  ai,  to  express  consecutive  vowels,  which  are  to  be  pronounced 
separately,  would  prove  of  service,  but  in  all  cases  where  greater  precision 
is  aimed  at,  recourse  must  be  had  to  such  an  alphabet  as  that  of  Lepsius, 
or  to  an  alphabet  specially  adapted  to  the  language  the  sounds  of  which 
it  is  proposed  to  reproduce. 

The  Board  of  Geographic  names  in  the  United  States  acts  upon  rules 
practically  identical  with  those  indicated  above,  and  compiles  an  official  list 
of  place  names,  the  use  of  which  is  binding  on  Government  departments. 

Maps  for  Special  Purposes.— These  are  most  varied  in  their  con- 
tents. The  most  ancient  among  them  are  route  maps — the  Itineraria  picta 
of  the  Romans — and  marine  charts ;  the  most  recent  are  maps  illustrating 
the  physical  geography  of  the  globe. 

1  Yet  the  rules  say  that  all  vowels  are  shortened  in  sound  by  doubling  the  following 
consonant 


34         The  International  Geography 

Charts  (from  charta,  paper)  are  designed  for  the  special  use  of  sailors, 
.and  prominence  is  given  upon  them  to  every  feature  a  knowledge  of  which 
is  requisite  for  safe  navigation.  They  show  more  especially  the  depth  of 
the  sea,  taking  low  water  as  a  standard  or  datum  level,  and  not  the  mean 
level  of  the  sea,  as  is  done  in  topographical  maps.  Charts,  as  a  rule,  are 
laid  down  on  Mercator's  projection,  the  advantages  of  which  to  a  navigator 
are  pointed  out  on  p.  23,  and  sometimes  on  the  Gnomonic  projection,  on 
which  all  great  circles  appear  as  straight  lines. 

Geological  Maps  date  no  further  back  than  the  latter  part  of  the 
•eighteenth  century,  and  to  the  United  Kingdom  is  due  the  credit  of 
having  been  the  first  to  organise  a  regular  geological  survey,  in  1835. 
The  utility  of  these  surveys,  quite  apart  from  the  scientific  interest 
attached  to  them,  is  so  apparent,  that  at  the  present  time  there  is 
hardly  a  civilised  State  without  its  Geological  Office  or  Department  of 
Mines ;  nay,  in  parts  of  the  United  States  and  in  some  of  the  colonies 
.geological  surveys  were  inaugurated  simultaneously  with  a  general  survey 
of  the  country. 

There  is  no  department  of  physical  geography  which  it  has  not  been 
attempted  to  illustrate  cartographically,  since  Athanasius  Kircher,  in  1665, 
published  the  first  physical  map — one  illustrating  ocean  currents.  The 
surface  features  of  the  land  and  configuration  of  the  ocean-bed  ;  drainage 
basins  ;  the  phenomena  of  the  atmosphere  ;  the  distribution  of  plants  and 
animals ;  and,  in  short,  every  form  of  distribution  over  the  Earth's  sur- 
face is  capable  of  being  illustrated  by  means  of  maps.  Maps  showing 
roads  and  railways  are  in  daily  use  ;  others  illustrating  the  distribution  of 
the  population  according  to  density,  race,  language,  or  religion ;  vital 
statistics,  and  every  department  of  social  or  industrial  life  are  being 
more  and  more  appreciated.  Maps  have  likewise  proved  of  inestimable 
service  to  the  student  of  history. 

The  ingenuity  of  compilers  has  been  taxed  to  the  utmost  in  efforts  to 
present  the  facts  of  geographical  distribution  in  an  intelligible  and  striking 
manner.  Density  of  population,  for  instance,  is  generally  indicated  by  a 
graduated  tint,  but  two  or  three  tints  might  be  employed,  one  to  cover 
those  parts  of  the  country  where  the  density  approaches  the  mean,  the 
two  other  tints  indicating  those  parts  where  it  falls  short  of  the  mean,  or 
exceeds  it.  This  method,  greatly  generalised,  is  shown  in  Fig.  18.  It  is 
obvious  that  the  same  principle  is  applicable  in  numerous  other  instances, 
or  where  the  feature  mapped  is  the  varying  degree  of  a  certain  condition. 

Relief  Maps. — It  is  claimed  on  behalf  of  maps  in  relief  that  they 
present  a  better  portraiture  of  the  inequalities  of  the  ground  than  is  pos- 
sible in  the  case  of  plane  maps.  This  contention,  however,  can  only  be 
admitted  on  the  understanding  that  the  heights  are  not  exaggerated  to  an 
extent  which  would  yield  a  caricature  instead  of  a  picture  true  to  nature. 
A  fair  amount  of  exaggeration  may  be  admissible  in  the  case  of  relief 
maps  on  a  small  scale,  but  is  altogether  objectionable  where  the  scale  is 


Maps  and  Map  Reading 


35 


OvcrAveniffe 


large.  Relief  maps  of  more  extensive  countries,  moreover,  should  be 
built  up  on  a  spherical  surface,  or  the  relief  loses  all  claim  to  naturalness.1 
So-called  strata  reliefs,  built  up  in  steps  from  the  strata  of  a  contoured  or 
hypsographical  map,  are  altogether  objectionable. 

Globes. — A  globe  is  the  only  means  of  conveying  a  faithful  idea  of  the 
distribution  of  land  and  water  over 
the  entire  surface  of  the  Earth. 
This  advantage  was  early  recognised, 
and  Crates  of  Mallos  is  credited  with 
having  produced  the  first  terrestrial 
globe.  Globes  of  an  early  date  are 
frequently  referred  to,  but  the  oldest 
which  have  survived  to  our  day  are 
one  by  Behaim  (1492),  now  at  Niirn- 
berg,  and  the  so-called  Laon  globe, 
now  at  Paris  (1493).  These  ancient 
globes  are  either  drawn  by  hand  or 
engraved  on  metal.  Globes  of  this 
description  were  naturally  very  ex- 
pensive, and  Hylacomilus  (Wald- 
seemiiller)  has  consequently  deserved 
well  of  the  student  of  geography, 


FIG.  18. — Density  of  Population  in 
England  and  Wales. 


when,  in  1507,  he  printed  a  map  of 

the  world  upon  gores  intended  to  be 

pasted   upon   a  globe,  thus  placing  this  most  indispensable  educational 

apparatus  within  the  reach  of  all.     They  may  now  be  had  of  all  sizes  and 

at  a  low  price.     The  globe  is  not  only  an  atlas  on  a  uniform  scale,  without 

distortion,  but  a  valuable  mathematical  instrument  by  the  aid  of  which 

important  calculations  may  be  easily  made. 


STANDARD  BOOKS. 

G.  G.  Andre.    "The  Draughtsman's  Handbook  of  Plan  and  Map  Drawing."     London,  1874. 

Willoughby  Verner.     "  Map  Reading  and  Elementary  Field  Sketching."     London,  1893. 

J.  M.  West.    "  The  Elements  of  Military  Topography  "     London,  1894. 

Sir  W.  J.  L.  Wharton.     "  Hydrographical  Surveying."     London.     New  Edition,  1898 

R.  S.  Woodward.     "  Geographical  Tables. "     Washington,  1894. 

F.  C.  Close.     "Text-book  of  Topographical  and  Geographical  Surveying."     London,  1905. 

G.  J.  Morrison.     "  Maps,  Their  Uses  and  Construction.'      London,  1901. 


1  This  was  proposed  to  be  done  by  Maestlin  in  a  letter  to  Kepler  (1596),  by  Hauber 
(1724),  and  apparently  first  acted  upon  by  Erben,  of  Stuttgart,  about  1850.  The  oldest 
relief  of  which  I  have  any  notice  is  one  of  Antibes  (1665). 


CHAPTER   IV.— THE   PLAN    OF   THE    EARTH 

BY  J.  W.  GREGORY,  D.Sc.,  F.R.S., 

Professor  of  Geology  in  the  University  of  Glasgow. 

General  Resemblances.— The  vast  unknown  interior  of  the  Earth 
is  bounded  by  a  shell  composed  of  two  layers,  the  solid  rocky  crust,  or 
" lithosphere,"  and  the  seas  and  oceans,  or  "hydrosphere."  If  the  Earth 
has  solidified  from  a  gaseous  nebula,  then  there  may  have  been  a  stage 
when  the  whole  lithosphere  was  covered  by  an  unbroken  sheet  of  water. 
But  now,  as  through  all  the  ages  revealed  by  geology,  the  rocks  have  been 
piled  up  in  broad  masses  or  high  mountain  chains  which  rise  above  the 
level  of  the  hydrosphere,  while  the  waters  are  collected  into  the  inter- 
mediate depressions.  The  geographical  distribution  of  the  exposed 
portions  of  the  lithosphere  appears,  on  first  inspection  of  a  map,  to  be 
so  irregular  and  complicated,  and  the  continents  to  differ  so  much  in  topo- 
graphic form  that  their  arrangement  appears  haphazard  and  accidental. 
But  if  we  ponder  over  a  map  of  the  world  we  detect  a  series  of  striking 
coincidences  and  of  repetitions  of  the  same  essential  forms.  There  is,  for 
example,  a  remarkable  resemblance  in  the  general  shapes  of  the  masses  of 
land  and  water.  Thus,  the  greatest  of  the  land  areas,  the  Old  World, 
consists  of  a  vast  triangle,  of  which  the  base  extends  from  Norway  to 
Bering  Strait,  with  the  apex  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  The  greatest  of 
the  oceans  is  the  similar  but  inverted  triangle  of  the  Pacific.  Again, 
the  New  World  consists  of  two  triangles,  one  contracting  from  the 
barren  steppes  of  the  Arctic  shores  to  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  and  the 
other  contracting  from  the  triple  Cordillera  of  Colombia  and  the  high 
scarp  of  Venezuela  to  the  ridge  of  Cape  Horn.  And  much  as  the  Old 
World  corresponds  to  the  Pacific,  so  the  two  Americas  correspond  to  the 
two  basins  of  the  Atlantic,  and  the  Arctic  Sea  to  the  Antarctic  land.  In  the 
coast  lines  of  the  continents  other  points  of  correspondence  reveal  them- 
selves. The  Pacific  coasts  are  steep  and  high,  and  are  formed  in  the  main 
by  mountain  ranges  parallel  to  the  shores  ;  its  Asiatic  coast  is  hung  with 
festoons  of  islands,  and  remains  of  similar  island  chains  occur  off  its 
American  coast.  The  Atlantic  shores,  on  the  contrary,  are  low  and 
shelving,  except  where  they  pass  round  the  margins  of  high  plateaux  or  cut 
across  mountain  chains,  of  which  the  directions  are  rarely  parallel  to  the 
shores.  The  islands  are  few  and  irregularly  scattered  instead  of  being  hung 
in  festoons.  Moreover,  both  Atlantic  shore  lines  follow  the  same  course, 
as  if  moulded  by  the  same  influences  ;  thus  the  Gulf  of  Guinea  occurs 
opposite  the  projection  of  Brazil ;  the  Mediterranean  offset  on  the  east 

36 


The  Plan*  of  the  Earth  37 

corresponds  to  the  Caribbean  on  the  west ;  the  eastward  recession  of 
Europe  is  followed  by  the  eastward  advance  of  America. 

Geomorphological  Theories,— Such  resemblances  have  been 
repeatedly  pointed  out  by  geographers.  For  example,  most  elementary 
textbooks  remark  the  southward  tendency  of  peninsulas.  It  has,  therefore, 
long  been  a  favourite  idea  of  geographers  that  the  main  outlines  of  the 
continents  are  not  accidental,  but  have  been  determined  by  some  undis- 
covered principle  or  law.  A  quartz  crystal,  with  its  massive  form,  its 
simple  outline,  its  flat  faces,  and  straight  edges,  appears  to  have  no  point 
in  common  with  a  snowflake  composed  of  a  radial  cluster  of  delicate, 
feathery  tufts.  But  the  crystallographer  recognises  that  the  two  different 
forms  belong  to  the  same  crystalline  system,  have  the  same  hexagonal 
symmetry,  and  are  built  on  the  same  fundamental  plan.  Similarly  geo- 
graphers have  believed  that  veiled  by  the  great  variety  in  topographical 
details  there  is  some  underlying  symmetry  in  continental  form,  the  dis- 
covery of  which  is  the  main  problem  of  geomorphology.  The  mediaeval 
wheel  maps  may  be  regarded  as  early  attempts  to  express  geomorphological 
theories,  which  rested  on  a  theological  basis.  But  it  was  not  until  the 
nineteenth  century  that  any  satisfactory  beginning  was  made.  In  1684 
Burnet,  in  his  "  Theory  of  the  Earth,"  had  called  mountain  chains  "  the 
backbones  of  the  continents  "  ;  and  that  idea  has  so  long  been  popular  that 
the  effort  to  discover  the  principle  governing  the  evolution  of  the  continents 
naturally  began  with  the  study  of  the  origin  of  mountain  chains.  The  first 
formal  theory  of  geomorphology,  that  enunciated  by  Elie  de  Beaumont  in 
1852,  was  based  on  the  hypothesis  that  mountain  chains  having  the  same 
orientation  were  formed  at  the  same  date  by  the  same  causes.  If,  there- 
fore, the  age  of  a  certain  mountain  chain  be  required,  all  that  is  necessary, 
according  to  Elie  de  Beaumont's  system,  is  to  determine  its  orientation  and 
compare  it  with  a  standard  scale  in  which  the  directions  of  a  considerable 
series  of  mountain  chains  are  marked.  This  system  failed  as  it  was  too 
ambitious.  The  effort  to  state  a  theory  with  mathematical  precision,  and 
to  make  it  of  universal  application,  led  to  exaggeration  of  the  truth  on 
which  it  rested.  The  theory  was  soon  found  to  be  inconsistent  with 
essential  facts  and  was  discredited.  But  Elie  de  Beaumont's  effort  to 
correlate  Earth-movements  over  extensive  tracts  of  the  Earth's  surface  was 
not  in  itself  chimerical.  Geological,  physical,  and  astronomical  considera- 
tions all  support  belief  in  a  certain  connection  between  some  distant 
mountain  chains.  Thus  among  the  mountains  of  Europe  and  western 
Asia,  which  trend  east  and  west,  the  two  that  agree  most  closely  in  orien- 
tation are  the  Pyrenees  and  the  Caucasus  ;  and  as  Prof.  Bonney  has  shown, 
they  agree  most  closely  in  geological  structure,  and  were  probably  elevated 
at  the  same  date.  Lowthian  Green  has  proposed  a  physical  explanation  of 
the  triangular  form  of  the  land  masses,  and  why  the  triangles  should  be 
disposed  as  they  are.  And  Sir  George  Darwin  has  suggested  an  astronomical 
cause  of  the  phenomena,  by  pointing  out  some  coincidence  between  the 


38         The  International  Geography 

distribution  of  land  and  water  with  lines  of  strain  in  the  Earth's  crust 
caused  by  some  early  incidents  in  its  history. 

Relative  Permanence  of  Continent  and  Ocean. — Nevertheless, 
after  the  overthrow  of  Elie  de  Beaumont's  system,  the  interest  in  geo- 
morphology  was  lessened  by  the  influence  of  Lyell's  teaching  ;  for  his 
axiom  of  the  continual  interchange  of  land  and  sea,  owing  to  the  alter- 
nate elevation  and  depression  of  the  land  by  local  independent  agencies, 
threw  doubt  on  the  existence  of  any  one  steady  general  cause.  Lyell's 
theory  received  its  first  severe  check  from  the  diametrically  opposite  view 
of  the  permanence  of  the  continents  and  ocean  basins.  In  the  oceanic 
abysses  various  oozes  are  now  being  deposited.  Nothing  exactly  like 
these  oozes  is  met  with  among  the  rocks  forming  the  continental  masses, 
except  for  a  few  patches  on  the  rims  of  the  ocean  basins.  The  sediments 
which  form  the  continents  resemble  those  which  are  being  deposited  in 
shallow  seas,  in  lakes  and  rivers,  or  on  land.  "  The  vast  grey  level  plains 
of  ooze  where  the  shell-burr'd  cables  creep  "  of  the  existing  ocean  floors, 
have  apparently  never  been  raised  above  sea-level.  This  fact  has  been 
cited  as  conclusive  proof  of  the  permanence  of  the  ocean  basins ;  but  if  we 
neglect  deductive  negative  evidence  and  study  the  actual  history  of  different 
parts  of  the  Earth,  we  find  that  the  conceptions  of  continuous  oscillation 
and  of  prolonged  immutability  are  both  true  in  part.  Some  land  areas 
have  been  permanent  from  a  very  early  period  of  geological  history  ;  others 
have  been  subject  to  alternate  movements  of  elevation  and  depression, 
accompanied  by  the  contortion  and  crumpling  of  the  beds.  Thus,  on  the 
one  hand,  the  great  block  of  Scandinavia,  Lapland,  and  Finland,  the  central 
highlands  of  Brazil,  the  plateau  of  Labrador,  the  peninsular  area  of  India, 
the  meseta  or  central  plateau  of  Spain,  are  each  composed  of  extremely 
ancient  rocks  ;  their  margins  have  been  repeatedly  washed  by  the  sea,  but 
they  themselves  have  never  been  below  sea-level.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
British  Isles,  Portugal,  the  Atlantic  States  of  America,  Japan,  and  northern 
India  have  been  repeatedly  submerged  beneath  the  sea.  The  test  of  actual 
inspection  cannot  be  applied  to  the  ocean  floors,  but  the  submarine  parts 
of  the  lithosphere  are  probably  subject  to  the  same  movements  as  the 
areas  now  above  sea-level.  Strong  support  to  this  view  is  given  by  palaeon- 
tology, one  aspect  of  which  becomes  meaningless,  if  we  believe  that  the 
land  masses  have  always  been  separated  by  the  existing  ocean  barriers. 
Hence  it  is  now  widely  thought  that  the  view  that  every  part  of  the  ocean 
floor  now  below  the  depth  of  a  thousand  fathoms  has  always  been  below 
sea-level,  is  as  exaggerated  as  the  old  Lyellian  doctrine.  But  it  was  a  most 
useful  protest,  for  with  the  limitation  of  Lyellism,  geomorphology  advanced 
again.  In  a  brilliant  address  to  the  British  Association  in  1892,  Professor 
Lapworth  described  the  continents  as  arches  formed  by  vast  Earth-folds, 
while  the  ocean  basins  are  the  sunken  troughs  between  the  raised  continental 
arches.  Lapworth's  fold  theory  has  not,  however,  yet  been  stated  at  length, 
and  Suess's  great  work  on  the  face  of  the  Earth  ("  Das  Antlitz  der  Erde  ") 


The  Plan  of  the  Earth  39 

remains  the  only  modern  attempt  to  describe  the  physical  geography  of 
the  world  in  accordance  with  a  definite  system  of  geomorphology. 

To  understand  Suess's  views,  we  must  comprehend  the  nature  of  the 
movements  which  affect  the  level  of  the  Earth's  crust.    According  to  the 
Lyellian  school  the  Earth  is  undergoing  continual  oscillation,  areas  sinking 
or  rising  either  as  wide,  continental  masses,  or  by  the  contortion  of  belts 
into  mountain  chains.     This  interchange  was  attributed  to  variations  in  the 
height  of  the  land  and  not  to  changes  in  the  level  of  the  sea.     Thus  in 
northern  Scandinavia  the  sea  has  been  receding,  while  in  the  southern  part 
of  that  country  it  has  been  encroaching  on  the  land.    According  to  Lyell 
this  was  because  the  ground  was  rising  in  the  north  and  sinking  in  the 
south.     Round  the  British  coasts  there  are  raised  beaches  in  some  places, 
and  submerged  forests  in  others,  facts  which  were  similarly  explained  by 
the  assumption  of  differential  movements  in  the  land.     But  the  phenomena 
can  be  equally  well  explained  by  variations  in  the  level  of  the  sea.    The 
sea-level  is  not  a  fixed,  definite  level.     The  old  maxim  that  "  water  will  find 
its  own  level  "  may  be  true  within  the  narrow  range  of  a  set  of  water-pipes, 
but  the  water  of  the  sea  knows  no  level.     Water  in  a  glass  is  raised  around 
the  margin  owing  to  the  capillary  attraction  of  the  sides.     In  the  ocean 
basins  the  waters  are  heaped  up  against  the  continents  by  the  gravitational 
attraction  of  the  land,  and  they  are  thus  depressed  in  the  middle.     In  the 
case  of  land-locked  seas  the  theoretical  water-level  is  disturbed  by  the 
action  of  winds  and  currents,  just  as  the  water  in  a  lock  is  heaped  up 
against  the  sides  when  a  strong  current  flows  into  it.     Again,  the  amount 
of  water  on  the  Earth  is  limited,  so  that  if  the  depth  of  the  oceans  increases 
their  area  must  lessen.    Taking  the  mean  depth  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  at 
13,000  feet,  if  its  floor  were  to  sink  until  the  mean  depth  is  1,000  feet 
greater,  then  the  sea-level  throughout  the  globe  would  be  nearly  500  feet 
lower  ;  the  land  would  appear  to  have  risen  to  that  extent  without  the 
slightest  actual  movement  of  its  own. 

Suess's  Theory  of  Changes  in  Sea-level, — Such  variations  in 
sea-level  are  not  only  possible  but  probable,  and  there  is  some  strong  geo- 
logical evidence  of  their  occurrence.  On  the  western  shore  of  Calabria 
there  are  some  old  beach  lines  which  rest  in  one  place  on  the  face  of  a 
cliff  of  Miocene  limestone,  in  another  traverse  a  spur  of  the  Appennines, 
elsewhere  lie  on  the  Archaean  schists  of  the  Peloritani,  and  on  the  recent 
volcanic  tuffs  of  Etna.  The  old  beach  lines,  however,  maintain  their  horizon- 
tality  throughout.  Western  Scotland  furnishes  a  similar  illustration,  for  a 
sea  beach  there,  at  the  height  of  100  feet  above  the  sea,  lies  on  rocks  of 
different  ages  and  hardness,  and  it  crosses  undisturbed  great  faults  and 
dislocations.  Suess  holds  that  it  is  physically  impossible  for  such  complex 
areas  and  rock  masses  to  be  upraised  without  any  relative  displacement  of 
the  different  parts.  Hence  he  argues  that  where  we  find  broad  tracts  of 
raised  marine  deposits  maintaining  their  original  horizontality,  we  must 
attribute  their  position  to  movements  of  the  hydrosphere  instead  of  to  those 


40         The  International  Geography 


of  the  Kthosphere.  This  contention  is  essential  to  Suess's  theory  of  geo- 
morphology.  The  subsidence  of  wide  areas  and  the  elevation  of  narrow 
bands  can  both  be  explained  by  the  radial  contraction  of  the  globe.  But 
that  agency  will  not  account  for  the  undisturbed  elevation  of  extensive 
areas.  If  such  elevations  do  occur,  then  there  must  be  some  other  factor 
at  work,  and  we  cannot  hope  for  any  complete  theory  of  geomorphology 
until  the  nature  of  this  unknown  cause  be  discovered.  But  if  there  be  no 
such  movements  then  we  know  already  an  adequate  cause  for  all  the 
movements  in  the  Earth's  crust. 

Suess's  theory,  then,  is  simply  that  the  movements  of  the  lithosphere 
may  be  divided  into  two  groups — (i)  The  subsidence  of  wide  areas  where, 
owing  to  the  contraction  of  the  Earth's  interior,  the  crust  is  left  without 
support ;  (2)  the  folding  and  contortion  of  rocks  along  certain  lines  whereby 
the  rigid  crust  is  able  to  contract  into  a  smaller  space.  Between  the  fold- 
lines,  and  beside  the  sunken  lands,  crust-blocks  stand  up  like  the  piers  of 
a  bridge  of  which  the  arch  has  fallen  in.  Suess's  great  contribution  to  geo- 
morphology is,  that  he  has 
shown  that  the  existing 
structure  of  the  world  can 
be  explained  by  these  two 
sets  of  movements.  Each 
of  the  continents  consists 
of  lines  of  fold-mountains, 
or  blocks  of  strata  which 
have  been  left  standing 
above  the  level  of  the 
ocean  basins  formed  by 
FIG.  19. — The  Lines  of  Tertiary  Fold-Mountains.  subsidence. 

The  Structure  of  America, — The  two  Americas  show  this  arrange- 
ment most  typically.  Both  of  them  are  bounded  to  the  west  by  a  long 
mountain  chain  ;  both  of  them  have  an  eastern  border  of  fold-mountains, 
such  as  the  Alleghanies  and  the  Sierra  do  Paranao.  The  north-eastern 
corner  of  each  is  formed  of  a  block  of  Archaean  rocks,  neither  of  which 
has  apparently  sunk  below  sea-level  since  the  earliest  days  of  geological 
history.  In  both  continents  a  vast  basin  occurs  between  the  bounding 
lines  of  fold-mountains.  And  the  geological  history  of  the  two  Americas 
has  been  aptly  summarised  as  the  history  of  the  gradual  filling  up  of  two 
great  gulfs  which  occurred  between  the  eastern  and  western  ridges. 

The  Structure  of  the  Old  World.— The  structure  of  the  Old 
World  is  less  simple,  for  the  land  is  broader  and  more  complex.  Its  main 
fold-line  runs  from  east  to  west  instead  of  from  north  to  south.  It  is  usual 
to  associate  Europe  and  Asia  as  the  continent  of  Eurasia,  to  which  the 
part  of  Africa  north  of  the  Sahara  is  added  on  biological  grounds.  But 
from  the  standpoint  of  geomorphology  we  cannot  separate  central  and 
southern  Africa,  unless  we  also  exclude  the  peninsular  area  of  India.  The 


The  Plan  of  the  Earth  41 

great  land  mass  of  the  Old  World  is  divided  into  two  by  a  belt  of  fold- 
mountains  which  runs  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  The  southern 
margin  of  this  belt  follows  the  Atlas  Mountains,  crosses  Tunisia,  and  passes 
north  of  Malta  and  south  of  the  Greek  Archipelago ;  it  continues  east 
along  the  Taurus,  bends  northward  beside  the  Persian  Gulf,  and  continues 
its  former  direction  past  Baluchistan  and  the  northern  foot-hills  of  the 
Himalaya;  then  it  runs  south  again  across  Burma  and  the  Malay  Peninsula, 
and  turning  eastward  once  more  crosses  the  Malay  Archipelago,  until  it 
sinks  below  the  Pacific.  This  line  divides  two  regions  which  have  quite 
different  geological  structures.  South  of  it  is  a  series  of  table-lands  of 
great  geological  stability  and  antiquity.  North  of  it  is  a  vast  tract  in  which 
the  rocks  are  mostly  horizontal  or  gently  inclined,  and  only  violently 
contorted  along  the  lines  of  the  great  mountain  chains,  the  directions  of 
which  are  moulded  by  blocks  of  old  rocks,  such  as  the  Central  Plateau  of 
France,  the  Alpine  Foreland  in  South  Germany,  and  the  massif  of  Bohemia. 
A  series  of  subsidences  along  the  southern  margin  of  the  northern  divi- 
sion has  formed  the  basin  of  the  Mediterranean,  the  Black  Sea,  the  Persian 
Gulf,  and  the  Indo-Gangetic  plain  ;  and  this  series  appears  to  be  a  direct 
continuation  of  the  Caribbean  depression  which  separates  North  and 
South  America. 

The  Origin  of  the  Oceans.— So  far  for  the  structure  of  the  conti- 
nents. Their  shapes  are  necessarily  determined  by  the  surrounding  oceans, 
concerning  the  history  of  which  direct  geological  evidence  is  scanty. 
Occasional  islands  tell  us  a  little,  and  a  little  more  may  be  inferred  from  the 
trend  of  the  rocks  and  mountains  on  the  continental  margins,  and  from  the 
arrangement  of  the  suboceanic  ridges.  The  subject  is  speculative  and  con- 
troversial ;  but  it  seems  to  be  generally  agreed — by  geologists  at  least — that 
the  ocean  basins  have  been  formed  by  subsidences  at  different  ages.  Thus 
the  Atlantic  Ocean  may  date  from  middle  Cainozoic  times.  According  to  Suess 
the  Atlantic  Ocean  results  from  the  gradual  enlargement  of  two  gulfs  which 
projected  north  and  south  from  the  old  Mediterranean  Sea  that  extended 
from  Central  America  to  the  Levant.  The  Arctic  Sea  may  have  been 
formed  at  the  same  period.  The  Indian  Ocean  is  probably  older.  It  appears 
to  have  originated  by  the  subsidence  of  the  section  of  Gondwanaland  that 
united  India  and  Africa,  of  which  the  Archaean  rocks  of  the  Seychelles  and 
Mauritius  are  remnants.  The  Pacific  Ocean  may  have  undergone  great 
changes  later  than  the  other  oceans.  It  has  certainly  encroached  upon 
Australia  by  the  subsidence  of  the  submerged  portion  of  the  Melanesian 
platform,  which  extended  northward  and  eastward  from  Australia  as  far  as 
New  Guinea,  New  Caledonia,  Lord  Howe  Island,  and  probably  New 
Zealand.  Beyond  this  crescentic  line  of  continental  islands  are  the  oceanic 
islets  of  Micronesia  and  Polynesia,  which  range  through  more  than  100° 
of  longtitude.  According  to  Darwin's  theory  of  coral  islands  these  chains 
mark  the  site  of  a  sunken  land.  The  Patagonian  platform  projects  from 
South  America  to  meet  the  southern  island  chain,  and  some  indications 


42         The  International  Geography 

of  a  former  land  connection  along  this  line  are  given  by  the  evidence 
of  zoological  distribution.  In  the  North  Pacific  the  evidence  is  more 
scanty.  The  island  festoons  off  the  coasts  of  Asia  and  America,  and  the 
transverse  ridges  that  run  east  and  west  across  Central  America  indicate  a 
former  seaward  extension  of  the  land.  But,  unless  the  series  of  islands 
from  Hawaii  to  the  Tonga  group  represents  a  line  of  movement,  all  the 
evidence  in  the  north  central  Pacific  has  been  lost. 

The  Test  of  a  Geomorphological  Theory. — This  rapid  survey 
indicates  the  nature  of  the  evidence,  which  shows  that  the  structure  of  both 
the  oceans  and  continents  is  consistent  with  the  hypothesis  that  their 
distribution  has  been  determined  by  the  subsidence  of  some  regions  in 
consequence  of  the  withdrawal  of  underground  support,  and  by  the  eleva- 
tion of  certain  lines  by  the  compression  of  the  hard  crust  into  a  smaller 
space.  Both  movements  would  result  from  the  radial  contraction  of  the 
globe  during  cooling,  but  unless  this  cause  will  also  explain  the  distribution 
of  these  two  types  of  Earth-movements,  it  will  not  give  us  an  adequate 
theory  of  geomorphology 

The  three  fundamental  facts  of  distribution  which  any  theory  must 
explain  are  the  antipodal  position  of  the  continents  and  oceans,  their  trian- 
gular shape,  and  the  excess  of  water  in  the  southern  hemisphere.  Elie  de 
Beaumont's  theory  gave  no  answer  to  any  of  these  questions  ;  but  it  led  to 
another  geometrical  theory  which  does.  Elie  de  Beaumont  attached  too 
much  importance  to  linear  symmetry.  He  assumed  that  the  Earth  is  a 
spheroid  built  up  on  a  rhombic  dodecahedron,  which  is  a  symmetrical  body 
enclosed  by  twenty-four  equal  pentagons.  Every  face  of  a  rhombic 
dodecahedron  is  opposite  to  a  similar  parallel  face.  Antipodal  areas  are 
similar.  But  on  the  Earth  antipodal  areas  are  dissimilar,  for  a  land  area  at  one 
end  of  an  axis  is  always  balanced  by  an  oceanic  area  at  the  other  end  of  the 
axis.  In  fact,  in  crystallographic  language,  the  lithosphere  may  be  described 
as  hemihedral,  not  holohedral.  Moreover,  if  we  could  cover  two-thirds  of  the 
rhombic  dodecahedron  with  a  fluid  held  on  to  it  by  attraction  from  the 
centre  of  the  body,  just  as  the  waters  of  the  ocean  are  held  on  to  the 
Earth  by  gravity,  there  is  no  reason  why  an  excess  of  the  fluid  should 
collect  on  one  half. 

The  Tetrahedral  Theory  of  the  Earth. — Lowthian  Green  pro- 
posed what  is  known  as  the  "  tetrahedral  theory,"  which  regards  the 
globe  as  based  on  a  form  which  satisfies  the  requirements  of  the  case  better 
than  a  dodecahedron.  The  body  which  encloses  the  greatest  volume 
for  a  given  surface  is  the  sphere.  The  regular  body  which  contains  the 
smallest  volume  for  a  given  surface  is  the  tetrahedron,  which  is  enclosed 
by  four  equal  equilateral  triangles.  Hence  every  hard-shelled  sphere  which 
is  diminishing  in  size  owing  to  internal  contraction,  is  constantly  tending  to 
become  tetrahedral  inform.  In  the  case  of  the  Earth  various  circumstances 
such  as  its  rotation,  and  the  attraction  of  the  moon,  render  such  a  form 
impossible.  But  if  we  replace  the  flat  faces  of  the  tetrahedron  bv  convex 


The  Plan  of  the  Earth  43 

faces,  we  get  a  body  which  approximates  to  a  spheroid  ;  and  by  varying  the 
curvature  of  the  faces  this  puffed  out  tetrahedron  may  pass  into  the  condi- 
tion of  a  spheroid  and  then  become  truly  spherical.    Conversely,  if  a  hollow 
sphere   composed  of  an  elastic  shell  be  gradually  exhausted  of  air,  the 
•external  pressure  will  force  in  the  four  faces  and  gradually  make  it  tetrahe- 
dral.    The  tetrahedral  theory  regards  the  world  not  as  | 
an  angular  tetrahedron,  but  as  a  spheroid  which  has 
been  subjected  to  this  tetrahedral  flattening  to  an  ex- 
tent inappreciable  by  direct  measurements,   but  in- 
directly recognisable   owing  to  its   influence  on  the 
distribution  of  land  and  water.     As  the  flattened  faces 
are  nearer  the  Earth's  centre  of  gravity,  the  water  will 
collect  upon  them.     The  ratio  of  the  areas  of  land  to  FlG>  ^.-Tetrahedron. 
that  of  water  on  the  globe  is  as  2  to  5.     If  on  a  model  of  a  tetrahedron  we 
colour  the  five-sevenths  of   the   surface  that  is  nearest  the  centre,  the 
coloured  area  will  indicate   where  the   water   would   accumulate  on   a 
stationary  tetrahedron.     Mount  the  tetrahedron  with  one  of  the  four  points 
pointing  downward,  when  one  face  will  be  horizontal 
at  the  top  ;  on  that  upper  face  there  will  be  a  central 
coloured  area  in  the  position  of  the  Arctic  Sea.     It 
will  be  surrounded  by  a  land  belt,  from  which  three 
projections  will  run    southward  down   the    vertical 
edges  from  the   three    upper  angles.     These  south- 
ward land  areas  will  each  taper  gradually  to  a  point, 
beyond  which  there  will  be  a  continuous  belt  of  water    FIG.  21.- -Tetrahedron 
surrounding  a  south  polar  land.     That  is  to  say,  that        with  curved  faces- 
on  the  model  the  general  plan  of  the  arrangement  of   land  and  water 
is  identical  with  its  actual  distribution  on  the  globe  ;  for  the  geographical 
units  are  subtriangular  with  the   land  triangles   pointing  to  the  south ; 
land  and  water  are  antipodal ;    and  there  is  a  great  excess  of  water  in  the 
southern,  and  of  land  in  the  northern  hemispheres. 

The  agreement  between  the  facts  of  geography 
and  the  tetrahedral  theory  goes  further.  The  four 
faces  of  a  tetrahedron  meet  along  six  edges,  and  if 
the  Earth  be  subject  to  tetrahedral  strain,  these  six 
edges  should  be  represented  on  the  Earth  by  lines  of 
weakness.  The  lines  of  weakness  would  be  marked 
by  lines  of  crumpling,  i.e.,  by  ranges  of  fold-moun- 
tains. The  question  therefore  rises,  does  the  main 

FIG.  22.— The  edges  of 
fold-mountain  system  of  the  world  bear  any  relation      the  tetrahedral  Earth. 

to  the  traces  of  a  set  of  tetrahedral  edges  ? 

Terrestrial  Symmetry. — If  an  observer  were  to  look  down  on  the 
Earth  from  the  direction  of  the  Pole  Star,  he  would  discern  a  central  sea 
surrounded  by  a  ring  of  land,  broken  only  by  the  shallow  Faroe  Channel, 
Smith  South,  and  Bering  Strait.  The  northern  face  of  the  world  consists  of  a 


44         The  International  Geography 

cone  of  land  of  which  the  apex  has  fallen  in  ;  if  this  northern  land-cap  were 
to  sink  still  further,  its  margin  would  be  thrust  out  in  all  directions.  Now 
Suess  has  shown  that  the  whole  continent  of  Eurasia,  as  geologically  denned 
is  bounded  to  the  south  by  a  chain  of  fold-mountains  formed  by  lateral 
thrusts  from  the  north.  In  Eurasia  the  predominant  mountain  chains  run 
east  and  west,  parallel  in  fact  to  the  edges  that  bound  the  upper  face  of  the 
tetrahedron.  South  of  Eurasia  the  predominant  mountain  chains,  rock- 
foliation  and  strikes  run  north  and  south,  parallel  again  to  the  tetrahedral 
edges  that  run  vertically  from  the  tetrahedral  "  equator  "  to  its  south  pole, 
hence  there  is  a  general  agreement  between  the  position  of  the  fold-moun- 
tains and  the  lines  of  tetrahedral  strain. 


FlG.  23. — Symmetry  of  the  land  round  the  North  Pole. 

The  agreement,  however,  is  not  absolute.  For  example,  one  of  the 
points  which,  according  to  Green,  should  be  a  land  centre,  falls  in  the 
Pacific  near  the  Ladrone  Islands.  But  if  Darwin's  theory  of  coral  islands 
be  true,  then  that  area  was  once  continental,  and  has  only  become  oceanic 
by  subsidence  in  Cainozoic  times.  Again,  Africa  lies  so  well  along.one  of  the 
three  vertical  edges  of  the  tetrahedron,  that  South  America  might  be  expected 
to  occur  on  the  next  similar  edge  to  the  west ;  but  South  America  actually 
is  20°  too  far  to  the  east.  Green  remarked  the  discrepancy,  and  explained 
it  by  invoking  an  eastward  torsion  of  the  southern  hemisphere,  due  to  its 
tendency  to  increase  its  rate  of  revolution  owing  to  its  decrease  in  diameter- 


The  Plan  of  the  Earth  45 

But  the  geological  evidence  suggests  another  explanation.  The  western 
coast  of  Patagonia  is  formed  by  a  belt  of  Archaean  rocks,  which  disappear 
eastward  under  the  Cainozoic  sediments,  the  islands  of  Chilean  Patagonia 
also  consist  of  Archaean  rocks,  which  may  extend  westward  as  the  basis  of 
the  great  submarine  Patagonian  platform.  And  just  as  the  Indian  peninsula 
is  regarded  as  the  remnant  of  a  continent  of  which  the  western  part  has 
been  lost  by  subsidence,  so  the  Patagonian  peninsula  may  be  regarded  as 
the  eastern  remnant  of  a  sunken  land,  the  position  of  which  would  agree 
with  the  theoretical  scheme. 

But  we  have  no .  right  to  expect  in  our  old  and  wrinkled  world  that 
the  lands  should  be  arranged  with  geometrical  regularity.  The  litho- 
sphere  varies  in  composition  ;  certain  regions  consolidated  at  a  very  early 
period  into  great  impassive  blocks,  which  have  forced  the  later  foldings  to 
diverge  from  the  course  they  might  have  followed  in  a  homogeneous 
crust.  Further,  there  is  nothing  in  the  tetrahedral  theory  inconsistent  with 
some  variation  in  the  position  of  the  tetrahedral  axes ;  hence,  during  the 
gradual  shrinkage  of  the  globe,  there  may  have  been  considerable  variation 
in  the  position  of  the  lines  of  strain.  "  The  physiognomy  of  the  globe," 
says  Lapworth,  "  is  an  unerring  index  of  the  solid  personality  beneath." 
The  present  physiognomy,  however,  is  not  an  index  of  the  full  life  history 
of  the  continents.  The  features  of  past  ages  must  be  inferred  from  the 
physiognomical  fragments  of  the  ages  that  remain  to  us.  We  cannot  infer 
from  the  existing  distribution  of  land  and  sea  how  that  distribution  has 
been  produced.  The  problem  is  so  complex  and  the  facts  so  uncertain, 
that  the  historical  method  of  inquiry  is  safer  than  the  deductive  method. 
A  knowledge  of  the  distribution  of  land  and  sea  at  various  epochs  in  the 
world's  history  appears  to  be  the  only  sure  basis  on  which  to  rest  a  system 
of  geomorphology. 

STANDARD  BOOKS. 

E.  Suess.    "  Das  Antlitz  der  Erde."     3  vols.     Leipzig,  1885,  1888. 

j."     Edited  by  E.  de  Margerie.     Paris. 


La  Face  de  la  Terre. 

The  Face  of  the  Earth."     Edited  by  Hertha  Sollas.    Oxford,  1904,  1906. 


Lowthian  Green.     "Vestiges  of  the  Molten  Globe."     London,  1875. 

Elie  de  Beaumont.     "  Notice  sur  les  Systemes  des  Montagnes."     Paris,  1852. 

J.  W.  Gregory.     "  The  Plan  of  the  Earth,"  in  Geographical  Journal,  vol.  xiii.  p.  225  (1899). 

F.  von  Ricnthofen.     "  Fiihrer  fur  Forschungsreisende."     Berlin,  1886. 

A.  Supan.     "  Grundziige  der  Physischen  Erdkunde."     Leipzig,  1896. 

C.  de  Mello.     "  Les  lois  de  la  Geographic."     Berlin,  1902. 

E.  Mellard  Reade.     "  The  Evolution  of  Earth-structure."     London,  1903. 


CHAPTER  V.— LAND    FORMS:    THEIR    NATURE 
AND  ORIGIN 

BY  HUGH  ROBERT  MILL,  D.Sc. 

Vertical  Relief  of  the  Earth's  Crust. — Although,  as  has  been 
explained  in  the  description  of  the  plan  of  the  Earth,  which  dealt  with 
the  grand  features  of  the  crust,  the  geoid,  or  form  of  the  actual  surface  of  the 
ocean,  is  distorted  from  the  true  figure  of  the  Earth,  it  is  yet  the  only  practical 
zero-surface  from  which  heights  and  depths  on  the  Earth's  surface  can  be 
measured.  Until  the  amount  of  the  distortion  of  sea-level  at  different  places 
is  found,  it  is  impossible  to  compare  exactly  the  heights  of  distant  continents 
or  the  depths  of  different  parts  of  the  oceans.  The  uncertainty  probably 
amounts  to  some  hundred  feet  in  the  most  careful  measurements.  A  com- 
paratively small  number  of  points  of  the  ocean  bed  have  as  yet  had  their 
depth  below  actual  sea-level  ascertained,  and  only  a  few  of  the  civilised 
countries  have  had  the  configuration  of  their  whole  surface  determined  by 
levelling.  The  large  relations  of  vertical  relief  can  therefore  only  be  roughly 
estimated  by  making  certain  assumptions  as  to  the  unmeasured  and  unex- 
plored regions.  Such  calculations  have  been  made  by  several  physical 
geographers,  the  latest  and  most  elaborate  being  those  of  Professor  Wag- 
ner of  Gottingen.  According  to  his  results  the  mean  level  of  the  solid 
sphere  is  7,500  feet  below  actual  sea-level;  but  since  his  calculations 
were  made  the  discovery  of  the  great  depth  of  the  Arctic  Sea  and  some 
very  deep  soundings  in  the  Pacific  and  Southern  Oceans  show  that  the 
dividing  line  between  the  elevated  and  depressed  regions  of  the  crust 
must  be  drawn  at  a  lower  level,  although  probably  not  so  deep  as  10,000 
feet,  the  depth  which  I  estimated  from  Sir  John  Murray's  earlier  work.  In 
Professor  Wagner's  hypsographic  curve  here  reproduced  in  a  simplified 
form  (Fig.  24),  the  results  of  his  calculations  are  shown  graphically.  The 
vertical  lines  in  the  diagram  represent  areas  of  the  Earth's  surface  in 
percentages,  the  horizontal  lines  show  depths  beneath  and  heights  above 
sea-level  in  feet,  and  the  curve  thus  gives  at  a  glance  the  extent  of  the 
surface  lying  between  any  limits  of  vertical  distance. 

Divisions  of  the  Earth's  Crust. — Sir  John  Murray  distinguished 
three  areas  of  the  lithosphere — (i)  the  Abysmal  Area,  a  vast  and  relatively 
uniform  depression  covering  nearly  half  the  surface  of  the  Earth,  mainly 
in  the  southern  hemisphere ;  (2)  a  Transitional  Area  occupying  less  than 
a  quarter  of  the  surface  and  sloping  up  to  (3)  the  Continental  Area,  which 

46 


Land  Forms 


47 


extends  over  rather  more  than  a  quarter  of  the  surface,  mainly  in  the 
northern  hemisphere.  Professor  Wagner,  however,  distinguishes  the  five 
divisions  shown  in  the  diagram — (i)  the  Depressed  A  rea  occupying  3  per 
cent,  of  the  Earth's  surface  and  comprising  all  the  oceanic  depths  from 
the  greatest  (the  deepest  spot  known  in  the  ocean  is  31,610  feet  or  5,269 
fathoms)  to  16,400  feet  or  2,733  fathoms  below  sea-level ;  (2)  the  Oceanic 
Plateau,  the  vast  undulating  expanse  from  the  depth  of  16,400  feet  up  to 
7,500  feet,  the  mean  level  of  the  surface  of  the  lithosphere,  and  covering 
54  per  cent,  of  the  surface  of  the  Earth  ;  (3)  the  Continental  Slope  reaching 
thence  to  the  edge  of  the  Continental  Shelf,  or  660  feet  below  actual  sea- 
level,  and  occupying  9  per  cent,  of  the  surface  ;  (4)  the  Con- 
tinental Plateau  from  the  edge  of  the  Continental  Shelf  to  an 
altitude  of  3,300  feet,  or  28  per  cent,  of  the  surface ;  and  (5)  the 
Culminating  Area  comprising  the  6  per  cent,  of  surface  above 
3,300  feet.  The  Oceanic  Plateau,  although  more  gentle  in  the 
outline  of  its  forms  than  the  other  divisions  of  the  lithosphere, 
is  by  no  means  featureless.  There  are  many  broad  rises  which 
subdivide  the  oceanic  depths  without  approaching  the  surface, 


Feet 
90000, 

25000. 
2000G 
15000 


10000 


tuueipsit.  eFiwLe.G/Att-lLSQ.0.  tk. . 


FIG.  24.— The  Hypsographic  Curve.    Adapted  from  that  of  Professor  Hermann  Wagner. 


but  frequently  forming  the  foundations  whence  more  abrupt  eminences 
tower  upwards  into  islands  ;  and  in  some  places  these  abrupt  heights  rise 
even  from  the  deeper  parts  of  the  ocean  bed. 

The  Continental  Plateau  may  be  conveniently  subdivided  into  the 
Continental  Shelf,  Depressed  Lands,  Lowlands,  Uplands  and  Highlands 
which  merge  in  the  Culminating  Area.  The  Continental  Shelf  slopes  very 
gently  from  the  coast  down  to  about  100  fathoms  or  200  metres  (600  or 
660  feet).  In  some  places,  such  as  the  west  coast  of  South  America 


48         The   International  Geography 

or  of  Africa,  it  is  only  a  few  miles  wide ;  but  in  others,  e.g.,  off 
north-western  Europe  and  south-eastern  South  America,  it  stretches 
for  several  hundred  miles  from  land.  It  unites  all  the  large  continental 
islands  to  their  nearest  continent,  with  the  exception  of  Madagascar, 
New  Zealand,  and  Celebes.  Sailors  speak  of  this  zone  of  shallow  sea 
as  "  in  soundings,"  because  it  is  always  possible  to  use  a  hand-lead  for 
finding  depths  less  than  100  fathoms  ;  and  its  boundary  is  a  matter 
of  importance,  since  a  vessel  "out  of  soundings"  is  usually  free  from 
the  risk  of  running  on  shore.  Depressed  Lands,  which  lie  below  sea- 
level,  are  of  very  small  extent,  occurring  only  in  the  Dead  Sea  rift-valley, 
the  subsiding  delta  of  Holland,  and  some  dried  lake  beds  in  the  deserts  of 
Asia,  Africa,  and  North  America.  The  contour  line  of  660  feet  (200 
metres),  which  corresponds  to  the  mean  surface  of  the  actual  globe  (litho- 
sphere  and  hydrosphere  combined),  may  appropriately  be  taken  as  the 
upper  limit  of  the  Lowlands.  It  is  interesting  that  the  present  position 
of  sea-level  is  almost  midway  between  the  outer  edge  of  the  shallow 
Continental  Shelf,  say  600  feet  below  sea-level,  and  the  inner  edge  of  the 
lowlands,  say  600  feet  above  sea-level,  a  total  area  of  22,000,000  square 
miles,  and  the  flattest  part  of  the  Earth's  surface  of  equal  extent  except 
the  floor  of  the  Oceanic  Plateau.  For  Uplands  the  upper  limit  2,000  feet, 
nearly  corresponding  to  the  average  elevation  of  the  whole  land  of  the 
globe,  may  be  assigned ;  while  all  above  that  elevation  may  be  called 
Highlands. 

Classification  of  Land  Forms. — The  grandest  contrast  in  the 
relief  of  the  crust  is  that  between  the  vast  sunk  plains  of  the  ocean  floors 
and  the  elevated  surface  of  the  continental  world-ridges.  The  primary 
practical  division  is,  of  course,  that  into  land  and  water  ;  with  subdivisions 
into  oceans,  seas,  incurves,  gulfs,  and  lakes  for  the  water ;  and  for  the 
land  on  strictly  similar  lines  into  continents,  outcurves,  peninsulas,  and 
islands.  The  land  may  indeed  be  viewed  as  entirely  composed  of  islands, 
for  every  continent  is  either  an  island  or  part  of  one  ;  but  the  distinction 
between  continent  and  island  or  peninsula,  though  one  of  rank  only,  is 
convenient  because  continents  possess  a  distinctive  individuality  not 
shared  by  smaller  islands,  and  there  is  no  more  risk  of  confusion  of  ideas 
than  is  involved  by  the  classification  of  the  strength  of  a  regiment  into 
officers  and  men. 

From  the  geographical  point  of  view  land-forms  are  best  considered, 
in  their  larger  aspects  at  least,  from  the  point  of  view  of  form  alone 
without  reference  to  their  geological  history.  No  definite  system  of  classi- 
fication has  yet  been  generally  adopted  ;  but  the  need  of  arriving  at  a 
common  understanding  on  the  subject  is  recognised  by  the  geographers 
of  all  nations,  and  tentative  schemes  have  been  put  forward  by  Professor 
Penck  and  others.  The  following  attempt  to  describe  some  of  the  more 
important  kinds  of  land-forms  is  neither  complete  nor  altogether  con- 
sistent ;  but  it  may  help  the  student  to  understand  the  descriptions  of 


Land  Forms  49 

countries  in  Part  II.  It  may  also  form  a  basis  for  criticism  and  fuller 
discussion. 

The  simplest  form-elements  are  the  plain,  hollow,  cliff,  mountain,  hill, 
and  valley.  The  Plain  is  a  nearly  level  or  gently  sloping  expanse,  which 
may  be  a  sunk  plain  if  depressed  below  sea-level,  a  low  plain  if  on  the 
lowlands,  an  upland  plain  in  the  uplands,  or  a  high  plain  if  it  occurs  in  the 
highlands.  A  plateau  or  tableland  is  strictly  an  upland  or  high  plain  which 
is  bounded  on  all  sides  by  a  more  or  less  abrupt  descent  to  lower  ground, 
or  perhaps  bordered  in  part  by  mountain  ranges  which  are  low  in  com- 
parison with  its  breadth.  An  extensive  plateau  may  be  crossed  by  moun- 
tain ranges  or  deep  valleys ;  but  a  highland  composed  of  mountains  and 
valleys  alone  has  no  right  to  the  name  of  plateau.  The  Pamirs,  for  example, 
do  not  form  a  tableland,  but  only  a  lofty  and  diversified  highland  for 
which  a  specific  name  might  well  be  devised. 

The  Hollow  is  a  land-form  which  is  bounded  entirely,  or  nearly  so,  by 
higher  land.  When  its  floor  is  flat  it  is  often  called  a  hill-girdled  plain  ; 
when  more  typically  it  slopes  towards  the  centre  it  is  appropriately  termed 
a  basin,  or  if  amongst  mountains  an  intermont  basin.  '  If  the  word  basin 
were  not  also  loosely  used  for  the  whole  drainage  area  of  a  river  system  it 
might  be  adopted  for  this  land-form  alone,  and  it  is  used  in  this  sense  by 
many  authors.  Perfect  hollows  of  dry  land  can  only  occur  in  arid  regions, 
where  they  frequently  contain  salt-lakes  or  beds  of  salt.  In  moist  climates 
they  are  necessarily  occupied  by  lakes,  although  incomplete  hollows  are 
usually  drained  by  a  river. 

The  Cliff  or  Scarp  is  a  belt  of  extremely  steep  slope,  usually  marking 
the  edge  of  the  sea,  one  bank  of  a  river  or  the  sides  of  a  gorge.  A 
scarp  may  break  the  continuity  of  a  plain,  separating  one  nearly  level 
expanse  from  another  at  a  higher  level.  The  term  escarpment  is  applied 
to  the  relatively  steep  slope  which  follows  the  line  of  strike  of  the  strata. 

Mountains  and  Hills  are  to  be  distinguished  by  height  alone,  yet  no 
definition  of  a  hill  has  ever  been  more  satisfactory  than  "  an  elevation 
lower  than  a  mountain,"  while  a  mountain  can  only  be  termed  "  an  eleva- 
tion higher  than  a  hill."  It  may,  however,  be  conceded  that  mountains  are 
confined  to  the  highlands  over  2,000  feet  in  elevation,  while  hills  may  occur 
also  in  lowlands  or  uplands.  Mere  elevation  of  a  summit  above  sea-level  is 
not  enough  to  constitute  a  mountain  ;  an  eminence  rising  300  feet  above 
one  of  the  vast  level  plains  of  Tibet  can  only  be  called  a  hill,  although  its 
summit  may  exceed  16,000  feet  above  the  sea.  A  mountain  system  like 
the  Alps  or  Andes,  although  forming  a  broad  region,  is  easily  recognised 
as  consisting  of  mountain  ranges.  German  geographers  distinguish 
between  low,  middle,  and  high  mountains,  but  the  English  language 
renders  such  a  division  cumbrous  in  use.  Peaks  are  usually  the  culmina- 
ting points  on  the  crest  of  a  mountain  range,  but  occasionally,  especially 
in  the  case  of  volcanoes,  a  great  summit  may  rise  directly  from  a  plain. 
Parallel  mountain  ranges  often  enclose  between  them  intermont  basins  of 


50         The  International   Geography 

considerable  extent  and  at  a  high  elevation,  or  even,  as  in  the  case  of 
Tibet,  extensive  tablelands. 

The  Valley  is  perhaps  the  most  varied  of  all  land-forms.  A  valley  may 
be  viewed  as  limited  by  the  meeting  lines  of  slopes. r  The  meeting  line 
of  two  diverging  slopes  is  a  watershed  or  water-parting  or  divide,  and  such 
a  line  marks  off  the  valley  of  a  river,  viewed  in  its  largest  sense,  from  those 
of  its  neighbours.  The  valley,  in  a  narrower  sense,  may  be  marked  by  the 
lines  separating  gentle  from  more  abrupt  slopes.  The  meeting  place  of 
two  converging  slopes  is  a  Thalweg,  valley-line,  or  stream-line,  usually 
marking  the  central  line  of  a  river  bed.  The  walls  or  sides  of  a  valley 
may  be  abrupt  as  in  a  gorge  or  gently  inclined  like  the  imperceptible 
slopes  bordering  a  great  river  before  the  commencement  of  its  flood-plain. 
The  whole  space  between  the  outer  watersheds  limiting  the  region  draining 
into  a  single  river  is  called  the  drainage-area  of  that  river.  Transverse  valleys, 
better  termed  denies,  completely  traverse  a  mass  of  high  ground  from  the 
plain  on  one  side  to  the  plain  on  the  other.  The  name  of  longitudinal 
valleys  is  given  to  the  long  hollows  between  two  parallel  mountain  ranges ; 
while  the  shorter  valleys  which  furrow  the  sides  of  the  mountains  are  called 
lateral.  Two  lateral  valleys  meeting  on  the  crest  of  a  range  form  a  col  or 
pass  by  which  the  range  may  be  crossed.  No  geographical  features  are 
more  important  in  determining  the  lines  of  traffic  across  mountainous 
regions  than  transverse  and  lateral  valleys  with  their  connecting  passes. 
The  head  of  a  valley  on  a  mountain  side  may  take  the  form  of  a 
rounded  recess  amongst  the  rocks  termed  a  carry  or  cirque,  the  cliffs 
surrounding  which  often  rise  extremely  steeply.  The  lower  ends  of  river 
valleys  on  the  coast  when  "  drowned  "  or  submerged,  form  inlets  of  the 
sea  of  various  kinds.  In  this  way  lowland  valleys  give  rise  to  estuaries, 
firths,  or  bays  ;  upland  or  highland  valleys  form  inlets  which  are  known  as 
rias  when  the  depth  diminishes  gradually  from  the  mouth  towards  the 
head,  and  as  fjords  or  sea-lochs,  when  a  bar  shallows  the  water  at  the 
mouth,  thereby  separating  a  considerable  depth  inside  from  the  deep 
water  outside. 

In  this  rapid  summary  of  the  chief  form-elements  of  the  land  reference 
has  been  made  to  their  form  only ;  but  while  it  is  the  form  that  mainly 
controls  the  distribution  of  climate,  vegetation,  animal  life  and  human 
activity  on  the  Earth's  surface,  the  origin  of  the  various  forms  has 
important  bearings,  and  often  allows  a  more  helpful  method  of  classifi- 
cation to  be  adopted. 

Materials  of  the  Earth's  Crust.— The  study  of  the  material 
composing  the  lithosphere  and  the  changes  it  has  undergone  in  the  past  is 
the  special  subject  of  the  science  of  geology;  and  while  we  do  not 
concern  ourselves  here  with  the  methods  or  controversies  of  geologists, 

1  It  might  perhaps  be  permissible  to  include  the  slope  as  a  distinct  land-form,  but  where 
a  gentle  slope  is  found  it  may  be  viewed  as  an  inclined  plain  ;  and  a  steep  slope  forms 
part  of  either  a  mountain,  hill," scarp,  or  valley. 


Land  Forms 


51 


GEOLOGICAL   FORMATIONS. 


Quaternary. 

Recent. 

(Alluvium.) 

Pleistocene. 

(Diluvium.) 


Tertiary. 

Pliocene. 
Miocene. 

(Molasse.) 
Oligocene. 
Eocene. 

(Flysch.) 


Mesozoic. 

Cretaceous. 

Chalk. 

Upper  Greensand. 

Gault. 

Lower  Greensand. 

Wealden. 

Jurassic. 

Oolite. 

Lias. 
Triassic. 

Rhaetic. 
Keuper. 
Muschelkalk. 
Bunter. 


Palaeozoic. 

Permian. 
Magnesian  Limestone. 

Carboniferous. 

Coal  Measures. 

Millstone  Grit. 

Carboniferous  Limestone. 
Devonian  or  \ 

Old  Red  Sandstone*  J 
Silurian. 
Ordovician. 
Cambrian. 


Archaean. 


rocks  does  not  differ  so  much 
6 


some  of  their  results  are  necessary  in 
order  to  make  geography — the  description 
of  the  actual  surface  of  the  Earth — in- 
telligible. The  rocks  of  which  the  primi- 
tive crust  of  the  Earth  was  composed  must 
have  been  subject  to  the  disintegrating 
effects  of  weather  as  soon  as  they  were 
elevated  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  The 
material  worn  off  them  must  have  accumu- 
lated on  shores  or  on  land-slopes,  and  in 
time  become  itself  consolidated  into  new 
kinds  of  rock,  which  were  elevated  and 
worn  away  in  their  turn  to  give  rise  to 
fresh  sediments,  and  so  on  for  incalculable 
ages.  Before  the  appearance  of  life  on 
the  globe  there  was  no  clue  as  to  the  rela- 
tive age  of  rocks  except  superposition  ; 
but  since  that  era  most  sedimentary  for- 
mations contain  distinctive  fossils  which 
enable  rocks  of  approximately  the  same 
age  to  be  recognised  in  distant  places,  and 
so  make  possible  a  fairly  complete  classifi- 
cation. The  whole  series  of  sedimentary 
rocks  is  nowhere  found,  but  large  portions 
of  different  parts  occur  in  several  places, 
and  allow  the  order  of  the  whole  to  be 
ascertained. 

Order  of  the  Rocks. — The  most 
ancient  sedimentary  rocks  known  contain 
no  traces  of  life  ;  they  are  of  a  crystalline 
texture,  and  often  foliated  or  crumpled  in 
consequence  of  subsequent  change,  the 
process  of  change  being  termed  meta- 
morphism.  The  series  is  known  as 
Archaean  on  account  of  its  great  antiquity  ; 
gneiss  and  schist  are  typical  represen- 
tatives. 

The  sedimentary  rocks  containing 
fossils  are  divided  into  four  great  groups, 
according  to  age,  known  as  Palceozoic 
(old  life)  or  Primary,  Mesozoic  (middle  life) 
or  Secondary,  Cainozoic  (modern  life)  in- 
cluding Tertiary,  and  Quaternary  or  Post- 
Tertiary.  The  physical  character  of  the 
as  their  varying  age  might  lead  one  to  expect, 


52         The  International  Geography 

but  in  a  very  general  way  the  Primary  rocks  are  the  hardest  and  most 
durable,  the  Secondary  are  less  compact,  the  Tertiary  still  more  friable,  and 
the  Quaternary  usually  consist  of  incoherent  sands,  gravels  and  clays.  Yet 
very  hard  rocks  may  occur  even  in  the  youngest  formations.  The  great 
groups  are  subdivided  into  formations  which  consist  of  different  sets  of 
strata,  to  each  of  which  a  special  name  has  been  applied.  The  table  on 
p.  51  shows  the  position  of  all  the  chief  and  some  of  the  local  formations 
mentioned  in  this  volume,  but  it  is  not  to  be  taken  as  representing  the 
views  of  any  one  geologist ;  it  attempts  to  generalise  the  facts  which  most 
geologists  agree  in  accepting. 

Primary  rocks  are  of  peculiar  importance  on  account  of  their  great 
wealth  in  valuable  minerals.  The  quartz  veins  associated  with  the  Cam- 
brian and  Silurian  strata  are  rich  in  gold  and  the  ores  of  other  metals ;  but 
the  Coal  Measures  of  the  Carboniferous  system  are  economically  the  most 
important.  Coal  is  also  found  in  more  recent  rocks,  but  the  best  coal,  which 
occurs  in  the  great  fields  of  western  Europe,  the  greater  fields  of  eastern 
America,  and  the  greatest  fields  of  all  in  China,  is  of  Carboniferous  age. 
The  association  of  iron-ore,  limestone  for  supplying  a  flux,  and  highly 
refractory  sandstone  suitable  for  lining  furnaces  enables  the  manufacture 
of  iron  usually  to  accompany  the  mining  of  Carboniferous  coal.  Generally 
speaking  the  surface  forms  of  a  country  underlain  by  the  more  recent  rocks 
are  less  rugged,  and  in  temperate  climates  the  soil  is  more  fertile  than  that 
of  ancient  strata ;  but  the  type  of  scenery  depends  less  on  the  age  of  the 
formation  than  on  the  nature  of  its  rocks.  Amongst  the  rock-types  com- 
mon to  all  formations  which  determine  scenery,  it  is  sufficient  to  mention 
limestones  (which  may  be  metamorphosed  into  marble),  conglomerates  and 
breccias—  the  pebbly  or  angular  fragments  of  which  are  often  cemented  by 
limestone ;  sandstones,  which  may  be  fine  or  coarse  in  grain,  compact 
or  friable,  and  may  be  metamorphosed  into  quartzite ;  and  clays  (some 
soft  like  mud,  others  stiff  or  set  with  stones)  which  may  be  metamorphosed 
into  shale  or  slate.  Every  one  of  these  rocks  produces  a  distinct  variety  of 
scenery,  recognisable  by  the  practised  eye. 

In  addition  to  the  sedimentary  and  metamorphic  formations  account 

must  be  taken  of  igneous  rocks,  the  origin 
of  which  may  range  in  time  from  the  pre- 
Archaean  period  down  to  the  present  day. 
They  are  of  two  classes,  Plutonic  which 
FIG.  25. — Diagrammatic  section  of  an  have  solidified  from  fusion  under  the  pres- 

sure  °f  °ther  r°cks  in  the  f°™  °f  ™sses, 

dykes  or  intrusive  sheets,  of  which  granite 
and  some  basalts  are  examples,  and  Volcanic  which  have  poured  out  on  the 
surface  and  solidified  in  the  air  or  under  water.  Igneous  rocks  give  great 
variety  and  character  to  a  landscape,  especially  when  they  occur  among 
sedimentary  strata,  and  the  features  they  produce  are  usually  of  great 
geographical  significance.  For  instance,  the  old  volcanic  necks  which 


Land  Form 


S3 


project  as  steep  rocks  above  the  level  surface  of  a  plain  furnished  natural 
sites  for  ancient  fortresses,  and  mediaeval  castles  which  ultimately  formed 
the  nucleus  of  modern  towns. 

Features  due  to  Crustal  Movements.— The  crust  of  the  Earth  is 
subject  to  movements  of  various  kinds  which  result  in  elevations  or  de- 
pressions of  the  surface  as  explained  in  Chapter  IV.  Where  the  crust  is 

crumpled  into  a  series  of  folds,  moun- 
tain chains  of  great  height  are  ridged 
up,  characterised  by  a  succession  of 

lofty  ridges  separated  by  deep  parallel 
FIG.  26. — Diagrammatic  sectton  across  a          J  ,L    "      ,.   r  • 

range  of  fold-mountains  before  erosion,  (longitudinal)  valleys.  The  arch  of  the 
has  set  in,  showing  successive  anti-  folded  strata  is  called  in  geological 
dines  and  synclines.  .  .  ....  ,.  ,. 

terminology  an  anticline  or  anticlinal 

fold,  and  the  trough  a  syncline.  When  the  amplitude  of  the  folding  is 
great  the  rocks  may  be  thrown  into  very  complicated  convolutions,  the 
strata  being  even  reversed  the  lower  over  the  upper,  or  torn  apart.  A 
good  example  of  a  folded  and  eroded  mountain  system  is  shown  in  the 
section  across  Switzerland  (Fig.  130).  All  the  lofty  mountain  ranges  of 
the  world,  as  shown  in  Fig.  19,  are  fold-mountains  which  were  upridged 
in  the  Tertiary  period,  and  are  thus,  geologically  speaking,  things  of 
yesterday.  Other  forms  of  crust-folding  occur,  though  not  so  strikingly ; 
the  monoclinal  fold  for  instance  produces  a  steep-sided  and  flat-topped 
elevation. 

Mountain  and  valley  forms  of  quite  a  different  type  are  produced  when 


FIG.  27, 


-Diagrammatic  section  of  Crust- 
Block  Mountain. 


FIG.  28. — Diagrammatic  section  of  Rift- 
Valley. 


strata  subjected  to  severe  stresses  relieve  the  strain  not  by  folding  but  by 
cracking,  and  blocks  of  the  crust  are  thrust  up  or  allowed  to  drop  down 
between  parallel  cracks  or  faults.  The  raised  or  lowered  masses  may 
retain  their  original  position  or  be  tilted,  and  in  either  case  they  give  rise 
to  crust-block  mountains  (the  Schollengebirge  of  the  Germans),  or  to  rift- 
valleys  (Graberi),  such  as  the  upper  Rhine  plain  or  the  great  rift-valleys  of 
the  Dead  Sea,  Red  Sea,  and  East  Africa  (Fig.  445).  These,  when  of  relatively 
recent  origin,  are  wild  and  rugged,  giving  rise  to  a  country  full  of  grand 


54        The  International  Geography 

scenery  but  presenting  great  obstacles  to  traffic.  The  movement  of  crust- 
blocks  separated  by  a  great  fault  is  still  to  be  detected  in  many  cases  ; 
it  usually  occurs  in  the  form  of  slight  slips  accompanied  by  earthquake 
shocks.  Lines  of  faulting  are  of  course  lines  of  weakness  in  the  crust,  and 
consequently  afford  a  favourable  opportunity  for  the  outbreak  of  volcanic 
activity.  Hence  mountains  of  volcanic  accumulation  and  even  great  plains 
of  level  lava,  which  originally  flowed  in  a  molten  state  from  long  fissures 
in  the  crust,  are  met  with  in  the  neighbourhood  of  rift-valleys.  Typical 
volcanic  cones  sometimes  remain  as  prominent  features  in  the  scenery 

long  after  all  volcanic  activity  has  ceased. 
The  old  craters  are  often  occupied  by 
lakes  without  inlet  or  outlet  and  some- 
times very  picturesquely  framed  in  cliffs 

FIG.  29. — Diagrammatic  section  of  an    (Fig.  191).     Where  volcanic  agency  has 
uneroded  laccolith  (black).  ^^    tQ    assert     .^     Qn     ^     ^^ 

masses  of  igneous  rocks  may  be  intruded  amongst  strata  in  the  form  of 
laccoliths  thrusting  up  the  surface  into  a  dome  (Fig.  29). 

Features  due  to  Erosion. — As  soon  as  a  rock-surface  is  exposed  to 
the  air  it  may  be  attacked  by  the  chemical  action  of  the  water  and  dissolved 
gases,  by  the  alternate  heating  and  cooling  due  to  radiation,  by  wind 
driving  sand  particles,  by  the  dissolving  and  abrading  action  of  running 
water  and  sliding  detritus,  by  frost,  or  by  the  more  massive  action  of 
moving  ice.  The  result  is  that  in  every  part  of  the  world  high  ground  is 
always  being  eroded  or  eaten  away,  and  the  broken  material  swept  off  to 
lower  levels.  Every  different  kind  of  rock  resists  the  "tooth  of  time  "  in 
its  own  manner  and  to  a  particular  degree.  Beds  of  clay  or  loose  sand  are 
washed  by  rain  into  fantastic  forms,  according  to  the  varying  hardness  and 
coherence  of  their  parts.  Limestones,  no  matter  how  hard,  are  dissolved 
by  rain  or  rivers,  giving  a  very  distinctive  type  of  country,  caves  or  even 
underground  river  channels  being  produced,  into  which  the  surface 
drainage  sinks  by  rifts  and  swallow-holes  which  have  been  similarly 
dissolved  out,  and  the  land  is  left  dry  and  relatively  barren.  These 
features  are  so  characteristic  of  the  Karst  district  of  the  Adriatic  coast 
that  the  name  karst  phenomena  has  been  applied  to  them  (see  Fig.  156).  The 
more  compact  rocks  weather  differently  according  to  their  texture  and 
arrangement.  Thus  a  coarsely  crystalline  granite  decomposes  into  clay  and 
sand  along  the  lines  of  cracks,  and  in  the  process  assumes  the  bold  serrated 
outlines  familiar  to  the  observer  in  all  granite  mountains  ;  but  the  closer 
grained  basalt  is  much  more  durable.  A  dyke  or  sheet  of  igneous  rock 
embedded  in  sedimentary  strata  stands  out  sharply  when  the  softer  rocks 
have  been  weathered  away.  Again,  the  forms  of  a  region  where  the  strata 
lie  horizontally  like  the  Grand  Canyon  district  of  the  United  States,  differ 
from  those  of  one  where  the  rock  sheets  dip  regularly  in  one  direction. 
The  dip-slope  weathers  more  slowly  than  the  steeper  edge  or  escarpment, 
which  runs  along  the  direction  of  the  strike  (Fig.  30).  This  is  seen  best  on 


Land  Forms 


55 


FlG.  30. — Diagram  illustrating  dip,  strike, 
dip-slope,  and  escarpment. 


sea-coasts  and  river-valleys  where  the  character  of  the  cliffs  carved  out  by 
the  waves  or  current  varies  in  accordance  with  the  structure  as  well  as  the 
resisting  power  of  the  rocks.  Ex- 
cept in  the  newest  volcanic  for- 
mations the  surface  of  all  exposed 
rocks  has  been  greatly  altered  by 
weathering,  and  so  far  as  their 
scenery  is  concerned  the  upraising 
of  the  land  has  served  mainly  to 
guide  the  ceaseless  action  of  the 
tools  of  erosion.  The  result  of 
prolonged  erosion  on  an  ancient 
plateau  is  to  cut  it  up  into  detached 
masses  of  mountainous  magnitude,  which  on  account  of  their  origin  have 
been  called  relict-mountains,  or  mountains  of  circumdenudation. 

River  Work — Destructive. — As  the  streamlets  flow  down  any  slope 
to  meet  and  form  a  larger  stream  they  begin  to  wear  a  channel  for  them- 
selves, which  gradually  cuts  deeper  and  deeper  into  the  ground,  the  sides 
being  steadily  widened  by  weathering  as  the  channel  is  excavated,  so 
that  the  lower  valley  of  a  great  river  becomes  very  wide  and  nearly  flat. 
In  a  region  where  the  atmosphere  is  dry,  weathering  is  retarded,  and  the 
river  as  it  cuts  its  way  downwards  leaves  the  rocks  sharp  and  steep,  as  may 
be  seen  in  the  canyons  of  the  Colorado.  The  steeper  its  bed  the  more 
rapidly  does  a  stream  erode,  hence  rivers  are  most  powerful  in  destruction 
near  their  heads,  and  tend  to  cut  back  their  watersheds.  Thus  a  water- 
parting  which  was  once  straight  may  become  sinuous,  and  in  time  the 
rivers  of  the  steeper  slope  may  actually  tap  or  capture  the  upper  waters  of 
the  adjacent  drainage  area,  and 
a  river  system  which  on  a  new  land 
surface  is  comparatively  simple,  be- 
comes extremely  complicated  when 
the  land  has  been  long  subjected 
to  erosion  (Fig.  36).  As  a  river 
deepens  its  bed  below  the  general 
level  of  the  valley  floor  the  deposits 
of  stones  and  gravel  which  had 
been  stranded  on  its  margins  are 
left  at  a  higher  elevation  forming 
level  terraces  or  benches  (Fig.  32).  All  mountain  ranges  become  seamed 
with  lateral  valleys  of  erosion.  A  new  land  surface  is  usually  irregular, 
with  hollows  in  which  lakes  are  formed  by  water  accumulating  until 
it  overflows ;  but  as  the  land  grows  older  the  lakes  are  either  filled  up 
with  sediment  carried  in  by  streams,  or  drained  by  the  escaping  river 
deepening  its  channel,  and  the  old  lake-bed  becomes  an  alhivial  plain. 
Any  abrupt  change  of  level  on  a  new  land  surface,  or  any  hard  bed  of 


FlG.  31. — Diagrammatic  plan  of  a  straight 
watershed  (A)  showing  rivers  extending 
their  valleys  headword  (B). 


56         The  International  Geography 

rock   in   the   course  of   a  mature  river  forms  a  waterfall ;  but  in   time 
each  sharp  step  is  cut  back  to  form  a  steep  slope  in  a  gorge  through 

which  the  water  foams  in  rapids,  and 
ultimately  the  river  grades  its  course 
and  flows  uniformly  along  a  uniform 
slope. 

As  a  long  river  flows  on  its  way  it  is 
deflected  to  a  certain  extent  on  account 
FIG.  32.— Diagrammatic  section  across     of  the  Earth's  rotation.     This  was  first 

a  River  Valley  showing  Terraces  (T).  .    .     . 

detected  by  von  Baer,  and  is  included 
in  the  statement  of  Ferrel's  Law  thus  : — 

//  a  body  moves  in  any  direction  on  the  Earth's  surface,  there  is  a  deflecting 
force  arising  from  the  Earth's  rotation  which  tends  to  deflect  it  to  the  right 
in  the  northern  hemisphere,  but  to  the  left  in  the  southern  hemisphere. 

The  rivers  of  the  northern  hemisphere  always  pressing  more  heavily 
against  their  right  bank,  cut  it  back  as  a  cliff,  while  the  left  bank  is  left  low 
and  flat,  being  composed  of  alluvium  deposited  by  the  stream.  This  is 
strikingly  illustrated  in  the  ygreat  rivers  of  Russia  and  Siberia,  where  the 
"  high  bank  "  and  "  low  bank  "  sides  of  the  stream  are  terms  used  where 
we  speak  of  the  right  bank  or  the  left.  It  should  be  remembered  that  the 
right  bank  of  a  river  is  that  on  the  right  hand  of  a  person  looking  down- 
stream. 

River  Work— Constructive. — As  a  river  approaches  its  mouth  the 
gradient  of  its  bed  4imimshes,  the  water  flows  more  slowly,  and  is  no 
longer  able  to  sweep  along  the  load  of  stones  and  gravel,  which  are  accord- 
ingly dropped  near  the  sides,  to  be  swept  forward  spasmodically  by  floods. 
Eventually  even  the  sand  and  mud  subside  upon  the  flood  plain  across 
which  the  river  meanders  in  constantly  changing  loops.  At  the  mouth 
the  final  detritus  may  be  swept  away  and  dispersed  along  the  shore  by 
tidal  or  other  currents,  or  if  the  river  enters  a  gradually  deepening  and 
widening  inlet  of  the  coast,  the  to-and-fro  tides  may  distribute  the  sand 
and  mud  in  banks  or  bars,  as  in  the  Thames  or  Tay,  or  spread  it  over 
so  great  an  expanse  as  to  produce  no  obstruction,  as  in  the  Firth  of 
Forth.  But  all  great  rivers  which  enter  a  lake  and  many  which  enter 
the  sea  deposit  their  sediment  in  the  form  of  a  delta,  which  grows 
gradually  seaward,  and  the  water  crosses  it  in  many  and  variable  channels 
(Figs.  362  and  441).  The  margin  is  often  lined  with  lagoons  separated  from 
the  sea  by  bars  of  mud ;  but  the  delta  itself  is  a  flat  expanse  of  very 
fine  soil.  The  effect  of  floods  in  rivers  flowing  over  a  nearly  flat  plain 
is  to  cause  a  deposit  of  alluvium  along  the  sides  of  the  stream,  and  a 
consequent  silting-up  of  the  bed,  which  results  in  the  river  flowing  at 
last  along  an  embankment  above  the  general  level  of  the  plain  and 
sloping  gently  on  both  sides  down  from  the  river.  When  a  flood  occurs 
the  banks  are  apt  to  burst,  and  the  river  descends  upon  the  low  ground 
with  tremendous  force,  often  forming  a  new  channel  for  itself  to  the  sea. 


Land  Forms  57 

This  frequently  happens  on  a  small  scale  in  the  lower  Mississippi,  and 
to  a  far  greater  degree  in  the  Hwang-ho  (Fig.  264).  The  flood-plains 
and  deltas  of  great  rivers  in  latitudes  which  ensure  a  genial  climate  are 
the  most  fertile  lands  in  the  world,  and  have  been  the  cradles  of  all  the 
great  nations  of  the  ancient  East — Assyria,  Egypt,  China,  and  India. 

When  a  stream  from  a  mountain  valley  flows  out  on  to  a  plain,  or 
a  flat-floored  longitudinal  valley,  the 
sudden  change  of  slope  causes  the  depo- 
sition of  the  detritus  it  carries  down  in 
the  form  of  a  fan  of  alluvial  soil,  over 
which  the  stream  usually  flows  in  several 
branches.  The  alluvial  fan  is  a  form  of 
accumulation  intermediate  between  the 
delta  laid  down  in  still  water  and  the 
scree  or  talus  of  detached  rock  fragments  FIG.  33.— The  Alluvial  Fan  of  the  ill 
which  grows,  sometimes  as  a  magnificent  opposite  Leuk  in  the  Rhone  valley. 

,  ,       ,  ,  Contours  at  every  100  feet. 

sweep  of  boulders,  at  the  base  of  a  line 

of  cliffs.  In  arid  regions  this  work  of  rivers  is  very  characteristic  on 
account  of  the  absence  of  rain  which  in  other  regions  washes  away  and 
rearranges  the  alluvium. 

Accumulations  due  to  "Wind  and  Ice. — Wind  is  powerful  in 
shifting  and  rearranging  dry  surface  deposits.  Hence,  in  all  arid  or  desert 
regions  there  are  vast  stretches  of  sand  heaped  up  by  the  wind  into  dunes 
or  hills,  sometimes  several  hundred  feet  in  height,  sloping  gradually  on  the 
side  towards  the  prevailing  wind  and  falling  steeply  on  the  sheltered  side. 
Dunes,  unlike  all  other  geographical  features  of  the  land,  move  like  waves, 
preserving  their  size  and  form,  but  gradually  invading  and  destroying  the 
fertile  margins  of  the  desert.  Even  in  moist  climates  small  dunes  are 
formed  on  sandy  shores,  and  must  be  fixed  in  order  to  protect  the  neigh- 
bouring land,  by  planting  grasses  or  trees  with  spreading  roots  upon  them. 
The  finer  dust  blown  off  from  deposits  of  clay  or  very  minute  sand  is  be- 
lieved to  be  the  origin  of  the  peculiar  earthy  deposit  known  as  loess,  which 
occurs  on  the  borders  of  the  Alps,  in  the  Mississippi  valley,  and  to  a  re- 
markable extent  in  northern  China,  where  it  completely  conceals  all  other 
formations.  Another  accumulation  common  in  tropical  countries  is  a  stiff 
red  clay  called  laterite,  the  result  of  the  weathering  of  igneous  rocks.  A 
fourth  and  very  important  accumulation  is  the  boulder  clay  or  diluvium  left 
by  ice  sheets  or  in  extra-glacial  lakes.  Large  tracts  of  the  low  ground  of 
northern  Europe  (Fig.  52)  and  America  (Fig.  329)  are  covered  with  this 
clay,  which  has  had  the  effect  of  greatly  changing  the  surface,  causing 
the  formation  of  innumerable  lakes  and  associated  river  systems  which 
have  not  yet  had  time  to  drain  the  basins  or  to  entrench  themselves  deeply 
in  the  land. 

v  The  Geographical  Cycle.— Professor  W.  M.  Davis  has  formulated 
the  geographical  results   of  erosion  and  crustal  movement  in  a  theory 


58         The  International  Geography 


FIG.  34.— -Cycle  of  Erosion,     I. 


ADOLESCENT    """S'HORE        LINE 

FIG  35. — Cycle  of  Erosion.    II. 


FIG  36.— Cycle  of  Erosion.  HI. 


which  explains  the  progressive  de» 
velopment  of  a  land  surface.  The 
time  which  is  required  for  a  land 
surface  to  be  worn  down  low  and 
flat  by  the  action  of  erosion  he 
terms  a  cycle.  The  low  flat  surface 
which  is  the  final  result  of  erosion 
is  termed  a  peneplain.  It  is  only 
possible  here  to  consider  a  special 
case  which  illustrates  the  general 
application  of  the  theory.  Thus 
Professor  Davis  imagines  a  varied 
mountainous  region  gradually  sink- 
ing, and  the  sea  converting  the 
submerged  valleys  into  rias,  while 
the  rivers  are  shortened  until  the 
upper  tributaries  reach  the  sea  as 
independent  streams.  Meanwhile 
the  mountains  are  being  reduced 
by  erosion  and  the  sea-margin  built 
up  by  deposition,  until,  in  the 
course  of  long  ages,  the  mountains 
are  worn  down  and  the  shore  silted 
up  to  form  a  nearly  flat  expanse. 

If  now  a  period  of  elevation 
follows,  and  the  uplift  is  greatest  in 
the  region  of  the  old  mountains, 
the  sea-bed  will  be  raised  into  a 
new  land  of  stratified  rocks  having 
a  gentle  seaward  dip  down  which 
the  new  rivers  will  find  their  way, 
guided  by  the  slight  inequalities 
of  the  surface.  The  new  rivers 
formed  in  consequence  of  the  slope 
of  the  land  are  termed  consequent 
streams  (Fig.  34,  a  to  i).  If,  after  a 
time,  the  uplift  ceases,  these  rivers 
will  continue  to  cut  their  channels 
down,  and  entrench  themselves  in 
valleys  which  will  be  enlarged  by 
erosion,  and  at  the  same  time  cut 
down  to  a  slope  of  equilibrium  in 
which  the  waste  of  the  valley  floor 
is  balanced  by  the  deposit  of  sedi- 
ment. As  the  original  or  conse- 


Land   Forms  59 

quent  valleys  are  deepened,  the  opportunity  is  afforded  for  streams  flowing 
in  on  the  side  to  erode  for  themselves  valleys  which  may  be  termed  subse- 
quent. While  consequent  rivers  flow  down  the  dip  slope  of  the  strata  sub- 
sequent rivers  run  at  right  angles,  along  the  strike  (Fig.  35,  m,  11} ;  they 
naturally  are  formed  along  the  weaker  or  softer  strata.  As  the  valleys  of 
subsequent  rivers  grow  headward  along  the  guiding  line  of  the  strike,  they 
may  tap  and  capture  the  upper  courses  of  other  consequent  rivers  which 
have  had  a  gentler  slope  than  that  of  their  more  powerful  neighbour  to  which 
the  capturing  streams  are  tributary.  Finally  a  new  set  of  small  streams  is 
called  into  existence,  flowing  down  the  steep  face  of  the  escarpment  to  the 
subsequent  river,  and  these  Professor  Davis  terms  obsequent  (Fig.  35,  o). 
The  result  of  all  this  river-action  is  to  cut  up  the  uniform  slope  of  the  new 
land  into  a  series  of  inland  sloping  escarpments  corresponding  in  number 
to  the  harder  strata  and  trenched  by  the  valleys  of  the  sea-ward  flowing, 
rivers.  After  long  ages  the  valleys  will  be  so  widened,  and  the  inter- 
mediate elevations  so  much  reduced,  that  the  whole  surface  assumes 
the  old-age  form  of  the  peneplain  ;  and  across  it  the  ancient  rivers  will 
meander  in  winding  courses,  with  no  gradient  sufficient  to  enable  them  to 
work  (Fig.  36).  Projecting  masses  of  hard  rock  which  remain  projecting 
above  the  peneplain  are  termed  monadnocks  from  Mount  Monadnock  in 
New  England,  a  representative  instance. 

If  at  this  stage  a  fresh  uplift  of  the  land  should  occur,  a  new  coastal 
plain  will  be  formed,  the  old  consequent  rivers  will  be  quickened  by  the 
increased  slope  of  their  beds,  and  commence  to  incise  their  valleys  anew, 
and  as  the  deepening  goes  on  the  subsequent  and  obsequent  streams  will 
also  be  revivified  in  their  turn,  and  a  more  complete  adjustment  of  river  to 
land  obtained  in  the  second  cycle  than  was  possible  in  the  first. 

The  theory  of  a  geographical  cycle  is  illustrated  here  by  a  single  case 
in  a  very  simple  form — so  simple  that  it  probably  corresponds  with  the 
evolution  of  no  actual  land  surface.  In  nature  innumerable  irregularities 
occur ;  the  varying  arrangement  and  hardness  of  the  rocks  produce  a 
great  variety  of  forms,  and  the  alternate  elevations  and  depressions  of  the 
land  before  the  work  of  any  one  stage  of  a  cycle  has  had  time  to  be  com- 
pleted, makes  it  difficult  always  to  recognise  what  has  really  taken  place. 
It  must  also  be  remembered  that  processes  of  faulting,  tilting,  warping, 
and  folding  are  often  simultaneously  at  work,  so  that  few  large  areas  of 
the  Earth's  surface  owe  their  geographical  forms  to  any  one  process.  Still 
rivers  always  tend  to  adjust  themselves  to  the  land  over  which  they  flow, 
and  so  carve  and  mould  it  into  definite  and  characteristic  forms. 
STANDARD  BOOKS. 

A.  Penck.   "  Morphologic  der  Erdoberflache."     2  vols.     Stuttgart,  1894. 
E.  Suess.     "Das  Antlitz  der  Erde."     3  vols.     Leipzig,  1885,  1888,  1902. 

"  The  Face  of  the  Earth."    (Translation  of  above.)    Oxford,  1904,  1906. 

W.M.Davis.    '  Physical  Geography."     Boston,  1898. 

A.  de  Lapparent.     "  Le9ons  de  Geographic  Physique."     3rd  edit.     Paris,  1907. 

G.  de  la  Noe;  and  E  de  Margerie.   "  Les  Formes  du  Terrain  "  (with  atlas  of  plates).  Pans,  1888, 

{.  Geikie.     "  Earth  Sculpture."     London  and  New  York,  1898. 
.  C.  Russell.    "The  Rivers  of  North  America."    New  York,  1898  ;  and  under  the  title.  "River 
Development."    London,  1898. 


CHAPTER  VI.— THE   OCEANS 

BY  SIR  JOHN  MURRAY,  K.C.B.,  F.R.S.,  AND  HUGH  ROBERT  MILL,  D.Sc 

The  Hydrosphere.— In  the  atmosphere  the  region  with  which  we 
are  most  familiar  is  the  lower  surface  in  contact  with  the  land  or  sea  ;  the 
higher  air  requires  study— from  the  geographer's  point  of  view — only  in 
order  to  find  the  causes  of  the  movements  in  the  lower.  But  in  the 
hydrosphere  it  is  the  upper  surface  which  plays  the  most  important  part  in 

human  affairs,  while  the  depths  of 
the  ocean  have  only  to  be  studied 
in  order  to  explain  the  superficial 
movements  and  actions.  Lakes, 
rivers,  the  interstitial  water  of  the 
lithosphere,  and  the  water  vapour 
of  the  atmosphere  may  all  be  re- 
garded as  extensions  of  the  nydro- 
sphere.  The  general  form  of  the 
ocean  basins  is  a  vast  depressed 
plain,  yet  the  floor  of  each  ocean  is 
diversified  by  ridges  and  troughs, 
the  deepest  parts  frequently  occur- 
ring not  in  the  centre  of  the  oceans, 
but  comparatively  near  shore.  The 
configuration  of  the  ocean  floor  is  of 
great  practical  importance  for  laying 
telegraph  cables  ;  but  it  is  not  neces- 
sary to  describe  it  in  detail  here. 
The  greatest  depth  hitherto  reported 
in  the  ocean  is,  5,269  fathoms  (or  six 
miles)  to  the  east  of  the  Ladrones  in 
the  North  Pacific.  In  the  south-west 
Pacific  to  the  east  of  the  Kermadec 
Islands  soundings  of  5,155  fathoms 
and  5,147  fathoms  were  obtained. 

These  are  the  only  records  of  depths  exceeding  5,000  fathoms,  though 
soundings  in  depths  between  4,000  and  5,000  fathoms  are  comparatively 
numerous.  The  greatest  depth  known  in  the  Atlantic  is  4,660  fathoms,  to 
the  north  of  the  West  Indies,  while  in  the  Indian  Ocean  no  depth  approach- 
ing 4,000  fathoms  has  hitherto  been  found,  the  deepest  sounding  being  little 
over  3,200  fathoms.  It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  Sir  James  Clark  Ross  ran  out 

60 


FIG.  37.— Configuration  of  the  Bed  of 
the  Atlantic  Ocean,  showing  contour 
tines  of  100  fathoms  (dotted),  1,000, 
2,000  and  3,000  fathoms  of  depth. 
All  over  3,000  fathoms  is  in  solid 
black. 


The  Oceans  61 

4,000  fathoms  of  line  in  the  Southern  Ocean,  to  the  south  of  South  Georgia, 
but  in  1904  Dr.  Bruce  found  the  depth  at  this  spot  to  be  only  2,660  fathoms. 
The  floor  of  the  ocean  on  the  whole  lies  about  2^  miles  below  the  average 
level  of  the  continental  land  surface  (see  Fig.  24). 

Land  and  Sea. — The  margin  of  the  hydrosphere  where  it  touches  the 
protuberant  parts  of  the  lithosphere  is  the  primary  dividing  line  of  the 
Earth  for  most  human  purposes,  separating  the  water  from  the  land.  The 
exact  areas  of  the  oceans  and  the  land  cannot  be  ascertained  until  the 
Arctic  and  Antarctic  regions  have  been  fully  explored,  but  for  the  known 
parts  of  the  Earth  the  proportion  of  sea  to  land  is  about  2*5  to  i,  or  in  other 
words  72  per  cent,  of  the  surface  is  sea,  and  28  per  cent.  land.  The  whole 
surface  of  the  Earth  measures  approximately  148,570,000  square  sea-miles, 
or  196,940,000  square  miles  ;  the  hydrosphere  may  be  taken  as  covering 
about  142,000,000  square  miles,  and  the  land  about  55,000,000. 

Superficial  Divisions  of  the  Hydrosphere.— The  surface  of  the 
'hydrosphere  is  most  clearly  marked  off  by  land  into  separate  portions  in 
the  northern  hemisphere,  the  larger  of  these  being  called  oceans,  while  the 
smaller  are  called  seas.  Seas  have  been  classified  in  various  ways ;  the 
simplest  classification  takes  account  of  (i)  Inland  Seas  which  are  entirely 
surrounded  by  land  ;  the  Caspian  is  the  only  example,  the  smaller  bodies 
of  inland  water  being  called  lakes  ;  (2)  Enclosed  Seas,  which  are  almost 
surrounded  by  land,  but  joined  to  an  ocean  by  one  relatively  narrow 
channel,  e.g.,  the  Mediterranean  or  the  Red  Sea  ;  and  (3)  Partially  Enclosed 
Seas,  which  are  connected  with  the  ocean  by  two  or  more  openings,  being 
often  marked  off  from  it  by  a  chain  of  islands,  e.g.,  the  North  Sea  or  Japan 
Sea.  Partially  enclosed  seas  may  be  farther  divided  into  shallow  and 
deep,  the  latter  being  sometimes  separated  from  the  ocean  by  a  barrier 
which  may  not  quite  rise  to  the  surface,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Norwegian 
Sea  in  the  North  Atlantic  Ocean.  Groups  of  seas  "  partially  enclosed  "  by 
island  loops  along  the  coast  of  a  continent,  as  for  example  on  the  east 
coast  of  Asia,  are  sometimes  called  fringing  seas. 

The  early  Greek  conception  of  an  insular  land  surrounded  by  the  river 
Oceanus  (Fig.  3)  gave  its  name  to  the  ocean,  or,  as  it  was  called  in  the  time 
x>f  Columbus,  the  "  Ocean  Sea,"  but  the  name  is  now  applied  to  the  portions 
of  the  hydrosphere  separated  by  the  continents.  These  are  the  Atlantic, 
between  Europe-Africa  and  America,  the  Pacific  between  America  and 
Asia-Australia,  and  the  Indian  between  Asia- Australia  and  Africa.  Each  of 
these  oceans  may  be  divided  into  a  northern  and  southern  part  by  the 
equator.  The  southern  boundary  of  the  three  oceans,  according  to  the 
rule  generally  adopted,  is  the  Antarctic  Circle,  within  which  lies  the 
Antarctic  Ocean  ;  but  for  many  purposes  it  is  more  convenient  to  take  the 
parallel  of  40°  S.  as  the  dividing  line,  and  call  the  great  ring  of  shoreless 
water  to  the  south  the  Southern  Ocean,  the  term  Antarctic  being  appro- 
priately enough  applied  to  its  southern  edge.  The  northern  limits  of  the 
Atlantic  and  Pacific  are  usually  drawn  at  the  Arctic  Circle,  and  the  water 


6  2         The  International  Geography 

surrounding  the  north  pole  is  called  the  Arctic  Ocean,  but  there  are 
reasons  for  considering  the  whole  Arctic  basin  to  belong  to  the  Atlantic 
Ocean,  of  which  it  forms  the  Arctic  Sea. 

Islands. — Two  distinct  and  contrasted  types  of  island  are  readily 
recognised,  (i)  Continental  Islands  which  do  not  as  a  rule  lie  far  from 
continental  shores,  and  usually  consist  of  crystalline  and  sedimentary 
rocks  similar  to  those  found  on  the  neighbouring  mainland,  from  which 
they  are  usually  separated  by  shallow  seas.  In  fact  such  islands  generally 
rise  on  the  continental  shelf,  and  in  many  cases  have  been  separated 
from  the  continent  at  a  period  geologically  recent.  Examples  of  these 
are  the  British  Islands,  only  separated  from  the  mainland  in  Quaternary 
times,  Sicily,  Japan,  the  Malay  and  Greek  archipelagoes,  and  the  close 
island  fringes  of  fjord-riven  coasts.  Madagascar,  New  Zealand  and 
New  Caledonia  are  examples  of  a  somewhat  different  class  of  continental 
island,  being  separated  from  their  nearest  mainland  by  a  considerable 
distance  of  deep  water.  Continental  islands  as  a  rule  show  a  com- 
munity of  flora  and  fauna  with  the  neighbouring  land.  (2)  The  second 
class  consists  of  Oceanic  Islands  which  are  situated  far  from  any  continent, 
the  islands,  singly  or  in  groups,  forming  the  peaks  of  submarine  mountains 
which  rise  from  the  great  depths  of  the  ocean,  like  St.  Helena  or  the  Fiji 
Islands.  Oceanic  islands  do  not  as  a  rule  contain  any  of  the  typical  rocks 
of  continents,  i.e.,  sedimentary  strata,  metamorphic  rocks,  or  such  acid  rocks 
as  granite.  They  are  either  volcanic,  forming  the  cones  or  craters  of  active 
or  recently  extinct  volcanoes,  in  which  case  they  may  be  mountainous  and 
of  considerable  height  (see  Fig.  326),  or  else  they  are  of  organic  growth,, 
usually  mainly  composed  of  coral,  and  then  they  are  typically  low  and  flat, 
unless  they  have  been  upheaved.  Reef-building  corals  and  other  lime- 
secreting  organisms,  which  make  up  coral  islands,  flourish  best  in  pure  sea 
water  where  the  temperature  never  falls  below  70°  F.,  and  where  the  annual 
range  of  temperature  does  not  exceed  12°  F.  Hence  coral  formations  are 
practically  limited  to  the  warmer  tropical  seas.  They  are  of  several  kinds, 
the  simplest  being  the  fringing  reef,  a  mere  edge  of  growing  coral  in  the 
shallow  water  below  low-tide  mark.  The  barrier  reef  is  found  farther  out, 
and  is  separated  from  the  shore,  to  which  it  runs  more  or  less  parallel,  by  a 
stretch  of  shallow  water  where  detached  masses  of  coral  often  rise  to  the 
surface.  The  greatest  reef  of  this  kind  lies  off  northern  Queensland,  form- 
ing a  sheltered  channel  for  steamers  along  the  coast  (see  Fig.  294).  Many  of 
the  volcanic  islands  of  the  Pacific  are  almost  completely  surrounded  by  a 
barrier  reef.  The  atoll  is  the  most  characteristic  form  of  coral  land.  It 
consists  of  a  narrow  reef  enclosing  a  shallow  lagoon  with  no  central  island 
(see  Fig.  326).  Coral  islands  are  raised  above  the  level  of  the  sea  either 
by  upheavel  or  by  waves  breaking  off  and  piling  up  masses  of  the  coral. 
Two  theories  are  advanced  to  account  for  the  origin  of  atolls  and  barrier 
reefs,  each  of  which  demands  a  solid  foundation  coming  to  within  20 
fathoms  of  the  surface.  The  theory  of  Charles  Darwin  requires  that  the 


The  Oceans  63 


foundation  is  undergoing  slow  subsidence ;  that  of  Sir  John  Murray  is  equally 
applicable  to  a  stationary,  sinking  or  rising  region.  As  a  matter  of  fact 
many  instances  are  known  of  atolls  having  been  elevated  high  above  sea- 
level  after  their  formation  was  completed.  Oceanic  islands  have  all  a 
restricted  and  highly  individual  flora  and  fauna  as  a  result  of  their  remote- 
ness from  continental  land. 

Near  shore  or  in  fresh  water  various  minor  classes  of  islands  may  appear, 
due  to  deltaic  formations,  or  to  the  division  of  a  river  into  branches  which 
afterwards  reunite.  These  islands,  and  indeed  continental  islands  in 
general,  are  to  be  viewed  as  forming  part  of  the  continental  area  of 
the  Earth,  the  separation  being  frequently  only  a  temporary  stage  in  the 
•evolution  of  the  land. 

Sea- Water. — The  vapour  which  is  always  rising  from  the  surface  of 
the  sea  is  condensed  by  contact  with  elevated  land,  or  on  account  of  some 
atmospheric  change,  and  precipitated  as  fresh  water  (rain  or  snow) 
over  the  surface  of  land  or  sea.  The  water  flowing  over  or  through  the 
land  dissolves  part  of  the  substance  of  the  rocks,  the  most  soluble  matters 
like  common  salt  and  the  sulphates  of  magnesia  and  lime,  being  taken  up 
in  largest  proportion,  but  also  carbonate  of  lime  (the  solution  of  which  is 
promoted  by  the  dissolved  carbonic  acid  absorbed  from  the  air  and  soil) 
and  silica.  These  materials  collect  in  the  basins  of  internal  drainage  into 
which  the  rivers  from  one-quarter  of  the  land-surface  flow,  and  there  give 
rise  to  salt  lakes  ;  but  as  the  rivers  draining  three-quarters  of  the  land 
reach  the  sea  the  ocean  has  become  a  vast  depository  of  all  soluble  salts, 
and  hence  its  water  tastes  both  salt  and  bitter.  The  Atlantic  is  pre- 
eminently the  ocean  of  land-drainage ;  including  the  Arctic  basin,  fully 
one-half  of  the  land-surface  slopes  towards  and  drains  into  it.  The  Pacific 
and  Indian  oceans  receive  comparatively  few  rivers. 

Although  sea-salt  is  practically  identical  in  composition  in  all  parts  of 
the  ocean  the  amount  dissolved  in  the  water  varies  from  place  to  place, 
the  proportion  being  of  course  greater  in  regions  where  there  is  great 
evaporation  and  little  or  no  rainfall,  such  as  the  Red  Sea,  or  the  trade- 
wind  belts  of  the  tropics,  and  less  where  there  is  a  heavy  precipitation 
such  as  the  region  of  the  equatorial  calms.  The  salinity  is  also  much 
lowered  in  estuaries  off  the  mouths  of  large  rivers,  and  in  places  where 
icebergs  are  melting.  The  fact  that  the  water  of  the  sea  is  salt  and  not 
fresh  has  an  important  influence  on  the  action  of  heat.  If  a  column 
of  sea  water  of  uniform  salinity  throughout  is  cooled  from  above  it 
steadily  grows  denser,  and  the  surface  layers  sink  and  in  this  way 
•distribute  the  low  temperature  by  convection  throughout  the  mass. 
Thus  the  whole  of  a  detached  portion  of  sea  water  assumes  rapidly  the 
temperature  of  the  coldest  season  of  the  year.  If  the  cold  is  very  severe, 
when  the  freezing  point  (28°  F.  for  sea  water  of  normal  salinity)  is  reached 
the  mass  should  freeze  solid.  This,  however,  never  takes  place,  because 
the  water  of  the  ocean  is  never  at  rest,  and  chemical  changes  occur  in 


64        The  International  Geography 


the  freezing  of  sea  water  which  lower  the  freezing-point  of  the  portion 
remaining  liquid.  It  usually  happens  that  the  surface  water  is  less  saline, 
and  consequently  so  much  lighter  than  the  deeper  layers  that  in  spite 
of  its  lowered  temperature  it  remains  floating  on  the  surface  until  it 
freezes.  When  a  column  of  sea  water  of  uniform  salinity  is  heated 
from  above,  the  surface  water  evaporates  and  the  remaining  liquid  near  the 
surface  gains  more  in  density  by  concentration  than  it  loses  by  expansion, 
and  thus  sinks  and  raises  the  temperature  of  the  whole,  a  result  that  could 
never  occur  with  fresh  water.  But  it  is  only  in  places  like  the  Red  Sea, 

where  the  superficial  layer  is  not 
freshened  by  rain  or  rivers,  that  this 
effect  is  commonly  produced.  The 
specific  heat  of  sea  water  is  a  little 
less  than  that  of  fresh  water,  so  that 
the  amount  of  heat  which  would  raise 
a  quantity  of  fresh  water  9*35°  F.  in 
temperature,  would  raise  the  same 
quantity  of  sea  water  10°.  Sea  water 
is  also  a  better  conductor  of  heat,  so 
that  it  is  affected  by  the  Sun's  rays  to 
a  greater  depth  than  fresh  water.  The 
equilibrium  of  the  water  of  the  ocean 
may  thus  be  destroyed  in  many  ways, 
and  hence  it  is  more  readily  set  in 
circulation  than  fresh  water,  and  the 
causes  of  its  movements  are  more 
difficult  to  ascertain.  Sea  water  also 
contains  in  solution  a  quantity  of  the 
various  atmospheric  gases  which  bears 
a  definite  relation  to  the  temperature 
at  which  they  were  absorbed. 

Oceanic  Deposits.-The  chemi- 

density  the  regions  of  great  evaporation    cal     action     exerted     by    the     complex 

solution  of  salts  and  gases  found  in 


areas,  and  the  regions  of  dilution  due  to   sea  water  produces  many  interesting 
ES^StojESSSXSi  effects  both  as  regards  the  action  of 

living    organisms     in    secreting    the 

material  for  their  shells  and  skeletons,  and  the  changes  brought  about 
in  the  deposits  forming  on  the  bottom.  For  a  distance  from  land 
varying  with  the  set  of  ocean  currents  and  prevailing  winds,  but  rarely 
exceeding  300  miles,  material  derived  from  the  shore  makes  up  the  larger 
part  of  the  deposits  on  the  sea-bed  at  all  depths  and  these  are  conse- 
quently termed  Terrigenous.  Outside  this  limit  the  deposits  are  termed 
Pelagic,  as  they  are  formed  in  the  free  ocean  beyond  the  influence  of  land 
except  by  the  occasional  fall  of  dust  and  the  drifting  of  volcanic  pumice. 


The  Oceans  65 


In  temperate  and  tropical  seas  far  from  land  the  deposit,  where  the 
depth  is  comparatively  slight,  consists  chiefly  of  the  dead  calcareous 
shells  of  the  minute  organisms  which  swarm  in  the  surface  water.  The 
most  wide-spread  of  these  deposits  is  Globigerina  Ooze.  But  when  the 
depth  is  great  the  lime  of  those  shells  is  nearly  or  completely  dissolved 
out  when  they  'are  falling  through  the  vast  mass  of  water  or  lying  on 
the  bottom,  and  there  is  left  only  a  Red  Clay  composed  of  clayey 
matter  mixed  with  meteoric  and  volcanic  dust.  It  is  by  the  occurrence 
of  these  pelagic  deposits  that  the  theory  of  the  permanence  of  ocean 
basins  is  largely  supported.  In  the  fresher  and  colder  water  of  the 
polar  seas  siliceous  organisms  predominate  and  their  remains  give  rise 
to  the  Diatom  Ooze  so  characteristic  of  the  Southern  Ocean  where  it 
approaches  the  Antarctic  Circle. 

Tides. — It  is  only  in  the  great  ring  of  the  Southern  Ocean  and  in 
the  vast  expanse  of  the  Pacific  that  the  tide-raising  powers  of  the  Sun 
and  Moon  can  produce  their  full  effect.  The  ocean  tides  show  a  rise 
of  the  water-level  by  a  foot  or  two  when  the  crest  of  the  semi-diurnal 
tidal  wave  passes  the  place  of  observation,  and  a  fall  of  a  foot  or  two 
when  the  trough  passes  six  and  a  half  hours  later.  On  entering  shallow  water 
the  tidal  wave  becomes  changed  into  a  current,  often  of  considerable 
strength.  Such  currents  may  also  be  produced  by  shoals  in  the  open 
sea,  but  they  find  their  fullest  development  along  flat  shores  where  the 
submergence  and  uncovering  of  the  beach  is  often  a  very  impressive 
sight.  The  tidal  currents  sweeping  through  the  rocky  channels  between 
islands  often  give  rise  to  dangerous  eddies  and  whirlpools,  and  may 
render  the  channels  useless  for  navigation  during  the  strength  of  the 
tide.  On  the  other  hand,  the  influx  of  the  flood  tide  in  the  lower  courses 
of  the  rivers  of  a  flat  country  often  enables  shipping  to  reach  ports  which 
would  otherwise  be  inaccessible.  The  greatest  rise  and  fall  of  the  water 
produced  by  the  tide  occurs  in  long  funnel-shaped  bays  or  estuaries, 
the  difference  between  high  and  low  water  at  spring  tide  at  the  head  of 
the  Bay  of  Fundy  being  as  much  as  seventy  feet ;  but  the  average  tidal 
rise  and  fall  round  the  coasts  of  most  countries  does  not  exceed 
ten  feet.  The  subject  of  the  tides,  the  times  of  their  occurrence,  and  their 
height  is  of  a  most  complex  character  owing  to  the  interference  of  various 
wave-systems  ;  but  on  the  whole,  tidal  influence  is  not  one  of  the  main 
factors  in  the  circulation  of  the  oceans. 

Temperature  of  Ocean  Surface  Water. — The  mean  daily  range 
in  temperature  of  the  surface  water  of  the  ocean  is  not  more  than  i°  F., 
while  that  of  the  air  resting  upon  it  is  three  times  as  great.  The  contrast 
of  the  ocean  surface  with  the  land  as  regards  temperature  is  thus 
complete.  Between  the  polar  regions  where  the  surface  of  the  sea  is 
freezing,  and  the  Red  Sea  and  Persian  Gulf  where  the  temperature  of 
the  water  often  exceeds  90°,  there  is  an  extreme  range  of  70°.  The 
extreme  annual  range  in  anv  one  part  of  the  ocean  surface  does  not 


66         The  International  Geography 

exceed  53°  and  this  only  occurs  off  the  coasts  of  Newfoundland  and 
of  Japan,  where  the  same  area  is  occupied  at  one  season  by  cold  water 
-coming  from  the  Arctic  regions  and  at  another  by  warm  water  from  the 
tropics,  and  it  is  not  a  measure  of  heating  and  cooling  in  the  same  water. 
Viewed  broadly  the  hydrosphere  is  divided  into  five  zones  of  temperature 
.arranged  roughly  parallel  to  one  another,  but  more  distinct  on  the  western 
than  on  the  eastern  sides  of  the  oceans.  These  are  a  Circumtropical  zone 
of  high  temperature  (over  80°)  and  small  annual  range,  two  Circumpolar 
zones  of  low  temperature  (under  50°)  and  small  annual  range,  and  between 
these  and  the  hot  zone  two  Intermediate  zones  which  show  a  great  annual 
range  of  temperature  produced  by  the  mingling  of  the  waters  of  the  two 
others  The  hot  belt  is  due  to  the  intensity  of  solar  radiation,  and  it  is 
important  because  all  coral  islands  occur  within  it.  The  cold  belt  of  small 
range  is  produced  by  the  low  polar  winter  temperatures  and  the 
melting  of  ice  in  the  summer. 

Temperature  of  the  Deep  Water.— In  the  open  ocean  at  the 
depth  of  50  fathoms  it  is  probable  that  the  temperature  does  not  change  by 
so  much  as  2°  F.  at  any  one  place  throughout  the  year ;  and  below  the  depth 
of  loo  fathoms  there  is  no  evidence  of  any  annual  change  of  temperature 
^whatever.  But  differences  between  the  temperature  of  one  part  of  the 
ocean  and  another  may  be  as  great  as  42°  at  100  fathoms,  20°  at  500,  and 
:8°  at  1,500  fathoms.  Everywhere  in  the  open  ocean,  but  especially 'in 
the  tropics,  the  temperature  diminishes  rapidly  from  the  surface  to 
about  400  fathoms,  and  then  very  gradually  to  the  bottom,  where  the 
temperature  of  the  water  is  quite  independent  of  latitude.  At  the  greatest 
depths  the  temperature  varies  from  32°  to  35°,  even  at  the  equator.  The 
average  temperature  of  the  whole  mass  of  the  ocean  is  probably  between 
38°  and  39°,  and  it  may  be  looked  upon  as  a  body  of  cold  water  covered 
with  a  thin  warm  layer  in  the  tropics.  In  the  north-western  parts  of  the 
Atlantic  and  Pacific  the  warm  water  extends  to  a  much  greater  depth 
than  in  the  tropics,  and  it  is  thinnest  of  all  in  the  south-eastern  parts  of 
the  three  oceans. 

Circulation  of  Enclosed  Seas. — The  whole  mass  of  water  in  the 
ocean  is  believed  to  be  in  continual  though  very  slow  motion,  because 
there  is  no  abrupt  change  of  temperature  anywhere  between  masses 
of  water  at  the  same  depth  and  not  separated  by  a  ridge.  But  in 
•enclosed  seas,  which  are  cut  off  from  the  ocean  by  a  barrier,  the  tem- 
perature corresponds  to  that  of  the  ocean  only  from  the  surface  to  the 
•depth  of  the  barrier  ;  below  that  the  water  retains  the  same  temperature 
unchanged  to  the  bottom.  Thus  the  Mediterranean  has  a  uniform 
temperature  of  55°  from  190  fathoms,  the  depth  of  the  Strait  of  Gib- 
raltar, to  the  bottom  in  2,400  fathoms  (the  Atlantic  has  a  temperature 
of  35°  at  the  latter  depth) ;  and  the  Red  Sea  has  a  temperature  of  70° 
from  200  fathoms,  the  depth  of  the  Strait  of  Bab-el-Mandeb,  to  the 
bottom  in  1,200  fathoms.  Enclosed  seas  are  not  as  a  rule  stagnant,  but 


The  Oceans  67 

their  waters  circulate  on  account  of  their  differences  in  salinity.  Thus 
the  water  of  the  Red  Sea  and  the  Mediterranean  is  much  salter  and 
denser  than  that  of  the  ocean,  so  that  when  the  level  of  the  enclosed  sea  is 
reduced  by  evaporation  the  comparatively  light  ocean  water  flows  in  as 
a  surface  current,  while  the 
dense  warm  water  sets  out- 
wards as  a  return  current  along 
the  bottom.  In  the  shallow 
Baltic  and  the  deep  Black  Sea, 
on  the  contrary,  the  numerous 
rivers  which  flow  in  make  the 

water  so  fresh  that  it  overflows     ,, 

FIG.  39.— Diagram  showing  temperature  of  Red  Sea. 
as    a    surface    current,    while 

the  dense  ocean-water  flows  in  as  an  under-current.  The  Baltic  is,  how- 
ever, very  variable  in  its  circulation  on  account  of  the  action  of  wind,  and 
the  Black  Sea  is  so  deep  that  its  lower  waters  are  absolutely  stagnant  and 
putrid,  unfit  for  the  support  of  animal  life  of  any  kind.  In  shallow  partially- 
enclosed  seas,  such  as  the  North  Sea,  tidal  currents  play  a  notable  part  in 
the  circulation  of  the  water. 

Action  of  Wind  on  "Water. — When  wind  strikes  the  surface  of 
water,  part  of  the  surface  is  depressed  and  the  neighbouring  portions 
ridged  up  ;  but,  the  force  of  gravity  tending  to  restore  the  level  surface,  a 
wave  form  is  generated  which  sweeps  over  the  surface  of  the  sea  as  a  line 
of  rollers.  It  is  only  the  form  that  advances  as  in  the  tidal  wave,  the 
actual  particles  of  water  simply  rise  and  fall,  but  the  elasticity  of  the  water 
keeps  up  the  movement  after  the  wind  which  generated  it  has  died  away  ; 
in  fact  the  surface  of  the  ocean  is  never  quite  at  rest.  The  largest  waves- 
raised  by  wind  have  a  length  from  crest  to  crest  of  about  one  quarter  of  a  mile 
and  a  height  from  hollow  to  crest  of  50  feet,  but  waves  of  this  magnitude  are 
rare.  On  entering  a  shallow,  the  lower  portion  of  the  water  in  contact 
with  the  bottom  is  retarded,  and  the  upper  part  toppling  over  falls  in  spray  as 
a  breaker.  On  shores  facing  the  steady  prevailing  winds  the  thunder  of  the 
breakers  on  the  beach  is  unceasing  throughout  the  year,  and  in  many  such 
places  it  is  almost  impossible  to  land.  The  power  of  waves  to  erode  the 
coast  is  considerable,  but  rapidly  diminishes  with  depth,  so  that  at  100 
fathoms  the  largest  ocean  waves  cannot  do  more  than  stir  the  finest  mud 
on  the  bottom.  The  wind  acts  also  in  another  way.  A  fresh  breeze  or  a. 
gale  blows  off  the  crests  of  the  waves  in  spray  which  is  driven  before  the 
wind  ;  a  gentle  breeze  suffices  to  cause  a  thin  stratum  of  the  surface  layer 
of  water  to  slip  before  it,  so  that  if  the  wind  continues  long  enough  from 
a  delmite  quarter  the  surface  water  begins  to  drift  in  the  same  direction. 
But  since  the  driving  of  surface  water  from  one  position  tends  to  lower 
the  level  and  the  heaping  up  at  another  place  tends  to  raise  it,  the  hydro- 
static equilibrium  is  destroyed  and  has  to  be  restored  by  vertical  move- 
ments, reaction  currents,  and  upwelling  on  the  windward  shores.  The  wind 


68         The  International  Geography 

thus  gives  rise  not  only  to  horizontal  but  to  vertical  movements  in  the  sea, 
and  these  vertical  movements  are  strengthened  when  assisted  by  the  slopes 
of  a  shore.  An  on-shore  wind  (that  is  a  wind  from  the  sea  towards  the  land), 
when  long  continued  heaps  up  warm  surface  water  against  the  shore 
which  displaces  the  cold  water  to  a  considerable  depth.  On  the  other 
hand  an  off-shore  wind  causes  an  upwelling  of  deep  and  cold  ocean  water 
against  the  land. 

Circulation  of  the  Oceans. — The  energy  of  the  Sun,  which  acts 
directly  by  effecting  changes  of  temperature,  indirectly  by  evaporation  and 
precipitation,  producing  changes  of  density,  and  by  giving  rise  to  the  whole 
system  of  the  winds,  is  the  main  cause  of  the  circulation  of  the  oceans. 
It  is  unnecessary  to  inquire  which  of  the  direct  or  indirect  solar  actions 
is  the  most  potent  factor,  since  all  work  together  and  reinforce  each  other. 
It  must  be  remembered  too  that  the  rotation  of  the  Earth,  which  exercises  a 
directive  influence  on  rivers  and  wind,  has  a  precisely  similar  influence  on 
the  moving  waters  of  the  sea,  causing  a  deviation  towards  the  right  in  the 
northern  hemisphere.  While  the  mass-movements  of  the  ocean,  mainly 
due  *o  vertical  circulation,  are  as  a  rule  very  slow  and  only  to  be  deduced 
from  indirect  observations,  the  movements  of  the  surface  water  in  a  hori- 
zontal sense  are  rapid  and  easily  observed.  They  may  be  roughly  divided 
into  drifts  and  currents.  A  drift  is  the  general  movement  of  the  surface 
water  in  obedience  to  the  wind ;  it  is,  as  a  rule,  of  little  depth,  slow  and 
uncertain  in  velocity  and  direction,  stopping  when  the  wind  stops,  changing 
when  it  changes,  but  in  the  regions  of  steady  winds  producing  a  great 
effect.  A  current  is  a  more  definite  movement,  sometimes  a  sharply  defined 
body  of  water  flowing  like  a  river  between  the  relatively  motionless  water 
on  either  side,  at  a  velocity  of  several  miles  an  hour,  and  capable  of 
persisting  in  its  direction  even  against  a  temporary  change  of  wind.  A 
great  ocean  current  is  however  not  by  any  means  homogeneous.  It 
consists  of  strands  or  threads  of  water  moving  with  different  velocities 
and  often  varying  in  direction.  It  may  contain  eddies  or  still  patches  and 
it  may  extend  to  a  variable  depth.  This  character  makes  it  possible  for 
two  equal  currents  to  meet,  coming  from  opposite  directions,  and  yet  not 
neutralise  one  another,  the  strands  of  moving  water  may  slip  past  each 
other,  or  one  current  may  pass  underneath,  or  even  cut  through  the  other. 
The  transition  between  currents  and  drifts  is  gradual,  and  the  circulation 
of  the  ocean  is  to  be  looked  on  as  the  final  result  of  a  variety  of  move- 
ments which  may  not  at  any  one  time  exhibit  their  typical  character. 

Speaking  very  generally  the  three  oceans  north  of  the  equator  exhibit  a 
surface  circulation  as  if  the  whole  water  had  been  stirred  and  set  in  motion 
in  the  direction  of  the  hands  of  a  watch  ;  but  in  the  Indian  Ocean  the 
change  of  the  monsoons  reverses  this  circulation  during  half  the  year.  The 
three  oceans  south  of  the  equator  show  a  similar  but  less  complete  cir- 
culation in  the  opposite  direction,  as  is  explained  by  Ferret's  law  (p.  56) ; 
and  in  the  centre  of  each  of  the  great  whirls  there  is  an  area  of  rest  in 


The   Oceans 


which   floating   weed  accumulates,  best   exemplified   by  the   "Sargasso 
Sea"  of  the  North  Atlantic  (Fig.  40). 

Currents  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean. — Th£  trade  winds  blowing  from 
the  coast  of  Africa  drive  before  them  two  currents,  the  north  and  the  south 
equatorial,  which  are  separated  by  the  equatorial  counter  current  running 
in  the  opposite  direction  along  the  equatorial  calm  belt  from  the  American 
coast  into  the  Gulf  of  Guinea.  Part  of  the  north  equatorial  current  enters 
the  Caribbean  Sea,  but  the  greater  portion  of  it,  turning  northward  as  it 
flows,  sweeps  outside  of  the  chain  of  the  West  Indies  and  reinforces  the 
Gulf  Stream.  The  Gulf  Stream  leaves  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  through  Florida 
Strait  as  a  river  of  very  salt  water  at  a  temperature  of  81°  on  the  surface, 
fifty  miles  wide  and  350  fathoms  deep. 
It  flows  along  the  Florida  coast  at  a 
velocity  of  five  miles  an  hour,  but  off 
Cape  Hatteras  curves  towards  the  east, 
and  spreads  out  in  a  fan  shape,  growing 
cooler  as  it  flows,  until  it  merges  in  a 
broad  drift  that  sends  branches  north- 
wards along  the  coast  of  Norway  and 
into  the  Arctic  Sea,  while  the  main 
body,  turning  east  and  south,  passes  the 
British  Islands  and  returns  southwards 
to  join  the  north  equatorial  current  off 
the  Canaries.  Cold  currents  from  the 
Arctic  Sea  carry  many  icebergs  along 
the  east  coasts  of  Greenland  and  of 
Labrador  until  they  melt  in  the  warm 
water  of  the  Gulf  Stream.  The  Lab- 
rador current  passes  southward  between 
the  North  American  coast  and  the  Gulf 
Stream,  and  is  known  as  the  Cold  Wall. 
The  position  of  both  currents  changes 
according  to  the  season.  The  meeting 
of  the  warm  and  cold  water  is  also  the 


FIG.  40.  —  The  Currents  of  the  Atlantic 
Ocean,  showing  the  typical  circulation 
of  water  in  an  ocean,  and  the  relation 
of  the  Sargasso  Sea  to  the  Gulf  Stream. 


cause  of  the  dense  fogs  characteristic  of  the  Grand  Banks  of  Newfound- 
land. On  account  of  the  large  quantity  of  warm  water  driven  against 
north-western  Europe,  the  temperature  of  40°  is  found  to  as  great  a  depth 
as  900  fathoms  off  the  coast  of  the  British  Islands,  while  in  the  tropics, 
where  the  hot  surface  water  is  driven  away  by  the  trade  winds,  water  of 
equal  warmth  is  rarely  met  with  so  deep  as  300  fathoms.  The  mass  of 
warm  water  banked  up  against  the  coast  of  Europe  accounts  for  the  excep- 
tional mildness  of  the  south-westerly  winds  which  prevail  there. 

The  south  equatorial  current  is  largely  supplied  from  the  cool  Ben- 
guela  current  which  wells  up  from  deep  water  off  the  south-west  coast 
of  Africa,  and  partly,  it  would  appear,  by  currents  drawn  in  from  the 


70         The  International  Geography 

Southern  Ocean.  It  sweeps  across  to  the  coast  of  Brazil,  where  part  turns 
northward  to  reinforce  the  north  equatorial  current,  and  the  rest  flows 
southward  along  the  coast  of  Brazil,  turning  gradually  to  the  east  as  it 
comes  within  reach  of  the  westerly  winds. 

Currents  of  the  Pacific  Ocean.— The  circulation  of  the  North  Pacific 
is  exactly  like  that  of  the  North  Atlantic  but  on  a  larger  scale.  The  Kuro- 
Shiwo  or  Black  Stream  of  Japan  corresponding  to  the  Gulf  Stream,  the 
drift  of  its  warm  water  gives  rise  to  a  strong  climatic  resemblance  between 
north-western  Europe  and  north-western  America,  while  the  cold  current 
from  Bering  Sea  helps  to  complete  the  analogy  of  the  cold  climate  of 
Kamchatka  with  that  of  Labrador.  In  the  South  Pacific  the  Humboldt 
current  which  flows  northward  along  the  west  coast  of  South  America  is, 
like  the  Benguela  current  of  West  Africa,  largely  reinforced  by  the 
upwelling  of  cold  water  produced  by  an  off-shore  wind,  which  gives  to  the 
Galapagos  Islands  the  coolest  equatorial  climate  in  the  world. 

Currents  in  the  Indian  Ocean. — The  South  Indian  Ocean  closely 
resembles  in  its  circulation  the  South  Atlantic  and  South  Pacific.  There  is 
the  same  upwelling  of  cold  water  along  the  west  coast  of  Australia  that  is 
observed  off  the  west  coasts  of  South  Africa  and  of  South  America.  The  south 
equatorial  current  turns  southward  off  the  coast  of  Madagascar  in  several 
branches  which  are  carried  back  to  the  east  by  the  "  brave  west  winds."  A 
warm  current  flowing  through  the  Mozambique  Channel  strikes  the  Agulhas 
Bank  off  the  south  point  of  Africa,  where  the  bulk  of  the  curpent  is  turned 
back  to  the  east,  while  a  portion  continues  round  the  Cape  into  the  Atlantic. 
The  strength  of  this  current  on  the  shallow  bank  produces  one  of  the 
roughest  seas  in  the  world.  When  the  north-east  monsoon  is  blowing  the 
currents  of  the  North  Indian  Ocean  circulate  like  those  of  the  North 
Atlantic  ;  but  this  direction  is  reversed  during  the  south-west  monsoon. 

Currents  of  the  Southern  Ocean. — The  continuous  water  ring 
of  the  Southern  Ocean  swept  by  the  "  brave  west  winds  "  from  west  to  east 
receives  branches  of  the  south-flowing  currents  along  the  east  coast  of  each 
of  the  southern  continents,  and  throws  off  northwards  branches  to  reinforce 
the  north-flowing  currents  along  the  west  coast  of  each.  Antarctic  drift 
ice  may  occasionally  be  seen  almost  at  the  northern  limit  of  this  ocean, 
although  it  rarely  comes  into  lower  latitudes  than  43°  or  42°.  About  50°  S. 
the  warm  salt  surface  water  coming  from  the  north  is  cooled  and  freshened 
by  mixing  with  the  cold  fresh  surface  water  coming  from  the  south,  and 
the  increase  of  density  due  to  the  fall  of  temperature  in  the  one  and  the 
increase  of  salinity  in  the  other,  cause  a  vertical  sinking  of  surface  water  all 
round  the  world.  The  deep  layers  of  water  seem  then  to  be  slowly  drawn 
northwards  and  southwards  from  this  ring  to  replace  the  surface  drifts, 
and  thus  the  Southern  Ocean  acts  as  a  sort  of  "clearing  house"  of  the 
hydrosphere,  where  all  inequalities  and  irregularities  in  the  water  of  the 
separate  oceans  are  corrected. 

Functions  of  the  Ocean. — In  the  physical  economy  of  the  Earth 


The  Oceans  71 


the  hydrosphere  plays  the  part  of  a  regulator.  Its  smooth  surface  gives  an 
opportunity  for  the  normal  system  of  winds  to  be  developed  over  the 
greater  part  of  the  globe.  Its  thermal  action  carries  the  surplus  heat  of 
the  tropics  to  regions  less  favoured  by  the  Sun,  and  cools  the  air  of  low 
latitudes  by  the  application  of  deep  upwellings  from  the  cold  depths, 
and  by  ice-chilled  currents  from  the  polar  seas.  By  the  absorption  and 
restoration  of  atmospheric  gases  it  keeps  up  the  uniform  composition  of 
the  air.  It  is  the  one  great  reservoir  of  water-vapour  determining  the 
rainfall  of  the  land,  and  is  thus  the  ultimate  source  as  well  as  the  ultimate 
destination  of  all  rivers.  It  is  the  place  where  the  worn-out  materials  of 
the  land  are  fashioned  anew  to  build  the  rock  stuffs  of  the  future. 

With  regard  to  the  plants  and  animals  of  the  land  the  ocean  is  an 
inexorable  barrier,  and  so  it  is  for  savage  man.  But  the  separation  of 
the  sea  does  not  hold  good  for  civilised  humanity;  the  barrier  has 
been  converted  into  a  highway,  so  that  countries  separated  by  five  thousand 
miles  of  sea  are  now  for  all  practical  purposes  nearer  than  if  they  were 
united  by  five  thousand  miles  of  continuous  land.  The  fullest  use  of  the 
ocean  as  a  highway  demands  not  only  considerations  of  the  shortest  line 
but  of  the  most  favourable  conditions.  Thus  the  quickest  sailing  voyage 
from  England  to  New  Zealand  is  round  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  but  the 
quickest  sailing  voyage  from  New  Zealand  to  England  is  round  Cape  Horn 
on  account  of  the  prevailing  winds  and  currents.  Again,  the  shortest 
-course  from  Cape  Town  to  Melbourne  cannot  be  taken  by  vessels  because 
it  would  bring  them  too  far  south,  into  the  region  rendered  dangerous 
by  Antarctic  ice. 

STANDARD   BOOKS. 

O.  Krummel.     "  Handbuch  der  Ozeanographie."    Vol.  I.     Stuttgart,  1907. 

"DerOzean."     2nd  edition.     Leipzig,  1002. 

"  Reports  of  the  Challenger  Voyage."     Summary  of  Scientific  Results.    2  vols.    London,  1897. 

J.  Thoulet.     "  Oce"anpgraphie."     2  vols.    Paris,  1890,  1895. 

C.   Chun.     "  Ergebnisse   der   deutschen    Tiefsee-Expedition  auf   .   .   .   Valdivia"     Vol.  I. 

"  Oceanographie  und  maritime  Meteorologie,"  von  G.  Schott.    Jena,  1002. 
F.  Nansen.     "  Scientific  Results  of  the  North  Polar  Expedition."    Vol.  III.     Oceanography. 

London,  1902. 

Much  information  will  be  found  in  the  A  nnalen  der  Hydrographie  (Berlin),  in  the  publica- 
tions of  the  Institut  fur  Meereskunde  of  the  Berlin  University  (founded  looi),  in  the  publica- 
tions of  the  Central  Bureau  of  the  International  Council  for  the  Study  of  the  Sea  (at  Copenha- 
gen), the  British  Meteorological  Office,  and  of  the  United  States  Admiralty,  especially  the 
monthly  Pilot  Charts  of  both  bodies. 


CHAPTER   VII.-THE    ATMOSPHERE    AND 
CLIMATE 

BY  H.  N.  DICKSON,  M.A.,  D.Sc.,  F.R.S.E., 

Lecturer  on  Physical  Geography  in  University  College.  Reading. 

Definition  of  Climate. — In  every  known  part  of  the  Earth's  surface 
atmospheric  changes  are  constantly  going  on,  from  day  to  day,  from  month 
to  month,  and  from  season  to  season,  which  are  found  always  to  keep  within 
certain  more  or  less  definite  limits,  and  always  in  the  long  run  to  maintain 
a  certain  average  condition  which  varies  so  slowly  that  no  appreciable 
change  can  be  detected  unless  we  go  back  to  the  geological  past.  To 
every  place,  therefore,  can  be  assigned  a  certain  mean  atmospheric  condi- 
tion, and  limits  may  be  stated  beyond  which  this  mean  is  not  departed 
from — the  expression  of  this  mean  condition  and  its  limits  is  called  the 
Climate  of  the  place.  A  description  of  climate  is  an  account  of  the 
physical  state  of  the  atmosphere ;  the  different  physical  elements  become 
Elements  of  Climate,  and  climates  may  be  analysed  and  classified  according 
to  the  temperature,  humidity,  movement,  &c.,  of  the  atmosphere.  In  the 
first  instance,  a  rough  classification  can  be  based  on  evidence  received 
directly  from  the  senses,  as  into  hot  or  cold,  dry  or  damp  climates,  but 
for  exact  purposes  comparable  observations  must  be  made  by  means  of 
instruments. 

Temperature. — So  far  as  our  knowledge  goes,  the  interior  of 
the  Earth,  although  undoubtedly  at  a  high  temperature,  contributes 

a  negligible  quantity  of  heat  to  the  atmo- 
sphere, and  the  heat  which  raises  the 
temperature  of  the  air  above  that  of  in- 
terplanetary space  is  wholly  derived  from 
the  Sun.  The  foundations  of  meteorology 
and  climatology  are  therefore  to  be  sought 
in  physical  astronomy. 

Distribution  of  Solar  Heat.— The 
simplest  case   to    consider  is  the   distri- 
>4  bution  of  temperature  to  be  expected  on 
the  surface  of  a  globe  of  the  same  size 
and   shape  as  the  Earth,   rotating  under 
a  the    same    astronomical    conditions,    but 

FIG.  41.— Inclination  and  healing    presenting   to  the   Sun   a    uniform  land 

surface  without  any  atmospheric  en- 
velope. The  amount  and  intensity  of  the  solar  radiations  falling  upon  a 
given  area  depend  upon  the  angle  at  which  they  are  received,  as  appears 
from  the  diagram  (Fig.  41).  Let  S  represent  a  bundle  of  parallel  rays, 

72 


Climate 


73 


2IJ 


jne 


then  Aa,  Ab,  Ac,  Ad  each  receive  the  same  total  number,  but  Aa 
(perpendicular  to  the  rays)  is  demonstrably  shorter  than  Ab,  Ab  than 
Ac,  Ac  than  Ad,  and  so  on;  that  is,  the  greater  the  altitude  of  the 
Sun  the  greater  is  the  intensity  of  the  radiation  received  on  a  unit  of 
surface.  Speaking  generally,  the  altitude  of  the  Sun  is  greatest  at  the 
equator,  and  diminishes  as  the  latitude  increases,  so  that  if  the  Sun 
remained  always  vertically  over  the  equator  (its  position  at  the  equinoxes) 
the  amount  of  light  and  heat  received  at  any  place  on  the  Earth's  surface 
would  be  a  simple  function  of  the  latitude,  the  length  of  day  and  night 
being  everywhere  equal.  But  the  Sun  travels  over  a  belt  extending  to 
23^°  on  each  side  of  the  equator,  so  this  simple  relation  is  only  approxi- 
mately true  for  a  few  days  in  the  year  about  the  time  of  the  equinoxes. 
Within  the  tropics  the  altitude  of  the  Sun  varies  comparatively  little,  and 
beyond  them  it  changes  more  and  more  according  to  the  position  of  the 
Earth  in  its  orbit. 

This  consideration  intro-  0*  10*  20*  30'  40'  50*  60'  70*  80*  90'H 
duces  two  fundamental  ideas, 
that  of  Diurnal  changes  due 
to  the  Earth's  rotation  on  its 
axis,  and  that  of  Seasonal 
changes  due  to  its  revolution 
round  the  Sun  ;  and  also  to 
the  fact  that  near  the  equator 
the  diurnal  influence  is  para- 
mount and  the  seasonal  in- 
fluence slight,  while  with  in- 
creasing latitude  one  gains 
and  the  other  loses,  till  at 
the  poles  the  seasonal  in- 

fluence  is  supreme.    Fig.  42    ^  ^_Relative  amount  of  Solar  Heat  received  at 
(after     Wiener)     shows     the  each  latitude  at  various  periods. 

daily  allowance  of  rays  from 

the  Sun  at  four  different  dates  in  various  latitudes  of  the  northern  hemis- 
phere ;  it  is  noteworthy  that  on  June  2ist  places  north  of  62°  N.  get  more 
Sun  the  further  north  they  are,  the  length  of  the  day  more  than  making  up 
for  the  weaker  intensity. 

In  the  southern  hemisphere,  the  seasons  are  of  course  reversed,  and  it 
is  to  be  noticed  that  in  the  southern  summer  the  intensity  of  the  solar  rays 
is  greater  than  in  the  northern,  and  in  the  winter  less  ;  because  during  the 
southern  summer  the  Earth  is  in  its  nearest  position  to  the  Sun  (perihelion), 
and  during  the  winter  at  its  greatest  distance  (aphelion).  This  partly 
accounts  for  the  intense  heat  of  the  summer  days  in  Australia  and  South 
Africa,  and  generally  for  the  greater  severity  of  the  climates  of  southern 
latitudes.  At  the  same  time  it  must  be  remembered  that  what  the 
southern  hemisphere  gains  in  power  it  loses  in  time,  for  the  Sun 


74         The  Internationa]   Geography 

remains  some  eight  days  longer  in  the  northern  hemisphere  than  in  the 
southern. 

These  complex  differences  of  daily  distribution  vary  from  the  tropics, 
where  the  solar  energy  is  doled  out  in  almost  equal  daily  portions  all  the 
year  round,  to  the  poles  where  there  are  six  months'  continuous  supply  and 
six  months'  absolute  want.  The  following  table  gives  the  relative  amounts 
of  solar  heat  for  intervening  latitudes,  and  may  be  compared  with  the  table 
of  the  length  of  daylight  at  the  end  of  Chapter  II.  (p.  25). 

Latitude          o°  15°         30°         45°         60°         75°        90° 

Amount        1,000        969        879        739        569        447        415 

Thus  the  poles,  which  would  get  nothing  if  the  Sun  remained 
stationary  over  the  equator,  actually  receive  more  than  40  per  cent,  of  the 
equatorial  amount.  The  total  annual  supply  of  heat  to  the  Earth  is  esti- 
mated as  sufficient  to  melt  a  layer  of  ice  covering  the  whole  surface  to  a 
depth  of  176  fee* 

Since  the  Earth's  surface  is  not  known  to  become  perceptibly  hotter  or 
colder,  it  follows  that,  on  the  whole,  the  energy  received  from  the  Sun 
must  all  be  given  out  again,  that  the  Earth  must  itself  radiate  to  space,  as 
the  Sun  does.  But  the  two  transactions  do  not  occur  at  the  same  rate.  In 
the  case  of  the  heat  rays,  radiation  into  space  may  be  at  one  time  faster,  at 
another  slower,  than  absorption,  and  the  Earth  retains  at  all  times  a  certain 
balance  of  heat.  The  heat  thus  retained  goes  to  raise  the  temperature,  and 
the  temperature  at  any  point  is  simply  the  state  of  the  heat  account  at  the 
moment.  The  atmosphere  is  the  great  banker,  and  no  more  striking 
illustration  of  its  influence  can  be  given  than  the  statement  of  the  results 
of  calculation,  which  show  that  while  without  an  atmosphere  the  mean 
temperature  at  the  Earth's  surface  would  be  115°  F.,  the  mean  temperature 
during  the  day  would  be  350°  F.,  and  during  the  night — 123°  F.,  a  range  of 

-473°- 

Effects  of  Heat  on  the  Atmosphere. — In  passing  through 
the  atmosphere  the  rays  of  the  Sun  are  partly  absorbed,  the  amount 
reaching  the  Earth's  surface  being  probably  a  little  over  half  the  total 
received  at  the  upper  limits  of  the  atmosphere.  It  is  obvious  that  the 
more  oblique  the  rays,  the  greater  the  distance  they  have  to  travel 
through  the  atmosphere,  hence  the  original  differences  in  the  intensity 
of  insolation  with  high  and  low  Sun  are  exaggerated.  The  decrease 
from  the  equator  towards  the  poles  becomes  so  much  more  rapid  than 
before  that  there  is  no  maximum  of  daily  insolation  in  high  latitudes, 
but  a  continuous  decrease  polewards.  But  the  amount  absorbed  by  the 
atmosphere  varies  greatly  with  time  and  place.  Pure  dry  air  or  water 
vapour  probably  absorbs  a  very  small  proportion  of  the  Sun's  rays ;  the 
absorption  is  chiefly  due  to  the  presence  of  an  infinity  of  minute  suspended 
dust  particles,  which  not  only  vary  in  number  and  size  themselves,  but  are 
altered  by  the  humidity  of  the  atmosphere.  When  the  amount  of  moisture 


Climate  75 


present  is  small,  and  the  temperature  high,  the  suspended  particles  of  dust 
are  dry,  but  when  the  humidity  rises  beyond  a  certain  point  a  deposit  of 
water  takes  place  on  them,  increasing  their  size  and  absorptive  power. 
After  a  certain  stage  the  assemblages  of  particles  become  sufficiently 
opaque  to  form  clouds,  which  intercept  practically  all  the  rays  from  the 
Sun  on  the  one  side,  and  from  the  Earth  on  the  other.  The  atmosphere  is, 
however,  not  equally  opaque  to  all  rays,  it  exercises  a  selective  absorption, 
stopping  short-wave  rays  to  a  greater  extent  than  long-wave  rays  ;  hence 
the  Sun  often  appears  red  when  low  down  on  the  horizon.  A  considerable 
proportion  of  the  rays  absorbed  by  the  atmosphere  ultimately  reach 
the  Earth's  surface  as  scattered  rays,  hence  the  sky  appears  blue,  shadows 
are  not  perfectly  sharp,  it  is  not  always  intensely  cold  and  dark  in  the 
shade,  and  in  the  higher  latitudes  there  is  long  twilight. 

Effects  of  Heat  on  I^and  and  Water.— The  effect  of  the  solar 
rays  upon  reaching  any  point  on  the  Earth  depends  to  a  large  extent 
on  the  nature  of  the  surface  upon  which  they  fall.  On  land  the 
heat  rays  are  all  stopped  just  at  the  surface,  and  a  thin  superficial 
layer  of  the  ground  is  heated.  The  heat  is  then  distributed  by  con- 
duction downwards  into  the  ground,  and  upwards  to  the  layer  of  air 
lying  immediately  in  contact  with  it.  The  latter  is  removed  either  by 
external  forces  causing  wind  or  by  convection-currents ;  colder  air  takes  its 
place,  and  is  in  turn  warmed  and  replaced.  The  surface  of  the  ground 
will  obviously  become  warmed  until  just  as  much  heat  is  lost  in  these  two 
ways  as  is  received.  Much  depends  on  the  nature  and  condition  of  the 
surface ;  dry  soils,  for  example,  such  as  sand,  which  contains  imprisoned 
air,  carry  off  heat  more  slowly  than  damp,  close  soils,  and  therefore  become 
much  hotter.  During  the  night  the  surface  of  the  ground  loses  heat  by 
radiation,  and  heat  is  brought  to  it  by  conduction  from  below,  the  whole 
process  being  reversed,  except  that  the  layer  of  air  cooled  by  contact  with 
level  ground  is  not  now  removed  by  convection. 

Rays  falling  upon  deep  water  are  not  all  stopped  at  the  surface,  but 
penetrate  to  a  depth  of  probably  about  five  hundred  feet,  hence  the  surface 
layers  do  not  receive  as  much  heat  as  on  land.  Evaporation  also  goes  on 
from  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  much  of  the  heat  becomes  latent.  There 
is  therefore  less  heat  available  for  warming  the  surface  of  the  ocean,  and 
as  the  specific  heat  of  water  is  much  greater  than  that  of  dry  land,  the 
surface  of  the  sea  does  not  rise  in  temperature  to  anything  like  the  same 
extent.  Again,  the  amount  of  cooling  by  radiation  is  much  less,  and  this 
effect  is  further  reinforced  by  the  cooled  water  becoming  denser  and 
sinking  below  the  surface,  to  be  replaced  by  warmer  and  lighter  water 
from  below.  Several  different  causes  thus  conspire  to  reduce  the 
diurnal  and  seasonal  range  of  temperature  over  the  sea  as  compared  with 
the  land. 

Moisture. — The  position  of  moisture  as  a  climatic  factor  depends 
chiefly  on  the  relation  between  the  capacity  of  the  atmosphere  for 
7 


j6         The  International  Geography 

moisture  at  any  time  and  place,  and  the  actual  amount  it  contains.  In  a 
dry  climate,  temperature  conditions  are  such  that  the  atmosphere  can  hold 
much  more  moisture  than  is  available,  and  it  greedily  absorbs  exposed 
water  by  evaporation.  A  damp  climate  may  exist  where  no  more 
aqueous  vapour  is  present  than  in  the  most  arid  regions  ;  the  lower 
temperature  producing  an  approach  to  saturation.  In  other  words,  it  is 
the  relative,  and  not  the  absolute,  humidity  that  is  important. 

We  have  already  indicated  how  the  dryness  or  dampness  of  the  atmo- 
sphere affects  the  transmission  of  the  Sun's  rays  through  it,  and  therefore 
modifies  the  temperature.  The  condensation  of  moisture  in  the  form  of 
clouds  or  mist  is  chiefly  important  in  its  effect  on  radiation  and  evapora- 
tion at  the  surface  of  the  ground.  When  vapour  is  condensed  in  sufficient 
quantity,  the  cloud-particles  tend  to  unite,  and,  becoming  too  large  to 
remain  in  suspension,  fall  as  rain,  hail,  or. snow.  All  these  forms  are 
included  in  the  general  term  precipitation  and  conventionally  in  Rainfall. 
The  amount  and  distribution  of  the  rainfall  is  the  most  important  element 
of  climate  next  to  temperature. 

The  climate  of  some  regions  is  seriously  modified  by  the  deposit  of  a 
persistent  layer  of  snow  on  the  land  surface  during  winter.  Snow  is  a  bad 
conductor  of  heat,  and  it  therefore  serves  to  prevent  the  temperature  of 
the  ground  on  which  it  lies  from  falling  rapidly ;  its  surface  may  at  the 
same  time  become  exceedingly  cold  through  radiation,  cooling  the  layer 
of  air  resting  upon  it.  A  thick  layer  of  snow  tends  to  delay  the  advent  of 
spring,  as  the  temperature  of  the  surface  of  the  ground  cannot  rise  above 
32°  F.  until  all  the  snow  is  melted,  and  meanwhile  the  soil  has  become 
i  soaked  with  ice-cold  water. 

Wind. — If  the  atmosphere  were  of  uniform  temperature  throughout, 
it  would  so  arrange  itself  that  the  pressure  at  any  point  would  simply 
be  that  due  to  the  weight  of  atmosphere 
above  it,  a  stable  condition  of  things 
would  be  arrived  at,  and  all  motion  would 
cease.  But  there  are  continuously-acting  DEV|ATION 
causes  of  inequality  of  temperature,  and 


DEVIATION 

OF 
AIR-CURRENTS 

ti        CDUCDC    which   in   their  turn  produce  movements 
^  "    of  the  atmosphere.     The  currents  so  pro-   S., HEMISPHERE.^ 

duced  are  known  as  Winds.    The  general 
tendency  necessarily  is  for  winds  to  blow 
FIG.  43.         from  areas  of  high  pressure  to  areas  of 
low  pressure,  but  on  account  of  the  rota- 
tion of  the  Earth  the  movement  is  not  direct ;  it  is  rather  spirally  out- 
wards from  areas  of  high  pressure  and  inwards  to  areas  of  low  pressure, 
the  deflection  being  to  the  right  of  the  direction  of  motion  in  the  northern 
hemisphere,  and  to  the  left  in  the  southern  (Figs.  43,  44).     The  general 
circulation  of  the  atmosphere  is  best  understood  from  a  study  of  charts 


differences   of  pressure  arise  from  these,    AIR- CURRENTS 

IN 


FIG.  44. 


Climate 


77 


showing  the  average  distribution  of  pressure  by  means  of  isobars;  the 
direction  of  flow  in  the  high  and  low  areas  can  be  easily  remembered 
(Fig.  45).  So  far  as  is  known,  pressure  is  not  itself  an  important  element 
of  climate,  except  in  the  case  of  mountain  stations. 

Winds  exercise  a  paramount  climatic  influence  from  their  action  in 
transferring  heat  and  moisture.  They  carry  the  warm  air  of  low  latitudes 
to  the  colder  regions  of  higher,  and  vice  versa,  and  they  break  down  the 
sharp  division  between  the  air  lying  over  land  and  over  sea,  in  one 
place  carrying  moist  sea  air  inland,  in  another  carrying  dry  air  from 
continental  regions  over,  coastal  districts  to  pick  up  vapour  from  the  ocean. 
At  sea,  the  winds  have  additional  heat-transferring  powers  from  their 
dragging  action  on  the  surface  waters,  which  gives  rise  to  drift-currents, 


Pressure  3O-0  Inches  and  more. 
FlG.  45. — Average  distribution  oj  Atmospheric  Pressure,  and  prevailing  Winds  of  the  Earth. 

following  the  winds,  and  carrying  vast  quantities  of  heat  with  them  as  they 
flow  poleward.  Winds  have  also  great  influence  in  promoting  evapora- 
tion, removing  the  saturated  layers  of  air  at  the  water  surfaces,  and 
substituting  drier  air,  which  in  turn  becomes  saturated. 

The  Great  Climatic  Areas. — It  will  be  readily  understood  that  in 
every  part  of  the  globe  local  variations  of  climate,  due  to  changes  in 
the  relations  of  the  principal  elements,  occur  with  such  endless  complexity 
that  it  is  impossible  to  give  any  general  description  which  shall  apply 
rigorously  to  any  particular  region.  It  is  nevertheless  possible  to  assign 
fairly  definite  limits  to  certain  areas  over  which  the  conditions  are  more 
or  less  similar  ;  and  a  knowledge  of  the  general  features  of  climate  within 
these  areas  is  essential  to  proper  comprehension  of  the  conditions  found 


78         The  International  Geography 


within  any  part  of  them,  such  as  are  described  under  the  headings  of 
different  countries. 

The  simple  division  of  the  Earth's  surface  into  Torrid,  Temperate,  and 
Frigid  Zones,  follows  naturally  from  the  ideal  temperature  conditions 
already  considered.  The  rotation  of  the  Earth  has,  however,  such  a 
profound  modifying  influence  on  the  circulation  originally  set  up  by 
differences  of  temperature  that  it  is  better  to  base  a  division  into  climatic 
areas  on  the  existing  circulation  itself,  or  rather  on  the  distribution  of 
pressure  which  is  its  more  immediate  cause. 

The  Earth  is  at  all  seasons  completely  surrounded  by  two  belts  of  high 
atmospheric  pressure,  one  lying  in  about  latitude  35°  N.,  the  other  in  about 
latitude  30°  S.  On  the  equatorial  sides  of  these  belts  pressure  diminishes  to 
a  minimum  near  the  equator,  and  on  the  polar  sides  a  similar  diminution 
occurs,  extending  to  very  high  latitudes,  if  not  to  the  poles.  The  circu- 
lation arising  from  this  distribution  of  pressure  may  be  summarised  as 
follows : — 


EQUATORIAL  BELT 
N.  INTERMEDIATE  BELT  . . 
S.  INTERMEDIATE  BELT  . . 
N.and  S.  HIGH  PRESSURE  BELT 
HIGHER  NORTH  LATITUDES 
HIGHER  SOUTH  LATITUDES 


Calms  and  variable  winds  . .     "  Doldrums." 

N.-E.  and  E.  winds  . .         . . )  „  -,     ,M  ,. 

S.-E.  and  E.  winds    . .         . .  f     J 

Calms  and  variables. .        . .     "  Horse  latitudes." 

Variable  W.  and  S.-W.  winds    "  Westerly  variables." 

Strong  W.  and  N.-W.  winds    "  Brave  west  winds." 


The  position  of  all  these  belts  changes  with  the  season  ;  but  the  range 
of  movement  is  comparatively  small,  and  the  extreme  positions  are  reached 
from  one  to  two  months  after  the  solstices.  In  the  Atlantic,  for  example, 
the  north-east  trade  winds  extend  from  latitude  3°  N.  to  26°  N.  in  March, 
and  from  11°  N.  to  35°  N.  in  September.  When  the  equatorial  calm  belt 
moves  more  than  a  few  degrees  from  the  geographical  equator,  the 
trade  winds  from  the  opposite  hemisphere  are  drawn  across  and  de- 
flected so  as  to  have  a  westerly  component,  and  they  then  receive  the 
name  of  Monsoons.  A  south-west  monsoon  prevails  in  the  Pacific  north 
of  the  equator  during  the  northern  summer,  and  a  north-west  monsoon 
in  the  Indian  Ocean  south  of  the  equator  during  the  southern 
summer. 

If  the  Earth  presented  a  surface  entirely  covered  by  water,  the  bounding 
lines  of  these  climatic  belts  would  probably  exactly  follow  parallels  of 
latitude  round  the  whole  circumference.  This  typical  arrangement  is 
always  developed  over  the  great  oceans,  and  most  perfectly  in  regions 
farthest  removed  from  land  influences.  The  Equatorial  Belt  is  remarkable 
for  its  sultry,  humid  atmosphere,  its  constant  and  copious  rains,  and  for 
the  strongly  marked  diurnal,  as  contrasted  with  seasonal,  changes.  In  the 
Trade-wind  Belts  the  air  is  dry,  because  it  is  moving  from  colder  to  warmer 
latitudes  and  cannot  pick  up  moisture  fast  enough  to  maintain  saturation, 
and  the  rainfall  is  light ;  these  regions  are  remarkable  for  the  steadiness 
of  their  winds  and  for  the  strong  evaporation  from  the  surface  of  the 
sea,  producing  great  saltness  of  the  surface  waters.  The  Horse  Latitudes 


Climate  79 


resemble  the  equatorial  belt  in  their  light,  variable  winds  and  frequent 
calms,  but  present  a  marked  contrast  in  the  dryness  and  freshness  of  the 
air  and  the  light  rainfall.  Where  the  Westerly  Winds  of  higher  latitudes 
prevail  the  rainfall  is  chiefly  associated  with  irregular,  stormy  disturbances 
or  eddies  in  the  general  flow  known  as  cyclones,  which  usually  follow  the 
course  of  the  main  current,  and  occur  most  frequently  in  winter.  In  the 
intermediate  regions,  between  the  limits  of  migration  of  the  various  belts, 
marked  seasonal  variations  come  into  play,  the  climatic  belt  nearer  the 
equator  assuming  control  during  the  summer,  and  that  nearer  the  pole 
in  winter  :  amongst  the  districts  affected  in  this  way,  particularly  as  regards 
wet  and  dry  seasons,  the  countries  round  the  Mediterranean,  South  Africa, 
southern  Australia,  parts  of  Chile,  and  the  West  Indies  may  be  specially 
mentioned. 

Influence  of  the  Land. — The  chief  modification  of  the  normal 
climatic  arrangement  produced  by  the  presence  of  the  great  land  surfaces 
is  due  to  the  greater  range  of  temperature.  The  air  on  the  land  surface 
is,  on  the  whole,  hotter  than  the  air  on  the  sea  during  summer,  and  colder 
in  winter  ;  hence  pressure  tends  to  be  relatively  greater  in  winter  and 
less  in  summer,  and  there  is  a  general  movement  seawards  in  the  former 
season  and  landwards  in  the  latter.  A  kind  of  monsoon  effect  is  thus 
produced,  alternately  weakening  and  reinforcing  the  normal  circulation, 
and  its  action  in  deflecting  the  normal  currents  is  apparent  on  all  the 
continental  coasts,  notably  in  Africa  and  in  Australia.  In  the  case  of 
India  and  south-eastern  Asia,  the  vastness  of  the  continental  surface, 
combined  with  its  great  central  elevation,  produces  a  complete  reversal 
of  the  normal  conditions  during  summer,  the  south-east  trades  are  drawn 
across  the  equator,  and  penetrate  inland  as  the  south-west  monsoon,  a 
strong,  warm  wind  bearing  immense  quantities  of  moisture.  During 
winter,  the  outflow  from  the  excessively  cold  regions  of  Central  Asia 
strengthens  the  north-east  trade  over  India,  and  deflects  it  into  a 
north-west  wind  over  China  and  south-eastern  Asia,  the  wind  usually 
getting  the  name  of  the  winter  monsoon.  These  seasonal  winds  are 
by  far  the  most  important  of  the  continental  winds,  and  the  "  monsoon 
region"  over  which  they  blow  forms  a  distinct  geographical  area  by 
itself. 

Analogous  to  the  seasonal  changes,  a  diurnal  change  occurs  on  the  coasts 
of  regions  where  the  diurnal  range  of  temperature  is  great.  These  are 
known  as  Land  and  Sea  Breezes.  When  the  winds  due  to  the  general 
circulation  are  not  powerful,  a  wind  blows  landwards  during  the  hotter 
hours  of  the  day,  and  seawards  during  the  night ;  but  if  they  blow  with 
considerable  force,  as  in  the  trade-wind  belts,  the  diurnal  influence  merely 
shows  itself  by  weakening  and  strengthening,  or  deflecting,  the  normal 
current. 

Influence  of  Vertical  Relief. — In  addition  to  the  temperature 
disturbances  produced  by  the  land  masses,  modifications  in  the 


8o         The  International  Geography 

distribution  of  moisture  must  be  taken  into  account,  and  in  this 
connection  the  Relief  of  the  land  surface  is  specially  important  When 
a  current  of  moist  air  moves  inland  from  the  sea,  its  supply  of  vapour 
is  cut  off.  If  it  is  now  warmed,  as  in  moving  from  higher  to  lower 
latitudes,  the  air  becomes  dry,  and  the  country  over  which  it  passes 
has  an  arid  climate.  This  is  best  see^  in  the  desert  plains  of  the 
trade-wind  region — in  Arabia,  Persia,  the  Sahara,  and  Central  Australia. 
But  if,  on  the  other  hand,  the  air  is  cooled,  it  is  unable  to  retain  all  its 
moisture,  part  of  which  is  deposited  as  rain.  Such  cooling  can  take  place 
in  a  number  of  ways,  but  by  far  the  most  common  and  most  effective 
is  by  the  air  ascending  from  lower  to  higher  levels  of  the  atmosphere. 
There  are  two  main  causes  which  give  rise  to  such  ascending  movements, 
the  formation  of  eddies  or  cyclones,  and  the  forcing  up  of  the  air  by 
direct  contact  with  elevated  land.  The  two  causes  differ  in  respect  that 
the  latter  necessarily  operates  only  on  land,  and  is  a  definite  fixed  element, 
while  the  other  is  most  effective  at  sea,  and  is  an  erratic  and  uncertain 
quantity  at  all  times.  Probably  most  land  stations  owe  their  yearly  total 
of  rainfall  to  both  causes  combined,  but  the  cyclonic  agency  is  much  the 
less  important  between  the  horse  latitudes,  and  much  the  more  important 
beyond  them. 

A  current  of  air  meeting  a  range  of  mountains  accordingly  deposits 
a  heavy  rainfall  on  the  weather  side.  The  condensation  sets  free  latent 
heat,  which  prevents  the  rapid  cooling  of  the  air  and  encourages  its  further 
ascent,  at  the  same  time  drawing  up  more  air  from  below.  The  enormous 
rainfall  of  the  monsoon  area  is  largely  due  to  the  height  and  continuity 
of  the  mountain  mass  of  the  Himalaya,  and  the  trade-winds,  drawn 
inwards  and  deflected  by  the  great  range  of  the  Andes,  distribute  a 
generous  rainfall  over  Brazil. 

After  crossing  a  range,  the  current  of  air  may  pass  on  as  dry  wind, 
or  if  the  range  is  sufficiently  high  it  may  disappear  from  the  surface 
circulation  altogether.  In  either  case,  the  lee-side  of  the  range  is  distin- 
guished by  a  dry  and  often  an  arid  climate  :  if  the  air  is  drawn  downwards 
into  valleys  from  the  heights  it  becomes  heated  by  compression,  producing 
the  Fdhn  or  Chinook  winds  of  the  northern  valleys  of  the  Alps  and  the 
eastern  side  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  A  range  of  hills  does  not  in  all 
respects  act  like  a  lofty  range  of  mountains ;  but  when  the  height  does  not 
reach  the  snow-line  the  maximum  rainfall  occurs  a  little  to  leeward  of  the 
crest  over  which  the  wind  blows. 

From  the  direction  of  the  prevailing  winds,  it  follows  that  between  the 
horse  latitudes  dry  regions  are  found  towards  the  western  sides  of  the 
land  masses,  as  in  Mexico  and  Chile,  while  in  the  westerly-wind  belts  they 
occur  towards  the  east,  as  in  Central  Asia,  the  region  of  the  Great  Basin 
in  the  United  States,  and  the  south  of  South  America.  When  the  region 
is  not  actually  desert,  a  large  proportion  of  the  rainfall  is  often  due  to 
merely  local  disturbances  of  the  thunderstorm  type,  as  in  the  eastern 


Climate  8 1 

counties  of  England,  where  August  is  the  wettest  month  of  the  year. 
It  may  be  well  to  point  out  here  the  immense  advantage  enjoyed  by 
Europe  through  the  absence  of  a  high  mountain  range  near  the  western 
margin  ;  the  moisture  of  the  Atlantic  penetrates  to  a  great  distance  east- 
ward, and  is  distributed  in  moderate  rainfall  over  a  large  area. 

Mountain  Climates. — Climate  changes  with  increase  of  height  above 
sea-level  in  much  the  same  way  as  with  increase  of  latitude,  except  that 
the  radiation  effects  become  stronger,  as  the  rays  do  not  pass  through 
so  great  a  thickness  of  atmosphere.  Generally  speaking,  temperature 
and  absolute  humidity  diminish  as  height  increases,  and  rainfall  becomes 
greater  up  to  a  certain  level ;  relative  humidity  shows  no  very  regular 
variation.  Everything,  however,  depends  on  the  form  of  the  elevated 
surface  ;  a  level  plain  retains  the  same  characteristics  of  climate  through 
a  wide  range  of  elevation,  while  the  climate  of  a  sloping  mountain-side 
is  modified  by  the  ascending  and  descending  currents  of  air.  Ascending 
currents  of  course  tend  to  discharge  moisture,  while  descending  currents 
are  usually  caused  by  cold  air  sliding  downwards  into  valleys  below  : 
the  double  effect  diminishes  the  range  of  temperature,  and  produces  a 
climate  approximating  to  the  "  oceanic  "  as  opposed  to  the  "  continental " 
type. 

Climates  of  High  Latitudes  and  Polar  Regions. — The  normal 
decrease  of  temperature  from  the  equator  to  the  poles  should  produce 
a  gradual  increase  of  pressure  in  that  direction,  but  the  rapid  movement 
of  air  in  the  belts  of  westerly  winds,  of  which  the  poles  are  the  centres, 
induces  a  centrifugal  tendency  which  would  make  pressure  greatest  at  the 
outer  margins  of  the  rotating  rings  (i.e.,  in  the  horse  latitudes),  and  less  and 
less  towards  their  central  points.  Hence  the  normal  temperature  gradient 
and  the  centrifugal  forces  are  constantly  acting  against  one  another,  and 
the  former  is  helped  at  the  expense  of  the  latter  by  the  resistance  offered 
to  the  westerly  currents  by  temperature  disturbances  and  by  friction,  both 
of  which  are  greatest  on  a  surface  of  land  or  rough  ice,  and  least  on  the 
open  sea. 

The  northern  polar  area  consists  of  an  ice-covered  ocean  almost  entirely 
surrounded  by  land.  The  only  considerable  tract  of  water  is  the  extension 
of  the  North  Atlantic,  known  as  the  Norwegian  Sea,  and  the  prevailing 
westerly  winds  accordingly  reach  their  highest  development  in  the 
northern  hemisphere  in  this  region,  assisting  themselves  further  by  the 
drift  currents,  which  the  configuration  of  the  land  allows  them  to  push 
far  to  the  north.  Elsewhere,  land  and  ice  surfaces  neutralise  the  cen- 
trifugal element  and  sometimes  overcome  it  altogether  ;  winds  are  light 
and  variable,  stormy  weather  is  comparatively  rare,  and  there  is  a  small 
rainfall. 

In  high  southern  latitudes,  the  uninterrupted  belt  of  the  Southern  Ocean 
allows  the  "  circum-polar  eddy  "  to  have  full  play  until  the  coasts  of  the 
Antarctic  continent  are  approached.  Pressure  falls  continuously,  and 


82          The  International   Geography 

strong  westerly  winds  are  met  with  up  to  about  60°  S.  latitude.  Beyond 
this  there  are  indications  that  a  polar  cap  of  land  and  ice  neutralises  or  re- 
verses the  arrangement,  perhaps  more  completely  than  is  the  case  in  the 
north  as  the  winds  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Antarctic  circle  blow  most 
frequently  from  an  easterly  quarter,  indicating  an  increase  of  pressure 
towards  the  south. 

Climate  Diagrams.1— In  Part  II.  many  diagrams  are  given  (e.g., 
Figs.  59,  60)  showing  the  distribution  throughout  the  year  of  rainfall  and 
atmospheric  temperature.  The  seasonal  range  of  these  elements  is  of  even 
greater  importance  than  the  mean  annual  values.  In  each  case  the  tem- 
perature curves  and  rainfall  columns  of  two  places,  the  situation  of  which 
accounts  for  their  difference  of  climate,  are  given  for  comparison.  Thus  the 
contrast  of  continental  and  oceanic  climates  is  shown  in  Fig.  95,  and  that  of 
rainfall  during  a  prevailing  sea-wind  and  land-wind  respectively  in  Fig.  244. 
The  difference  in  seasonal  distribution  of  temperature  between  the  northern 
and  southern  hemispheres  may  be  appreciated  by  comparing  Figs.  196 
and  313. 

STANDARD   BOOKS. 


J.  Hann.     "  Handbuch  der  Klimatologie."     New  edit.    3  vols.     Stuttgart,  1897.    Also  transla- 
tion of  Vol.  I.  by  R.  de  C.  Ward.     New  York, 
1  Lehrbuch  der  Meteorologie."     Leipzig,  1905. 


tion  of  Vol.  I.  by  R.  de  C.  Ward.     New  York,  1903. 

"*  Lehrbuch  der  Meteorologie."     Leipzig,  1905. 

A.  Woeikof.     "  Die  Klimate  der  Erde."     2  vols.     Jena,  1887. 


A.  Buchan.     u  Challenger  Reports — Atmospheric  Circulation.' 

Article,  "  Meteorology  "  in  Encyclopaedia  Britannica,     Ninth  edition. 

W.  M.  Davis.     "Elementary  Meteorology."     Boston,  1894. 
J.G.Bartholomew.     "  Physical  Atlas — Meteorology."     Edinburgh,  1899. 
A.  Angot.     li  Traite  Elementaire  de  Meteorologie.       Paris,  1899. 

For  notes  on  climate  of  special  regions  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  see  the  Meteorologische 
Zeitschrift,  published  monthly  in  Vienna ;  the  Quarterly  Journal  of  the  Royal  Meteoro- 
logical Society ;  the  Journal  of  the  Scottish  Meteorological  Society ;  for  the  British  Empire 
see  Symons's  Meteorological  Magazine,  published  monthly  in  London  ;  for  the  British  Isles, 
the  Weekly  Weather  Report  of  the  Meteorological  Office,  London  ;  and  for  North  America,  the 
Monthly  Weather  Review  of  the  United  States  Weather  Bureau. 


By  the  Editor. 


CHAPTER    VIII.— THE    DISTRIBUTION    OF 
LIVING    CREATURES 

By  J.  ARTHUR  THOMSON,  M.A., 

Professor  of  Natural  History  in  the  University  of  Aberdeen. 

The  Main  Problem. — The  main  problem  in  the  study  of  the  geogra- 
phical distribution  of  plants  and  animals  is  to  explain  the  existing  state  of 
affairs,  and  to  obtain  answers  to  such  questions  as  these  : — Why  are  certain 
forms  of  life  here  and  not  there,  there  and  not  here  ?  Why  is  it  that  all 
the  Marsupials  except  the  American  opossums  are  now  restricted  to 
Australasia  ?  Why  are  there  no  Amphibians  on  oceanic  islands  ?  How 
does  it  come  about  that  several  species  of  Tapir  occur  in  South  and 
Central  America  and  the  only  other  one  in  the  far  distant  Malayan  region  ? 
Why  is  the  flora  of  the  Steppes  such  as  it  is  ?  Why  are  certain  regions  tree- 
less and  others  grassless  ?  How  is  it  that  the  same  Alpine  plants  are 
found  on  widely  separated  mountains  and  not  in  the  intermediate  areas  ? 
Why  is  there  a  striking  contrast  between  the  flora  of  New  Zealand  and 
that  of  Australia  ?  Some  of  these  questions  may  be  answered  readily,  others 
are  very  difficult,  but  they  are  all  of  the  same  general  nature — they  concern 
the  factors  which  determine  distribution.  To  analyse  out  these  factors  is 
the  main  problem  ;  and  the  difficulty  of  the  subject  is  due  to  the  fact  that 
in  most  cases  an  observed  state  of  affairs  is  the  result  of  numerous  co- 
operative factors,  all  variable,  and  all  inadequately  known.  Many  of  the  pre- 
Darwinian  studies  in  distribution  are  vitiated  by  their  insistence  on  one  or 
two  factors  to  the  exclusion  of  others  which  are  certainly  operative.  Some 
investigators  insisted  on  physical  boundaries,  others  on  conditions  of 
climate,  others  on  means  of  dispersal,  and  so  on ;  but  there  can  be  no 
solution  of  the  problem  until  all  the  factors  are  recognised,  and  recognised 
as  co-operative. 

Peculiarity  of  Physical  Conditions.— Apart  from  a  few  resting- 
stages  of  Algae,  and  a  few  micro-organisms  whose  precise  position  is  un- 
certain, there  are  no  plants  in  the  Deep  Sea.  Their  absence  is  sufficiently 
explained  when  we  remember  that  one  of  the  physical  conditions  of  the 
great  abysses  is  darkness,  broken  only  by  the  fitful  gleams  of  "phosphores- 
cent" animals,  and  that  for  all  plants  except  Fungi  and  some  parasites,  light 
is  an  essential  condition  of  life.  The  Great  Salt  Lake  of  Utah  has  an  extra- 
ordinarily high  salinity ;  this  physical  fact  is  enough  to  explain  why  it  con- 
tains only  two  or  three  animals,  especially  the  brine-shrimp,  Artemia  fertilis,  I 
instead  of  the  dense  population  usually  found  in  lakes. 

Peculiarity  of   the    Organism's    Constitution.— While    some 

8  83 


84         The  International  Geography 

animals,  like  the  flounder,  salmon,  and  eel,  can  adjust  themselves  to  fresh 
or  salt  water,  there  are  others  which  are  fatally  sensitive  to  more  than  a 
minimum  of  salt.  This  is  strikingly  true  of  Amphibians,  which  absorb 
large  quantities  of  water  through  their  skin,  and  are  killed  at  once  if  the 
water  be  salt.  This  constitutional  peculiarity  of  the  Amphibian  race  is 
obviously  enough  to  explain  why  they  are  absent  from  oceanic  islands. 
While  some  animals  seem  very  indifferent  to  temperature,  like  the  tiger, 
which  ranges  from  the  hot  Malayan  jungle  to  the  icy  Siberian  tundras, 
there  are  many  of  more  sensitive  constitution.  Thus  the  guanaco,  the 
South  American  relative  of  the  camel,  cannot  stand  tropical  heat ;  there- 
fore in  Peru  and  Ecuador  it  is  only  found  many  thousands  of  feet  up  the 
mountains,  while  further  south  in  Argentina  it  occurs  on  the  plains. 

The  Means  of  Dispersal. — On  a  solitary  island  of  volcanic  origin 
there  are  rarely  any  mammals,  and  this  is  at  once  explicable  when  we 
remember  that  most  mammals  have  very  limited  powers  of  swimming. 
There  may  be  seals  or  porpoises  about  the  shore,  or  bats  in  the  caves,  and 
their  presence  is  as  intelligible  as  the  absence  of  others.  The  occasional 
occurrence  of  small  rodents  on  such  an  island  is  usually  explained  by 
postulating  a  wreck  or  a  drifting  raft. 

What  is  called  a  cosmopolitan  distribution  is  not  always  due  to  the  same 
cause,  but  the  broad  fact  may  be  noted  that  wide  distribution  is  often 
associated  with  unusual  facilities  for  dispersal.  Thus  mice,  so  readily  con- 
cealed, have  followed  man's  wanderings  everywhere.  Thus,  too,  we  may 
explain  the  fact  that  insects  are  represented  almost  everywhere  ;  most  can 
fly,  many  are  easily  drifted  with  the  wind,  some  occur  about  floating  wood, 
or  can  be  carried  from  place  to  place  in  the  form  of  eggs  or  cocoons. 

Original  Headquarters. — If  it  were,  and  had  always  been,  the  case 
that  the  body  of  a  dead  animal  simply  melted  away,  like  the  stranded  jelly- 
fish on  the  beach,  we  should  now  be  entirely  ignorant  as  to  the  original 
headquarters  of  the  different  races.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  there  had  been 
any  arrangement  whereby  representative  samples  of  the  faunas  of  succes- 
sive geological  ages  could  have  been  preserved  in  the  rocks,  we  should 
have  certain  evidence  on  this  point.  But  what  has  actually  happened  lies 
between  these  two  extreme  possibilities.  There  is  a  geological  record  ir 
the  fossil-bearing  rocks,  the  graveyards  of  the  buried  past ;  but  this  geo- 
logical record  is  very  imperfect.  The  imperfection  is  explained  partly  by 
the  softness  or  rapid  decay  of  many  animals  and  plants,  partly  because  many 
of  the  rocks  which  might  have  contained  fossils  have  been  fused,  metamor- 
phosed, or  worn  down  again  into  dust,  and  partly  by  other  reasons. 
The  record  is  like  a  library  in  which  whole  shelves  have  been  destroyed 
by  fire,  while  others  are  left  in  disorder,  in  which  most  of  the  sets  of 
volumes  are  incomplete  and  most  of  the  individual  books  are  sadly 
damaged.  At  the  same  time,  there  is  a  record,  the  study  of  which  gives 
us  some  warrant  for  speaking  of  original  headquarters  or  evolution- 
centres.  It  seems  fairly  certain  from  geological  evidence  that  the  northern 


Distribution  of  Living  Creatures      85 

hemisphere  was  the  original  home  of  most  Mammals,  whence  they  have 
spread  southwards  ;  that  the  Edentates  (sloths,  ant-eaters,  and  armadillos) 
had  their  evolution-centre  in  South  America ;  that  Africa  is  the  head- 
quarters of  the  legions  of  antelopes  ;  that  there  were  never  any  Anthropoid 
Apes  in  the  New  World,  nor  any  Mammals  higher  that  Marsupials  indi- 
genous in  Australia ;  and  that  Madagascar  was  the  headquarters  of  the 
race  of  lemurs. 

Geological  Conditions. — There  is  no  more  impressive  fact  con- 
cerning biological  distribution  than  "  Wallace's  Line "  (Fig.  280),  which 
perpetuates  the  name  of  one  of  the  most  successful  workers  on  the  subject. 
This  line  follows  the  narrow  but  deep  strait  which  separates  the  islands  of 
Bali  and  Lombok,  and  is  continued  northward  along  the  Makassar  Strait 
between  Borneo  and  Celebes.  Soundings  show  that  the  strait  is  deeper 
than  those  which  separate  the  other  Malayan  islands,  and  this  physical  fact 
becomes  significant  when  we  learn  of  the  diversity  of  the  fauna  on  either 
side  of  the  line.  There  seems  no  doubt  that  we  have  here  to  do  with  an 
old-established  geological  barrier  to  dispersal. 

Even  the  scanty  geological  information  which  we  possess,  corroborated 
by  soundings  which  show  the  shallowness  of  the  sea,  make  it  practically 
certain  that  at  no  very  remote  date  Asia  was  connected  with  America  by 
a  land-bridge  across  Bering  Strait.  This  fact  enables  us  at  once  to  under- 
stand the  presence  of  remains  of  the  horse,  bison,  and  mammoth  in 
Alaska,  and  to  understand  better  the  many  common  features  between  the 
Eurasian  and  the  North  American  faunas. 

Bionomic  Relations. — The  presence  or  absence  of  particular  plants 
or  animals  in  a  given  region  may  be  sufficiently  accounted  for  by  the 
factors  already  mentioned,  or  even  by  one  or  two  of  them,  but  where  the 
geological  evidence  shows  that  organisms  once  inhabited  a  region  in 
which  they  are  no  longer  found,  we  must  fall  back  for  explanation  on  that 
large  phrase,  "  the  struggle  for  existence."  This  includes  all  the  more  or 
less  critical  responses  which  living  creatures  make  to  changes  in  their 
environment,  both  inanimate  and  animate.  Changes  in  the  inanimate 
environment,  e.g.,  floods,  lava-flows,  slow  alterations  of  climate,  equally 
slow  crust-movements,  may  decide  the  question  of  survival ;  and  so  may 
the  very  important  factor  of  intra-organismal  struggle.  On  a  Scottish  hill- 
side we  may  watch  from  year  to  year  the  silent  struggle  between  bracken 
and  grass ;  the  same  struggle,  though  different  in  intensity,  is  characteristic 
of  the  tropical  forest.  Such  well-known  cases  as  the  struggle  between 
quickly  -  breeding  "  vermin,"  e.g.,  voles,  and  the  beasts  and  birds  of 
prey,  are  merely  striking  illustrations  of  a  universal  process.  Often  a 
balance  is  struck  and  both  parties  manage  to  survive,  doubtless  after  a 
process  of  mutual  adaptation  ;  often,  however,  there  is  a  meeting  of 
incompatibles,  thus  we  do  not  find  horses  and  tsetse  flies  flourishing 
together.  Not  less  important  is  the  struggle  between  plants  and  animals  ; 
the  leaf-cutting  ants  have  played  their  part  in  determining  what  trees  can 


86         The  International  Geography 

survive  in  the  Brazilian  forest,  and  it  is  obvious  that  a  parish  rich  in  corn- 
fields with  cleanly  kept  hedges,  and  poor  in  woods  or  meadowland  is  not 
likely  to  be  favoured  by  insects  which  live  on  nectar. 

Summary  as  to  the  Factors  in  Distribution. — At  least  six 
main  factors  have  contributed  to  the  present  distribution  of  organisms,  and 
none  of  these  can  be  ignored.  They  may  be  grouped  in  pairs  : — (a)  The 
physical  peculiarities  of  the  region  under  discussion,  and  the  constitutional 
peculiarities  of  the  living  creatures  ;  (6)  the  original  headquarters  of  the 
stock  (usually  uncertain),  and  the  means  of  dispersal  in  each  case  ;  (c)  the 
physical  changes  of  climate,  Earth-movements,  &c.,  in  the  region,  and  the 
changes  brought  about  in  the  struggle  for  existence  between  the  various 
living  tenants  of  the  country.  It  may  even  be  permissible  to  use  a 
mathematical  expression,  and  say  that  the  distribution  is  a  function  of  six 
factors,  some  of  which  are  variable  dependently  and  others  independently. 

But  besides  the  six  main  factors  there  are  minor  ones,  and  the  problem 
becomes  very  complex.  Thus  although  man  has  not  lived  long  upon  the 
Earth  compared  with  many  other  living  creatures,  he  has  been  the  direct 
cause  of  enormous  changes  in  their  distribution  ;  such  as  the  introduction 
of  rabbits  in  Australia,  sparrows  in  America,  and  the  practical  extermina- 
tion of  the  bison  and  the  beaver.  One  of  the  most  curious  extensions  of 
the  life  area  of  a  species  is  the  spread  of  the  jigger,  a  South  American 
insect,  which  passes  its  early  stages  of  development  as  a  parasite  in  the  feet 
of  men.  It  was  accidentally  introduced  into  West  Africa  in  1871,  was 
gradually  spread  eastward  by  the  increase  of  traffic  across  Africa,  and  in 
1898  appeared  for  the  first  time  in  Zanzibar. 

Some  Elementary  Facts  as  to  Distribution. — (a)  Widely  sepa- 
rated countries  may  have  similar  fauna  and  flora.  Dr.  Wallace  begins 
his  Island  Life  by  supposing  a  traveller  to  pass  from  Great  Britain  to 
Northern  Japan.  "  He  is  now  separated  from  his  starting-point  by  the 
whole  width  of  Europe  and  Northern  Asia,  by  an  almost  endless  succes- 
sion of  plains  and  mountains,  arid  deserts,  or  icy  plateaux,  yet  when  he 
visits  the  interior  of  the  country  he  sees  so  many  familiar  natural  objects 
that  he  can  hardly  help  fancying  he  is  close  to  his  home."  ...  "  There 
are  also,  of  course,  many  birds  and  insects  which  are  quite  new  and  pecu- 
liar, but  these  are  by  no  means  so  numerous  and  conspicuous  as  to 
remove  the  general  impression  of  a  wonderful  resemblance  between 
the  productions  of  such  remote  islands  as  Britain  and  Jesso." 

(6)  Closely  adjacent  countries  may  have  quite  different  faunas  and 
floras.  Thus,  as  Dr.  Wallace  points  out,  the  distance  from  Australia  to 
New  Zealand  is  trivial  when  compared  with  that  between  Britain  and 
Japan,  but  the  Australian  who  journeys  to  New  Zealand  finds  an  entirely 
new  living  panorama.  "  Kangaroos  and  wombats  there  are  none,  the  birds 
are  almost  all  entirely  new,  insects  are  very  scarce  and  quite  unlike  the 
handsome  or  strange  Australian  forms,  while  even  the  vegetation  is  all 
changed,  and  no  gum-tree,  or  wattle,  or  grass-tree  meets  the  traveller's 


Distribution  of  Living  Creatures       87 

eye."  An  even  more  striking  case  is  the  contrast  between  the  islands  of 
Bali  and  Lombok,  in  the  Malay  Archipelago,  and  the  same  fact  is  illus- 
trated by  the  contrast  both  in  fauna  and  flora  between  Florida  and  the 
Bahamas. 

(c)  Regions  with  very  distinctive  tenantry  are  in  many  cases  connected 
by  transition  areas.     Prof.  Heilprin  illustrates  this  by  supposing  the  natura- 
list to  journey  southwards  from  the  ice-covered  fields  of  Arctic  America  to 
the  Equator.     "  New  features  are  being  constantly  added,  and  old  ones 
eliminated,  but  the  interchange  is  effected  so  gradually  that  it  becomes 
difficult  to  determine  the  limitations  that  properly  define  one  fauna  from 
another."     Yet  the  fauna  at  the  end  of  the  journey  is  sharply  contrasted 
with  that  which  surrounded  the  traveller  at  its  beginning. 

(d)  On  the  other  hand  there  is  no  lack  of  instances  which  show  sharp 
delimitation.       The   mammalian  fauna  of    Australia,  apart  from  recent 
imports  (e.g.,  rabbits),  the  bat-tribe,  and  marine  forms,  consists  wholly  of 
Marsupials  and  Monotremes ;  with  the  possible  exception  of  the  dingo, 
there  are  not  even  fossil  remains  of  Mammals  higher  than  Marsupials ; 
and,  furthermore,  there  are  now  no  Marsupials  beyond  Australasian  limits 
except  the  family  of  American  opossums. 

(e)  Another  striking  fact  is  the  "  discontinuous  distribution  "  of  certain 
types,  by  which  we  mean  that  examples  of  a  type  may  occur  in  widely 
separated  regions  without  there  being  any  living  representatives  in  the 
intermediate  areas.     The  generally  applicable  explanation  is  that  the  type 
in  question  once  enjoyed  a  wide  distribution,  as  the  rock  records  show  ;  that 
widespread  elimination  has  occurred  ;  and  that  the  conditions  favourable 
to  survival  happen  to  have  been  found  in  areas  far  apart  from  one  another. 
Thus  of  the  genus  Tapir,  there  are  some  four  species  in  South  and  Central 
America,  while  the  only  other  species  occurs  in  Malacca  and  Borneo. 
Similarly  the  family  of  Camelidae  is  represented  by  one  genus  in  the  Old 
World  and  another  in  South  America ;  and  the  insectivorous  Centetidae  are 
represented  by  five  genera  in  Madagascar,  and  one  in  Cuba  and  Hayti. 

These  five  sets  of  facts  must  serve  to  illustrate  what  may  be  called  the 
elementary  data  of  distribution. 

Zoo-Geographical  Regions.— In  1858,  Dr.  P.  L.  Sclater  proposed 
to  recognise  six  main  zoological  regions : — (i)  Palcearctic  (= Europe, 
Northern  Africa,  Northern  and  Central  Asia)  ;  (2)  Ethiopian  (=Africa  south 
of  the  Atlas,  and  Madagascar);  (3)  Indian  or  Oriental  (= India,  South- 
Eastern  Asia,  and  part  of  the  Malay  Archipelago) ;  (^Australian  (= Australia, 
with  New  Guinea,New  Zealand,  and  Polynesia) ;  (5)  Nearctic  (=America  as 
far  south  as  Mexico) ;  and  (6)  Neotropical  (^Central  and  South  America,  and 
the  West  Indies).  This  scheme  was  mainly  based  on  a  study  of  the  distribu- 
tion of  birds,  but  Dr.  A.  R.  Wallace  soon  showed  that  it  worked  well  for 
mammals  also,  and  it  has  met  with  wide  acceptance.  Among  the  more 
important  emendations  which  have  been  suggested  are  the  following  : — 
(d)  the  union  of  Palaearctic  and  Nearctic  in  one  Holarctic  region ;  (b)  the 


The  International  Geography 

establishment  of  several  other  special  regions,  e.g.,  Polynesian,  Hawaiian, 
Malagasy,  Sonoran  or  Medio-Columbian,  Arctic,  and  Antarctic ;  (c)  the 
definition  of  several  transition-areas,  e.g.,  around  the  Mediterranean  and 
Lower  California;  and  (d)  the  grouping  of  the  regions  in  three  major 
realms  which  correspond  to  the  three  great  evolutionary  centres  of 
mammals — I.  The  Notogceic  Realm  (including  Australian,  Polynesian, 
Hawaiian,  and  Australo-Malayan  regions) ;  II.  The  Neogceic  Realm  (includ- 
ing the  Neotropical  region);  and  III.  The  Arctogceic  Realm  (including 
the  Malagasy,  Ethiopian,  Oriental,  Holarctic,  and  Sonoran  regions). 

Phyto-Geographical  Regions. — In  spite  of  enormous  labour 
spent  upon  the  subject,  it  remains  quite  undecided  what  topographical  and 
other  divisions  may  be  most  profitably  used  in  grouping  plants  according 
to  their  past  and  present  distribution.  When  the  plants  of  the  world  are 
known  as  thoroughly  as  those  in  Europe,  and  when  the  factors  of  distribu- 
tion throughout  Europe  have  been  as  carefully  analysed  as  they  have 
been  for  Great  Britain,  then  the  question  whether  we  should  recognise 
fifteen  or  twenty-five  or  thirty-five  floral  regions  will  begin  to  be 
answerable. 

Humboldt  relied  mainly  on  latitude  and  longitude  and  height  above  sea- 
level  in  his  pioneer  attempt  to  group  plants  geographically  ;  and  in  this  he 
was  followed  by  Meyen.  Schouw  (1823)  introduced  the  statistical  method, 
characterising  his  proposed  twenty-five  regions  by  the  numerical  pre- 
dominance of  certain  races  of  plants,  e.g.,  the  "Magnolia  region,"  the 
"  Cinchona  region,"  and  so  on.  Grisebach  (1872)  recognised  twenty-four 
areas,  and  laid  particular  emphasis  on  the  topographical  and  climatic 
barriers  which  separate  one  area  from  another.  Engler  (1882)  struck  a 
new  note  in  seeking  to  relate  the  present  distribution  of  plants  to  that  in 
Tertiary  times.  Drude  (1884)  followed  on  similar  lines,  and  sought  to 
combine  a  recognition  of  all  the  factors.  His  system  is  very  widely  used  ; 
it  recognises  three  main  divisions : — Boreal,  Austral,  and  Tropical,  and 
fourteen  smaller  regions,  each  again  divisible. 

Until  the  subject  is  further  advanced,  it  seems  most  profitable  for  the 
teacher  and  student  endeavouring  to  understand  the  nature  of  plant  distri- 
bution (a)  to  think  out  the  problem  in  relation  to  the  nearest  well-marked 
area — Great  Britain,  Ireland,  New  Zealand,  &c.;  and  (6)  to  gain  by  means 
of  photographs  and  pictures  concrete  impressions  of  the  vegetation  in 
different  parts  of  the  Earth. 

Groups  of  Land-Plants.— Every  traveller  has  noticed  that  the  same 
or  similar  plants  tend  to  occur  in  similar  areas,  and  the  field-botanist  can 
confirm  this  in  his  more  restricted  rambles.  Wood  and  heath,  links  and 
shore,  moor  and  bog,  are  more  or  less  distinctly  marked,  wherever  they 
are,  by  plants  characteristic  of  each.  Two  arid  shores  a  thousand  miles 
apart  way  show  identical  or  nearly  related  plants,  and  even  if  there 
be  little  structural  affinity  in  the  actual  tenants,  there  is  likely  to  be  a 
superficial  resemblance  brought  about  by  similar  adaptations  to  similar 


Distribution  of  Living  Creatures       89 

environment.  Thus,  the  prickly  cactuses  which  predominate  in  one  arid 
region  may  be  represented  by  similar,  but  in  reality  very  different  prickly 
spurges  in  another  area  with  similar  conditions.  Similarly,  the  ornithologist 
expects  to  find  wading  and  swimming  birds  about  a  lake,  whether  it  be 
African  or  South  American,  but  it  does  not  follow  that  the  birds  will  be  the 
same  in  the  two  cases.  In  short,  what  are  called  "  characteristic  vegeta- 
tions," are  in  many  cases  only  what  the  biologist  calls  physiological  or 
adaptive  groups.  They  owe  their  similarity  to  the  fact  that,  in  given  con- 
ditions, only  plants  of  a  certain  constitution  or  with  certain  adaptations  are 
able  to  survive.  A  few  examples  of  the  more  typical  groups  may  be 
.given. 

The  Tundra,  of  north-eastern  Europe  and  northern  Siberia,  where  the 
deeper  strata  of  the  soil  remain  frozen  perpetually,  is  characterised  by 
lichens,  like  the  "reindeer-moss"  (Cladonia  rangifera),  and  by  mosses, 
such  as  species  of  Polytrichum,  Dicranum,  and  Sphagnum.  In  more  pro- 
pitious places,  however,  there  may  be  bulbous  plants,  dwarf  willows,  and 
.grasses  ;  and  in  spring,  the  monotony  of  the  so-called  "  barren-grounds  " 
is  sometimes  broken  by  short-lived  brilliant  blossoming.  In  fact,  the 
tundra  passes  into  the  Moor,  with  its  mosses,  grasses,  sedges,  cranberries, 
and  occasional  willows,  and  birches,  or  into  the  Bog,  with  its  bog-myrtle 
and  peat,  cotton-sedge  and  asphodel,  grass  of  Parnassus  and  bog-pim- 
pernel, and  more  thoroughly  aquatic  forms  like  bladder  wort  and  marestail. 
Similarly,  the  dry  tundra  is  connected  through  the  moor  with  the  well- 
defined  Heaths  where  almost  nothing  will  grow  but  heather. 

The  Grassy  Vegetations,  such  as  meadow-lands  and  savannas,  are 
-characterised  by  the  predominance  of  grasses  and  sedges,  whose  long 
parallel  leaves  are  well  suited  for  crowded  life.  It  is  obvious  that  part  of 
the  problem  of  civilisation  is  the  establishment,  extension,  and  intensive 
•culture  of  these  grassy  vegetations,  which  include  our  cornfields.  But 
these  again  in  some  of  their  forms  pass  into  the  Steppe  Vegetation,  charac- 
terised by  plants  which  are  able  to  survive  a  prolonged  summer  drought 
and  require  a  very  short  vegetative  period.  Thus  trees  are  practically 
absent,  and  there  is  an  abundance  of  "  Xerophytes,"  i.e.,  plants  adapted  to 
withstand  great  dryness.  The  Thyrsa-grasses  (species  of  Stipa,  &c.)  are 
•characteristic  of  the  South  Russian  steppe ;  the  goose-foots  (Chenopodiacece) 
abound  in  the  salt-steppes.  The  prairies  of  North  America  are  probably 
the  richest  of  the  steppe-vegetations,  and  are  by  no  means  treeless,  while 
the  pampas  of  South  America  and  the  grassy  plains  of  Australia  repeat 
•similar  characteristics. 

Woods  and  Forests  extend  in  suitable  places  from  the  equator  to  the 
northern  and  southern  climatic  tree-limits,  the  essential  condition  of  their 
occurrence  being  that  the  average  temperature  during  the  vegetative 
period  of  the  year  does  not  fall  below  46°  F.  But  the  variety  in  the  com- 
ponent trees  and  in  the  undergrowth  is  very  great,  as  is  evident  when  we 
compare  the  Equatorial  forests,  the  Indian  jungle,  the  Savanna  woods  of 


go         The  International  Geography 

Brazil,  the  pine-forests  of  the  north,  the  park-lands  of  the  Amur,  and  the 
rich  green  woods  in  sheltered  English  valleys. 

Groups  of  Land  Animals.— As  with  terrestrial  plants,  so  with  land 
animals,  an  arrangement  into  physiological  or  adaptive  groups  may  be 
readily  made,  and  if  its  limitations  are  recognised  it  serves  a  definite 
intelligible  purpose.  Thus  we  may  distinguish,  for  example,  a  Boreal 
group,  in  some  marked  way  adapted  to  the  exigencies  of  an  Arctic 
environment,  e.g.,  by  permanent  or  seasonal  whiteness  as  in  the  polar  bear, 
Greenland  falcon,  snowy  owl,  Arctic  fox,  Hudson's  Bay  lemming,  and 
Arctic  hare.  Other  groups  may,  in  like  manner,  be  identified  with  other 
specialised  regions.  In  books  like  Brehm's  "  From  North  Pole  to  Equator" 
ample  materials  will  be  found  for  what  may  be  called  impressionist  pictures 
of  the  adaptive  peculiarities  of  the  various  groups  of  animals  which 
frequent  steppe  and  tundra,  desert  and  forest,  Alps  and  river-banks. 

Pelagic  Animals  and  Plants.— While  life  is  almost  universally 
distributed  over  the  Earth,  wherever  there  is  food,  air,  moisture,  heat,  and 
some  light,  it  is  possible  and  profitable  to  distinguish  various  kinds  of 
habitats  whose  conditions  make  them  in  some  measure  discontinuous. 
Such  are  the  Open  Sea,  the  Shores,  the  Deep  Sea,  the  Fresh  Waters,  and 
the  Dry  Land,  each  of  which  is  tenanted  by  characteristic  forms  of  life. 

The  term  pelagic  is  applied  to  all  organisms  that  habitually  live  in  the 
open  sea,  either  drifting  (Plankton)  or  actively  swimming  (Nekton).  As 
regards  animals,  there  is  great  variety  of  type,  from  the  minute  Noctiluca 
which  sets  the  waves  aglow  in  the  short  summer  darkness  to  the  giants  of 
modern  times — the  whales.  As  regards  plants,  there  are  almost  none 
above  the  level  of  unicellular  Algae,  e.g.,  Diatoms,  but  of  these  there  are 
immense  numbers  both  of  species  and  individuals.  This  is  a  fact  of  funda- 
mental importance,  since  these  minute  plants  furnish  the  basal  food  supply 
of  all  pelagic  animals.  Just  as  we  may  say  of  land  animals  that  "  all  flesh 
is  grass,5'  so  we  may  say  of  marine  forms  that  "  all  fish  is  diatom." 

The  pelagic  animals  include  a  few  genera  of  Foraminifera,  rich  in 
species,  all  the  Radiolarians,  many  Infusorians,  jellyfishes,  Siphonophora 
like  the  Portuguese  man-of-war,  Ctenophores  like  Venus' s  girdle,  many 
worm-tvpes  such  as  the  arrow-worm  (Sagitta),  Chastopods,  a  legion  of 
Crustaceans,  a  few  Insects  (Halobatidae),  such  Molluscs  as  Pteropods 
Heteropods,  many  Cephalopods,  free-swimming  Tunicates  such  as  Salpa 
and  Pyrosoma,  many  fishes,  a  few  turtles  and  snakes,  besides  some  well- 
known  birds  and  mammals.  It  should  also  be  noted  that  many  of  the 
shore  animals  have  pelagic  larvae.  The  life-conditions  of  the  open  sea 
are  favourable  ;  there  is  no  lack  of  room,  of  moisture,  or  of  sunshine, 
and  the  rapidly  multiplying  small  forms  supply  abundant  food  for  the 
larger.  The  rock  records  bear  witness  to  the  early  origin  of  pelagic  life. 

In  adaptation  to  their  habitat,  pelagic  animals  tend  to  be  lightly  built, 
delicate,  translucent,  and  often  bluish  in  colour,  and  with  external  organs 
suited  for  drifting  and  swimming.  The  frequent  "  phosphorescence 1J  is 


Distribution  of  Living  Creatures      91 

probably  in  some  cases  protective,  but  its  meaning  is  still  very  uncertain. 
Huge  numbers  of  individuals  usually  appear  in  shoals,  which  is  explained 
partly  by  the  abundant  food  supply  afforded  by  the  Algag,  partly  by  the 
prolific  reproduction  common  among  lowly  organised  animals,  partly  by 
the  relative  mildness  of  the  competitive  element  in  the  struggle  for 
existence,  and^partly  by  physical  conditions  of  currents  and  the  like,  which 
determine  areas  of  comfortable  subsistence  and  routes  of  migration.  While 
certain  types  are  very  widely  represented,  there  is  also  a  local  distribution 
of  species  which  shows  that  the  pathless  sea  has  zones  and  boundaries 
like  the  dry  land.  There  are  two  theories  of  the  origin  of  pelagic  forms, 
one  regarding  them  as  on  the  whole  primitive,  the  other  as  mainly  due 
to  migration  from  the  shores. 

The  Littoral  Area. — This  area  includes  (a)  the  shore  in  the  popular 
sense,  with  its  heterogeneous  jetsam  of  dead  seaweeds  and  animal  remains, 
and  its  own  characteristic  tenantry  of  sandhoppers  and  salt-worts  ;  (6)  the 
strict  littoral  zone,  exposed  only  at  low  tide,  with  its  acorn-shells,  peri- 
winkles and  limpets,  green  seaweeds  and  occasional  sea-grasses ;  (c)  the 
Laminarian  zone  (to  15  fathoms),  where  the  great  pennon-like  seaweeds 
float  amid  an  extraordinarily  keen  battle  for  life ;  and  (d)  the  Coralline 
zone  (15-40  fathoms)  where  seaweeds  become  gradually  sparser,  though 
the  population  of  debris-eating  and  carnivorous  animals  is  even  denser. 

The  conditions  of  shore-life  are  perhaps  the  most  stimulating  in  the 
world.  It  is  the  meeting  place  of  air,  water,  and  land.  It  is  the  area  of 
vicissitudes — ebb  and  flow  of  tides,  freshwater  floods  and  drought  under 
the  hot  sun,  gently  lapping  waves  and  violent  breakers,  slow  changes  of 
subsidence  and  upheaval.  The  alternations  of  day  and  night,  of  summer 
and  winter,  are  more  felt  there  than  in  the  open  sea.  The  tenantry  is 
correspondingly  rich  and  various,  including  representatives  of  almost  every 
family  from  the  Infusorians  up  to  birds  and  an  occasional  mammal. 

The  rock  records  show  decisively  that  the  shore  fauna  was  of  very 
ancient  origin,  and  there  is  some  evidence  to  warrant  the  conclusion 
maintained  by  some  (e.g.,  Pleffer),  that  a  very  uniform  shore-fauna  persisted 
until  Tertiary  times.  As  to  its  origin,  there  are  two  main  theories,  that 
which  regards  it  as  in  the  main  primitive,  and  that  which  regards  ^vas  in 
great  part  due  to  migrations  from  the  open  sea. 

The  Abyssal  Area. — It  is  not  likely  that  the  floor  of  the  deep  sea 
will  ever  become  a  familiar  hunting  ground  to  the  naturalist,  yet  almost 
every  year  since  the  days  of  the  Challenger  has  added  some  interesting 
detail  to  our  darkly-shaded  picture  of  it.  We  know  that  there  is  practically 
no  depth-limit  to  the  distribution  of  animals,  though  plants  are  almost 
unknown  below  the  so-called  light-limit,  and  the  more  moderate  depths 
seem  to  be  more  richly  peopled. 

The  population  of  the  deep  sea  includes  representatives  of  most  of  the 
types  of  animals  from  Protozoa  up  to  Fishes.  There  are  Foraminifera 
in  abundance,  many  flinty  sponges,  some  corals  and  sea-anemones,  not  a 


92         The  International  Geography 

few  Annelids  and  other  worms,  especially  on  the  red  clay,  Echinoderms 
of  every  kind,  legions  of  Crustaceans,  abundant  Molluscs,  and  many 
peculiar  fishes — the  tyrants  of  that  dark  world — some  blind,  some  half- 
blind,  and  others  with  "darkness-eyes,"  catching  perchance  the  fitful 
gleams  of  phosphorescence. 

The  conditions  of  life  in  the  Abyssal  area  are  peculiar  to  itself  in  the 
following  particulars  :— (i)  There  is  practically  no  light  apart  from  that 
produced  by  phosphorescence ;  (2)  the  temperature  is  low  (about  34°  F.), 
and  very  uniform  ;  (3)  it  is  an  area  of  enormous  pressure,  thus  at  2,500 
fathoms  the  pressure  is  about  two  and  a  half  tons  per  square  inoh  ; 
(4)  it  is  quite  calm,  untouched  by  the  severest  storms ;  (5)  the  water 
is  relatively  rich  in  oxygen  ;  (6)  it  is  virtually  plantless ;  (7)  it  is  probably 
without  putrescence,  for  although  pelagic  bacteria  (formerly  denied)  are 
now  well  known,  there  is  no  secure  evidence  of  their  presence  in  the  great 
depths,  and  there  can  be  no  true  rotting  without  bacteria  ;  (8)  the  animals 
necessarily  feed  upon  one  another,  but  fundamentally  upon  the  organic 
debris  which  sinks  from  above,  and  not  least  upon  the  ceaseless  rain  of 
pelagic  Protozoa  ;  (9)  it  is  very  uniform  over  vast  areas,  and  many  forms 
have  a  very  wide  range. 

The  generally  accepted  view  is  that  the  deep  sea  did  not  become  a 
possible  home  of  life  until  perhaps  Cretaceous  times,  until  the  Poles 
cooled  and  the  cold  water  rich  in  oxygen  sank  to  the  great  depths.  The 
affinity  between  abyssal  animals  and  those  found  in  shallower  water  in 
boreal  seas  has  often  been  pointed  out,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  deep 
sea  was  largely  peopled  from  the  poles,  or  in  any  case  from  the  shores. 

The  Fresh  Waters.— As  in  the  case  oi  the  sea,  it  seems  useful  to 
distinguish  (a)  the  littoral  forms,  which  occur  in  rivers,  on  the  shores  of 
lakes,  and  in  shallow  water ;  (6)  the  surface  forms,  or  Limnoplankton ;  and 
(c)  the  deepwater  forms.  Thus  among  plants,  the  rushes,  irises,  marsh  mari- 
golds, water  buttercups,  water-lilies,  bladderworts,  stoneworts  are  character- 
istically littoral  ;  numerous  green  algag  occur  in  the  open  water  and  form 
an  important  source  of  food  to  animals  ;  while  few  are  known  to  occur  on 
the  floor  of  deep  lakes.  Among  animals,  the  deepwater  forms  are  chiefly 
Rhizopods,  Turbellarians,  Nematodes,  Leeches,  Chaetopods,  Crustaceans,  a 
few  Arachnids,  some  insect  larvae,  and  not  a  few  Molluscs.  Many  have 
probably  migrated  from  the  shore  of  the  lake,  where  the  same  or  similar 
forms  may  also  occur,  along  with  others  distinctively  littoral,  e.g.,  the 
Hydra  and  the  freshwater  sponges.  Very  distinct,  again,  are  the  surface 
forms — small  Crustaceans,  Rotifers,  Infusorians,  &c. — which  present  a 
marked  analogy  of  structure  and  habit  with  the  marine  Plankton.  The 
Entomostracan  Crustaceans  are  of  much  practical  importance  in  forming 
the  fundamental  food  supply  of  many  freshwater  fishes. 

As  regards  origin,  freshwater  animals  have  been  divided  into  three  sets. 
(a)  The  recent  migrants  which  may  be  illustrated  by  the  dozen  or  more 
marine  species  which  are  at  present  learning  to  live  in  the  Kaiser- Wilhelm 


Distribution  of  Living  Creatures      93 

canal  in  which  the  water  is  on  the  whole  fresh,  or  by  the  simple  polype 
Cordylophora  which  has  been  carried  by  boats  up  rivers  and  canals.  It  is 
probable  that  the  American  freshwater  polype  Microhydra  ryderi  which 
liberates  swimming-bells  or  medusoids  is  a  relatively  recent  migrant. 

(6)  The  archaic  freshwater  animals,  which  must  have  been  at  home 
in  freshwater  since  ancient  times  and  have  been  isolated  by  Earth- 
movements  in  basins  far  from  the  present-day  sea,  may  be  illustrated  by 
the  African  freshwater  Medusoid  (Limnocodium)  which  was  found  in  Lake 
Tanganyika,  2,700  feet  above  sea-level.  The  widely  distributed  old- 
fashioned  Crustacean  Apus,  and  the  double-breathing  mud-fishes  (Ceratodus 
in  Queensland  rivers,  Protopterus  in  the  Gambia,  and  Lepidosiren  in  the 
Amazon),  are  other  instances.  In  Lake  Tanganyika,  according  to  Moore, 
two  faunas  co-exist — (i)  "The  normal  and  ubiquitous  freshwater  stock"  ; 
and  (2)  a  series  of  very  divergent  forms,  notably  molluscs,  which  appear  to 
be  "  the  dwarfed  and  stunted  remnant  of  a  fauna  that  the  sea  left  behind 
it"  probably  as  far  back  as  the  Jurassic  period. 

(c)  The  cosmopolitan  forms  include  some  Protozoa,  freshwater  sponges, 
Hydra,  some  Turbellarian  worms,  and  numerous  small  Crustaceans,  like 
Cyclops.  Their  uniformity  seems  to  be  due  to  three  or  four  factors — (i) 
Migration  from  the  sea  would  be  effected  in  different  parts  of  the  world 
by  animals  of  similar  constitution,  and  the  conditions  of  adaptation  and 
survival,  being  closely  alike  in  different  freshwater  basins,  would  tend  to 
work  out  similar  results ;  (2)  in  lakes  which  arose  as  relict-seas  and 
contained  originally  somewhat  similar  samples  of  a  fairly  uniform  pelagic 
fauna,  e.g.,  before  Cretaceous  times,  the  conditions  of  elimination  would 
tend  to  be  much  the  same  everywhere,  and  the  result  would  be  uniformity 
in  the  survivors  ;  (3)  there  are  not  a  few  of  the  smaller  forms  which  are 
readily  carried  on  birds'  feet  and  otherwise  from  one  water  basin  to 
another. 

Dry  Land. — As  the  majority  of  animals,  from  the  simplest  up  to  and 
including  Amphibians,  are  either  themselves  aquatic  or  have  their  juvenile 
stages  adapted  for  aquatic  life,  the  presumption  is  strong  that  the  dry  land 
was  originally  peopled  slowly  and  gradually  by  migrants  from  the  water. 
Very  gradually,  of  course,  must  the  transition  have  been  effected,  now  by 
a  wandering  worm  and  again  by  a  curious  Crustacean,  here  by  a  fish-like 
form  clambering  in  the  lagoon  and  there  by  an  ancestral  Amphibian  which 
learned  to  survive  the  drying  up  of  the  pool  where  it  was  hatched. 

Besides  pelagic,  littoral,  abyssal,  freshwater,  and  terrestrial  groups, 
others  might  be  distinguished ;  thus  there  are  aerial  animals,  such  as 
birds  and  insects,  and  aerial  plants,  like  the  epiphytic  Orchids  and  Aroids, 
or  like  the  Bacteria  which  drift  about  in  the  air ;  there  is  the  not  very 
abundant  population  found  in  brackish  water  ;  there  is  the  "  cryptozoic  " 
fauna  of  caves  and  grottoes,  some  members  of  which  appear  to  be  ancient 
relicts,  and  there  are  the  but  little  known  Fungi  found  in  similar  places. 
Over  forty  species  of  animals  are  known  from  the  Mammoth  Cave  of 


94         The  International  Geography 


Kentucky,  and  the  total  number  of  recorded  cave-dwellers  is  about  three 
hundred.  Finally,  in  considering  the  different  homes  of  life,  account  must 
be  taken  of  the  immense  number  of  plants  and  animals  which  live  as 
parasites  in  or  on  other  organisms. 

Relations  between  Life  Areas. — According  to  Moseley,  "The  fauna 
of  the  coast  has  not  only  given  origin  to  the  terrestrial  and  freshwater 
faunas,  it  has  throughout  all  time,  since  life  originated,  given  additions  to 
the  pelagic  fauna  in  return  for  having  received  from  it  its  starting  point. 
It  has  also  received  some  of  these  pelagic  forms  back  again  to  assume  a 
fresh  littoral  existence.  The  terrestrial  fauna  has  returned  some  forms  to 
the  shores,  such  as  certain  shore-birds,  seals,  and  the  polar  bear ;  and 
some  of  these,  such  as  the  whales  and  a  small  oceanic  insect,  Halobates, 


Dry 


Open  Sea 


Origina 
Home 


FlG.  46. — Possible  Evolution  of  Faunas. 

have  returned  thence  to  pelagic  life."  "  The  deep  sea  fauna  has  probably 
been  formed  almost  entirely  from  the  littoral,  not  in  the  most  remote 
antiquity,  but  only  after  food,  derived  from  the  debris  of  the  littoral  and 
terrestrial  faunas  and  floras,  became  abundant  in  deep  water." 

According  to  Agassiz,  Simroth,  and  others,  if  we  may  venture  to 
compress  their  views  into  a  sentence,  a  littoral  fauna  was  the  original  one, 
whence  have  been  derived,  on  the  one  hand,  the  pelagic  and  abyssal 
faunas  ;  on  the  other  hand,  those  of  the  fresh  waters  and  dry  land. 

According  to  Professor  W.  K.  Brooks,  a  pelagic  fauna  was  primitive, 
for  there  the  conditions  of  life  are  easiest.  From  the  pelagic  fauna 
migrants  passed  inwards  to  the  shore  and  downwards  to  the  deep  sea, 
while  a  possibility  of  a  return-movement  from  both  these  areas  is  also 
allowed. 


Distribution  of  Living  Creatures      95 

Sir  John  Murray  has  especially  emphasised  the  importance  of  "the 
mud-line,"  the  boundary  between  the  abyssal  and  littoral  (or  neritic) 
regions,  at  an  average  depth  of  about  100  fathoms.  It  is  the  line  where 
the  minute  organic  and  inorganic  particles  derived  from  the  land  and 
surface  waters  find  a  resting  place  upon  the  bottom,  it  appears  to  be  one 
of  the  great  feeding-grounds  in  the  ocean,  and  seems  to  be  very  densely 
peopled.  The  same  authority  holds  "  that  in  early  geological  times 
there  was  a  nearly  uniform  high  temperature  over  the  whole  surface  of 
the  globe,  and  a  nearly  uniformly  distributed  fauna  and  flora  ;  and  that 
with  the  gradual  cooling  at  the  poles,  species  with  pelagic  larvae  were 
killed  out  or  forced  to  migrate  towards  the  tropics,  while  the  great  majority 
of  the  species  which  were  able  to  survive  in  the  polar  areas  were  those 
inhabiting  the  mud-line." 

If  we  adopt  the  suggestion  that  the  most  probable  ancestral  home  of 
animals  was  some  region  not  far  from  the  shore,  we  may  picture  the 
possible  relations  in  a  diagram  (Fig.  46)  which  may  appear  complex,  though 
the  probability  is  that  it  is  not  complex  enough  to  be  true. 

In  triis  brief  essay  we  have  of  course  assumed  that  conception  which  is 
fast  becoming  organic  in  all  thinking — the  general  conception  of  evolution, 
that  the  present  is  the  child  of  the  past.  If  this  be  true,  the  various  faunas 
and  floras  amid  which  the  naturalist  wanders  have  had  their  history, 
and  it  is  the  task — merely  begun — of  the  students  of  distribution  to  spell 
this  out. 

STANDARD  BOOKS. 

F.  E.  Beddard.    "  Text-book  of  Zoo-geography."     London,  1895. 

O.  Drude.     "  Die  Florenreiche  der  Erde."     1884,  &c. 

A.  Heilprin.     "  The  Distribution  of  Animals."     London,  1887. 

R.  Lydekker.     "  Geographical  History  of  Mammals."     London,  1896. 

A.  R.  Wallace.     "  Geographical  Distribution  of  Animals."    2  vols.      London,  1876. 

A.  R.  Wallace.     "  Island  Life."     London,  1880. 

J.  Wiesner.    "  Biologic  der  Pflanzen."     1889.     [Bibliography.] 

A.  F.  W.  Schimper.     "  Pflanzengeographie  auf  physiologischer  Grundlage."     Jena,  1898. 

"  Plant   Geography  upon  a  physiological  basis."      [Translation  of 

above.]     Oxford,  1904. 


CHAPTER    IX.— THE    PEOPLES    OF    THE    EARTH 
AND   THE    DISTRIBUTION    OF    MANKIND 

BY  A.  H.  KEANE,  LL.D., 
Late  Vice-President  Anthropological  Institute. 

Specific  Unity  of  Mankind.— That  mankind  forms  a  distinct 
zoological  genus  in  the  strict  sense  of  the  term,  that  is  to  say,  a  separate 
group  amongst  the  higher  mammalia  sprung  from  a  single  stock,  though 
not  necessarily  from  a  single  pair,  may  now  be  taken  as  a  generally 
accepted  conclusion  of  modern  science.  There  certainly  survive  here 
and  there  a  few  distinguished  polygenists,  who  still  believe  that  the  main 
divisions  have  each  had  a  separate  origin  from  so  many  specifically 
different  ancestors  in  different  parts  of  the  world,  although  no  two  of 
these  pluralists  are  in  accord  as  to  the  number  of  such  independent  zoo- 
logical species.  But  this  view  is  rejected  by  the  great  majority  of  living 
anthropologists,  who,  after  a  long  period  of  "  storm  and  stress "  in  the 
early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  have  returned  to  the  sober  teachings 
of  Linnaeus,  in  whose  Order  of  Anthropomorpha  man  appears  as  a  single 
genus  with  a  single  species  and  four  varieties,  corresponding  to  the  four 
main  continental  divisions  of  the  Earth.  The  specific,  and  not  merely  the 
generic,  unity  of  mankind  is  frankly  accepted  by  Sir  W.  Flower,  the 
leading  English  anthropologist,  in  whose  Sub-Order  of  A\THROPOiDEA,the 
Hominidce  constitute  the  fifth  and  highest  family,  coming  nearest  to,  but 
still  independent  of,  the  Simiidce,  that  is,  the  four  groups  of  so-called 
"man-apes" — Gibbon,  Orang-Utan,  Gorilla,  and  Chimpanzee. 

The  Pliocene  Precursor.— The  apparently  impassable  gap  which, 
despite  many  obvious  points  of  resemblance,  still  separated  the  human 
from  the  simian  group,  was  largely  bridged  over  by  the  discovery  made 
in  1892,  by  Dr.  Eugene  Dubois,  of  some  human  remains  embedded  in  the 
late  Pliocene  deposits  of  the  Solo  river,  in  Java.  These  highly  fossilised 
bones  of  Pithecanthropus  erectis,  as  he  has  been  named  by  the  finder,  are 
regarded  by  the  best  authorities  as  undoubtedly  human,  and  the  import- 
ance of  the  discovery  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  the  skull  holds  a 
position  about  midway  between  those  of  the  Chimpanzee  and  of  the 
Neanderthal,  that  is,  the  lowest  human  cranium  previously  described.  In 
other  words  the  Javanese  "  missing  link  "  is  as  much  below  the  Neander- 
thal as  this  is  below  the  normal  European.  It  presents  the  characters 
which  were  anticipated  in  Pliocene,  as  compared  with  Pleistocene  man, 
should  his  remains  ever  be  discovered.  Moreover,  it  gives  a  vastly  more 
remote  starting-point  for  the  natural  history  of  mankind,  and  that  in  the 

96 


Distribution  of  Mankind  97 

very  region  which  many  eminent  palaeontologists  have  pointed  to  as  the 
probable  cradle  of  the  human  family. 

Tertiary  Distribution  of  Land  and  Water.— At  the  time  of  the 
Dispersion,  the  Indo-African  Continent,  the  existence  of  which  was  estab- 
lished by  the  geologists  of  the  Indian  Geological  Survey,  still  formed  almost 
continuous  land  across  the  present  Indian  Ocean,  between  the  Dekkan, 
Madagascar,  and  South  Africa.  The  shallow'  inland  waters,  nowhere 
exceeding  fifty  fathoms  in  depth,  had  not  yet  converted  to  insular  masses 
the  Sunda  group  (Borneo,  Sumatra,  Java),  now  separated  by  narrow 
channels  from  the  Asiatic  mainland.  The  Australian  continent  was  con- 
nected with  New  Guinea,  and  extended  westwards  much  farther  than  at- 
present.  New  Zealand  also  occupied  a  far  wider  area,  while  the  Funafuti 
borings  leave  little  doubt  that  Polynesia  itself  is  an  area  of  compara- 
tively recent  subsidence.  In  the  northern  hemisphere  Africa  was 
connected  with  Europe  both  across  the  Strait  of  Gibraltar,  and  also  at  one 
or  two  other  points  ;  Britain  still  formed  part  of  the  mainland,  and  almost 
continuous  land  appears  to  have  extended  from  North-west  Europe 
through  Iceland  to  Greenland  and  North  America. 

The  First  Migrations. — It  is  to  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  first 
migrations  took  place  unconsciously,  much  in  the  same  way  as  did  those 
of  all  the  other  land  faunas.  The  cranial  capacity  of  the  Javanese  pre- 
cursor was  not  much  more  than  about  950  cubic  centimetres,  as  compared 
with  that  of  the  highest  apes  (Orang  500),  and  of  the  highest  human  beings 
(Europeans,  1,500  or  1,600).  Hence  at  that  time  the  disparity  between 
man  and  the  lower  animals  was  not  nearly  so  marked  as  at  present.  He 
no  doubt  could  walk  erect,  and  possessed  a  well-developed  hand  with 
which  to  fashion  the  rude  implements  found  by  Noetling  in  the  neigh- 
bouring Pliocene  beds  of  Indo-China.  But  in  other  respects  the  difference 
could  not  have  been  great,  and,  like  the  other  animals,  he  must  have 
moved  about  rather  by  instinct  and  impulse,  in  obedience  to  the  sur- 
rounding physical  conditions,  than  of  any  set  purpose.  The  struggle  for 
existence  was  also  carried  on  in  the  same  blind  way,  although  in  virtue  of 
his  greater  intelligence  he  had  no  doubt  already  acquired  a  sufficient 
supremacy  over  his  competitors  to  become  the  one  universal  species.  Not 
only  is  man  the  one  member  of  the  animal  kingdom  whose  present  range 
coincides  with  that  of  the  habitable  globe,  but  this  universal  domain  had 
already  been  occupied  by  him  in  early  Pleistocene  times.  A  considerable 
mass  of  trustworthy  evidence  has  in  recent  years  been  brought  together 
from  every  quarter  of  the  world  to  show  that  it  had  been  peopled  during, 
if  not  prior  to,  the  recurrent  invasions  of  ice  in  the  northern  and  southern 
hemispheres.  That  is  to  say,  Pleistocene  man  had  spread  over  the  entire 
habitable  globe  while  he  was  physically  still  but  little  removed  from  his 
Pliocene  ancestor,  and  prior  to  the  development  of  any  culture,  and  even 
of  any  arts  or  industries,  beyond  the  manufacture  of  the  rudest  stone 
implements.  Hence  the  astonishing  resemblance  that  is  presented  by 


g  8         The  International  Geography 

these  objects,  as  well  as  by  the  earliest  skeletal  remains  of  man  himself 
in  whatever  part  of  the  Earth  they  are  found — skulls  from  western  and 
Central  Europe,  from  Egypt,  California  (if  genuine),  Brazil  and  other 
parts  of  South  America  ;  flints  from  Britain,  France,  North  and  South 
Africa,  Somaliland,  India,  the  United  States,  Patagonia,  Fuegia. 

By  the  land  connections  indicated  above.  Pleistocene  man  was  able, 
without  any  knowledge  of  navigation,  to  pass  from  his  I ndo- Malaysian 
home  northwards  to  Asia  and  thence  by  the  Bering  Strait  route  into 
America ;  and  westwards  into  Africa  ;  thence  northwards  by  two  routes 
(Strait  of  Gibraltar,  Tunis-Sicily)  into  Europe,  and  from  north-western 
Europe  to  Greenland  and  America  during  inter-glacial  or  post-glacial  times. 

Formation  of  Varieties.— From  this  view  of  the  first  dispersion  it 
follows  that  these  migrations  everywhere  preceded  the  later  physical  and 
mental  development  of  mankind,  so  that  the  evolution  of  the  existing 
human  varieties  and  of  their  several  cultures  is  presented  in  quite  a  new 
light.  We  need  no  longer  suppose,  always  a  somewhat  violent  assump- 
tion, that  some  fully  specialised  group,  say,  originally  black,  migrating 
from  continent  to  continent,  became  white  in  one  region,  yellow  in 
another,  brown  in  a  third,  and  so  on.  Had  such  a  group  passed  from  its 
proper  zone  to  another,  it  would  probably  have  died  out  long  before  it  had 
time  to  become  acclimatised.  In  any  case  it  is  now  easy  to  see  that  the 
evolution  could  not  have  taken  place  on  those  lines,  but  was  brought 
about  in  the  several  regions  independently,  as  in  the  case  of  other  animal 
varieties.  The  Pleistocene  groups,  all  alike  at  first,  everywhere  presented 
the  same  generalised  prototype,  from  which  the  now  living  varieties  were 
severally  and  independently  developed.  The  main  divisions  of  mankind 
must  therefore  be  regarded,  as  Linnaeus  regarded  them,  as  so  many  zoolo- 
gical varieties,  all  springing  from  common  or  closely  allied  generalised 
ancestors,  and  each  gradually  specialised  by  slow  adaptation  to  its  special 
environment.  Like  all  other  divisions  of  the  terrestrial  fauna,  these 
divisions  are  thus  the  outcome  of  their  respective  surroundings.  They  are 
what  climate,  soil,  diet,  heredity  and  time  have  made  them,  and  that  is 
the  reason  why,  in  the  case  of  all  later  migrations,  the  first  question  that 
arises  is  one  of  acclimatisation.  If  the  new  zone  is  favourable,  that  is, 
differs  littie  from  the  old,  the  variety  persists  ;  if  not,  it  either  merges  and 
becomes  absorbed  in  the  indigenous  element,  or  else  simply  dies  out.  A 
continuous  illustration  of  this  fundamental  truth  is  afforded  by  the  social 
relations  in  North  America,  tropical  and  extra-tropical  Africa,  India, 
Australia,  New  Zealand,  and  every  other  land  where  European  people 
have  failed  or  succeeded  in  establishing  themselves. 

Culture  Zones.— With  what  may  be  called  the  first  settlement  of  the 
Earth  by  Man  in  Pleistocene  times  begins  the  evolution  of  the  human 
varieties  and  of  human  culture  everywhere  simultaneously,  but  with 
varying  results  in  accordance  with  the  varying  nature  of  the  environment. 
In  the  most  favoured  regions,  mainly  the  north  temperate  zone  (the  south 


Distribution  of  Mankind  99 

temperate  being  too  contracted  to  constitute  areas  of  specialisation)  man 
has  attained  his  highest  development  both  physically  and  mentally. 

In  the  eastern  hemisphere  the  space  included  between  the  parallels  of 
25°  and  50°  N.  will  about  comprise  what  may  be  spoken  of  as  the  "  Culture 
Zone  "  in  a  pre-eminent  sense.  Within  this  privileged  area,  which,  follow- 
ing the  normal  isothermal  curves  of  continental  and  marine  climates,  is 
contracted  in  the  east  to  40°  N.  or  less,  and  reaches  in  the  extreme  west 
to  55°  N.,  have  originated  and  flourished  all  the  great  centres  of  civilisation 
in  ancient  and  modern  times  —  the  Egyptian,  Babylonian,  Assyrian, 
Persian,  Indian,  Chinese,  ^gean  (Mykenaean),  Hellenic,  Phoenician, 
Minaean,  Sabaean,  Etruscan,  Roman,  and  later  European.  Within  the 
same  area  have  sprung  up  all  the  great  religions  of  the  world  —  the 
Jewish,  Buddhist,  Christian,  and  Mohammedan  ;  and  here  also  have  been 
developed  all  the  higher  orders  of  speech,  that  is  to  say,  the  three  inflect- 
ing Hamitic,  Semitic,  and  Aryan  linguistic  families.  Such  coincidences 
are  not  merely  accidental,  but  have  their  roots  in  the  soil  itself,  and  are  an 
eloquent  illustration  of  the  great  evolutionary  formula  that  all  living 
things  are  the  outcome  of  their  environment. 

Elsewhere,  primitive  man  has  lagged  behind,  being  still  for  the  most 
part  a  mere  savage  in  nearly  all  the  tropical,  and  also,  for  the  reason  stated, 
in  the  south  temperate  lands — Central  and  South  Africa,  East  Malaysia, 
New  Guinea,  Australia,  Melanesia,  Fuegia.  The  picture  is  completed  by 
the  various  transitional  phases  of  barbarism  between  savagery  and 
civilisation,  which  are  characteristic  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  sub-tropical 
Asiatic  peninsula,  the  bleak  elevated  plateaux  and  sub-arctic  steppes  of  both 
hemispheres  :  Indo-China,  the  Dekkan,  Central  Arabia,  Tibet,  Mongolia, 
Siberia,  the  great  tablelands,  prairies,  and  tundras  of  the  New  World. 

The  diverse  anthropogeographical  relations  here  sketched  in  broad 
outline  have  no  doubt  been  somewhat  modified,  and  in  places  completely 
obliterated,  since  the  expansion  of  the  higher  European  peoples  during  the 
last  four  hundred  years.  But  a  properly  prepared  sixteenth  century 
culture-map  of  the  world  on  a  Mercator  projection  would  show  a  nearly 
parallel  series  of  shaded  bands,  indicating  the  various  degrees  of  progress 
made  by  mankind  since  the  Pleistocene  period  between  the  equatorial,  the 
arctic,  and  antarctic  regions.  Owing  to  the  contraction  and  great  eleva- 
tion of  the  land  about  the  equator  in  the  western  hemisphere,  the  chief 
isocultural  deflections  occur  in  the  New  World,  not  in  the  temperate  zone, 
but  well  within  the  tropics  (Peru,  Colombia,  and  Yucatan).  Mexico  alone 
reached  northwards  a  little  beyond  the  tropic  of  Cancer. 

The  Progressive  Stages  of  Culture. — The  progressive  stages  of 
human  culture,  viewed  as  a  whole,  are  determined,  partly  by  the  activities 
indispensable  to  mere  existence — hunting,  fishing,  pasture,  and  tillage — but 
far  more  by  the  industries  associated  either  with  those  activities  them- 
selves, or  with  more  advanced  social  conditions.  By  a  systematic  study 
of  the  remains  of  the  more  primitive  and  later  arts,  discovered  in  ever  in- 


ioo       The  International  Geography 

creasing  abundance  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  archaeologists  have  been  able 
to  distinguish  certain  marked  types  of  stone,  and  later  of  metal  implements, 
which  everywhere  present  a  surprising  general  uniformity,  and  thus  serve 
as  a  sure  guide  in  following  the  successive  steps  by  which  mankind 
has  advanced  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest  plane  of  civilisation. 

The  Old  and  New  Stone  Ages.— Thus  have  been  determined  a 
Palaeolithic  and  a  Neolithic^  that  is,  an  "Old  Stone"  and  a  "New  Stone" 
Age,  with  reference  to  the  material  (mostly  flint)  which  in  the  first,  and 
immeasurably  the  longer,  period,  was  merely  chipped,  flaked,  or  otherwise 
rudely  fashioned,  but  in  the  second  more  carefully  worked  and  polished. 
Now,  it  is  an  ascertained  fact  that  some  of  the  highly  specialised  varieties  of 
Man  known  to  history — Proto-Hamites,  Proto-Semites,  Iberians,  Ligurians, 
Pelasgians,  and  some  peoples  of  Aryan  speech — had  already  made  their 
appearance  in  Neolithic  times  both  in  Central  and  West  Europe,  and  in  all 
the  Mediterranean  lands  eastward  to  Mesopotamia.  Consequently,  the  Old 
Stone  Age  must  have  lasted  long  enough  to  allow  of  such  stupendous 
differentiations  as  those  involved  in  the  upward  development  from  the 
Pleistocene  precursor  to  Linnaeus'  Homo  Europaus.  It  is  not,  therefore,  per- 
haps surprising  that  even  such  a  cautious  observer  as  Sir  John  Evans  should 
have  declared  that  "  the  remoteness  of  the  date  at  which  the  Palaeolithic 
period  had  its  beginning  almost  transcends  our  power  of  imagination." 

During  these  countless  ages,  estimated  by  some  authorities  at  several 
hundred  thousand  years,  the  various  Pleistocene  groups  could  nowhere 
have  remained  stationary,  and  in  the  more  favoured  localities  the  progress 
was  so  great  that  it  is  not  everywhere  possible  to  draw  a  hard  and  fast  line 
between  the  Old  and  the  New  Stone  periods.  Speaking  generally,  how- 
ever, the  latter  was  distinguished  from  the  former  by  a  more  complete 
control  over  fire,  by  burial  and  funeral  rites  associated  with  more  enlarged 
religious  notions,  by  the  cultivation  of  cereals  and  other  alimentary  plants,  by 
the  domestication  of  several  animals,  and  by  considerable  progress  in  most 
of  the  useful  arts  and  industries,  especially  pottery,  weaving,  architecture. 
Some  of  the  monuments  raised  by  Neolithic  man  over  the  dead — dolmens, 
menhirs,  barrows — were  so  solidly  constructed  that  they  are  still  found 
girdling  the  globe  from  Britain  and  Brittany  through  Iberia,  North  Africa, 
Syria,  Palestine,  India,  Korea,  Japan,  Easter  and  many  other  Pacific 
islands  to  the  New  World,  where  they  culminated  in  the  astounding  mono- 
liths of  Tiahuanaco  on  the  southern  shore  of  Lake  Titicaca.  They  served 
as  models  for  later  generations,  as  in  Etruria,  Mykenae,  Phoenicia,  Egypt, 
where  the  pyramids  themselves  are  nothing  but  petrified  mounds.  Thus 
are  connected  remote  past  and  present  times  by  the  imperishable  works 
of  early  man,  just  as  the  two  Stone  Ages  were  connected  by  the  kitchen 
middens  and  shell  mounds  which  were  common  to  both  periods,  and 
are  still  found  fringing  the  "  beached  margent  of  the  sea  "  in  so  many 
lands — Denmark,  Japan,  Australia,  North  and  South  America. 

Similarly,  the  present  aquatic  habitations  of  savage  man  in  such  widely 


Distribution  of  Mankind  101 

separated  regions  as  Cambodia,  New  Guinea,  Borneo,  Venezuela,  have  their 
prototypes  in  the  lacustrine  pile-dwellings,  terramare,  palafitti,  crannogs, 
and  other  Neolithic  stations,  whose  sites  have  been  explored  in  Switzerland, 
northern  Italy,  Ireland  and  Scotland.  North  Britain  appears  to  have  been 
first  occupied  by  these  crannog-dwellers,  or  possibly  by  some  earlier 
Neolithic  hordes,  in  places  where  subsequent  geological  changes  afford 
some  trustworthy  data  wherewith  to  gauge  the  long  duration  of  the  second 
Stone  Age.  Thus,  after  the  break  of  continuity  between  Britain  and 
Europe  in  glacial  times,  Sir  W.  Turner  suggests  another  upheaval,  a 
"  Neolithic  land-bridge,"  by  which  the  men  of  the  New  Stone  Age  may 
have  reached  Scotland,  where  they  were  undoubtedly  present  during  the 
formation  of  the  Carse  clays.  These  cliffs,  which  show  distinct  traces  of 
sea-beaches  now  in  places  45,  50,  and  100  feet  above  the  present  sea-level, 
formed  the  bed  of  a  marine  inlet,  which  in  post-glacial  times  still  nearly  if 
not  completely  separated  North  Britain  from  the  region  south  of  the  Forth. 
The  rise  of  the  100  foot  terrace  was  followed  by  an  immense  development 
of  forest  growths,  which  have  since  disappeared,  and  all  these  oscillations 
and  surface  changes  fall  within  the  relatively  short  New  Stone  period. 

The  Metal  Ages. — Then  followed,  still  in  remote  times,  the  intro- 
duction of  the  metals,  which,  generally  replacing  stone,  constituted  the 
three  "  Copper,"  "  Bronze,"  and  "  Iron  "  Ages,  in  the  order  named,  but 
without  any  further  absolute  displacements.  These  metals,  once  made 
known,  have  necessarily  persisted  for  diverse  purposes  throughout  the 
next  ensuing  "Prehistoric"  and  "  Historic"  Ages  down  to  the  present 
time.  Here,  indeed,  there  can  be  no  real  dividing  lines,  and,  as  shown  by 
the  multifarious  contents  of  prehistoric  graves,  overlappings  were  of  con- 
stant occurrence,  while  the  transitions  from  period  to  period  must  every- 
where have  been  imperceptible.  In  fact,  a  clearly  marked  Copper  Age 
has  been  doubted  except  in  the  New  World,  where,  before  the  dis- 
covery, bronze  was  but  little  known,  and  iron  (other  than  meteoric)  not 
at  all. 

The  Prehistoric  and  Historic  Ages. — The  Prehistoric  Age,  which 
admits  of  no  strict  definition,  covers  that  vague  period  of  time,  dim 
memories  of  which,  such  as  popular  myths  and  legends,  demi-gods,  epony- 
mous heroes,  and  the  like,  survived  into  the  strictly  Historic  Age.  It  corre- 
sponds to  the  "  Age  of  the  Five  Emperors,"  in  the  early  Chinese  records, 
which  was  marked  by  the  institution  of  marriage  and  the  invention  of 
writing,  and  was  preceded  by  the  "  Age  of  the  Three  Rulers,"  our  Stone 
Ages,  when  people  dwelt  in  caves,  drank  the  blood  of  animals,  ate  wild 
fruits  or  uncooked  food,  wore  the  skins  of  animals,  obtained  fire  by  friction, 
and  threw  their  dead  to  the  beasts  of  prey.  Such  universal  reminiscences 
reveal  the  common  background  of  shere  savagery  which  stands  behind  the 
later  developments  among  all  the  more  or  less  cultured  peoples. 

Of  the  Historic  Age,  which  must  persist  to  the  end  of  time,  the  essential 
characteristic  is  the  general  use  of  letters,  invented  in  the  West  as  well  as  in 


io2      The  International  Geography 

China  in  the  Prehistoric  Age,  if  not  even  earlier.1  In  virtue  of  this  invention, 
gradually  perfected  through  the  successive  phases  of  mere  pictographs, 
conventional  ideographs,  phonetic  symbols,  syllabaries,  and  alphabets,  all 
human  knowledge  worthy  of  preservation  is  perpetuated,  and  thus  becomes 
accumulative. 

Civilised  Man. — Henceforth  the  mind  grows,  so  to  say,  at  the  expense 
of  the  body  ;  man  becomes  less  and  less  a  mere  "  creature  of  circum- 
stances," that  is,  more  independent  of  his  environment,  which  he  now 
largely  controls ;  and  as  he  began  by  acquiring  the  ascendancy  over  all 
the  other  members  of  the  animal  kingdom,  and  constituting  himself  the 
one  universal  species,  so  he  ends  by  bending  Nature  herself  to  his  will  and 
requirements.  By  the  development  of  navigation  and  diverse  methods  of 
land  locomotion,  he  has  been  able  to  overcome  the  obstacles  of  seas  and 
mountain  barriers,  and  thus  to  move  more  freely  over  the  face  of  the 
Earth.  But  these  processes  have  been  in  progress  for  many  millenniums, 
certainly  since  late  Neolithic  times,  with  the  result  that  the  originally  well 
marked  varietal  groups  have  become  almost  everywhere  somewhat  inter- 
mingled, and  their  distinctive  physical  characters  diversely  modified.  Thus 
it  is  that  the  primitive  racial  types  have  become  "  ideal  quantities,"  and  the 
original  races  themselves  palaeontological  studies,  while  "  the  more  limited 
groups,  now  called  races,  are  nothing  but  peoples,  or  societies  of  peoples, 
brethren  by  civilisation  more  than  by  blood  "  (Tosti). 

Primary  Divisions  of  Mankind. — Under  these  circumstances  it  is 
not  surprising  that  opinions  have  greatly  differed  regarding  the  number 
and  nomenclature  even  of  the  primary  divisions  of  mankind,  although  here 
again  the  tendency  has  lately  been  to  revert  to  the  views  of  the  Swedish 
systematist.  There  is  a  somewhat  general  consensus  amongst  ethnologists 
that  the  endless  sub- varieties  may  be  reduced  to  about  four  primary  groups 
— the  Ethiopic  or  Negro,  the  Mongolic  or  Yellow,  the  American  or  Red  and 
the  Caucasic  or  White,  the  term  "Caucasic"  being  of  course  taken  in 
Blumenbach's  purely  conventional  sense,  without  any  special  reference  to 
the  inhabitants  of  the  Caucasus.  This  scheme  has  the  advantage  of  being 
based  partly  on  colour,  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  external  characters, 
and  partly,  as  it  ought  to  be,  on  actual  geographical  distribution,  with  no 
doubt  certain  discrepancies  in  both  cases!  Thus,  before  the  displacements 
that  have  taken  place  in  modern  times,  the  Ethiopic  was  mainly  confined  to 
the  inter-tropical  lands  west  and  east  of  the  Indian  Ocean  (Africa  south  of 
the  Sahara,  and  most  of  Australasia),  which  jointly  constitute  the  essentially 
Negro  or  Black  Zone.  The  Mongolic  occupies  by  far  the  greater  part  of 
Asia  with  some  conterminous  European  districts,  and  is  almost  everywhere 
characterised  by  various  shades  of  yellow,  or  yellowish  brown,  so  that  in 
popular  language,  "  Yellow  Mongol  "  and  "  Asiatic  "  are  practically  equiva- 

1  M.  Cartailhac  describes  certain  markings  on  pebbles  from  the  Mas  d'Azil  cave,  which 
he  regards  as  possibly  a  rudimentary  script  dating  from  the  Stone  Ages  (L'Anthropologic, 
1896,  p.  385  sq.). 


Distribution  of  Mankind  103 

lent  expressions.  Thanks  to  its  insular  conformation,  the  coincidence  of 
the  New  World  with  the  American  division  is  complete,  and  here  again 
reddish  or  coppery  tints  prevail  from  Alaska  to  Fuegia.  Lastly,  the  Caucasic 
comprises  nearly  the  whole  of  Europe  and  Africa  south  to  the  tropic  of 
Cancer,  with  the  eastern  seaboard  to  the  equator  and  south-western  Asia. 
This  division  thus  occupies  a  very  distinct  zoological  zone,  disposed 
round  about  the  Mediterranean  waters  where  the  dominant  colours  are 
white  and  whitish  or  olive  brown,  with  some  aberrant  deep  brown,  or 
even  black  shades  in  those  districts  where  this  division  encroaches  on 
the  Black  Zone.  These  dark  Caucasic  groups  (Gallas,  Somalis,  Abys- 
sinians),  are,  so  to  say,  balanced  by  those  Mongolic  peoples  (Finns,  Lapps, 
Turks,  Bulgars,  Magyars),  who  have  invaded  the  Caucasic  zone,  and  thus 
become  assimilated  in  colour  and  other  respects  to  the  white  type.  All 
such  aberrations  are  to  be  regarded  as  results  of  the  secular  interminglings 
that  have  everywhere  taken  place  about  the  ethnical  "  divides "  of  the 
primary  groups. 

Each  of  these  groups  comprises  a  number  of  sub-varieties  which  are 
sufficiently  specialised  in  type,  speech  and  other  respects  to  constitute 
tolerably  well-defined  secondary  divisions.  A  summary  conspectus  of 
these  groups  and  sub-groups,  disposed  according  to  their  more  probable 
genetic  affinities,  is  all  that  it  is  possible  to  give  in  this  place. 


THE  CHIEF  DIVISIONS  AND    SUB-DIVISIONS  OF  MANKIND. 

ETHIOPIC    (BLACK)    DIVISION. 

i. — WESTERN  (AFRICAN)  SECTION. 

Original  Habitat. — Africa  south  of  the  Sahara  ;  Madagascar. 
Later  Expansion.— North  Africa  (sparsely)  ;  Southern  United  States ; 
Nicaragua ;  West  Indies  ;  Atlantic  States  of  Brazil ;  the  Guianas. 
Population. — Africa,  150,000,000  (?) ;  Madagascar,  3,000,000  ;  Tropical 
and  Sub-tropical  America,  20,000,000.     Total,  173,000,000.  / 

Physical    Characters. — Head  :    Long    (from    glabella    to   occiput) « • 
prognathous  jaws  ;  broad  flat  nose  ;    thick   everted  lips*  rather 
prominent  cheek  bones ;  arched  brow ;  large,  round,  prominent 
black  eyes,  with  yellowish  cornea7;  flat  foot  7  larkspur  heel. 
Colour :  Very  deep  brown,  rarely  quite  black. 
Hair :  Short,  black,  woolly,  flat  in  cross  section  ;  sparse  beard. 
Height,  above  the  average  :  5  feet  8  inches  to  6  feet. 

Mental  Characters. — Temperament :  Sensuous,  unintellectual,  fitful  ; 
mind  arrested  at  puberty,  hence  unprogressive  ;  no  science 
or  letters  ;  few  arts  beyond  agriculture,  weaving,  pottery, 
woodwork,  and  metallurgy  (iron  and  copper). 

Religion :  Nature  and  ancestry  worship ;  fetishism  ;  witch- 
craft ;  human  sacrifice  ;  ordeals. 

Speech  :  Agglutinating,  mostly  with  prefixes ;  numerous  stock 
languages  north  of  the  equator  ;  two  only  in  the  south  (Bantu 
and  Hottentot),  Malay o- Polynesian  in  Madagascar. 


104      The  International  Geography 

Chief  Sub-Divisions, — Wolof,  Mandingo,  Songhay,  West  Sudan  ;   Chi, 

Ewe,    Yoruba,    Upper  Guinea  ;   Hausa,   Bornu,   Central   Sudan ; 

Maba,  Nuba,  Denka,  Shilluk,  Bari,  East  Sudan  and  White  Nile  ; 

Niam-Niam  (Zandeh),  Mangbattu,  Barambo,  Momfu,  Welle  river. 

GROUPS  OF  BANTU  SPEECH  :  Waganda,  Wanyoro,  Lakes  Victoria 

and  Albert ;  Waswahili,  East  Coast ;  Zulu-Kafir,  South-East  Coast  ; 

Bechuana,  Mashona,  Marotse,  South-Central  regions ;  Ova-Herero, 

Ova-Mpo,  Bateke,  Mpongwe,  West  Coast. 
Aberrant  and  Doubtful  Groups.— Fula,  Senegambia,  Sudan. 

Fans,   Ogowe  and    Gabun    basins  ;    Bantu    speech,    negroid 

type  with  marked  Hamitic  traits  ;  Pagans. 

Negritoes,  numerous  isolated  groups  in  the  forest  regions  of  the 

Congo  basin  ;  negro  features,  brachycephalous  heads ;  yellowish 

colour  ;  dwarfs,  3  feet  6  inches  to  4  feet  10  inches. 
^.-Bushmen,  originally   everywhere  south  of   Lake  Tanganyika, 

now  mainly  in  the  Kalahari  desert,  probably  akin  to  the  Negritoes. 

^    Hottentots,  orginally  everywhere  south  of  Zambezi,  now  confined 

to  Cape  Colony  and  Namaqualand  ;  of  Bushman- Bantu  descent. 

ii. — EASTERN  (AUSTRALASIAN)  SECTION. 

Original  Habitat. — Malaysia ;  Andamans ;  Philippines  ;  New  Guinea ; 
most  of  Polynesia ;  New  Zealand  ;  Australia ;  Tasmania. 

Present  Domain. — Malaysia,  east  of  Flores  ;  Malay  Peninsula,  Anda- 
mans, parts  of  the  Philippines,  Melanesia,  parts  of  Australia. 

Population. — 2,000,000,  chiefly  in  New  Guinea  and  Melanesia. 

Physical  Characters. — Very  variable,  differing  from  the  African 
section  chiefly  in  the  height,  which  is  about  or  even  below 
the  average  ;  the  hair,  rather  frizzly,  wavy,  or  shaggy  (Australia) 
than  woolly  ;  the  nose,  large,  straight,  and  often  aquiline  with 
downward  tip  ;  and  the  lips  less  thick  and  never  everted. 

Mental    Characters. — Temperament  :    Boisterous,    cruel,   treacherous, 
indolent  ;    generally  more  savage  than  the  African  ;  head-hunt- 
ing   common   in    Melanesia  ;    cannibalism    formerly    prevalent 
as  in   Africa  ;    no   science,  letters,  or  arts,   except    agriculture, 
pottery,  weaving,  and  woodwork  ;  artistic  sense  somewhat  deve- 
loped, as  shown  especially  in  boat-building  and  wood-carving. 
Religion  :  Nature  and  spirit  worship,  totemism  ;  tabu. 
Speech  :  Archaic  forms  of   Malayo-Polynesian  in  Melanesia ; 
agglutinative*^y^Bth    post-fixes   in    Australia  and   most   of    New 

Sub-Sections. — Papuans,  the  most  typical  of  the  Oceanic  negroes. 
Range  :  Most  of  East  Malaysia,  inclusive  of  Flores ;  nearly  all 
New  Guinea. 

Melanesians. — Often  grouped  with  the  Papuans ;  but  differences 
physical,  mental,  and  linguistic,  constitute  them  a  separate  branch. 
Range  :  New  Britain  and  New  Ireland  ;  Louisiades ;  Solomons  ; 
New  Hebrides,  New  Caledonia  and  Loyalty ;  Tasmania  (now 
extinct). 

Australians. — A  highly  specialised  branch,  with  marked  uni- 
formity in  type,  speech,  and  usages  throughout  Australia ;  dis- 
appearing. 

Negritoes. — Andamanese,  the  so-called  "  Mincopies,"  Andaman 
Islands  ;  Samangs,  Sakais,  of  Malay  Peninsula ;  Aetas,  thinly 
scattered  over  the  Philippines. 


Distribution  of  Mankind  105 

MONGOLIC  (YELLOW)   DIVISION. 

Original  Habitat.— Probably  the  Tibetan  tableland. 
Early  Expansion. — Indo-China  ;  China  ;  North  Asia  ;  Malaysia. 
Present    Expansion. — Korea;   Japan;   Formosa;    Turkestan;  Irania; 
Asia  Minor  ;  Caucasia  ;  Russia  ;  Baltic  lands  ;  Balkan  Peninsula  ; 
Hungary  ;  Madagascar  ;  Australia  ;  America. 

Population. — China,  380,000,000  ;  Japan  and  Korea,  55,000,000 ;  Indo- 
China,  35,000,000  ;  Malaysia,  30,000,000  ;  Mongolia  and  Manchuria, 
10,000,000 ;  Tibet,  6,000,000  ;  Turkestan  and  Siberia,  7,000,000 ; 
West  Asia,  13,000,000  ;  Sundries,  4,000,000.  Total,  540,000,000. 
Physical  Characters. — Head  :  Brachycephalous,  moderately  progna- 
thous jaws  ;  very  small  concave  nose  ;  thin  lips ;  prominent 
cheek  bones  ;  small  oblique  black  eyes. 

Colour  :  Yellowish,  pale,  or  white  in  Manchuria,  Korea,  Japan, 
and  in  Turkey  and  Russia  ;  yell  owish  brown  in  Malaysia. 

Hair :  Long,  coarse,  and  bla  ck,  round  in  cross  section,  no  beard. 

Height :  Below  the  average,  5  feet  2  to  4  or  6  inches. 

Mental  Characters.— Temperament _/  Sluggish,  sullen,  industrious  in 
the  temperate  zone,  elsewhere  in  dolent ;  mostly  reckless  gamblers  ; 
science  slightly,  arts  and  letters  moderately  developed. 

Religion  :  Nominal  Buddhists  and  Mohammedans  mostly  ;  a 
few  pagans  and  Shamanists  ;  nea  rly  all  spirit  worshippers. 

Speech :  Three  great  families  :  i.  URAL-ALTAIC,  Lapland  to 
Japan,  Turkestan  to  Hungary  ;  agglutinating  with  post-fixes. 
2.  TIBETO-INDO-CHINESE,  Tibet  to  the  Pacific,  Great  Wall  to 
Indian  Ocean  ;  originally  aggluti  nating,  now  in  every  transition  of 
phonetic  decay  towards  monosy  llabism,  with  numerous  homo- 
phones distinguished  by  tone;  hence  maybe  called  "monosyllabic 
toned  languages."  3.  MALAYO-POLYNESIAN,  the  ''Oceanic"  lin- 
guistic family  in  a  pre-eminent  sense,  sweeping  round  from 
Madagascar  across  the  Indian  and  Pacific  Oceans  to  Easter 
Island,  and  from  Hawaii  to  New  Zealand ;  agglutinative  at  various 
grades  of  dissolution. 

Subdivisions  and  Aberrant  or  Doubtful  Groups  :  Mongolo- 
Turks. — Commonly  called  "  Mongolo-Tartars."  Chief  sub-groups  : 
MONGOLS  proper  :  Khalkaor  Shara,  i.e.,  Eastern  Mongols;  Kalmuks, 
i.e.,  Western  Mongols;  Burials,  Siberian  Mongols  ;  Tungus;  Man- 
chus,  Gilyaks.  Range  :  Mongolia,  Manchuria,  North  Tibet,  most 
of  East  Siberia.  TURKI  BRANCH  :  Yakuts,  Kirghiz,  Uzbegs,  Turko- 
mans, Nogai,  Anatolian  Turks,  Osmanli.  Range :  Lena  Basin, 
Central  and  West  Siberia,  Turkestan,  Asia  Minor,  parts  of 
Caucasia,  East  Russia  and  Rumelia. 

Ugro-Finns,  Samoyedes,  Lapps ;  Finns  proper,  Voguls,  Ostyaks, 
Siryanians,  Permians,  Magyars,  Bulgars.  Range  :  North  Siberia 
and  islands  east  to  the  Yenisei,  Lapland,  Finland,  Esthonia, 
Livonia,  parts  of  North  and  East  Russia,  Hungary. 

Tibeto-Chinese. — Tibetans,  Burmese,  Shans  (Siamese,  Ahoms, 
Khamti),  Arakanese,  Chins,  Nagas,  Mishmi,  Annamese,  Chinese. 
Range  :  Tibet,  Himalayan  slopes,  most  of  Indo-China  and  China. 

Malayans. — Malays  proper,  Sundanese,  Javanese,  Balinese, 
Sassaks,  Bugis,  Bisayans,  Tagals,  Formosans,  Hovas.  Range : 
Malaysia,  east  to  Flores,  Formosa,  Philippines,  parts  of  Madagascar. 

Koreo-  Japanese. — Koreans,  Japanese,  Luchu  Islanders. 

Sub- Arctic. —  Chukchi,  Koryaks,  Yukaghirs,  Kamchadales. 


106      The  International  Geography 

AMERICAN  ("RED")  DIVISION. 

Original  Habitat. — The  whole  of  the  New  World. 
Present  Restricted  Domain.— The  unsettled  parts  and  some  reserves 
in  the  Dominion  ;  Alaska,  numerous  reserves  and  some  north  and 
south-west  tracts  in  the  United  States ;  most  of  Mexico,  Central 
and    South  America,  partly   intermingled   with   the   White   and 
Black  intruders,  partly  still  independent  or  in  the  tribal  state. 
Population  (pure  and  mixed).— Full  blood,  9,900,000;  half-breeds, 
12,270,000 ;    total,     22,170,000,    chiefly    in     Mexico    (8,765,000), 
Brazil  (4,200,000),  Colombia  (3,150,000),  Peru  (2,700,000),  Bolivia 
(1,500,000),  Guatemala  (1,400,000),  and  Venezuela  (1,325,000)  •  in 
the  United  States  only  250,000,  and  Canada  100,000. 
Physical     Characters. — Head:    Both   round  and   long,  intermingled 
inextricably  ;  slightly  projecting  massive  jaws  ;  large  straight  or 
aquiline  nose  ;  moderately  prominent  cheek  bones  ;  small  straight 
black  eyes  ;  coppery  colour,  shading  off  to  yellowish  or  brown. 

Hair :  Like  the  Mongol,  but  longer  and  coarser  ;  scant  beard. 

Height :  Variable,  average  or  under  on  the  uplands,  above  the 
average  on  the  plains  (Patagonia,  pampas,  prairies). 

Altogether  a  type  specialised  in  the  New  World,  probably 
from  generalised  Asiatic  (pre-Mongol)  and  European  (pre-Cau- 
casic)  precursors,  the  former  predominating. 

Mental  Characters. — Temperament :  Austere,  moody,  impassive,  wary  ; 
science  slightly,  art  and  letters  moderately  developed. 

Religion :  Polytheistic,  with  human  sacrifices  where  most  deve- 
loped (Aztecs,  Mayas) ;  elsewhere  nature  worship  and  shamanism. 

Speech  :  Multifarious,  but  everywhere  of  the  same  polysynthetic 
type,  in  which  the  elements  of  the  sentence  tend  to  merge  in  a 
single  word  sometimes  of  prodigious  length.  Being  unknown  in 
the  Old  World,  this  type  must  have  been  entirely  developed  in 
America  from  the  common  germs  of  articulate  speech  which 
accompanied  Pleistocene  man  in  all  his  migrations.  There  are 
probably  over  200  stock  languages  of  this  character,  crowded 
together  in  astonishing  numbers  in  some  coast  districts  (Oregon, 
British  Columbia,  California),  and  woodlands  (Amazonas),  but 
some  ranging  over  vast  spaces  on  the  open  plains  and  plateaux. 
Chief  Subdivisions. — Eskimo. — Most  specialised  of  all  the  aborigines  ; 
range  for  5,000  miles  from  Alaska  round  the  Arctic  shores  to 
Greenland  and  Labrador. 

Athapascan. — Kuchins,  Chippewyans,  Apaches,  Navajosj  Alaska 
to  Hudson  Bay  with  enclaves  on  west  coast  and  about  United 
States  and  Mexican  frontiers. 

Shoshonean. — Snake  family  :  Bannocks,  Comanches,  Utes,  Moqui. 
Range  :  Oregon  to  Texas,  Idaho  to  South  California  and  Arizona. 

Siouan. — Dakotas,  Assiniboines,  Omahas,  Crows,  lowas,  Missouri, 
Catawba  (extinct).  Range  :  Hudson  Bay  to  Arkansas ;  Virginia, 
North  and  South  Carolina. 

Muskhogean. — Creek  family  :  Creeks,  Choclaws,  Seminoles,  Chica- 
sas.  Range  :  Kentucky  to  Florida. 

Algonquian. — Delawares,  Ojibwas,  Shawnees,  Arapahoes,  Crees, 
Blackfeet,  and  many  others.  Range  :  Rocky  Mountains  to  New- 
foundland, Labrador  to  Kentucky. 

Iroquoian. — Hurons,  Cherokees,  Tuscaroras,  Mohawks,  Senecas, 
Cayugas,  Onondagas,  Oneidas.  Range  :  Laurentian  Basin,  New 
York,  Pennsylvania,  Michigan. 


Distribution  of  Mankind  107 

Nahuatlan. — Aztecs,  Pipits,  Niquirans.  Range  :  Mexico  discon- 
tinue usly  to  Nicaragua. 

Huaxtecan. — Huaxtecs,  Mayas,  Quiches,  Pocomans.  Range  : 
Vera  Cruz,  Yucatan,  Guatemala. 

Muiscan  ;  Arawakan  ;  Araucan  ,  Tsonecan. 

Cariban. — Caribs,  Macusi,  Ackawoi,  Bakairi.  Range  :  Central 
Brazil  to  West  Indies  (a  few  still  in  St.  Vincent). 

Quechuan.  —  Quitenos,  Peruvians,  Aymaras,  Chinchasuyos. 
Range  :  Quito  to  Lake  Titicaca  and  Chili. 

Guaranian. — Guarani-Tupi  family.  Range  :  A  great  part  of 
Brazil  and  Paraguay. 

CAUCASIC  (WHITE)  DIVISION. 

Original  Habitat. — North  Africa,  south  to  Sudan. 

Early  Expansion. — All  the  Mediterranean  lands  ;  North-East  Africa  ; 
Arabia;  Central  and  West  Europe;  Britain;  Irania;  India; 
South-East  Asia  ;  Malaysia  ;  Polynesia  ;  North-East  Asia. 

Later  and  Present  Expansion. — The  whole  of  Europe  ;  Aralo-Caspian 
Depression  ;  East  Turkestan  ;  Manchuria  ;  Korea  ;  Japan  ;  North 
Africa  (return)  ;  Abyssinia  ;  South  Africa ;  North  and  South 
America ;  Australia  ;  New  Zealand. 

Population. — Europe,  355,000,000  ;  Asia,  280,000,000  ;  America, 
115,000,000;  Africa,  15,000,000;  Australasia,  5,000,000.  Total, 
770,000,000. 

Physical  Characters. — Two  types  :  i.  Fair  (Huxley's  "  Xanthochroi "). 
Head :  long  ;  moderately  large  blue  or  grey  and  straight  eyes. 
Colour:  Florid.  Hair:  Long,  wavy,  flaxen,  light  brown  and  red. 
Height:  Above  the  average  (5  feet  6  inches  to  6  feet).  2.  Dark 
(Huxley's  "Melanchroi").  Head  :  Long  in  south,  round  in  north  ; 
large  black  eyes.  Colour:  Pale  white.  Hair:  Wavy,  curly, 
brown  and  black.  Jaws  of  both  orthognathous ;  nose  large, 
straight  or  aquiline  ;  cheek  bones  small,  features  regular. 

Mental  Characters. — Temperament  of  i  :  Solid  and  somewhat  stolid  ; 
of  2  :  Fiery,  fickle  ;  of  both  :  Active,  enterprising,  imaginative. 
Science,  arts,  and  letters  highly  developed. 

Religion:  Monotheistic  (Judaism,  Christianity,  Mohammedan- 
ism), but  polytheistic  (Brahmanism,  &c.)  in  India  and  elsewhere. 

Speech :  Mainly  inflecting  (i.e.,  root  and  formative  elements 
completely  fused),  but  agglutinative  in  Caucasia,  the  Dekkan,  and 
Polynesia.  Two  great  linguistic  families  :  Hamito-Ibero-Semitic, 
North  Africa,  South- West  Asia,  Iberia  ;  Aryan  (I  'do-European), 
nearly  all  Europe,  Armenia,  Irania,  Northern  India,  nearly  the 
whole  of  America,  Australia,  New  Zealand,  parts  of  North  and 
South  Africa. 

Chief  Subdivisions  :— SOUTH  MEDITERRANEAN. — Hamites :  Berbers, 
Tuaregs,  Egyptians,  Bejas,  Afars,  Agaus,  Gallas,  Somalis,  Tibus, 
Masai,  Wa-Huma.  Range  :  Mauritania,  Sahara,  Nile  Basin, 
North-East  African  seaboard.  Semites:  Arabs,  Abyssinians, 
Syrians,  Chaldaeans.  Range  :  North  Africa,  Abyssinia,  Arabia, 
Syria,  Mesopotamia. 

NORTH       MEDITERRANEAN.  —  Pelasgo-Hellenes  :     Albanians, 

Greeks.     Range  :  Adriatic  to  Cyprus  and  Asia  Minor,  Rumelia  to 

Crete.   Ligurians  :  Most  Italians,  Corsicans,  Sards,  Sicilians.   Kelto- 

Iberians:    Spaniards,  Portuguese,  Basques,  Bretons,  Auvergnats, 

9 


io8       The  International  Geography 

Savoyards,,  some  English,  many  Welsh  and  Irish.  Range  : 
North  Italy,  South  France,  Brittany,  parts  of  England  and 
Scotland,  most  of  Wales  and  Ireland. 

NORTH  EUROPEAN. — Scandinavians:  Icelanders,  Norwegians, 
Swedes,  Danes,  Orkney,  Shetland  and  Faroe  Islanders.  Low 
Germans:  Most  Prussians  and  Westphalians,  Frisians,  Dutch, 
Flemings,  English,  Scots,  many  Irish.  High  Germans :  Bava- 
rians, Wurtembergers,  Tyrolese,  most  Swiss,  Austrians.  Letto- 
Slavs:  Lithuanians,  Great,  Little  and  White  Russians,  Poles, 
Chechs  (Bohemians  and  Moravians),  Slovenes,  Slovaks,  Croatians, 
Serbs,  Dalmatians,  Montenegrins. 

IRANIC. — Armenians,  Kurds,  Persians,  Afghans,  Baluchi. 
Range  :  From  Asia  Minor  to  Indus,  Hindu-Kush  and  Pamir  slopes. 

INDIC. — Northern  Hindus  (of  Aryan  speech) :  Kashmiri,  Panjabi, 
Sindhi,  Bengali,  Hindi,  Gujarati,  Mahrati,  Oriya,  Assami.  Southern 
Hindus  (of  Dravidian  speech)  :  Telugus,  Tamils,  Kanarese, 
Malayalims,  Singhalese,  some  Galchas. 

INDONESIAN. — Asiatic  Mainland:  Gyarungs,  Lolos,  Mossos, 
Kuys,  Khmers  (Cambodians),  Charays.  Malaysia:  Battas,  Tin- 
guians,  Manobas.  Polynesia :  Samoans,  Tahitians,  Tongans,  Maori, 
Marquesas,  Hawaiians. 

AINU. — South  Kurile  Islands,  Yezo,  South  Sakhalin. 

CAUCASIAN  PROPER. — Georgians,  Lazes,  Circassians,  Abkha- 
sians,  Kabards,  Chechenzes,  Lesghians  ;  both  slopes  of  Caucasus. 
Population  of  the  'World  According  to  Races.— From  this  survey 
it  appears  that  since  Neolithic  times  the  two  lower  groups 
(Ethiopic,  American)  have  been  losing,  the  two  upper  (Mongolic, 
Caucasic)  gaining  ground  everywhere,  with  results  expressed  in 
terms  of  population  as  under  : — 

CAUCASIANS 770,000,000 

MONGOLS 540,000,000 

ETHIOPIANS           175,000,000 

AMERICANS 22,000,000 

Total        ...     1,507,000,000 


STANDARD    BOOKS. 

C.Darwin.    "  The  Descent  of  Man."    2  vols.     London,  1871. 
W.  Boyd  Dawkins.     "  Early  Man  in  Britain."     London,  1880. 

• "Cave  Hunting."     London,  1874. 

Sir  J.  Evans.    "  The  Ancient  Stone  Implements  of  Great  Britain."     2nd  edit.    London,  1897. 

"  The  Ancient  Bronze  Implements  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland."    London, 

1881. 

T.  Waitz.     "  Introduction  to  Anthropology."     English  edit.     London,  1863. 
P.  Topinard.     "  Anthropology."     English  edit.     London,  1878. 
T.  H.  Huxley.     "Man's  Place  in  Nature,"  in  collected  Essays.     London. 
A.  H.  Keane.     "Ethnology."    Cambridge,  1896. 

"  Man  Past  and  Present."     Cambridge,  1899. 

Sir  J.  Lubbock.     "  Prehistoric  Times."     London,  1869. 

"The  Origin  of  Civilization."     London,  1870. 

M.  G.  Maspero.     "  The  Dawn  of  Civilization."     London,  1897. 

M.  de  Nadaillac.     "  Prehistoric  America."     London,  1885. 

O.  Peschel.     "  The  Races  of  Man  and  Their  Geographical  Distribution."     1878. 

A.  de  Quatrefages.     "  Classification  des  Races  Humaines."     2  vols.     Paris. 

F.  Ratzel.     "  History  of  Mankind."     English  edit.     4  vols.     London,  1896-99. 

W.  Z.  Ripley.     "  The  Racial  Geography  of  Europe."     Boston  and  London,  1899. 


CHAPTER  X.— POLITICAL   AND   APPLIED 
GEOGRAPHY 

BY  J.  SCOTT  KELTIE,  LL.D., 

Secretary  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society. 

Political  Geography.— The  body  of  knowledge  included  under  the 
term  Geography  is  capable,  like  most  other  departments  of  science,  of 
certain  practical  applications  to  the  affairs  of  humanity.  But  until  the 
student  has  thoroughly  grasped  the  facts  and  principles  of  physical 
geography  and  of  anthropogeography,  he  is  not  in  a  position  to  investigate 
their  practical  applications  with  success.  Political  geography  is  the 
application  of  the  data  included  in  these  two  great  divisions  of  the  subject 
to  the  affairs  of  those  groups  or  communities  of  men  which  in  their  more 
developed  condition  we  designate  States  or  Nations.  Groups  of  this  class 
are  of  all  grades  from  the  isolated  village  community  and  the  nomad  tribe 
of  savages,  up  to  one  of  the  "  Great  Powers "  ;  but  whatever  its  grade, 
it  is  impossible  to  conceive  of  any  community  without  associating  it  with 
an  area  of  land  or  territory  of  greater  or  less  dimensions.  The  land  and 
the  people  are  integral  parts  of  the  State  or  political  community,  the  one 
being  as  indispensable  as  the  other,  and  therefore  a  knowledge  of  both 
is  absolutely  essential  to  a  satisfactory  understanding  of  the  life  and 
activity  of  the  State. 

It  may  be  said  that  the  whole  of  geography  has  a  practical  bearing  in 
this  direction,  as  it  deals  with  the  surface  of  that  Earth,  which  is  the  theatre 
of  all  human  activity.  We  can  here  only  briefly  indicate  some  of  the 
directions  in  which  this  practical  application  can  be  worked  out. 

Position  on  the  Earth's  Surface. — The  position  of  a  country  on 
the  Earth's  surface  is  determined  by  latitude  and  longitude.  The  former, 
from  the  standpoint  of  Political  Geography,  is  of  much  more  importance 
than  the  latter.  Latitude  is  one  of  the  main  factors  in  the  determination 
of  climate.  Land  in  the  extreme  north  or  the  extreme  south  is  either 
uninhabitable,  or  political,  social  and  industrial  development  is  arrested  on 
account  of  the  cold.  Extreme  heat,  with  certain  modifications,  seems  also 
to  exercise  an  arresting  influence.  But  in  considering  the  political 
development  of  tropical  regions,  we  must  take  into  account  the  type  of 
people  inhabiting  them.  How  far  the  geographical  environment  has 
moulded  the  character  of  the  people,  it  is  the  business  of  Anthropo- 
geography to  investigate.  At  this  stage  of  the  world's  history,  the 
important  point  with  regard  to  tropical  countries  is  to  what  extent  they 
are  habitable  by  the  white  races,  by  the  dominant  peoples  who  have  been 

109 


no      The  International  Geography 

habituated  to  temperate  climates.  Hitherto,  in  India  and  in  tropical 
Africa,  the  white  races  have  not  been  able  to  people  the  countries,  but 
only  to  reside  temporarily  as  traders  or  as  rulers  of  the  native  population. 
In  tropical  countries,  as  a  rule,  the  necessaries  of  life  can  be  obtained 
without  much  exertion,  and  as  little  or  no  clothing  is  required,  the 
incentives  to  exertion  for  a  people  in  a  primitive  state  are  few.  The 
great  advances  in  civilisation,  in  political,  social,  and  industrial  develop- 
ment, have  been  made  in  temperate  climates. 

Longitude,  as  indicating  the  position  of  a  State  on  a  great  continent, 
is  of  importance,  as  distance  from  the  sea-board  has  an  effect  in  modifying 
climate.  It  is  also  of  commercial  and  even  political  importance  with 
respect  to  communications  and  distance  from  important  seaports. 

Physical  Characteristics. — The  surface  forms  or  Physical  Charac- 
teristics of  a  country,  its  'division  into  mountains  and  valleys,  into  high 
plains  or  plateaux,  and  low  plains,  the  distribution  of  land  and  water,  the 
nature  of  the  soil,  must  evidently  have  a  marked  effect  on  the  political 
and  industrial  development  of  a  country.  A  mountainous  country  like 
Switzerland  or  Abyssinia,  or  a  high  plateau  country  like  Tibet,  presents 
very  different  conditions  from  the  well  -  watered  plain  of  northern 
Germany,  the  black  earth  region  of  Russia,  or  the  prairies  of  North 
America.  The  highlands  of  Scotland  have  reared  a  different  type  of 
people,  have  had  a  different  history,  and  a  different  development  from  the 
lowlands,  and  from  the  great  plain  and  the  uplands  of  England.  These, 
again,  present  marked  contrasts  with  the  conditions  of  life  and  the  history 
of  the  Sahara  and  the  desert  of  central  Australia.  An  island  State,  like 
Great  Britain,  is  influenced  by  a  different  set  of  conditions  from  those 
which  prevail  on  a  continental  State  with  contiguous  neighbours.  The 
configuration  of  a  coast-line  is  another  important  factor  in  influencing  the 
development  of  a  country.  It  may  be  rich  in  bays  and  gulfs  and  estuaries, 
and  fjords  forming  excellent  harbours  and  giving  easy  access  to  shipping, 
as  in  the  case  of  Europe,  or  it  may  be  marked  by  an  entire  absence  of 
such  advantages,  as  in  the  case  of  Africa,  the  greater  part  of  the  coast 
of  which  cannot  be  approached  by  shipping,  and  which,  except  in  the 
case  of  the  Congo  estuary,  has  no  indentations  going  deep  into  the  land. 
But  it  should  be  pointed  out  that  modern  engineering  skill  has  been  able 
to  overcome  some  of  these  disadvantages,  and  to  create  a  new  set  of 
geographical  conditions. 

Mountains  may  play  an  important  part  in  modifying  the  distribution 
of  rainfall  over  a  country,  depending  on  the  aspect  they  present  to  the 
prevailing  winds.  Their  direction  may  be  such  as  to  tap  the  rain-bearing 
winds  and  distribute  the  precipitation  in  a  direction  from  which  little  or 
no  agricultural  results  could  be  expected.  The  Himalayas  intercept  the 
rains  of  the  southern  monsoon  before  they  can  reach  the  Tibetan  plateau 
beyond  ;  therefore  we  find  on  one  side  rich  forest  and  other  vegetation 
and  on  the  other  sterility.  The  waterless  condition  of  the  Sahara  is  no 


Political  and   Applied  Geography      in 

doubt  partly  due  to  the  direction  and  the  situation  of  the  Atlas  range, 
which  intercepts  what  moisture  comes  f i  om  the  Atlantic  and  Mediterra- 
nean. So  it  is  in  Australia,  the  main  mountain  ranges  of  which  are  on  the 
eastern  border.  Altitude  in  general  is  a  great  modifier  of  climate  ;  if  of 
sufficient  dimensions  it  may  introduce  temperate  climates  into  a  tropical 
country,  as  in  some  parts  of  Africa  and  South  America. 

The  Hydrography  of  a  country,  that  is,  the  distribution  of  its  water- 
supply  on  the  surface,  is  evidently  a  matter  of  prime  importance.  The 
main  forms  in  which  water  is  found  on  the  Earth's  surface,  apart  from  the 
ocean,  are  those  of  lakes  and  rivers.  Under  certain  conditions  the  supply 
of  water  stored  underground  may  also  be  of  economical  value,  as  in  the 
Sahara  and  Australia.  A  widespread  network  of  rivers,  as  in  England  and 
over  much  of  Europe,  gives  a  State  a  great  advantage  in  the  development 
of  the  agricultural  resources  of  the  soil.  On  the  other  hand  although  a  very 
large  area  of  Australia  is  waterless,  yet  by  sinking  wells  a  supply  of  water 
has  been  obtained  in  some  districts  sufficient  to  irrigate  an  extensive  area 
and  so  turn  a  desert  into  valuable  grass  lands  for  cattle  and  sheep.  It  is 
often  possible  when  the  beds  of  streams  are  steep,  or  when  they  are 
broken  by  waterfalls,  to  utilise  them  as  sources  of  power  for  machinery 
instead  of  steam.  Thus  it  comes  that  in  countries  like  Switzerland  and 
Norway  electric  lighting  is  common  even  in  small  villages,  while  Niagara 
Falls  supply  power  to  innumerable  factories  both  on  the  Canadian  and  the 
United  States  side. 

Lakes  are  also  of  some  importance  in  these  respects,  and  that  im- 
portance is  increased  when  their  stores  of  water  can  be  distributed 
either  by  rivers  or  by  canals,  for  purposes  of  fertilisation,  for  industrial 
uses,  or  for  the  water  supply  of  large  towns.  Both  rivers  and  lakes,  when 
of  considerable  size,  and  especially  when  supplemented  by  canals,  may  be 
of  great  utility  as  means  of  communication  or  transport.  They  were  of 
still  more  importance  before  the  extension  of  railways. 

Dimensions. — This  element,  composed  of  length,  breadth,  altitude 
and  area,  has  various  important  bearings  on  the  life  of  a  community  or  State. 
The  extent  of  a  country  from  north  to  south  may  be  of  prime  significance. 
Canada  extends  from  the  latitude  of  Lisbon  to  the  Arctic  regions,  the 
result  being  that  a  large  area  in  the  north  is  unavailable.  Even  the  United 
States  has  during  the  course  of  the  year  a  climate  varying  from  tropical 
heat  to  Arctic  rigour.  These  two  countries  in  the  east  and  west  direction 
extend  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  Oceans,  so  that  while  their  east 
coasts,  owing  to  certain  physical  conditions,  have  a  severe,  and,  in  the  case 
of  Canada,  an  Arctic  winter,  their  west  coasts  have  a  comparativelv  mild 
climate.  The  British  possessions  in  South  Africa  extend  from  the  tempe- 
rate climate  of  Cape  Colony  to  the  tropical  conditions  of  Lake  Tanganyika ; 
this  gives  a  great  advantage  over  a  purely  tropical  country  so  far  as 
Europeans  are  concerned.  Similar  conditions  are  found  in  Australia. 

Area  is  of  importance  in  many  ways.     A  State  of  very  small  extent  is 


ii2       The  International  Geography 

not  necessarily  an  inferior  Power.  The  actual  areas  of  Athens  and  Sparta, 
of  Phoenicia  and  Carthage,  and  even  of  Rome  were  comparatively  insig- 
nificant, but  these  were  all  of  them  Great  Powers  in  their  time.  In  the 
middle  ages  Venice  and  Genoa  were  insignificant  in  size,  but  they  exercised 
great  influence  owing  to  their  commercial  supremacy.  The  Hanseatic 
League  may  be  said  to  have  had  no  territory  at  all,  but  here  again  the 
magnitude  of  its  commercial  transactions  gave  it  great  influence  in  the 
affairs  of  Europe.  The  United  Kingdom  is  only  half  the  size  of  France 
or  of  Germany.  But  its  geographical  position  has  given  it  great  commer- 
cial advantages,  and  these  combined  with  its  mineral  resources,  have 
endowed  it  with  wealth  sufficient  to  maintain  a  powerful  fleet  by  means  of 
which  it  has  been  enabled  to  acquire  and  maintain  additional  territory  in 
other  parts  of  the  world.  Unless  a  continental  State  is  of  considerable 
extent,  although  it  may  become  commercially  important,  as  in  the  case  of 
Norway,  Belgium,  Holland,  it  can  never  develop  into  a  Great  Power,  as 
the  population  could  never  increase  sufficiently  to  admit  of  the  establish- 
ment of  a  great  army.  On  the  other  hand  an  extensive  territory,  bordering 
on  the  territories  of  other  States,  or  scattered  in  sections  over  the  globe, 
is  vulnerable  at  many  points,  necessitating  the  maintenance  of  a  large 
army  or  navy,  or  both,  and  the  establishment  of  extensive  frontier  defences. 
Boundaries. — "  Landmarks "  have  been  a  very  early  institution. 
Natural  boundaries,  that  is,  the  boundaries  that  exist  between  different 
types  of  natural  features,  are  rarely  hard  and  fast  lines.  Thus  the  boun- 
dary between  sea  and  land  is  a  more  or  less  broad  strip.  So  also  there 
is  generally  a  zone  of  transition  between  mountain  and  valley,  between 
forest  and  grass  land,  between  the  neve  and  the  glacier,  between  the  river 
and  its  banks.  Human  races  also  are  seldom  sharply  separated  in  their 
habitat,  there  is  always  a  certain  amount  of  intermingling  on  the  border. 
Among  certain  primitive  peoples  there  is  no  hard  and  fast  line  delimiting 
their  territories  ;  in  central  Africa  certain  of  the  native  States  seem  to  be 
separated  by  a  neutral  zone.  So  is  it  also  among  certain  of  the  coast 
tribes  of  British  New  Guinea.  Until  quite  recent  years  there  was  a  broad 
neutral  zone  separating  China  and  Korea.  In  mediaeval  Europe  the 
"  Mark,"  the  "  Marches,"  the  "  Borders,"  consisted  of  a  more  or  less  broad 
belt,  it  might  be  a  mountain  range  or  a  clearing  in  a  forest  or  a  strip  of 
waste  land  which  separated  two  tribes,  or  communities,  or  States.  Where 
there  is  a  scanty  nomad  or  primitive  population  the  need  for  rigid  bounda- 
ries is  not  felt.  Natural  features  at  first  sight  seem  to  form  the  most 
suitable  boundaries — a  river,  a  mountain  range,  a  lake,  a  desert,  the  ocean 
itself,  and  in  more  primitive  times  when  the  Earth  was  not  so  fully  peopled, 
no  doubt  this  was  so.  But  as  a  matter  of  fact,  most  of  the  great  rivers 
are  now  included  in  single  States  ;  as  a  result  of  the  Franco-German  War 
of  1871  the  Rhine  ceased  to  be  the  boundary  between  France  and 
Germany,  and  became  throughout  its  middle  course  a  German  river. 
.  With  the  growth  of  States,  the  growing  supremacy  of  a  few  "Great 


Political  and  Applied  Geography     113 


Powers,"  the  increase  of  population,  the  development  of  commerce  and 
industry,  and  the  growth  of  naval  and  military  power,  natural  geographical 
boundaries  have  been  overridden,  especially  in  Europe  and  Asia.  A  State 
is  like  a  living  organism  which  as  it  grows  in  strength  must  expand. 
Expanding  Prussia  was  bound  to  find  an  outlet  to  the  ocean,  and  so  in 
1866  made  her  boundaries  overlap  Schleswig-Holstein.  A  great  State  like 
Russia  could  clearly  not  be  debarred  access  to  ports  open  all  the  year 
round,  and  therefore  her  pushing  outward  to  the  Pacific  was  inevitable. 
A  great  commercial  country  must  have  an  accessible  sea-board,  and  if  she 
cannot  obtain  one  by  diplomacy,  she  must  endeavour  to  get  one  by  force. 
Ignorance  of  geographical  facts  sometimes  leads  to  strange  mistakes 
which  may  be  to  the  disadvantage  of  one  of  the  parties  to  a  boundary 
treaty.  Thus  when  the  boundary 
between  the  United  States  and 
Canada  was  arranged  in  1846,  the 
line  was  to  proceed  across  the  Lake 
of  the  Wo'ods  to  the  north-west 
corner,  and  then  follow  the  forty- 
ninth  parallel.  It  was  afterwards 
found  that  the  lake  extended  far 
to  the  north  of  49°,  so  that  the 
United  States  in  this  way  ob- 
tained a  section  of  territory  within 
Canada,  and  the  islands  in  the 
lake  are  divided  in  the  most  cap- 
ricious way.  Boundaries  are 
generally  made  at  first  on  paper 
with  the  aid  of  maps,  and  when 
the  final  delimitation  is  made  on 
the  Spot,  the  imperfections  of  the  FIG.  47.— Boundary  between  the  United  States 

maps  used  sometimes  gives  rise  °nd  Canada  "'  thc  Latt  *  "*  ""»*• 
to  serious  disputes,  as  has  been  the  case  in  delineating  the  frontiers 
between  Russian  and  British  territory  in  Asia,  and  between  some  of 
the  European  Powers  in  Africa.  As  a  rule  in  settled  countries  boundaries 
are  arranged  between  two  contiguous  Powers,  either  by  diplomacy, 
by  purchase,  or  by  war.  But  in  regions  occupied  by  uncivilised  or 
semi-civilised  peoples,  which  civilised  Powers  desire  to  annex  in  whole 
or  in  part,  there  may  be  several  parties  to  a  boundary,  and  these  may  or 
may  not  include  the  natives  themselves.  Thus  the  boundaries  of  what  is 
known  as  British  East  Africa  were  arranged  between  Great  Britain, 
Germany  and  Italy,  the  native  population  having  no  voice  in  the.  matter. 
But  to  this  arrangement  France  did  not  formally  give  her  consent,  and  at 
one  time  considered  herself  at  liberty  to  ignore  the  boundary  line  on  the 
west,  and  to  lay  claims  to  a  position  on  the  Upper  Nile. 

The  most  uncompromising  type  of  boundary  is  the  ocean;  hence  the 


H4       The  International  Geography- 


advantage  which  the  United  Kingdom  has  over  continental  States.  Owing 
to  the  nature  of  the  boundaries  of  the  United  Kingdom,  she  is  enabled  to 
dispense  with  a  large  standing  army,  but  is  compelled  to  maintain  a 
powerful  fleet.  The  United  States  and  Canada  have  also  the  advantage 
of  being  bounded  on  two  sides  by  the  ocean,  each  of  them  having  only 
two  land  frontiers,  differing  in  this  respect  from  a  country  like  Austria, 
which  is  almost  entirely  surrounded  by  other  States.  Next  to  the  ocean, 
perhaps  the  simplest  boundary  is  the  line  of  latitude  or  longitude.  West 
of  the  Lake  of  the  Woods,  the  boundary  between  the  United  States  and 
Canada  is  the  49th  parallel  of  north  latitude  until  it  reaches  the  sea. 
In  Africa  the  boundaries  between  the  "  spheres  "  of  European  Powers  are 
often  straight  lines,  not  necessarily  coinciding  with  lines  of  latitude  or 
longitude,  but  drawn  from  point  to  point.  The  disadvantage  of  straight 
lines  is  that  unless  the  country  has  been  carefully  surveyed  disputes  are 

apt  to  arise  as  to  the 
position  of  particular 
places.  Where  a  river 
is  taken  as  a  boundary, 
trfe  line  runs  through 
the  Thalweg  or  centre 
of  the  river-bed ;  the 
disadvantage  here  is 
that  unless  the  river 
has  been  fully  surveyed, 
disputes  may  arise  as 
to  which  is  its  true 
upper  course,  when 
there  is  more  than 
one  upper  stream,  or 
the  stream  itself  may 
change  its  course,  like 
the  Yellow  River  in  China.  In  Europe  boundaries  are  more  complicated 
than  in  other  parts  of  the  world,  for  they  have  been  subject  to  alterations, 
mainly  by  war,  for  more  than  a  thousand  years.  Like  most  boundaries 
that  have  not  resulted  from  actual  annexation,  they  were  probably 
originally  tribal  or  racial,  and  to  understand  the  many  changes  which 
have  taken  place  in  them,  it  is  necessary  to  master  the  racial  movements 
in  Europe.  Roughly  they  now  coincide  with  linguistic  distinctions,  though 
this  rule  is  far  from  rigid. 

Over  a  large  part  of  Europe  the  boundaries  between  the  different 
States  are  marked  by  no  outstanding  physical  feature,  and  can  only  be 
detected  along  the  highways  by  posts  or  pillars  or  some  other  artificial 
mark,  or  the  location  of  a  custom-house.  For  military  purposes  the 
boundary  line  becomes  a  "  frontier  "  which  extends  for  a  varying  space  on 
each  side  of  the  line  on  the  map.  Troops  and  fortresses  are  not  ranged 


FIG.  48. — Fortresses  on  the  French  frontier. 


Political  and  Applied  Geography      115 

on  the  actual  line,  but  at  selected  points  in  its  neighbourhood.  The 
boundaries  between  sub-divisions  of  old  countries,  like  England,  Germany, 
and  France,  sometimes  indicate  the  limits  of  old  independent  States,  or  of 
ecclesiastical  jurisdictions,  or  of  tribal  territories;  the  modern  tendency  is 
to  abolish  them,  and  to  substitute  more  convenient  administrative  divisions. 
In  new  countries,  like  the  west  of  the  United  States  and  Canada,  the  sub- 
divisions are  more  often  made  by  mathematical  lines. 

Internal  Development. — All  material  progress  is  dependent  on 
the  interaction  between  humanity  and  its  geographical  environment,  and 
the  rate  of  progress  is  almost  directly  in  proportion  to  the  extent  of  man's 
activity  in  dealing  with  that  environment.  In  Australia,  and  in  tropical 
Africa,  the  aborigines  have  remained  at  a  low  level  of  progress  partly 
because  they  have  been  in  the  main  content  with  what  nature  provided 
with  little  or  no  active  interference  on  their  part.  They  are,  of  course, 
people  of  a  type  different  from  those  who  have  developed  so  greatly  in 
Europe,  Asia,  and  America,  and  the  question  arises  how  far  such  types  are 
the  product  of  their  environment.  Purely  pastoral  pursuits  in  regions 
where  only  the  natural  resources  are  utilised,  as  in  the  Sahara,  Arabia,  and 
Central  Asia,  do  not  conduce  to  continuous  progress  in  a  community.  It 
is  only  when  man  begins  to  improve  the  natural  conditions  that  he  enters 
upon  the  upward  path  of  development.  The  cultivation  of  the  soil,  the 
attempt  to  domesticate  animals,  and  improve  breeds  of  stock,  the  working 
of  mineral  resources,  the  pursuit  of  fishing,  will  among  an  energetic  people 
lead  to  the  improvement  of  the  means  by  which  these  pursuits  are  carried 
on.  This  would  develop  the  intelligence,  and  initiate  manufactures  of 
various  kinds  which  are  bound  to  go  on  improving.  Increase  of  popu- 
lation in  any  country  will  lead  to  the  occupation  of  further  territory  and^ 
the  improvement  of  waste  lands,  as  well  as  the  opening  up  of  the  country 
by  the  destruction  of  forests.  When  this  destruction  is  reckless  it  is  apt 
to  affect  the  climate  injuriously.  The  progress  of  internal  development 
necessitates  the  establishment  of  communications  by  land  and  water 
between  different  sections  of  the  community.  These  will  no  doubt  be 
simple  enough  at  first,  mere  narrow  tracks  as  in  tropical  Africa,  permitting 
the  passage  of  only  one  man  at  a  time.  The  introduction  of  beasts  of 
burden  greatly  improves  intercourse  and  traffic,  and  this  improvement, 
with  increased  manufactures  and  the  establishment  of  market  centres, 
leads  to  the  growth  of  commercial  towns. 

Towns. — Probably  one  of  the  first  causes  which  induced  men  to  live 
together  in  enclosures  was  mutual  protection,  either  from  hostile  com- 
munities or  from  wild  beasts.  Many  of  the  oldest  towns  had  their  begin- 
ning under  the  protection  of  the  fortified  castle  of  a  powerful  chief.  In 
central  Africa  at  the  present  day  the  natives  almost  entirely  live  within 
enclosures  around  the  chief's  or  headman's  kraal.  But  as  industry  and 
commerce,  and  the  political  life  of  the  people  develop,  many  other  causes 
come  into  play  leading  to  the  establishment  of  towns  and  cities.  The  late 
10 


1 1 6      The  International  Geography 

Mr.  Green  showed  how  natural  it  was  that  London  should  have  started  in 
}ts  marvellous  growth  from  the  landing  of  the  Romans  on  the  first  little 
height  of  land  they  reached  on  sailing  up  the  inviting  estuary  of  the 
Thames,  which  is  the  natural  highway  into  the  heart  of  the  land  for  traffic 
from  the  continent  of  Europe.  It  became  the  great  entrepot  and  distri- 
buting centre  where,  in  time,  much  of  the  commercial  business  of  the 
world  came  to  be  transacted.  This,  with  the  fact  that  it  became  the 
capital  of  the  kingdom  and  the  empire,  will  to  a  large  extent  account  for 
its  wonderful  growth.  On  the  other  side  of  the  island,  Liverpool  and 
Glasgow  have  also  grown  into  great  commercial  centres,  since  the  increase 
in  the  traffic  across  the  Atlantic,  although  they  both  had  certain  natural 
disadvantages.  Glasgow  was  situated  on  a  narrow  shallow  stream  suitable 
only  for  boats.  But  it  was  surrounded  by  coal  and  iron  mines,  and  in 
order  that  the  products  of  these  and  of  the  industries  which  accompanied 
them  should  find  a  direct  transit  to  the  outside  world,  the  shallow  stream 
was  deepened  into  a  great  highway,  navigable  by  ocean  ships.  Manchester 
owes  its  growth  to  the  fact  that  it  is  a  suitable  centre  for  the  manufacture 
of  the  raw  cotton  imported  into  Liverpool  from  America.  The  handsome 
city  of  Vancouver  on  the  coast  of  British  Columbia,  opposite  the  island  of 
that  name,  owes  its  existence  to  its  being  the  terminus  of  the  Canadian 
Pacific  Railway,  and  the  point  of  departure  for  steamers  across  the  Pacific. 
The  town  of  Rossland  in  the  Kootenay  District  of  British  Columbia  grew 
up  from  nothing  to  a  population  of  6,000  in  four  years,  owing  to  its  being 
in  the  centre  of  a  newly-discovered  mining  district ;  but  such  an  origin 
contains  the  germ  of  decay,  for  if  the  mines  should  be  abandoned  the  city 
would  be  at  once  deserted  unless  other  resources  had  in  the  meantime 
been  developed.  Similarly  there  exists  a  reason  for  the  position  and  the 
development  of  every  town  in  whatever  part  of  the  world  it  may  be  situated. 
Land  and  People. — The  actual  relations  of  the  community  or  State 
and  the  land  is  an  interesting  feature  in  political  geography.  No  doubt  in 
primitive  communities  the  land  belongs  to  the  whole  community.  In 
Russia  at  the  present  day  the  land  of  each  mir,  or  commune  or  parish, 
belongs  to  the  whole  commune.  In  England  the  "  Crown  "  or  the  State 
is  supreme  over  all  land.  The  relations  of  the  State  to  the  land  is  an 
important  feature  in  the  political  geography  of  every  country. 

It  would  be  a  nice  point  of  inquiry  to  what  extent  the  form  of  govern- 
ment of  a  community  is  due  to  its  geographical  conditions.  No  doubt  the 
peculiar  geographical  position  of  the  United  Kingdom  which  minimises 
the  importance  of  the  military  element,  has  had  something  to  do  with  the 
stable  development  of  the  political  condition  of  the  country,  though  the  ques- 
tion of  race  is  also  involved  here.  The  contrast  with  France  is  very  marked. 
The  modern  German  Empire  has  been  welded  together  and  extended 
through  war,  and  therefore  the  military  element  .te  still  predominant  there, 
as  it  is  also  in  France  for  opposite  reasons*  The  internal  growth  of  a 
community  or  State  naturally  leads  to  its  expansion,  to  its  value  being 


Political  and  Applied  Geography      117 

increased,  in  the  eyes  of  those  who,  generation  after  generation,  have 
developed  it,  and  whose  many  common  interests  in  their  territory 
constitute  them  a  nation,  which,  as  in  the  United  States,  and  indeed  in 
most  European  countries,  may  be  composed  of  many  different  races. 
This  naturally  leads  to  measures  being  taken  for  its  defence— to  the 
establishment  of  an  army,  of  defences  for  the  frontiers,  and  of  a  navy 
where  that  is  required.  Expansion  brings  a  State  into  contact  with  its 
neighbours,  with  whom  its  relations  may  be  friendly  or  hostile.  If  it  is 
felt  that  the  boundaries  of  the  State  are  too  restricted  to  give  room  for 
expansion,  then  attempts  will  be  made  to  obtain  additions  to  the  territory 
of  the  State  by  forcible  seizure,  by  treaty,  or  by  purchase.  This  expansion 
will  also  lead  to  commercial  traffic  between  neighbouring  States,  and  the 
establishment  of  means  of  communication  between  distant  States.  Where 
a  State  borders  on  the  ocean  or  possesses  navigable  rivers  or  lakes,  ships 
are  built,  and  the  art  of  navigation  improved.  This  traffic  between 
different  communities  naturally  leads  to  the  growth  of  important  trade 
centres  ;  thus  some  of  the  towns  in  southern  Germany  and  Austria,  such 
as  Innsbruck  and  Salzburg,  grew  up  as  a  result  of  the  traffic  between  Italy 
and  central  Europe,  across  the  Brenner  and  other  passes. 

International  Commerce. — International  traffic  has  various  obsta- 
cles to  contend  with  ;  there  may  be  geographical  difficulties,  like  mountain 
ranges  over  which  passes  have  to  be  found  and  roads  made,  or  at  a  later 
stage  they  have  to  be  pierced  by  railway  tunnels.  Or  if  a  State  borders 
on  the  sea  there  may  be  a  lack  of  convenient  harbours,  and  this  defect, 
unless  remedied,  might  be  a  serious  commercial  disadvantage.  If  the 
State  is  energetic  enough  it  may  force  its  way  by  expansion  to  an  accessible 
harbour,  or  it  may,  by  attention  to  the  development  of  engineering,  over- 
come natural  geographical  disadvantages  by  such  means  as  the  creation 
of  artificial  harbours,  or  the  construction  of  breakwaters. 

As  the  development  of  industry  and  commerce  and  of  commercial 
relations  with  distant  States  increases,  it  becomes  important  to  overcome 
the  geographical  disadvantage  of  distance  by  the  introduction  of  steam 
power.  Thus  the  means  of  transit  become  improved  in  speed  and  in 
carrying  power,  and  the  cost  reduced,  so  that  it  becomes  possible  to 
develop  regions  previously  untouched.  Facilities  for  communication  by 
means  of  correspondence  are  developed,  and  electricity  is  pressed  into  the 
service  of  humanity,  telegraph  lines  are  constructed,  cables  laid  round  the 
world,  or  wireless  telegraph  established,  by  means  of  which  the  most  distant 
communities  are  brought  into  the  closest  relations. 

Artificial  restrictions  on  commercial  intercourse  are  frequently 
established,  such  as  customs  duties  on  certain  articles  imported,  sometimes 
in  order  to  raise  a  revenue  for  the  State,  sometimes  in  order  to  encourage 
native  industries  by  increasing  the  price  of  imported  articles.  This  may 
lead  to  the  discouragement  of  industry  in  certain  countries.  Thus  the 
sugar-cane  industry  of  the  West  Indies  has  been  nearly  ruined  because 


n8      The    International  Geography 

continental  nations  impose  a  heavy  duty  upon  it  to  encourage  the  beetroot 
sugar  industry.  Most  nations  have  such  restrictions  to  a  greater  or  less 
extent.  In  the  United  Kingdom  they  are  confined  to  one  or  two  articles  of 
luxury,  and  therefore  it  is  said  to  be  a  free-trading  country.  Sometimes 
States  form  what  is  called  a  commercial  union,  agreeing  to  accord  each 
other  certain  advantages  in  their  commercial  intercourse  which  they  do 
not  accord  to  other  States  ;  or  it  may  be  to  agree  not  to  give  to  any  other 
State  a  greater  favour  in  the  imposition  of  duties  than  they  accord  to  each 
other.  Even  before  the  union'  of  the  German  States  into  the  German 
Empire  there  existed  what  was  called  the  Zollverein  or  German  Customs 
Union,  by  which  free  trade  existed  between  them.  Until  recently  Ham- 
burg remained  outside  of  this  union,  and  was  a  free  port,  and  even  yet 
on  a  small  area  of  the  city,  on  the  harbour,  merchandise  may  be  landed 
free  of  duty.  Though  independent  of  each  other  in  many  respects,  the 
various  States  that  form  the  United  States  have  free  trade  with  each 
other,  and  so  have  the  self-governing  provinces  of  other  federal  dominions, 
such  as  the  Dominion  of  Canada.  States  may  also  form  political  unions 
with  each  other  for  the  purpose  of  mutual  defence  under  certain  con- 
tingencies. 

Colonisation. — The  internal  development  of  a  State,  and  the  expan- 
sion of  its  boundaries  may  reach  a  stage  when  further  development  is 
impossible  by  what  may  be  called  contiguous  expansion.  In  that  case  a 
State  may  seek  to  acquire  further  territory  at  a  distance  from  its  own 
boundaries.  Both  the  Phoenician  and  the  Greek  States  sent  out  what  they 
called  colonies.  These  often  consisted  mainly  of  the  foundation  of  new 
cities,  sometimes  with  a  greater  or  less  extent  of  territory  around.  Often 
in  the  case  of  the  Phoenicians  they  were  only  trading  posts,  more  or  less 
independent  of  the  mother  country.  Carthage  was  originally  a  Phoenician 
colony,  and  grew  to  be  a  great  independent  State  that  sent  out  colonies  of 
her  own.  Rome's  annexations  became  part  of  the  empire,  governed  from 
the  centre.  In  modern  times,  Portugal  and  Spain,  Holland,  France,  the 
United  Kingdom,  and  Germany,  have  taken  possession  of  territory  at  a 
distance  from  their  own  lands.  At  first  this  was  mainly  done  for  trading 
purposes,  though  both  Portugal  and  Spain  in  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth 
centuries,  in  Asia  and  America,  as  well  as  in  Africa,  annexed  large  areas 
which  were  treated  as  part  of  their  own  dominions.  Natives  of  the  mother 
States  went  out  partly  as  rulers,  partly  as  traders,  many  of  them  staying 
permanently,  and  making  these  lands  their  homes.  Many  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  United  Kingdom  went  in  large  numbers  to  lands  beyond 
the  seas,  especially  to  North  America  and  to  Australia.  These  new  terri- 
tories were  treated  by  the  mother  country  as  part  of  her  own  domain,  and 
dealt  with  in  the  interests  of  the  Home  Government  rather  than  of  the 
population  who  lived  upon  them,  and  who  had  acquired  those  territories 
either  by  conquest  or  purchase,  or  by  simply  taking  possession  without 
consulting  the  aboriginal  population.  This  conduct  led  to  certain  of  the 


Political  and  Applied  Geography      119 

British  colonies  in  North  America  declaring  their  independence  of  the 
mother  country,  and  establishing  new  States.  But  as  the  other  distant 
colonies  developed  and  became  populous  and  wealthy,  the  'jurisdiction  of 
the  mother  country  over  them  became  more  and  more  slender,  and  so  far 
as  their  territory  and  their  internal  affairs  are  concerned,  they  became 
independent,  and  even  treated  the  mother  country  commercially  as  a 
foreign  land. 

The  French  colonies  have  not  developed  in  the  same  way  as  the 
British.  One  of  them,  Algeria,  is  dealt  with  to  a  large  extent  as  if  it  were 
a  part  of  France,  and  they  are  all  directly  governed  from  the  mother 
country,  although  several  of  them  send  representatives  to  the  French 
Parliament.  This  condition  of  things  is  mainly  due  to  the  fact  that 
Frenchmen  have  not  migrated  and  settled  in  their  colonies  to  anything 
like  the  extent  that  has  been  done  in  the  case  of  the  British  colonies. 
This  may  be  partly  due  to  the  fact  that  the  geographical  conditions  in 
most  of  the  French  colonies  are  not  favourable  for  European  settlement, 
for  in  that  part  of  Canada  which  was  once  a  French  colony  there  is  still 
a  large  and  growing  French  population.  The  United  Kingdom  has  posses- 
sions of  a  somewhat  similar  type  to  those  of  France,  but  these  are  tropical 
like  India,  the  Straits  Settlements,  Central  Africa,  and  the  West  Indies, 
where  the  native  or  coloured  population  has  not  been  displaced  by  people 
of  European  origin,  and  where  Englishmen  reside  more  or  less  temporarily 
as  administrators  or  traders.  The  administration  of  colonial  possessions  is 
sometimes  confided  to  a  chartered  commercial  company,  acting  under  the 
central  government  of  the  colonising  country. 

New  Colonial  Forms. — The  expansion  of  European  States  has 
recently  become  so  great,  and  commercial  development  so  rapid,  that  the 
most  enterprising  of  them  have  sought  still  further  to  extend  their  terri- 
tories and  expand  their  markets  by  taking  possession  more  or  less 
completely  of  such  portions  of  the  globe  as  remained  unannexed.  This 
haste  has  given  rise  to  a  new  and  curious  political  factor,  seen  especially 
in  the  case  of  Africa,  which  within  recent  years  has  been  partitioned 
among  the  Powers  of  Europe.  So  rapid  has  been  this  partition,  and  so 
extensive  has  been  the  share  of  each  Power,  that  it  has  been  impossible 
to  take  effective  occupation  of  the  territories,  except  at  a  few  accessible 
points.  Therefore  it  has  been  agreed  among  the  Powers  concerned  that 
certain  large  areas  beyond  the  stations  occupied  (the  Hinterland)  should 
be  regarded  as  the  "  sphere  of  influence  "  of  the  Power  occupying  the 
stations.  The  main  object  of  thus  reserving  spheres  of  influence  is 
commercial,  most  of  the  Powers  concerned  placing  restrictions  on  foreign 
commercial  enterprise.  But  these  great  areas  claimed  by  the  Powers  of 
Europe  are  regarded  as  integral  parts  of  the  dominion  or  empire  of  these 
Powers,  so  that  in  reckoning  up  the  area  of  the  British,  the  French,  or 
the  German  possessions  we  include  every  square  mile  of  land  in  any  part  of 
the  world  over  which  they  claim  to  have  "  influence."  The  one  exception 


120      The  International  Geography 

is  Egypt,  which,  although  its  affairs  are  practically  directed  by  the  British 
Government,  and  its  principal  officials  are  British,  more  so  than  is  the  case 
with  an  Indian  native  State,  yet  it  is  not  nominally  included  in  the  British 
Empire.  Another  new  form  of  political  factor  has  been  created  by  one 
State  leasing  part  of  its  territory  to  another.  This  was  done  in  1894,  when 
the  British  Government  leased  to  the  King  of  the  Belgians  a  portion  of 
British  East  Africa  on  the  Upper  Nile.  Previously  the  Sultan  of  Zanzibar 
had  leased  part  of  his  territory  to  the  United  Kingdom  and  to  Germany,  but 
these  Powers  ultimately  bought  the  territory  outright.  Some  years  ago  Ger- 
many, Russia,  and  the  United  Kingdom  leased  certain  areas  of  territory  in 
China,  where  they  established  naval  and  military  as  well  as  trading  stations. 
More  recently  the  United  Kingdom  accorded  to  France  the  lease  of  two 
stations  on  the  British  section  of  the  Niger.  All  these  new  departures  are 
due  to  the  internal  development  of  modern  States  and  the  necessity  of  find- 
ing scope  for  the  energy  of  the  increasing  populations  beyond  the  boundaries 
of  their  restricted  territories. 

The  Oceans.— As  has  been  seen,  the  oceans  themselves  play  an 
important  part  in  political  geography.  Still  further,  it  may  be  pointed  out 
that  the  sea  for  a  distance  of  three  miles  from  the  coast  of  civilised  States 
is  regarded  as  forming  territorial  waters  of  these  States,  in  contradis- 
tinction to  the  "  High  Seas,"  on  which  there  is  no  jurisdiction  beyond  that 
of  the  flag  under  which  each  vessel  sails.  Certain  portions  of  the  sea, 
more  or  less  enclosed,  are  sometimes  regarded  as  the  property  of  the 
States  bordering  upon  them,  mainly  for  fishing  purposes — thus  the  Bering 
Sea  is  claimed  by  Russia  on  the  one  side  and  by  the  United  States  on  the 
other.  A  knowledge  of  the  physical  geography  of  the  sea,  especially  of 
the  currents  and  tides,  is  of  importance  to  navigation.  The  knowledge 
of  the  ocean  bed  is  of  value  in  connection  with  the  laying  of  telegraphic 
cables.  It  is  also  important  to  know  the  variations  of  temperature  and 
salinity  and  other  factors  at  different  depths,  as  on  these  to  a  large  extent 
depend,  it  is  believed,  the  migration  of  food  fishes. 

The  results  of  the  interaction  between  advanced  communities  and 
their  territories  can  often  be  shown  quantitatively  in  the  form  known  as 
Statistics,  which,  when  arranged  with  intelligence,  are  useful  as  a  measure 
of  progress. 

Commercial  Geography  .—The  applications  of  Geography  to  com- 
merce are  so  numerous  and  comprehensive  that  Commercial  Geography 
must  be  viewed  rather  as  a  particular  aspect  of  the  whole  subject  than  as 
a  separate  department.  The  necessary  foundation  is  a  sound  compre- 
hension of  the  principles  of  geography,  but  this  is  useless  for  the  special 
purpose  until  applied  by  a  practical  mind  to  practical  affairs.  Commercial 
geography  may  be  divided  roughly  into  three  parts,  dealing  respectively 
with  Commodities,  Transport,  and  Markets. 

i.  The  principal  Commodities  fall  into  two  classes,  (a)  Those  which 
exist  in  the  substance 'of  the  lithosphere,  or  have  been  formed  there  by 


Political  and  Applied  Geography      121 

slow  natural  processes,  so  that  the  supply  is  not  inexhaustible.  All  mineral 
commodities  are  of  this  class  :  gold,  coal,  and  iron  are  typical  examples. 
After  being  obtained,  most  minerals  require  various  processes  of  reduction 
or  purification  before  they  are  fit  for  use,  and  materials  for  carrying  out 
this  work  must  be  made  available  before  the  resources  acquire  their  full 
value.  (6)  The  second  class  consists  of  commodities,  the  supply  of  which 
can  be  increased  and  the  nature  modified  by  rapid  natural  processes  which 
are  capable  of  being  directed  by  human  agency.  This  includes  all  culti- 
vated plants  and  domestic  animals.  Most  of  the  raw  products  of  the 
vegetable  and  animal  kingdoms,  such  as  textiles,  require  complicated 
processes  of  manufacture  before  they  can  be  utilised,  and  the  work  is 
often  carried  out  at  great  distances  from  the  places  of  production. 

2.  Means  of  Transport  include  routes  by  land  and  sea,  the  selection  of 
which  involves  knowledge  of  geographical  features  and  conditions,  such 
as  mountains,  valleys,  rivers,  winds,  or  ice,  and  of  artificial  difficulties  like 
hostile  tribes  or  vested  interests.     They  also  include  the  vehicles  or  vessels 
used,  and  their  mode  of  propulsion  and  guidance,  thus  involving  engineer- 
ing and  navigation.      Pioneer  gold  miners  in  an  Arctic  region  have  to 
depend  on  their  own  backs  or  on  dog-sledges  for  means  of  transport ;  in 
other  places  rivers  are  available  for  canoes  or  boats,  deserts  may  have  to 
be  crossed  with  camels,  or  jungle  traversed  with  native  porters.     Roads 
and  railways  are  later  developments  which  render  possible  the  most  highly 
developed  commerce.     It  is  evident  that  the  value  of  all   bulky  raw 
materials  must  depend  on  the  possibility  of  cheap  transport.     Under  this 
head  postal  and  telegraph  systems  have  also  to  be  considered. 

3.  Markets  involve  a  consideration  of  the  laws  of  supply  and  demand, 
of  the  artificial  restrictions  or  encouragements  presented  by  protective  or 
prohibitory  tariffs,  or  by  bounties,  and  the  more  natural  effects  of  free 
competition.     Distance  between  centres  of  production  and  consumption, 
facilities  for  handling  goods  in  transit,  nationality,  language,  even  religion 
and  superstition  are  important  factors. 

In  the  descriptions  in  Part  II.  prominence  is  given  to  the  products  and 
trade  on  which  the  prosperity  of  each  country  depends,  and  statistics  of 
the  growth  of  its  commerce  are  added ;  but,  except  in  a  few  instances, 
little  can  be  said  on  undeveloped  resources,  a  subject  which  concerns 
future  rather  than  present  conditions. 


STANDARD  BOOKS. 


i899. 


F.  Ratzel.     "  Politische  Geographic."     Leipzig,  1897. 

"  Anthropogeograpnie."    2  vols.    Stuttgart,  1882,  1891.    New  edit.  vol.  i. 

J.  S.  Keltic  and  I.  P.  A.  Renwick.     "  The  Statesman's  Year  Book."     London.     Annual' 
W.  Gotz.     "  Die  Verkehrswege  im  Dienste  des  Welthandels."     Stuttgart,  1888. 

G.  P.  Marsh.     "Man  and  Nature,  or  Physical  Geography  as  modified  by  Human  Action." 

London,  1864. 

G.  G.  Chisholm.     "  Handbook  of  Commercial  Geography."     London,  1890. 
J.  S.  Keltic.     "  Applied  Geography."     London,  1890. 

E.  R.  Johnson.        Ocean  and  Inland  Water  Transportation."     London,  1906. 
J.  R.  Smith.     "  The  Organization  of  Ocean  Commerce."     Philadelphia,  1905. 


fieraldic  Colour  Scbeim  Tor  flags. 


2.  Or  =  Yellow. 


3.  Azure = Blue. 

4.  Sable = Black. 


5.  Gules = Red. 

6.  Vert = Green. 


PART  II 
CONTINENTS  AND   COUNTRIES 


BOOK    I.— EUROPE 


CHAPTER  XI.— THE    CONTINENT   OF   EUROPE 
BY  GEORGE  G.  CHISHOLM,  M.A.,  B.Sc. 

Position  and  Extent. — Europe  is,  next  to  Australia,  the  smallest  of 
the  continents.  The  area  to  be  assigned  to  it  depends  upon  the  limits 
assumed,  which  vary  partly  in  accordance  with  physical  and  partly  in 
accordance  with  political  considerations.  In  the  south-east  the  limit  now 
usually  adopted  is  that  of  the  valley  of  the  Manych,  stretching  from  near 
the  Caspian  Sea  to  the  mouth  of  the  Don,  and  nearly  coinciding  with  the 
administrative  boundary  of  the  Lieutenancy  of  the  Caucasus,  the  whole 
of  which  is  thus  assigned  to  Asia.  In  the  east  the  most  obvious 
physical  boundary  is  formed  by  the  Ural  Mountains  and  the  Ural  River. 
The  area  of  the  mainland  and  the  adjacent  islands  within  these  limits  is 
about  3,750,000  square  miles.  The  addition  of  Iceland  and  Novaya  Zemlya 
(Nova  Zembla)  brings  it  up  to  3,820,000  square  miles,  and  the  further 
addition  of  Spitsbergen  to  nearly  3,850,000  square  miles.  In  the  east  of 
Russia,  however,  the  political  boundary  extends  some  distance  beyond  the 
Urals  so  as  to  include  all  the  mineral  wealth  of  that  region,  and  on  the 
other  hand,  it  runs,  partly  along  the  edge  of  a  low  plateau,  some  distance  to 
the  north-west  and  west  of  the  Ural  River.  If  this  political  boundary  is 
followed  it  adds  to  the  area  of  Europe  about  100,000  square  miles. 

Eurasia. — On  a  map  of  the  world  or  the  eastern  hemisphere,  Europe 
does  not  seem  to  have  any  right  to  the  name  of  continent.  It  is  seen  to 
be  a  mere  peninsula  of  a  great  land-mass  the  greater  portion  of  which  is 
formed  by  Asia.  To  this  land-mass  the  name  of  Eurasia  has  been  given, 
and  from  some  points  of  view  the  consideration  of  the  larger  unit  is  con- 
venient if  not  essential.  For  most  purposes,  however,  the  distinction  of 
the  two  continents  is  imperative.  It  has  been  established  by  history,  and 
is  justified  by  the  physical  conditions  that  have  kept  the  history  of  the  two 
continents  in  a  large  measure  distinct.  It  originated  where  Europe  and  Asia 
are  separated  by  water,  and  on  land  the  separation  is  continued  by  a  vast 
area  of  desert  or  sparsely  peopled  territory  between  the  most  populous 
regions  of  both. 

123 


124      The  International  Geography 


Coast-Line. — The  coast-line  of  Europe,  exclusive  of  the  islands,  has 
been  variously  estimated  at  from  19,500  to  nearly  48,000  miles.  The  fact  is 
that  length  of  coast-line  is  not  a  definite  idea,  and  no  definite  figure  for  the 
coast-line  ought  to  be  taught  in  schools.  The  length  varies  according  to 
the  degree  in  which  the  minor  indentations  are  taken  into  account.  It  is 
important,  however,  that  the  coast-line  of  Europe  is  certainly  longer  in 
proportion  to  area  than  that  of  any  other  continent ;  but  it  is  much  more 
important  that  this  greater  length  of  coast-line  is  so  largely  due,  not  to 
small  bays,  gulfs,  and  creeks,  but  to  great  inland  seas.  The  whole  of 
Europe  is  thus  brought  into  easy  communication  with  the  ocean. 

Surface  Features. — These  viewed  broadly,  are  very  simple.  In  the 
north-west  there  is  an  extensive  highland  region  occupying  the  greater 
part  of  Scandinavia  and  advancing  to  the  water's  edge  in  the  countless 

fjords  of  Norway. 
These  highlands  reap- 
pear, to  a  large  extent 
in  the  same  form,  in 
the  north-west  of  Scot- 
land, and  in  a  modified 
form  in  the  west  of 
Great  Britain  generally, 
in  the  angles  of  Ireland, 
and  in  Normandy  and 
Brittany .  in  France. 
Another  extensive  and 
loftier  highland  region 
occupies  the  southern 
countries,  spreading 
northwards  in  the  area 
between  Italy  and  the 
Baltic  to  about  5i£9  N. 


FIG.  49. — Europe,  showing  circles  of  600  and  1,200  miles 
radius  from  Cracow 


Between  these  great  highland  areas  there  stretches  an  area  of  lowlands 
mainly  composed  of  low  plains  broken  only  by  seas.  This  area  begins  in 
England  to  the  north  of  the  English  Channel  and  south-west  of  the  North 
Sea,  and  on  the  mainland  stretches  continuously  from  the  shores  of  the 
Bay  of  Biscay,  the  English  Channel,  and  the  North  Sea  to  the  Ural 
Mountains,  spreading  out  in  Russia  from  the  shores  of  the  Black  Sea 
to  those  of  the  Arctic  Sea. 

In  the  highland  region  of  the  south  there  are  certain  minor  features  too 
important  to  be  passed  over  even  in  a  general  survey.  These  minor  features 
are  of  two  classes — (a)  mountain  ranges  or  systems,  (6)  valleys  or  plains. 
The  former  are  the  Alps  in  the  heart  of  this  southern  highland  region,  the 
Carpathians  in  the  east,  the  Balkans  in  the  south-east,  the  Appennines  in  the 
peninsula  of  Italy,  and  the  Pyrenees,  stretching  from  the  Bay  of  Biscay  to 
the  Mediterranean  and  forming  a  natural  boundary  which  has  never  been 


Europe 


125 


long  ignored  in  history.  Of  the  lowland  minor  features  the  most  important 
are  (i)  the  valley  of  the  Danube,  stretching  on  the  whole  east  and  west 
through  nearly  the  whole  of  the  northern  half  of  the  mountainous  region, 
and  expanding  in  its  lower  part  into  two  great  plains,  one  between  the 
Alps  and  the  Carpathians  drained  also  by  the  Theiss,  the  Drave,  and  the 
Save,  and  the  other  outside  the  Carpathians  between  these  mountains  and  the 
Balkans ;  (2)  the  valley  of  the  Po,  between  the  Alps  and  the  Appennines ; 
(3)  the  north-to-south  valley  of  the  Saone  and  Rhone,  between  the  Central 
Plateau  of  France  and  the  highlands  connecting  it  with  the  Vosges  on  the 
west,  and  the  Alps  and  Jura  on  the  east,  a  valley  of  all  the  more  consequence 
historically  and  commercially  because  it  is  separated  only  by  a  low  water- 
parting  between  the  Vosges  and  the  Jura  (the  opening  known  as  the 
Burgundy  Gate)  from  (4)  the  equally  important  north-to-south  valley  of  the 
middle  Rhine  from  Basel  to  Cologne  ;  and  (5)  the  valley,  or  rather  relative 
depression,  called  the 
passage  of  Naurouse, 
between  the  foot-hills 
of  the  Central  Plateau 
of  France  and  those  of 
the  Pyrenees,  contain- 
ing the  low  water- 
parting  between  the 
Garonne  and  the  Aude. 
The  Alps,  —  Al- 
though the  Alps  are 
not  the  most  extensive 
mountain  system  in 
Europe,  being  sur- 
passed in  this  respect 
both  by  the  Scandi- 
navian Highlands  and 
the  Ural  Mountains,  they  are  the  loftiest,  and  they  contain  the  sources 
of  many  of  the  most  important  streams  of  the  continent.  Their  surface 
is  shared,  unlike  the  larger  systems,  by  a  number  of  different  countries. 
Their  limits  are  everywhere  well  marked  except  where  they  unite  with 
the  Appennines.  Here  the  proper  line  of  division  has  been  much  disputed, 
but  now  there  is  a  nearly  general  agreement  in  placing  the  boundary 
at  the  Collo  dell'  Altare  or  di  Cadabona,  a  pass  about  1,600  feet  in  height, 
to  the  north-west  of  Savona  on  the  route  to  Mondovi.  From  this  point 
they  stretch  round  in  a  curve,  west,  north,  then  east — westwards  to  the 
frontier  of  France,  then  northwards  on  the  borders  of  France  and  Italy, 
and  finally  eastwards  through  Switzerland  and  the  west  of  Austria.  Their 
total  extent  is  about  80,000  square  miles,  or  not  much  less  than  that  of  the 
mainland  of  Great  Britain.  Their  total  length  is  about  680  miles,  their  least 
width,  between  Mondovi  and  the  Gulf  of  Genoa,  about  30  miles,  and  their 


•  Above  3000.. 


FIG.  50. — The  Configuration  of  Europe,  showing  Highlands 
and  Lowlands. 


126       The   International   Geography 

greatest  width,  about  the  meridian  of  Verona,  a  little  less  than  160  miles. 
(See  Fig.  210  for  contrast  with  other  mountain  systems.)  The  highest  peak 
is  Mont  Blanc,  15,775  feet,  in  a  short  range  on  the  borders  of  France  and 
Italy.  Monte  Rosa,  on  the  borders  of  Switzerland  and  Italy,  in  the 
Pennine  Chain,  rises  in  the  Dufourspitze  to  15,215  feet,  and  there  are 
several  other  peaks  above  14,000,  and  many  above  13,000  feet  in  height. 

The  lower  slopes  of  the  Alps,  up  to  about  5,300  feet  in  height,  are  known 
as  the  Fore  Alps  (in  German  Voralpen,  in  Italian  Prealpt),  those  next  in  height 
up  to  about  9,000  feet,  as  the  Middle  Alps,  and  those  above  that  height 
as  the  High  Alps.  This  last  altitude  may  be  taken  as  the  average  snow- 
line  in  about  the  middle  latitude  of  the  Alps,  46^°  N.  The  snow-line  is, 
however,  higher  on  the  south  side  (9,200  feet)  than  on  the  north  side  of 
the  Alps.  The  higher  valleys  are  filled  with  glaciers,  that  of  the  Lower 
Grindelwald  descending  to  about  3,500  feet  (formerly  lower). 

Geographical  Divisions  of  the  Alps. — These  mountains  are 
divided  with  respect  solely  to  their  direction  and  surface  features,  into 
three  great  and  well-marked  divisions,  the  Western  Alps  comprising  the 
section  with  a  north-to-south  trend  between  the  Great  St.  Bernard  Pass, 
north-east  of  Mont  Blanc,  and  the  Collo  dell'  Altare,  the  Central  Alps,  ex- 
tending thence  to  the  Brenner  Pass  with  the  valleys  of  the  Adige-Eisack 
and  the  Wipp  leading  up  to  that  pass  on  both  sides,  and  the  Eastern  Alps 
comprising  all  the  remainder.  In  the  Western  Alps  the  subsidiary  ranges 
and  the  valleys  are  generally  tortuous,  at  least  on  the  outer  or  French  side 
of  the  system,  but  in  the  other  two  divisions  longitudinal  mountain  ranges 
and  long  valleys  running  between  them  east  and  west  are  a  well-marked 
"feature. 

Passes  of  the  Western  Alps. — On  the  east  or  Italian  side  of  this 
division  secondary  chains  run  inwards  towards  the  basin  of  the  Po  with 
some  regularity,  and  among  the  valleys  thus  formed,  two  are  of  great 
importance  with  regard  to  the  communication  across  the  mountains, 
each  of  them  leading  up  to  two  important  passes.  One  of  these  is  the 
valley  of  the  Dora  Riparia  leading  due  west  from  Turin  up  to  Susa,  where 
the  road  forks,  one  branch  going  north-west  across  the  Mont  Cenis  Pass 
(6,835  feet)  to  the  valleys  of  the  Arc  and  I  sere,  the  other  going  south-west 
across  the  Genevra  Pass  (6;o8o  feet)  to  the  valley  of  the  Durance  and  the 
south  of  the  Rhone  valley.  Both  of  these  were  much  used  in  the  middle 
ages,  but  the  former  has  been  superseded  by  a  railway  tunnel.  The 
second  important  valley  is  that  of  the  Dora  Baltea,  leading  up  to  Aosta, 
the  town  still  commemorating  the  name  of  its  founder  Augustus,  who 
built  it  as  the  key  of  the  two  Roman  roads  laid  from  this  point,  one  across 
the  Great  St.  Bernard  (Mons  Jovis)  to  the  valley  of  the  Rhone,  the  other 
across  the  Little  St.  Bernard,  south  of  Mont  Blanc,  to  the  valley  of  the 
I sere. 

Passes  of  the  Central  Alps. — Several  passes  long  combined  to 
confer  importance  on  one  city  in  northern  Italy — Milan,  and  one  route 


Europe 


127 


on  the  north  side,  that  of  the  Rhine  valley  above  the  lake  of  Constance. 
On  the  south  side  of  the  Alps  most  of  these  routes  followed  at  first  the 
side  of  the  lake  of  Como  or  were  gained  by  a  boat-voyage  up  that  lake, 
but  one  of  them  ascended  Lago  Maggiore  and  then  struck  north- 
eastwards. On  the  north  side  all  of  them  after  crossing  a  single  pass, 
or  at  most  two  passes,  reached  the  Rhine  valley  above  Chur  (Coire, 
Curia  Rhcetorum),  and  emerged  from  that  valley  almost  due  south  of 
Ulm,  on  the  Danube,  thus  contributing  to  the  importance  of  that  town. 
In  Roman  times  and  till  late  in  the  middle  ages,  the  Septimer  was  the 
most  important  of  these  passes,  though  it  is  no  longer  a  carriage-road. 
A  more  direct  route  across  the  Alps  from  Milan  by  the  St.  Gothard  Pass 
was  not  made  practicable  till  a  late  period,  and  not  made  easy  till  1707, 
when  a  tunnel  was  pierced  through  the  side  of  the  gorge  of  the  Reuss. 
In  1882  this  route  was  supplemented  by  a  remarkable  railway  tunnel 
c$  miles  long  (see  Fig.  134).  Even  in  Roman  times  Milan  was  connected 
with  the  Rhone  valley 
by  a  road  following  at 
first  the  west  side  of 
Lago  Maggiore,  and  then 
across  the  Simplon  Pass 
(6,600  feet),  which  is  now 
also  being  superseded  by 
a  railway  tunnel  of  even 
greater  length  (about  12^ 
miles). 

The  Brenner. — The 
transverse  breach  form- 
ing the  Brenner  route, 
and  taken  as  the  line  of 
demarcation  between  the 

Central  and  Eastern  Alps,  is  so  well  marked  and  for  the  most  part 
so  convenient  that  it  has  formed  from  the  earliest  times  an  important 
highway  both  for  commerce  and  for  war.  The  pass  itself  is  low 
(only  4,470  feet),  and  if  the  Inn  valley  is  made  use  of  downwards  no 
other  pass  has  to  be  crossed  in  the  whole  breadth  of  the  mountain  sys- 
tem. From  the  remains  found  on  this  route  we  know  that  it  was 
made  use  of  in  prehistoric  times  by  the  Etruscans.  It  was  one  of  the 
first  of  the  Alpine  passes  to  receive  a  Roman  road.  It  was  again 
and  again  followed  by  the  Holy  Roman  emperors  in  their  expeditions  from 
Ratisbon,  due  north  of  the  outlet  of  the  Inn  on  the  Bavarian  Plateau,  to 
Italy.  It  was  the  first  of  the  Alpine  passes  to  have  a  carriage-road  in  the 
modern  style  laid  across  it  (1772) ;  and  the  first  to  get  a  railway  carriage 
over  it  (1867).  The  chief  tunnel  on  this  line  is  rather  more  than  half  a 
mile  long,  and  there  are  twenty-six  shorter  tunnels. 

Hydrography. — Besides  being  a  centre  of  radiation  for  important 


FIG.  51.— The  Alps  and  their  chief  Passes. 


128       The   International  Geography 

streams,  the  Alps  form  one  of  the  principal  lake-regions  of  Europe.  The 
lakes,  many  of  which  are  celebrated  for  the  beauty  of  their  surroundings, 
mostly  lie  on  the  outer  margin  of  the  system  (Maggiore,  Lugano,  Como,  Iseo, 
Garda  on  the  south  ;  Geneva,  Zurich,  Constance,  Ammer,  Wiirm,  Chiem, 
Konig,  Hallstatt,  Wolfgang  on  the  north) ;  but  others  (Walenstadt,  Lucerne, 
Brienz,  Thun)  lie  nearer  the  heart  of  the  system. 

Another  important  centre  of  radiation  for  rivers  is  the  higher  ground  to 
the  south  of  St.  Petersburg  culminating  in  the  Valdai  Plateau.  From  this 
area  issue  the  Volga  and  one  or  two  of  its  chief  tributaries,  the  Dniester, 
the  Western  Dvina  and  the  Volkhov.  To  the  north  and  west  of  this  area, 
in  Russia  proper,  Finland,  and  Scandinavia  there  is  another  region  abound- 
ing in  lakes  of  all  sizes  and  shapes.  Among  these  are  the  largest  in 
Europe — Ladoga,  7,004  square  miles,  about  one-tenth  smaller  than  Wales, 
Onega,  3,765  square  miles,  Chudskoye  or  Peipus,  1,356  square  miles, 
Vener,  2,409  square  miles,  Vetter,  758  square  miles,  this  last  accord- 
ingly, though  the  smallest  of  the  five,  being  equal  in  size  to  the  county  of 
Surrey. 

A  third  region  abounding  in  lakes  is  the  northern  part  of  the  German 
plain,  especially  north  and  east  of  the  Elbe,  and  a  peculiar  feature  of  the 
eastern  section  of  this  region  is  the  large  number  of  lakes  in  it  (mostly  very 
small)  without  any  visible  outlet. 

Geology. — The  geological  structure  of  the  mountainous  region  of 
southern  Europe  is  as  complicated  as  its  orography.  The  same  is  true  of 
the  highland  region  of  the  British  Isles,  but  in  Scandinavia  the  geological 
changes  belong  to  such  a  remote  past  that  the  steps  in  the  change  are  no 
longer  distinguishable.  The  solid  rocks  both  of  this  peninsula  and  the% 
adjoining  parts  of  Russia  to  the  east  of  the  White  Sea  and  the  shores  of 
Lakes  Ladoga  and  Onega  are  mainly  composed  of  materials  so  meta- 
morphosed that  they  are  all  classed  as  Archaean  crystalline  rocks.  Between 
the  highland  areas  the  rocks  are  for  the  most  part  more  recent  except  in 
northern  Russia.  In  the  English  lowlands  Jurassic  rocks  cover  a 
considerable  area,  but  on  the  mainland  of  Europe  those  of  Cretaceous  age 
are  generally  the  oldest,  except  in  the  region  just  mentioned.  Above  the 
Cretaceous  areas  of  the  plains  are  extensive  deposits  of  Tertiary  age  (also 
widespread  in  southern  Europe) ;  and  northern  Germany,  Denmark,  and 
Holland  are  mainly  composed  of  Quaternary  deposits. 

In  the  Quaternary  history  of  Europe  an  important  episode  was  the 
advance  on  more  than  one  occasion  of  a  vast  ice-sheet  from  the  Scandi- 
navian highlands  over  a  great  part  of  the  plains,  and  of  smaller  ice-sheets 
from  the  chief  mountain  ranges  of  the  south,  with  glaciers  of  much  larger 
dimensions  than  those  now  seen  protruding  from  the  margin  of  the  sheet 
down  the  valleys.  This  period  is  known  as  the  Ice  Age,  or  sometimes  the 
main  periods  of  advance  of  the  ice  are  distinguished  with  more  precision 
as  the  First,  Second,  and  Third  Ice  Ages.  The  result  of  this  advance  of  ice 
has  been  to  cover  vast  regions  with  deposits  of  morainic  matter,  in  the 


Europe 


129 


form  of  clay,  shingle,  or  larger  fragmentary  material,  or  with  deposits  of 
another  kind  due  to  the  action  of  water  under  the  ice.  The  great  lake 
districts  of  Europe  all  belong  to  the  regions  once  buried  under  these  vast 
ice  coverings. 

Twofold  Division  of  the  Alps  based  on  Geological  Structure. 
— In  this  division  now  generally  recognised,  the  line  of  demarcation 
between  the  Eastern  and  Western  Alps  is  that  of  the  route  across  the 
Alps,  from  Milan  to  the  upper  end  of  the  lake  of  Constance,  by  the  Lago 
Maggiore  (east  side),  the  Val  Mesocco,  and  the  Hinter-Rhein.  Throughout 
the  Alps  the  central  zone,  which  contains  the  highest  peaks,  is  composed 
mainly  of  hard  crystalline  rocks,  outside  of  which  sedimentary  rocks  occur. 
East  of  the  line  mentioned  these  sedimentary  rocks  occur  both  on  the  outer 
(northern)  and  inner  side,  and  on  both  sides  are  largely  composed  of  lime- 
stones and  dolomites,  though  on  the  north  side  these  are  largely  inter- 
mingled with  sandstones  and  slates.  West  of  the  line  there  is  no  inner 
zone,  and  in  the  outer  zone 
limestones  and  dolomites 
greatly  predominate.  The 
structure  is  shown  in  the  sec- 
tion of  Switzerland  (Fig.  130). 

Climate. — This  is  one  of 
the  heads  under  which  it  is 
important  to  remember  that 
Europe  is  after  all  only  a 
great  peninsula  of  Eurasia. 
The  climate  of  Europe  can 
be  compared  only  with  that 
of  the  corresponding  lati- 
tudes of  the  western  portion 
of  North  America,  not  the 
whole  width  of  that  conti- 
nent. This  comparison  reveals  analogies,  but  also  differences  greatly  to 
the  advantage  of  Europe.  In  both  cases,  the  chief  rain-bearing,  in  winter 
the  chief  heat-bearing,  and  in  summer  the  chief  cooling  winds  are  from 
the  south-west.  Europe,  however,  in  addition  to  the  advantage  of  receiving 
its  winds  from  warmer  seas,  owing  to  the  indirect  influence  of  the  Gulf 
Stream,  has  no  mountains  near  the  coast  running  at  right  angles  to  these 
winds,  and  thus  cutting  off  their  influence  within  a  short  distance ;  and, 
on  the  other  hand,  its  great  inland  seas,  the  Baltic  in  the  north,  and  the 
Mediterranean  in  the  south,  favour  the  penetration  of  the  equalising 
influence  of  the  sea  further  into  the  interior.  Moreover,  southern  Europe 
has  the  benefit  of  a  mountain  barrier  on  the  north  to  ward  off  cold 
northerly  or  north-easterly  winds.  The  result  is  that  all  kinds  of  cultivated 
products,  whether  those  of  the  temperate  zone,  such  as  wheat  and  barley, 
or  those  of  a  warmer  clime,  such  as  the  vine,  orange,  and  olive,  can  be 
cultivated  in  a  higher  latitude  in  Europe  than  anywhere  else  on  the  globe. 


f .Existing  Glaciers,  fa]  Ancient  Ice  Sheet. 

FiG.  52.— The  Glaciated  Area  of  Europe. 


130       The  International  Geography 


Barley  is  regularly  grown  in  Europe  (Norway)  several  degrees  within 
the  Arctic  Circle.  For  certain  products  the  advantage  of  more  prolonged 
sunshine  thus  enjoyed  is  of  great  consequence  in  improving  the  quality. 

But  owing  to  the  direction  of  the  prevailing  winds  in  Europe,  there  is 
the  same  increase  in  range  of  temperature  from  west  to  east  as  in  western 
North  America,  and  the  same  tendency  to  a  diminution  of  rainfall  in  the 
same  direction  where  not  counteracted  by  special  circumstances.  The 
easterly  increase  of  range  of  temperature  is  noticeable  even  in  the  Medi- 
terranean region  in  spite  of  the  equalising  influence  of  the  great  inland  sea. 
In  the  higher  latitudes  of  Europe,  however,  the  increase  of  range  is  due 
more  to  the  increase  of  winter  cold  eastwards,  in  the  lower  latitudes  rather 
to  the  increase  of  summer  heat  in  that  direction. 

Rainfall. — The  easterly  decrease  of  rainfall  is  regular  in  Europe  only 
in  the  region  of  the  plains.  Everywhere  of  course  mountains  promote  a 

higher  rainfall  locally, 
but  the  effect  of  posi- 
tion with  regard  to  the 
prevailing  rain-bear- 
ing winds  is  seen  in 
mountainous  districts 
also  in  the  fact  that  the 
heaviest  rains  gene- 
rally occur  in  Europe 
to  the  west  and  south 
of  the  mountains,  and 
on  their  western  and 
southern  slopes.  For 
the  most  part  the  rain- 
fall is  tolerably  equally 
distributed  throughout 
the  year,  but  there  is  a 
well-marked  contrast 

between  the  eastern  plains  and  the  Mediterranean  region,  especially  its 
southern  portion,  as  regards  the  season  of  most  abundant  rains.  In  the 
eastern  plains  the  most  abundant  rains  are  those  of  the  summer.  The 
winter  rains  are  perhaps  as  frequent  as  those  of  summer,  but  are  extremely 
scanty.  Though  the  winds  then  blow  across  the  isotherms,  and  hence  at 
that  season  are  constantly  advancing  into  regions  in  which  the  temperature 
becomes  more  favourable  to  condensation,  yet  from  that  very  fact,  they 
are  so  rapidly  drained  as  they  proceed  onwards  that  they  arrive  in  Russia 
nearly  dry.  The  summer  rains  are  largely  due  to  local  evaporation. 

The  Mediterranean  region,  on  the  other  hand,  belongs  in  part  to  those 
latitudes  which,  during  the  height  of  summer,  are  included  in  the  trade- 
wind  zone  of  the  North  Atlantic.  There  is  thus  a  tendency  for  the  winds 
to  be  drawn  to  the  ocean  from  the  adjoining  parts  of  the  land,  a  tendency 


FIG.  53.— The  Distribution  of  Rainfall  in  Europe. 


Europe  131 

to  the  establishment  of  north-easterly  winds.  This  is  further  promoted  by 
the  intense  rarefaction  that  then  goes  on  over  the  Sahara.  Hence  it 
happens  that  the  further  south  we  go  in  the  Mediterranean  region  the 
drier  the  summers  become,  and  in  the  extreme  south  they  are  almost 
rainless.  It  is  believed  by  some  that  the  rainfall  of  this  region  has  be- 
come less  within  historical  times.  The  evidence  of  this  is  not  convincing, 
but  it  is  quite  certain  that  owing  to  the  clearing  of  forests  with  the  progress 
of  population  and  cultivation  great  changes  have  been  brought  about. 
The  forests  on  hill-slopes  and  mountain  sides  protected  the  soil  from  being 
washed  away,  and  the  presence  of  the  soil  kept  the  rain  from  running  off 
too  rapidly.  There  was  thus  a  greater  extent  of  ground  well  supplied  with 
moisture.  Rivers  were  more  equal  in  volume,  more  useful,  less  destructive. 
Now  they  are  an  alternation  of  rushing  torrents  and  dry  beds.  Through 
their  torrential  action  they  have  in  some  places  laid  waste  the  ground  with 
heaps  of  rocky  debris,  in  other  places,  sometimes  assisted  by  the  violence 
of  war,  they  have  converted  plains  once  proverbial  for  their  fertility  into 
malarious  swamps,  presenting  scenes  of  almost  hopeless  desolation. 

Flora. — The  greater  part  of  Europe  is  occupied  by  a  flora  of  uniform 
character,  to  which  the  name  of  the  Germanic  flora  has  been  given,  a  flora 
of  forest  trees  and  flowering  plants  such  as  are  familiar  in  the  British 
Islands.  Only  a  small  area  in  the  north-east,  the  Russian  tundras,  has  a 
true  Arctic  flora  composed  of  mosses  and  lichens.  In  the  Mediterranean 
region,  and  especially  in  the  southern  part  of  it,  there  is  a  marked  adap- 
tation in  the  general  habit  and  aspect  of  the  vegetation  to  a  climate  with 
dry  summers,  and  within  historical  times  there  has  been  an  increasing 
diffusion  of  vegetation  of  this  character  answering  to  the  increasing  extent 
of  arid  soil  just  explained.  In  ancient  times  forests  like  those  of  central 
Europe  spread  over  large  areas  of  the  Mediterranean,  but  now  the 
prevailing  forms  are  low  trees  with  leathery  often  glossy  leaves,  retentive 
of  moisture,  such  as  the  holly  and  holm-oak,  the  laurel  and  myrtle,  the 
pistachio  nut  and  carob  or  locust  tree,  the  orange  and  the  olive.  Thick 
fleshy  plants,  such  as  the  cactus  and  the  agave  or  American  aloe,  have  also 
become  thoroughly  characteristic  in  the  south.  The  trees  do  not  form 
great  forests,  but  are  scattered  in  clumps  over  the  landscape.  Hence  the 
Italian  name  of  such  clumps,  macchie.1  The  tendency  in  the  Mediterranean 
is  for  forests  increasingly  to  give  place  to  macchie,  and  these  to  a  still 
scantier  vegetation.  In  south-eastern  Europe,  and  in  the  interior  of 
Hungary,  vegetation  has  another  aspect,  that  of  steppes — vast  treeless 
plains,  thinly  covered  with  coarse  grasses  and  scattered  shrubs. 

Fauna.— In  the  fauna  of  Europe,  as  distinguished  from  that  of 
northern  Asia,  there  is  very  little  distinctive.  Europe  is  regarded  from  a 
zoological  point  of  view  as  forming  two  sub-regions  of  the  Palaearctic 
region,  one  composed  of  the  Mediterranean  countries,  the  other  comprising 
all  the  rest.  Under  this  head  again  we  are  reminded  that  Europe  is  only 

1  Plural  of  macchia,  from  Latin,  macula,  a  spot.     Changed  by  the  French  (in  Corsica) 
into  maquis. 


132       The  International  Geography 

a  peninsula  of  Asia,  for  the  Palaearctic  region  includes  also  all  that  con- 
tinent north  of  the  Himalayas.  Among  the  larger  or  more  remarkable 
mammals  still  found  wild  in  Europe  are  the  wolf,  in  large  packs  in  Poland, 
Russia,  and  Hungary,  and  in  small  troops  in  the  Jura,  the  Ardennes,  the 
Pyrenees,  and  the  north  of  Spain  ;  the  brown  bear  in  Norway,  Sweden, 
and  Russia,  and  a  smaller  variety  in  the  Pyrenees  ;  the  lynx,  still  common 
enough  in  Norway  and  Sweden,  and  a  peculiar  species  all  over  Spain,  very 
rare  in  central  Europe  ;  the  beaver  in  eastern  Europe,  the  European  bison 
in  the  forests  of  Lithuania,  the  elk  in  the  districts  bordering  the  Baltic  on 
the  east  and  north,  the  reindeer  in  Lapland,  the  chamois  in  the  Pyrenees, 
Alps,  Carpathians,  Balkans,  and  Abruzzi,  the  Grecian  ibex  or  bezoar  goat 
in  Crete,  the  musimon  or  European  mouflon  in  Corsica  and  Sardinia,  the 
alpine  marmot  at  high  altitudes  between  the  forests  and  the  glaciers  in  the 
Alps,  Pyrenees,  and  Carpathians,  the  bobak  or  Russian  marmot  in 
the  Russian  steppes. 

People  and  Language. — The  languages  of  Europe  afford  some 
indication  of  the  differences  of  race  in  the  continent,  but  are  not  to  be 
taken  as  showing  the  proportions  belonging  to  different  races.  Here,  as 
elsewhere,  historical  events  have  brought  about  a  great  mingling  of  races, 
and  various  causes  have  led  to  a  change  of  language  in  many  regions. 
But  if  language  be  taken  as  the  guide,  it  is  important  to  note  that  probably 
95  per  cent,  of  the  present  population  speak  languages  belonging  to  the 
great  Aryan  group,  and  fully  90  per  cent,  to  three  great  stocks  of  that 
group,  the  Greco-Italic,  the  Teutonic,  and  the  Slavonic.  The  first  of  these 
stocks  is  that  in  which  there  is  least  correspondence  between  race  and 
language,  one  language  of  this  stock,  the  Latin,  having  been  spread  first 
over  the  whole  of  Italy,  and  also  over  modern  France  and  part  of  Belgium, 
over  Spain  and  Portugal,  and  parts  of  Switzerland  and  Austria,  by  the 
prolonged  dominion  of  the  Roman  power.  Another  language  of  the  same 
origin  was  introduced  by  immigration  into  Rumania  and  Transylvania. 
At  the  present  day  the  total  number  speaking  languages  of  this  stock  is 
less  than  that  speaking  Teutonic  and  Slavonic  languages.  These  are  now 
spoken  by  nearly  equal  numbers,  but  in  recent  years  the  peoples 
of  Slavonic  tongue  (in  eastern  and  south-eastern  Europe),  have  been 
increasing  more  rapidly  within  the  continent  than  those  of  Teutonic  speech 
(German,  Scandinavian,  Dutch,  Flemish,  and  English).  A  larger  part  of 
the  expansion  of  the  peoples  of  Teutonic  than  of  those  of  Slavonic  speech 
is  taking  place  outside  of  Europe.  The  other  Aryan  languages  spoken  in 
Europe  are  those  of  Keltic,  Lettic,  and  Lithuanian  stock.  Keltic  languages 
are  spoken  by  about  three  millions  of  people  in  Wales,  the  highlands  of  Scot- 
land, Ireland,  and  the  west  of  Brittany,  Lettic  and  Lithuanian  by  a  few 
millions  more  in  the  west  of  Russia  proper,  and  the  north-east  of  Poland. 

The  chief  non- Aryan  languages  of  Europe  are  those  of  the  Finno-Tatar 
group,  spoken  by  Lapps  and  Finns  in  northern  Scandinavia  and  Finland, 
by  other  tribes  in  northern  Russia,  by  the  Magyars  in  Hungary,  and  by 


Europe  133 


the  Turks  in  Turkey.  A  language  the  affinities  of  which  are  quite  un- 
known is  spoken  by  560,000  Basques  in  Spain  and  France  at  the  west 
end  of  the  Pyrenees.  Jews  are  scattered  throughout  the  continent,  but  are 
most  numerous  in  Poland  and  western  Russia,  and  the  adjoining  parts  of 
Austria- Hungary  and  the  German  Empire.  They  generally  speak  a  corrupt 
Hebrew  in  addition  to  the  language  of  the  country  in^ which  they  dwell. 

History. — The  civilisation  of  Europe  began  in  the  south-east  and 
spread  from  the  Mediterranean  over  the  rest  of  the  continent.  On  the 
islands  and  coasts  of  the  ^Egean  Sea  influences  proceeding  from  Asia  and 
Africa  (Phoenicia  and  Egypt),  helped  on  the  development  of  the  marvellous 
civilisation  of  the  Greeks.  The  Greeks  extended  their  influence  by  com- 
merce and  by  the  planting  of  colonies  from  the  ^Egean  to  the  shores  of 
the  Black  Sea  on  the  one  hand,  and  to  those  of  Sicily  and  southern  Italy 
on  the  other  hand.  The  Sicilian  and  Italian  colonies  rose  to  a  level  hardly 
surpassed  by  the  most  flourishing  States  of  the  mother  country.  From 
mere  economic  necessities  their  influence  on  the  native  civilisations  of 
Italy  must  have  been  immense — greater  than  can  be  detected  by  historical 
or  archaeological  research.  Ultimately,  however,  native  civilisations  pre- 
dominated in  Italy,  and  the  most  important  of  these  arose  in  or  near  the 
basin  of  the  Tiber.  The  first  was  that  of  the  industrial  and  commercial 
Etruscans  whose  chief  seats  were  in  southern  Etruria,  only  partly 
accordingly  in  the  modern  Tuscany. 

The  Influence  of  Rome. — The  Etruscans  were  vanquished  by 
the  growing  power  of  Rome,  the  city  of  the  Tiber,  which  ultimately  came 
to  spread  her  dominion  round  all  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean  and 
northwards  to  the  Rhine  and  the  Danube,  in  places  even  beyond  the 
Danube.  The  ancient  history  of  Europe  is  largely  made  up  of  the  record 
of  the  conquests  of  this  Power ;  but  there  were  important  periods  of  repose, 
especially  one  period  of  rather  more  than  80  years  (98-180  A.D.),  when 
the  Roman  empire  at  the  height  of  its  power  was  governed  by  four 
successive  emperors  (Trajan,  Hadrian,  Antoninus  Pius,  and  Marcus 
Aurelius)  of  great  ability  and  high  character.  During  that  time  all  the 
countries  round  the  Mediterranean  enjoyed  the  blessings  of  peace  and 
order  to  an  unexampled  degree.  Roman  institutions  were  established  on 
such  a  firm  basis  as  to  leave  permanent  effects  on  European  history,  and 
the  empire  was  provided  with  most  of  that  great  system  of  military  roads 
that  united  its  remotest  frontiers.  These  roads  were  made  for  defence, 
but  when  a  defending  power  is  worsted  roads  facilitate  attack,  and  it  was 
by  these  roads  that  barbarian  hordes  made  repeated  raids  into  the 
empire,  and  in  the  fifth  century  again  and  again  advanced  to  its  very 
heart  and  ultimately  overthrew  it  in  its  original  seat. 

The  Influence  of  the  Christian  Church.— While  the  empire  was 
decaying,  the  Christian  Church  was  growing  within  it,  and  as  it  grew  it 
adapted  its  organisation  almost  inevitably  to  that  of  the  empire.  It  thus 
became  a  great  unifying  force,  and,  as  some  of  the  barbarians  were 


134      The  International   Geography 

already  christianised  when  they  made  their  incursions  and  the  others 
were  speedily  gained  over  to  the  Church,  it  served  in  various  ways  to 
extend  and  perpetuate  the  influences  of  Roman  civilisation.  Thus  the 
Roman  roads  were  not  all  that  remained  from  the  empire  as  civilising 
agents.  But  while  the  Church  was  a  unifying  influence,  two  causes  were 
at  work  for  centurie^  tending  to  promote  disruption  within  the  empire. 
One  was  its  excessive  extent  from  east  to  west,  the  other  was  the  difference 
of  language.  While  the  Latin  language  prevailed  over  those  of  the  con- 
quered nations  of  the  west,  it  never  prevailed  over  Greek  in  the  east. 
The  regular  division  of  the  empire  for  administrative  purposes  into  two 
sections,  an  eastern  and  a  western,  began  at  the  close  of  the  third  century, 
A.D.  This  tendency  to  disunion  was  confirmed  by  the  foundation  of  Con- 
stantinople as  the  capital  of  the  east  in  330  A.D.,  and  by  the  adoption  of 
Greek  as  the  official  language  of  the  eastern  government  as  it  was  also 
that  of  the  Eastern  Church.  Finally,  in  the  ninth  century,  about  four 
hundred  years  after  the  overthrow  of  the  Roman  empire  in  the  west,  a 
dispute  between  the  Eastern  and  Western  Churches  led  to  a  severance 
which  the  difference  of  language  helped  to  make  permanent.  Thus  while 
the  eastern  or  Byzantine  empire  handed  on  Roman  influences,  it  did  so 
with  certain  differences.  While  all  western,  including  all  Teutonic, 
Europe  may  be  said  to  show  direct  or  indirect  traces  of  the  influence  of 
the  Roman  empire  of  the  west,  Russia  and  some  other  parts  of  Slavonic 
Europe  have  received  such  influences  both  in  Church  and  State  with  an 
eastern  stamp.  The  western  Slavs  of  the  basins  of  the  Vistula,  Oder,  and 
upper  Elbe  (Poland  and  Bohemia),  as  well  as  that  of  the  Morava  (Moravia), 
were  christianised  by  German  missionaries,  and  so  also  were  the  Magyars 
of  Hungary,  hence  all  these  adhered  to  the  Roman  Church. 

The  Saracens  and  the  Crusades.  —  Even  before  the  final 
separation  between  the  Eastern  and  Western  Churches  another  faith, 
Mohammedanism,  had  made  conquests  in  Europe.  In  711  the  Saracens, 
as  the  Mohammedans  of  that  time  were  called  in  Europe,  crossed  the 
Strait  of  Gibraltar  and  rapidly  overran  nearly  the  whole  of  the  Iberian 
peninsula,  establishing  a  dominion  which,  though  gradually  contracted, 
was  not  finally  overthrown  till  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century.  Less 
durable  conquests  were  made  in  Sicily,  Crete,  and  elsewhere.  The 
resistance  to  the  Saracens  was  at  first  local,  but  at  the  end  of  the 
eleventh  century  a  great  European  movement  was  set  on  foot  for  the 
recovery  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  at  Jerusalem  from  their  hands.  This 
led  to  the  first  Crusade  (1096-99).  Six  others  followed  down  to  1270, 
and  had  important  effects  on  European  commerce,  industry,  and  civilisa- 
tion, though  they  failed  in  their  main  purpose. 

Subsequent  Events. — Subsequently  to  the  Crusades  the  chief  events 
of  European  magnitude  were  the  invasion  of  the  European  territories  of 
the  Eastern  Roman  Empire  in  the  fourteenth,  and  the  final  capture  of 
Constantinople  by  the  Turks  in  the  fifteenth  century  (1453),  the  scattering 


Europe  135 


of  Greek  scholars  over  western  Europe  and  the  revival  of  Greek  learning 
that  then  followed,  aided  by  the  invention  of  printing  with  movable  types 
that  had  taken  place  in  the  first  half  of  the  same  century,  the  discovery 
of  America  in  1492,  and  of  the  sea-way  to  India  in  1497-98,  and  the 
schism  of  the  Western  Church  due  to  the  movement  for  reform  which 
was  brought  to  a  head  in  1517  by  Luther's  affixing  his  famous  theses  to 
the  door  of  the  castle-church  at  Wittenberg. 

The  Origin  of  the  Present  States. — In  the  limits  of  European 
countries  at  the  present  day  we  see  partly  the  influence  of  geographical 
conditions,  partly  that  of  historical  causes,  among  which  the  events  briefly 
sketched  in  the  preceding  paragraphs  are  important.  The  kingdoms  of 
Spain  and  Portugal  originated  in  the  wars  for  the  recovery  of  the  Iberian 
Peninsula  from  the  Saracens  or  Moors.  Several  different  Christian  States 
were  formed  in  the  course  of  this  conflict,  but  most  of  these  were  finally 
united  through  the  marriage  of  Ferdinand  of  Aragon  and  Isabella  of 
Castile,  their  grandson  Charles  (Charles  V.  of  Germany)  inheriting  in  1516 
the  whole  of  their  dominions,  including  the  kingdom  of  Granada,  which 
they  had  conquered  from  the  Moors  (1492).  Portugal,  however,  remained, 
as  it  still  does,  a  separate  kingdom,  with  a  territory  separately  recovered 
from  the  Moors,  with  the  aid  of  a  Burgundian  count  who  became  the 
founder  of  the  first  royal  dynasty. 

The  abandonment  of  the  British  Isles  by  the  Romans  early  in  the  fifth 
century,  led  to  the  invasion  of  Great  Britain  in  the  latter  half  of  the  same 
century  by  Teutonic  tribes,  Angles  and  Saxons,  who  were  the  real  founders 
of  the  kingdoms  of  England  and  Scotland,  though  the  latter  took  its  name 
from  a  Keltic  dynasty. 

The  separate  dominions  of  France  and  Germany  may  be  dated  from 
the  year  870,  when  the  great  empire  of  Charlemagne  (Charles  the  Great), 
regarded,  in  virtue  of  a  consecration  by  the  popes,  as  a  restoration  of  the 
Roman  empire  of  the  West,  was  finally  divided  between  two  of  his 
descendants,  the  division  corresponding  approximately  with  that  of  the 
Romanic  and  Teutonic  tongues.  Nearly  a  century  later  the  imperial 
dignity  was  again  revived  by  the  popes,  being  conferred  in  962  on  Otho 
the  Great,  the  first  of  the  so-called  Holy  Roman  Emperors,  whose  dignity 
survived  in  name  till  1806.  The  dominion  of  Otho  and  some  of  his 
successors  embraced  not  only  the  bulk  of  Germany  but  also  all  the  Alpine 
lands  and  a  great  part  of  Italy,  but  the  obstacles  placed  by  geographical 
conditions  in  the  way  of  a  real  union,  must  be  recognised  as  among  the 
causes  that  led  to  the  breaking  up  of  both  Germany  and  Italy  into  a  large 
number  of  minor  States,  so  that  there  was  no  united  Germany  or  united 
Italy  till  the  nineteenth  century. 

The  domain  of  the  modern  German  Empire,  founded  in  1871,  differs 
from  that  of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire  chiefly  by  the  exclusion  of  the 
German  parts  of  Austria- Hungary,  of  Switzerland  and  the  Low  Countries, 
and  the  inclusion  of  extensive  territories  in  the  east  once,  or  still,  Slavonic 


136       The  International  Geography 

in  speech.  The  present  dual  empire  of  Austria- Hungary  is  composed  of 
the  territories  gradually  acquired  by  the  house  of  Habsburg.  With  that 
house  the  imperial  title  derived  from  the  Holy  Roman  Empire  (latterly 
purely  nominal)  was  uninterruptedly  associated  from  1438  till  1806,  when 
it  was  relinquished  for  that  of  Emperor  of  Austria. 

The  Low  Countries  now  form  the  kingdoms  of  Belgium  and  the 
Netherlands,  after  a  very  chequered  history.  In  the  sixteenth  century 
entirely  attached  to  the  crown  of  Spain,  the  northern  provinces  broke 
away  (1579)  in  the  period  of  the  Reformation,  while  the  southern  provinces 
remained  attached  now  to  one  crown,  now  to  another.  In  the  Peace  of 
Westphalia  (1648),  which  concluded  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  the  independ- 
ence of  the  northern  provinces  was  recognised.  The  provinces  were  all 
again  united  by  the  Congress  of  Vienna  in  1815,  at  the  close  of  the 
Napoleonic  period,  but  were  separated  once  more  in  1830,  when  the 
southern  provinces  revolted  and  formed  the  kingdom  of  Belgium.  The 
Peace  of  Westphalia  recognised  also  the  independence  of  the  provinces 
that  formed  the  nucleus  of  the  present  Switzerland. 

The  Slavonic  territory  of  the  modern  German  Empire  was  mainly 
taken  from  the  former  kingdom  of  Poland.  This  State  became  a  kingdom 
in  1320,  was  for  a  time  extensive  and  powerful,  but  misgovernment,  due  to 
an  impracticable  constitution,  led  to  its  partition  among  the  three  adjoining 
powers,  Prussia,  Austria,  and  Russia,  on  three  occasions  (1772,  1793,  and 
1795),  the  last  partition  being  complete.  Before  the  last  partition  the 
troubles  of  the  French  Revolution  followed  by  those  of  the  Napoleonic 
period  (1789-1815)  had  broken  out.  The  Congress  of  Vienna,  which 
subsequently  settled  the  affairs  of  Europe,  recognised  the  results  of  this 
final  partition,  as  it  did  most  of  the  other  territorial  arrangements  existing 
at  the  beginning  of  the  period.  The  only  important  new  arrangement 
that  still  subsists  from  that  time  is  the  personal  union  of  Sweden  and 
Norway  under  one  king,  the  latter  kingdom  having  previously  been 
associated  with  Denmark. 

Since  that  time  the  principal  changes  in  the  map  of  Europe  have  been 
the  transfer  of  Alsace-Lorraine  from  France  to  Germany  (1871),  and  the 
reorganisation  of  the  Balkan  Peninsula  at  the  expense  of  Turkey  :  Greece 
made  an  independent  kingdom  in  1830  and  extended  in  1881 ;  the  princi- 
pality of  Rumania  created  by  the  union  of  Moldavia  and  Wallachia  in  1859. 
By  the  Treaty  of  Berlin  in  1878,  Rumania,  Servia,  and  Montenegro  were 
declared  independent  of  Turkey,  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  placed  under 
Austrian  administration,  Bulgaria  made  a  principality  tributary  to  Turkey, 
and  Eastern  Rumelia  an  autonomous  Turkish  province  under  a  Christian 
governor,  an  arrangement  that  lasted  only  till  1885,  when  Eastern  Rumelia 
joined  Bulgaria.  In  1881  Rumania,  and  in  1882  Servia,  was  raised  to  the 
rank  of  a  kingdom. 

The  Great  Powers  of  Europe— the  United  Kingdom,  Russia,  Germany, 
France,  Austria- Hungary,  and  Italy— although  not  free  from  mutual 


Europe 


137 


jealousies,  exercise  in  some  respects  a  common  influence  on  the  peace  of 
the  world.  The  gradual  consolidation  of  Europe  into  a  comparatively 
small  number  of  powerful 
countries  has  been  ac- 
companied by  the  re- 
moval of  obstacles  to 
intercommnuication.  The 
existing  railway  system 
includes  many  inter- 
national express  routes, 
which  radiate  from  Paris, 
Berlin,  and  Vienna  as 
centres  (Fig.  54).  Of 
these  the  Indian  mail 
route  through  Paris  and 
Turin  to  Brindisi ;  the 
Orient  Express  from 
Paris  through  Vienna, 
Budapest  and  Belgrade 


FIG.  54.— The  Main  Railways  of  Europe. 


to  Constantinople ;  and  the  Northern  Express  route  from  Paris  through 
Berlin  to  St.  Petersburg,  are  the  longest  on  which  trains  run  without 
change  of  carriage. 

STATISTICS. 

THE  COUNTRIES  OF  EUROPE  IN  ORDER  OF  SIZE. 


Area  sq.  miles. 

Pop. 

Area  sq.  miles. 

Pop. 

Russia      .  .         2,095,500 
Austria-  Hungary  261,000 
German  Empire    210,000 

129,000,000 
45,400,000 
56,400,000 

Greece 
Servia 
Switzerland  . 

25,300 
18,700 
16,000 

2,400,000 
2,500,000 
3,300,000 

France      .             207,200 

38,600,000 

Denmark      . 

15,300 

2,400,000 

Spain 

195,000 

18,300,000 

Netherlands. 

12,700 

5,180,000 

Sweden     . 
Norway     . 

171,000 
125,600 

5,100,000 
2,200,000 

Belgium 
Montenegro  . 

11-373 
3,5oo 

6,700,000 
228,000 

United  Kin 

;dom  121,700 

41,600,000 

Luxemberg  . 

1,000 

236,000 

Italy 

111,000 

32.400,000 

Andorra 

J75 

6,000 

Turkey     . 

65,000 

6,100,000 

Liechtenstein 

61 

10,000 

Rumania  . 

50,600 

6,000,000 

San  Marino  . 

23 

8,000 

Bulgaria   . 
Portugal  . 

37,300 
34.500 

3,700,000 
5,400,000 

Monaco 

8 

13,000 

STANDARD  BOOKS. 

G.  G.  Chisholm.    "  Europe."    2  vols.    In  Stanford's  Compendium  of  Geography  and 

Travel.     London,  1899,1903 
A.  Kirchhoff  (editor).    "  Europa."    2  vols.    In  Unser  Wisseu  von  der  Erde.    Vienna,  1887, 

M.  Block.    "  L'Europe,  Politique  et  Sociale."    Paris,  1802. 

E.  A.  Freeman.     "  Historical  Geography  of  Europe."    2  vols.     (Ed.  by  J   B   Burv  ) 

London,  1903. 

A.  Philippson.     "  Europa."     Leipzig,  1906. 

Sir  E.  Hertslet.     "  The  Map  of  Europe  by  Treaty."     4  vols.     London,  187-;,  1801 
J.  Partsch.     "  Central  Europe."     London,  1903. 

R.  F.  Scharff.     "  The  History  of  the  European  Fauna."     London   1899 
A.  Supan.       Die  Territoriale  Entwicklung  der  Europaischen  Kolonien."    Gotha,  1906. 


CHAPTER    XII.— THE    UNITED    KINGDOM    OF 
GREAT  BRITAIN  AND  IRELAND 

I.— GENERAL 

BY  HUGH  ROBERT  MILL,  D.Sc. 

Name. — In  popular  usage  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland  is  most  frequently,  though  incorrectly,  called  England.  When 
James  VI.,  King  of  the  Scots,  acceded  to  the  English  crown  he  employed 
the  name  Great  Britain  to  include  the  kingdoms  of  England  and  Scotland, 
and  the  use  of  this  name  for  the  whole  country  has  since  been  general  in 
official  writings,  while  the  more  concise  form  of  Britain  is  also  in  use.  It 
is,  however,  better  in  several  ways  to  call  the  country  as  a  whole  the  United 
Kingdom,  in  the  same  way  as  the  United  States  of  America  are  spoken  of 
as  the  United  States.  It  is  convenient  to  use  the  word  British  for  "  of  the 
United  Kingdom  "  as  it  is  convenient  to  use  American  for  "  of  the  United 
States."  The  official  form  Britannic  does  not  commend  itself  for  general 
adoption.  Euphony  suggests  the  use  of  Anglo-  in  compound  words  where 
the  name  of  the  United  Kingdom  comes  first,  and  of  British  where  it 
comes  last ;  thus,  Anglo-American  but  Russo-British.  It  is  necessary  to 
give  these  definitions  because  there  is  no  general  usage  in  the  country,  and 
some  local  jealousy  exists  as  to  the  abuse  of  the  words.  The  British 
Islands  is  a  convenient  name  for  the  region  occupied  by  the  United 
Kingdom,  and  the  British  Empire  is  a  popular  expression  including  all  the 
countries  and  colonies  acknowledging  the  British  Crown. 

Position  and  Extent. — The  United  Kingdom  occupies  two  large 
islands,  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  and  about  5,000  small  islands  and 
rocks  lying  in  groups  to  the  north — Orkney  and  Shetland  ;  to  the  west — 
the  Hebrides,  Isle  of  Man,  the  small  coast  islands  of  Ireland,  and  the 
Scilly  group  ;  and  to  the  south — the  Isle  of  Wight,  and  the  Channel 
Islands,  the  latter  belonging  physically  to  France.  The  total  area  is  121,000 
square  miles,  the  United  Kingdom  coming  eighth  in  order  of  size  amongst 
the  countries  of  Europe.  It  is  convenient  to  remember  that  the  whole  land 
and  sea  area  of  the  British  Islands  is  defined  by  a  rectangle  of  10°  of 
latitude  and  longitude.  Only  Lizard  Head,  the  Scilly,  and  the  Channel 
Islands  lie  south  of  the  parallel  of  50°  N.  ;  and  only  a  part  of  the  Shetland 
group  extends  further  north  than  60°  N.  The  meridian  of  10°  W.  runs 
through  the  tips  of  the  western  peninsulas  of  Ireland  ;  while  only  the 
south-east  of  England  projects  beyond  the  meridian  of  Greenwich. 

Geology  and  Configuration. — Although  there  are  now  no  lofty 
mountain  chains  or  great  rivers  in  the  British  Islands,  there  is  much  variety 
of  land-form  and  of  scenery,  the  result  of  remote  geological  changes,  and  of 
the  more  recent  action  of  erosion  upon  the  different  kinds  of  rocks  which 

138 


The  United  Kingdom 


form  the  surface.  In  no  other  part  of  Europe,  or  perhaps  of  the  world, 
is  so  great  a  range  of  geological  strata  found  in  so  small  an  area.  In  the 
north  and  west  the  most  ancient  and  disturbed  rocks  known  form  the  land, 
which  is  similar  in  character  to  the  Scandinavian  peninsula.  Towards  the 
south  and  east  these  ancient  rocks  are  succeeded  by  Carboniferous  strata 
containing  the  Coal  Measures,  which  give  place  further  south  and  east  to 
more  recent  formations 
usually  but  little  dis- 
turbed and  resem- 
bling those  of  western 
France.  The  northern 
and  western  regions 
have  possibly  been  on 
the  whole  land  areas 
since  a  very  early 
geological  period  ;  the 
rocks  of  the  south  and 
east  have  been  formed 
by  the  sediments  worn 
off  the  northern  lands 
and  spread  out  on 
the  shores  of  seas,  or 
in  great  fresh  lakes. 
'Volcanic  outbursts 
leading  to  the  ac- 
cumulation of  masses 
of  hard  igneous  rocks 
have  occurred  at  vari- 
ous geological  periods 
down  to  and  includ- 
ing the  Tertiary  in 
the  regions  of  ancient 
rocks,  which  have  also 
been  subject  to  much 
faulting  and  folding  ; 


ATLANTIC 
OCEAN 


Over  1,500  ft. 
600-1,500  ft     - 
Under  500  ft. 


FIG.  55. — Configuration  of  the  British  Islands. 


but  apparently  the  more 
recent  regions  of  the 
east  and  south  were  not  affected  in  this  way.  These  facts  fully  account  for  the 
occurrence  of  the  highest  land  and  finest  scenery  in  the  north  and  west, 
and  the  lowest  and  most  uniform  towards  the  south  and  east  (Fig.  55). 
Many  of  the  minor  surface  features  of  the  islands  have  been  produced  by 
the  ice-sheet  and  glaciers  of  the  Great  Ice  Age,  which  scratched,  polished, 
and  rounded  the  exposed  rocks,  and  smothered  the  lower  grounds  in  vast 
sheets  of  boulder  clay,  partly  obliterating  the  former  surface  relief.  The 
extreme  south  of  England  alone  escaped  this  action.  The  indented  island- 


140       The  International  Geography 

starred  coast  of  the  west  of  the  British  Islands  points  to  a  depression  or  a 
tilting  of  the  whole  region  westwards  after  a  complex  system  of  valleys  had 
been  impressed  upon  it  by  erosion.  The  drowned  valleys  of  the  west  form 

fjords  or  rias  penetrating  the  land,  or  uniting 
together  to  cut  off  islands.  On  the  east  the 
generally  smooth  coast,  practically  without 
islands,  may  result  from  the  softer  nature  of 
the  rocks. 

Configuration    and    History.  —  The 
natural    physical     divisions    of    the    British 
Islands  have  given  rise  to  the   larger  his- 
torical divisions  by  guiding  the  long  struggles 
of  the  settled  inhabitants  against  successive 
invaders.      Wherever  the   character  of  the 
FIG.  56.- Frequency  of  Winds  from  land  anowed  the  defenders  to  offer  effective 
different  directions. 

resistance  to  invasion  the  old  race  was  enabled 

to  retain  its  independence,  language,  and  customs.  Strong  local  differences, 
even  distinct  feelings  of  nationality  and  separate  laws  are  still  perpetuated, 
long  after  the  complete  political  union  of  the  old  countries  into  the  United 


P^jUnderSS'  F^-^  36-42     (2223*2-50 
FIG.  57,— Temperature  of  the  British 
Islands  in  January. 


f 1  Above  6-0 


FIG.  58.— Tempera  hire  of  the  British 
Islands  in  July. 


Kingdom,  of  which  England,  Wales,  Scotland,  Ireland,  the  Isle  of   Man 
and  the  Channel  Islands  may  be  looked  upon  as  natural  units. 

Climate  of  the  British  Islands.— The  position  of  the  British  Islands 
in  latitude  secures  to  them  the  same  amount  of  heat  from  the  Sun  and  the 


The  United  Kingdom 


141 


i"  JM  Fit.  MAI  API.  MAT.  Jw.  Jvi.  Auc  .  $e».  Ocr.  •«  Die.   i" 

t 

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•» 

" 

66 

> 

* 

^ 

e 

45  ^ 

^* 

f 

l> 

ss 

•«-     6 

•V-.     5 

35     / 

-1 

"* 

—  . 

r- 

*-— 

)! 

4 

T*» 

r~ 

i^ftll  2 

; 

GREENWICH  YALENTIA  | 

FIG.  59. — Average  monthly  tempera- 
ture and  rainfall  for  Greenwich 
and  Valentia. 


same  duration  of  day  and  night,  summer  and  winter,  as  are  experienced 
in  central  Russia,  southern  Siberia,  Kamchatka,  British  Columbia,  and 
Labrador ;  but  the  direction  of  the  prevailing  winds  renders  available 
throughout  the  year  much  of  the  heat  which  the  Sun  has  radiated  on  more 
southern  regions.  As  the  British  Islands  are  usually  covered  by  the  edge 
of  the  North  Atlantic  area  of  low  pressure  the  prevailing  wind  is  south- 
westerly. Wind  blows  from  the  south-west 
for  a  greater  number  of  days  in  each  month 
than  from  all  other  directions  together  (Fig. 
56) ;  a  fact  which  makes  the  west  end  of  a 
town  the  least  smoky  and  therefore  the  best 
quarter  for  residence.  The  south-westerly 
winds  are  commonest  and  strongest  in  winter. 
In  April  and  November  they  are  weakest, 
and  in  these  months  cold  easterly  winds  are 
comparatively  common.  The  warm  water 
known  as  the  Gulf  Stream  Drift  is  driven 
against  the  British  Islands  on  the  west, 
maintaining  the  generally  high  temperature 
of  the  air.  The  average  temperature  of  the  British  Islands  for  the  year  is 
about  48°  F.  decreasing  from  53°  in  the  Scilly  Islands  to  45°  in  Shetland, 
so  that  on  the  average  the  climate  grows  i°  colder  for  each  100  miles  towards 

the  north.  The  warmest  month  is  usually 
July  (Fig.  58),  when  an  average  temperature 
of  64°  prevails  round  London,  and  of  54°  in 
Shetland,  the  air  on  the  whole  becoming 
cooler  towards  the  north,  a  natural  conse- 
quence of  the  Sun  being  the  chief  source  of 
the  heat  supply.  But  in  winter  there  is  an 
entirely  different  set  of  conditions.  I n  January 
(Fig.  57),  the  coldest  month,  the  temperature 
shows  no  relation  to  latitude,  but  the  air 
grows  warmer  from  east  to  west,  indicating 
that  the  chief  source  of  heat  is  then  the 
warm  wind  blowing  from  the  Atlantic.  The 
east  of  the  British  Islands  has  the  average 
temperature  of  39°  from  Shetland  to  London, 
the  coldest  region,  just  inland  from  the  east 
coast,  having  an  average  of  38°.  In  the  west 
FIG.  60. — Average  monthly  tempera-  and  south-west  of  Ireland  the  temperature 
^^Wm^B€it  averages  from  43°  to  45°  in  January.  The 

winters  are  thus  everywhere  mild,  but  mildest 

on  the  coast  and  especially  in  the  west ;  and  the  summers  are  everywhere 
cool,  but  coolest  on  the  coast  and  in  the  west.  Snow  falls  on  the  higher 
ground  every  winter  ;  but  even  the  highest  mountain,  Ben  Nevis,  is 
always  free  from  snow  in  summer. 


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I 

FORT  WILLIAM  BEN  NEVIS  •  -  - 

142       The  International  Geography 

Rainfall  and  Storms. — The  rainfall  depends  conjointly  on  the 
prevailing  wind  and  the  height  of  the  land.  The  west  coast  is  naturally 
the  wettest.  In  Ireland  and  the  outer  Hebrides  the  average  annual  rainfall 
is  40  inches,  and  is  very  uniformly  distributed,  as  the  rain-bearing  wind  is 
not  stopped  by  any  continuous  high  land.  In  Ireland  also  the  numerous 
lakes  and  great  expanses  of  damp  bogs  maintain  the  moisture  of  the  air. 
In  Great  Britain  the  barrier  on  the  western  edge  of  the  Scottish  Highlands 
precipitates  a  rainfall  of  over  80  inches,  and  the  rainfall  on  the  heights  of 
the  Southern  Uplands,  the  Lake  District,  Wales  and  the  peninsula  of 
Cornwall  and  Devon  also  exceeds  60  inches  ;  but  the  whole  of  the  east  of 
the  island  receives  less  than  40  inches,  while  along  the  east  coast  less  than 
30  inches  fall ;  and  in  a  broad  district  from  the  Humber  to  the  Thames 
the  annual  rainfall  is  less  than  25  inches.  The  heavy  fall  of  the  west  runs 
off  the  steep  slopes  of  the  land  very  quickly,  while  the  more  moderate 
supply  of  the  east  flows  off  slowly,  and  the  clay  of  which  much  of  the 
plains  is  composed  allows  the  small  rainfall  to  remain  a  long  time  in  the 
soil,  thus  tending  to  equalise  the  conditions  in  the  west  and  east  so  far  as 
agriculture  is  concerned.  The  weather  as.  a  whole  is  changeable ;  fogs 
are  common  in  all  large  towns  in  winter,  and  the  absence  of  any  meteoro- 
logical stations  west  of  the  British  Islands  often  makes  it  impossible  to 
predict  the  paths  of  the  frequent  and  sometimes  dangerous  cyclonic  storms 
which  sweep  in  from  the  Atlantic. 

Flora. — In  the  highland  regions  of  great  rainfall  little  soil  remains  on 
the  steep  mountain  slopes,  and  the  land  presents  a  bare  surface  of  stones 
or  rock.  On  the  gentler  slopes  covered  with  thin  soil  only  moss,  fern  and 
heather  can  grow,  and  this  forms  the  characteristic  vegetation  of  the  high 
moorlands  of  Scotland,  Wales,  and  the  Irish  mountains,  which  glow  with 
a  wealth  of  purple  blossom  in  autumn.  Most  of  the  rest  of  the  surface  is 
covered  naturally  with  rich  grass  suitable  for  pasturage.  The  yellow 
blossoms  of  the  whin  or  gorse  appear  in  every  month  of  the  year,  and  in 
spring  the  wild  flowers  of  the  low  grounds  are  rich  and  varied. 

At  the  dawn  of  history  Great  Britain  was  a  densely  wooded  island  ; 
but  now  less  than  4  per  cent,  of  the  land  is  under  trees,  and  little  of  the 
original  forest  remains.  The  clayey  plains  and  peaty  moorlands  were 
largely  occupied  by  morasses,  most  of  which  have  been  drained  and 
reclaimed,  the  most  characteristic  which  remain  being  the  great  bogs  of 
Ireland.  The  native  flora  of  the  British  Islands  is  identical  with  that  of 
continental  Europe  with  the  addition  of  a  few  American  species.  The  fact 
that  there  are  fewer  species  common  to  the  continent  and  Ireland  than  to 
the  continent  and  Great  Britain  is  one  of  the  strongest  proofs  of  the  earlier 
separation  of  Ireland  from  Great  Britain,  than  of  Great  Britain  from 
continental  Europe.  Pyrenean  types  found  in  the  south-west  of  Ireland, 
but  not  in  Great  Britain,  may  point  to  a  former  land  connection  with  south- 
western Europe.  The  chief  indigenous  trees  are  the  oak  and  beech  in  the 
lower  grounds,  and  the  Scots  pine  and  birch  in  the  higher  and  more 


The  United  Kingdom  143 

northern  districts.  Many  trees  and  all  cultivated  plants  have  been  intro- 
duced ;  and  those  plants  common  on  the  continent  but  rarely  seen  in 
Great  Britain,  such  as  the  sugar-beet,  vine,  and  tobacco  could  be  success- 
fully reared  in  many  parts  of  the  country  if  proper  care  were  bestowed  on 
them.  The  mildness  and  moistness  of  the  climate  gives  to  the  vegetation 
of  the  British  Islands  a  characteristic  freshness  at  all  seasons. 

Fauna. — The  native  animals  of  Britain  in  the  time  of  the  Romans 
included  the  brown  bear,  wolf,  wild  boar,  and  beaver,  all  long  since 
exterminated,  and  the  wild  ox,  of  which  a  few  herds  have  been  preserved. 
The  red  deer  is  still  found  in  the  highlands  of  Scotland,  Exmoor,  and  the 
south-west  of  Ireland,  the  fallow  deer  is  common  in  parks,  the  fox,  badger, 
otter,  wild-cat,  rabbit  and  squirrel  are  found  nearly  everywhere.  The  roe- 
buck, polecat,  common  brown  hare,  many  varieties  of  the  weasel  family,  the 
mole  and  the  whole  family  of  voles  or  field  mice  are  absent  from  Ireland, 
although  abundant  in  Great  Britain.  The  Irish  hare  resembles  that  of  the 
highlands,  which  turns  white  in  winter.  There  are  only  about  twenty 
species  of  mammals  native  to  Ireland,  compared  with  forty  known  in 
Great  Britain  and  ninety  in  Germany.  This  fact  is  another  proof  of  the 
earlier  separation  of  Ireland  than  of  Great  Britain  from  the  continent. 
There  are  numerous  species  of  indigenous  birds,  but  the  great  bustard 
and  the  capercailzie  have  died  out.  The  stork,  so  common  on  the  eastern 
side  of  the  North  Sea,  is  practically  unknown ;  and  the  nightingale, 
although  abundant  in  southern  England  is  rarely  heard  in  Scotland  and 
never  in  Ireland.  Migratory  birds  visit  the  islands  from  the  Arctic  regions 
in  winter,  and  from  southern  countries  in  summer.  The  viper  is  the  one 
poisonous  snake,  and  is  not  common,  while  no  snakes  of  any  kind  are 
found  in  Ireland,  where  the  only  reptile  known  is  a  lizard.  All  the  animals 
of  economic  value,  and  a  large  number  of  those  protected  for  sport,  have 
been  introduced  from  other  countries.  The  fish  round  the  coast  are  those 
common  to  all  north-western  Europe.  Flat-fish,  as  well  as  cod,  haddock 
and  whiting  swarm  in  the  shallow  North  Sea  and  on  banks  in  the  Atlantic  ; 
and  shoals  of  herring  and  pilchard  appear  off  the  coasts  at  certain  seasons. 
The  oysters,  famous  in  the  days  of  the  Romans,  retain,  if  they  have  not 
increased,  their  reputation.  The  salmon  of  the  northern  and  western 
rivers  are  also  renowned. 

History  of  the  British  Peoples. — Widely  scattered  remains  of  very 
early  date  show  that  the  first  inhabitants  entered  the  British  Islands  while 
they  were  still  part  of  the  continent  of  Europe.  When  Pytheas,  the  Greek 
colonist  from  Massilia,  discovered  and  sailed  along  the  east  coast  of  Britain 
about  B.C.  330,  he  reported  that  the  inhabitants  practised  agriculture,  brewed 
beer,  and  mined  tin.  At  a  later  date  successive  invasions  of  Keltic  tribes 
took  place  across  the  English  Channel,  and  when  Julius  Caesar  landed  in 
B.C.  55  he  found  the  coast  occupied  by  the  Belgae  ;  and  in  the  interior  there 
were  less  civilised  Kelts  already  being  pressed  towards  the  western  moun- 
tains and  islands.  To  this  day  Keltic  names  are  preserved  for  rivers— e.g., 


144      The  International  Geography 

Afon  (Avon),  Don  and  Uisge  (Ouse,  Usk,  Esk,  Exe) — and  for  hills,  in  every 
part  of  the  British  Islands.     The  Keltic  word  Dun,  a  fortified  height,  gave 
rise  to  the  names  of  both  London  and  Dunedin  (the  early  form  of  Edin- 
burgh).   The  Romans,  without  mixing  much  with  the  people,  governed 
Britain  for  four  centuries,  erecting  great  walls  across  the  northern  parts  of 
England  and  the  central  plain  in  Scotland  to  protect  the  settled  people 
of  the  south  from  the  Picts  and  other  wild  tribes  of  the  north,  and  laying 
out  a  complete  system  of  roads,  many  of  which  still  run  across  the  country 
as  straight  as  ruled  lines,  in  contrast  to  the  poor 
and  winding  tracks  which  came  into  use  later.    On 
the  fall  of  the   Roman  Empire  Teutonic   tribes 
from  the  continent  descended  on  Britain  and  par- 
ticularly on  England,  some  as  invaders,  others  as 
defenders  of  the  British  tribes,  but  all  settled  in 
the  land,  dividing  it  into  separate  kingdoms.     The 
FIG.  61. -The  Union  Flag    Angies  brought  their  name  of  English,  which  ulti- 

combming  the  Crosses  of  . 

St.  George,  St. Andrew,  and  mately  became  the    general    designation   of    the 

St    Patrick    the   patron   ianguage,  although  they  did  not  predominate  in 
saints  of  the  three  countries. 

number  or   strength  over  the  other  tribes.     The 

Saxons  settled  great  tracts  in  the  southern  half  of  England,  the  names 
of  the  old  kingdoms  of  the  East  Saxons,  Middle  Saxons,  West  Saxons 
and  South  Saxons  surviving  in  Essex,  Middlesex,  Wessex  and  Sussex. 
The  organisation  of  the  township  or  early  English  unit  of  government 
is  due  to  these  German  tribes.  Simultaneously  with  them  the  pirate 
ships  of  the  Scandinavian  vikings  descended  on  the  coasts,  both  east  and 
west,  to  plunder  or  to  rule.  The  Northmen  settled  mainly  on  the  shores 
of  Scotland  and  the  north-east  of  England,  where  most  of  the  place-names 
even  now  have  Scandinavian  endings,  such  as  by,  ay, 
and  ster.  The  Danes  for  a  time  ruled  the  larger  part 
of  England,  but  the  greatest  Scandinavian  influence 
on  the  country  was  brought  to  bear  in  1066,  when  the 
descendants  of  the  vikings,  who  had  settled  in  the 
north  of  France  and  named  it  Normandy,  conquered 
the  Saxon  or  English  lands.  They  unified  the  southern 
part  of  the  country,  annexing  Wales  and  Ireland,  gave  FlG-  62-  ~  The  R°yal 

Standard,     quartering 

the  English  language  a  notable  impulse  towards  its  the  arms  of  England 
present  form,  and  ingrafted  a  French  culture  on  (twice),  Scotland,  and 
the  Germanic  people.  Generally  speaking,  while 
mixture  between  the  Keltic  and  Teutonic  races  was  always  taking  place, 
the  Keltic  clans  kept  their  independence  under  their  chiefs  in  the  highlands 
and  islands  of  the  west,  while  the  Teutonic  tribes  became  fused  into  a 
homogeneous  nation  on  the  lower  and  more  fertile  lands  of  the  east.  Great 
Britain,  from  the  time  of  the  Norman  conquest  until  1603,  was  divided 
between  the  small  northern  kingdom  of  Scotland  and  the  large  kingdom 
of  England.  The  two  were  always  at  enmity,  and  a  broad  strip  of  debate- 


The  United  Kingdom  145 

able  land  formed  the  borders  separating  the  marches  of  the  countries.  The 
lowland  Scots  and  English  were,  however,  one  in  race  and  language.  The 
union  of  the  two  crowns  in  1603  was  not  followed  by  the  union  of  the  two 
parliaments  till  1707,  and  in  1800  the  suppression  of  the  Irish  parliament 
and  the  admission  of  Irish  representatives  to  the  British  parliament  brought 
about  the  present  constitution  of  the  United  Kingdom. 

People. — The  first  uniform  census  of  the  United  Kingdom  was  taken 
in  1801  on  the  completion  of  the  Union.  Since  that  time  the  growth  and 
the  redistribution  of  population  have  been  remarkable. 

Population  of  United  Density  per                   Percentage  of  population  in 

Date.              Kingdom.  sq.  mile.      England  &  Wales.      Ireland.              Scotland 

1801        ..       16,000,000    ..  131           ..           56           ..           34           ..            10 

1901        ..       41,600,000    ..  344           ..           78           ..           II            . .            II 

The  predominance  of  England  is  still  more  strikingly  shown  by  the  trade 
returns ;  but  the  union  of  the  three  countries  is  so  complete,  and  the  number 
of  Scotsmen  and  Irishmen  in  England  is  so  great  that  such  comparisons  are 
unnecessary  and  even  misleading.  The  British  people  at  the  present  day 
are  mainly  of  Teutonic  stock  and  English  speech,  the  varieties  of  dialect 
being  mere  survivals  of  former  conditions  of  isolation.  In  1891  not  quite 
5  per  cent,  of  the  people  were  returned  as  speaking  Keltic  languages  (half 
of  them  speaking  Welsh,  the  others  Irish  and  Gaelic)  but  only  one-third 
of  these  (half  a  million  people  in  Wales)  were  unable  to  speak  English. 

The  people  of  the  United  Kingdom  as  a  whole,  although  not  so  educated 
nor  so  disciplined  as  the  Germans,  and  not  so  polished  nor  so  thrifty  as  the 
French,  may  be  credited  with  perseverance,  enterprise  and  powers  of 
physical  endurance  beyond  the  average  of  mankind,  and  with  a  determined 
independence  of  character.  The  valour  of  the  British  army,  and  especially 
the  splendid  organisation  of  the  British  navy,  have  preserved  the  country 
from  invasion  and  extended  the  area  of  the  British  Empire  beyond  all 
others.  The  enterprise  of  British  manufacturers,  merchants  and  ship- 
owners, has  gained  a  like  pre-eminence  over  all  other  nations  in  trade  and 
material  prosperity.  Respect  for  law  and  love  of  justice  are  the  most 
striking  characteristics  of  the  nation.  In  the  United  Kingdom  and  the 
colonies  Law  is  recognised  as  the  first  power  in  the  realm,  and  special 
provisions  have  been  made  to  prevent  the  Crown,  the  government,  or  the 
armed  services  from  interfering  with  its  impartial  administration. 

Government. — The  United  Kingdom  is  a  constitutional  monarchy, 
the  supreme  legislative  power  being  vested  in  a  parliament,  consisting  of 
the  Sovereign,  a  House  of  Lords,  most  of  the  members  of  which  are 
hereditary,  and  a  House  of  Commons,  consisting  of  670  representatives 
elected  by  men  who  possess  certain  very  general  qualifications.  Two- 
thirds  of  the  male  population  over  twenty-one  years  of  age  are  registered 
as  voters.  The  House  of  Commons  alone  has  power  over  the  national 
expenditure  ;  and  it  is  only  on  rare  occasions  that  either  the  House  of 
Lords  or  the  Crown  refuses  to  pass  or  to  assent  to  any  Bill  passed  by  that 


146       The  International  Geography 

House.  The  executive  power  nominally  vested  in  the  Crown  can  practi- 
cally only  be  exercised  by  the  Cabinet,  a  committee  of  about  twenty 
Ministers,  who  are  responsible  to  Parliament  and  must  resign  when  they 
lose  the  confidence  of  that  body.  The  House  of  Commons—"  the  mother 
of  parliaments  "—is  the  pattern  on  which  the  legislative  chambers  of  all 
democratic  countries  are  based. 

Elementary  education  is  compulsory  and  free.  The  predominant  form 
of  religion  is  Protestant,  except  in  Ireland,  where  Roman  Catholics  are  in 
a  large  majority.  In  England  the  Anglican  Episcopal  Church  is  established 
by  law,  and  in  Scotland  the  Presbyterian  Church.  The  established  churches 
do  not  include  a  majority  of  the  population,  and  membership  of  them  con- 
fers no  political  or  public  privileges. 

The  British  Empire  is  an  unofficial  name  which  includes  the  United 
Kingdom,  the  Indian  Empire,  and  all  the  British  colonies,  protectorates, 
and  spheres  of  influence.  The  bond  between  the  various  parts  is  little  more 
than  community  of  sentiment,  all  the  colonies  in  temperate  regions  being 
themselves  self-governing  countries,  their  people  untrammelled  by  British 
legislation,  but  receiving  the  advantages  of  British  citizenship  and  having 
the  right  of  ultimate  appeal  in  legal  matters  to 
the  Judicial  Committee  of  the  Privy  Council  in 
London.  The  one  material  privilege  within  the 
empire  not  extended  to  foreign  countries  is  the 
Imperial  penny  postage  established  in  1898. 
There  is  no  compulsory  military  or  naval  service  ; 
and  there  are  no  protective  duties  on  trade 
in  the  United  Kingdom,  although  they  exist — 
even  against  the  mother-country — in  almost  all 
other  parts  of  the  British  Empire.  On  account 
of  the  scattered  nature  of  the  empire  and  the  vital  importance  of  its 
foreign  trade,  the  avowed  defensive  policy  is  to  maintain  a  navy  strong 
enough  to  secure  the  command  of  the  sea.  Permanent  squadrons  are 
stationed  in  the  English  Channel,  the  Mediterranean,  the  Pacific,  and  on 
the  coasts  of  India,  China,  Africa,  North  America,  South  America,  and 
Australia,  and  a  system  of  fortified  coaling  stations  makes  it  possible  to 
send  a  British  warship  to  any  point  on  the  surface  of  the  ocean,  and  to 
prevent  the  war-vessels  of  any  other  nation  from  going  far  from  home. 

Economic  History. — The  Romans  dealt  with  Britain  as  a  colony  by 
encouraging  the  growth  and  export  of  grain,  developing  the  fisheries,  and 
constructing  trunk-lines  of  communications.  They  also  utilised  the  mineral 
resources — the  tin  of  Cornwall,  the  lead  of  the  Pennine  Chain,  and  the 
bog-iron  ore  which  occurred  almost  all  over  the  country.  During  the 
Saxon  and  the  subsequent  Norman  periods  the  rearing  of  sheep  for  wool 
became  the  staple  industry  of  England,  there  was  little  manufacture,  and 
the  country  remained  a  producing  area  for  raw  materials.  The  "  wool- 
sack," the  official  seat  of  the  Lord  Chancellor  as  president  of  the  House  of 


FlG.  63. — The  British  Empire 

on     a      Colonial     postage 
stamp. 


The  United  Kingdom 


147 


°f 


Lords,  dates  from  this  period.  Later,  when  root-crops  were  introduced 
and  the  methods  of  agriculture  improved,  the  leading  occupation  became 
once  more  grain-growing  and  cattle-rearing.  As  the  country  grew  peaceful 
and  became  an  asylum  for  the  oppressed  industrial  peoples  of  the  continent, 
handicrafts  of  every  sort,  and  particularly  weaving,  acquired  importance, 
and  England  began  to  export  manufactured  goods.  Iron  works  were  early 
established  in  all  places  where  ore  was  found  in  the  neighbourhood  of  forests 
from  which  charcoal  could  be  made  for  its  reduction.  In  the  eighteenth 
century  coal  was  discovered  to  be  fit  for  use  in 
making  iron,  and  the  first  movement  of  iron-works 
to  the  coal-fields  of  the  north  commenced.  The 
streams  of  the  Pennine  Chain,  the  Cotswolds,  and 
other  hilly  districts  were  from  early  times  utilised 
for  the  supply  of  mechanical  power  in  mills.  On 
the  invention  of  spinning  and  weaving  machinery 

FIG.  64.—  The  White  Ensign  in  the  eighteenth  century  new  textile  factories 
were  started  in  the  valleys  of  the  northern  rivers, 
and  when  at  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury steam-power  was  introduced,  the  prosperity  of  the  industrial  villages 
already  situated  on  the  coal-fields  was  increased,  and  the  other  manu> 
facturing  industries  of  the  country  were  attracted  to  the  same  regions. 
Subsequently  the  introduction  of  railways  drew  some  of  the  manufactures 
back  to  the  great  seaports  ;  and  now  the  use  of  electricity  in  manufactures 
has  restored  and  multiplied  the  value  of  water-power,  and  promises  renewed 
prosperity  to  the  highlands  of  high  rainfall  and  full  rivers.  As  the  volume  of 
the  manufactures  swelled,  the  need  for  improved  communication  with  sea- 
ports led  to  the  initiation  of  the  system  of  barge- 
canals  which  make  a  close  network  over  the 
central  plain  of  England,  and  also  cross  the  mid- 
land plains  of  Ireland  and  Scotland.  The  intro- 
duction of  railways  deprived  the  canals  of  their 
importance  and  introduced  new  adjustments  of 
centres  of  production.  In  every  one  of  those 
changes  the  control  exercised  by  geographical 
conditions  is  to  be  traced,  varying  in  its  character 
from  one  period  to  another. 

Up  to  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  the  agricultural  produce 
of  the  country  nearly  sufficed  for  the  food-supply  of  the  people  ;  but 
as  the  improvement  in  machinery  and  means  of  communication  by  land 
and  sea  enabled  the  manufactures  of  imported  raw  material  to  be 
increased,  and  cheapened  the  cost  of  foreign  food-supplies,  from  which 
the  protective  tariffs  had  been  removed,  agricultural  labourers  began  to 
be  attracted  to  the  factory  work  of  the  towns,  land  went  out  of  cultivation 
as  the  farmers  found  it  impossible  to  compete  with  the  cheap  foreign  corn, 
and  many  were  driven  to  emigrate.  The  tide  of  emigration  was  enormously 
12 


FIG.  65.— The  Red  Ensign— 
the  flag  of  the  British 
Merchant  Service, 


148      The  International  Geography 

increased  in  Ireland  by  the  failure  of  the  potato-crop,  on  which  the  people 
depended,  and  the  result  now  is  that  all  but  a  fraction  of  the  food-supply 
of  the  nation  has  to  be  imported  and  paid  for  in  manufactured  goods,  or 
in  services  rendered  by  carrying  on  the  shipping-trade  of  other  countries. 
If  supplies  from  over-sea  failed  the  reserve  of  bread-stuff  in  the  British 
Islands  would  not  last  for  a  month.  This  is  the  secret  of  the  unique 
importance  of  foreign  trade  to  the  United  Kingdom,  and  of  the  necessity 
for  holding  the  command  of  the  sea  at  all  costs. 

In  1891  one  third  of  the  British  people  above 
ten  years  of  age  were  engaged  in  manufacturing  in- 
dustries and  less  than  one  tenth  in  agricultural  work. 
Distribution  of  Population.— The  average 
density  of  population  for  the  British  Islands  was 
344  per  square  mile  at  the  Census  of  1901  ;  but  in 
England,  which  contains  three-quarters  of  the  whole 
population,  the  density  is  558  per  square  mile.  The 
bare  and  unproductive  Highlands  are  almost  un- 
inhabited, the  density  of  population  in  Sutherland- 
shire  being  only  n  to  the  square  mile.  The  pastoral 
regions  are  as  a  rule  the  most  thinly  peopled,  the  agricultural  districts 
somewhat  more  thickly,  while  an  enormous  density  of  population  is  found 
on  the  mineral  fields  and  in  the  neighbourhood  of  certain  seaports  (Fig.  18), 
Agriculture.— Three-quarters  of  England  and  Ireland,  nearly  two- 
thirds  of  Wales,  and  one-quarter  of  Scotland  are  occupied  as  farms  and 
pastures ;  more  than  half  being  pasture  land.  The  grain  most  largely 

Average  population  of  a  square  mik — 


FlG.  66. — Average  popu- 
lation of  a  square  mile 
of  the  United  Kingdom. 


FlG.  67.— England  &  Wales. 


FlG.  68.— Ireland, 


FlG.  69. — Scotland. 


cultivated  is  oats,  next  to  which  come  barley  and  wheat.  The  cultivation 
of  oats  is  carried  on  mainly  in  the  north  and  west,  where  the  rainfall  is 
great  and  the  temperature  not  extreme  ;  in  these  conditions  wheat- 
growing  is  impracticable.  The  great  wheat-growing  region  is  in  the  east 
of  England,  where  there  is  a  clay  soil,  a  relatively  extreme  climate  and 
small  rainfall.  Turnips  and  potatoes  are  the  next  most  important  crops  ; 
the  only  industrial  plant  cultivated  on  a  fairly  large  scale  is  flax  in  the 
north  of  Ireland.  Hops  are  grown  in  Kent  and  some  other  parts  of  the 


The  United  Kingdom 


149 


country,  and  apples  in  the  west  of  England.  Market  gardens  and  fruit 
farms — growing  plums,  pears,  strawberries,  gooseberries,  &c. — are  found 
near  all  large  towns.  The  live-stock  are  principally  sheep  on  hill  pastures, 
cattle  on  the  richer  grass  of  the  plains,  especially  in  the  districts  of  high 
rainfall,  horses,  and  pigs.  Dairy  farming  is  important,  but  little  attention 
is  given  to  the  rearing  of  fowls. 

Fisheries.— The  fisheries  in  the  North  Sea  are  of  great  value,  but 
those  on  the  west  coast  and  in  Ireland  are  comparatively  neglected.  Salted 
herrings  form  one  of  the  minor  British  exports.  The  introduction  of  steam 
trawlers  has  led  to  the  concentration  of  fishermen  at  large  ports  with  good 
railway  facilities,  such  as  Aberdeen  and  Grimsby,  and  to  the  gradual  de- 
population of  the  fishing  villages  which  formerly  fringed  the  whole  east 
and  south  coast,  thus  reproducing  the  effects  of  the  introduction  of  steam- 
power  in  manufactures. 

SCO 


Mining.— The  extrac- 
tion of  copper,  tin,  lead 
and  zinc  is  now  quite  in- 
significant. Silver  and 
gold  are  obtained  in  small 
quantities,  but  the  only 
metal  worth  considering 
is  iron,  ten  times  more 
valuable  in  its  annual 
production  than  all  the 
rest  put  together.  It  is 
mined  mainly  as  clay- 
ironstone  in  the  Cleve- 
land district  of  Yorkshire. 
Better  qualities  in  smaller 
amount  occur  in  the  Coal 
Measures,  and  can  often 
be  mined  together  with 
the  coal  ;  but  the  finest 
ore  is  the  red  hematite  FlG-  7o.-The  progress  of  Coal  Production. 

of  the  south-west  and  west  of  the  Lake  district.  The  great  demand  for 
iron  requires  so  large  an  import  of  ore  that  more  than  one  half  (in  value) 
is  brought  in  from  abroad,  mainly  red  hematite  from  the  north  of  Spain. 

Coal  stands  alone  as  the  most  valuable  product  of  the  United  Kingdom, 
the  only  commodity  none  of  which  has  to  be  imported ;  and,  at  the  present 
time,  the  material  basis  of  the  prosperity  of  the  country.  Its  production 
has  increased  with  remarkable  rapidity,  only  82,000,000  tons  having  been 
produced  in  1860.  The  recent  output  is  compared  with  that  of  other 
countries  in  Fig.  70.  It  is  coal  which  makes  it  possible  to  purchase  grain 
and  other  food  materials  ;  not  directly,  however,  for  only  33,000,000  tons 
of  the  190,000,000  tons  annually  raised  are  exported;  but  indirectly  by 


RANGE 


EE 


ssr-a 


150       The   International   Geography 

supplying  smelting  furnaces  for  reducing  iron  and  providing  power  for 
engineering  works  and  factories.  The  outputs  of  coal  in  the  four  chief 
divisions  of  the  country  stand  in  the  proportion  of  England  71  per  cent., 
Scotland  15  per  cent.,  Wales  14  per  cent,  and  Ireland  a  minute  fraction. 
The  chief  coal-producing  districts  are  named  in  the  following  list  with  the 
output  in  1896. 

(1)  The  Northern  Coal-field  in  Northumberland  and  Durham  (42  million 
tons)  near  the  Cleveland  iron  ore,  is  important  mainly  for  the  engineering 
works  at  Newcastle,  and  for  export  to  Scandinavia  and  the  Baltic. 

(2)  The  Yorkshire  Coal-field  on  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Pennine  Chain 
between  the  Aire  and  the  Trent  is  shared  by  the  East  Riding,  Nottingham, 
and  Derbyshire  (41  million  tons).     It  supports  the  engineering  works  of 
Leeds  and  Sheffield,  and  is  the  seat  of  the  woollen  weaving  industry. 

(3)  The  Lancashire  Coal-field,  lying  symmetrically  on  the  west  side  of 
the  Pennine  Chain  (23  million  tons),  only  supplies  the  engineering  works 
and  cotton  factories  of  Lancashire  centred  round  Manchester. 

(4)  The  Staffordshire  Coal-fields,  raising  13  million  tons,  furnish  supplies 
to  two  industrial  districts,  the  "  Potteries  "  and  the  "  Black  Country,"  where 
the  iron  industry  and  metal  manufactures  centre  in  Birmingham. 

(5)  The  South  Wales  Coal-field  (32  million  tons)  stretches  into  the  county 
of   Monmouth,  and   supplies    the  iron  and   copper  furnaces  of  Cardiff, 
Merthyr  Tydfil,  and  Swansea.  The  coal  is  mainly  anthracite,  of  great  value 
for  producing  intense  heat  with  no  smoke,  and  fully  one-half  of  the  supply 
is  exported  for  use  on  steamers  in  all  parts  of  the  world. 

(6)  The  Scottish  Coal-fields  (29   million  tons)  scattered  throughout  the 
central  lowlands,  touch  the  sea  on  the  Firths  of  Clyde  and  Forth,  exporting 
to  Ireland  and  the  Baltic.     They  supply  the  iron  furnaces  near  Glasgow 
and  the  steel  shipbuilding  yards  on  the  Clyde. 

Seaports. — The  present  commercial  supremacy  of  the  United 
Kingdom  is  not  due  to  the  number  and  commodiousness  of  its  natural 
harbours,  although  this  is  frequently  stated.  The  best  natural  harbours 
are  remote  from  the  regions  of  dense  population  and  they  are  not  useful. 
Another  common  error  is  to  ascribe  the  great  trade  to  the  fact  that  the 
south  of  England  is  nearly  in  the  centre  of  the  "  land  hemisphere  "  ;  but  if 
this  were  a  potent  factor  it  would  act  much  more  powerfully  on  the  trade 
of  France,  which  possesses  by  far  the  most  central  position  on  the  ocean 
routes  of  the  world.  The  real  reason  must  be  sought  in  the  spirit  of  the 
British  people,  and  in  the  abandonment  of  protective  tariffs,  making  it 
necessary  to  import  food  and  raw  material,  and  to  pay  for  imports  by 
trade.  Eight  groups  of  ports  carried  on  between  them  80  per  cent,  of  the 
trade  of  the  United  Kingdom  with  foreign  countries  in  1896. 

(i)  London,  with  about  16  million  tons  of  over-sea  shipping,  owes  its 
pre-eminence  to  the  historic  continuity  of  the  capital  as  the  chief  nucleus 
of  population,  and  to  its  now  being  the  centre  of  means  of  distribution 
inland.  The  exports  are  inconsiderable. 


The  United  Kingdom 


(2)  Liverpool,  with  a  movement  of  12  million  tons,  is  unique  amongst 
British  seaports  for  its  practical  monopoly  of  the  American  and  West 
African  trades,  especially  in  the  import  of  food  and  raw  material,  chiefly 
cotton,  and  for  its  export  of  manufactured  goods  and  machinery.     The 
harbour  is  an  estuary  deepened  and  kept  open  at  great  cost. 

(3)  Cardiff  (including  Barry  Dock),  with  12  million  tons  of  shipping, 
prospers  by  the  enormous  export  of  coal  from  the  South  Wales  coal-field. 

(4)  The  Tyne  Ports,  including  Newcastle  and  North  and  South  Shields, 
have  a  movement  of  9  million  tons,  mainly  exporting  machinery  and  coal. 

(5)  Hull  and  Grimsby,  on  the  H  umber,  with  about  7  million  tons  of 


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he  progress  of  the  Total  Trade  of  the  chief  cc 
ercial  nations  from  1871   to  1901. 

between    them,    are    the    princip 
"or  the  export  of  cotton  and  wooll 

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goods  to   the   continent    of    Europe,  and  in  a 
minor  degree  for  the  import  of  continental  produce. 

(6)  The  Firth  of  Forth    Ports,   Leith,   Grangemouth,  and    Kirkcaldy, 
have  between  them  about  6  million  tons  of  movement,  mainly  exporting 
coal. 

(7)  Glasgow,  with  a  movement  of  3^  million  tons,  is  an  artificial  port 
on  the  Clyde,  ocean  steamers  now  coming  to  a  point  where  fifty  years 
ago  children  could  wade  across  at  low  water.     The  trade  is  largely  in  im- 
ports of  ore  and  raw  materials,  and  the  export  of  iron  and  manufactured 
goods. 

(8)  Southampton,  with  a  movement  of  3  million  tons,  is  mainly  con- 


152       The  International  Geography 

cerned  in  the  passenger  trade  to  South  Africa  and  America  ;  its  proximity 
to  London  by  rail  enabling  it  to  compete  in  this  respect  with  Liverpool. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  almost  the  whole  trade  of  the  United  Kingdom 
with  other  countries  is  carried  on  in  four  inlets  of  the  east  coast  (the 
Thames,  H  umber,  Tyne,  and  Forth)  three  on  the  west  coast  (the  Bristol 
Channel,  Mersey,  and  Clyde)  and  one  on  the  south  coast.  But  in  addition 
the  importance  of  Dover,  Folkestone,  Queenborough,  and  Harwich  as 
passenger  and  light  cargo  ports  for  cross-channel  trade  must  be  remem- 
bered. The  coasting  shipping  of  the  country  is  also  greatest  in  the 
harbours  which  concentrate  the  over-sea  trade,  and  its  volume  is  about  the 
same.  Fully  1,000  vessels  enter  the  ports  of  the  United  Kingdom  daily. 

Trade. — The  value  of  the  exports  and  imports  is  nearly  twice  as  great 
as  the  average  of  that  of  the  three  countries  which  come  nearest  to  it, 
Germany,  France,  and  the  United  States  (Fig.  71).  The  merchant  fleet 
amounts  to  more  than  half  of  all  the  vessels  afloat,  and  their  tonnage 
much  exceeds  that  of  all  the  ships  of  other  nations  in  the  world. 

The  annual  trade  of  the  country  (exports  and  imports)  averages  more 
than  ^700,000,000,  or  £18  per  head  of  the  population.  The  value  of  the 
exports  of  British  goods  is  scarcely  more  than  half  that  of  the  imports,  a 
proportion  which  prevails  in  no  other  large  country.  The  imports  consist 
mainly  of  food  and  of  raw  materials,  the  exports  mainly  of  manufactured 
articles  as  nearly  as  can  be  ascertained  in  the  following  proportions  : — 

Food  material.     Animals.    Raw  materials.    Manufactures.  Total. 

Imports 407        ..        25        ..        35-3         ..         21-5      ..      100 

Exports 5-3        ..        0-4        ..          7-8          ..         86-5      ..       loo 

Most  trade  is  done  with  the  other  British  possessions,  the  United  States, 
France,  Germany,  Holland,  Russia,  and  Belgium,  in  the  order  given  ;  the 
British  possessions  are  relatively  the  most  valuable  as  a  market  for  exports. 

Railways  were  first  introduced  in  the  United  Kingdom,  and  they 
remain  in  the  hands  of  a  few  great  companies ;  but  the  telegraph  system, 
also  the  first  to  be  established  in  the  world,  has  been  incorporated  with  the 
Post  Office,  the  only  State  monopoly. 

II— SCOTLAND 

BY  HUGH  ROBERT  MILL,  D.Sc. 

General  Characteristics. — North  Britain  is  divided  naturally  into 
three  parts— the  Highlands  to  the  north  and  west,  the  Central  Lowlands 
and  the  Southern  Uplands  to  the  south  and  east.  The  boundaries  of  these 
areas  are  marked  by  nearly  straight  parallel  lines  of  faulting  running  from 
north-east  to  south-west  (Fig.  72).  Between  these  faults  the  crust-block 
of  the  Central  Lowlands  has  gradually  sunk,  protecting  the  Carboniferous 
strata,  while  those  of  the  Highlands  and  Southern  Uplands  have  been 
elevated  on  either  side,  and  the  very  ancient  rocks  exposed  by  denudatioa 
The  existing  scenery  of  Scotland,  perhaps  more  than  the  other  parts  of  the 


Scotland 


British  Islands,  shows  traces  of  the  Glacial  Period,  when  the  land  was  buried 
in  ice,  the  movement  of  which  polished  and  striated  the  rocks  of  mountain 
and  valley  alike,  and  covered  large  parts  of  the  country  with  masses  of 
boulder  clay.  This  gives  a  gently  undulating  character  to  much  of  the 
.  Central  Lowlands,  and  has,  by  filling  old  river  channels,  caused  a  rearrange- 
ment of  many  of  the  river  courses.  The  work  of  frost  and  rain  has 
carved  the  Highland  summits  into  characteristic  forms  of  rugged  strength. 
One  of  the  most  recent  geological  features 
is  the  series  of  raised  beaches  which  sur- 
round Scotland.  Of  these  the  most  im- 
portant is  a  horizontal  terrace  about  twenty- 
five  feet  above  sea-level,  sometimes  cut  in 
the  solid  rock,  more  often  built  up  of 
pebbles  and  clay,  which  furnishes  the  sites 
for  almost  all  the  coast  towns. 

History  and  People.— The  Scots,  a 
Keltic  race  from  Ireland,  entered  the 
country  from  the  west,  gradually  over- 
spread it  in  the  fifth  century,  and  con- 
quered the  earlier  Picts.  It  was  not  until 
after  the  tenth  century  that  the  English 
language  in  its  Northumbrian  form  was 
fully  established  on  the  Lowland  plain  and 
the  unassimilated  Gaels  began  to  draw 
back  within  the  Highland  border.  There 
the  clans  lived  under  their  chiefs  as  a  typical  race  of  mountaineers, 
often  at  war  with  each  other,  and  as  distinct  in  dress  and  language 
from  their  fellow-countrymen  in  the  Lowlands  as  from  their  national 
enemies  in  England.  The  suppression  of  the  rebellion  in  1745  broke 
up  the  Clan  system  finally,  and  since  that  time  the  Gaelic  language 
has  been  less  and  less  spoken.  The  eastern  portion  of  the  Lowland 
plain  formed  for  a  long  period  a  part  of  the  kingdom  of  Northumbria, 
which  spread  from  the  H umber  to  the  Forth ;  but  the  bare  hills  of 
the  Southern  Uplands  were  a  barrier  to  the  easy  communication  neces- 
sary to  maintain  cohesion  in  unsettled  times,  and  well  suited  to  form 
the  marches  or  borderland  between  two  States.  The  fertile  carse-lands  of 
the  eastern  firths  naturally  became  the  heart  of  the  kingdom  of  Scotland. 
The  long-continued  wars  with  England  drove  Scotland  into  closer  associa- 
tion with  continental  countries,  the  influence  of  France  being  very  marked 
for  several  centuries.  For  a  century  after  the  union  of  the  crowns  Scot- 
land retained  its  own  parliament,  and  was  separated  from  England  by 
Customs  barriers  for  a  longer  period.  The  opposition  of  English  mercan- 
tile corporations  hampered  Scottish  trade,  and  brought  disaster  on  the 
splendid  though  premature  project  of  colonising  the  isthmus  of  Darien  in 
order  to  command  the  trade  of  the  Pacific.  With  the  union  of  the  parlia- 


FlG.  72. — Natural  divisions  of 
Scotland. 


154       The  International  Geography 

ments  the  economic  development  of  the  country  really  commenced.  At 
present  the  chief  external  difference  between  Scotland  and  England  lies  in 
some  details  of  law  and  the  administration  of  justice,  and  in  the  establish- 
ment of  a  Presbyterian  church.  The  national  character  is  marked  and 
distinctive.  The  Highlander  is  constitutionally  courteous,  poetical,  and  . 
open-handed,  and  prefers  an  occupation  involving  occasional  calls  for 
severe  exertion  with  longer  intervals  of  inactivity,  such  as  fishing  and  cattle 
rearing.  The  Lowland  Scot,  on  the  other  hand,  is  sometimes  surly  but  >}^ -' 
always  independent,  persevering,  and  determined  in  his  undertakings,  and  "" 
given  to  agriculture,  manufactures,  and  trade.  As  a  consequence  of  the 
adverse  conditions  against  which  his  race  has  so  long  struggled  he  is  often 
more  thrifty  than  generous.  Since  John  Knox  inaugurated  the  parish 
schools  at  the  Reformation  three  centuries  of  practically  universal  educa- 
tion have  given  the  Scottish  peasantry  a  bent  for  study  and  a  taste  for  serious 
reading  which  make  the  Scottish  universities  perhaps  the  most  numerously 
attended  in  Europe. 

The  Highlands. — The  north-west  of  Scotland  bore  the  brunt  of  the 
compressing  forces  in  the  Earth's  crust  by  which  the  European  continent  ' 
was  ridged  up  from  the  Atlantic  depression,  and  its  geology  is  consequently 
very  complex.  Since  the  up-ridging,  continual  erosion  has  worn  down 
many  of  the  islands  of  the  outer  Hebrides  to  a  low  level,  although  composed 
of  the  hard  Archaean  gneiss.  Great  volcanic  disturbances  also  occurred 
through  many  geological  ages,  resulting  in  the  outpouring  of  lavas  and  the 
injection  of  sheets  of  molten  rock,  which  denudation  has  uncovered  and 
rendered  conspicuous.  The  average  level  of  the  Highlands  is  about  1,500 
feet  above  tMe  sea,  although  in  parts  they  rise  to  nearly  three  times  that 
height.  There  is  no  mountain  range.  The  surface  has  been  carved  by 
rivers  and  atmospheric  erosion  into  masses,  which  looked  at  from  below 
have  the  appearance  of  mountains ;  but  viewed  from  one  of  the  highest 
summits  the  Highlands  appear  as  round-shouldered  and  flat-topped  moor- 
lands covered  with  moss  or  heather  or  shattered  stones.  They  are  of 
fairly  uniform  general  height  and  rise  without  definite  order  like  waves  on 
a  stormy  sea.  They  are,  in  fact,  the  product  of  a  deeply  incised  system  of 
valleys  impressed  upon  an  ancient  plateau,  the  recent  depression  of 
which  on  the  west  has  formed  the  islands.  Highlands  and  islands  together 
comprise  70  per  cent,  of  the  area  of  Scotland,  but  only  contain  23  per 
cent,  of  the  population.  Most  of  the  crofters  who  formerly  made  a  pre- 
carious living  by  farming  in  the  valleys  have  been  compelled  to  migrate  to 
more  fertile  lands  or  engage  in  more  profitable  callings.  The  high  rainfall 
of  the  west,  the  raw  climate,  and  the  poor  soil  of  the  crystalline  rocks  unite 
to  make  agriculture  impossible  ;  and  the  Highlands  have  relapsed  into  the 
condition  of  a  wild  country,  useful  mainly  as  a  game  preserve,  and  now 
for  the  most  part  the  property  of  wealthy  Englishmen  and  Americans. 
Sheep  farming  on  a  large  scale  is  still  carried  on,  but  deer  forests  are 
more  profitable.  The  population  is  almost  entirely  confined  to  the  lower 


Scotland  155 

parts  of  the  valleys  where  they  come  out  on  the  Lowland  plain  or  on  the 
sea.  The  roads  through  these  valleys  are  now  in  many  cases  superseded 
by  railways  carrying  the  yearly  swelling  .tide  of  sportsmen  and  lovers  of 
the  picturesque  to  moor,  mountain,  and  loch.  Whisky  distilling  is  a 
typical  Highland  industry ;  the  most  famous  distilleries  are  often  situated 
in  small  villages,  and  Campbell  ton  in  Cantyre  is  almost  the  only  town  of 
which  distilling  is  one  of  the  chief  resources. 

The  North-Western  Highlands  and  Islands.— Some  of  the 
lakes  in  the  western  valleys  are  of  remarkable  beauty,  especially  those  in 
the  west — Loch  Maree,  Loch  Shiel,  and  Loch  Morar,  the  last  being  the 
deepest  lake  in  the  British  Islands  (maximum  depth  1,070  feet).  The 
picturesque  masses  of  volcanic  rocks  forming  Skye,  Mull,  and  the  smaller 
islands  of  the  Inner  Hebrides  are  separated  from  the  mainland  by 
drowned  valleys.  The  population  is  found  chiefly  on  the  fertile  wedge  of 
Old  Red  Sandstone  lowland  surrounding  the  Cromarty  Firth  on  the  east 
coast.  The  Highland  railway  winds  its  way  northward  along  the  east 
coast,  and  a  branch  line  from  Dingwall  at  the  head  of  the  Cromarty  Firth 
runs  across  to  Stromc  Ferry  on  Loch  Carron,  whence  steamers  ply  to  the 
herring-fishing  port  of  Stornoway,  in  the  island  of  Lewis  in  the  Outer 
Hebrides.  Part  of  Inverness  and  the  county  of  Ross  and  Cromarty  united 
occupy  most  of  the  area ;  but  Sutherland  (the  Southern  Land  of  the  old 
Norsemen),  includes  the  northern  end  of  the  Highlands. 

The  Northern  Lowlands  and  Islands. — Beyond  the  north-western 
Highlands  the  Old  Red  Sandstone  plain  of  Caithness  is  really  a  detached 
portion  of  the  fertile  Lowlands,  better  cultivated  and  more  densely  peopled 
than  the  Highland  counties.  The  coast  scenery  is  fine,  and  the  fisheries 
important,  especially  at  Wick,  for  herrings.  From  Thurso  the  mail  steamer 
sails  for  Orkney.  Orkney  and  Shetland,  though  forming  one  county  for 
parliamentary  purposes  and  having  come  under  the  Scottish  crown  together 
in  1590,  are  entirely  distinct.  The  Orkney  islands  are  a  continuation  of 
the  Old  Red  Sandstone  plain  of  Caithness,  separated  from  it  by  the  Pent-, 
land  Firth,  their  only  striking  scenery  being  on  the  coast.  The  tide  rushes 
furiously  through  the  narrow  sounds  which  separate  the  numerous  islands ; 
and  the  Orkney  people  are  very  skilful  boatmen.  Sheep  are  raised,  and 
fishing  and  some  woollen  manufactures  are  carried  on.  Kirkwall,  on 
Pomona,  the  largest  island,  is  the  chief  town.  The  Shetland  group,  fifty 
miles  north-east  of  Orkney,  are  much  more  varied  in  character  ;  their  rocks 
resemble  those  of  the  Highlands,  and  the  people  are  of  more  exclusively 
Scandinavian  origin,  their  dialect  containing  many  words  still  current  in 
Icelandic.  With  a  climate  like  that  of  the  Faeroes  the  productions  are 
similar  ;  small  shaggy  ponies  and  sheep  are  reared,  there  is  a  good  deal  of 
fishing  and  whale  hunting,  and  a  considerable  home  industry  in  knitting 
the  fine  native  wool.  Lerwick,  on  Mainland,  is  the  only  town.  It  usea  to 
be  the  last  port  touched  at  by  Arctic  whalers,  a  large  proportion  of  their 
crews  being  Shetlanders  ;  and  the  islands  still  produce  many  sailors.  Fair 


156       The  International   Geography 

Isle,  half  way  between  Orkney  and  Shetland,  has  an  important  light- 
house. 

The  Great  Glen  and  South-Eastern  Highlands.— The  long, 
narrow  valley  of  Glen  More  (i.e.,  the  great  glen),  separates  the  north- 
western from  the  south-eastern  Highlands  by  the  clear-cut  line  of  an 
ancient  fracture.  The  centre  of  the  rift  is  occupied  by  a  series  of  long, 
narrow  lakes  of  great  depth,  which  never  freeze,  Loch  Ness,  Loch  Oich, 
and  Loch  Lochy.  They  are  joined  by  the  Caledonian  canal,  which  is 
now  of  value  only  as  a  tourist  route.  The  historical  importance  of  this 
valley  is  attested  by  the  growth  of  Inverness  at  its  north-eastern  outlet. 
The  continued  prosperity  of  Inverness  is  due  not  so  much  to  the  beauty  of 
its  situation  as  to  the  fact  that  it  stands  at  the  crossing  of  the  tourist 
routes  of  the  Highland  railway  and  the  Caledonian  canal.  It  has  become 
a  distributing  centre  for  the  whole  north  of  Scotland,  and  a  noted  sheep 
market.  The  names  of  three  old  military  posts  recall  the  strategic  value 
of  the  Great  Glen  in  the  past  :  Fort  William,  established  at  the  west  end  of 
the  Glen  in  1655  ;  Fort  Augustus,  in  the  centre,  after  the  rebellion  of  1715  ; 
and  Fort  George  at  the  east  end,  after  the  rebellion  of  1745.  Ben  Nevis 
(4,406  feet),  the  highest  point  in  the  British  Islands,  is  crowned  by  a 
meteorological  observatory.  The  Falls  of  Foyers  on  Loch  Ness  have 
been  utilised  for  the  production  of  electric  power  for  an  aluminium 
factory,  a  foretaste  of  the  possible  revival  of  Highland  industries  by 
modern  methods. 

The  highest  land,  representing  the  ridge  of  the  old  plateau,  is  marked 
by  the  granite  masses  of  Ben  Nevis  and  Ben  Macdhui  (4,300  feet),  in  which 
the  longest  rivers  in  Scotland  originate.  The  Spey  runs  north-eastward  to 
the  Moray  Firth- ;  the  Dee  and  Tay  (the  latter  carrying  the  outflow  of  the 
large  lakes  —  Lochs  Ericht,  Rannoch,  Tay,  and  Earn)  flow  to  the  east 
and  south-east.  Their  valleys  furnish  the  only  lines  of  communication  for 
roads  or  railways  across  the  Highlands.  The  large  Loch  Awe  of  the  west 
resembles  in  a  general  way  the  salt  water  fjords  of  Loch  Etive  and  Loch 
Fyne  between  which  it  lies.  From  the  Central  Lowlands  the  edge  of  the 
Highlands  presents  an  imposing  appearance  like  a  line  of  mountains  rising 
from  the  plain,  and  to  this  edge  the  name  of  the  Grampians  has  been 
vaguely  applied.  Near  the  great  fault  separating  the  Highlands  from  the 
Lowlands,  small  earthquakes  are  common,  a  sign  probably  that  the  strata 
are  still  yielding  to  the  internal  stresses. 

South-Eastern  Highland  Counties. — The  county  of  Inverness 
occupies  the  north,  that  of  Argyll  the  whole  west,  and  Perth  the  south  of  this 
division  of  the  Highlands.  The  northern  slope  to  the  Moray  Firth  terminates 
in  a  narrow  coastal  plain  shared  by  the  counties  of  Nairn,  Elgin,  and  Banff. 
Thanks  to  the  porous  soil  of  the  west  of  this  plain,  and  its  sheltered  posi- 
tion, it  possesses  a  remarkably  dry  and  mild  climate.  Where  the  coast 
turns  to  face  the  east,  and  the  Highland  schists  and  granites  reach  the  sea 
in  grand  cliffs,  the  seaport  of  Peterhead  was  long  famous  for  its  Arctic 


Scotland  157 

whaling  fleet.  The  exposed  bay  is  being  converted  into  a  great  harbour 
of  refuge  for  the  east  coast  by  the  construction,  with  the  aid  of  convict 
labour,  of  huge  breakwaters  which  will  not  be  completed  until  1921. 
Aberdeen,  the  largest  town  on  Highland  soil,  owes  its  prosperity  in  part  to 
the  quarries  of  fine  grey  granite,  of  which  the  whole  city  is  built,  in  part 
to  its  ancient  university,  but  mainly  to  the  harbour,  which,  in  spite  of  an 
awkward  bar  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  is  growing  in  importance.  It  is 
concentrating  the  fishing  industry,  now  largely  carried  on  by  steam 
trawlers,  and  gradually  attracting  it  from  the  small  fishing  towns  along 
the  coast.  This  is,  in  part,  due  to  the  good  railway  service  to  London 
(500  miles  in  eleven  hours),  with  which  Aberdeen  also  does  a  large  trade  in 
fresh  beef,  the  cattle  of  the  district  being  renowned. 

The  Central  Lowlands. — The  Central  Lowlands  are  on  the  whole 
under  500  feet  in  elevation,  the  lowest  divide  between  the  North  Sea  and 
Atlantic  being  only  200  feet  above  sea-level.  The  Firth  of  Clyde,  on  the 
west  of  the  plain,  is  connected  with  a  series  of  long  fjords  running  north- 
ward and  north-eastward  into  the  Highlands,  but  receiving  no  streams  of 
any  length.  Loch  Lomond,  picturesquely  situated  near  the  west  coast  on 
the  edge  of  the  Highlands,  combines  the  character  of  a  highland  valley 
loch  with  that  of  a  lowland  lake,  Loch  Leven  in  Fife  shows  the  latter  type 
alone.  The  lower  ground  is  composed  of  the  Old  Red  Sandstone  forma- 
tion on  the  northern  and  southern  margins,  with  Carboniferous  strata  in 
the  centre  containing  numerous  detached  basins  of  the  Coal  Measures. 
Great  accumulations  of  volcanic  materials  form  ranges  of  hills  parallel  to 
the  general  lines  of  the  country,  especially  the  Sidlaws,  Ochils,  and 
Campsie  Fells  on  the  north,  and  the  Pentlands,  and  Lammermoors  on  the 
south.  The  Lowland  plain  contains  much  more  than  half  the  population  of 
Scotland ;  for  on  account  of  its  diverse  natural  advantages  it  has  always 
been  the  richest  part  of  the  country.  The  fertility  of  the  soil,  and  the 
development  of  the  most  advanced  scientific  farming,  enables  remarkably 
heavy  crops  to  be  raised.  The  iron  and  coal-fields  have  fixed  important 
industries,  and  caused  the  growth  of  many  active  towns,  knit  together  by  a 
close  network  of  railways. 

The  Highland  Border. — The  county  of  Perth,  almost  co-extensive 
with  the  drainage  area  of  the  river  Tay,  includes  the  system  of  converging 
river  valleys  which  drain  the  southern  Highlands,  and  bring  all  the  lines 
of  communication  with  the  north  to  a  focus  at  the  city  of  Perth,  where  it 
stands  on  a  flat  plain  bordering  the  Tay  at  the  head  of  the  tide.  Perth  has 
always  been  important  on  account  of  its  commanding  position  ;  for  from 
it  diverge  the  roads  (and  now  the  railways)  to  the  Highlands  by  the  valley 
of  the  Tay,  to  Aberdeen  by  the  plain  of  Strathmore  north  of  the  Sidlaws,  to 
Dundee  by  the  fertile  Carse  of  Gowrie,  to  Stirling  by  the  Allan  valley 
skirting  the  Ochils  on  the  west,  and  to  Edinburgh  by  the  pass  of  Glenfarg 
across  the  Ochils,  through  which  the  construction  of  the  great  Forth  Bridge 
has  restored  modern  traffic  to  the  old  coach  route.  Besides  its  importance 


158       The   International  Geography 


as  a  railway  centre,  there  are  some  industries,  especially  extensive  dye- 
works.  Stirling  grew  round  the  steep  basaltic  crag  on  which  its  castle 
stands  commanding  the  lowest  ford  on  the  river  Forth,  close  to  the  head 
of  navigation,  and  at  the  point  where  it  could  first  be  bridged.  Stirling 
Bridge  was  for  centuries  the  key  to  the  Highlands,  and  the  immediate 
neighbourhood  was  consequently  the  scene  of  many  battles,  chief  amongst 
them  that  of  Bannockburn  in  1314,  when  Scottish  independence  was 
finally  assured.  Dundee,  with  the  only  harbour  for  sea-going  vessels  on 
the  Tay  estuary,  is  a  commercial  and  manufacturing  town.  As  a  linen- 
weaving  centre  dependent  on  Russian  flax  the  Crimean  war  nearly  ruined 
it ;  but  the  timely  introduction  of  Indian  jute  more  than  compensated  the 
temporary  loss,  and  the  American  civil  war,  by  stimulating  the  production 
of  all  other  textiles  than  cotton,  confirmed  its  prosperity.  Dundee  has 
famous  jam  factories,  partly  supplied  by  the  fruit  farms  of  the  Carse  of 

Gowrie,  and  it  is  the 
only  port  of  the  United 
Kingdom  still  sending 
out  a  fleet  of  Arctic 
whalers.  The  Tay 
Bridge,  two  miles  in 
length,  gives  direct  com- 
munication with  the 
south  via  the  Forth 
Bridge. 

The  Eastern  Low- 
land Towns.  —  The 
peninsula  of  Fife 
between  the  Firths  of 
Forth  and  Tay  was 
compared  by  James 


FlG.  73. — Dundee  and  the  Tay  Bridge. 


VI.  to  "a  beggar's  mantle  fringed  with  gold"  on  account  of  the  number 
of  prosperous  seaports  along  its  coast.  There  are  still  many  fishing  villages, 
but  the  only  harbours  for  steamers  are  Burntisland  and  Kirkcaldy,  the  latter 
the  chief  centre  of  linoleum  manufacture  in  Great  Britain.  The  ancient 
city  of  St.  Andrews,  with  the  oldest  university  in  Scotland,  founded  in  1411, 
standsion  the  shores  of  a  sandy  bay  in  the  extreme  east,  where  the  links  made 
it  famous  centuries  ago,  as  it  is  famous  still,  for  the  "royal  and  ancient 
game  "  of  golf.  Edinburgh,  originally  a  castle  on  a  lofty  crag  (see  section 
from  west  to  east  in  Fig.  25),  grew  into  a  walled  town,  the  one  street  of 
which,  with  branching  "wynds"  and  "closes,"  descended  the  steeply- 
sloping  "tail"  to  the  later  palace  of  Holyrood.  Within  the  last  century 
the  space  around  the  castle  and  Calton  Hill  has  been  laid  out  in 
streets  and  squares  which  stretch  to  the  shore  of  the  Firth  of  Forth, 
and  suburbs  also  spread  far  to  the  south.  Ecjj^burgh  retains  the 
supreme  courts  of  Scotland,  and  other  survivals  of  its  life  as  a  capital. 


Scotland 


159 


The  university  is  the  youngest  in  Scotland  (1582),  and  is  renowned  mainly 
for  its  medical  school.  Book  printing  and  brewing  are  among  the  more 
important  of  the  industries  of  the  town.  As  the  headquarters  of  many 
banks  and  insurance  offices  it  is  of  financial  importance,  and  the  General 
Assemblies  of  the  Scottish  churches  make  it  an  ecclesiastical  centre  also. 
The  grandeur  of  its  site,  and  the  bold  design  and  fine  architecture  of  the 
streets  and  public  buildings,  make  it  in  the  opinion  of  many  the  finest  city 
in  Europe.  The  adjacent  seaport  of  Leith  does  a  large  shipping  trade. 

The  Western  Lowland  Towns. — The  centre  of  the  Lowland 
plain  is  engaged  in  the  characteristic  industry  of  oil-shale  mining,  and  the 
distillation  of  paraffin.  Further  west  the  coal-mines  yield  more  than  half 
the  output  of  Scottish  coal-fields,  most  of  which  is  employed  in  the  many 


FlG.  74, — Edinburgh  and  the  Forth  Bridge. 

manufactures  of  the  densely  peopled  counties  of  Lanark  and  Renfrew. 
The  black-band  iron-stone  occurring  with  the  coal  gives  employment  to 
the  blast  furnaces  of  Hamilton,  Wishaw,  Coatbridge,  "Kilmarnock,  and 
Cumnock.  The  industry  of  the  region  is  concentrated  on  the  upper  estuary 
of  the  Clyde  where  Greenock  is  an  active  seaport  with  ship-building  yards, 
and  Paisley,  though  standing  back  from  the  river,  is  even  more  prosperous 
through  its  great  manufactures  of  cotton  thread.  Glasgow  is  one  of  the 
most  ancient  cities  in  Scotland,  and  the  seat  of  an  old  university.  At  one 
time  its  importance,  like  that  of  Perth,  lay  largely  in  its  situation  on  the 
border  of  the  Highlands,  but  its  present  prosperity,  which  has  made  it  the 
largest  British  city  next  to  London,  is  due  to  the  artificial  deepening  of  the 
Clyde,  commenced  in  1768.  The  proximity  of  iron  and  coal  promoted 
manufactures  of  every  kind,  the  navigable  waterway  enabled  trade-relations 


160       The  International   Geography 


to  be  established  with  America  and  India,  and  tKe  introduction  of  steam  in 
navigation,  and  of  iron  and  then  steel  in  naval  construction  united  these 
advantages.  Steel  ship-building  is  the  most  important  industry  of  the 
Glasgow  district,  and  the  Clyde  is  the  greatest  ship-building  centre  in  the 
world.  Locomotive  works,  chemical  works,  and  potteries,  as  well  as  textile 
factories  of  all  kinds,  employ  the  large  industrial  population.  The  city  of 
Glasgow  is  one  of  the  most  progressive  municipalities  in  the  United 
Kingdom.  The  water  supply  is  drawn  through  a  tunnel  34  miles  long  from 
Loch  Katrine. 

The  Southern  Uplands. — The  Southern  Uplands  rising  steeply 
from  the  Lowlands  form  a  region  of  round-topped  hills  of  Silurian  forma- 
tion, usually  richly  grassed  to  the  summit.  The  general  character  is  that 
of  a  plateau  deeply  trenched  by  valleys,  with  an  average  height  of  perhaps 

1,000  feet  and  only  2,700 
at  its  highest  point — Mt 
Merrick.  The  Tweed 
flowing  east  by  south  is 
the  principal  river,  and  its 
lower  valley  forms  a  flat 
plain  of  considerable  ex- 
tent near  the  coast.  The 
Clyde,  rising  near  the 
source  of  the  Tweed, 
flows  on  the  whole  west 
by  north  to  its  estuary  in 
the  Central  Lowlands. 
The  Annan  and  other 
short  streams  flow  to  the 
Solway  Firth.  The  south- 
western corner  of  the 
Uplands  is  its  highest 
and  most  rugged  part, 
forming  the  district  of 

Galloway.  It  is  mainly  a  land  of  sheep  farms,  and  in  proportion  to  the 
area  Roxburgh,  Selkirk,  and  Berwick  contain  more  sheep  than  any  other 
counties  in  the  United  Kingdom.  The  sheep  are  usually  of  the  Cheviot 
breed,  celebrated  for  their  fine  wool,  and  the  towns  of  the  Tweed  valley, 
especially  Galashiels,  have  long  been  prosperous  through  the  weaving  of 
strong  woollen  cloth.  The  old  divisions  of  the  border  country  were  the 
dales  or  valleys  of  the  rivers  which  formed  the  natural  highways  and 
contained  the  best  farming  land. 

Railways  from  England  enter  the  Uplands  at  Berwick  on  the  east, 
winding  round  the  coast  to  Edinburgh,  and  from  Carlisle  on  the  west, 
whence  one  line  of  the  Glasgow  and  South-Western  railway  runs  round 
the  coast  to  Stmnraer  on  the  shortest  sea-passage  from  Great  Britain  to 


England  and  Wales 


161 


Ireland.  Another  passes  Dumfries  and  goes  up  Nithsdale,  descending  to 
the  coastal  plain,  and  passing  Kilmarnock  to  Glasgow.  The  Caledonian 
railway  passing  Gretna  Green  (formerly  famous  for  the  celebration  of  run- 
away marriages,  as  it  was  the  nearest  point  to  England  where  the  Scots 
law  could  be  taken  advantage  of),  ascends  the  valley  of  the  Annan  and 
descends  that  of  the  Clyde  to  Glasgow.  The  North  British  "  Waverley 
Route"  passes  up  Liddesdale  and  descends  the  valley  of  the  Teviot, 
crossing  the  Tweed  at  Melrose,  and  running  thence  direct  to  Edinburgh. 


N.w. 


North  wales 


Malvern 


FlG.  76. — Section  across  England  (after  Ramsay).     The  letters  o  and  c  indicate 
the  Oolitic  and  Chalk  escarpments. 

III.— ENGLAND  AND  WALES 

BY  HUGH  ROBERT  MILL,  D.Sc. 

Natural  Divisions. — A  bold  contrast  presents  itself  between  the 
scenery  and  structure  of  the  country  to  the  east  and  to  the  west  of  a  slightly 
curved  line,  convex  to  the 
east,  drawn  from  the  mouth  of 
the  Tees  in  Durham  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Exe  in  Devon. 
This  is  not  an  "imaginary 
line "  but  a  distinct  height  of 
land,  the  Oolitic  Escarpment, 
forming  a  watershed  through- 
out its  whole  length,  except  in 
one  point  where  the  Humber 
estuary  breaks  through  it. 
The  western  hills  are  lofty, 
rising  like  islands  out  of  the 
low  plain  which  surrounds 
them,  and  often  wild  and 
rugged  like  those  of  the  High- 
lands, contrasting  with  the 
low  and  gentle  downs  and  es- 
carpments of  the  eastern  low- 
land. The  western  rocks  are 
for  the  most  part  of  Palaeozoic 
or  igneous  formation,  occur- 
ring in  irregular  and  confused 
masses,  in  contrast  to  the  uniformly  overlapping  sheets  of  little-disturbed 
Secondary  and  Tertiary  formations  to  the  east.  The  western  region 
falls  into  four  fairly  definite  physical  divisions  which  have  also  a  cer- 


FlG.  77. — Natural  Divisions  of  England 
and  Wales. 


1 62       The  International   Geography 

tain  historical  and  industrial  individuality,  the  Lake  District,  Wales,  the 
peninsula  of  Cornwall  and  Devon,  and  the  Pennine  Chain,  to  which  may  be 
added  the  Central  Plain  which  surrounds  and  separates  them.  The  eastern 
region  is  less  sharply  subdivided,  into  the  Jurassic  Belt,  the  Chalk  Country 
which  is  broken  by  the  Fenland  and  the  Weald,  and  the  Tertiary  Basins  of 
Hampshire  and  London  (Fig.  77). 

General  Characteristics. — England  is  distinguished  from  Scotland 
and  Ireland  by  the  more  purely  Teutonic  descent  of  its  people.  The 
Saxon  type  is  still  to  be  seen  in  great  purity  in  the  southern  and  eastern 
counties,  even  traces  of  the  old  German  language  remain  amongst  the 
peasants,  who  in  Sussex  still  use  "  Ya  "  (the  German  Jo)  for  "  Yes."  The 
local  dialects  of  most  parts  of  the  country  are  distinctive,  but  not  so  different 
as  to  hinder  free  intercommunication.  The  whole  of  England  and  Wales 
is  divided  ecclesiastically  into  two  Provinces  presided  over  by  the  Arch- 
bishops of  Canterbury  and  York,  and  into  thirty-two  Bishoprics,  each  with 
its  cathedral  city.  The  rank  of  city  in  England  is  only  given  to  the  seat 
of  a  cathedral.  The  forty  "ancient  counties"  or  shires  into  which 
England  is  divided,  represent  very  early  divisions  of  the  old  Anglo- 
Saxon  kingdoms,  which  coalesced  to  form  the  realm  of  England.  Few  of 
them  have  natural  boundaries  ;  but  it  is  interesting  to  notice  as  exceptions 
that  the  Thames  separates  counties  along  nearly  its  whole  course,  the  Tamar, 
Tyne,  and  Tees  are  also  county  boundaries,  and  Yorkshire  consists  almost 
exactly  of  the  basin  of  the  Ouse.  For  administrative  purposes  the  larger 
counties  are  subdivided,  and  large  towns  as  a  rule  are  counties  in  themselves. 
The  County  Council  is  the  chief  local  government  body.  The  character  of 
the  English  people  is  the  foundation  of  that  of  the  British  nation.  The  sense 
of  justice  is  strongly  developed,  and  the  love  of  "fair  play."  for  friends  and 
enemies  alike  is  perhaps  the  real  basis  of  British  greatness  ;  but  this  feeling 
is  combined  with  a  strenuous  determination  to  uphold  rights  :  "  Dieu  et  mon 
droit "  is  not  inaptly  the  national  motto.  New  ideas  are  slowly  received, 
but  once  accepted  they  are  strongly  held.  Interest  in  manly  sports  is 
deeply  rooted  and  forms  the  strongest  bond  between  all  classes  of  the 
community. 

The  Western  Division. — In  the  time  of  the  Roman  occupation  the 
mountainous  region  of  Britain  west  of  the  Severn,  including  the  peninsula 
of  Cornwall  and  Devon  on  the  south,  and  the  Lake  District  and  Southern 
Uplands  of  Scotland  on  the  north,  was  occupied  by  Keltic  tribes,  amongst 
whom  the  Brythonic  or  British  predominated  over  the  Gaelic  and  other 
elements ;  so  the  Gaelic  language  does  not  occur  in  Wales.  The  people  called 
themselves  Cymry  (i.e.  fellow-countrymen),  hence  the  name  of  Cumberland. 
Wales  is  from  a  Saxon  word  meaning  "  foreign,"  and  the  name  reappears 
in  Cornwall.  The  tribes  were  organised  in  warlike  clans,  the  chieftains 
sometimes  united  under  a  common  head,  more  frequently  at  war  with  each 
other,  and  they  resisted  conquest  until  the  Norman  period.  The  northern 
districts  have  now  completely  lost  their  Keltic  population  and  language, 


England  and  Wales  163 

and  so  has  the  southern  peninsula,  although  the  old  Cornish  language 
lingered  there  until  the  eighteenth  century.  Wales  was  incorporated  with 
England  in  the  fourteenth  century,  yet  the  Welsh  language  has  survived, 
and  one-third  of  the  people  of  the  principality  can  speak  no  other.  The 
Welsh  are  lovers  of  music,  the  harp  being  a  favourite  instrument. 

The  Lake  District.— The  Lake  District  forming  a  peninsula  between 
the  Solway  Firth  and  Morecambe  Bay,  and  separated  from  the  Pennine 
Chain  by  the  valleys  of  the  Eden  and  the  Lune,  is  a  small  rugged  highland 
trenched  by  deep  and  picturesque  valleys  which  radiate  in  all  directions 
from  a  central  point.  Each  long  valley  contains  a  narrow  lake-bed  ;  but 
some  have  been  separated  into  two  by  silting  up  like  Derwentwater  and 
Bassenthwaite,  or  Buttermere  and  Crummock,  others  like  those  of  Langdale 
have  been  entirely  drained  or  filled  up  and  converted  into  meadows.  The 
largest  remaining  lakes  are  Windermere  running  south,  and  Ullswater 
running  north-east.  Scafell  Pike,  above  Wastwater,  the  deepest  lake,  is 
the  highest  mountain  in  England  (3,200  feet) ;  Skiddaw  in  the  north,  and 
Helvellyn  in  the  east  also  exceed  3,000  feet.  Geologically  the  Lake  District 
consists  of  a  central  mass  of  Silurian  volcanic  rocks,  with  sedimentary 
strata  of  the  same  age,  to  north  and  south ;  surrounded  by  a  ring  of 
Carboniferous  limestone,  with  Coal  Measures  on  the  north-west,  and  a 
broken  rim  of  newer  rocks — the  New  Red  Sandstones — outside  the  whole. 

In  the  central  valleys  the  population  has  always  been  sparse,  the  ex- 
tremely wet  climate  makes  agriculture  impossible,  and  only  a  few  cattle  and 
sheep  are  kept.  Plumbago  mines  in  Borrowdale  gave  rise  to  the  manufacture 
of  pencils  at  Keswick,  and  this  industry  continues  although  the  mines  have 
been  exhausted  ;  graphite  is  now  imported  from  Ceylon,  and  the  cedar  for 
the  sticks  is  brought  from  Florida.  The  romantic  beauty  of  the  Lake 
District  attracted  attention  about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and 
ever  since  it  has  been  a  haunt  of  tourists.  It  is  a  favourite  residence  for 
poets,  artists,  and  men  of  letters,  who  have  striven  to  introduce  home 
industries  in  order  to  retain  the  small  population  in  their  native  dales.  On 
the  outer  margin  coal  is  mined,  and  the  remarkably  pure  hematite  iron  ore 
has  caused  the  artificial  harbour  of  Barrow-in-Furness  to  spring  into  pros- 
perity in  the  south-west.  The  heavy  rainfall  of  the  district  is  utilised  by 
the  conversion  of  Thirlmere  into  a  reservoir  for  the  water  supply  of  Man- 
chester, and  some  of  the  streams  are  utilised  for  producing  electrical  energy. 

Wales.— Wales  as  a  physical  region  comprises  the  peninsula  between 
the  estuary  of  the  Dee  and  the  Bristol  Channel,  and  extends  on  the  east  to 
the  Severn  valley,  but  the  counties  of  Cheshire,  Shropshire,  Hereford,  and 
Monmouth  have  long  ceased  to  be  Welsh  ;  Monmouth  is,  however,  usually 
classed  with  Wales  for  statistical  purposes.  The  very  ancient  rocks  known 
as  Cambrian  and  Silurian  were  called  after  the  land  of  the  Cymri  and 
Silures,  and  they  form  the  main  bulk  of  the  dissected  highland  of  the 
peninsula.  The  north-western  and  south-western  extremities  are  rendered 
more  resisting  by  intruded  igneous  sheets  and  dykes,  and  consequently 


164  The  International  Geography- 
project  boldly,  while  the  more  yielding  rocks  between  them  have  been  cut 
back  into  the  harbourless  Cardigan  Bay.  In  Anglesea  and  Carnarvon  on 
the  north-west,  the  strata  and  their  igneous  intrusions  run  in  narrow  bands 
from  north-east  to  south-west.  One  of  these  bands  gives  origin  to  the 
channel  of  Menai  Strait  which,  like  that  cutting  off  Holy  Island  on  the 
west,  is  so  narrow  that  the  harbour  of  Holy  head,  lying  nearly  on  the  straight 
line  joining  London  and  Dublin,  can  be  reached  by  rail,  and  thus  used  for 
the  mail  route  to  Ireland.  Masses  of  igneous  rock  have  given  rise  to 
Snowdon,  the  highest  mountain  in  Wales  (3,570  feet)  and  other  high 
summits  in  the  neighbourhood,  as  well  as  to  the  fine  ridge  of  Cader  Idris 
(2,930  feet)  further  south.  The  slate  mountains  of  North  Wales  are  very 
extensively  quarried,  and  keep  several  small  seaports  at  work,  as  no  slate 
of  equal  quality  is  found  elsewhere  in  the  British  Islands.  Both  the  north 
and  the  west  coasts  of  Wales  attract  many  residents  and  summer  visitors 
on  account  of  their  combination  of  mild  climate  and  fine  scenery.  In 
Pembroke  on  the  south  the  hard  igneous  rocks  run  in  narrow  bands  from 
east  to  west,  and  there  Milford  Haven,  the  only  fjord-like  inlet  of  the  coast, 
is  a  magnificent  natural  harbour.  Because  it  lies  farther  from  coal  than 
the  tidal  harbours  of  the  Bristol  Channel,  and  is  remote  from  the  great 
centres  of  manufacture  and  population,  it  is  only  beginning  to  be  utilised 
as  a  trans-Atlantic  shipping  port.  Around  the  very  ancient  rocks  of 
Wales  there  are  several  patches  of  the  Coal  Measures  contained  in  basins 
or  synclinal  troughs.  One  detached  basin  runs  south  from  the  estuary 
of  the  Dee  in  the  north,  and  others  of  smaller  size  appear  in  the  Severn 
valley,  at  Coalbrookdale,  the  Forest  of  Wyre  and  the  Forest  of  Dean,  each 
supporting  a  group  of  small  but  busy  mining  and  manufacturing  towns. 

The  South  Wales  Coal-field. — One  great  geological  basin  fills 
the  south  and  east  of  Wales,  in  a  synclinal  hollow  of  the  ancient  Silurian 
strata,  the  upturned  edges  of  which  running  to  the  north-east  originate  the 
striking  scenery  of  Wenlock  Edge,  and  on  the  east  form  the  singularly 
graceful  line  of  the  Malvern  Hills.  Within  this  rim  there  is  a  great 
expanse  of  Old  Red  Sandstone  rising  on  the  west  into  the  Black  Mountains, 
and  reaching  an  altitude  of  2,900  feet  in  the  rugged  and  barren  Brecon 
Beacons.  On  the  east  the  Old  Red  Sandstone  sinks  to  form  the  low 
sheltered  and  exceedingly  fertile  plain  of  Hereford  bearing  the  finest 
orchards  in  England,  and  hop  gardens  rivalling  those  of  Kent.  It  is 
watered  in  the  south  by  the  Wye,  the  most  picturesque  of  English  rivers. 
The  plain  was  formerly  of  great  strategic  value,  as  it  commanded  the  passes 
into  Wales,  now  its  importance  appears  in  providing  a  "  west  and  north  " 
railway  route,  in  conjunction  with  the  Severn  tunnel,  from  Bristol  to  Crewe, 
converging  at  Shrewsbury  with  the  route  by  the  Severn  valley.  Within 
the  Old  Red  Sandstone,  between  the  Brecon  Beacons  and  the  Bristol 
Channel,  the  Carboniferous  rocks  are  held  as  in  a  cup.  The  South  Wales 
coal-field  has  an  area  of  1,000  square  miles,  and  is  shared  mainly  by  the 
counties  of  Glamorgan  and  Monmouth.  Its  perfect  basin  shape  is  shown 


England  and  Wales 


by  the  outcrop  all  round  it  of  the  Dent-up  edges  of  the  Millstone  Grit,  the 
"  farewell  rock  "  of  the  miners,  and  the  Carboniferous  limestone,  which  lie 
under  the  coal.  The  Coal  Measures  form  a  plateau  which  descends 
from  an  elevation  of  about  1,200  feet  in  the  north  to  700  feet  in  the 
south,  and  then  sinks  to  a  coastal  plain  of  newer  rocks.  It  is  trenched 
by  remarkably  steep-sided  and  deeply-cut  valleys  running  southward  almost 
parallel  to  one  another.  The  coal  seams  crop  out  along  the  sides  of  these 
valleys,  the  floors  of  which  are  traversed  by  railways  and  lined  with  mining 
villages,  contrasting  with  the  nearly  uninhabited  uplands  between  them. 
The  railways  converge  on  the  east  to  the  Ebbw  valley,  at  the  confluence  of 
which  with  the  Usk  the  ancient  town  of  Newport  has  become  a  modern 
coal-shipping  port ;  and  on  the  west  to  the  far  more  important  Taff  valley. 
Where  the  Taff  enters  the  coal-field  on  the  north  a  little  village  took  the 
name  of  Merthyr-Tydfil,  from  the  martyrdom  of  an  early  Welsh  princess 
named  Tydfil.  In  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  coal  mines  and 
iron  works  were  established 
there,  and  a  large  though  un- 
pretending town  has  grown  on 
a  poor  site  over  500  feet  above 
the  sea.  The  neighbouring 
valleys  of  the  Cynon  and  the 
Rhondda  converge  to  the  Taff, 
and  the  output  of  the  whole 
goes  by  the  Taff  Vale  railway 
to  Cardiff,  where  there  are  great 
docks  rendered  accessible  at 

high  water  to  the  largest  vessels 

*  FIG.  78.— The  South  Wales  Coal-field. 

by  the  high  tides  of  the  Bristol 

Channel.  Cardiff  is  the  seat  of  numerous  manufactures,  mainly  connected 
with  iron  and  tin-plate.  Some  miles  to  the  west  a  desolate  sandy  tract 
of  coast  was  made  the  site  of  a  large  artificial  harbour,  Barry  Dock,  in  1889, 
which  now  exports  an  enormous  amount  of  coal,  and  is  the  centre  of  a 
considerable  town.  Swansea  farther  west  has  long  been  engaged  in 
copper-smelting,  ore  being  imported  from  all  parts  of  the  world,  and  it  is 
also  one  of  the  chief  manufacturing  places  for  tin-plate.  This  industry  is 
carried  on  in  villages  in  all  the  valleys  of  South  Wales,  the  locality  being 
originally  determined  by  the  proximity  of  the  coal-field  to  the  Cornish 
tin-mining  district,  although  now  most  of  the  tin  is  imported  from 
Singapore. 

The  Severn  Valley.— The  rivers  flowing  down  the  steep  northern, 
southern,  and  western  slopes  of  the  Welsh  highlands  are  short  and  swift. 
On  the  eastern  slope  the  Dee  flows  out  of  Bala  lake  at  the  base  of  the 
culminating  volcanic  mass  of  North  Wales,  and  turns  northward  to 
meander  over  the  Cheshire  plain.  The  Vyrnwy,  rising  close  to  the  source 
of  the  Dee,  fills  an  artificial  lake  formed  by  the  Liverpool  water-works  in 


1 66      The   International  Geography 

an  ancient  lake-bed,  in  the  desolate  pastoral  region  of  central  Wales, 
and  flows  to  the  Severn.  This  river,  rising  farther  south  and  west,  sweeps 
across  and  around  the  margin  of  the  ancient  rocks  to  flow  southward  down 
its  broad  valley  over  Triassic  strata,  collecting  the  whole  drainage  of  the 
eastward  slopes  of  Wales,  and  receiving  only  one  important  tributary,  the 
Avon,  on  the  left  from  the  Central  Plain  of  England.  The  names  of 
Gloucester,  Worcester,  and  Chester  testify  to  the  military  importance  the 
Romans  attached  to  the  line  of  communication  through  the  Severn  and 
Dee  valleys,  flanking  Wales.  The  fine  cathedrals  of  Gloucester,  Worcester 
and  Hereford  afford  evidence  of  the  value  of  the  Welsh  border  when 
agriculture  was  the  one  source  of  wealth,  and  they  all  continue  to  be 
thriving  market  towns  and  the  seat  of  various  minor  manufactures. 
Gloucester  is  made  accessible  to  ocean-going  vessels  by  a  ship  canal  from 
the  Severn  estuary.  The  commercial  importance  of  this  estuary  was 
anciently  due  mainly  to  Bristol,  which  grew  up  as  a  seaport  on  the 
southern  Avon,  and  in  the  fourteenth  century  was  second  only  to  London. 
From  this  port  Cabot  sailed  on  his  voyage  of  discovery  westward, 
and  a  great  trade  with  America  was  kept  up  for  two  centuries  in  sugar 
and  tobacco ;  the  tobacco  trade  still  continuing  important,  as  well  as 
that  in  chocolate  and  in  timber.  The  first  steamer  to  cross  the  Atlantic 
sailed  from  Bristol  in  1838,  but  the  introduction  of  steam  has  benefited 
other  seaports  more,  and  for  a  time  it  declined  in  importance.  There 
are  considerable  manufactures,  coal  being  obtained  from  a  small  coal-field 
in  the  neighbourhood.  A  tunnel  four  and  a  half  miles  in  length,  the  longest 
in  England,  under  the  Severn,  connects  Bristol  with  South  Wales. 

The  Cornwall  and  Devon  Peninsula.— The  peninsula  of  Cornwall 
and  Devon  forms  a  natural  region  of  ancient  Palaeozoic  rocks  separated 
from  the  newer  rocks  of  the  east  along  a  line  drawn  from  Bridgwater  Bay 
to  Torquay.  It  may  be  viewed  as  a  synclinal  trough  like  those  in  the 
south  of  Ireland,  running  east  and  west  with  Old  Red  Sandstone  strata  on 
the  north  and  south  (which  derived  the  alternative  name  of  Devonian  from 
thus  occurring),  and  Lower  Carboniferous  rocks,  not  containing  any  coal, 
forming  the  lower  ground  between.  The  northern  outcrop  of  the  Devonian 
strata  forms  a  barren  upland  sloping  gently  southward  from  Exmoor, 
where  its  highest  point  exceeds  1,600  feet,  but  falling  steeply  to  the  sea. 
The  coast  is  picturesque  with  lofty  cliffs  and  rocky  shores  dotted  with 
frequented  summer  resorts  at  the  mouths  of  short  deeply  cut  valleys.  The 
river  Exe  flows  almost  due  south  from  its  source,  only  four  miles  from  the 
Bristol  Channel,  to  its  estuary  on  the  English  Channel.  The  Devonian 
strata  on  the  south  do  not  stand  out  so  prominently  ;  but  they  are  pierced 
by  several  of  the  greatest  outbursts  of  granite  in  England,  which  form 
prominent  uplands.  The  largest  is  the  plateau  of  Dartmoor,  rising  in 
many  points  to  over  1,500  feet,  and  in  Yes  Tor  to  over  2,000.  The  surface 
is  wilder  and  more  barren  than  Exmoor,  affording  only  a  little  pasture  in 
summer.  The  granite  weathers  into  clay  which  allows  great  marshes  and 


England  and  Wales 


167 


peat  bogs  to  form.  In  the  centre  of  the  moor  in  one  of  the  most  desolate 
regions  of  all  England  a  great  convict  prison  has  been  established. 
Separated  from  Dartmoor  by  the  valley  of  the  Tamar,  which  runs  south 
to  Plymouth  Sound,  dividing  Cornwall  from  Devon,  Bodmin  Moor, 
another  granite  boss,  culminates  in  Brown  Willy,  1,370  feet.  A  third  mass 
of  granite  gives  character  to  the  Land's  End  peninsula,  its  cliffs  carved 
into  fantastic  forms  by  atmospheric  erosion.  Lizard  Head  is  formed  by  a 
similar  mass  of  the  rarer  rock,  serpentine.  The  contact  of  the  granite  with 
the  rocks  which  it  pierces  marks  the  richest  part  for  veins  of  metallic  ore, 
especially  copper  and  tin ;  the  latter  is  still  largely  worked,  though  most 
of  the  copper  mines  are  closed.  The  decomposed  granite  itself  forms 
China-clay,  a  valuable  product  which  is  not  found  on  the  granites  of 
Scotland  or  northern  England,  whence  all  soft  material  was  swept  by  the 
ice-sheet.  The  rocky  coast  is  highly  picturesque  on  account  of  the 
diversity  of  its  geological  structure,  and 
shelters  numerous  fjord-like  natural  har- 
bours and  bays.  These  are  evidence  that 
the  coast  has  been  undergoing  subsidence, 
which  is  confirmed  by  the  existence  of  sub- 
merged forests,  records  of  land  washed 
away,  and  the  tradition  of  the  sunken  land 
of  Lyonesse  between  Cornwall  and  the 
Scilly  Islands.  Penzance,  on  Mounts  Bay, 
is  the  headquarters  of  the  pilchard  fishery. 
Fal mouth  and  Dartmouth  were  formerly 
important  harbours.  Plymouth,  standing 
at  the  junction  of  the  estuaries  of  the 
Tamar  and  Plym,  really  consists  of  "  The 
Three  Towns  "  —  Plymouth,  Devonport, 
and  Stonehouse.  Plymouth  Sound,  pro-  FlG"  79-«V«o«tt  Sound. 

tected  by  a  breakwater,  is  one  of  the  finest  harbours  in  England,  and  it  is 
one  of  the  headquarters  of  the  British  fleet.  The  arsenal  is  protected  by  an 
extensive  series  of  modern  fortifications.  The  south  coast  of  the  peninsula 
having  the  mildest  climate  in  Great  Britain,  has  attracted  many  residents,  and 
abounds  in  picturesque  health  resorts.  Of  these  Torquay  is  the  largest  and 
best  known.  The  southern  coast-lands  are  very  fertile,  and  fruit-growing 
is  extensively  carried  on,  especially  the  growth  of  apples  for  cider-making. 
The  low  plateau  of  Lower  Carboniferous  rocks  in  the  centre  of  the  penin- 
sula has  rich  grass-land  and  excels  in  cattle-raising. 

The  Scilly  Islands  consist  of  140  islets  and  rocks  lying  about  30 
miles  west  of  Lands  End.  The  larger  of  the  islands  are  inhabited,  and 
advantage  is  taken  of  the  exceptionally  mild  climate  to  raise  flowers  and 
early  vegetables  for  the  London  market.  Here  accordingly  there  is  no 
agricultural  depression,  and  the  few  inhabitants  are  prosperous.  Com- 
munication takes  place  by  steamer  with  Penzance. 


1 68       The  International   Geography 

The  Pennine  Chain. — The  Pennine  Chain  is  a  backbone  to 
northern  England,  and  its  bold  configuration  determines  the  river  systems 
of  the  whole  country  north  of  the  Tees-Exe  line.  It  is  formed  throughout 
of  a  great  anticline  or  arch  of  Carboniferous  rock,  which  was  originally 
ridged  up  from  east  and  west.  Rivetted,  if  one  may  use  a  metaphor,  to 
the  Southern  Uplands  of  Scotland  by  the  great  granitic  mass  of  the  Cheviot 
hills,  and  numerous  long  volcanic  dykes  which  run  east  and  west,  the 
Pennine  chain  extends  southward  until  the  heights  spread  out  into  finger- 
like  ridges  which  sink  to  the  level  of  the  English  Central  Plain,  and  the 
Carboniferous  rocks  dip  under  the  Triassic  formations.  The  Coal  Measures, 
the  highest  member  of  the  Carboniferous  series,  have  been  stripped  off  the 
top  of  the  ridge  by  denudation,  leaving  the  Carboniferous  limestones  and 
Millstone  Grit  exposed ;  but  they  appear  here  and  there  along  its  flanks. 
On  the  eastern  side  the  great  coal-field  of  Northumberland  and  Durham 
occurs  in  the  north,  and  that  of  the  West  Riding  of  Yorkshire  in  the  south. 
These  are  separated  from  the  newer  rocks  by  a  belt  of  Magnesian  Limer 
stone  running  due  south  from  the  mouth  of  the  Tyne  almost  to  the  Trent,  and 
forming  a  picturesque  escarpment  towards  the  west.  On  the  west  side  the 
fault  which  separates  the  Pennine  Chain  from  the  rocks  of  the  Lake 
District  destroys  the  symmetry  in  the  north,  though  the  Cumberland  coal- 
field in  a  way  corresponds  with  that  of  Northumberland  ;  but  in  the 
south  the  coal-field  of  Lancashire  corresponds  closely  to  that  of  Yorkshire. 
The  Carboniferous  limestone  exposed  in  the  northern  and  in  the  southern 
parts  of  the  ridge  weathers  into  very  picturesque  heights  and  valleys,  and 
subterranean  erosion  has  formed  in  it  many  caverns  and  underground 
stream-courses.  The  highest  summits  are  in  the  Crossf ell  group  (2,900  feet), 
overlooking  the  Eden  valley  in  a  grand  escarpment,  the  bold  form  of 
which  is  intensified  by  an  intrusive  sheet  of  basalt ;  and  the  somewhat 
lower  but  more  picturesque  uplands  of  the  Peak  district  (highest  summit, 
2,800  feet).  The  middle  portion  of  the  chain,  formed  of  Millstone  Grit,  also 
weathers  into  fine  peaks  of  a  different  type,  and  grass-covered  uplands. 
It  is  crossed  by  a  depression  between  the  valleys  of  the  Wharfe  and 
Ribble,  the  highest  point  of  which  only  reaches  500  feet  Beyond  the 
limits  of  the  Pennine  Chain  the  Coal  Measures,  which  had  dipped  below 
the  Triassic  rocks,  come  up  like  islands  as  the  coal-fields  of  Staffordshire 
and  Leicestershire,  while  the  coal  may  be  reached  in  many  places  by  deep 
mines  carried  down  through  the  younger  overlying  rocks.  Most  of  the 
great  manufacturing  towns  of  England  are  situated  on  the  Triassic  plain 
bordering  the  Carboniferous  uplands.  The  rivers  flowing  from  the 
Pennine  chain  form  long  valleys,  or  dales,  furrowing  the  uplands  and 
affording  sites  for  the  towns.  Their  estuaries  are  important  harbours, 
especially  the  Ribble  and  Mersey  on  the  west,  and  on  the  east  the  Tyne, 
Tees,  and  the  many  streams  converging  from  east  and  south  to  enter  the 
Humber.  Yorkshire,,  Lancashire  and  Northumberland,  the  three  chief 
counties  of  the  Pennine  Chain,  are  known  for  the  sturdy  independence, 


England  and  Wales  169 

great  perseverance,  and  industrial  capacity  of  their  people.  Small  towns 
in  picturesque  situations  and  in  the  neighbourhood  of  mineral  springs 
have  risen  into  fame  as  watering  places  and  health  resorts ;  such  are 
Harrogate,  Buxton,  and  Mattock. 

The  high  moorlands  are  adapted  for  sheep  pastures,  and  it  is  natural 
that  the  villages  and  market  towns  in  the  sheltered  dales  should,  from  an 
early  period,  have  been  engaged  in  the  wool  trade  and  the  weaving  of 
woollen  goods.  The  fertile  plains  surrounding  the  uplands  as  naturally 
became  valuable  for  agriculture  and  stock-raising.  The  minerals  were 
worked  from  early  times,  but  it  was  not  until  the  era  of  machinery  was  intro- 
duced by  the  inventive  genius  of  the  people  of  the  district,  that  the  stores 
of  iron  and  coal  localised  the  greatest  seat  of  textile  manufactures  in  the 
world.  The  lines  of  communication  from  north  to  south  were  necessarily 
carried  along  the  bordering  plains.  That  on  the  east  ran  through  the  Vale 
of  York  and  then  along  the  coastal  plain,  where  Berwick,  with  its  long 
bridge  over  the  Tweed,  was  an  important  stopping  place,  and  until  the 
end  of  the  fifteenth  century  was  frequently  taken  and  retaken  by  Scottish 
and  English  armies.  The  North- Eastern  Railway  now  follows  this  route* 
On  the  west  the  road  followed  the  coastal  plain,  but  turned  northward  up 
the  Lune  valley  to  Carlisle,  always  an  important  border  town.  This  is  now 
the  route  of  the  London  and  North- Western  Railway,  but  the  Midland 
Railway  runs  along  the  watershed  of  the  Pennines,  and  descends  by  the 
Eden  valley  to  Carlisle,  the  importance  of  that  junction  being  further 
enhanced  by  the  cross-country  line  from  Newcastle  through  the  Tyne 
valley,  and  the  three  main  lines  from  Scotland. 


FIG.  80.— The  Tyne  Ports. 

The  Northumberland  and  Durham  Coal-field. — The  counties 
of  Northumberland  and  Durham  are  separated  by  the  river  Tyne,  which 
runs  across  the  middle  of  the  coal  basin  to  the  sea.  Newcastle  takes  its 
name  from  a  castle  erected  immediately  after  the  Norman  conquest  close 
to  the  site  of  the  ancient  Roman  bridge  which  gave  origin  to  the  town. 
The  shipping  of  coal  from  Newcastle  (called  "  sea-coal "  in  the  old  days) 
has  gone  on  from  the  thirteenth  century,  and  it  ifc  still  the  greatest  coal- 


170       The   International   Geography 

shipping  port  for  coasting  trade.  The  Tyne  for  ten  miles,  from  Newcastle 
to  the  sea,  has  been  deepened  to  admit  large  vessels,  and  the  harbours  of 
North  and  South  Shields  at  its  mouth  are  included  with  the  docks  which 
line  the  river  as  the  Tyne  Ports  for  custom-house  purposes.  Gateshead,  on 
the  south  side  of  the  river,  shares  the  industries  of  Newcastle,  which  are 
chiefly  the  manufacture  of  iron,  machinery,  and  chemicals.  The  great 
Elswick  Works,  where  the  largest  warships  are  built,  rank  with  the  works 
at  Essen  in  Germany  and  Le  Creusot  in  France.  One  characteristic  of 
the  manufacturing  region  surrounding  Newcastle,  as  of  that  in  South 
Wales,  is  the  absence  of  factories  employing  women.  This  gives  rise  to 
quite  different  social  conditions  from  those  prevailing  on  the  other  coal- 
fields where  factory  work  predominates.  Sunderland,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Wear,  almost  rivals  the  Clyde  in  shipbuilding,  and  like  the  Hartlepools, 
just  north  of  the  Tees,  it  has  a  considerable  coal  export.  The  picturesque 
cathedral  city  of  Durham  contains  a  university,  the  science  college  of 
which  is  in  Newcastle. 

The  West  Riding  Coal-field.— The  ancient  woollen  industries  of 
the  Pennine  villages  have  developed  by  the  aid  of  mechanical  power  and 
perfected  communications  until  the  valleys  of  the  Aire  and  Don,  with  their 
tributaries,  are  now  amongst  the  most  densely  peopled  of  manufacturing 
districts,  although  the  uplands  between  them  are  still  desolate  moors. 
Half  a  dozen  railway  lines  connect  this  coal-field  across  the  central  ridge 
with  the  Lancashire  coal-field  on  the  west,  and  communication  with  the 
south  and  east  is  still  more  complete.  Most  of  the  raw  wool  is  now 
imported  through  Liverpool,  and  the  export  of  finished  goods  takes  place 
both  through  that  port  and  through  Hull.  Leeds,  the  largest  town  of  the 
district,  stands  near  the  point  where  Airedale  opens  on  the  Vale  of  York, 
and  while  it  has  become  one  of  the  chief  cloth  manufacturing  towns  and 
the  leading  cloth  market  in  Europe,  it  does  not  rely  on  one  staple.  Iron, 
smelted  in  the  town,  supplies  great  engineering  works  at  which  heavy 
machinery  of  all  kinds  is  turned  out.  Bradford,  about  eight  miles  further 
west,  specialises  in  the  manufacture  of  worsted  yarn  and  cloths  woven 
from  it.  Halifax  and  Huddersfield,  on  the  extreme  west  of  the  coal-field, 
and  many  other  large  towns  in  the  neighbourhood,  each  manufactures  some 
special  class  of  woollen  goods.  Sheffield  depends  not  on  woollen  but  on 
steel  manufactures.  It  is  beautifully  situated  in  a  picturesque  amphi- 
theatre of  hills  at  the  junction  of  several  streams  with  the  Don.  It  has 
been  famous  for  its  cutlery  for  many  centuries,  and  has  always  imported 
Swedish  iron  for  use  in  this  manufacture,  which  is  said  to  have  been 
promoted  by  the  existence  of  good  grindstone  quarries  in  the  neighbour- 
hood. All  branches  of  steel  manufacture  are  now  concentrated  here, 
including  steel  rails,  armour  plates  for  battleships,  and  machinery. 

Outside  Yorkshire,  Nottingham,  where  the  south-east  of  the  coal-field 
practically  touches  the  Trent,  is  a  great  textile  manufacturing  town, 
the  staple  of  its  trade  being  cotton  hosiery  and  lace.  Derby,  in  a  similar 


England  and  Wales  171 


position  where  the  south-western  corner  of  the  coal-field  nearly  touches 
the  Derwent,  a  tributary  of  the  Trent,  has  somewhat  similar  manufactures, 
and  has  in  addition  the  works  of  the  Midland  Railway  Company  whose 
main  line  traverses  the  coal-field. 

The  East  Yorkshire  Plain  and  the  Humber. — The  escarpment 
of  Magnesian  Limestone  which  marks  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  Coal 
Measures  is  separated  by  a  narrow  arm  of  the  Central  Plain  from  the  Oolitic 
escarpment.  This  plain,  underlain  by  Triassic  or  New  Red  sandstones, 
stretches  northward  through  Nottinghamshire  from  the  point  where  the 
Trent  begins  to  turn  northward,  to  the  estuary  of  the  Tees.  In  some  parts  of 
it  coal  can  be  reached  by  deep  mines,  but  the  surface  being  covered  by  rich 
soil  its  value  is  mainly  agricultural.  The  richness  of  the  land  and  quiet 
beauty  of  the  country,  varied  by  the  remains  of  Sherwood  and  other 
ancient  forests,  have  led  to  the  building  of  many  fine  country  mansions, 
and  one  part  bears  the  familiar  name  of  the  "  Dukeries,"  on  account  of  the 
number  of  ducal  seats.  It  is,  as  a  wHole,  a  low  and  level  plain,  dipping 
gently  from  both  sides  to  the  Humber,  the  Trent  running  northward  along 
its  eastern  margin,  and  the  Ouse  with  its  tributaries  running  southward. 
The  Vale  of  York,  famous  for  its  farms  and  for  its  horse  breeding,  is 
covered  with  alluvial  and  glacial  deposits.  In  the  middle  York  is  situated, 
the  ancient  walls  still  encircling  the  town,  and  its  magnificent  Minster  being 
claimed  as  the  finest  church  in  the  British  Islands.  The  central  position, 
midway  between  London  and  Edinburgh,  which  made  it,  as  Eboracum, 
the  capital  of  Roman  Britain,  now  secures  it  importance  as  a  railway 
junction.  Hull,  although  situated  in  the  Chalk  Belt,  owes  its  importance 
entirely  to  being  the  deep-water  harbour  on  the  North  Sea  nearest  to  the 
coal-fields  of  the  West  Riding  and  Lancashire,  with  which  it  is  in  close 
railway  connection.  It  is  the  natural  complement  of  Liverpool,  serving 
for  the  export  of  manufactures  to  the  Baltic  and  Continental  ports.  Its 
old  trade  in  fish  still  continues  although  surpassed  by  other  interests. 

The  Lancashire  Coal-field.— The  Lancashire  manufacturing  region, 
including  the  portions  lying  in  the  neighbouring  county  of  Cheshire, 
has  a  population  as  large  as  that  of  Scotland,  and  there  is  probably  no 
other  part  of  the  world  of  equal  extent  so  densely  peopled.  The  coal-field 
only  yields  enough  for  local  consumption  in  the  innumerable  factories  and 
engineering  and  chemical  works,  and  there  is  no  export  of  coal.  Although 
the  towns  are  marked  on  ordinary  maps  as  separate  and  distinct,  this  only 
refers  to  the  different  municipalities.  The  area  covered  by  buildings  is 
almost  continuous  for  a  radius  of  eight  miles  round  the  centre  of  Man- 
chester on  the  low  western  plain,  and  large  towns  are  clustered  close 
outside,  while  strings  of  industrial  villages  run  up  the  narrow  dales  of  the 
Pennine  Chain  to  the  east  between  the  moorland  pastures.  The  woollen 
industry  was  originally  as  common  in  this  district  as  on  the  Yorkshire 
side  ;  but  the  imported  cotton  has  long  since  taken  the  first  place,  the 
moist  climate  favouring  its  manufacture.  The  twin  centres  are  Liverpool 
13 


172       The   International  Geography 


and  Birkenhead,  the  gate  for  exports  and  imports,  and  Manchester  and 
Salford  the  depots  for  distributing  the  raw  material  to  surrounding 
manufacturing  towns,  and  collecting  the  finished  goods.  The  opening  of 
the  Manchester  Ship  Canal  which  allows  ocean  steamers  to  come  direct 
to  the  inland  centre  has  not  yet  materially  affected  this  relation.  Liverpool 
runs  for  six  miles  along  the  right  or  eastern  bank  of  the  Mersey  estuary, 
and  for  this  distance  there  is  a  continuous  row  of  docks,  outside  which 
a  floating  landing-stage  allows  the  largest  steamers  to  come  alongside  for 
embarking  and  landing  passengers.  The  tides  of  the  estuary  are  very 
rapid,  but  a  serious  bar  which  used  to  prevent  large  vessels  entering  at 
low  water  has  been  completely  cut  through  by  dredging,  and  the  port  is 
always  accessible.  As  well  as  a  great  exchange  and  other  business  edifices, 
Liverpool  possesses  fine  public  buildings  and  museums,  and  one  of  the 
colleges  of  the  Victoria  University.  Birkenhead  on  the  left  bank  of  the 

estuary  is  approached 
by  ferry  steamers  and 
by  a  tunnel  under  the 
Mersey.  Apart  from 
its  docks  it  is  a  resi- 
dential suburb  of 
Liverpool.  Although 
there  are  extensive 
engineering  works, 
some  shipbuilding, 
and  a  large  number 
of  manufactures  of 
every  kind,  the  real 
importance  of  Liver- 
pool lies  in  its  harbour 
and  the  associated 


FlG.  81. — Liverpool  and  Birkenhead. 


railway  system.  The  lower  course  of  the  Mersey  between  Manchester 
and  Liverpool  is  over  a  low,  flat  and  ,marshy  plain,  which  was  originally 
almost  impassable  on  account  of  bogs,  and  the  construction  of  the 
first  railway  between  the  two  towns  (30  miles)  across  the  Chat  Moss 
in  1829,  was  considered  one  of  the  greatest  engineering  feats  of  the 
time.  This  bog  and  many  others  have  since  been  drained  and  converted 
into  solid  ground.  Manchester  forms  practically  one  town  with  Salford, 
though  separated  from  it  by  the  narrow  stream  of  the  Irwell,  which 
like  most  rivers  of  the  district  is  as  black  as  ink  from  dye  refuse.  The 
centre  consists  mainly  of  vast  warehouses,  for  Manchester  itself  is  mercan- 
tile rather  than  manufacturing;  the  Royal  Exchange  is  said  to  be  the 
largest  building  of  its  kind  in  existence,  and  the  Town  Hall  is  also  a  superb 
structure.  Owen's  College  is  the  chief  college  of  Victoria  University.  The 
factories  are  in  the  suburbs  and  in  the  ring  of  neighbouring  towns.  Ashton, 
Oldham,  Rochdale,  Bury,  and  Bolton  (or  Bolton-le-Moors)  lie  close  up  to 


England  and  Wales 


the  steep  rise  of  the  Pennine  moorlands  along  the  third  part  of  a  circle 
from  east  to  north-west  of  Manchester,  and  all  are  within  ten  miles  of  its 
centre.  Oldham  is  by  far  the  most  important  for  manufactures ;  in  fact  it 
contains  one-third  of  all  the  cotton  spindles  in  England.  Bolton  specialises 
in  the  finest  qualities  of  cotton  yarn,  and  Bury  and  Rochdale  retain  a  con- 
siderable woollen  manufacture,  although  cotton-spinning  predominates. 
Close  to  the  northern  edge  of  the  coal-field  Preston  stands  at  the  head  of 
sea  navigation  on  the  Kibble,  where  the  main  line  of  the  London  and 
North- Western  Railway  crosses  the  river.  Here  Arkwright  set  up  the  first 
spinning  frames  worked  by  mechanical  power  in  1768,  and  the  cotton 


FIG.  82. — The  Manchester  District. 

industry  is  still  of  great  importance.  At  Blackburn,  in  a  valley  nine  miles 
to  the  east,  Hargreaves  had  established  his  "spinning  jenny"  in  1767,  and 
it  is  still  one  of  the  chief  seats  of  cotton -weaving.  The  canal  from  Liver- 
pool to  Leeds  and  a  railway  pass  eastward  through  Blackburn  and  up  the 
valley  which  leads  across  the  Pennine  ridge  to  Airedale,  through  Accring- 
ton  and  Burnley.  All  these  towns  depend  on  cotton.  The  number  of 
factories  on  this  coal-field  creates  an  enormous  demand  for  machinery, 
and  the  towns  consequently  contain  large  engineering  works.  There  are 
extensive  chemical,  glass  and  soap  works  at  St.  Helens,  and  other  towns 
surrounding  Liverpool.  The  great  industrial  population  of  the  region 


174      The   International   Geography 

requires  the  creation  of  a  number  of  health  and  pleasure  resorts  on  the 
breezy  uplands  of  the  Pennine  Chain,  and  along  the  fine  sand-beaches  of 
the  coast  where  Southport  and  Blackpool  are  the  largest  of  a  host  of 
watering  places. 

The  Central  Plain.— The  Central  Plain  of  England  may  be  looked 
on  as  extending  from  the  Mersey  and  Dee  estuaries,  and  the  southern 
slope  of  the  Pennine  Chain  on  the  north  to  the  Welsh  hills  on  the  west,  and 
the  line  of  the  Oolitic  escarpment  on  the  south  and  east.  It  corresponds 
to  the  region  of  the  Triassic  red  rocks  and  of  the  Lias  ;  only  where  the 
strata  have  been  raised  into  gentle  north  and  south  folds  in  the  west, 
patches  of  the  Coal  Measures  have  been  exposed  by  denudation.  Here  the 
surface  is  comparatively  high  and  undulated,  but  it  forms  one  low  plain 
traversed  by  the  Weaver  on  the  north-west,  and  another  followed  by  the 
Avon  to  the  south-west,  while  on  the  east  the  rivers  flowing  from  the 
Pennine  dales  and  the  short  streams  from  the  Oolitic  escarpment  converge 
on  the  Trent,  the  course  of  which  is  guided  northward  by  the  low  escarp- 
ment of  one  of  the  hard  beds  of  the  Lias.  This  plain  comprises  the  greater 
part  of  the  counties  of  Cheshire,  Staffordshire,  Worcester,  Warwickshire, 
Leicestershire,  and  Nottingham.  It  is  very  rich  agriculturally,  and  was 
formerly  covered  by  extensive  woods  ;  the  names  of  the  Forest  of  Arden 
and  Charnwood  Forest  being  still  applied  to  large  districts.  Now 
pasturage  is  of  the  greatest  importance,  the  cattle  of  the  west  and  the 
horses  and  sheep  of  the  east  being  famous.  It  is  full  of  scenes  of  historical 
interest ;  castles  round  which  hang  romantic  traditions  of  all  ages  of 
English  history,  battlefields  where  the  destinies  of  the  nation  have  been 
decided,  and  crossing  points  of  natural  routes  which  were  guarded  by 
Roman  camps  in  ancient  days,  and  are  served  by  railway  junctions  like 
Crewe,  Stafford,  Rugby,  and  Leicester,  in  our  own  time.  It  is  the  centre 
of  England,  and  the  scenery  around  Stratford-on-Avon\  which  inspired 
Shakespeare,  may  be  taken  as  typical  of  all  that  is  most  characteristic  of 
rural  England.  Across  this  plain  there  is  a  network  of  canals  which 
practically  places  all  the  navigable  rivers  of  the  country  in  communication 
with  one  another. 

The  Cheshire  Plain  and  Potteries. — The  Cheshire  Plain  is  one  of 
the  richest  grazing  districts,  and  celebrated  especially  for  its  cheese. 
Chester  is  remarkable  for  the  perfection  with  which  its  Roman  wall 
surrounding  the  town  has  been  preserved,  and  for  the  quaint  mediaeval 
streets  with  arcaded  pavements.  It  was  a  seaport  in  Roman  times,  but  the 
head  of  the  estuary  of  the  Dee  has  now  been  silted  up  and  it  is  cut  off  from 
the  sea.  The  Trias  rocks  contain  great  beds  of  rock  salt  which  are  worked 
in  the  Weaver  valley,  especially  at  Northwich  ;  but  it  is  cheaper  to  get  the  salt 
by  pumping  brine  from  the  mines,  water  being  allowed  to  enter  in  order 
to  dissolve  it.  As  a  result  of  this  method  of  working,  subsidences  of  the 
ground  are  continually  taking  place,  and  sunk,  cracked,  or  twisted  houses 
are  common  in  the  towns.  Where  the  Coal  Measures  rise  to  the  surface 


England  and  Wales 


in  North  Staffordshire,  there  is  a  dense  population  in  the  upper  valley  of 
the  Trent  grouped  in  numerous  small  towns  around  Burslem  and  Hanley. 
The  district  is  known  collectively  as  "  The  Potteries,"  on  account  of  the 
great  industry  in  earthenware  and  china  promoted  by  the  quality  of  the 
clay  found  in  the  neighbourhood. 

The  Black  Country. — From  very  early  times  the  great  forest  of 
Arden  had  supplied  charcoal  for  smelting  iron  ore,  and  various  iron  and 
steel  industries  had  developed  in  Birmingham,  Wolverhampton,  and  many 
other  small  towns  in  the  neighbourhood.  Familv  workshops  were  the 
rule,  and  even  the  women  and  children  were  brought  up  to  blacksmith's 


FlG.  83. — Birmingham  and  the  Black  Country. 

work,  making  nails  chains,  and  other  small  articles.  When  the  discovery 
was  made  that  coal  could  be  used  in  working  iron,  and  the  iron  trade 
deserted  the  southern  counties,  it  remained  unchanged  in  the  Black 
Country  on  account  of  the  coal-fields  of  South  Staffordshire.  Birmingham 
has  grown  into  a  great  city  and  a  very  important  railway  centre,  but, 
although  the  modern  methods  of  large  establishments  have  been  intro- 
duced, many  small  family  workshops  still  remain  turning  out  articles  of  a 
special  kind.  Jewellery  of  all  sorts,  watches,  coins  for  foreign  govern- 
ments, buttons,  beads,  and  small  metal  work  of  every  description,  are  its 
characteristic  trades.  The  making  of  firearms  is  also  very  important,  from 


176       The  International  Geography 

flint-locks  for  African  trade  to  magazine  rifles.  Bedsteads  employ  many 
hands ;  bicycle-making  and  the  construction  of  steam-engines  are  largely 
carried  on.  Birmingham  is  a  progressive  and  enterprising  town ;  its 
municipality  has  taken  a  lead  in  introducing  modern  improvements,  from 
steam-engines  and  gas-lighting  in  the  early  days  of  the  great  firm  of 
Boulton  and  Watt,  to  electric  traction  at  the  present  time.  The  public 
buildings  are  very  fine,  the  pictures  in  the  Corporation  Galleries  are 
exceptionally  good,  and  the  new  University  with  its  modern  Faculty  of 
Commerce  educates  one  of  the  most  alert  and  intelligent  populations  in  the 
country.  The  smaller  towns  of  the  Black  Country  are  as  cheerless  as  the 
name  of  the  district  implies.  Trade  is  much  specialised.  Wolverhampton  has 
numerous  blast  furnaces,  and  manufactures  all  kinds  of  heavy  iron  goods  ; 
other  towns  produce  needles  or  nails,  spurs  or  horses'  bits,  fish-hooks,  light 
chains,  chain-cables  for  shipping,  and  even  steel  anchors.  The  condition 
of  the  women  and  children  engaged  in  nail  and  chain-making  in  their 
cottages  was  formerly  deplorable,  and  in  some  quarters  is  still  a  reproach. 

Other  Towns  of  the  Plain. — Burton-on-Trent  is  the  greatest  brewing 
town  in  the  country,  the  water  of  the  district  being  specially  suitable  for 
brewing  on  account  of  containing  sulphate  of  lime.  The  supply  of  barley 
for  malting  and  of  hops  demands  good  railway  facilities,  and  the  streets  of 
Burton  are  much  cut  up  by  railway  sidings  running  to  the  breweries. 
Large  cooperages  have  also  been  established  to  turn  out  the  innumerable 
casks  required.  Coventry,  a  very  ancient  town,  has  acquired  modern 
importance  on  account  of  its  great  manufacture  of  cycles.  Leicester,  in 
the  flat  valley  of  the  Soar,  a  southern  tributary  of  the  Trent,  was  one  of 
the  old  woollen  manufacturing  towns,  the  pastures  of  the  neighbourhood 
yielding  a  fine  wool  particularly  adapted  for  woollen  hosiery,  which  is 
still  the  staple  manufacture.  Boot  and  shoe  making  is  also  important. 
A  curious  outcrop  of  Archaean  and  other  ancient  rocks  occurs  to  the 
north-west  of  Leicester,  giving  rise  to  the  picturesque  hills  of  Charnwood 
Forest,  in  some  of  which  granite  is  quarried. 

The  Jurassic  Belt.— From  the  eastern  end  of  the  Cornwall-Devon 
peninsula,  and  skirting  the  Central  Plain  of  Triassic  rocks,  a  series  of 
bands  of  Secondary  and  Tertiary  rocks  sweeps  in  a  northern  curve,  each 
formation  dipping  below  the  next,  and  forming  by  the  weathered  edges 
of  the  harder  strata  facing  the  north  or  west  more  or  less  continuous 
escarpments  or  lines  of  heights.  The  contrast  of  the  gentle  dip-slopes  and 
steep  escarpments  is  explained  by  Fig.  30.  The  determining  influence  which 
the  edges  of  the  gently-tilted  strata  exercise  on  the  course  of  the  drainage  of 
the  country  is  best  exemplified  by  the  Exe-Tees  line  of  watershed  by  which 
the  South-Eastern  district  is  bounded.  The  Avon-Severn  flows  south- 
westward,  and  the  Soar-Trent  north-eastward,  parallel  and  close  to  the 
first  escarpments  of  the  Secondary  rocks,  so  that  no  tributaries  exceeding 
a  few  miles  in  length  reach  them  from  the  south  or  east.  Even  beyond 
the  break  of  the  Humber  estuary  to  the  north,  the  course  of  the  Yorkshire 


England  and  Wales  177 


Ouse  is  parallel  to  the  escarpments.     A  similar  parallelism  may  be  traced 
in  many  other  rivers,  the  courses  of  which  appear  inexplicable  on  any  map 
not  showing  geological  features.     The  escarpments  are  formed  usually  of 
some  one  hard  bed  of  sandstone  or  limestone,  the  softer  beds  of  clay  or 
marl  weathering  away  to  level  or  undulating  plains.    The  bold  front  of 
the  Oolitic  escarpment  can  be  traced  in  a  sweeping  curve  from  Portland 
Island  on  the  south,  overlooking  the  remarkable   line  of  Chesil  Beach, 
through  the  Cotswold  Hills,  where  the  highest  point  is  1,100  feet,  and 
the  low  ridges  towards  the  north-east,  until  it  reaches  the  North  Sea  in 
the  high  mass  of  the  North  Yorkshire  Moors  south  of  the  Tees,  where 
elevations  of  nearly  1,500  feet  occur.     The  land  slopes  gently  from  the 
Oolitic  escarpment  in  broad  plains  of  clay  to  the  edge  of  the  Chalk  or 
Cretaceous  escarpment.     Though  narrow  on  the  south  coast,  the  Jurassic 
Belt  widens  towards  the  north,  including  the  greater  part  of  the  counties 
of  Gloucester,  Oxford,  Buckingham,  Bedford,  Northampton,  Huntingdon, 
Rutland,  Lincoln,  and  the  North  Riding  of  Yorkshire.     Besides  building 
stone,  quarried  largely  at  Portland,  where  a  great  prison  supplies  convict 
labour,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Bath,  where  the  Box  tunnel  pierces  the 
escarpment,  and  elsewhere,  the  chief  mineral  products  of  this  formation  are 
clays  for  brickmaking,  fossil  deposits  used  as  fertilising  agents,  and  the 
abundant  iron  ore  of  the  Cleveland  Hills,  which  form  the  escarpment  of 
the  Yorkshire  moors.     The  ore  brought  down  from  these  hills  to  the  Tees 
is  smelted  at  Middlesbrough  by  coal  brought  from  the  Durham  field.     The 
steep  coast  formed  by  the  moors  is  cut  into  narrow  river-mouths,  in  one  of 
which  the  little  town  of  Whitby  has  grown  up,  and  the  fashionable  watering- 
place  of  Scarborough  also  stands  upon  this  coast.     The  steep  slopes  of  the 
Cotswolds  near  the  other  end  of  the  line  shelter  a  row  of  towns  on  the 
Lias  plain  below  them,  of  which  Gloucester  and  Cheltenham  are  the  chief. 
The  deep  valleys  which  trench  the  southern  end  of  the  escarpment  contain 
small  towns  which  have  been  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  "  West  of 
England  cloth "  for  centuries.     This  was  orginally  a  consequence  of  the 
fme-woolled  sheep  pastured  on  the  hills ;   but  it  has   not   undergone  a 
modern  development,  as  in  the  Pennine  district,  and  Bradford-on-Avon, 
Frome,  and  Stroud  are   still  of  only  local  importance.     Bath,  although 
containing  some  flourishing  manufactures,  owes  its  importance  to  the  hot 
mineral  springs  which  made  it  f amousn  amongst  the  Romans  as  a  health 
resort.     The  middle  portion  of  the  Jurassic  Belt  is  lower  than  the  pastoral 
Cotswolds  and  the  Yorkshire  Moors,  with  less  pronounced  escarpments, 
and  the   broad  fields  of    Oxford  and  Kimmeridge   Clay  make  excellent 
agricultural   land,  growing  heavy  crops  of  wheat.     The   river  Thames, 
rising  on  the  Cotswold  plateau,  flows  eastward  until  it  meets  the  Cherwell 
coming  from  the  north.     At  the   junction  Oxford  stands  on  an  alluvial 
meadow.     It  is  the  most  venerable  seat  of  learning  in  England,  with  a 
university  dating  from  the  twelfth  century,  and  now  composed  of  twenty- 
one  colleges,  most  of  them  picturesque  buildings  with  beautifully  kept 


178       The   International   Geography 

gardens.  Museums,  laboratories,  and  observatories  supply  means  of  scien- 
tific instruction,  but  Oxford  continues  to  be  famous  rather  for  classical 
learning  than  for  scientific  research.  Bedford  is  a  type  of  the  market 
towns,  with  small  manufactures  of  agricultural  implements,  which  are 
common  in  the  district.  Northampton,  on  the  river  Nen,  was  always  a 
great  leather-making  town,  and  is  now  the  chief  seat  of  the  boot  and  shoe 
trade  in  the  United  Kingdom.  The  Nen  flows  north-eastwards,  parallel  to 
the  strike  of  the  strata,  and  Peterborough,  a  cathedral  city  and  an  important 
railway  centre,  stands  on  it  at  the  very  edge  of  the  Fenland.  Further 
north  Lincoln  occupies  a  remarkable  site  in  a  gap  where  the  Witham 
trenches  one  of  the  minor  escarpments.  The  name  implies  that  it  was  a 
Roman  colony,  and  it  was  always  a  crossing  place  of  roads  as  it  is  now  of 
railways.  In  the  whole  Jurassic  Belt  there  is  not  one  town  with  a  popu- 
lation approaching  100,000  inhabitants ;  this  is  a  consequence  of  the 
absence  of  mineral  fuel  to  promote  manufactures. 

The  Chalk  Country.— The  Chalk  is  the  characteristic  feature  of  the 
south  and  east  of  England,  covering  the  whole  of  the  older  rocks  over 
almost  the  entire  area.  It  sweeps  as  a  vast  sheet  from  the  sea  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Axe  in  the  south,  to  the  sea  at  Flamborough  Head  in  the  north ;  and 
its  edge,  facing  the  older  Cretaceous  rocks  (Greensands)  that  dip  under  it 
as  the  Jurassic  rocks  dip  under  them,  forms  the  succession  of  gentle  heights 
roughly  concentric  with  the  Oolitic  escarpment,  which  in  different  parts 
bears  the  names  of  the  Dorset  Downs,  the  Marlborough  Downs,  the 
Chiltern  Hills,  the  East  Anglian  Heights,  the  Lincolnshire  Wolds,  and 
the  Yorkshire  Wolds  in  the  East  Riding,  terminating  in  the  great  chalk 
cliffs  of  Flamborough  Head.  This  escarpment  also  shows  a  certain 
controlling  influence  on  drainage  lines,  but  the  rivers  flowing  parallel 
to  it  on  the  plain  on  the  north  in  almost  every  case  turn  abruptly  and  flow 
southward  through  gaps  in  the  ridge.  The  soluble  rock  of  which  it  is 
composed  has  been  rapidly  eroded  and  cut  through  by  the  streams  flowing 
down  the  dip  slopes,  which  in  time  "  captured  "  and  diverted  the  rivers 
of  the  plain  beyond.  Everywhere  the  scenery  of  the  Chalk  uplands  is  the 
same,  rolling  country  with  dry  valleys  and  grassy,  treeless  hills,  the  white 
chalk  gleaming  through  every  scratch  on  the  overlying  turf.  On  the  east 
coast  this  formation,  and  the  Jurassic  Belt  within  it,  is  breached  by  two 
notable  inlets.  The  southern  is  the  wide  and  very  shallow  depression 
known  as  the  Wash,  which  is  bordered  landward  by  the  level  plain  of  the 
Fenland.  The  northern  inlet  is  the  narrower  and  deeper  estuary  of  the 
H  umber.  A  portion  of  Dorsetshire,  the  greater  part  of  Wiltshire,  a 
considerable  share  of  Hampshire  and  Oxfordshire,  most  of  Hertfordshire 
and  Cambridgeshire,  the  west  of  Norfolk  and  Suffolk,  the  east  of  Lincoln 
and  the  East  Riding  of  Yorkshire  all  lie  on  the  Chalk.  The  southern 
portion  is  mainly  pastoral,  the  thin  soil  covering  the  Chalk  serving  only 
for  the  growth  of  pasture  grass,  but  farther  north  the  ancient  ice-sheet 
spread  a  covering  of  boulder  clay  which  makes  a  fertile  soil  peculiarly 
favourable  to  wheat-raising  in  Cambridge  and  Lincoln. 


England  and  Wales  179 

Towns  of  the  Chalk  Country. — As  in  the  Jurassic  Belt,  the 
towns,  though  numerous  and  of  much  historic  interest,  are  small;  they 
have  as  a  rule  taken  little  part  in  modern  development,  and  the  rural 
market  town  is  the  predominant  type.  Salisbury  Plain  is  the  centre 
whence  the  Chalk  hills  of  the  northern  and  the  southern  branches  diverge. 
Its  undulating  pasture-grounds  bear  the  great  stone-circle  of  Stonehenge, 
the  largest  prehistoric  monument  in  the  British  Islands,  and  on  the  southern 
margin  of  the  slope,  at  the  junction  of  several  river  valleys  with  the  south- 
flowing  Avon,  stands  Salisbury  with  its  magnificent  cathedral.  The  valleys 
of  the  other  south-flowing  rivers  of  the  Chalk  plateau  contain  towns  of 
equal  antiquity  and  historic  interest  situated  in  very  similar  positions ;  of 
these  Winchester,  associated  with  the  memory  of  Alfred  the  Great,  is  the 
most  important.  On  the  northern  edge  of  the  Chalk,  where  the  Kennet 
flows  eastward  to  the  Thames  below  Marlborough  Downs,  Marlborough  is 
situated.  The  Vale  of  Aylesbury,  north  of  the  Chilterns,  is  dotted  with  a 
chain  of  small  market  towns.  On  the  west  and  south  the  Thames  closely 
borders  these  hills,  and  Reading  stands  at  the  confluence  of  the  Kennet, 
on  the  margin  of  the  fertile  London  clay,  a  busy  town  with  the  semi-agri- 
cultural industries  of  biscuit-making  and  seed-raising.  Cambridge,  on  the 
edge  of  the  Chalk  where  the  low  plain  of  the  Fenland  begins  (it  is  only 
32  feet  above  sea-level),  is  the  second  great  university  town  of  England, 
with  seventeen  colleges.  It  has  for  many  centuries  been  the  chief  centre 
of  mathematical  learning.  In  the  east  of  Lincolnshire  the  largest  town  is 
Grimsby,  at  the  mouth  of  the  H umber.  It  has  a  large  general  trade,  and 
is  distinguished  by  being  the  chief  market  for  sea  fish  in  the  United 
Kingdom,  London  excepted.  North  of  the  H  umber  the  Chalk  wolds  of 
the  East  Riding  are  separated  from  the  Oolitic  moors  of  the  North  Riding 
by  the  valley  of  the  Derwent.  In  this  region  the  boulder-clay  deposit  is 
very  thick,  the  whole  Holderness  coast  from  the  high  chalk  cliff  of 
Flamborough  Head  to  the  low  shingle  spit  of  Spurn  Head  being  formed  of 
^clay,  which  is  being  rapidly  eroded  by  the  sea. 

The  Fenland. — An  extensive  but  shallow  depression  of  the  Chalk  and 
Oxford  Clay  gave  rise  to  a  great  square  inlet  of  the  sea  between  Lincoln 
and  Norfolk,  fringed  by  broad  marshes.  This  district  is  the  Fenland. 
Efforts  have  been  made  for  centuries  to  reclaim  and  drain  the  marshes ; 
their  primitive  character  is  now  qui  e  lost,  and  they  form  wide  flat  plains 
of  arable  land  crossed  by  innumerable  canals,  and  in  many  places  embanked 
to  protect  them  from  floods,  as  some  portions  lie  at,  or  even  a  little  below, 
the  level  of  the  sea.  Boston,  with  its  great  parish  church,  the  famous  tower 
of  which  (Boston  stump)  was  long  an  important  landmark  to  sailors,  and 
Kings  Lynn  stand  on  the  seaward  margin  at  opposite  angles  of  the  shallow 
Wash.  Both  were  formerly  active  seaports,  but  the  silting  of  the  channels 
and  the  increasing  size  of  vessels  have  left  them  out  of  account.  Here  and 
there  over  the  Fens  flat  mounds  of  gravelly  formation  rise  above  the  level 
peat  and  clay.  These  were  islands  and  secure  refuges  in  the  ancient  days. 
14 


180       The   International   Geography 

Each  now  bears  a  little  town,  of  which  the  cathedral  city  of  Ely  is  the 
most  important.  The  Fenland  contains  a  remarkable  number  of  fine 
churches  and  abbeys. 

The  Weald.— Above  the  Chalk,  and  leaving  only  a  narrow  strip  of  it 
exposed  parallel  to  the  belt  of  Jurassic  rocks,  a  series  of  Tertiary  clays, 
sands,  and  gravels,  appears  once  to  have  extended  across  the  whole  south- 
eastern corner  of  England.  This  was  the  last  portion  of  the  British  Islands 
to  be  elevated  above  the  sea.  During  the  final  uplift  the  whole  south  of 
England  appears  to  have  been  subjected  to  stresses  from  south  to  north, 
causing  the  ridging  up  of  a  broad  anticline  running  from  east  to  west. 
Salisbury  Plain  forms  the  western  extremity  of  this  elevation  of  the 
Secondary  strata  ;  and  the  Tertiary  rocks  were  almost  entirely  stripped 
by  denudation  from  the  ridge  which  separates  the  remaining  Tertiary 
formations  into  two  basins,  named  after  London  and  Hampshire.  The 
ridge  has  been  so  deeply  eroded  that  all  the  chalk  has  been  stripped  from 
the  top  of  the  arch  east  of  a  line  from  Farnham  to  Petersfield,  exposing 
the  Gault  clay,  Greensand,  and  Weald  clay,  on  which  it  lay,  and  the  still 
deeper  Lower  Cretaceous  sandstones,  which  formed  the  core  of  the  ridge. 
The  cut  edges  of  the  Chalk  and  of  the  Greensand  form  steep  escarpments 

surrounding  and  facing  the  great 
oval    exposure   of    earlier  rocks, 

across  the  east  end  of  which  the 
FIG.  84.-Section  across  the  Weald  from  North     strait    of     Doyer    has    been     cut 
to  South,      cc  Chalk,  g£  Greensand  escarp- 
ments, w  Weaiden  sandstones  leaving     part     of     the    Wealden 

region  on  the  mainland  of  Europe 

in  the  north-west  of  France.  The  northern  line  of  the  Chalk  escarp- 
ment of  the  Weald,  with  its  steep  slope  facing  south,  forms  the  North 
Downs,  beginning  in  the  Hog's  Back,  and  terminating  in  the  white 
cliffs  of  the  North  and  South  Forelands.  The  rivers  flowing  north- 
wards from  the  ancient  Wealden  dome,  cut  through  the  line  of  the 
North  Downs  in  a  series  of  deep  gaps,  most  of  which  are  now  the 
sites  of  towns,  and  afford  passage  to  roads  and  railways.  From 
west  to  east  these  rivers  are  the  Wey,  on  which  Guildford  stands 
(Fig.  16),  the  Mole  with  Dorking,  the  Dart  with  Sevenoaks,  the  Medway  with 
Maidstone,  and  the  Stour  with  Ashford  and  the  venerable  cathedral  city 
Canterbury.  All  these  rivers  receive  tributaries  which  flow  parallel  to  the 
strike  of  the  rocks  along  the  clay  plains  between  the  escarpments.  The 
escarpment  of  the  South  Downs  similarly  faces  northward,  and  runs  along 
the  south  coast  to  terminate  in  the  grand  cliffs  of  Beachy  Head.  The 
rivers  flowing  southward  from  the  Wealden  dome  have  cut  it  into  lengths 
by  several  gaps,  some  no  longer  occupied  by  streams,  including  that  at  the 
mouth  of  which  Chichesterlies,  and  those  of  the  Arun  with  Arundel,  the  Adur, 
the  Ouse  with  Lewes  and  Newhaven,  and  the  Cuckmere.  Their  tributaries 
similarly  run  from  east  or  west  along  the  clay  plains  between  the 
escarpments  (see  Fig.  36  for  explanation).  The  Chalk  Downs,  dry  on 


England  and  Wales  181 

the  surface  but  saturated  with  water  at  the  heart,  are  in  sharp  con- 
trast to  the  flat  wet  strips  of  clay  land  at  their  base,  to  the  Green- 
sand  escarpments  within  them,  and  to  the  arid  heights  of  the  Wealden 
sandstones  in  the  centre,  in  which  the  small  number  of  streams  and 
springs  makes  the  water  supply  a  question  of  much  anxiety.  A  great 
part  of  the  sea-coast  of  the  Weald  is  a  low  coastal  plain,  which  tidal 
action  and  the  slow  elevation  of  the  land  has  recently  built,  robbing 
the  old  seaports  Rye,  Winchelsea,  and  Pevensey  of  their  access  to  the  water, 
and  building  the  shingly  projection  of  Dungeness,  enclosing  the  swamps 
of  Romney  Marsh,  which  was  formerly  a  lagoon,  like  that  behind  Chesil 
Beach.  The  ancient  forests  of  the  Weald  formerly  made  Surrey,  Kent,  and 
Sussex  important  iron-smelting  counties,  but  their  furnaces  have  all  been 
extinguished  for  a  century,  and  most  of  the  woods  have  disappeared.  The 
chief  resources  now  are  pasturage  on  the  downs,  yielding  the  famous 
South  Down  mutton,  and  agriculture  on  the  clays  and  sandstones  of  the 
Weald,  especially  the  great  hop-crops  of  Kent,  for  the  picking  of  which 
the  poorest  class  of  Londoners  swarms  to  the  fields  every  autumn. 
Dover  flourishes  because  it  commands  the  shortest  passage  to  the  continent 
by  the  Calais  route,  but  deep  borings  in  the  neighbourhood  have  reached 
coal  beneath  the  Cretaceous  rocks,  and  mines  may  become  important. 
Brighton  is  simply  a  fashionable  seaside  suburb  of  London,  fifty  miles 
distant  from  the  metropolis,  but  reached  in  one  hour  by  rail,  and  Eastbourne, 
Hastings,  and  St.  Leonards  are  similar  resorts  on  a  smaller  scale.  To  the 
north  Margate  and  Ramsgate,  on  the  Isle  of  Thanet,  no  longer  an  island, 
are  popular  with  the  humbler  London  "trippers,"  and  Tunbridge  Wells  in 
the  centre  of  the  Weald,  like  Haslemere  farther  west,  is  a  favourite  town 
for  residence. 

The  Hampshire  Basin. — The  Tertiary  rocks  form  a  fertile  undulat- 
ing plain.  In  the  south-west  the  New  Forest  is  still  an  extensive  wood- 
land, the  remains  of  that  planted  as  a  hunting-ground  by  William  the 
Conqueror.  The  coast  is  usually  low,  and  is  broken  by  the  branching 
estuaries  of  Poole  and  Portsmouth,  and  the  wider  channels  of  Spithead 
and  the  Solent,  which  cut  off  the  Isle  of  Wight  and  run  up  into  Southampton 
Water.  All  parts  of  the  coast  formed  by  Tertiary  deposits  are  undergoing 
rapid  erosion,  and  the  sea  is  gaining  upon  the  land.  The  Chalk  border  on 
the  south  is  seen  at  Ballard  Point,  is  carried  across  the  centre  of  the  Isle 
of  Wight  and  appears  again  beyond  Bognor.  Portsmouth  is  the  most 
strongly  fortified  town  in  the  United  Kingdom,  on  account  of  the 
importance  of  its  splendid  harbour  as  the  head-quarters  of  the  navy,  and 
the  site  of  the  chief  naval  dockyard.  Southampton,  a  purely  commercial 
port  with  good  docks,  is  increasing  in  importance  for  passenger  traffic 
with  South  Africa  and  America  on  account  of  its  proximity  to  London. 
Health  and  pleasure  resorts  line  the  coast,  the  most  frequented  being 
Bournemouth,  laid  out  on  the  top  of  the  crumbling  clay  cliffs  to  the  west, 
and  the  little  seaside  towns  of  the  Isle  of  Wight. 


1 82       The  International  Geography 

The  London  Basin. — The  London  Basin,  made  up  of  various  clays 
and  gravels,  occupies  a  depression  in  the  Chalk,  which  is  reached  every- 
where by  the  borings  for  artesian  wells.  It  extends  from  the  eastern 
border  of  Wiltshire,  along  the  valley  of  the  Kennet,  and  gradually  widens 
until  it  meets  the  sea  from  Herne  Bay  to  Cromer.  The  coast  of  this 
section  is  typically  low  and  fretted  into  shallow  estuaries,  among  which 
that  of  the  Thames  is  supreme,  although  the  Blackwater  and  the  inlets  at 
Harwich  are  equally  characteristic.  In  the  east  of  Norfolk  the  low,  flat 
land  on  the  lower  courses  of  the  Yare,  Bure,  and  Waveney,  contains  a 
number  of  shallow  lagoons  known  as  the  Broads,  surrounded  by  marshes. 
Foulness,  the  Naze,  and  Orfordness  are  typical  capes  of  low  ground.  The 
gravel  hills  are  often  conspicuous  features  in  the  generally  flat  land  formed 
by  the  clays,  as  in  the  line  of  heights  which  runs  from  Harrow  eastward 
through  the  northern  suburbs  of  London.  The  soil  is  remarkably  fertile 
and  naturally  richly  wooded,  Epping  Forest  being  a  fine  example.  The 
manner  in  which  the  London  Basin  is  surrounded  by  its  wall  of  Chalk 
cannot  fail  to  strike  the  railway  traveller  from  London  by  any  line  except 
the  Great  Eastern,  on  account  of  the  deep  chalk  cuttings  which  are  passed 
through.  The  one  great  river  is  the  Thames,  which  cutting  through  the 
Chalk  escarpment  west  of  the  Chiltern  Hills,  flows  out  along  the  south  side 
of  the  London  Basin,  receiving  the  Lea  from  the  Chalk  belt  on  the  north, 
and  many  small  rivers  from  the  Weald  on  the  south. 

The  Small  Towns  of  the  London  Basin. — The  towns  of  the 
Thames  valley  are,  with  the  exception  of  London  and  its  suburbs,  small 
and  mainly  important  as  centres  for  residential  neighbourhoods.  Windsor 
is  the  usual  royal  residence  of  the  British  court,  and  the  small  town  of 
Eton  on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  Thames,  is  important  for  its  ancient 
public  school.  In  the  north-east,  where  the  deposits  of  the  London  Basin 
are  covered  by  the  thick  boulder  clays  of  East  Anglia,  there  was,  before 
the  fall  in  the  value  of  wheat,  the  best  farming  land  in  England,  and  the 
counties  of  Essex,  Suffolk,  and  Norfolk  are  still  pre-eminent  agriculturally. 
The  large  town  of  Norwich  is  just  beyond  the  London  Basin.  It  was  an 
ancient  cloth-making  town,  and  one  of  the  first  to  profit  by  the  im- 
migration of  Flemish  weavers ;  it  still  retains  a  share  of  this  manufac- 
ture, although  boot  and  shoe  making,  the  construction  of  agricultural 
machinery,  and  great  starch  and  mustard  works  are  now  more  important 
commercially.  On  the  coast  Yarmouth  continues  to  be  a  fishing  centre  ; 
Ipswich  retains  a  share  of  manufactures  ;  Colchester  depends  largely  on  the 
great  oyster  beds  of  the  Colne  estuary,  and  Harwich  has  developed  by  the 
construction  of  an  artificial  harbour  for  continental  passenger  traffic,  the 
distance  across  the  North  Sea  being  just  sufficient  to  give  the  passengers 
by  night-boats  time  to  sleep  comfortably.  Along  the  shingly  coast  there 
are  many  little  watering-places,  celebrated  for  the  freshness  of  the 
air. 

London. — The  name  London  is  variously  applied.     The  City  of  London, 


England  and  Wales  183 


the  portion  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Lord  Mayor,  is  a  small  area 
between  the  Tower  and  the  site  of  Temple  Bar,  with  a  resident  population 
of  only  about  30,000,  although  ten  times  that  number  are  employed  within 
its  limits  during  the  day.  The  County  of  London,  administered  by  the 
London  County  Council,  has  an  area  of  120  square  miles,  or  one-thousandth 
part  of  the  United  Kingdom,  and  a  population,  in  1901,  of  4^  millions,  or 
more  than  one-tenth  of  the  population  of  the  country.  But  the  area  under 
the  charge  of  the  Metropolitan  and  City  Police  forces,  called  Greater 
London,  includes  a  radius  of  about  14  miles  from  Charing  Cross — an  area 
of  690  square  miles — the  whole  of  which  may  be  viewed  as  a  suburban,  if 
not  an  urban  district,  and  this  included  6£  million  people  in  1901.  The 
Port  of  London  comprises  the  whole  estuary  of  the  Thames,  extending 
for  50  miles  from  London  Bridge  to  the  Nore  (see  Fig.  85).  No  such  town 
exists  in  any  other  part  of  the  world.  The  population  exceeds  that  of 
Scotland  or  Ireland,  and  is  even  greater  than  that  of  fifteen  of  the  independent 
countries  of  Europe,  while  the  trade  of  the  port  is  greater  than  that  of  any 
complete  country  except  the  United  States,  Germany,  and  France.  The 
nature  of  it^  growth  and  the  successive  swallowing  up  of  innumerable 
towns  and  villages  deprives  it  of 
any  definite  plan,  but  although  of 
little  architectural  distinction,  and 
with  many  narrow  and  irregular 
streets,  the  essential  feature  of  a 
complete  drainage  system  has 
been  so  carefully  attended  to,  that 

London  has   the   smallest  death-  ^          ^^  £ 

rate   of    any  large  town,  and  is 

scarcely  below  the  average  of  the  whole  country  in  healthfulness.  The 
natural  features  of  the  site  of  central  London  have  been  obscured  by  nearly 
twenty  centuries  of  human  interference  ;  but  the  results  of  the  original 
topography  are  still  to  be  discerned  in  the  arrangement  and  in  the  names 
of  the  streets.  Before  Roman  times  there  was  a  fortified  British  camp 
called  Linn-dun  (the  hill  over  the  lagoons) — on  a  low  hill  which  rose 
abruptly  from  the  Thames,  constricting  the  tidal  lagoons  which  then 
formed  its  estuary  to  a  width  that  admitted  of  a  ferry,  and  latterly  of  a 
bridge  (London  Bridge)  being  established.  This  hill  was  strengthened  for 
defence  by  the  steep  ravine  of  the  Fleet  river  (now  Farringdon  Street)  on 
the  west,  and  the  Lea  marshes  on  the  east.  The  Romans  had  one  of  the 
ferries  or  fords  to  connect  their  trunk  roads  at  this  point,  the  other  crossing 
being  at  Westminster,  two  miles  farther  up  the  river.  From  Westminster 
ford,  Watling  Street  (the  present  Edgware  Road)  ran  straight  to  Chester, 
but  when  the  first  London  Bridge  was  built  in  1170  the  ford  was  abandoned, 
and  the  road  diverted  at  what  is  now  Marble  Arch,  to  lead  eastward  to  the 
bridge.  The  Tower  of  London  is  the  lineal  successor  of  the  old  hill  fort,  and 
St.  Paul's  Cathedral  marks  the  centre  of  ancient  London  and  of  the  modern 


184       The  International  Geography 

"  City  "  (Fig.  15).  Between  them  now  stands  the  Royal  Exchange  and  the 
Bank  of  England — the  business  and  financial  centres  of  the  world.  West- 
minster was  originally  grouped  round  the  ancient  abbey,  which  is  now  the 
last  resting-place  of  the  most  illustrious  of  the  British  people.  Here  West- 
minster Hall  was  part  of  the  palace  of  the  early  kings,  and  still  stands  in 
association  with  the  Houses  of  Parliament  that  have  been  several  times 
rebuilt  on  the  same  site.  The  road  between  the  commercial  city  of 
London  and  the  political  capital  of  Westminster  lay  along  the  low  strand 
of  the  broad  tidal  Thames,  hence  its  name  ;  but  now  it  is  separated  from 
the  river  by  the  broad  Embankment  which  confines  the  tidal  waters  to  a 
narrow  channel.  The  port  was  necessarily  below  London  Bridge,  and  up 
to  that  point  the  river  was  kept  available  for  shipping  by  embanking  it,  and 


FiG.  86.— London. 

excavating  docks  in  the  flat  ground  projecting  between  the  windings.  As 
vessels  became  larger  the  docks  were  increased  in  size  also,  and  constructed 
further  down  the  estuary,  until  now  the  activity  of  the  Port  of  London 
extends  to  Tilbury,  20  miles  from  the  Tower.  The  east  of  London  has 
grown  by  commerce  and  has  attracted  many  branches  of  manufacture,  the 
enumeration  of  which  would  be  impossible.  In  no  other  country  is  there 
so  vast  an  extent  of  small  streets  inhabited  exclusively  by  people  of  the 
working  classes,  drawn  from  all  nationalities,  as  in  the  East  End  of  London, 
a  term  including  the  separate  municipality  of  West  Ham.  On  a  hill  on  the 
south  side  of  the  river  stands  Greenwich  Observatory,  which  sets  the  time 
for  the  world  and  whose  meridian  is  the  zero  of  longitude.  Farther  down 
Woolwich  contains  an  arsenal  and  dockyard.  For  more  than  two  hundred 


England  and  Wales 


years  London  has  been  growing  steadily  westward  from  the  City,  the  tide 
of  business  always  pushing  the  mansions  of  the  wealthy  farther  and 
farther  to  the  west.  Recently  the  heights  to  the  north  and  to  the  south  of 
the  Thames  beyond  the  ring  of  public  parks  have  been  covered  by  suburban 
villas,  inhabited  by  the  business  men  of  the  city,  and  the  expanding  fringe 
of  London  is  always  driving  the  country  farther  away.  The  terminal 
stations  of  the  great  railway  companies  are  not  arranged  on  any  method 
allowing  of  easy  inter-communication ;  but  for  passenger  traffic  the  system 
of  underground  railways  has  been  greatly  developed.  In  the  main 
thoroughfares  the  traffic 
is  too  great  to  allow 
tramlines  to  be  laid, 
and  alone  amongst  great 
cities  London  depends 
for  street  communica- 
tions on  omnibuses. 

London  as  a  Centre . 
— Although  London  is 
situated  in  one  corner  of 
Great  Britain,  the  exi- 
gencies of  its  absorbing 
traffic  have  created  a 
magnificent  system  of 
iast  express  trains  on  the 
northern  and  western 
railways,  which  bring 
almost  all  parts  of  the 
country  within  a  twelve 
hours'  journey  of  the 
capital.  The  supplies  for 
the  food  of  London  and 
for  distribution  to  the  sur- 
rounding country  come 
in  by  train  and  by  sea. 
The  chief  markets  for 
fish  at  Billingsgate,  for 

vegetables,  flowers,  and  fruit  at  Covent  Garden,  and  for  meat  at  Smithfield 
are  of  vast  size,  but  inadequate  to  the  demand.  The  trade  of  the  port  of 
London  is  mainly  in  imports,  which  amount  in  value  to  one-third  of  those 
of  the  whole  country,  and  the  tea  and  wine  trades  are  almost  monopolies 
of  the  port.  The  University  of  London,  reorganised  in  1901,  has  still  its  repu- 
tation to  make,  but  it  includes  famous  colleges,  and  the  great  medical  schools 
of  the  large  hospitals.  The  British  Museum,  with  a  library  of  2,000,000 
^volumes,  contains  unrivalled  collections  of  objects  of  antiquity  and  natural 
history,  and  there  are  many  special  museums  and  art  galleries.  The 


FlG.  87. — Railways  radiating  from  London. 


1  86       The  International   Geography 


scientific  societies  of  London  are  the  headquarters  of  all  branches  of 
British  science.  The  publishing  trade  has  been  centralised  in  London 
to  a  remarkable  degree,  almost  all  the  publishers  who  made  Edinburgh 
famous  as  a  literary  centre  early  in  the  nineteenth  century  have  removed 
to  London,  although  much  of  the  printing  is  done  in  other  towns. 

The  Isle  of  Man.  —  The  Isle  of  Man,  lying  in  the  Irish  Sea,  is 
independent  of  either  England,  Scotland, 
or  Ireland,  a  fact  hinted  at  in  its  coat  of 
arms.  The  island  enjoys  complete  home 
rule  ;  the  legislative  body,  called  the  House 
of  Keys,  is  composed  of  twenty-four  landed 
proprietors.  A  governor  is  appointed  by 
the  British  government  to  represent  the 
Crown.  The  island  is  of  great  geological 
interest,  being  composed,  like  the  Lake 
District,  mainly  of  Silurian  rocks,  patches  of 
Carboniferous  limestone,  and  some  bosses 

F1G-  **  of  sranite-  The  northern  portion  is  a  drift- 

covered  plain,  but  the  centre  and  south  of 

the  island  are  high,  the  highest  point,  Snaefell,  slightly  exceeding  2,000 

feet.    There  are  some  important  lead  mines,  and  the 

mild  climate  is  favourable  to  stock-raising.    The  little 

towns  of  Ramsay,  Douglas,  and  Castletown  on  the  east 

coast,  and  Peel  on  the  west,  attract  a  great  number  of 

summer  visitors. 

The  Manx  people  are  of  Keltic  origin,  and  their  ori- 

ginal language  is  not  forgotten,  being  still  taught  in  the 

schools  in  addition  to  English.  The  Church  of  England 

is  established  under  the  Bishop  of  Sodor  and  Man,  a 

title  which  recalls  a  former  grouping  of  the  Isle  of  Man  with  the  Hebrides, 
The   Channel    Islands.—  The  group  of  islands  including  Jersey, 

Guernsey  and  Alderney,  lying  off  the  coast  of  Normandy,  with  which  they 

were  probably  connected  by  land  in  prehistoric  times,  were  part  of  the 
domains  of  William  the  Conqueror,  and  although  the 
people  are  still  of  Norman  race  and  French  speech 
the  islands  have  never  formed  part  of  France  politi- 
cally. The  dialect  of  each  island  is  peculiar  to  itself, 
but  all  are  derived  from  the  langue  d'oil,  and  modern 
French  is  used  officially,  but  the  use  of  English  is 
rapidly  spreading.  Ecclesiastically  they  form  part  of 
the  See  of  winchester>  and  for  some  purposes  they  are 
attached  to  the  county  of  Hampshire  ;  but  the  islands 

are  self-governing,  and  retain  many  curious  privileges  and  quaint  customs. 

There  is  compulsory  military  service  for  all   men   in  the  militia.     The 

islands  enjoy  a  mild  climate,  and  each  possesses  a  special  breed  of  cattle 


Ireland  187 


valuable  for  dairy  purposes.     The  fertility  of  the  soil  is  great  and  the 

leading  occupation  is  farming,  or  rather  market  gardening,  for  the  farms 

which  belong  to  the  peasantry  are  now  very  small  on  account  of  the 

practice  of  dividing  the  land  amongst  all  the 

sons  of  a  family.      Early  vegetables  for  the 

London  market,  and  fruit,  grown  for  the  most 

part  under  glass,  are  the  chief  exports.     The 

detached  rocks  about  the  larger  islands  and  the 

rapid  currents  of  the  sea  make  navigation  diffi- 

cult and  dangerous,  but  steamers  run  regularly 

to  the  French  ports  from  15  to  30  miles  away, 

and  to  Weymouth  and  Southampton,  90  and  150 

miles  distant.   Jersey,  the  largest  island,  has  its 

chief  town  at  St.  Helier,  and  Guernsey,  which  is  not  much  smaller,  has  a 

harbour  at  St.  Pierre.    In  addition  to  its  farm  produce  Guernsey  exports 

granite,  particularly  for  paving. 

IV.—  IRELAND 

BY  GRENVILLE  A.  J.  COLE, 

Professor  of  Geology  in  the  Royal  College  of  Science  for  Ireland. 

Position  and  Outline.—  The  name  Ireland  or  Eire-land,  according  to 
tradition,  comes  from  that  of  Eire  (earlier  Eriu),  one  of  the  queens  of  the 
Tuatha  De  Danann.  Ireland  stands  on  the  edge  of  the  European  plateau, 
the  sea-floor  sinking  to  oceanic  depths  on  the  west  ;  while  on  the  east  it  is 
divided  from  Great  Britain  by  shallow  seas,  rarely  deeper  than  70  fathoms. 
The  western  coast-line  is  deeply  indented,  and  obviously  reproduces  the 
features  of  the  sea-lochs  of  Scotland  and  the  fjords  of  Norway.  The  long 
inlets  are  river-valleys  that  have  been  lowered  beneath  the  sea,  and  the 
walls  that  bounded  them  now  jut  out  as  headlands  into  the  Atlantic,  their 
outermost  peaks  forming  characteristic  chains  of  islands.  The  attack  of 
the  ocean-rollers  has,  in  places,  formed  cliffs  of  considerable  height  ;  at 
Slieve  Liag  in  Co.  Donegal,  and  at  Achill  Island,  there  are  almost  sheer 
descents  of  2,000  feet.  The  east  coast  of  Ireland  includes  few  fjords, 
though  the  names  of  Wexford,  Carlingford,  and  Strangford  show  how  the 
typical  structure  even  there  impressed  the  Danish  settlers.  In  general, 
however,  on  the  east  there  is  a  series  of  broad  bays  and  accumulated 
sands,  broken  only  here  and  there  by  some  bold  feature  like  Bray  Head. 

Surface  and  Structure  —  The  general  form  of  the  surface  of  Ireland 
resembles  a  shallow  basin,  the  highlands  being  grouped  along  the  coast. 
The  watershed  between  an  eastern  and  a  western  group  of  rivers  may  be 
traced  from  Lough  Foyle  to  Mizen  Head,  but  is  a  sinuous  line  marked  by 
no  special  surf  ace  -features.  In  some  cases  rivers  of  both  groups  arise  on 
opposite  sides  of  the  same  central  bog-land. 

The  Northern  and  Eastern  Mountains.  —  The  high  plateaux  of 


1 88       The  International  Geography 


the  north-east  are  due  to  the  outpouring  of  basaltic  lavas,  tier  upon  tier, 
in  Eocene  times.  Immense  denudation  has  since  gone  on,  and  Lough 
Neagh  has  been  formed  by  the  fracture  and  subsidence  of  part  of  the 
volcanic  area.  The  Mourne  Mountains  are  formed  of  Eocene  granite. 
The  highlands  of  western  Londonderry,  Donegal,  Mayo,  and  Galway  are 
formed  of  far  more  ancient  rocks.  A  series  of  folds  running  north-east 
and  south-west  determined  the  general  structure  of  this  region  at  the  close 
of  Silurian  times.  Here  and  there,  portions  of  the  still  older  floor  of 
metamorphic  rocks,  on  which  the  early  Palaeozoic  strata  were  laid  down, 
have  been  brought  to  light.  The  age,  however,  of  many  of  the  altered 
series  is  still  uncertain.  Errigal  (2,466  feet),  Croagh  Patrick  (2,510  feet), 
and  the  Twelve  Bens  (2,300  feet),  are  good  examples  of  the  conical 
mountains  formed  by  the  occurrence  of  hard  bands  of  quartzite,  at  various 
horizons,  in  this  antique  region.  The  same  system  of  north-east  and 

south-west  folds  is  traceable  across 
Ireland  wherever  the  older  rocks  ap- 
pear through  the  Carboniferous  coating. 
Silurian  and  Ordovician  beds  thus  form 
a  long  ridge  from  near  Dundalk 
through  Co.  Down,  and  the  Newry 
granite  comes  up  along  this  axis.  In 
Leinster,  again,  a  granite  moorland, 
seventy  miles  long,  forms  a  backbone 
to  the  province,  flanked  similarly  by 
upturned  Older  Palaeozoic  strata. 

The    Southern     Mountains. — 
The  mountains  on  the  south  and  south- 
west, on  the  other  hand,   have   been 
determined      by      post-Carboniferous 
-The  Axes  of  Folding  of  Ireland.     folding>    and    the  axes  here  run  east 

and  west.  The  upward  folds,  or  anticlines,  have  weathered  out  as  ridges, 
owing  to  the  hardness  of  the  Old  Red  Sandstone  conglomerates,  which 
have  here  been  brought  to  the  surface.  The  downward  folds,  or  synclines, 
contain  the  softer  Carboniferous  limestone,  which  has  been  greatly  worn 
down,  forming  a  system  of  east  and  west  valleys.  Long  stretches  of  the 
Suir,  the  Blackwater,  the  Lee,  and  the  Bride  thus  follow  the  axes  of  folding. 
The  abrupt  bend  southward  in  the  lower  part  of  the  Blackwater  and  other 
rivers  may  be  due  to  the  interruption  of  their  original  courses  by  glacial 
material.  The  waters  that  once  flowed  on  along  the  east  and  west  syn- 
clinals thus  overflowed  into  the  channels  of  southward-running  rivers, 
deepening  them  until  they  were  continuous  in  each  case  with  the  main 
river-bed.  When  subsidence  of  the  west  coast  occurred,  the  main  valleys 
were  already  formed  in  the  synclines,  and  the  sea  entered  them  between 
the  anticlinal  ridges  of  Old  Red  Sandstone,  forming  the  inlets  of  Dingle, 
Kenmare,  Bantry,  and  Dunmanus.  Farther  north,  the  same  system  of 
folding  is  manifest  in  the  Galtee  Mountains  (3,000  feet),  and  in  the  axis  of 


Ireland  189 


Slieve  Felim  and  Slieve  Bloom.  In  the  latter  region,  however,  the  trend 
of  the  ridges  was  diverted  by  the  older  series  of  folds  (see  black  lines  on 
Fig.  92). 

The  Central  Lowland. — Central  Ireland  is,  in  general,  a  lowland, 
with  many  brown  bogs,  stretches  of  green  meadow,  and  numerous  lakes, 
sinuous  in  outline,  and  enclosing  abundant  islands.  The  Carboniferous 
limestone  here  covers  an  immense  extent  of  country,  and  repeats,  on  the 
broadest  scale,  the  features  seen  in  the  compressed  synclinals  of  the  south. 
The  synclinal  from  the  Leinster  chain  to  the  Slieve  Bloom  axis  is  35 
miles  wide ;  and  thence  a  second  still  shallower  one  stretches  to  the 
foot  of  the  Donegal  and  Mayo  highlands.  Clew'  Bay,  with  its  host  of 
islands,  is  merely  a  marine  representative  of  the  inland  lakes.  The  broad 
area  of  Carboniferous  limestone  retained  in  the  central  plain  gives  a 
uniform  character  to  the  interior  ;  and  from  Galway  to  Dublin,  115  miles, 
there  is  not  a  hill  of  any  importance.  Near  Sligo,  however,  and  in  the 
west  of  Clare,  the  same  strata  have  been  uplifted  to  form  scarped  and 
terraced  mountains.  The  lower  ground  has  served  for  the  accumulation 
of  sands  and  gravels  from  the  surrounding  hills,  the  final  distribution  of 
which  has  been  largely  influenced  by  the  confluent  glaciers  of  the  Ice  Age. 
The  Shannon  and  its  important  tributary,  the  Suck,  run  north  and  south 
through  the  plain.  The  former,  if  we  include  the  Owenmore  river,  rises 
on  the  moors  of  Cuilcagh,  falls  steeply  at  first,  and  then  has  a  gentle  course 
of  over  200  miles.  It  thus  appears  mainly  as  a  broad  lowland  stream, 
spreading  out  to  form  Loughs  Allen,  Boderg,  Forbes,  Ree,  and  Derg.  At 
Killaloe  it  cuts  for  a  time  through  mountainous  country,  and  forms  a  series 
of  rapids  at  Castleconnell  on  its  way  to  Limerick. 

Minerals. — The  Coal  Measures,  lying  above  the  Carboniferous  lime- 
stone, have  been  preserved  only  in  a  few  isolated  basins.  The  coal, 
moreover,  is  of  an  anthracitic  character,  except  near  Lough  Allen  and 
Dungannon.  This  fact  has  caused  the  manufacturing  centres  to  lie  almost 
entirely  on  the  east  coast,  where  coal  from  Scotland  or  England  can  be 
obtained  by  cheap  sea-carriage.  The  Dungannon  Coal  Measures  are 
partly  overlain  by  New  Red  Sandstone,  and  are  thus  capable  of  further 
development.  Active  iron-mining  in  Ireland  is  confined  to  the  pisolitic 
ores  of  Co.  Antrim,  which  are  interbedded,  as  old  lake-deposits,  in  the 
Eocene  basalts.  Bauxite  is  worked,  for  aluminium,  in  the  same  district. 
Rock-salt  is  mined  near  Carrickfergus,  and  barytes  in  Co.  Cork. 
Copper  and  lead  are  now  very  little  worked,  even  in  Co.  Wicklow. 
The  abundant  discoveries  of  prehistoric  gold  ornaments  in  Ireland  go 
far  to  show  that  alluvial  gold  was  at  one  time  common  in  the  country ; 
but  the  supply  was  probably  soon  exhausted.  The  quartz-rocks  of  Cos. 
Donegal  and  Wicklow  have  been  indicated  as  the  source  ;  and  small 
nuggets  have  been  found  in  the  latter  county  in  historic  times,  while  the 
quartzites  contain  recognisable  quantities  of  gold  upon  assay.  Grains  of 
gold  are  still  obtained  by  washing  the  sands  of  some  streams  near  Arklow. 


I  go       The  International  Geography 

The  compact  grey  limestones  of  the  central  counties,  and  the  fine- 
grained sandstones  of  Donegal  are  used  for  city-buildings.  The  black 
marbles  of  Galway  and  Kilkenny,  the  red  from  Co.  Cork,  and  the 
unique  green  serpentinous  marble  of  Connemara,  are  used  for  decoration. 
Grey  granite  is  quarried  at  Newry,  and  red  granites  occur  in  Co.  Galway 
and  elsewhere.  Hard  flags  occur  in  Co.  Clare.  The  cost  of  carriage  and 
of  working  retards  the  Irish  stone  industry.  The  one  material  excavated 
with  unfailing  regularity  is  peat — locally  called  turf — which  is  extensively 
used  for  fuel. 

Fauna  and  Flora.— The  exceptional  features  of  the  fauna  and  flora 
of  Ireland  have  been  previously  referred  to  (p.  142). 

People  and  History. — Separated  from  South  Wales  by  some  50 
miles,  and  from  Scotland  at  one  point  by  only  13  miles,  and  with  the 
broad  Atlantic  on  the  west,  it  is  clear  that  the  natural  incorporation  of 
Ireland  in  the  British  Isles  has  profoundly  influenced  her  history.  Her 
insular  position  laid  her  open  to  attack  from  a  variety  of  nations,  at  a  time 
when  journeys  by  sea  were  simpler  than  those  by  land.  The  early  settlers 
in  Ireland  appear  to  have  come  in  some  small  degree  from  southern 
Europe,  but  mainly  from  the  Keltic  tribes  of  Gaul  and  Britain  ;  but  these 
invaders  found  men  of  the  Stone  Age  already  in  occupation.  Though  the 
characteristic  civilisation  and  language  of  the  country  thus  had  a  Keltic 
origin,  anthropological  research  shows  that  the  people  are  non-Keltic  and 
of  still  earlier  type.  The  distinctive  characters  of  the  peasantry  are  not 
confined  to  those  who  still  speak  the  Irish  language.  Courtesy,  quickness 
of  idea,  a  delicate  or  humorous  aptness  of  expression,  a  conservatism  of 
method,  and  a  deep  sense  of  the  supernatural  in  ordinary  life,  are  features 
of  the  agricultural  community,  and  imply  less  mixture  of  race  than  might 
have  been  expected  from  the  frequent  immigrations.  The  dominant 
tribe  became  ultimately  known  as  the  Scots,  who  occupied  the  plain, 
holding  the  country  from  the  centre,  much  as  the  Magyars  now  hold  Hun- 
gary. These  Scots  and  their  subject  tribes  invaded  Wales  and  Corn- 
wall. A  colony  in  Galloway  spread  northward,  and  gave  its  name  to 
Scotland.  The  Romans  never  established  themselves  in  Ireland  ;  but  in 
the  middle  of  the  fifth  century  St.  Patrick  successfully  introduced  Chris- 
tianity, and  the  country  still  abounds  in  Christian  monuments  erected  by 
his  monastic  successors.  The  round  towers  are  now  believed  to  belong 
mostly  to  the  ninth  century.  Ecclesiastical  learning  and  art  flourished, 
and  Irish  missionaries  spread  into  central  Europe.  The  seizure  of  the 
harbours  by  Danes  and  Norwegians  from  800  A.D.  onwards  checked  ex- 
ternal enterprise  ;  but  the  development  of  the  towns  of  Dublin,  Wexford, 
Waterford,  and  Limerick,  as  commercial  centres,  dates  from  this  inva- 
sion. Dublin  became  the  centre  of  Norse  power  in  Ireland,  while 
rival  Irish  kings  strove  for  inland  supremacy.  Brian,  however,  drove 
the  Danes  from  Limerick  in  968,  and  broke  their  power  at  Clontarf  in 
1014.  They  held  Dublin,  Wexford,  and  Waterford  till  the  Norman  inva- 


Ireland  191 


sion  under  Richard  de  Clare  in  1170.  The  Anglo-Norman  governors 
soon  regarded  themselves  as  local  Irish  chieftains,  and  their  insular 
position  often  overcame  their  loyalty,  despite  the  existence  of  an  official 
Viceroy  in  Dublin.  This  defection  of  many  of  the  settlers  reduced  the 
English  district  to  a  small  area  round  Dublin.  Henry  VIII.  came  to  be 
styled  king  of  Ireland,  and  drew  to  his  side  those  who  had  long  looked 
for  a  central  authority.  But  no  English  predominance  was  estab- 
lished until  after  the  wars  of  extermination  carried  on  by  Elizabeth's 
generals.  The  virtual  forfeiture  of  Ulster  by  the  government  of  James  I. 
led  to  the  introduction  of  sturdy  English  settlers  on  an  organised  basis, 
and  the  name  of  Londonderry  records  the  source  of  many  of  the  colonists. 
The  emphasis  laid  upon  religious  differences  resulted  in  a  bitter  rising  in 
1641,  the  ultimate  suppression  of  which  was  left  to  Cromwell.  The  loyal 
party  under  William  III.  secured  the  passing  of  "  penal  laws,"  whereby 
land  and  other  property  were  gradually  brought  into  the  hands  of  the 
Protestants.  The  export  of  wool  was  forbidden,  and,  outside  the  district 
of  the  linen  industry,  the  people  were  driven  to  rely  on  agriculture  alone. 
The  conciliatory  measures  of  the  Dublin  parliament  came  too  late  to 
check  the  sanguinary  rebellion  of  1798.  Parliamentary  union  with  Great 
Britain  took  place  in  1801,  and  in  1829  Roman  Catholics  were  first  allowed 
to  sit  in  parliament.  To  this  day  the  country  presents  suggestive  traces 
of  its  comparatively  recent  colonisation  in  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth 
centuries.  In  1901  the  Roman  Catholics  numbered  74  per  cent,  of  the 
entire  population. 

Present  Economic  Condition. — The  growth  of  population  was 
rapid  between  1800  and  1845,  and  the  general  reliance  on  the  potato  as  a 
source  of  food  led  to  the  disastrous  famine  of  1846,  when  the  potato  crop 
failed.  The  western  peasantry,  isolated  in  small  bodies  among  the  moun- 
tains, naturally  suffered  most,  even  when  relief  had  been  freely  supplied 
from  England.  A  steady  decline  in  population  has  since  gone  on.  The 
sea  has  provided  a  simple  means  of  exodus  to  America,  just  as  in  old  times 
it  served  as  a  means  of  approach.  At  the  present  time  the  country  appears 
to  be  increasing  in  prosperity,  and  much  is  being  done,  by  legislation  and 
private  effort,  to  maintain  the  population  on  the  soil.  In  former  days 
water-power  was  largely  used  for  mills,  and  the  formation  of  reservoirs 
may  again  utilise  the  rainfall.  From  poverty  in  coal,  the  country  must 
always  depend  largely  on  systematic  agriculture  and  grazing.  Of  late 
years  crops  have  been  neglected,  while  large  numbers  of  cattle  have  been 
exported.  In  the  north,  flax  is  cultivated,  as  a  basis  for  the  flourishing 
linen-industry.  Shipbuilding  prospers  in  Belfast.  Distilling  and  brewing 
are  important  in  the  large  towns.  Cloth  and  lace  are  manufactured  locally 
The  sea-fisheries  have  largely  developed.  Butter  and  bacon  form  the  main 
exports  of  the  south  and  south-west.  The  Congested  Districts  Board,  the 
construction  of  "light  railways,"  and  the  new  department  of  Agriculture  and 
Technical  Instruction  have  done  much  to  stimulate  industry.  Many  lines 


1 92       The  Internationa]  Geography 

of  steamers  connect  the  eastern  ports  with  England  and  Scotland ;  and 
American  liners  call  at  Queenstown,  and  at  Moville  on  Lough  Foyle. 

Divisions  and  Towns.— The  division  of  Ireland"  into  provinces,, 
under  an  over-lord,  dates  from  prehistoric  times,  though  the  boundaries 
have  slightly  varied.  The  provinces  are  divided  into  counties,  and  these 
into  baronies,  which  mostly  bear  ancient  and  interesting  Gaelic  names. 

Leinster  includes  the  twelve  counties  of  Louth,  Longford,  Westmeath, 
Meath,  Dublin,  King's  Co.,  Queen's  Co.,  Kildare,  Wicklow,  Kilkenny, 
Carlow  and  Wexford.  The  north  consists  largely  of  a  Carboniferous 
limestone  plateau,  used  for  grazing.  The  Boyne  rises  in  the  bogs  near 
Edenderry,  and  runs  through  a  wooded  valley  below  Navan.  Drogheda 
occupies  its  mouth,  on  a  good  inlet  for  shipping.  The  Liffey  rises  in  the 
Wicklow  Mountains,  makes  a  loop  of  75  miles  through  the  plain,  and 
enters  the  sea  at  Dublin  Bay.  A  wooden  bridge  was  erected  across  it  here 


FIG.  93.— Dublin. 

in  ancient  times,  and  Dubh-linn,  the  Black  Pool,  became  the  site  of  a  town 
guarding  the  passage.  The  bay,  sheltered  between  the  hills  of  Howth  and 
Dalkey,  was  accessible  both  to  Norsemen  and  English ;  and  Dublin 
became  the  capital  of  the  invaders.  It  is  the  seat  of  the  Viceregal 
court,  and  of  the  Dublin  University,  founded  in  1591  ;  also  of  the  Royal 
University.  There  are  several  important  libraries  and  museums.  The 
quays  on  the  Liffey  serve  for  a  good  import  and  export  trade  ;  the 
mails  cross  to  Holyhead  from  Kingstown,  a  fine  harbour  six  miles  down  the 
bay.  The  city  has  of  late  extended  greatly  on  the  south.  The  old  quarter 
round  the  Castle  and  Cathedrals  is  poor  and  dilapidated  ;  but  the  expansion 
in  the  eighteenth  century  provided  Dublin  with  many  handsome  public 
buildings,  classical  in  style.  Dubli  i  is  mainly  an  administrative  and 
professional  city,  but  has  large  breweries,  mineral  water  factories,  chemical 
works,  and  other  manufactures.  South  of  Dublin,  Leinster  broadly  divides 
itself  into  the  mountain  axis  on  the  east,  and  the  western  Carboniferous 


Ireland  193 


synclinal,  including  the  pastoral  lowlands  of  Kildare  and  the  high  Kilkenny 
coal-field.  Beyond  the  Slieve  Bloom  range,  the  King's  County  stretches- 
to  the  Shannon.  The  Nore  and  the  Barrow  run  north  and  south  on  either 
side  of  the  coal-field,  uniting  at  New  Ross  in  a  navigable  channel.  The 
Leinster  granite  chain  rises  to  3,039  feet  in  Lugnaquillia,  and  forms  a  long 
moorland,  commonly  2,000  feet  above  the  sea.  The  flatter  ground  east  of 
the  chain  widens  towards  the  south,  where  Wexford  town  has  a  fair  ship- 
ping and  agricultural  trade. 

Ulster  includes  the  nine  counties  of  Donegal,  Londonderry,  Antrim, 
Tyrone,  Fermanagh,  Cavan,  Monaghan,  Armagh,  and  Down.  The  planters- 
of  the  seventeenth  century  introduced  a  virile  and  enterprising  element. 
Immigration  from  Scotland  took  place  at  various  times  ;  and  a  great  part  of 
the  population  remains  Presbyterian.  Antrim  contains  high  basalt  plateaux,, 
the  columnar  jointing  of  the  lavas  being  admirably  seen  in  the  Giant's 
Causeway  near  Portrush.  Belfast  (Beal  feirste,  the  "  ford  of  the  sandbank  ")• 
was  occupied  by  the  Normans,  and  was  finally  secured  for  England  in  1573. 
The  steady  growth  of  trade  in  the  port,  and  of  the  linen  and  shipbuilding 
industries,  have  raised  the  population  from  30,000  in  1810  to  some  350,000 
at  the  present  day.  The  modern  city  has  handsome  well-kept  streets,  with 
conspicuous  commercial  buildings.  The  Queen's  College  is  on  the  south, 
and  there  are  seven  public  parks.  The  shortest  route  to  Britain  is  from 
Larne,  some  20  miles  to  the  north.  The  basalt  plateaux  fall  towards 
Lough  Neagh,  the  largest  lake  in  the  British  Isles.  The  Bann  runs  through 
it,  continuing  as  a  broad  stream  to  the  sea  at  Coleraine,  100  miles- 
from  its  source  in  the  Mourne  Mountains.  Londonderry,  still  walled,  rises 
picturesquely  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Fovle,  and  has  large  agricultural 
exports.  From  the  Sperrin  Mountains  across  Donegal  there  stretches  a. 
romantic  highland,  mainly  occupied  by  Irish-speaking  people.  The  south- 
west of  Ulster  is  less  rugged,  and  the  scenery  of  the  two  Loughs  Erne 
graduates  into  that  of  the  plain.  An  agricultural  country  of  green  rounded 
hills  extends  from  this  point  eastward.  The  Mourne  Mountains  occupy 
the  south-east  of  Co.  Down,  Slieve  Donard  (2,796  feet)  and  Slieve  Bingian 
(2,449  feet)  being  conspicuous  summits. 

Connaught  includes  the  five  counties  or  Mayo,  Sligo,  Leitrim,  Galway, 
and  Roscommon.  It  lies  almost  entirely  west  of  the  Shannon,  and  its 
comparatively  poor  lands  were  often  occupied  by  persons  ejected  from  the 
east.  In  the  mountains  of  Galway  and  southern  Mayo  lies  some  of  the 
most  beautiful  scenery  of  Ireland  ;  but  the  whole  area  eastward  belongs  to 
the  limestone  plain.  Loughs  Conn,  Mask,  and  Corrib  are  thus  broad  sheets, 
of  water,  with  low  eastern  and  mountainous  western  shores.  The  popula- 
tion of  the  Connaught  highlands  is  thickest  along  the  coast,  and  is  engaged 
in  fishing.  The  towns  of  Galway  arid  of  Sligo  are  thus  fishery-centres. 
The  former  stands  at  the  outfall  of  Lough  Corrib,  and  is  a  natural  port  for 
the  trade  of  Galway  Bay,  which  runs  30  miles  west  to  the  open  ocean. 

Munster  includes  the  six  counties  of  Clare,  Limerick,  Tipperary,  Kerry,, 


1 94       The  International   Geography 

and  Cork.  The  indentations  of  the  coastline  render  it  highly  picturesque. 
The  warm  south-westerly  winds  preserve  a  richness  of  vegetation,  except 
on  the  limestone  terraces  of  Clare.  Co.  Tipperary  consists  partly  of  the 
plain,  partly  of  the  Old  Red  Sandstone  ranges.  The  acropolis  of  Cashel  is 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  groups  of  antique  buildings  in  Europe. 
Limerick,  despite  its  trade  in  bacon  and  agricultural  produce,  has  felt  the 
effects  of  decreased  population.  It  has  a  beautiful  situation  on  the  Shannon, 
above  which  the  Norman  stronghold  rises.  The  east  and  west  mountain- 
ranges  occupy  most  of  Cos.  Cork  and  Kerry,  culminating  in  Carrantuohill 
(3,414  feet),  a  peak  in  Macgillicuddy's  Reeks.  The  lower  lake  of  Killarney 
belongs  to  the  plain,  while  the  upper  is  enfolded  in  wooded  mountains. 
The  population  of  Kerry  preserves  many  ancient  characteristics,  and  dwells 
mostly  on  the  coast.  The  island  of  Valentia  is  a  starting-point  for  one  of 
the  most  important  transatlantic  cables.  In  the  east,  Munster  becomes 
richer  and  more  cultivated  ;  the  Suir  and  the  Blackwater  often  run  between 
high  banks  of  woodland.  Cork,  the  third  largest  city  in  Ireland,  is  well  built 
upon  the  Lee,  and  its  suburbs  run  down  towards  Queenstown,  a  station  for 
the  American  mails.  The  winding  but  spacious  harbour  is  set  with  wooded 
islands.  The  chief  trade  lies  in  agricultural  exports.  Waterford,  founded 
by  the  Danes,  occupies  a  similarly  sheltered  position  on  the  inlet  of  the 
Suir,  and  has  a  corresponding  trade  with  England.  The  east  and  west 
ranges  that  form  the  south  of  Ireland  are  here  broken  by  St.  George's 
Channel,  and  we  pass  somewhat  abruptly  to  the  foot-hills  of  the  Leinster 
chain. 


STATISTICS  OF  THE  UNITED  KINGDOM. 


Area  of  the  United  Kingdom  in  square  miles. . 

Population        „  „  

Density  of  population  per  square  mile  . . 


1881. 
120,979 
35,241,482 
291 


1891. 
120,979 
38,104,975 


1901. 

120,979 

41,605,323 

344 


England. 

1881  ..  24,613,926 
1891  . .  27,483,490 
1901  ..  30,805,466 
Area,  sq.  miles  50,867 


DISTRIBUTION  OF  POPULATION. 

Channel 

Ireland.       Isle  of  Man.  Islands.       Abroad.* 

5,174,836           53.558  87,702           215,374 

4,704,750           55-6o8  92,234 

4,456,546           54.758  95.841 

32,583                227  75 


Wales. 
1,360,513 
1,519.035 
1,720,609 

7,442 


Scotland. 

3,735.573 

4,025,647 

4,472,103 

29,785 


224,211 


THE  MOST  POPULOUS  COUNTIES  2  IN  1901. 


Name. 
London 
York  .. 
Lancaster 
Lanark 
Kent  .. 
Stafford 
Durham 


Name. 
Nairn 
Kinross 
Peebles 


Area,  sq.  miles. 

Population. 

Name.                    Area,  sq.  miles. 

Population. 

118 

4,536,063 

Essex    .. 

1,533 

816,503 

5,939 

1,891,726 

Middlesex 

233 

792,225 

i,757 

1,827,391 

Chester 

1,009 

601,070 

882 

1,339,289 

Devon  .  . 

2,597 

437,210 

1,519 

936,003 

Cork     .  . 

2,890 

404,813 

1,142 

879,618 

Edinburgh 

362 

488,647 

999 

833,614 

Antrim  .  . 

1,237 

461,240 

THE  LEAST  POPULOUS  COUNTIES  2  IN  1901. 

Area,  sq.  miles. 

Population. 

Name.                    Area,  sq.  miles. 

Population. 

195 

6,291 

Bute    218 

18.786 

73 

6,980 

Rutland         ..        ..            152 

19,708 

355 

15,066 

Radnor          .  .         .  .            471 

23,263 

i  Takes  account  only  of  soldiers  and  sailors. 


2  County  boroughs  not  included. 


United  Kingdom 


195 


THE  LARGE  TOWNS  OF  THE  UNITED  KINGDOM.' 


Name. 

1881. 

1891. 

1901. 

Name. 

1881. 

1891. 

1901. 

LONDON  (County) 

3,816,483 

4,232,118 

4,536,063 

PLYMOUTH 

73,795 

87,480 

105,404 

GLASGOW 

674-095 

793-320 

735.906 

Hanley     .. 

75.912 

86.945 

100,290- 

LIVERPOOL 

552,508 

584,499 

684,947 

SOUTH  SHIELDS.  . 

56,875 

78,391 

97,267 

MANCHESTER    .  . 

34MI4 

505-368 

543,960 

Dudley 

87,527 

90,252 

96,988 

Birmingham 

400,774 

47V  13 

522,182 

Huddersfield      .. 

81,841 

96.4M5 

96.383 

Leeds 

309,119 

367506 

428,953 

Burnley 

63,638 

86,034 

95.816- 

Sheffield  .. 

284,508 

324,243 

380,717 

SWANSEA 

73,971 

90,349 

94,514 

DUBLIN    .  . 

349.648 

352,277 

379,861 

Stoke-upon-Trent 

64,091 

75.352 

89,023 

BELFAST  .  . 

208,122 

255.950 

348,876 

Ystrad-y-fodwg  .  . 

88,351 

88,968 

BRISTOL  .  . 

206,874 

286,231 

321,908 

Halifax    .. 

73.630 

89,832 

88,909 

Edinburgh 

236,002 

261,225 

316,479 

Walsall 

59,402 

71.789 

86,440 

West  Ham 

128,953 

204,902 

267,308 

HARTLEPOOL    .. 

46,990 

64,882 

86,310 

HULL      .  . 

165,690 

200,044 

239,876 

St.  Helens 

57.403 

71,288 

80,722 

Nottingham 

186,575 

213.877 

239-753 

Paisley     .  . 

55-638 

66,418 

79,355 

Bradford  .  . 

183,032 

216,361 

228,667 

Stockport.. 

59,553 

70.263 

78,871 

SALFORD  .  . 

176,235 

198,136 

220,956 

CHATHAM 

46,788 

59,210 

78,746 

NEWCASTLE 

145,359 

186,300 

214,803 

GRIMSBY  .. 

45-351 

58,661 

78.198 

Leicester  .. 

122,376 

174.624 

211,574 

DEVONPORT 

63.980 

70.204 

78.059 

Oldham   .. 

"1,343 

183,871 

194,197 

LEITH 

59,485 

67,700 

76,667 

Wolverhampton 

164,332 

174,365 

192,750 

Rochdale  .  . 

68,866 

71,401 

76,122 

PORTSMOUTH    .  . 

127,989 

159-251 

189,122 

Northampton 

57,544 

70.872 

76,073 

CARDIFF 

82,761 

128,915 

164,420 

CORK 

80,124 

75,345 

75,97* 

DUNDEE  .. 

140,239 

153,051 

160,871 

York 

61,166 

67,004 

75,391 

SUNDERLAND      .  . 

116,542 

142,248 

159,359 

Dewsbury 

09,566 

72,896 

74,349 

Brighton 

107,546 

142,129 

153,393 

Wednesbury 

68,142 

69,083 

72,478 

ABERDEEN 

105,189 

121,623 

143,922 

Stockton-on-Tees 

55.460 

68,875 

71,812 

Croydon   .. 

78,953 

102,697 

133,885 

GREENOCK 

65,884 

63,096 

67,645 

Bolton 

105,414 

118,730 

130,602 

NEWPORT  (Mon.) 

38,427 

54-707 

67,569 

Blackburn 

104,014 

120,064 

127,527 

IPSWICH  .. 

50,546 

57,360 

06,622 

MerthyrTydfil  .. 

91,373 

104,021 

122,536 

Reading  .. 

46,054 

60,054 

65,468 

SOUTHAMPTON  .. 

84,384 

93,589 

120,302 

WestBromwich.. 

56,295 

59.474 

65,172 

PRESTON 

96,537 

111,685 

118,220 

Warrington 

45,253 

55,349 

64.702 

MIDDLESBROUGH 

72,601 

98,932 

116,539 

Coventry 

46,563 

54.755 

63,817 

Norwich 

87,842 

100,970 

111,728 

Hastings  .. 

47,6i9 

60,878 

62,913 

BlHKENHEAD      .  . 

84,006 

99.857 

110,926 

Wigan 

48,194 

55,oi3 

60,770 

GATESHEAD 

65,803 

85,692 

109,887 

Bury 

53,240 

57,212 

58,028 

Derby 

81,168 

94,146 

105,785 

Bath 

53,875 

54-551 

52,751 

AGRICULTURE  OF  THE  UNITED  KINGDOM. 


Acres  in  1874  . . 
„  „  1886  .. 
„  „  i895  .. 
,,  ,,  1900  .. 


Wheat. 
3,819,011 
2,355,457 
1,454,173 
1,898,863 


Barley. 

2,500,217 

2,423,060 

2,337,929 

2,164,438 


Oats. 
4,076,570 

4,403,579 
4,512,306 
4,131,138 


Turnips. 
2,466,823 
2,302,219 
2.229,183 
1,986,465 


Potatoes. 
1,412,851 
i,353,8o8 
1,251,703- 
1.215,440 


MINERAL  PRODUCTION  OF  THE  UNITED  KINGDOM. 


1878 
1888 
1896 
1900 


Coal. 

Amount,  tons.  Value,  £. 

132,654,887  46,429,210 

169,935.219  42,971,276 

195,361,260  57,190,147 

225,181,300  121,652,596 


Iron  Ore. 

Amount,  tons.          Value,  £. 
15,726,370  5,609,507 

14,590,713  3,501.317 

13,700,746  3,150,424 

14,028,208  4,224,400 


Pig  Iron 
manufactured. 
Tons.2 
6,300,000 

7,808,000 
8,659,681 
8,959,691 


TOTAL  IMPORTS  OF  RAW  COTTON  INTO  UNITED  KINGDOM. 
(In  million  pounds  weight.) 

Year         1820.        ..        1840.        ..        1860.        ..        1880. 

Amount ..         152        ..         592        ..       1,391        ..       1,629 

ANNUAL  TRADE  OF  THE  UNITED  KINGDOM. 

1871-75.  1881-85. 

Imports £360,204,000        ..        ..        £399,584,000 

Exports  3 239,502,000        ..        ..          232,272,000 

Re-exports  4          ..        ..  58,184,000        ..        ..  63,038,000 


1001. 
1,830 


1891-95- 
£417,791,000 
226,969,000 
60,533,000 


x  SEAPORTS  in  small  capitals,  other  towns  not  near  coal-fields  in  italics. 

2  From  native  and  imported  ores.  3  Of  British  produce. 

4  Of  foreign  produce  previously  imported. 


196      The  International  Geography 


THE  BRITISH  EMPIRE  IN  1901.' 

(Approximate.) 


Area,  sq.  miles.                 Population. 

United  Kingdom 

121,000 

41,500,000 

Indian  Empire 

1,640,000 

204,000,000 

Colonies  :  — 

Gibraltar     

2 

27,000 

Malta  and  Gozo 

120 

183,000 

Aden  and  Ptrim 

80 

41,000 

Ceylon         

25,400 

3,600,000 

Straits  Settlements 

1,500 

580,000 

Hongkong  

400 

384.000 

Basutoland  

10,300 

250,000 

Cape  Colony 

277,000 

2,350,000 

Natal           

29,200 

930,000 

Orange  River  Colony 
Transvaal  Colony.  . 

48.300 
119,100 

207,500 
1,094,000 

Gambia       

70 

13,500 

Gold  Coast  

40,000 

1,500,000 

Lagos          

3,5oo 

42,000 

Sierra  Leone 

4,000 

75,000 

Mauritius    

880 

394,000 

Seychelles    

ISO 

20,300 

Ascension  and  St.  Helena 

80 

10,000 

Dominion  of  Canada 

3,049,000 

5,370,000 

Newfoundland  and  Labrador 

162,000 

210,000 

Bermuda     

20 

17,500 

British  Honduras.  . 

7,500 

37,ooo 

Bahamas     

5.400 

53,700 

Jamaica  and  Turk's  Island 

4,400 

758,000 

Leeward  Islands 

700 

128,000 

Windward  Islands 

500 

160,000 

Barbados     

170 

195,000 

Trinidad  and  Tobago      .  . 

1,800 

272,000 

British  Guiana 

120,000 

288,000 

Falkland  Islands 

7,5oo 

2,000 

'Fiji    

7,700 

I2O.OOO 

British  New  Guinea 

90,500 

350,000 

New  Zealand 

104,000 

772,000 

Queensland.. 

670,000 

497,000 

New  South  Wales.  . 

310,000 

l,353,ooo 

Victoria       

88,000 

1,200,000 

Tasmania    

26,000 

166,000 

South  Australia    .. 

903,000 

363,000 

Western  Australia 

976,000 

182,000 

Total,  United  Kingdom,  Ind 
and  Colonies 

8,856,000                        359.875,000 

Protectorates,  &c.  :— 

Asia  

120,000               .  .                  1,200,000 

Africa          

2,100,000                ..                 35,000,000 

Pacific  Islands 

800          .  .               30,000 

Total,  British  Empire.. 


11,137,000 
STANDARD  BOOKS. 


Shipping :  tonnage 
entered  and  cleared. 
98,500,000 
8,600,000 

8.700,000 
7,000,000 
4,900,000 
7,400,000 
13,300,000 
14,000,000 

9,500  ooo 
2,800,000 


233,920,000 


Lord  Avebury.    "  The  Scenery  of  England."    London,  1901. 

J.  G.  Bartholomew.    "Atlas  of  Scotland,"  1895  ;  "  Atlas  of  England  and  Wales,"  1903. 

Cassell's  "  Gazetteer  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  "    6  vols.    London,  1893-98. 

W.  P.  Coyne  (editor).     "  Ireland,  Industrial  and  Agricultural."    Dublin,  1902. 

W.  Cunningham.    "  Growth  of  English  Industry  and  Commerce."    2  vols.    Cambridge,  1890,  1892. 

Sir  A.  Geikie.     "  The  Scenery  and  Geology  of  Scotland."    2nd  edit.     London,  1887. 

Edinburgh. 
London. 
1888. 

E.  "Hull.    "  Physical  Geology  and  Geography  of  Ireland."    London,  1878. 
H.  J.  Mackinder.    "  Britain  and  the  British  Seas."    London,  1907. 
Sir  A.  C.  Ramsay.    "  Physical  Geography  and  Geology  of  Great  Britain,"  edited  by  H.  B.  Woodward. 

London,  1894. 

Many  special  articles  of  importance  are  to  be  found  in  the  publications  of  the  Geological  Survey, 
the  Royal  Geographical  Society,  and  the  Royal  Scottish  Geographical  Society. 


oir  «..  VJCIKIC.        i  ne  scenery  ana  ueoiogy  or  Scotland.      2nd  edit.     .LOI 

Geological  Maps  of  England  and  Wales  and  of  Scotland. 

J.  R.  and  A.  S.  Green.    ••  A  Short  Geography  of  the  British  Islands."    L 
A.  J.  Jukes- Browne.     "  The  Building  of  the  British  Islands."    London,  i 


»  Generalised  from  The  Statesman's  Year  Book  for  1902. 


CHAPTER    XIII.— THE    SCANDINAVIAN 
KINGDOMS 

I.— THE  SCANDINAVIAN   PENINSULA 

BY  YNGVAR  NIELSEN/ 

Professor  of  Geography  in  the  University  of  Christiania. 

Position  and  Extent. — The  two  kingdoms  of  Sweden  and  Norway 
occupy  the  whole  Scandinavian  Peninsula  from  Knivskjelodden  (71°  N.) 
near  the  North  Cape  to  Smyge  Huk  (55^°  N.),  in  Scania ;  and  from  the 
island  of  Buland  (4^°  E.)  to  the  meridian  of  Vardo  (31°  E.).  The  breadth 
of  the  peninsula  varies  from  230  to  470  miles,  and  the  length  is  1,160  miles. 
The  long  west  coast  faces  the  Atlantic  and  the  North  Sea,  and  the  harbours 
along  its  whole  extent  remain  unfrozen  all  the  year  round.  At  Lindesnes 
the  coast  bends  to  the  east  along  the  Skagerrak,  which  then  runs  north- 
ward into  Christiania  Fjord,  while  the  Kattegat  runs  southward  along 
the  west  coast  of  Sweden.  The  Oresund,  or  Sound,  separates  Scania, 
the  extreme  south  of  the  peninsula  from  the  Danish  Islands.  The  Baltic 
turns  north-eastwards  along  the  east  coast  to  the  Aland  Islands,  and  is 
continued  northward  by  the  Gulf  of  Bothnia,  north  of  which  the  Scandi- 
navian Peninsula  is  attached  to  the  mainland  of  Finland  and  Russia  by  an 
isthmus  three  hundred  miles  across.  On  the  east  coast  of  the  peninsula, 
especially  in  the  Gulf  of  Bothnia,  the  harbours  may  be  blocked  by  ice  for  as 
much  as  six  months  of  the  year.  With  the  exception  of  Russia,  no  other 
countries  in  Europe  stretch  over  so  great  an  extent  in  latitude.  While  the 
south  of  Sweden  lies  in  the  same  latitude  as  the  Cheviot  Hills,  Stockholm 
lies  parallel  with  the  Orkney,  and  Bergen  with  the  Shetland  Islands  ;  and 
in  the  north  the  peninsula  passes  far  beyond  the  Arctic  Circle. 

Norway  and  Sweden  share  the  geographical  unity  of  the  peninsula 
which  can  be  described  as  a  whole  ;  but  the  historical  development  of  the 
two  countries  has  been  very  different,  and  for  internal  politics  they  are 
entirely  independent  of  one  another  ;  hence  in  these  aspects  they  must 
be  separately  described.  The  names  Norway  and  Sweden  may  be  con- 
veniently used  in  the  physical  description  as  generally  corresponding  to 
the  western  and  eastern  slopes  of  the  peninsula. 

Geology. — The  Scandinavian  peninsula  is  built  up  for  the  most  part  of 
very  ancient  rocks.  In  Norway  the  Archaean  rocks  are  widely  spread  in 
the  south-east,  and  often  penetrated  by  masses  of  granite  and  gabbro, 

1  Translated  from  the  German  by  the  Editor. 
197 


198       The  International  Geography 

while  Silurian  formations  are  spread  over  a  large  area  round  Christiania 
Fjord  and  the  lakes  in  its  neighbourhood.  Archaean  rocks  come  to  the 
surface  also  over  all  southern  and  western  Norway,  but  in  the  interior  of 
the  country  they  are  overlaid  by  sparagmite,  and  different  schists  and 
limestones,  quartzite  also  appearing  on  the  high  mountains.  In  the  Jotun 
mountains  all  these  strata  are  broken  through  by  masses  of  gabbro. 
Throughout  the  Trondhjem  district  schists  are  greatly  developed,  while 
further  north  the  Archaean  rocks  reappear,  pierced  by  intrusions  of  granite. 
The  Lofoten  Islands,  like  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Lyngen  Fjord,  are 
masses  of  gabbro.  Ancient  sandstones  are  widely  distributed  in  Fin- 
marken.  Archaean  formations  also  predominate  in  Sweden,  where  they 
are  in  part  overlaid  by  Cambrian  and  Silurian  strata,  especially  round 
the  great  lakes ;  only  in  Scania,  in  the  extreme  south,  do  Triassic,  Jurassic, 
and  Cretaceous  rocks  appear.  The  large  island  of  Gottland  belongs 
entirely  to  the  Upper  Silurian  formation.  Where  the  ancient  rocks  do 
not  themselves  appear  on  the  surface  in  the  peninsula,  glacial  formations, 
clay,  gravel,  and  sand  cover  extensive  areas.  Fertile  patches  covered  by 
good  soil  are  also  found,  especially  in  Sweden,  where  the  principal  agri- 
cultural districts  are  in  Scania  and  East  and  West  Gothland.  In_Norway 
fertile  land  occurs  only  on  the  margins  of  Christiania  Fjord,  the  lakes  of 
Tyrifjord,  Randsfjord,  and  Mjosen,  and  of  Trondhjem  Fjord.  The 
soil  is  favourable  for  the  growth  of  forests  in  most  places  ;  between  50 
and  60  per  cent,  of  the  area  of  Sweden  is  wooded,  but  in  Norway  only 
about  20  per  cent,  on  account  of  the  greater  elevation  of  the  country. 

Configuration. — The  Scandinavian  Peninsula  on  the  whole  forms  a 
plateau.  In  the  east  aiKTsouth  the  elevation  is  small,  but  towards  the  west 
the  land  rises  gradually,  and  reaches  its  maximum  height  in  a  great  ridge 
near  the  west  coast.  This  ridge  from  north  to  south  forms  the  main  water- 
shed of  the  peninsula,  and  the  boundary  between  the  two  countries  runs 
along  it  for  a  great  part  of  its  length.  Thus  it  comes  about  that  only  a 
small  portion  of  Sweden  is  mountainous,  while  Norway  is,  next  to  Spain, 
the  most  conspicuously  mountainous  country  in  Europe.  In  the  west 
the  narrow  fjords  penetrate  steep-walled,  rocky  gorges  for  ninety  miles  or 
more  from  the  sea,  while  on  the  east  long  and  sometimes  wide  valleys 
provide  more  gradual  access  to  the  high  mountain  regions.  In  the  Jotun- 
heim,  where  the  peninsula  reaches  its  greatest  height,  Glittertind  attains 
8,380  feet,  and  Galdhopiggen  8,400  feet,  and  further  west  Store  Skagestols- 
tind,  7,861  feet.  In  the  far  north  the  mountains  rising  directly  from  the 
sea  reach  a  considerable  height,  some  exceeding  6,000  feet.  The  greatest 
heights  in  the  north-west  of  Sweden  are  Kebnekaise  (7,004  feet)  and 
Sarjektjokko  (6,988  feet).  Southern  Sweden  contains  a  hilly  district,  cut 
off  from  the  mountains  of  the  north  by  the  depression  of  the  large  lakes. 

Numerous  snownelds  and  glaciers  are  formed  in  the  great  mountains, 
especially  in  the  north  and  towards  the  west  coast.  In  the  south  of 
Norway  the  Folgefonn,  Jostedalsbrae,  Aalfotebras,  and  Hardangerjokel  are 


The  Scandinavian  Peninsula        199 


the  most  important,  and  in  the  north  Svartisen,  Heldalsisen,  and  Frostisen. 
The  largest  expanse  of  snow  is  the  Jostedalsbrae,  which  reaches  a  height 
of  6,800  feet,  and  is  surrounded  by  other  great  snowfields ;  twenty-four 
glaciers  of  the  first  rank  flow  from  it.  The  large  glaciers  of  the  eastern 
slope  are  confined  to  the  far  north. 

On  account  of  the  character  of  the  soil  and  of  the  great  average 
elevation  the  quantity  of  absolutely  useless  land  is  very  great.  In  Norway 
only  3,500  square  miles  of  land  are  available  for  agriculture  or  pasturage, 
but  in  Sweden  more  than  19,000  can  be  utilised. 

Coast. — The  coast  is  extraordinarily  broken  and  indented  ;  not  only  are 
there  numerous  fjords  and  bays,  but  in  most  places  innumerable  off-lying 
islands  forming  the  Skjaergaard  ("  Skerry  wall ")  protect  the  coast,  and  give 
it  a  distinctive  character.  In  Norway  large  islands  lying  far  from  the  main- 
land take  the  place  of  the  Skjaergaard  in  the 
north ;  the  largest  of  these  groups  are  those  of 
the  Lofoten  and  Vesteraalen.  Between  many 
of  the  islands  tremendous  currents  are  formed 
by  the  tide,  amongst  them  the  famous  Malstrom 
between  Vaero  and  Moskeneso,  the  appearance 
and  effects  of  which  were  greatly  exaggerated  by 
old  writers.  The  large  and  interesting  islands  of 
Gottland  and  Oland  lie  off  the  coast  of  Sweden 
in  the  Baltic.  The  total  area  of  all  the  islands 
connected  with  Sweden  is  about  3,000  square 
miles,  and  of  those  connected  with  Norway  about 
8,600. 

The  formation  of  the  coast  with  the  off-lying 
islands  affords  innumerable  sheltered  harbours 
for  fishermen  ;  and  many  banks  frequented  by 
great  shoals  of  cod  occur  in  the  broad  Vestfjord, 
east  of  the  Lofoten  Islands. 

Lakes  and  Rivers. — While  the  average  proportion  of  Europe  occu- 
pied by  lakes  and  rivers  is  only  0*5  per  cent,  of  the  area,  the  percentage  of 
the  area  of  lakes  and  rivers  in  Norway  is  4,  and  in  Sweden  it  is  as  much 
as  8.  The  rivers  are  frequently  broken  by  picturesque  waterfalls.  The 
rivers  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  main  watershed  are  of  course  the  longest. 
Several  long  rivers  from  the  southern  Norwegian  mountains  converge 
on  Christiania  Fjord,  the  Glommen  which  flows  south  through  the  Osterdal, 
and  its  tributary  from  the  Gudbrandsdal  being  the  chief.  Many  long 
rivers  with  numerous  lakes  in  their  course  cross  Sweden  from  west  to  east 
throughout  its  whole  length.  The  Klarelf,  the  greatest  Scandinavian  river, 
runs  southward  to  Lake  Vener.  The  depression  of  the  great  lakes  lies  to 
the  north  of  the  plateau  of  southern  Sweden,  from  which  short  streams  are 
received  by  Lake  Vetter,  and  discharged  eastward  by  the  large  Motala 
river  to  the  Baltic.  The  lakes  of  this  depression  are  four  in  number — 


FlG.  94. — Portion  of  the  Coast 
of  Norway  70  miles  by  40, 
showing  over  400  islands. 


200      The  International  Geography 


Lake  Vener  (2,100  square  miles  in  area,  the  third  greatest  lake  of  Europe)  lies 
on  the  west,  and  drains  to  the  Kattegat  through  the  Gotaelf,  the  continuation 
of  the  Klarelf,  then  Lake  Vetter  (730  square  miles),  and  north-east  of  it 
Lakes  Hjelmar  and  Malar  draining  to  the  Baltic.  On  account  of  their  low 
elevation  and  their  central  position  these  lakes  have  been  largely  utilised 
as  means  of  communication  by  the  construction  of  canals  which  unite 
the  lakes  to  each  other  and  to  two  seas.  They  have  thus  been  of  the 
utmost  service  in  the  material  development  of  Sweden. 

Climate. — Compared  with  other  northern  countries,  the  climate  of 
Scandinavia  is  very  favourable.  On  account  of  its  great  range  of  latitude 
there  is  necessarily  a  marked  difference  between  the  south  and  the  north, 
and  on  account  of  exposure  to  prevailing  winds  the  west  has  a  much  milder 

climate  than  the  east ;  the  annual  isotherm 
of  45°  F.  is  found  on  the  west  coast  at 
Ullensvang  in  60°  N.,  and  towards  the  east 
coast  at  Lund  in  56°  N.  lat.  The  greatest 
cold  in  winter  is  experienced  in  the  interior 
of  northern  Sweden  and  in  Finmarken. 
The  majority  of  the  population  of  Norway, 
living  upon  the  coast,  enjoys  much  milder 
conditions  than  the  people  of  Sweden,  whose 
country  is  more  exposed  to  continental  in- 
fluences ;  but  the  high  valleys  of  Norway 
have  a  very  severe  and  unfavourable  climate. 
The  rainfall  is  greatest  on  the  Norwegian 
coast,  where  in  winter  rain  and  fog  are  very- 
common,  and  there  is  comparatively  little 
snow,  though  violent  storms  often  occur.  At 
Dombesten  the  annual  rainfall  is  79  inches, 
and  in  Floro  in  6i£°  N.  it  is  74 ;  but  the 
general  rainfall  along  the  Norwegian  coast 
is  estimated  at  from  32  to  35  inches.  At 
Christiania  the  rainfall  is  only  28  inches, 

and  Verkhoyansk  (Siberia).  and  on  the  high  plateau  of  the  Dovrefjeld  it: 

is  under  14.  The  greatest  rainfall  in  Sweden  is  on  the  west  coast, 
facing  the  Kattegat,  where  35  inches  are  recorded  ;  but  the  east  coast 
is  very  much  drier,  the  fall  at  Kalmar  being  only  13  inches  :  thus  the 
contrast  between  the  mild  and  moist  sea  climate  of  western  Norway  and 
the  dry  continental  climate  of  eastern  Sweden  is  complete.  The  curves  in 
Fig.  95  contrast  the  temperature  and  rainfall  of  the  west  coast  of  Norway 
with  those  of  the  most  extreme  continental  climate  in  the  world.  In 
winter  most  of  Scandinavia  is  covered  with  snow,  and  the  peasants  then 
employ  ski  or  long  snow-shoes,  in  the  use  of  which  they  are  very  expert. 

People  and  History. — The.  great  body  of  the  population  of  the 
peninsula  belong  to  the  Scandinavian  family  of  the  Teutonic  race.  In 


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BODO  YERKMOYAhSK  ~ 

The  Scandinavian  Peninsula        201 

very  early  times  the  Lapps  entered  from  the  north  along  the  central  range 
of  mountains.  At  a  remote  period  a  great  immigration  of  Finns  took 
place  in  the  north  of  the  peninsula,  and  another  immigration  of  these 
people  in  1600  was  directed  to  the  central  parts  of  the  country.  The 
Scandinavians  have  long  been  divided  into  Norwegians  living  in  Norway 
and  Swedes  in  Sweden ;  originally  of  the  same  stock,  they  have  become 
more  and  more  distinct.  In  the  Middle  Ages  the  Swedes  were  composed 
of  two  originally  independent  peoples,  the  Svear  in  the  north,  and  Gotar  in 
the  south.  The  bright  sonorous  Swedish  language  is  derived  through  a  long 
history  from  the  earliest  common  linguistic  stock  of  Scandinavia,  whilst 
Norway,  during  its  union  with  Denmark,  adopted  Danish  and  lost  its  old 
language,  the  Norrona,  from  which  the  dialects  still  spoken  are  derived. 

Norway  has  formed  a  separate  kingdom  since  872  ;  and  in  the  ninth 
century  also  the  Swedish  lands  were  united  under  a  single  king.  From 
that  time  the  two  nations  have  gone  their  several  ways,  as  indeed  they  had 
done  in  the  earlier  viking  period  when  the  Norwegians  carried  their  con- 
quests towards  the  British  Islands,  the  Swedes  towards  Russia.  Early 
Norwegian  civilisation  has  been  influenced  from  the  west,  particularly  from 
England,  with  which  intimate  relations  were  long  maintained,  while 
Sweden  has  had  more  dealings  with  the  east  and  with  the  south. 
The  early  Norwegian  kings  ruled  over  the  Scottish  Islands.  In  the 
thirteenth  century  the  Swedes  established  a  firm  footing  in  Finland. 
Queen  Margaret  founded  the  Scandinavian  Union  of  three  nations  in 
1397,  and  a  long  period  of  unrest  followed.  Sweden  broke  from  this 
union  under  Gustavus  Vasa ;  but  the  less  powerful  Norway  remained 
under  Danish  domination,  and  from  1537  to  1660  was  a  subordinate 
kingdom.  During  this  period  Sweden  attained  its  climax  of  national 
greatness,  and,  especially  during  the  Thirty  Years'  War  under  Gustavus 
Adolphus,  occupied  a  distinguished  place  amongst  the  European  Powers. 
Several  provinces  of  Norway  and  Denmark  were  incorporated,  and 
Sweden  became  the  most  powerful  country  of  the  north  ;  but  during  the 
long  wars  of  Carl  XII.  this  place  was  lost,  and  Sweden  fell  under  foreign 
influence,  from  which  it  was  saved  by  Gustavus  III.,  through  his  revolution 
of  1772.  His  son,  Gustavus  IV.,  involved  the  country  in  war  with  Russia 
and  lost  Finland  in  1808.  The  Revolution  of  1809  placed  Carl  XIII.  upon 
the  throne  of  Sweden.  In  1810  the  French  Marshal  Bernadotte,  under  the 
name  of  Carl  Johann,  was  elected  Crown  Prince  and  succeeded  in  1818. 
The  idea  of  a  union  between  Sweden  and  Norway,  which  had  long  been 
in  contemplation,  was  rendered  possible  by  the  disruption  of  the  bond 
between  Norway  and  Denmark  by  the  Kiel  Treaty  of  1814.  Norway  had 
at  first  proclaimed  itself  a  separate  kingdom,  but  the  envoys  of  the  Great 
Powers  induced  it  to  withdraw  this  proclamation  after  a  short  war; 
and  a  Norwegian  national  assembly  then  chose  Carl  XIII.  as  king  of 
Norway,  and  on  his  death  the  Bernadotte  dynasty  succeeded  peaceably  to 
both  kingdoms. 


2O2       The  International  Geography 

Since  1814  the  history  of  both  nations  has  been  a  record  of  great  economic 
progress  and  of  unbroken  peace.  Yet  the  hope  of  a  complete  incorporation 
of  the  two  peoples  once  entertained  by  the  Swedes,  has  not  been  fulfilled. 
Since  1885  the  question  of  separate  consular  and 
diplomatic  representation  for  Norway,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  spirit  of  the  agreement  of  1814,  was 
a  source  of  growing  friction,  and  in  1905  the  union 
was  peaceably  dissolved,  Sweden  retaining  the  old 
King,  while  the  people  of  Norway  adopted  as  their 
monarch  a  prince  of  the  Danish  royal  house. 

The  former  flags  of  Norway  and  Sweden  passed 
out  of  use,  being  altered  to  suit  the  new  condition 
of  things  by  the  omission  of  the  badge  of  union. 
The  Lutheran  church  has  been  established  since  the  sixteenth  century 
in  both  kingdoms. 


FIG.  96.  —  The  Former 
Norwegian  Merchant 
Flag. 


SWEDEN 


Government,  People  and  Resources.— The  name  of  Sweden  is 
in  the  language  of  the  country  Sverige,  i.e.,  the  kingdom  of  the  Svears. 

The  government,  with  its  seat  in  Stockholm,  where    . t 

the  King  also  resides,  consists  of  a  Minister  and  nine 
Councillors  of  State,  these  seven  being  heads  of  de- 
partments. The  Swedish  Parliament  consists  of  two 
chambers,  the  elective  franchise  for  both  being  limited. 

The  population  of  Sweden  is  mainly  agricultural, 
and  several  parts  of  the  country  are  particularly  well 
suited  for  the  rearing  of  live  stock.  The  most  fertile 


districts  are  in  the  provinces  of  Scania  and  Halland,   FlG  97-— -Average  popu- 
the  Baltic  Islands,  the  coast  of  Sm&and  and  western 
and  eastern  Gothland.     Forestry  is  a  very  important 

source  of  wealth,  the  export  of  timber  and  forest 
products  having  the  first  place  in  the  trade  of  the 
country.  The  tonnage  of  the  merchant  fleet  is 
about  500,000.  The  Swedes  have  long  been  cele- 
brated for  their  industries  and  for  their  excellent 
technical  institutions  ;  in  recent  years  the  progress 
in  industrial  matters  has  been  rapid,  the  water 
power  of  the  numerous  rivers  being  largely  utilised. 
The  country  possesses  immense  mineral  wealth, 
particularly  in  iron,  and  Swedish  mining  has  long  been  famous  and  has  played 
a  great  part  in  the  development  of  the  country.  The  country  is  divided  into 
separate  mining  districts  known  as  bergslager.  At  the  present  time  the 
immense  deposits  of  very  rich  iron  ore  in  Lappland,  especially  at  Gellivara, 


FlG.  98.— Swedish 
Merchant  Service  Flag. 


Sweden 


203 


take  the  first  place.  The  principal  copper  mines  are  at  Falun,  zinc  is  pro- 
duced at  Ammeberg,  and  silver  at  Sala  ;  but  there  is  scarcely  any  coal  in 
the  country  except  in  Scania.  Swedish  iron  has  a  reputation  all  over  the 
world  for  its  purity.  The  United  Kingdom  and  Germany  come  first  in  the 
foreign  trade,  then  Denmark,  Norway,  Finland,  and 
Russia. 

The  means  of  communication  are  excellent  in 
parts,  and  everywhere  good.  A  network  of  roads 
extends  over  the  whole  country.  The  admirable 
natural  waterways  have  been  improved  by  the  con- 
struction of  canals,  of  which  .the  most  important  is 
FIG.  ^.-Swedish  Naval  the  system  between  the  Kattegat  and  the  Baltic,  in- 
cluding the  Trollhatta  and  Gota  canals  and  the  great 

lakes.  Steamer  communication  is  kept  up  on  the  internal  waterways  and 
along  the  coast  during  the  open  part  of  the  year.  The  railway  system  has 
been  steadily  improved,  and  Sweden  now  possesses  a  greater  extent  of  rail- 
ways in  proportion  to  inhabitants  than  any  other  country  in  Europe.  The 
system  is  naturally  most  developed  in  the  lowlands  in  the  south,  but  it 
extends  also  far  to  the  north.  The  principal  mail  routes  to  the  continent 
are  from  Stockholm  to  Trelleborg,  and  thence  across  the  Baltic  to  Sassnitz 
on  Riigen  ;  and  from  Goteborgto  Copenhagen  by  railway  ferry  at  Helsing- 
borg  (Fig.  107).  Telegraph  and  telephone  systems  are  highly  developed. 

Education  is  general,  almost  every  one  can  read  and  write  ;  the  school 
system  is  well  organised  and  attendance  is  compulsory.  There  is  a  large 
and  well-disciplined  army,  and  the  fleet,  although  formerly  neglected,  has 
recently  been  improved 
and  increased. 

Divisions  and 
Towns.  —  Sweden  has 
been  divided  from  remote 
times  into  two  great  parts, 
Svealand  and  G6taland> 
representing  the  historical 
distinction  between  differ- 
ent peoples  and  separated 
by  the  great  forests  of 
Tiveden,  Tyloskogen,  and 
Kolmarden.  The  new 
southern  provinces  were 
joined  to  Gotaland  in  the 
seventeenth  century.  Norrland,  the  third  great  division,  contains  all  the 
districts  northwards  from  Gefle. 

In  Svealand  towns  were  first  founded  in  the  environs  of  the  Malar 
Lake,  and  here  the  magnificent  capital  is  situated  at  the  short  outlet  of  the 
lake.    Stockholm  is  one  of  the  most  attractive  towns  of  _Eur,ope.    From  the 
15 


FIG.  loo.— The  Site  of  Stockholm. 


204      The  International  Geography 

original  city  on  an  island  the  modern  town  has  extended  widely  on  all 
sides.  It  contains  a  great  palace  facing  the  quays,  which  is  the  chief  resi- 
dence of  the  king.  There  are  many  old  palaces  and  public  buildings, 
such  as  the  Riddarhus,  the  common  property  of  the  Swedish  nobility, 
the  Riddarholmskyrka,  the  burial-place  of  royal  dynasties,  several 
rich  museums,  the  great  royal  library,  a  university  college  for  natural 
science,  a  technical  high  school,  a  medical  college,  great  hospitals, 
several  academies  and  learned  societies,  a  new  opera-house,  and  several 
theatres.  The  different  parts  of  the  town  are  connected  by  numerous 
bridges.  The  old  town  is  called  Staden,  with  Sodermalm  and  Norrmalm 
on  both  sides,  and  Ostermalm,  the  newest  and  finest  part.  The  beautiful 
park  Djurgarden,  and  several  royal  palaces,  form  attractions  in  the 
environs.  Stockholm,  with  its  fine  harbour,  is  the  first  trading-place  of 
Sweden  in  regard  to  imports,  but  comes  after  Goteborg  and  Malmo  for 
exports.  It  is  the  chief  industrial  town  in  Sweden,  with  manufactures 
of  every  kind.  Stockholm  is  defended  on  the  seaward  side  by  the  very 
strong  fortress  of  Oscar  Frederiksborg.  Northward  lies  the  ancient  town  of 
Upsala,  with  a  venerable  cathedral  and  the  oldest  Swedish  university, 
founded  in  1477.  Falun  has  great  copper  mines. 

Farther  north,  in  Norrland,  the  prosperity  of  which  is  steadily 
increasing,  the  towns  occur  principally  on  the  coast,  and  Gefle,  Sundswall, 
Hernosand,  Umea,  Lulea,  and  Haparanda  are  some  of  the  many  small  sea- 
ports exporting  wood  and  ores.  In  the  interior,  which  also  includes 
Lappland,  there  is  only  one  little  town,  Ostersund,  on  the  Storssjo  lake, 
a  station  on  the  railway  to  Trondhjem.  From  Lulea  a  railway  runs 
to  the  rich  iron  mines  of  Gellivara,  and  thence  across  to  the  Ofoten  Fjord 
on  the  Atlantic  in  Norway. 

Gotaland,  which  includes  the  most  fertile  provinces,  especially  Oster- 
gotland  and  Scania,  is  rich  in  towns.  The  largest  is  Goteborg  (Gothen- 
burg) on  the  Skagerrak,  at  the  outlet  of  the  Gotaelf,  the  first  port  for 
Swedish  exports,  and  the  centre  for  a  great  traffic  along  the  coasts 
and  on  the  canals.  The  town  is  regular  and  fine,  with  many  splendid 
buildings,  but  is  inferior  to  Stockholm  in  regard  to  picturesque  situation. 
Goteborg  has  a  well-endowed  university  college  with  a  faculty  of  arts.  On 
the  coast  of  the  Kattegat  stands  Halmslad,  and  on  the  Sound,  Helsing- 
borg  and  Malmo,  two  flourishing  and  advancing  towns,  with  large  exports 
from  the  province  of  Scania.  This  province,  distinguished  by  its  many 
fine  country  seats,  also  contains  the  inland  town  of  Lund,  with  an  old 
cathedral,  and  the  second  university  of  Sweden,  founded  in  1668.  On  the 
coast  of  the  Baltic  there  is  a  long  succession  of  more  or  less  important 
towns,  including  Carlskrona,  the  chief  station  of  the  Swedish  navy,  with 
wharves  and  docks.  In  the  interior  of  Gotaland  there  are  many  small 
towns,  including  Wexio,  the  bishops'  seat  in  Smaland,  ffdnkd'flin&At  the 
south  end  of  Lake  Vetter,  and  on  the  Motala  river,  the  great  manufacturing 
town  of  Norrkofing,  jhe  chief  industrial  town  of  Sweden.  The  great 


Norway 


205 


manufactories  of  Motala  stand  on  the  same  river.  On  Lake  Vener 
there  are  several  towns,  including  Venersborg  and  Lidkoping;  and  on  the 
canal  where  it  enters  Lake  Vetter  is  the  central  fortress  of  Carlsborg.  One 
of  the  most  interesting  Swedish  towns  is  the  ancient  Visby,  on  the  island 
of  Gothland,  in  old  times  one  of  the  first  commercial  places  on  the  Baltic 
and  a  member  of  the  Hanseatic  League,  but  now  remarkable  for  its  splendid 
ruins  of  churches  and  magnificent  old  walls.  The  population  of  the 
Swedish  towns  is  20  per  cent,  of  that  of  the  whole  country.  The  peasants 
live  mostly  in  farms,  but  in  the  south  they  also  dwell  in  villages. 


FIG.  101.  —  Average 
population  of  a 
square  mile  of 

Norway. 


NORWAY 

Government,   People   and   Resources. — The    native    name    of 
Norway  is  Norge  from  Norvegr,  which  means  the  Northern  Way.     The 

King  exercises  his  functions  through  a  Ministry  of 

State  and  at  least  seven  Councillors  or  Ministers. 
The  government  is  that  of  a  democratic  monarchy; 
the  royal  veto  being  limited  to  the  extent  that  if  a  bill 
to  which  the  royal  assent  has  been  refused  is  passed 
by  three  consecutive  Storthings  it  becomes  law.  The 
legislature  is  in  the  hands  of  the  Storthing  (Parlia- 
ment), elected  by  delegates  who  are  chosen  by  uni- 
versal suffrage.  This  assemblage  has  also  exclusive 
power  in  finance. 

The  people  of  Norway  are  to  a  great  extent  agri- 
culturists, although  the  country  cannot  produce  corn 
enough  for  its  inhabitants,  and  needs  a  great  import.  A  large  percentage 
of  the  people  are  seamen ;  the  merchant  fleet,  only  inferior  in  Europe  to  the 
British,  had  a  tonnage  of  1,500,000  in  1901.  Industry  has  long  been  at  a 
very  low  level,  but  is  now  increasing,  the  country  possessing  great  waterfalls, 
which  can  supply  power  to  the  factories.  In  many  parts  of  the  kingdom 
there  are  rich  mines,  Kongsberg  (silver),  Eidsvold 
(gold),  Roros  and  Sulitelma  (copper),  being  the 
best  known.  Most  of  the  foreign  trade  is  done 
with  the  United  Kingdom,  Germany,  Sweden,  and 
Denmark.  The  fisheries  of  cod  and  herring  are  of 
great  importance,  especially  those  of  Lofoten  and 
Finmarken.  Along  the  coast  and  on  the  fjords, 
communication  is  kept  up  by  steamers  all  the  year 
round,  up  to  the  Russian  frontier  on  the  Arctic  Sea. 


FIG.  102. — The  Norwegian 
Flag. 


Several  lines  of  steamers  connect  Norway  with  the  continent  and  the  British 
Islands.  The  roads  are  built  by  government  engineers,  many  of  them  being 
works  of  high  technical  skill.  The  railway  system,  also  for  the  most  part 
belonging  to  government,  is  only  complete  in  the  south-east.  Between 
Christiania  and  Trondhjem  a  line  follows  the  valley  of  the  Glommen. 


FlG.    103. — Norwegian 
Naval  Ensign. 


206       The  International  Geography 

Railways  are  now  being  constructed  around  the  country,  between  Bergen 
and  Christiania,  and  from  Trondhjem  towards  the  north.  Three  different 
lines  connect  Norway  with  Sweden.  The  great  mail  route  is  the  southern 
railway  via  Goteborg  to  Copenhagen,  by  which  the  journey  from  London 
to  Christiania  may  be  made  in  less  than  sixty  hours.  The  telegraph  and 
telephone  system  has  attained  a  high  development,  especially  for  the 
convenience  of  the  fishing  population  in  the  remoter  districts. 

Education  receives  particular  attention  from  the 
State  and  from  local  authorities,  and  is  compulsory. 
The  elementary  and  higher  schools  are  well 
equipped.  The  army  and  navy  were  long  neg- 
lected, but  are  now  improved,  and  important  forti- 
fication works  have  recently  been  carried  out. 

Divisions  and  Towns. — From  old  times 
Norway  has  been  divided  into  two  great  divisions, 
the  Nordenf  jeldske  and  Sondenf  jeldske  or  Northern 
and  Southern  Districts  ;  the  Vestenf jeldske  or  Western  District  has  been 
formed  later.  The  Sondenf  jeldske  includes  the  lowlands  around  Christiania 
Fjord  and  Lake  Mjosen,  together  with  the  great  central  valleys. 
Christiania  (sometimes  spelt  Knstiania),  is  the  real  centre  of  the  country, 
situated  at  the  northern  end  of  the  long  Christiania  Fjord,  which  forms  a 
splendid  harbour.  The  city  is  the  capital  of  Norway,  the  seat  of  the 
Government  and  of  the  Storthing.  It  contains  a  university,  founded  in 
1811,  a  learned  society, 
several  museums  for  science 
and  arts,  among  them  a 
museum  of  northern  an- 
tiquities, the  richest  in  ob- 
jects from  the  Viking  period. 
Christiania  is  the  first  com- 
mercial centre  of  Norway. 
The  town  is  beautifully  situ- 
ated among  wood-clad  hills, 
but  much  of  it  is  irregu- 
larly built.  Many  nourishing 
towns  are  situated  along  the 
coasts  of  Norway  on  the 
fjords  and  islands.  Close  to  the  Swedish  frontier  is  Frederikshald,  with 
the  celebrated  fortress  of  Frederiksten,  and  at  the  estuary  of  the  river 
Glommen  Frederikstad,  one  of  the  chief  centres  of  the  timber  trade. 
Drammen,  on  the  western  side  of  Christiania  Fjord,  another  centre  of  the 
export  of  timber.  Horten,  with  Carljohansvaern,  the  chief  station  of  the 
Norwegian  navy ;  Tonsberg,  the  oldest  town  of  Norway,  and  one  of  the 
head-quarters  for  Arctic  sealing  ;  Christiansand,  and  other  busy  seaport 
towns,  stand  on  Christiania  Fjord,  or  on  the  Skagerrak. 


FIG.  104. — The  Site  of  Christiania. 


Norway 


207 


of  the  oldest  towns  of  Norway,  stands  on  the  Atlantic 
coast  at  the  south  end  of  the  great  line  of  western  islands.  Bergen, 
further  north  on  the  west  coast,  was  once  the  first,  and  is  now  the  second, 
town  of  the  country,  and  from  the  oldest  times  it  has  been  the  chief  place 
in  northern  Europe  for  the  fishing  trade.  In  the  fourteenth  century 
the  Hanseatic  League  founded  an  establishment  there,  which  remained 
for  four  centuries.  There  are  many  remains  from  former  times,  including 
old  churches,  the  royal  hall,  and  the  tower  of  Bergenhus.  It  is  now  a 
flourishing  commercial  town,  with  an  intelligent  and  vivacious  population  ; 
it  has  a  great  museum  and  a  biological  station.  Christiansund  is  an 
important  place  for  fishing.  Trondhjem,  one  of  the  oldest  towns  (it  was 
founded  in  997),  and  now  the  third  in  importance,  is  the  northern  terminus 
of  the  railways,  with  lines  running  south  to  Christiania  and  east  to 
Sweden.  The  magnificent  ancient  cathedral  is  the  coronation-place  of 
the  kings  of  Norway.  Next  to  Bergen,  it  is  a  centre  for  steamer  trade, 
and  in  summer  for  the  immense  tourist  traffic  attracted  by  the  smooth  seas 
and  romantic  scenery  of  the  fjords.  In  the  far  north,  beyond  the  Arctic 
circle,  there  are  several  flourishing  little  wood-built  towns,  centres  for 
fishing  in  winter  and  for  tourists  in  summer,  including  Bodo,  Tromso,  and 
near  the  North  Cape,  Hammerfest.  Beyond  the  North  Cape  are  Vardo,  the 
Wardhouse  of  the  first  English  Arctic  explorers,  and  Vadso  on  the  Varanger 
Fjord  in  the  extreme  north-east. 

The  towns  of  Norway  contain  about  25  per  cent,  of  the  population 
of  the  whole  country.  In  the  country  the  people  live  on  their  farms; 
villages  are  unknown.  It  is  an  exception  to  find  a  town  not  situated  on 
the  sea ;  the  only  inland  towns  are  near  mines,  or  on  the  shores  of  Lake 
Mjosen,  among  them  the  episcopal  seat  of  Hamar.  The  rural  population 
centres  round  the  four  large  cities,  Christiania,  Hamar,  Bergen,  and 
Trondhjem ;  especially  round  the  two  former. 


STATISTICS 

NORWAY. 


Area  of  Norway  in  square  miles    . . 

Population  of  Norway 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile 


1875- 

124,454 

1,813,424 

15 


Population  of  Christiania  . . 
„  „    Bergen 

„  „    Trondhjem.. 

„    Stavanger  .. 


1890. 
124.454 
2,000,917 
16 

1890. 

I5L239 
53,684 
25,065 

23.899 


1900. 

124,454 

2,239,880 

18 

1900. 
2*7,626 
72,251 
38,180 
30,613 


ANNUAL  TRADE  OF  NORWAY  (in  pounds  sterling). 


Imports 
Exports 


1871-75- 
6,300,000 
4,880,000 


1881-85. 
8. 100,000 
5,700,000 


1891-95- 
11,900,000 
7,000.000 


2o8      The  International  Geography 


SWEDEN. 


Area  of  Sweden  in  square  miles 
Population  of  Sweden 
Density  of  population  per  square  mile 
Population  of  Stockholm 


1880. 
170,722 

4,565,668 

26 

168,706 
76,500 
38,082 
26,924 

18,749 

1800. 
170,722 

«*"? 

246,454 
104,657 
48,504 
32,826 
23,484 

1900. 
170.722 
5,136,440 
30 
300,624 
130,619 
60,857 
41,008 
29,522 

Imports 
Exports 


Goteborg 
Malmo 
Norrkoping 
Gefle    ., 


ANNUAL  TRADE  OF  SWEDEN  (in  founds  sterling). 

1871-75.  1881-85. 

12,400,000  17.700,000 

10,700,000  13,500,000 


STANDARD  BOOKS. 


1891-95- 
19,500,000 
17,700,000 


G.     Sundbarg  (Editor).     "  Sweden,  its  People  and  its  Industry."     Stockholm,  1904. 

M.  Hover.     "  Konungariket  Sverige."     4  vols.     Stockholm,  1875-1884. 

T.  Fr.  Nystrom.     "  Handbok  i  Sveriges  geografi."     Stockholm,  1895. 

'  Norges  Land  og  Folk,"  in  many  volumes  not  yet  completed.    Christiania,  1885  to  date. 


Joh.  Dysing.     "  Kongeriget  Norge."     Christiania,  1890. 


II— DENMARK 

BY  THE  EDITOR. 

Position  and  Coasts.— The  name  Denmark  is  properly  Danmark, 
the  mark,  marches  or  frontier  of  the  Danes.  Jutland  (in  Danish  Jyland), 
the  northern  portion  of  the  Cimbrian  Peninsula  occupied  by  Denmark,  lies 
between  the  same  parallels  of  latitude  as  Scotland  south  of  Inverness. 
The  western  shore  facing  the  North  Sea  is  low,  sandy  and  unindented,  but 
behind  the  sandy  beaches  and  lines  of  dunes  there  are  several  large  lagoons. 
A  long,  narrow,  curved  sand-spit  called  the  Skaw  or  Skagen,  forms  the  tip 
of  the  peninsula.  The  east  coast  is  somewhat  higher  and  more  indented ; 
a  number  of  its  inlets  form  safe  harbours  for  small  vessels.  The  two 
largest  islands  of  Denmark  stretch  between  the  south  of  Jutland  and  the 
south  of  Sweden,  separated  by  the  shallow  and  tortuous  Little  Belt  between 
Jutland  and  Fiinen,  the  wider  and  deeper  Great  Belt  between  Fiinen  and 
Zealand,  both  leading  into  Kiel  Bay,  and  the  Sound  between  Zealand  and 
Sweden.  The  historic  greatness  of  Denmark  depended  on  the  command 
of  these  channels,  and  the  importance  of  having  them  in  the  possession  of 
a  neutral  Power  in  case  of  war  has  probably  preserved  this  small  kingdom 
from  absorption  in  any  of  its  larger  neighbours. 

Surface  and  Resources.— The  west  and  north  of  Jutland  consist 
of  heather-covered  moorland  which  yields  peat  for  fuel.  The  south-east 
and  the  islands,  being  traversed  by  the  western  extremity  of  the  Baltic 
coast-ridge,  are  hilly,  and  full  of  variety  of  landscape,  although  the  highest 
summit  is  less  than  600  feet  above  the  sea.  No  coal  or  metallic  ores 
occur  in  the  country  ;  the  soil  is  everywhere  underlain  by  recent  rocks. 
The  hills  and  vales  of  Denmark  were  originally  thickly  covered  with  beech 


Denmark 


209 


forest,  and  although  most  of  the  land  is  now  cleared  for  pasture  and  the 
growth  of  oats,  barley  and,  rye,  extensive  woods  still  remain.  The  climate 
resembles  that  of  eastern  Scotland,  but  is  a  few  degrees  colder  in 
winter  and  warmer  in  summer.  It  is,  however,  less  extreme  than  the 
climate  of  central  Germany.  Although  the  Sound  and  other  channels 
are  often  blocked  with  drifting  ice  in  winter,  they  are  rarely  closed  to 
navigation  for  any  time. 

People  and  History.  —  The  early  Cimbrian  race  were  succeeded  by 
Teutonic  tribes,  who  from  Jutland  and  other  parts 
of  the  Baltic  and  North  Sea  shores  descended  upon 
the  coast  of  England,  forming  the  English  people. 
The  Scandinavian  Danes  from  the  Baltic  Islands 
then  obtained  a  footing  on  the  peninsula,  and  the 
power  of  their  kings  extended  over  Norway,  the 
south  of  Sweden,  and  England.  Denmark  has  re- 
mained free  of  foreign  control,  but  in  the  seven- 
teenth century  it  lost  the  last  of  its  territory  in 
FIG.  105.—  Average  popu-  Sweden,  and  in  1814  Norway  was  separated  from 

latton  of  a    square  n  J 

mile  of  Denmark.          the  Danish  crown.   .The   German-speaking  people 
of  the  duchy  of   Holstein,  in  the  south,  who   had, 

during  previous  centuries,  sometimes  been  subject  to  the  King  of 
Denmark,  at  other  times  to  the  German  Emperor,  became  dissatisfied  ; 
and  in  1864,  after  a  war  between  Denmark  and  Prussia,  the  duchies 
of  Schleswig  (Slesvig)  and  Holstein  were  incorporated  with  the  kingdom 
of  Prussia. 

The  Danes  have  always  been  enterprising  and  persevering  in  war 
and  commerce,  winning  for  themselves  colonies  in  Greenland,  Africa, 
and  the  West  Indies,  but  the  tropical  possessions  are  now  reduced  to 
^the  three  small  islands  of  St.  Thomas,  St.  John, 
and  St.  Croix,  while  Iceland  is  a  separate  country 
acknowledging  the  Danish  crown.  At  home  more 
than  half  the  people  make  their  living  by  agri- 
culture, the  rest  by  manufactures,  by  trade,  fishing, 
and  as  sailors,  many  of  them  serving  on  British 
and  other  foreign  ships.  The  form  of  government 
in  Denmark  is  a  limited  monarchy,  with  a  parlia-  FlG- 
ment  of  two  houses,  both  elected  by  the  people. 
Practically  every  man  has  a  vote.  The  Lutheran  Church  is  established  by 
law,  and  education  has  long  been  universal.  The  land  is  divided  up  into  a 
great  number  of  small  farms.  Butter-making  is  the  greatest  industry  of 
the  country,  being  carried  on  by  scientific  methods,  and  butter  forms  more 
than  half  the  value  of  the  exports.  There  are  few  manufactures.  Textile 
fabrics,  metals,  and  coal  are  the  principal  imports.  Most  of  the  foreign 
trade  is  done  with  the  United  Kingdom,  which  takes  more  than  half  the 
exports,  and  Germany,  which  sends  about  one-third  of  the  imports.  The 


.—  Danish  Merchant 

Service  Flag. 


210      The  International  Geography 


railway  system  is  very  complete,  the  trains  being  ferried  across  arms  of 
the  sea  in  steamers,  and  most  of  the  lines  belong  to  the  State. 

The  Islands  of  Denmark. — Zealand  (or  Seeland),  with  the  detached 
portions  forming  the  picturesque  islands  of  Laaland,  Falster,  and  Moe'n  to 
the  south,  form  the  eastern  division  of  Denmark,  flanked  on  the  east  by 
Sweden,  and  on  the  south  by  Germany  ;  its  indented  coasts  are  deeply 
penetrated  by  the  water  of  the  Kattegat  and  the  Baltic.  Helsingor 
(Elsinore)  will  be  remembered  as  the  scene  of  Shakespeare's  "  Hamlet," 
and  from  the  reference  of  Campbell  in  his  description  of  the  battle  of  the 
Baltic,  but  both  descriptions  are  geographically  at  fault,  the  shores  are  low, 
and  the  castle  stands  at  the  level  of  the  sea. 

Copenhagen   (Kjobenhavn=Mercha.nt's   harbour),   the   one  large   town 

of  Denmark,  is  situated  near  the 
widest  part  of  the  Sound  where 
the  island  of  Amager  helps  to 
form  an  excellent  harbour.  It  is 
strongly  fortified  by  a  series  of 
modern  batteries  occupying  arti- 
ficial islets,  hardly  showing  above 
the  water.  The  town  is  hand- 
somely laid  out,  with  gardens  and 
fine  public  buildings  ;  it  is  the  seat 
of  government,  the  residence  of 
the  king,  and  contains  a  univer- 
sity and  several  learned  societies. 
Copenhagen  concentrates  the 
maritime  trade  of  Denmark,  as  no 
other  harbour  can  receive  large 
vessels.  Korso'r,  at  the  south-west  of  Zealand,  and  Giedeser,  at  the  south  of 
Falster,  are  steamer  ports  for  the  express  routes  to  Kiel  and  Warnemiinde 
(for  Berlin).  The  richly  cultivated  island  of  Fiinen  (or  Fyen),  with  Lange- 
land  and  a  maze  of  smaller  islands  to  the  south,  forms  the  western  shore 
of  the  Great  Belt,  which  is  crossed  by  ferry-steamers  to  Nyborg,  whence  a 
railway  passes  through  the  ancient  town  of  Odense  to  Strtib  on  the  Little 
Belt. 

Jutland. — Jutland,  though  nearly  twice  as  large  as  the  islands,  con' 
tains  rather  fewer  inhabitants.  Almost  all  the  harbours  lie  on  the  Kattegat 
coast,  and  the  southern  and  eastern  parts  of  the  peninsula  are  the  most 
thickly  peopled  because  agriculture  is  the  mainstay  of  the  people.  Aal~ 
borg,  on  the  narrowest  part  of  the  Liim  Fjord,  where  it  can  be  crossed  by  a 
railway  bridge,  and  reached  by  small  vessels  from  the  Kattegat,  is  the 
chief  commercial  centre  of  the  north.  At  Thisted,  on  the  wide  lagoon  of 
the  Liim  Fjord  in  the  west,  Malte-Brun,  the  author  of  a  celebrated 
French  treatise  on  geography,  was  born.  Aarhuus,  on  the  east  coast, 
is  the  largest  town  of  Jutland,  with  a  busy  harbour.  Further  south 


FlG.  107. — Railway  and  Steamer  routes  in 
Denmark, 


Denmark 


211 


Horsens,  Veile,  and  Kolding,  stand  each  at  the  head  of  a  short  fjord  in 
the  heart  of  beech  forests.  Frederida  is  the  railway  harbour  for  Striib 
in  Fiinen,  on  the  route  to  Copenhagen  which  has  the  shortest  sea  passage. 
Esbjerg  on  the  North  Sea  is  an  important  and  growing  port. 

Bornholm. — When  the  southern  provinces  of  Sweden  were  given  up 
by  Denmark,  the  rocky  island  of  Bornholm  in  the  Baltic  was  also  ceded  ; 
but  the  people  of  the  island  massacred  the  Swedish  troops  who  came  to 
take  possession,  and  the  island  has  remained  part  of  Denmark.  The  lofty 
cliffs  of  granite  and  ancient  sedimentary  rocks  are  entirely  different  from 
the  rocks  of  Denmark,  and  the  island  yields  building  stone  and  even  a 
little  coal.  The  principal  town  is  Ronne.  The  chief  value  of  Bornholm 
is  as  a  lighthouse  station. 

The  Faroes  (i.e.,  sheep  islands)  form  a  group  of  twenty-two  small 
islands  situated  nearly  mid-way  between  Shetland  and  Iceland  on  the  great 
submarine  ridge  that  runs  from  Scotland  to  Greenland.  They  are  com- 
posed of  volcanic  rocks,  in  large  part  of  horizontally  bedded  basalt,  which 
once  appear  to  have  formed  a  plateau  of  great  extent.  This  ancient 
plateau  had  been  deeply  cut  into  by  river-valleys  running  parallel  to 
each  other  from  north-west  to  south-east,  and  by  subsequent  subsidence 
the  valleys  became  fjords  or  sounds,  cutting  up  the  land  into  a  succes- 
sion of  long  narrow  islands  or  peninsulas.  The  climate  is  very  equable, 
and  the  people  make  their  living  by  sheep  farming,  the  capture  of 
sea-birds,  chiefly  loons,  and  fishing.  They  are  of  Norwegian  descent,  and 
speak  an  old  Norse  dialect,  although  Danish  is  the  official  language. 
The  one  town  is  Thorshavn,  on  the  east  coast  of  Stromo,  the  largest 
island ;  a  little  place  of  wooden  houses,  frequented  in  summer  by 
fishing  vessels. 


STATISTICS. 

1880. 
Area  of  Denmark  (square  miles)        . .        . .  15,280 

Population  of  Denmark  1,980,259 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile        . .  129 

Population  of  Copenhagen  (without  suburbs)  235,254 

„  Aarhuus  ..         ..        ..  24,831 

„  Odense 20,804 

„  Aalborg 14,152 


•  1890. 

15,289 

2,185335 

143 

312,859 
33-308 
30,277 
19.505 


ANNUAL  TRADE  OF  DENMARK  (in  pounds  sterling). 

Average  1871-75.  1881-85. 

Imports 6,000,000        ..      14,000,000 

Exports 4,700,000        . .      10,000,000 


1000. 
15,289 
2,449,540 
160 

378,23-, 
5i,8i4 
40,138 
31,457 


1891-95. 

18,800,000 

14,100,000 


STANDARD  BOOKS. 

Both.    "  Kongeriget  Danmark."    2  vols.    Copenhagen,  1882-85. 

H.  Weitemayer.    "  Danemark,  Geschichte  und  Beschreibung,"  and  English  translation. 
London,  1891. 


16 


212       The  International  Geography 


III— ICELAND 

BY  DR.  THORVALD  THORODDSEN/ 

Position  and  Surface. — Iceland  is  a  large  island  in  the  North 
Atlantic  Ocean  on  the  edge  of  the  temperate  zone.  The  arctic  circle 
touches  the  most  northerly  points,  and  the  south  of  the  island  lies  in 
63^°  N.  Many  fjords  cut  their  way  into  the  steep  coast  on  the  west, 
north,  and  east ;  but  the  south  coast  is  without  indentations,  and  close 
to  the  sea  is  very  low  and  sandy.  The  largest  bays  are  in  the  west — 
Faxafloi  and  Breidafjordur,  and  north  of  the  latter  a  nearly  isolated 


FIG.  108.— Iceland 

peninsula,  intersected  by  many  fjords,  stretches  to  the  north-west.  Iceland 
is  mainly  composed  of  volcanic  highlands,  with  an  average  height  of  about 
2,000  feet ;  lowlands  are  only  found  in  the  south  and  south-west,  and  form 
only  one-fourteenth  of  the  whole  area.  They  are  all  produced  by  river 
deposits  silting  up  the  heads  of  bays  or  fjords.  The  highlands  bear 
several  large  snowfields,  of  which  Vatnajokull  is  the  largest,  all  producing 
glaciers  which  give  rise  to  large  rivers.  The  snow-level  is  lowest  (1,300 
feet)  in  the  north-west,  and  highest  (3,500  to  4,000  feet)  in  the  centre. 

1  Translated  from  the  Danish  by  Fru  Backer-Lund. 


Iceland  213 


The  highest  parts  of  the  country  are  in  the  south-east,  the  highest  point 
in  the  southern  ridge  of  Vatnajokull  being  Oraefajokull,  which  reaches 
6,241  feet.  Most  of  the  Icelandic  rivers  are  short,  but  full  of  water,  flow- 
ing strongly  and  broken  by  many  waterfalls.  The  longest  rivers  (80  to 
100  miles)  are  the  Thorsa,  Olfusa,  and  Jokulsa  in  Axarfjord,  the  last  with 
the  imposing  waterfall  of  Dettifoss.  There  are  several  lakes,  the  best 
known  being  Thingvallavatn. 

Geology. — Iceland  is  built  up  of  volcanic  masses  of  Tertiary  age ; 
two-thirds  of  the  country  consists  of  basalt  in  horizontal  beds  of  gentle 
dip  with  steep  escarpments  and  cliffs  falling  to  the  sea,  exactly  as  in  the 
Faroes.  Right  across  the  country  there  runs  a  belt  of  tuff  and  breccia, 
occupying  about  one-third  of  its  area.  There  are  more  than  100  volcanoes, 
of  which  25  have  been  in  eruption  during  historical  times.  Some  have 
the  same  conical  form  as  Vesuvius  ;  others  are  broad  and  of  very 
gentle  slope,  like  Mauna  Loa  in  the  Sandwich  Islands ;  but  most  of  the 
eruptions  have  come  from  fissures  on  which  a  long  row  of  low  craters 
have  been  formed.  These  volcanoes  have  produced  large  lava  fields, 
which  together  cover  an  area  of  about  4,000  square  miles.  The  best 
known  volcanoes  are  Hekla,  Katla,  and  Askja,  the  crater  of  which  covers 
an  area  of  16  square  miles.  Katla  is,  like  several  other  Icelandic  volcanoes, 
covered  with  glaciers,  which  during  the  eruptions  melt  and  cause  dreadful 
inundations.  Earthquakes  are  very  common,  and  have  often  done  great 
injury  both  to  life  and  property.  There  are  many  hot  intermittent  springs, 
of  which  the  Geysir  is  most  famous,  and  its  name  is  often  applied  to  such 
springs  as  a  general  term. 

Climate  and  Productions. — Iceland  has  an  insular  climate,  which 
is  much  warmer  than  the  latitude  would  suggest.  In  the  south  the  winter 
is  mild  and  the  summer  proportionally  temperate  ;  the  mean  temperature 
of  the  year  in  Eyarbakki,  in  the  south,  is  38-5°  F.,  and  for  Akureyri, 
in  the  north,  36°  F.  The  climate  is  rather  wet  and  very  stormy  ;  but 
snow  does  not  lie  long  on  the  coast  in  winter,  and  many  harbours  in 
the  west  are  never  frozen.  The  highlands  are  very  cold,  and  snowstorms 
are  common  even  in  summer.  In  the  north  of  the  island  the  climate  is 
also  cold,  with  a  greater  range  between  winter  and  summer.  Floating  ice 
from  Greenland  often  blocks  the  north  coast,  stopping  the  shipping  trade 
and  the  fisheries,  and  affecting  the  climate  adversely.  The  vegetation  has 
a  European-Arctic  character  ;  here  and  there  small  woods  of  stunted 
beech  and  a  very  few  mountain-ash  trees  occur.  The  natural  pastures  are 
excellent,  and  sheep  thrive  well ;  rich  grass  fields  always  surround  the 
farms,  and  tlie  hay  yielded  by  them  is  used  for  the  cattle.  There  is 
no  other  agriculture,  even  barley  rarely  ripens.  Foxes  are  the  most 
common  animals,  and  polar  bears  sometimes  come  with  the  floating 
ice.  The  sea  abounds  with  all  sorts  of  fish,  of  which  cod,  herring, 
and  flounders  are  amongst  the  most  important ;  and  whales  and  seals 
are  also  plentiful.  The  coast  is  crowded  with  sea-birds  ;  the  eider-duck  is 


214      The  International  Geography 

of  great  importance    to   the  inhabitants,   and  is   tended  almost  like  a 
domestic  animal. 

History. — Iceland  was  first  discovered  by  Irish  monks  about  the 
year  790.  It  was  next  visited  by  Norwegian  vikings  in  870,  and  was 
colonised  from  Norway  in  the  years  874  to  930.  An  Icelandic  republic 
was  then  established  with  an  aristocratic  form  of  government,  which 
lasted  till  1262,  when  the  country  entered  into  a  personal  union  with  the 
kingdom  of  Norway.  That  was  the  golden  age  of  Icelandic  culture,  and 
it  is  memorable  for  the  splendid  poetic  and  historical  literature  contained 
in  the  Edda  and  Sagas.  The  early  Icelanders  were  daring  sailors.  They 
colonised  Greenland  in  982,  and  discovered  America  in  1000.  After  the 
year  1262  the  prosperity  of  the  country  declined,  mainly  because  of  suc- 
cessive misfortunes,  volcanic  eruptions,  plague,  and  bad  government  ;  and 
practically  it  is  only  since  1874  that  it  has  begun  to  recover  ;  but  now  there 
is  progress  in  all  directions.  Together  with  Norway,  Iceland  in  the  year 
1389  came  under  Denmark,  and  it  has  since  belonged  to  the  Danish  crown. 
In  1874  a  separate  free  constitution  was  granted,  with  a  legislative  assembly 
(Althing),  a  Governor-General  (Landshofding)  in  Reykjavik,  and  an 
Icelandic  ministry  in  Copenhagen. 

People. — Only  the  lowlands,  the  coast,  and  the  valleys  are  inhabited. 
The  great  highland  area  cannot  support  any  inhabitants,  for  except  a  little 
grass  on  its  outer  slopes  it  consists  only  of  bare  ground,  lava  deserts,  and 
snowfields.  Trade  was  in  olden  times  carried  on  by  Icelanders  and  Nor- 
wegians. In  the  fifteenth  century  English  sailors  took  a  large  share,  and 
in  the  sixteenth  German  influence  preponderated.  From  1602  to  1786 
there  was  a  Danish  government  monopoly  ;  in  1786  trade  was  thrown  open 
to  all  Danish  subjects,  and  in  1854  to  all  nations.  At  present  the  trade 
both  with  Great  Britain  and  Denmark  is  chiefly  carried  on  by  Icelanders. 
The  chief  exports  are  fish,  cod-liver  oil,  salmon,  sheep  and  horses,  salted 
mutton,  wool,  fur,  eider-down,  and  feathers.  There  is  no  manufacturing 
industry.  Most  of  the  inhabitants  live  by  breeding  cattle,  especially 
sheep ;  a  smaller  number  by  fishing,  with  much  risk  to  life,  in  open 
boats.  On  the  great  fishing  banks  French  and  British  fishing-vessels  of 
larger  size  are  at  work,  while  the  Norwegians  carry  on  whale  hunting 
from  stations  on  the  coast.  Many  horses  have  to  be  kept  because  they 
furnish  the  only  means  of  transport  in  the  country,  and  the  only  roads  in 
most  places  are  bridle  paths.  Recently,  however,  good  roads  for  driving 
have  been  commenced,  and  bridges  are  now  being  built  over  the  rivers. 

The  Icelanders  still  talk  old  Norwegian  (the  Saga  language)  almost 
unchanged,  and  every  child  can  read  the  ancient  Sagas.  There  is  a  good 
deal  of  current  literature,  and  more  books  and  newspapers  are  published 
per  head  of  the  population  than  in  any  other  country.  Education  is  uni- 
versal and  thorough.  Nearly  all  the  people  belong  to  the  Lutheran  Church. 
Postal  communication  with  abroad  is  by  steamers  from  Copenhagen 
calling  at  Leith  in  Scotland,  and  the  Faroes.  In  summer  there  is  also  a 


Iceland  215 


regular  steamer  service  all  round  the  coast.  A  telegraph  cable  connects 
Iceland  through  the  Faeroes  with  Scotland.  Reykjavik,  the  capital,  and  the 
only  town,  is  built  on  a  little  projecting  point  in  the  south-eastern  part  of 
Faxafloi.  Here  the  Althing  is  held,  and  the  Governor-General  and  the 
Bishop  of  Iceland  reside.  Reykjavik  has  classes  for  medicine,  theology, 
classical  languages,  and  navigation,  and  there  is  a  national  library,  a  collec- 
tion of  antiquities,  and  a  national  bank.  In  the  centre  of  the  town  there  is 
a  statue  of  the  famous  sculptor,  Albert  Thorwaldsen,  who  was  of  Icelandic 
origin. 

STATISTICS. 

Area  of  Iceland  (square  miles) 30,432 

Area  of  habitable  portion  (square  miles)         6,784 

1880.  1890.  1895. 

Population  of  Iceland       72,445         ..          70,927 1       ..        73,449 

„  Reykjavik 2,567         ..  3,886         ..         4,222 

ANNUAL  TRADE   OF   ICELAND  (in  pounds  sterling). 

Average  1881-85.  i8gi-gs. 

Imports         340,000         . .      356,000 

Exports         310,000         ..      340,000 

STANDARD  BOOKS. 

Th.  Thoroddsen.  "Geschichtedes  Islandischen  Geographic.  Uebersetzt  von  A.  Gebhardt." 

Vols.  i.  ii.     Leipzig,  1897,  1898. 

J.  Coles.    "  Summer  Travelling  in  Iceland."     London,  1882. 
W.  Bisiker.    "  Across  Iceland."     London,  1902. 


i  From  1880  to  1890  there  was  a  great  emigration  to  America,  chiefly  to  Manitoba,  but  this 
has  now  almost  ceased. 


CHAPTER    XIV.— THE    LOW    COUNTRIES 

I. — THE  NETHERLANDS 

BY  DR.  C.  M.  KAN,1 

Professor  of  Geography  at  the  University  of  Amsterdam. 

Position  and  Geology. — Although  one  of  the  smallest  countries  in 
Europe,  the  kingdom  of  the  Netherlands  (Nederland=low  country),  or 
Holland  (so  called  from  its  most  important  province,  Holland,  derived 
from  Houtland,  i.e.,  Woodland),  is  one  of  the  most  noteworthy.  It  lies 
between  50°  45'  and  53°  32'  N.  latitude,  and  between  3°  25'  and  7°  12'  E. 
longitude,  on  the  north-west  coast  of  central  Europe,  at  the  mouths  of  the 
Scheldt,  Maas  (Meuse),  and  Rhine.  Its  importance  results  from  its  posi- 
tion, its  commerce,  and  its  colonies. 

Traces  of  Coal  Measures,  Chalk,  and  Tertiary  sands  and  loams  cover  less 
than  i  per  cent,  of  the  area,  and  appear  only  in  the  extreme  east  and 
south-east,  while  the  most  recent  Quaternary  formations,  diluvium  and 
alluvium,  occupy  respectively  40  and  59  per  cent,  of  the  surface.  In 
the  south  the  Maas  and  the  Rhine  have  co-operated  in  the  formation 
of  the  diluvium  ;  and  in  the  north  the  inland  glaciers  of  the  Ice  Age.  In 
their  period  of  enhanced  activity  consequent  on  the  Great  Ice  Age,  the 
Maas  and  Rhine  brought  down  coarse  sand  and  grit ;  but  at  a  later  time 
principally  finer  sand.  The  diluvium  of  the  northern  provinces,  being  of 
Scandinavian  origin,  contains  coarse  gravel  and  loam,  in  addition  to  the 
sand  ;  it  also  lies  higher,  its  surface  is  less  flat,  and  forms  more  distinctive 
watersheds  between  the  rivers  of  that  part  of  the  country.  Vegetation, 
rivers,  the  sea  and  wind  have  combined  in  the  formation  of  the  alluvial 
strata.  Plant  remains  have  given  origin  to  the  fens  and  arable  lands,  and 
contributed  to  the  formation  of  the  iron-ore,  found  in  the  badly  drained 
parts  of  the  smaller  river  basins  in  the  east,  and  the  loess  which  occurs  in 
the  south  of  Limburg  only.  The  high  fens,  which  consist  of  heath, 
cotton-grass,  rushes,  moss,  and  sometimes  trees,  only  occur  upon  the  higher 
sandy  soils  ;  they  are  found  principally  in  the  south  and  east  of  the  country, 
and  lie  above  the  ordinary  level  of  the  water.  The  low  fens  in  the  north 
and  west  owe  their  origin  largely  to  marsh  plants,  and  frequently  rest  upon 
clay  of  high  fertility.  In  process  of  time  the  sandbanks  deposited  in  the 
sea  develop  into  sand-spits  ;  then  the  sea  builds  up  chains  of  marine  dunes 
upon  them,  shutting  off  a  haff  or  lagoon  against  the  land.  It  is  in  such 

1  Translated  from  the  Dutch  by  J.  T.  Bealby. 
216 


The  Netherlands 


217 


lagoons  that  the  greater  number  of  the  low  fens  have  been  formed. 
The  most  recent  deposits  of  fluvial  clays  stretch  chiefly  east  and  west 
along  the  Rhine,  the  Waal,  and  the  Maas,  occurring  more  especially 
between  the  diluvial  regions  of  the  north  and  those  of  the  south  of  the 
country.  In  the  west  recent  marine  clays  have  been  deposited  along  the 


FlG.  109. — The  Nether- 
lands, showing  height 
of  land. 


edge  of  the  diluvial  strata.  Wind  has  played 
an  active  part  in  the  formation  of  the  sand- 
dunes,  which  still  occupy  extensive  areas  in 
the  Veluwe,  in  Drenthe,  and  in  North  Brabant. 

Reclamation  of  Land. — Human  energy  has  materially  supple- 
mented the  operations  of  natural  forces  by  draining  the  marshes  and 
trenching  the  fens,  by  fighting  against  the  drifting  sand,  protecting  the 
coasts  with  dunes  and  dykes,  regulating  the  rivers  and  carrying  out  other 
works.  Polders  are  low-lying  inland  tracts  protected  by  means  of  dykes  and 
mounds  against  the  invasion  of  water  from  the  higher  land  around  their»j 


2i8       The   International  Geography 

the  superfluous  water  being  at  the  same  time  pumped  out  and  led  away. 
By  embanking  the  lands  along  the  sea  shore  which  are  not  sufficiently 
high,  they  are  wrested  from  the  dominion  of  the  ocean,  protected  by  dykes 
or  banks,  and  gradually  transformed  into  the  most  fertile  districts.  Thus 
the  land  that  has  been  destroyed  by  the  sea,  which  in  1894  amounted  to  a 
larger  area  than  the  united  provinces  of  North  Brabant  and  Limburg,  is 
being  to  some  extent  made  up  for  by  reconquests  of  better  land. 

Configuration. — The  lowest-lying  part  of  the  Netherlands  is  on  the 
west,  bordering  the  sea  (Fig.  109).  With  the  exception  of  the  narrow  strip 
of  sea-dunes,  which  have  a  mean  height  of  30  feet,  nearly  a  quarter  of  the 
surface  of  the  country  lies  between  sea-level  and  8  feet  below,  while  about  half 
as  much  lies  between  sea-level  and  3  feet  above ;  in  other  words,  38  per  cent. 
of  the  surface  would  be  overflowed  by  the  ocean  were  it  not  protected  by 
dunes  and  dykes.  Some  of  the  lower-lying  tracts,  consisting  exclusively  of 
reclaimed  fens  and  marshes,  are  actually  from  5  to  15  feet  below  sea-level. 
The  remaining  62  per  cent,  of  the  surface  on  the  whole  forms  a  series  of  belts 
or  zones  stretching  from  south-west  to  north-east.  In  Drenthe,  Gelderland, 
Overysel,  Utrecht,  and  Limburg  there  are  hills  of  gravel  and  sand  ranging 
from  150  to  over  300  feet  in  elevation  ;  and  in  the  south-east  of  Limburg, 
the  region  of  the  old  rocks,  the  highest  elevation  of  the  kingdom  attains 
an  altitude  of  1055  feet.  Small  as  these  altitudes  may  appear  they  have 
produced  their  effect  upon  the  flow  of  the  rivers,  drainage,  the  fertility  of 
the  soil,  the  climate,  and  even  on  the  construction  of  roads  and  railways. 
The  differences  of  level  and  relief  themselves  are  largely  due  to  the  action 
of  the  glaciers  of  the  Great  Ice  Age  and  their  moraines. 

Rivers  and  Canals. — From  the  higher-lying  diluvial  tracts  and 
gravel  hills  of  Drenthe  and  Groningen  a  number  of  small  streams  radiate 
through  diluvial  valleys  into  the  adjacent  provinces  ;  and  many  short 
streams  also  flow  westward  from  the  east  of  Overysel  and  Gelderland. 
Elsewhere  the  minor  streams  make  their  way  into  the  channels  deserted  by 
the  larger  rivers — for  instance,  the  Eem  and  the  Ysel,  and  in  the  south  the 
Aa,  Dommel,  and  Mark.  The  larger  rivers  do  not  follow  the  natural 
inclination  of  the  diluvium,  but  flow  in  the  direction  of  the  general 
slope  of  the  country,  or  from  south-east  to  north-west.  The  east  to 
west  direction  of  the  Rhine,  Waal,  and  Lek  is  the  most  influential  factor 
in  determining  their  economic  importance,  since  it  makes  them  the  chief 
natural  highways  between  central  Germany  and  the  sea.  Four-fifths  of 
the  river  trade  of  Holland  is  carried  by  the  Rhine  and  the  Waal,  these 
rivers  being  international  waterways. 

The  most  important  canals,  from  12  to  25  feet  deep,  are  the  North  Sea 
Ship  Canal,  connecting  Amsterdam  and  the  sea  (Fig.  112) ;  the  Rotterdam 
Waterway,  giving  that  city  easier  access  to  the  North  Sea  ;  the  Canal  of 
South  Beveland  connecting  with  the  Scheldt ;  the  Merwede  Canal  and  the 
King  William  Navigation,  uniting  various  rivers  with  one  another ;  and 
the  canals  which  terminate  at  the  H elder  and  the  Dollart.  Minor  canals 


The  Netherlands  219 


serve  for  the  transport  of  turf,  and  for  communication  between  towns. 
Rotterdam,  Amsterdam,  and  Flushing  have  a  trade  of  nearly  nine  million 
tons  between  them,  as  compared  with  scarcely  more  than  two  million  tons 
for  all  the  ports  not  situated  on  the  deep  rivers  or  ship  canals. 

Coast. — The  characteristic  features  of  the  western  coast  are  sand- 
banks, mud-flats,  high  dykes  (embankments),  and  sand-dunes,  with  a 
shallow,  gently  sloping  shore.  Further  north  a  series  of  low  islands  marks 
the  former  coast  line  ;  indeed  some  of  them  still  possess  dunes.  The  sandy 
shallows  are  covered  with  water  by  the  tides,  otherwise  they  would  be  cut 
off  from  direct  communication  with  the  existing  coast  and  the  Zuider  Zee. 

Natural  Productions,  Flora  and  Fauna. — Mineral  products  are 
limited  to  a  very  little  coal  from  the  mines  of  Limburg,  bricks  from  the 
marine  and  fluvial  clays,  sandstone  from  quarries  near  Maastricht  and  else- 
where, and  some  bog-iron  ore.  Both  the  diluvial  and  alluvial  lands  are 
adapted  for  agriculture  and  grazing  ;  these  occupations  utilise  respectively 
26  and  35  per  cent,  of  the  total  area ;  7  per  cent,  is  planted  with  forest,  and 
about  20  per  cent,  is  waste.  The  vegetable  products  of  the  sandy  soils  are 
principally  rye,  buckwheat,  and  potatoes,  and  thus  differ  from  the  chief 
products  of  the  fluvial  and  marine  clays — hops,  rape-seed,  sugar-beets, 
tobacco,  and  wheat.  Orchards,  market-gardens,  and  the  characteristic 
Dutch  industry  of  flower-gardening,  occupying  together  i£  per  cent,  of  the 
country,  are  found  principally  on  the  gecst  or  higher  grounds  along  the 
edge  of  the  marshes  on  the  sandy  soil,  and  in  the  reclaimed  lands  of  the 
west.  The  different  character  of  the  soil  in  different  parts  occasions 
variations  in  the  breed  of  horses,  oxen,  and  sheep  ;  but  does  not  affect  the 
goats  and  swine  to  the  same  extent. 

Climate. — The  climate  of  the  Netherlands  is  determined  by  the 
position  of  the  country  between  50°  and  53°  N.  latitude,  by  its  situation  on 
the  eastern  shore  of  the  North  Sea,  and  by  its  low  elevation.  The  mean  of 
nearly  fifty  years'  observations  at  Utrecht  gives  an  annual  temperature  of 
50°  F.,  with  a  mean  of  49°  for  the  spring  and  autumn  months,  66°  for  summer, 
and  34-5°  for  winter.  Owing  to  the  proximity  of  the  sea,  the  winters  are 
not  cold,  nor  the  summers  unpleasantly  warm.  The  water  of  the  North 
Sea,  which,  as  observed  on  the  North  H elder  sandbank,  has  a  January  mean 
temperature  of  46°  F.,  and  a  July  mean  of  60°  F.,  is  also  an  influencing 
factor.  The  average  annual  rainfall  amounts  to  28  inches  ;  rain  falls  on 
204  days  in  the  year  on  an  average,  snow  on  19,  and  thunderstorms  occur 
on  18.  The  wind  blows  from  the  sea  from  directions  between  south-west 
and  north  for  219  days  in  the  year  on  the  average ;  and  from  the  land, 
from  directions  between  north-east  and  south,  for  146.  The  greatest 
quantity  of  rain  falls  upon  and  behind  the  maritime  dunes.  But  the  east 
differs  most  from  the  west  in  the  smaller  degree  of  its  moisture  and 
evaporation,  both  very  important  factors  in  the  polders  or  reclaimed  lands. 
There  the  people  suffer  considerably  from  the  drawbacks  of  the  climate, 
especially  its  variability,  and  the  prevalence  of  diseases  affected  by  it. 


220       The  International  Geography 

Consequently  in  the  western  lowlands  the  death-rate  is  relatively  highest 
— 30  to  40  per  1,000,  as  compared  with  20  to  30  per  1,000  in  other  parts 
of  the  kingdom. 

People  and  History. — The  people  of  the  Netherlands  trace  their 
origin  to  three  Teutonic  races  the  Frisians,  who  now  preponderate  in  the 
west  and  north-west,  and  are  best  represented  in  the  province  of  Friesland  ; 
the  Saxons,  in  the  east  and  north-east  as  far  as  the  Ysel  and  Rhine  ;  and 
the  Franks,  in  the  south,  extending  northwards  a  little  beyond  the  Rhine. 
The  three  types  differ  in  dialect,  in  the  plan  of  the  villages,  styles  of  the 
houses,  racial  character,  dress  and  customs.  The  fact  that  the  Frisians 
inhabit  chiefly  the  clay  soils  and  low  fens,  the  Saxons  the  diluvial  tracts 
of  the  east,  and  the  Franks  the  river-clays  and  diluvium  of  the  south,  has 
helped  to  maintain  these  differences.  The  races  are  now  welded  together 
into  one  people  by  the  possession  of  a  common  written  language,  Dutch 
(neither  "  Hollandsch"  nor  Low  German),  and  in  cultured  circles  a  com- 
mon spoken  language  also.  After  Dutch  the  most  important  language 
of  the  Netherlands  is  Frisian,  which  possesses  a  separate  literature,  but 
is  not  officially  recognised. 

After  the  Roman  supremacy  came  to  an  end  the  country  was  sub- 
divided into  various  counties,  duchies  and  bishop- 
rics, which  were  reunited  under  the  rule  of  the 
Dukes  of  Burgundy ;  separated  from  the  German 
Empire,  and  enjoyed  autonomy  under  Charles  V. 
(1548).  The  Eighty  Years'  War  of  Independence 
against  Spain  followed  ;  and  after  a  lapse  of  time 
the  country  developed  into  a  commercial  and 
colonising  state  under  the  Statholders  of  the 
House  of  Orange-Nassau,  its  complete  inde- 
pendence as  a  free  republic  was  recognised  at  the  Peace  of  Munster  in 
1648.  The  civil  liberty  and  religious  toleration  which  the  Dutch  so 
jealously  guarded  attracted  large  numbers  of  strangers — Flemings,  Wal- 
loons, Huguenots,  and  Germans,  who  paid  for  the  hospitality  extended  to 
them  by  fostering  the  commerce,  and  especially  the  industry  of  the 
Netherlands.  After  the  abolition  of  the  republic  and  the  establishment  of 
the  sovereignty  of  the  House  of  Orange,  the  year  1848  marked  a  fresh  era 
in  the  political  life  of  the  nation  by  introducing  a  new  and  more  liberal 
constitution,  initiating  reforms  in  economic  and  social  matters,  and  develop- 
ing the  colonies  to  a  high  pitch  of  prosperity. 

Government. — According  to  the  constitution  of  1848,  the  Netherlands 
forms  a  hereditary  limited  monarchy.  The  legislative  power  is  shared  by 
the  Crown  and  the  States-General,  which  includes  a  First  Chamber  of 
thirty  members,  and  a  second  chamber  of  a  hundred  members.  The  execu- 
tive powers  of  the  Crown  are  delegated  to  eight  responsible  Ministers,  and 
a  Council  of  State  of  fourteen  members.  For  administrative  purposes  the 
country  is  divided  into  eleven  provinces  and  1,123  communes  ;  the  former 


The  Netherlands  221 

governed  by  the  Provincial  States  and  a  Royal  Commissioner,  the  latter 
by  the  communal  council  and  magistrates  with  a  burgomaster  or  mayor. 

Occupations.  —  Fully  one-third  of  the  productive  workers  are  occu- 
pied in  agriculture,  the  breeding  of  cattle,  gardening,  and  so  forth  ;  about 
the  same  number  in  manufacturing  industry  and  trade  ';  one-sixth  in  com- 
merce, on  railways  and  other  means  of  communication  ;  and  a  much  smaller 
proportion  in  fishing.  Agriculture  on  the  clay  soils,  the  sandy  soils,  and  in 
the  fens  differs  not  only  in  its  staple  products  but  also  in  the  methods  of 
cultivation  employed.  Large  estates  are  rare,  and  those  which  exist  are 
chiefly  confined  to  the  clay  soils.  Tenant  farmers  preponderate  in  the 
provinces  of  Utrecht,  Friesland,  South  Holland  and  Zealand  ;  in  the  other 
provinces  peasant  proprietors.  After  agriculture  in  order  come  the  textile 
industries,  principally  developed  in  Overysel  and  North  Brabant  ;  the 
working  of  metals  for  ship-building  and  agricultural  implements  ;  the 
manufacture  of  paper  and  leather  ;  of  chemical  products,  sugar,  spirits  and 
food  materials,  especially  butter  and  cheese.  More  than  three-quarters  of 
the  factories  belong  to  the  provinces,  Overysel,  North 
Brabant,  North  and  South  Holland. 

Trade.  —  The  products  of  agriculture  and  stock- 
breeding,  and  of  such  manufactures  as  margarine, 
sugar,  textiles,  iron-ware,  quinine,  constitute  the  more 
important  articles  of  commerce.  The  trade  of  Holland 
is  chiefly  carried  on  with  Germany,  the  United  King- 
dom, Belgium,  Java  and  Russia.  These  countries  send 
to  the  Netherlands  about  90  per  cent,  of  the  total 
imports,  and  take  about  75  per  cent,  of  the  total  ex- 


ports.     Very  many  of  the  trading  steamers  sail  under      of  tlie  Netherlands. 
foreign  flags,  chiefly  British,  German,  and  Norwegian. 

Trade  and  commerce,  both  foreign  and  inland,  are  greatly  facilitated  by 
a  network  of  nearly  9,500  miles  of  roads  and  dykes  practicable  for  vehicles, 
by  about  7,000  miles  of  tramways,  mostly  worked  by  steam,  and  ap- 
proximately 2,000  miles  of  railways,  which  are  connected  with  the  systems 
of  the  adjacent  countries  at  several  points  in  the  east  and  south. 

Fishing  is  prosecuted  principally  in  the  North  Sea  ;  but  a  large  number 
of  fishermen  work  in  the  Zuider  Zee,  in  the  rivers  of  South  Holland  and 
Zealand,  and  off  the  coasts  of  Groningen  and  Friesland. 

Density  of  Population.  —  The  density  of  the  population  varies 
with  the  means  of  subsistence  and  the  degree  of  concentration  in 
large  cities,  the  range  amongst  the  provinces  being  from  127  to  816 
per  square  mile.  But  here  the  determining  factor  is  the  fundamental 
character  of  the  soil.  When  the  kingdom  is  mapped  according  to 
the  soils,  it  appears  that  the  higher  gravel  lands  of  Groningen  and 
Drenthe,  the  sandy  tracts  and  unreclaimed  fens  of  North  Brabant,  and 
the  regions  of  the  dunes  and  sand-drifts,  all  show  a  density  of  population 
less  than  65  per  square  mile  ;  the  lower-lying  diluvium  of  Scandi- 


222       The  International  Geography 


navian  origin,  the  intermediate  diluviums  of  Overysel  and  Gelderland,  the 
low  fen  pastures,  the  tracts  adjacent  to  the  sea-dunes  on  the  islands  of 
South  Holland  and  Zealand,  have  a  density  of  65  to  125  per  square 
mile  ;  the  non-diluvial  tracts  in  the  interior  of  Groningen  and  Friesland, 
in  the  south-west  of  Drenthe,  in  the  east  of  Overysel,  and  the  diluvium  of 
Limburg  have  from  125  to  250  per  square  mile  ;  a  few  settlements  in 
Groningen,  the  valley  of  the  Ysel,  the  fluvial  clays  of  the  Maas,  Waal  and 
Linge,  the  industrial  regions  of  Brabant  and  Limburg,  the  reclaimed 
polders  and  certain  of  the  marine  clay  districts — all  exceed  250  per  square 
mile  ;  and  finally,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Maastricht  and  of  Eindhoven, 
the  banks  of  the  Noord  and  Maas,  the  vicinity  of  the  large  towns  of  North 
and  South  Holland,  the  density  exceeds  500  and  in  some  places  even  1,000 
per  square  mile. 

The  Large  Towns. — The  size  of  the  towns  and  their  importance 
depend   upon   the   same   conditions  as  the  density  of  population.     The 

kingdom  contains  twenty-one  towns,  each 
possessing  a  population  of  more  than  20,000, 
and  at  least  one  of  these  is  found  in  each  of 
the  five  sub-divisions  just  enumerated  ;  the 
larger  towns  being  more  frequent  on  the 
richer  soils.  The  chief  towns  in  the  north- 
east are  Groningen,  a  market  for  agricultural 
products,  a  shipping  centre,  seat  of  a  uni- 
versity, and  provincial  capital  ;  Leeuwarden, 
the  capital  of  Friesland,  and  an  important 
cattle-market  for  the  trade  with  England 
via  Harlingen ;  Zwolle  and  Deventer,  the 
FIG.  112 -Amsterdam,  showing  chief  live.stock  and  corn  markets  of 
polders  in  its  vicinity. 

Overysel.      These  towns  possess   but  little 

industry.  Arnhem  and  Nijmegen,  the  principal  towns  on  the  fluvial 
clay  soils,  attract  many  inhabitants  by  reason  of  their  picturesque  sur- 
roundings, their  active  river  trade,  and  their  important  markets.  In  the 
south  of  the  kingdom  are  the  fertile  districts  and  manufacturing  centres  of 
Breda,  Tilburg,  s'Hertogenbosch  (Bois-le-Duc)  in  North  Brabant  and  Maas- 
tricht in  Limburg.  The  last  two  are  also  provincial  capitals.  The  most 
important  city  in  the  centre  of  the  kingdom  is  Utrecht,  on  soil  intermediate 
between  the  pure  clays  and  the  pure  sands  ;  it  is  a  provincial 
capital,  seat  of  a  university,  and  an  important  railway  junction.  The 
H elder,  in  North  Holland,  stands  at  the  entrance  of  the  North  Holland 
Canal,  and  possesses  several  naval  institutions.  In  the  same  province  are 
Haarlem,  capital  of  the  province,  and  busy  with  the  cultivation  of  flower- 
bulbs,  and  Amsterdam,  the  largest  town,  and  one  of  the  two  chief  com- 
mercial centres,  famous  for  its  Exchange  and  money  market,  its  shipping, 
manufactures,  diamond-cutting,  and  for  its  university  and  museums.  The 
western  parts  of  the  province  of  South  Holland  are  the  most  densely 


Belgium 


223 


peopled  districts  in  the  kingdom.  There  are  the  towns  of  The  Hague 
($'  Gravenhage),  the  capital  of  the  kingdom  and  seat  of  the  chief  artistic 
industries ;  Delft,  a  cheese  and  butter  market,  with  manufactures  of  fine 
pottery,  and  of  spirits  ;  Dordrecht,  with  active  river-shipping  and  trade  in 
timber,  corn  and  wine  ;  Leiden,  the  seat  of  an  ancient  university,  with  a 
flourishing  market,  and  a  still  considerable  manufacture  of  cloth  and  cotton  ; 
Schiedam,  best  known  for  its  spirit  distilleries  producing  gin  or  Hollands, 
but  also  important  as  a  corn-market  ;  and  Rotterdam,  one  of  the  most 
famous  seaports  and  commercial  centres  on  the  Continent,  though  the 
bulk  of  its  commercial  activity  is  in  connection  with  transit  trade. 

STATISTICS. 

1879. 

Area  of  the  Netherlands  (square  miles)  12,728 
Population  of  the  Netherlands  . .  4,012/93 
Density  of  population  per  square  mile  316 

Population  of  Amsterdam 

„  Rotterdam 

„  The  Hague 

Utrecht 

„  Groningen 

„  Haarlem 

„          Arnhem 

THE  DUTCH   POSSESSIONS  ABOUT  1897. 


1889. 

1899. 

12,728 

12,728 

4.511,415 

5,104,137 

353 

401 

399.424 

520,602 

197,722 

332,185 

153,340 

212,211 

83-304 

104,104 

56,038 

67,563 

50,500 

65,189 

49,727 

57,498 

The  Netherlands 

Area  sq.  mis. 
.            12,728 

Population. 
5,104,137 

Java 

•           5°  554 

26,125-053 

Other  Islands  of  Dutch  East  Indies*        
Dutch  Guiana  *                                ....... 

68^.846 
46060 

7,064,947 
67,128 

Dutch  West  Indies     

403 

51,693 

Total   .. 

795.  59I1 

39,312,958 

ANNUAL  TRADE  OF  THE  NETHERLANDS  (in  pounds  sterling). 


Imports . . 
Exports  . . 


1872-76 
56,750,000 
43,000,000 


1882-86 
89,750,000 
68,500,000 


1892-96 
120,500,000 
98,000,000 


STANDARD  BOOKS. 

"Algemeene  Statistiek  van  Nederland."    Leiden.    (Published  by  the  Dutch  Government 

Statistical  Society),  i87o-onwards. 

H.  Blink.  "  Tegenwoordige  Staat  van  Nederland."    Amsterdam,  1895-96, 
R.  Schuiling.    "Aardrijkskunde  van  Nederland."    Zwolle,  1897. 


H.— BELGIUM 

BY   J.    DU    FIE  F,2 

Professor  of  Geography  in  the  Athinee  royal  of  Brussels. 

Position  and  Configuration.— Belgium  (La  Belgique)  is  situated 
between  491°  and  51^°  N,,  that  is  to  say,  between  the  parallels  of  the  island 
of  Guernsey  and  of  London.  It  is  bordered  on  the  west  by  the  North  Sea 
which  separates  it  from  England,  on  all  other  sides  there  are  land  frontiers  ; 
towards  the  Netherlands  on  the  north,  Germany  and  the  grand  duchy  of 

1  Estimates.  a  Translated  from  the  French  by  the  Editor 


224      The   International  Geography 

Luxemburg  on  the  east,  and  France  on  the  south.  The  short  sea-coast, 
extending  for  only  42  miles,  is  washed  by  a  sea  so  shallow  that  the  depth 
does  not  exceed  five  fathoms  until  at  least  five  miles  from  the  shore.  The 
shore  itself  is  entirely  composed  of  sand,  very  low  and  uniform,  but  suit- 
able for  the  establishment  of  seaside  watering-places  ;  it  is  separated  by 
a  line  of  dunes  from  the  low  plain  of  the  interior.  From  the  dunes  the 
land  rises  gradually  towards  the  south-east,  but  to  the  north  the  surface  is 
absolutely  flat  throughout  the  greater  part  of  the  provinces  of  Flanders, 
Antwerp,  and  Limburg.  In  the  centre  nearly  parallel  undulations  of  the 
ground  separate  the  tributaries  of  the  Schelde  ;  and  the  surface  exceeds 
600  feet  in  elevation  at  a  few  points  along  the  left  bank  of  the  Sambre 
•  and  Meuse  (Maas).  South-east  of  the  line  formed  by  these  two  rivers  the 
land  becomes  more  broken  and  picturesque,  rising  to  the  high  plateau  of 
the  Ardennes  with  a  maximum  elevation  of  2,230  feet,  and  sinking  again  on 
the  southern  frontier  to  about  1,000  feet  above  the  sea. 

Geology. — Geologically  the  northern  half  of  Belgium  is  covered  by 
Quaternary  deposits,  including  the  marine  and  fluvial  alluvium  of  the 
polders,  the  sand  of  the  Campine,  and  the  mud  of  Hesbaye.  These  are 
followed  by  Tertiary  formations  which  extend  across  the  whole  breadth 
of  the  country  as  far  south  as  the  Sambre  and  the  Meuse,  containing  the 
yellow  sand  of  the  province  of  Antwerp,  the  clay  of  the  Rupel  valley, 
which  is  of  value  for  brickmaking,  and  the  argillaceous  sands  and  coarse 
limestones  of  Mons.  Secondary  strata  are  chiefly  represented  by  the 
Cretaceous  rocks  which  are  utilised  in  the  valley  of  the  Haine,  fire- 
clay of  a  refractory  character  capable  of  withstanding  a  very  high 
temperature,  white  chalk  and  a  brown  phosphatic  chalk,  and  marl  and 
chalk  in  the  valley  of  the  Geer,  a  tributary  of  the  Meuse.  Primary  rocks 
crop  out  at  a  few  points  in  Hainaut  and  Brabant,  and  cover  the  greater 
part  of  the  Ardennes  in  the  provinces  of  Namur,  Liege,  and  Luxemburg. 
These  strata  yield  limestones  of  value  both  for  building  purposes  and  for 
making  lime,  sandstones  useful  for  paving,  slates,  and,  most  important  of 
all,  great  deposits  of  coal  which  underlie  the  whole  south  of  Belgium,  from 
west  to  east,  and  give  rise  to  rich  coal-fields  at  Mons,  Charleroi,  and  Liege. 

Rivers  and  Canals. — Belgium  is  traversed  from  south  to  north 
by  two  great  rivers  which  enter  the  country  from  France  and  pass  on  into 
Holland  where  they  reach  the  North  Sea.  The  Meuse  (Flemish  Maas)  which 
traverses  the  picturesque  part  of  the  country  in  the  east,  flows  through 
the  fine  valley  in  which  stand  the  towns  of  Dinant,  Namur,  Huy,  Serairig, 
and  Liege.  Beyond  this  it  serves  as  the  boundary  between  Belgium  and 
Holland.  It  has  been  canalised  as  far  as  Vise,  close  to  the  German  frontier, 
to  render  it  fully  navigable.  Its  tributaries  on  the  right  are  picturesque  but 
unnavigable  mountain  streams ;  the  lower  course  of  the  Ourthe  which  flows 
in  at  Liege  has  however  been  canalised.  The  Schelde  (French  Escaut) 
traverses  the  low  and  level  country  of  western  Belgium,  and  the  towns  of 
Tournay,  Oudenard,  Ghent,  Termonde,  and  Antwerp  have  grown  upon  its 


Belgium  22  5 


banks.  It  is  regulated  by  locks  as  far  as  Ghent,  below  which  it  flows 
freely  to  the  sea.  The  chief  right  bank  tributaries  are  the  Dendre  which  is 
canalised,  and  the  Rupel,  formed  by  the  junction  of  the  Dyle  and  the 
Nethe ;  and  on  the  left  bank  the  Lys  which  is  canalised.  A  small  coast 
river,  the  Yser,  which  also  comes  from  France,  passes  Nieuport  and  flows 
into  the  North  Sea.  Two  canals  keep  up  communication  between  Ghent 
and  the  sea,  one  running  to  Bruges  and  Ostend,  the  other  due  north  to 
Terneuzen ;  and  a  large  ship  canal  is  now  in  construction  going  direct 
from  Bruges  to  the  sea  at  Heyst.  A  great  many  other  canals  have  been 
established  with  the  object  of  developing  the  system  of  inland  naviga- 
tion, draining  the  low  country,  and  irrigating  the  sandy  soil  of  the  Campine. 

Climate  and  Natural  Productions. — Belgium  enjoys  a  cool, 
temperate  climate  ;  the  mean  annual  temperature  for  the  whole  country 
is  50°  F.,  but  on  the  high  plateau  of  the  Ardennes  the  mean  is  only  45°. 
The  prevailing  winds  are  from  the  south-west  and  west  bringing  moisture 
from  the  ocean,  a  fact  which  accounts  for  an  average  number  of  195  rainy 
days  in  the  year. 

The  most  important  natural  resources  are  those  of  the  mineral  kingdom. 
Of  these  coal  is  the  chief,  occurring  at  various  depths  in  the  centre  of  the 
country,  the  west  and  the  east,  following  the  courses  of  the  Haine,  the 
Sambre,  and  the  Meuse,  where  it  accounts  for  the  origin  of  the  great 
industrial  centres  of  Mons,  Charleroi,  and  Liege.  Iron  ore  is  extracted 
principally  in  the  provinces  of  Namur,  Liege,  and  Luxemburg  ;  zinc  in  the 
province  of  Liege,  while  stone  is  quarried  largely  in  Brabant,  Hainaut, 
Namur,  and  Liege,  and  slate  in  Luxemburg.  The  principal  products  of 
agriculture  are  cereals,  flax,  hemp,  and  colza,  and  the  most  important  fruits 
are  plums  and  apples.  The  great  Flemish  and  Brabant  horses,  and  the 
smaller  but  stronger  Ardennes  horse  have  more  than  local  fame. 

People  and  History. — Two  distinct  elements  can  be  distinguished 
in  the  population  of  Belgium  :  a  dark  race  preponderating  in  the  Walloon 
district  which  appears  to  have  come  from  the  south  at  the  most  remote 
period,  and  a  fair  race  descended  from  the  Kelts  and  Germans.  The 
latter,  who  were  not  numerous  in  the  time  of  Julius  Caesar,  have  since 
increased  by  immigration  mainly  in  the  north  where  Roman  influence  was 
weak  and  the  people  preserved  their  Germanic  language  and  character, 
In  the  south,  however,  the  Roman  influence  produced  a  profound  effect, 
and  hence  two  languages  still  exist,  Flemish  (closely  akin  to  Dutch)  and 
French  (Walloon),  each  spoken  exclusively  by  nearly  half  the  population. 
This  explains  the  fact  that  almost  every  place  in  the  country  has  a  Flemish 
and  also  a  French  name.  The  linguistic  dividing  line  runs  approximately 
from  St.  Omer  in  France  to  Vise  on  the  Meuse. 

When  Julius  Caesar  undertook  the  conquest  of  Belgian  Gaul  in  the  first 
century  B.C.,  that  region  was  bounded  by  the  Rhine,  the  Marne,  the  Seine, 
and  the  sea,  and  was  inhabited  by  24  independent  tribes.  For  five 
centuries  it  remained  under  the  Romans,  until  the  Franks  who  had 


226       The   International  Geography 

gradually  been  invading  it,  occupied  it  entirely.  Thenceforward  the 
territory  of  ancient  Belgica  was  thrown  into  confusion,  and  it  was  several 
times  divided  between  the  Merovingians  and  Carolingians.  The  first 
internal  divisions  were  formed  during  the  administration  of  the  Prankish 
counts,  and  many  localities  took  their  rise  round  their  castles,  or  round  the 
churches  and  monasteries.  The  feudal  system  was  established  in  the  tenth 
and  eleventh  centuries  when  the  counties  of  Flanders,  Brabant,  Hainaut, 
Namur,  Limburg,  and  Luxemburg,  and  the  episcopal  principality  of  Liege 
were  established,  and  these  served  as  the  basis  of  the  present  provinces. 
In  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries  the 
municipal  system  developed,  and  towns  such  as 
Bruges,  Ghent,  Ypres,  Courtrai,  Antwerp,  and 
Liege  rose  to  considerable  commercial  and  political 
power.  Most  of  these  principalities  were  absorbed 
into  the  possession  of  the  Dukes  of  Burgundy 
(1384-1482),  but  without  forming  a  real  monarchy, 
and  they  then  passed  by  inheritance  to  Charles  V. 


and  Philip  II.  of  Spain.  Under  the  last-named  FIG.  113-— Average  popu- 
prince  the  Belgian  provinces,  or  the  Spanish  ^/Belgium.  Squ*n  "** 
Netherlands,  were  ruined  by  persecutions  and 

religious  wars,  while  the  northern  provinces,  including  Holland,  separated 
and  formed  the  republic  of  the  United  Provinces  in  1570.  Attacked 
by  the  French  under  Louis  XIV.  the  Spanish  Netherlands  were  handed 
over  to  the  Emperors  of  the  House  of  Austria  (1713-95),  then  from 
1795  to  1815  they  formed  part  of  the  French  Republic  and  Empire. 
In  1815  they  were  united  with  Holland  as  the  Kingdon  of  the  Nether- 
lands, but  in  1830  the  Belgian  provinces  objecting  to  the  Dutch  Govern- 
ment became  at  last  an  independent  country,  the  Kingdom  of  Belgium. 
The  Belgians  have  continued  since  their  inde- 
pendence, as  they  were  in  the  past,  to  be  dis- 
tinguished in  science  and  in  the  arts.  The 
richness  of  the  soil  and  the  aptitude  and  intelli- 
gence of  the  people  have  caused  the  country  to 
rank  amongst  the  greatest  producing  regions  of 
the  Earth,  and  to  support  an  extremely  dense 

FIG.  ^.-Belgian  Flag.      population> 

Government. — The  form  of  government  is  a  hereditary  constitu- 
tional monarchy;  the  constitution  promulgated  in  1831  proclaims  the 
equality  of  all  citizens  before  the  law,  the  complete  liberty  of  religion,  of 
opinions,  of  forming  societies,  of  speaking  any  language,  of  education 
and  of  the  press.  It  also  provides  for  two  great  principles,  national 
sovereignty,  and  the  separation  of  the  legislative,  executive  and  judicial 
functions.  The  legislative  power  is  exercised  jointly  by  the  King,  the 
Senate,  and  the  Chamber  of  Representatives.  The  King  is  the  head  of 
the  executive ;  but  he  exercises  the  power  through  Ministers,  none 


Belgium 


227 


of  his  acts  taking  effect  unless  countersigned  by  a  Minister,  who 
thereby  renders  himself  responsible.  While  Belgian  soil  has  often  been 
a  battle-ground  of  European  Powers — the  classic  field  of  Waterloo  where 
Napoleon  was  finally  crushed  in  1815  lies  near  the  centre  of  the  country — it 
was  on  its  formation  as  a  kingdom  declared  neutral  territory  under  the 
guarantee  of  the  chief  nations  of  Europe.  Hence  it  has  only  to  maintain 
sufficient  military  forces  to  preserve  its  internal  security.  For  administra- 
tive purposes  the  kingdom  is  divided  into  nine  provinces,  West  Flanders, 
East  Flanders,  Antwerp,  Limburg,  Brabant,  Hainaut,  Namur,  Liege,  and 
Luxemburg,  the  provinces  being  divided  into  41  arrondissements  which 
are  subdivided  into  communes.  All  religions  are  free,  and  while  the 
Belgians  are  almost  all  Roman  Catholics  (there  are  only  about  10,000 


FIG.  115. — The  Belgian  Railway  System. 

Protestants  and  4,000  Jews  in   the   country)  the  State  subsidises  Roman 
Catholic,  Protestant,  and  Jewish  ministers. 

Industry  and  Commerce. — Belgium  is  distinguished  by  its  great 
industrial  and  commercial  wealth,  which  is  very  remarkable  when  the 
smallness  of  the  country  (which  is  only  one  and  a  half  times  as  large  as 
Wales)  is  taken  into  account.  Although  the  majority  of  the  inhabitants  are 
engaged  in  agriculture,  the  production  of  cereals  is  not  sufficient  to  meet 
the  demand.  The  minerals  of  southern  Belgium  have  given  rise  to 
metallurgical  industries  of  all  kinds,  including  the  manufacture  of  iron  and 
steel,  and  the  construction  of  machinery,  for  which  many  large  establish- 
ments have  been  formed,  especially  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Liege  and  of 
Charleroi.  The  manufacture  of  firearms  for  military  purposes  and  for 
trade  has  its  centre  at  Liege ;  cutlery  and  the  manufacture  of  glass  and 


228       The  International  Geography 


crystal  are  leading  industries  of  the  provinces  of  Hainaut,  Namur,  and 
Liege.  The  manufacture  of  cloths  and  woollen  stuffs  is  most  developed  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Verviers,  that  of  cotton  yarn  and  cotton  goods  at 
Ghent,  and  linen  in  Flanders.  Belgium  is  also  renowned  for  the  manu- 
facture of  lace.  The  most  important  exports,  according  to  value,  are  coal, 
grain  of  all  kinds,  linen  yarn  and  raw  flax,  meat,  cast-iron,  and  glass-ware. 
Most  of  the  trade  is  done  with  the  nearest  countries,  France,  the  United 
Kingdom,  Germany,  and  the  Netherlands. 

The  means  of  communication  with  other  countries  comprise  first  of  all 
the  steamer  lines  which  connect  the  port  of  Antwerp  with  all  the  maritime 
countries  in  the  world,  the  daily  services  between  Ostend  and  Dover  and 
between  Antwerp  and  London,  and  finally  a  remarkably  complete  railway 
system,  the  longest  per  square  mile  of  area  of  any  country,  which  places 
Belgium  in  direct  communication  with  France,  Switzerland,  and  Italy, 
Vienna,  and  Constantinople,  Berlin  and  St.  Petersburg,  thus  giving  to  the 
country  the  full  advantage  of  its  geographical  position  in  the  matter  of 
transport  trade  (Fig.  115). 

Chief  Towns.— Brussels  (French  Bruxelle,  Flemish  Brussel)  is  the 
capital  of  the  country,  the  residence  of  the 
king,  the  seat  of  government,  and  of  the 
legislative  chambers.  The  population  of 
the  city  of  Brussels  is  scarcely  more  than 
200,000 ;  but  including  the  eight  surrounding 
communes  (Schaerbeek,  Laeken,  Molenbeek, 
Anderlecht,  St.  Gilles,  Ixelles,  St.  Josse-ten- 
Noode,  and  Etterbeek)  the  whole  concen- 
trated population  considerably  exceeds  half  a 
million.  Each  of  these  suburban  communes 
has  its  own  separate  municipal  adminis- 
tration. The  Senne  which  flows  through 
Brussels  is  not  navigable,  and  water  com- 
munication is  carried  on  by  a  canal  to 
the  Schelde.  Since  1870,  great  public  works  have  transformed  Brussels 
into  a  beautiful  city,  the  Senne  has  been  built  over  to  guard  against 
floods,  a  great  central  street  runs  from  the  northern  to  the  southern 
stations,  and  other  new  thoroughfares  have  been  opened.  Amongst  the 
modern  buildings  the  Palais  de  Justice  (law  courts),  the  Post  Office,  the 
Exchange,  and  the  National  Bank  are  worthy  of  any  capital,  and  amongst 
the  ancient  buildings  the  Hotel  de  Ville  (town  hall),  dating  from  the 
fifteenth  century,  and  the  houses  of  the  old  trade  corporations  which 
surround  the  Grande  Place  form  a  magnificent  artistic  group  not  to  be 
rivalled  elsewhere.  Brussels  contains  several  important  picture  galleries, 
valuable  museums,  an  Academy  of  Sciences,  Literature  and  Arts,  a 
university,  and  other  educational  institutions,  a  Botanic  garden  and 
several  theatres.  It  has  thus  become  an  intellectual  as  well  as  a  political 


FlG.  1 1 6. — Brussels  and  its 
Suburbs. 


Belgium  229 


centre  ;  the  population  is  rapidly  increasing,  and  many  branches  of  industry 
have  been  established,  of  which  the  most  important  are  carriage-building, 
the  construction  of  artistic  furniture  and  lace-making. 

Antwerp  (French  Anvers,  Flemish  Antwerpen),  situated  on  the  Schelde, 
60  miles  from  the  sea,  from  which  it  is  separated  by  Dutch  territory,  is  one 
of  the  chief  commercial  ports  of  Europe  ;  it  is  also  an  important  fortified 
place  serving  as  the  base  for  the  defence  of  the  country.  The  old  Gothic 
cathedral  containing  some  of  the  mo.st  celebrated  pictures  by  Rubens,  the 
church  of  St.  James,  and  the  Steen,  an  old 
castle  of  the  fifteenth  century,  are  amongst 
the  most  interesting  of  the  ancient  buildings. 
There  are  valuable  museums,  an  Academy 
of  Fine  Arts,  a  musical  Conservatoire,  and 
a  particularly  well-arranged  Zoological 
garden.  The  port  of  Antwerp  carries  on 
most  of  the  external  trade  of  Belgium, 
and  the  town  is  consequently  flourishing. 
Amongst  other  branches  of  industry  which  FlG-  ^-Antwerp  and  its  Forts. 
have  been  attracted  to  the  place,  sugar  refining,  distilling,  lace-making,  and 
shipbuilding  are  of  great  importance.  Liege  (Flemish  Luik,  German  Luttich) 
is  a  large  industrial  town  on  the  Meuse  surrounded  at  a  distance  of  about 
four  miles  by  twelve  detached  forts,  which  in  conjunction  with  those  around 
Namur  protect  the  valley  of  the  Meuse  (see  Fig.  48).  The  most  remarkable  of 
the  old  buildings  is  the  Palace  of  the  Prince-Bishops  of  Liege,  dating  from  the 
sixteenth  century,  and  now  occupied  by  the  provincial  government.  Liege 
contains,  amongst  other  intellectual  institutions,  many  scientific  bodies,  an 
important  university,  especially  well-equipped  in  the  scientific  depart- 
ments, a  School  of  Mines,  a  School  of  Arts  and  Manufactures,  a  Botanic 
garden,  an  observatory,  and  a  Conservatoire  of  Music.  The  great 
industrial  prosperity  of  the  town  is  due  to  the  neighbouring  coal  mines  ; 
its  principal  manufactures  are  firearms,  the  establishments  including  a 
Royal  Arsenal  and  many  metallurgical  and  engineering  works.  Many 
industrial  towns  occupy  the  neighbourhood,  including  Seraing,  which 
contains  the  great  engineering  establishment  founded  in  1817  by  the 
Englishman  John  Cockerill,  and  now  one  of  the  most  important  in  the 
world.  Ghent  (Flemish  Gent,  French  Gand),  the  principal  town  in  Eas\ 
Flanders,  is  situated  at  the  confluence  of  the  Schelde  and  the  Lys,  the  town 
being  built  upon  a  large  number  of  islands  in  the  latter  river.  A  canal  goes 
to  Bruges  and  Ostend,  and  another  larger  one  to  Terneuzen  on  the  lower 
Schelde.  Ghent  has  played  a  considerable  political  part  in  the  history 
of  Flanders,  the  belfry  dating  from  the  fourteenth  century,  the  town 
hall  dating  from  the  fifteenth,  and  the  ruins  of  the  Castle  of  the  Counts 
preserve  the  memory  of  its  ancient  power.  The  town  is  now  dis- 
tinguished for  its  industrial  development,  especially  the  spinning  and 
weaving  of  linen  and  cotton,  lace-making,  and  the  construction  of 


230       The  International  Geography 

machinery,  and  also  for  the  cultivation  of  ornamental  plants.  It  has  a 
university  with  a  school  of  Civil  Engineering,  and  an  Institute  of  Sciences ; 
there  are  also  a  Botanic  garden,  a  Flemish  Academy,  and  a  Conservatoire 
of  Music. 

While  Belgium  has  developed  mainly  as  an  industrial  State  and  now  is 
one  of  the  most  densely  peopled  regions  in  Europe,  it  has  entered  into 
relations  with  the  outer  world,  thanks  to  the  foresight  and  perseverance  of 
King  Leopold  II.  He  has  become  the  sovereign  of  the  Congo  Free  State, 
and  has  done  much  to  encourage  the  intrepid  devotion  of  its  explorers  and 
administrators,  thereby  opening  up  in  central  Africa  an  important  market 
for  the  trade  not  only  of  Belgium  but  of  the  world. 

STATISTICS. 

1875-  1895.  1900. 

.Area  of  Belgium  in  square  miles        ..  u,374        ..  u,374        ..  n.374 

Population  of  Belgium 5,403,006        ..       6,410,783        ..       6,693,810 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile  475        . .  563        . .  589 


NUMBER  SPEAKING  CHIEF  LANGUAGES  IN  1890. 


Flemish  only. 
2,744.271 


French  only. 

2,485,072 


French  and  Flemish. 
700,997 


POPULATION  OF  CHIEF  TOWNS. 


Antwerp 
Liege  . 
Ghent  . 
Mechlin 
Verviers 
Bruges  . 


Imports 
Exports 


(including  s 

uburbs) 

1875- 
385.388 
148,814 
117,638 
131,026 

1885. 
436.843 
198,174 
135,371 
143.241 
47,672 
45.521 
46,274 

1895- 
518,381 
262,225 
163,207 
157,214 
53,772 
51,605 
49,606 

1900. 

561,782 
285,600 
173,708 
160,959 
56,013 
52,203 
52,867 

ANNUAL  TRADE  (in  pounds  sterling). 


1871-75- 
52,616,000 
42,516,000 


1881-85. 

60,496,000 

52,072,000 


1891-95. 
65,321,000 
55,464,000 


STANDARD  BOOKS. 

A.  Jourdain  and  L.  von  Stalle.       "  Diction  naire  Encyclopedique  de  Geographic  de 

Belgique."     Brussels,  1895  onwards. 
The  Geographical  Societies  of  Brussels  and  Antwerp  publish  many  important  papers  on 

the  regional  geography  of  Belgium. 


Luxemburg  231 


III,— LUXEMBURG 

BY  THE   EDITOR.1 

Position  and  Extent.— The  Grand  Duchy  of  Luxemburg  forms  the 
south-eastern  and  only  remaining  independent  portion  of  the  once  large 
State  of  that  name.  It  separates  Germany  from  Belgium,  while  on  its 
southern  side  the  frontiers  of  France  and  Germany  meet.  Except  on  the 
east,  where  the  Moselle  and  the  Sauer,  with  its  affluent  the  Our,  form  the 
border,  it  has  no  natural  boundaries,  and  its  separate  existence  is  due  to 
the  convenience  of  having  a  neutral  area  between  powerful  neighbours. 

Surface  and  Resources. — The  northern  part  of  Luxemburg, 
known  as  the  Eisling  or  CEsling,  lies  on  the  Palaeozoic  slate  plateau  con- 
necting the  Ardennes  and  the  Eifel ;  the  soil  is  poor,  and  the  general 
aspect  sombre  and  rugged.  The  southern  section  known  as  the  "Bon 
Pays  "  is  a  continuation  of  the  Triassic  and  Jurassic  Lorraine  plateau,  the 
valleys  of  which  are  covered  with  fertile  alluvium.  Although  the  mean 
altitude  of  the  country  is  little  more  than  1,000  feet,  and  the  highest  point 
less  than  1,900  feet,  the  rivers  have  cut  deep  and  narrow  valleys,  which 
give  variety  and  even  grandeur  to  the  scenery.  The  forest  of  Griinwald  is 
said  to  be  the  largest  in  central  Europe,  and  the  south  of  the  country  is 
generally  well  wooded.  There  are  very  rich  deposits  of  iron  in  the  south  ; 
lead,  antimony,  and  other  ores  are  found  ;  alabaster  of  peculiar  whiteness 
and  excellent  slates  are  quarried. 

People  and  History. — The  people  are  Teutonic  in  origin  and 
language,  though  modified  by  the  admixture  of  other  races.  French  and 
German  are  both  official  languages  ;  the  former  is  the  more  generally 
used,  but  a  dialect  of  Low  German  is  commonly  spoken  by  the  people. 
In  the  time  of  the  Romans  the  territory  formed  part  of  Belgica  prima; 
under  the  Franks  it  was  attached  to  Treves,  and  subsequently  to  Lorraine. 
In  the  tenth  century  it  was  erected  into  an  immediate  fief  of  the  empire, 
when  Siegfried,  Count  of  Ardennes,  acquired  the  old  Roman  castle  of 
Luciliburgum,  the  site  of  the  modern  capital.  In  the  fifteenth  century  it 
passed  to  the  Habsburgs,  and  continued  to  be  a  dependency  of  Austria 
till  1795,  when  it  became  the  French  department  "  des  Forets."  By  the 
Treaty  of  Vienna,  1815,  Luxemburg  was  freed  from  France,  erected  into 
a  grand  duchy,  and  given  to  the  King  of  the  Netherlands.  In  1839,  by 
the  Treaty  of  London,  dismemberment  was  formally  effected  by  the 
Powers.  The  larger  part  then  became  a  Belgian  province,  and  the  smaller 
south-eastern  portion  was  constituted  an  independent  State,  which  passed 
from  the  Dutch  Crown  on  the  accession  of  Queen  Wilhelmina.  In  1867 
the  State  was  neutralised  by  agreement  of  the  Great  Powers  and  the  demo- 
lition of  the  fortifications  decreed.  The  government  is  a  constitutional 

1  Assisted  by  E.  J.  Hastings. 


232      The  International  Geography 

hereditary  monarchy,  with  a  parliament  of  one  chamber,  the  members  of 
which  are  elected  by  the  people  for  a  term  of  six  years. 

Agriculture  occupies  the  greater  number  of  the  people,  and  the  vintage 
is  large.  Iron  working  is  the  most  important  industry  ;  several  consider- 
able manufactures  are  carried  on.  Luxemburg  is  a  member  of  the 
Zollverein,  and  the  trade  returns  are  therefore  included  with  those  of 
Germany.  The  main  railway  traversing  the  country  north  and  south  is  a 
link  on  the  through  line  from  Belgium  to  Switzerland. 

Luxemburg  (Luciliburgum,  Luzilinburch,  Liitzelburg=a  little  castle") 
took  its  name  from  a  castle  built  by  Siegfried  on  the  site  of  a  Roman 
stronghold,  on  the  Bock,  a  rock  overhanging  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river, 
and  now  connected  with  the  town  by  a  stone  bridge.  The  town  occupies 
a  very  strong  position  at  the  confluence  of  the  Petrusse  with  the  Alzette. 
It  consists  of  two  parts,  an  upper  and  a  lower ;  the  former  situated  on  a 
rocky  plateau  rising  about  200  feet  above  the  river,  with  precipitous  cliffs 
on  three  sides,  the  only  natural  approach  being  from  the  west.  The 
natural  strength  of  the  position  caused  it  to  be  selected  in  early  times 
as  a  strategic  point,  and  the  genius  of  Vauban  made  it  one  of  the  strongest 
fortresses  in  Europe.  The  old  fortifications  have  been  converted  into  fine 
boulevards  and  parks. 

STATISTICS. 

1880.       1890.       1900. 

Area  of  Luxemburg  (square  miles)        . .  998  998  998 

Population  of  Luxemburg           ..        ..  209,570  ..  211088  ..  236,543 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile  . .  210  . .  214  . .  247 

Population  of  Luxemburg  (city). .        ..  16,700  ..  18,817  ••  20,928 


CHAPTER    XV.— FRANCE 

I.— PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY 

BY  PROFESSOR  A.  DE  LAPPARENT, 

Paris 

Structure. — The  physical  structure  of  France  exhibits,  in  a  very  high 
degree,  the  union  of  great  structural  simplicity  with  a  marked  variety  of 
natural  features.  France  may  be  spoken  of  as  formed  of  two  parts,  which 
join  along  a  straight  line  of  530  miles,  from  the  mouth  of  the  Bidassoa  to  the 
north-eastern  corner  of  the  Ardennes  near  the  source  of  the  Sambre.  West 
of  that  line  the  land  projects  in  a  triangular  shape  more  than  250  miles  to 
the  west-north-west,  and  is  surrounded  by  sea.  The  larger  part,  to  the  east, 
with  the  exception  of  the  Mediterranean  coast,  by  which  southern  France 
enjoys  easy  access  to  the  lands  of  the  Far  East,  is  surrounded  by  a  semi- 
circle of  mountains  :  the  Pyrenees  in  the  south,  the  Alps,  Jura,  Vosges  in 
the  east,  the  Rhine  Highlands  and  the  Ardennes  in  the  north-east.  The 
mean  width  of  the  country  thus  bounded  remains  over  250  miles. 

Thus  France  possesses  natural  boundaries  throughout :  but  though 
encircled,  it  is  not  imprisoned  ;  not  only  because  more  than  half  of  its 
outline  is  made  up  of  the  coast  of  open  seas,  but  because  the  eastern 
mountainous  girdle  is  interrupted  at  some  points,  such  as  the  gap  of  the 
Rhone,  between  the  Alps  and  Jura  ;  the  opening  at  Belfort,  between  the 
Jura  and  Vosges  ;  that  of  Lower  Alsace,  between  the  Vosges  and  the 
Rhine  Highlands,  and  the  gorges  of  the  Moselle  and  of  the  Meuse,  through 
the  same  highlands.  In  the  northern  corner  of  France,  also,  down  the 
slopes  of  Artois  running  waters  and  migrating  people  are  naturally  led 
to  the  plains  of  Belgium  and  Holland,  and  thence  without  obstacle  to 
northern  Germany  and  Scandinavia. 

Central  Plateau. — The  chief  feature  of  central  France  is  that  a  high- 
land stands  near  its  centre — the  so-called  Central  Plateau,  consisting 
almost  entirely  of  Archaean  rocks,  whose  levelled  surface  is  broken  in  the 
middle  by  volcanic  accumulations.  Thus  the  old  and  denuded  cones  of 
the  Mont  Dore  and  of  the  Cantal  rise  to  nearly  6,000  feet  above  sea-level, 
while  the  Archaean  base  of  these  volcanic  structures  reveals  itself  between 
3,200  and  3,900  feet.  Apart  from  minor  irregularities,  the  Archaean  plateau 
becomes  continuously  higher  from  north-west,  where  it  is  1,500  to  2,000  feet, 
to  south-east.  There  it  ends  abruptly,  facing  the  Mediterranean  Sea  as  a 
great  wall,  the  dissected  border  of  which  is  called  the  Cevennes,  the  highest 

233 


234       The   International  Geography 


summit,  located  quite  on  the  rim,  being  the  gigantic  Mont  Lozere,  5,584 
feet  high.  The  Cevennes  are  succeeded  in  a  northerly  direction  by  the 
mounts  of  Lyonnais  and  Beaujolais.  While  on  the  whole  elliptical  in  its 
outline,  the  Central  Plateau  is  prolonged  into  two  spurs  of  much  the 
same  constitution  :  the  Morvan  to  the  north,  and  the  Montagne  Noire  to 
the  south,  approaching  very  near  to  the  Pyrenees. 

Geological  History  of  the  Central  Plateau. —  The  Central 
Plateau  is  the  very  nucleus  of  France.  Early  in  Palaeozoic  times  it  stood 
as  an  island,  round  which  sediments  were  accumulating.  Of  varying  size, 
according  to  the  oscillations  of  the  crust,  it  has  persisted  as  a  prominent 
feature  through  the  whole  range  of  geological  evolution.  Only  near  the 

middle  of  the  Tertiary 
period  it  was  broken 
by  two  fractures,  from 
north  to  south,  leading 
to  the  formation  of 
Tertiary  lakes,  the 
floors  of  which  are 
now  occupied  by  the 
plains  of  the  Limagne 
and  Forez,  with  an 
elevated  Archaean 
ridge  intervening  be- 
tween the  two.  By 
the  light  of  the  geo- 
logical  and  topo- 
graphical relations 
which  prevail  in  the 
Central  Plateau  we 
may  believe  that,  near 
the  end  of  the  Tertiary 
ranges  period,  it  ought  to 
have  been  reduced  to 
the  condition  of  a 


Primary 

FlG.  1 1 8. — The  Physical  Structure  of  Fratice. 


peneplain,  on  the  average  not  much  above  sea-level,  with  old  rivers 
meandering  on  its  surface.  But  when,  as  a  consequence  of  the  Alpine 
movements,  the  plateau  was  tilted  as  a  whole  from  south-east  to  north-west, 
the  rivers  had  to  excavate  canyons  on  the  site  of  their  old  valleys,  while 
volcanic  activity  asserted  itself  through  the  fissures  of  the  now  fractured 
Archaean  mass. 

Rivers  of  the  Central  Plateau.— Thus  it  is  easily  understood 
why,  notwithstanding  the  actual  dome-like  shape  of  the  country,  which  is 
entirely  due  to  late  volcanic  accumulations,  the  rivers  do  not  diverge  out- 
wards in  all  directions  from  a  common  centre  as  they  flow.  Only  two 
directions  now  prevail  :  the  one  south  and  north,  the  other  east  and  west. 


France  235 


Both  were  acquired  before  the  tilting  was  inaugurated.  So  the  main 
lines  of  river-flow  are  inherited  from  the  time  when  the  "flat  Archaean 
mass  divided  the  French  region  into  two  parts,  one  sloping  towards  a 
northern  sea,  the  other  towards  the  southern  belt  of  waters.  This 
conclusion  is  strengthened  by  another  characteristic  feature  of  western 
France.  With  the  single  exception  of  the  Loire,  no  river  comes  from 
the  eastern  boundaries  of  the  country  to  the  Atlantic.  The  courses 
of  the  Vienne,  of  the  Mayenne,  of  the  Orne,  clearly  show  that  there  is  a 
marked  tendency  on  the  part  of  the  rivers  to  follow  the  eastern  limit  of  the 
Armorican  region,  which  embraces  Vendee,  Brittany  and  Cotentin.  And, 
in  fact,  this  region,  entirely  made  up  of  tilted  and  upturned  Palaeozoic 
sediments,  was  an  island  early  in  Mesozoic  times,  while  between  it  and  the 
Central  Plateau  stretched  the  so-called  Strait  of  Poitou. 

The  Paris  Basin. — The  western  highland  extended  far  to  the 
west,  and  was  united  with  British  Cornwall ;  the  present  state  of  things 
being  due  to  long-continued  erosion  by  waves  and  currents.  At  the 
same  time,  the  similar  Palaeozoic  land  of  the  Ardennes  became  uplifted, 
while  some  islands  were  rising  on  the  site  of  the  Vosges.  Thus,  this 
series  of  emerged  lands  encircled  a  nearly  closed  trough  of  sedimenta- 
tion, the  Anglo-Parisian  Basin,  and  it  has  been  the  work  of  Mesozoic  and 
Tertiary  times,  to  fill  up  this  trough  with  various  sediments  by  the  dis- 
integration of  surrounding  regions.  When,  about  the  middle  of  the 
Tertiary  period,  this  work  had  been  completed,  and  the  Oligocene  Sea 
vanished,  there  remained  in  the  centre  a  large  lake,  the  lake  of  the  Beauce, 
to  which  rivers  flowed  chiefly  from  the  north-east,  east  and  south.  But 
the  lake  was  emptied,  while  its  floor  was  raised  in  the  north-east  during 
Miocene  times,  and  a  large  trough  was  opened  between  Vendee  and 
Brittany,  allowing  the  sea-waves  to  encroach  as  far  as  the  vicinity  of  Blois. 
Therefore  the  Loire,  formerly  a  tributary  of  the  lake,  abruptly  turned 
west,  forcing  in  the  same  direction  the  lower  courses  of  the  Cher,  Indre, 
Creuse,  and  Vienne.  Meanwhile  the  eastern  drainage,  that  of  the  Moselle 
and  of  the  Meuse,  found  an  outlet  to  the  north  through  the  more  lately 
elevated  highland.  But  the  central  and  south-eastern  parts  of  the  basin 
were  sending  their  waters  directly  to  the  English  Channel,  the  old  meander- 
ing Seine  maintaining  its  course  by  a  continuous  process  of  cutting  through 
the  recently  elevated  plateau  of  Normandy. 

The  Pyrenean  Region.— Till  the  close  of  the  Eocene  period,  the 
southern  slopes  of  the  Central  Plateau  were  drained  into  a  southern  sea, 
which  stretched  continuously  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Mediterranean 
waters.  At  that  time  there  was  no  chain  of  the  Pyrenees,  and  while  the 
northern  basin  was  submitted  to  the  ever-changing  conditions  of  an 
enclosed  area  of  sedimentation,  in  the  southern  area  pelagic  influences 
prevailed,  resulting  in  a  quite  different  and  much  more  uniform  type  of 
deposits  and  fossils.  But  when  the  Pyrenees  begun  to  be  uplifted,  the 
spur  of  the  Montagne  Noire  soon  was  united  with  the  foot  of  the  newly 
17 


236       The  International   Geography 

elevated  mountain.  Therefore  the  south-western  slope  of  the  Central 
Plateau,  together  with  the  Pyrenees,  outlined  a  large  gulf,  that  of  Aquitaine, 
progressively  filled  up  with  marine,  brackish,  fresh  water,  and  fluvio-glacial 
deposits.  Thus  were  laid  down  the  large  and  uniform  plains,  whose 
drainage  is  now  concentrated  in  the  Garonne,  and  which  terminate  in 
the  great  alluvial  fan  of  the  Landes. 

South-Eastern  France. — The  south-east  of  France  long  remained 
under  the  western  end  of  the  Alpino-Mediterranean  Sea,  which,  through 
the  Strait  of  the  Cote  d'Or,  remained  in  communication  with  the  Paris  Basin 
till  the  end  of  the  Cretaceous  period.  Then  the  land  was  raised  between 
Morvan  and  the  Vosges,  while  the  present  valley  of  the  Saone  was 
depressed  and  finally  became  the  lake  of  the  Bresse.  Meanwhile  the  Jura 
and  the  Western  Alps  were  rising  in  crowded  folds,  so  that  between  the 
outer  folds  and  the  linearly  lifted  border  of  the  Central  Plateau,  there 
remained  a  Rhodanian  depression.  When  Tertiary  times  came  to  an  end, 
the  Pliocene  Sea,  which  had  penetrated  through  this  depression  to  the 
neighbourhood  of  Lyons,  left  the  country,  and  its  bed  gave  issue  to  the 
waters  of  the  Rhone,  which  had  forced  their  way  through  the  weakest  spot 
between  the  Jura  and  the  Alps. 

Surface  and  Soils  of  France. — In  accordance  with  its  geological 
evolution,  which  has  been  so  complete  and  continuous  as  to  give  rise  to 
representatives  of  every  epoch,  the  surface  of  France  exhibits  an  unusual 
variety  of  composition.  While  the  Central  Plateau,  with  the  exception  of 
the  volcanic  accumulations,  is  almost  entirely  composed  of  crystalline 
schists,  which  give  an  infertile  soil,  the  old  Armorican  land  is  not  much 
better  endowed  on  account  of  the  prevalence  of  silicious,  schistose,  and 
limeless  deposits.  Nevertheless,  the  frequent  alternation  of  slates,  grits, 
granites  and  schists,  in  long,  narrow  bands,  where  the  harder  rocks 
project  in  ridges,  makes  the  country  look  much  less  monotonous  than  the 
Limousin. 

The  richest  parts  of  France  are  to  be  sought  for  in  the  Paris  Basin, 
where  the  different  kinds  of  soil,  though  very  numerous,  have  been 
distributed  with  great  regularity.  As  the  filling  up  of  the  basin  has,  on 
the  whole,  progressed  from  the  rim  towards  the  centre,  each  geological 
period  being  marked  by  peculiar  sorts  of  deposits  ;  as,  moreover,  the 
tilting  of  the  lately  emerged  land  took  place  towards  the  north-east, 
east,  and  south-east,  the  successive  sheets  of  sediments,  formerly  buried 
under  one  another,  are  now  exposed  rising  towards  the  borderlands 
on  the  east.  Therefore  they  crop  out,  one  after  the  other,  as  con- 
centric girdles.  Under  the  influence  of  running  water,  the  softer  parts 
in  each  girdle  have  been  progressively  removed  on  the  edges,  laying 
bare  the  flat  surface  of  the  more  resisting  ground.  Now  the  traveller, 
going  from  Paris  towards  the  east  or  north-east,  walks  over  gently 
rising  plains,  each  of  which  ends  abruptly  in  a  scarp  facing  eastward. 
The  upper  part  of  the  scarp  consists  of  aJiarder  stratum,  while  at  the 

\ 


France  237 


foot  the  softer  layers,  the  dispersion  of  which  has  given  rise  to  the  cliff, 
are  trenched.  As  the  development  of  this  structure  proceeded  pari  passu 
with  the  general  uplifting  of  the  old  lake-floor,  the  chief  rivers  had  to  cut 
their  way  through  the  mass  of  the  growing  cliffs,  where  they  now  run  on 
the  floor  of  deep  trenches.  Every  scarp-line  constitutes  a  military  front 
of  defence,  where  the  weak  points  are  the  entrances  of  the  valleys. 

According  to  the  nature  of  the  outcropping  sediments,  as  well  as  to  the 
more  or  less  advanced  rate  of  dispersion  of  the  projecting  tongues  of  the 
dissected  scarps,  the  successive  girdles  are  marked  by  contrasting  land- 
scapes, where  every  sort  of  land  is  to  be  found.  Dry  and  pervious  table- 
lands of  compact  limestones,  with  rare  but  well-fed  watercourses  (Barrois, 
Bassigny),  alternate  many  times  with  low  and  argillaceous  belts,  covered 
with  grass  and  crowded  with  forests,  where  plenty  of  rivulets  furrow  the 
ground,  but  only  during  the  wet  season  (so-called  wet  Champagne).  When 
a  sandy  girdle  has  been  passed,  another  is  met,  the  earth  of  which  is 
especially  fitted  for  agricultural  purposes  (Valois,  Vexin,  Brie),  till  a  new 
belt  of  smooth  and  bare  hills  is  reached,  where  the  white  chalk  is  to  be 
seen  many  hundred  yards  in  thickness  (Champagne,  Picardie). 

Thus  the  numerous  "  pays "  of  the  Paris  Basin,  strongly  contrasting 
with  each  other  in  a  cross  section  of  the  whole,  keep,  on  the  contrary,  very 
constant  characters  along  the  direction  of  the  concentric  belts.  The 
striking  variety  which  they  exhibit  is  due  to  the  ever-changing  conditions 
of  sedimentation  which  prevailed,  during  geological  times,  in  such  a 
limited  basin,  and  has  been  enhanced  by  the  local  deformations  which  the 
different  parts  of  the  country  may  have  independently  undergone. 

Elevation  of  France.— The  mean  height  of  France  averages  some 
i, coo  feet,  but  more  than  one-half  of  the  country  (that  is,  the  western 
portion)  remains  much  below  650  feet ;  there  being  only  small  patches  of 
higher  ground  between  Paris  and  the  western  seas,  in  any  direction,  and 
only  one  of  these,  in  the  hills  of  Normandy,  stands  a  little  over  1,300  feet. 

The  chief  relief  is  concentrated  in  definite  lines  :  (i)  in  the  great  and 
abrupt  wall  of  the  Pyrenees,  the  crest  of  which  maintains  an  elevation 
between  6,500  and  10,000  feet;  (2)  in  the  eastern  border  of  the  Central 
Plateau;  (3)  in  the  Western  Alps,  highly  complicated,  and  culminating  over 
13,000  feet  in  Mont  Blanc  and  Pelvoux  ;  (4)  in  the  parallel  and  arched 
ridges  of  the  Jura,  growing  from  west  to  east,  till  the  terminal  crest  is 
reached,  which  directly  faces  the  plains  of  Switzerland  in  some  summits  of 
5,500  feet ;  (5)  in  the  linear  crest  of  the  Vosges,  with  peaks  from  4,000  to 
4,600  feet,  and  a  rather  gentle  slope  towards  Lorraine  ;  (6)  in  the  elevated 
border  of  the  highland  of  the  Ardennes,  where  some  points  of  the  levelled 
peneplain  are  over  1,300  feet.  To  which  must  be  added  the  high  table- 
land of  Langres,  which  at  1,600  feet  bridges  over  the  space  between 
Morvan  and  the  Vosges,  serving  as  a  south-eastern  divide  for  the  Paris 
Basin,  on  the  very  spot  where  the  Jurassic  and  Cretaceous  waters  of  the 
same  basin  mingled  in  bygone  epochs  with  the  waves  of  Alpine  seas. 


238       The   International  Geography 


Climate. — Thanks  to  such  a  disposition,  the  climate  of  France  is  a 
temperate  one.  As  the  true  mountains  of  the  land  are  all  located  on  the 
eastern  border,  the  warm  and  moist  winds  from  the  west,  which  prevail 
for  the  most  part,  are  not  stopped  by  any  obstacle  before  they  reach  the 
highest  summits.  Nevertheless,  on  account  of  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
snowfields  of  Switzerland  and  of  the  continental  plains  of  Germany,  the 
range  of  the  thermometer  is  rather  large,  the  minimum  in  some  years 
reaching  13°  F.  in  Paris,  while  in  summer  the  thermometer  rises  there  to 
95°  F.  in  the  shade.  Sometimes  the  fall  and  rise  of  temperature  succeed 
each  other  very  rapidly. 

The  great  differences  of  altitude  (the  highest  peak  of  Europe,  Mont 
Blanc,  15,800  feet,  belongs  to  France),  cause  every  kind  of  climate  to  be 
encountered,  from  the  mouth  of  the  Loire,  where  frost  is  almost  unknown, 
to  the  perpetual  snows  of  the  Alps,  with  the  intervening  high  plateaux  of 

the  Cevennes  where,  during  many  months, 
a  bitter  wind  is  constantly  blowing.  The 
mean  annual  rainfall  for  the  whole  of  France 
amounts  to  29^  inches,  varying  from  a 
minimum  of  under  19^  inches  on  the  Medi- 
terranean coast  from  Perpignan  to  Narbonne, 
and  19^  to  23^  inches  in  the  region  between 
Le  Mans  and  Reims,  to  a  maximum  of  71 
inches  which  is  reached  on  the  western 
corner  of  the  Pyrenees,  while  on  the  Mont 
Dore,  Cantal,  Morvan  and  Vosges  the  rainfall 
is  little  over  60  inches.  The  general  dis- 
tribution of  rainfall  may  be  seen  on  the  map  of  rainfall  of  Europe  in 
Fig-  53- 

Mineral  Resources. — France  has  been  very  poorly  endowed  with 
precious  metals ;  iron  ore  is  rather  abundant,  especially  in  the  state  of 
oolitic  layers.  The  coal-fields,  though  numerous  and  scattered,  are  not 
sufficient  to  prevent  the  necessity  of  importing  from  abroad.  The 
country  is  exceptionally  rich  in  building  stones :  either  products  of 
internal  activity,  like  the  granites  of  Brittany,  Normandy,  and  the 
Central  Plateau  ;  the  trachytes  and  lavas  of  Auvergne,  the  porphyries  of 
Esterel,  or  consolidated  sediments  of  the  various  geological  epochs.  For 
examples  of  the  latter  kind  we  may  mention  the  marbles  and  roofing  slate 
of  the  Palaeozoic  deposits;  the  Jurassic  limestones,  mostly  oolitic,  which 
are  nowadays  extensively  quarried  in  Lorraine,  Burgundy,  Berry,  Poitou, 
Lyonnais,  &c.;  the  fire-clays  of  the  lower  Cretaceous  formation  ;  the 
tufaceous  chalk  of  Touraine  ;  the  building-stones  of  the  so-called  rough 
limestone,  so  largely  developed  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Paris ;  the 
travertines,  plaster-stones,  silicious  millstones,  and  gritty  paving-stones  of 
the  same  basin  ;  and  the  calcareous  molasse  of  Provence. 

Volcanic  activity  has  now  entirely  disappeared  from  the  country,  and 


F*  JM.  Fti.  MAI  AM.  M*r.  *•.  Jn.  AM.  fc*.  OCT.  In.  Oil.   i«- 

,— 

-^ 

66 

; 

' 

/"" 

^s 

\ 

66    '~ 

— 

-/ 

/ 

-- 

~- 

-- 

•^ 

-\ 

— 

— 

X 

/ 

,_, 

A 

^- 

\ 

m 

1 

3     Par's  Marseil 

FlG.  119.— Curves  oj  Mean  Monthly 
Rainfall  and  Temperature  for  Paris 
and  Marseilles. 


France  239 


since  historic  times  not  the  slightest  eruption  has  taken  place  in  Auvergne, 
where  the  freshness  of  the  craters  and  volcanic  cinder-cones  bears  testi- 
mony that  internal  fires  must  have  found  vent  not  many  centuries  before 
the  settlement  of  the  district.  But  in  many  parts  of  France,,  and  always  in 
association  with  the  remnants  of  extinct  vulcanism,  or  with  the  manifesta- 
tion of  recent  displacements  of  the  crust,  there  are  to  be  found  thermo- 
mineral  springs,  successfully  used  for  curative  purposes.  They  occur 
along  the  foot  of  the  Pyrenees,  round  the  old  eruptive  centres  of 
Auvergne,  in  the  Alps,  the  Vosges,  and  on  the  fractured  rim  of  the 
M  or  van. 

Flora  and  Fauna. — As  France  is  everywhere  in  free  communication 
with  adjoining  countries,  its  fauna  does  not  essentially  differ  from  that  of 
western  and  central  Europe.  But,  owing  to  the  want  of  extensive  forest- 
lands  or  mountain  masses,  the  range  of  wild  animals  is  becoming  smaller, 
they  being  now  for  the  most  part  artificially  protected  for  sport. 

The  flora  is  a  rich  one,  on  account  of  the  great  differences  of  climate, 
according  to  varying  altitude  and  exposure.  As  the  high  mountains  of  the 
country  generally  face  westward,  that  is  seaward,  their  slopes  enjoy  better 
conditions  than  they  could  have  done  if  turned  eastward.  Thanks  to  its 
special  situation  the  south-eastern  corner  of  France,  called  Provence,  is  the 
very  garden  of  the  country.  There  eucalyptus,  introduced  from  Australia, 
is  thriving,  as  well  as  the  native  olive  and  mulberry.  For  the  remainder  of 
the  land  oak,  beech,  lime-tree,  yoke-elm,  and  the  various  sorts  of  maple- 
trees  are  the  prevalent  forest  species,  pine  and  fir  being  confined  to 
mountains  or  to  sandy  grounds.  With  the  exception  of  the  mountainous 
parts,  peat  is  to  be  found  only  to  the  north  of  Paris.  The  productions  of  the 
country  are  in  accordance  with  the  diversity  of  physical  conditions. 
From  the  wind-swept  downs  of  the  North  Sea  to  the  "azure  coast," 
where  a  vegetation  of  almost  tropical  character  thrives  on  the  sun- 
glistening  slope  of  the  Southern  Alps  ;  from  the  vineyards  of  the  Medoc 
or  the  Cote  d'Or  to  the  Alpine  woods  and  pastures  below  the  perpetual 
snows ;  from  the  blooming  grasses  of  Normandy  to  the  desolate  plateaux 
of  the  Gausses  every  type  of  vegetation  or  cultivation  is  represented. 

II.— GENERAL  GEOGRAPHY 

By  PROFESSOR  L.  RAVENEAU,* 

Of  the  "Annales  de  Geographic,"  Paris. 

People  and  Language. — The  French  people,  like  the  English  or  the 
German,  is  made  up  of  several  races.  In  passing  from  Flanders  through 
Paris  and  Poitou  to  the  Gironde  one  can  recognise  amongst  the  people  the 
essential  features  of  the  Gauls  ;  they  are  typically  fair-haired,  tall,  and  long- 
headed (dolichocephalic).  In  the  west  of  France,  Vendee,  Anjou,  Maine, 

1  Translated  from  the  French  by  the  Editor. 


240      The  International  Geography 

and  Brittany,  and  on  the  Central  Plateau  in  the  heart  of  Caesar's  Celtica, 
the  people  have,  as  a  rule,  dark  hair,  and  are  short  and  thick-set  with  broad 
heads  (brachycephalic),  representing  a  much  earlier  invasion  which  had 
evicted  the  yet  more  ancient  reindeer  hunters  and  the  remnants  of  the 
Quaternary  races.  In  the  Mediterranean  region  in  the  south-east  and  in 
Aquitaine  in  the  south-west  there  are  traces  of  the  early  Ligurian  and 
Iberian  peoples.  Migrations  which  are  still  going  on  within  the  country 
have  brought  about  a  general  fusion  of  all  these  races  into  one  fairly 
homogeneous  general  type. 

The  Gauls,  when  conquered  by  the  Romans,  forgot  their  own  language 
and  adopted  Latin,  from  the  popular  form  of  which  the  new  French 
language  gradually  formed  itself.  The  language  had  taken  shape  by  the 
twelfth  century — about  the  time  when  France  acquired  a  national  existence  ; 
but  it  appeared  in  two  dialects,  the  northern  or  langue  d'oil  (oil—  oui= 
yes)  and  the  southern  or  langue  doc  (oc=  oui=  yes).  The  dialect  of  the 
He  de  France  and  of  Touraine,  which  was  spoken  by  the  kings,  gradually 
superseded  the  other  dialects  of  the  langue  d'oil  in  the  north,  but  was  not 
received  with  the  same  readiness  in  the  south  where  some  dialects  of  the 
langue  doc,  Provencal  amongst  others,  are  still  spoken.  The  French 
language  is  used  beyond  the  political  limits  of  France  ;  the  Walloon  dialect 
is  spoken  throughout  the  whole  of  southern  Belgium,  and  even  in  a  corner 
of  Prussia  (Malmedy) ;  it  is  also  spoken  in  part  of  Lorraine,  annexed  to 
Germany  in  1871,  in  several  cantons  of  Switzerland,  and  in  the  high  valleys 
of  the  Italian  Alp's.  On  the  other  hand  the  Flemish  language  encroaches 
upon  the  northern  part  of  the  department  of  the  Nord,  and  Italian  dialects 
are  spoken  in  part  of  the  Alpes-Maritimes  and  Corsica.  Most  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  Pyrenees-Orientales  still  speak  the  Catalan  language. 
At  the  western  end  of  the  Pyrenees  the  French  Basques,  who  differ 
anthropologically  from  the  much  more  numerous  Basques  of  Spain,  speak 
the  same  Euskarian  language,  the  origin  of  which  baffles  the  researches 
of  philologists.  Finally,  in  lower  Brittany  the  Keltic  language  in  four 
dialects  is  used  by  the  peasants  living  to  the  west  of  a  line  drawn  from 
the  river  Vilaine  to  Chatelaudren. 

Territorial  Growth.— Neither  community  of  race  nor  of  language 
would  have  sufficed  to  form  the  nation  ;  two  other  forces  were  necessary, 
a  line  of  kings  working  for  centuries  to  build  up  the  provinces  into  one 
country,  and  a  devoted  people  supporting  their  royal  leaders  without  stint 
of  money  or  life.  At  the  time  when  the  Duke  of  Normandy  conquered 
England  in  1066  his  suzerain,  the  King  of  France,  only  possessed  in  his  own 
right  Valois,  He  de  France  and  Orleanais.  In  the  following  century,  as  by 
the  turn  of  a  tide,  England  occupied  the  whole  Atlantic  coast  of  France, 
and  for  a  time  the  French  king  was  nothing  more  than  King  of  Bourges. 
Jeanne  d'Arc  and  Charles  VII.  recovered  the  territory,  but  Calais,  the  key 
of  the  Channel,  was  held  by  the  English  for  another  century.  Interrupted 
by  the  chivalrous  epic  of  the  expeditions  into  Italy  and  by  the  sanguinary 


France 


241 


interlude  of  the  religious  wars,  the  policy  of  territorial  consolidation  was 
revived  by  Henry  IV.  Richelieu  and  Mazarin  added  to  France  the  "four 
nations  "  :  Roussillon,  Piemont  (Pignerol),  Alsace  and  Artois  in  1648  to  1659. 
Under  the  personal  reign  of  Louis  XIV.  the  frontier  reached  the  Alps  at 
Barcelonnette  in  1713  (the  possessions  beyond  the  Alps  had  been  given 
up  in  1697) ;  it  had  already  advanced  towards  Switzerland,  incorporating 
Franche  Comte  in  1678,  and  towards  the  Spanish  Netherlands,  encroaching 
on  Flanders  in  1668.  Louis  XV.  acquired  an  enclave,  Lorraine,  in  1766,  and 
annexed  Corsica  in  1768.  The  Treaty  of  1814  left  to  France  the  enclaves  which 
had  been  suppressed  during  the  Revolution  (Comtat  Venaissin,  Muhlhausen, 
Montbeliard),  but  required  the  restoration  of  the  fruits  of  Napoleon's 
conquests  in  Belgium,  Holland,  Germany  (Hamburg),  Switzerland  (Geneva), 
and  Italy  (Rome).  France  gave  up  Savoy  and  Nice,  gained  during  the 
Republic,  and  only  touched  the  Rhine  through  Alsace.  The  Treaty  of  1815 
broke  into  the  northern  frontier  by  the  loss  of  Philippeville,  Marienburg, 
and  Landau.  As  a  reward  for  the  part  taken  by  France  in  securing  the 
unity  of  Italy  Napoleon  III.  recovered  the  departments  of  Savoy  and  Nice, 
the  inhabitants  of  which  ratified  their  change  of  nationality  by  a  popular 
vote.  The  war  with  Germany  and  the  Treaty  of 
Frankfort  in  1871  threw  back  the  French  frontier 
to  the  crest  of  the  Vosges,  and  Alsace  and  Lorraine 
were  incorporated  without  the  consultation  of  the 
inhabitants  as  an  Imperial  Territory  of  the  German 
Empire. 

Government. — Since  1871  in  fact,  and  since 
1875  by  law,  the  form  of  government  in  France 
has  been  that  of  a  constitutional  republic.  The 
Chamber  of  Deputies,  elected  directly  by  universal  male  suffrage,  and  the 
Senate  nominated  by  a  special  electorate,  exercise  legislative  powers,  and 
united  in  Congress  they  elect  the  President  of  the  Republic  who  exercises  the 
executive  authority  through  responsible  Ministers.  The  democratic  spirit 
of  the  country  assures  to  all  free  education  and  the  right  of  voting,  and 
imposes  in  return  compulsory  personal  military  service.  All  religions  are 
tolerated  and  the  State  allows  an  annual  subsidy  to  Roman  Catholic, 
Protestant,  and  Jewish  ministers.  The  majority  of  the  people  are  Roman 
Catholics. 

Administrative  Divisions. — In  1790  the  National  Assembly  sub- 
stituted for  the  old  French  provinces  83  departments.  This  number  was 
raised  to  89  by  the  creation  of  Vaucluse,  the  splitting  of  Rhone-et-Loire, 
the  formation  of  Tarn-et-Garonne,  the  annexation  of  the  two  departments 
of  Savoy  and  the  Alpes-Mari times  ;  and  since  1871  it  has  been  reduced  to 
86  by  the  cession  of  the  whole  Bas-Rhin,  of  the  Moselle,  with  the  exception 
of  the  arrondissement  of  Briey  (which  was  united  to  Meurthe  to  form 
Meurthe-et-Moselle)  and  of  Haut-Rhin  with  the  exception  of  the  territory 
of  Belfort.  At  the  head  of  each  department  Napoleon  placed  a  Prefect  as 


FIG.  120. — The  French 
Flag. 


242       The  International  Geography 

an  agent  of  the  central  authority,  and  at  the  head  of  the  arrondissement  a 
sub-prefect.  Each  of  the  36,000  communes,  except  Paris,  is  administered 
by  an  elected  mayor. 

A  larger,  more  elastic,  and  more  geographical  division  is  tending 
gradually  to  be  superimposed  upon  the  departments.  This  is  the  Region, 
represented  by  the  ecclesiastical  division  which  the  National  Assembly  had 
adapted  to  the  departments,  and  also  used  by  the  Courts  of  Appeal  and  the 
Academies  instituted  by  Napoleon,  by  the  Army  Corps  (for  which  there 
are  19  regions  including  Algeria,  created  in  1872)  and  finally  by  the  Univer- 
sities, to  which  the  State  has  recently  restored  liberty  and  vitality. 

Movements  of  the  Population. — The  population  increases  very 
slowly ;  from  1872  to  1901  the  total  increase  was  not  so  much  as  3,000,000, 
while  in  the  same  period  the  population  of  Germany  had  increased  by 
more  than  18,000,000.  While  the  French  Canadians  continue  to  increase 
perhaps  more  rapidly  than  any  other  civilised  people,  the  birth-rate  in 
France  itself  has  fallen  lower  than  that  of  any  other  country  in  Europe. 
The  increase,  such  as  it  is,  results  not  from  the  general  growth  of  the 
__  population  but  from  the  exceptional  increase  in  a  few 
departments.  From  1846  to  1896  the  five  depart- 
ments of  Seine,  Nord,  Rhone,  Loire,  and  Bouches- 
du-Rhone,  showed  an  increase  greater  than  the 
average  for  France  ;  a  large  number  of  departments 
have  remained  stationary,  while  those  of  Normandy 
and  of  the  basin  of  the  Garonne  show  a  marked 
diminution.  Different  parts  of  France  exhibit  im- 


FiG.  121.— Average popu-    portant  movements  of  the  population  in  the  form  of 
lation  of  a  square    temporary  removals,  such  as  the  exodus  of  people 

mile  of  France.  J 

from  the  Central  Plateau  or  the  Alps  to  Pans, 
Lyons  and  Marseilles  for  work  with  the  prospect  of  returning,  and 
also  of  permanent  displacement.  The  population  of  the  department 
of  the  Seine  in  1896  was  made  up  of  people  coming  from  other  parts 
of  the  country  to  the  extent  of  56  per  cent.  The  rural  population, 
that  is  to  say  people  living  in  communes  which  do  not  contain  an 
aggregation  of  more  than  2,000  inhabitants,  is  diminishing,  while  the 
urban  population  increases ;  thus  the  rural  population  amounted  to  75 
per  cent,  of  the  whole  in  1846,  but  only  to  61  per  cent,  in  1896.  The 
population  of  34,000  purely  rural  communes  is  diminishing  to  the  profit  of 
from  400  to  500  towns  ;  the  number  of  towns  with  a  population  exceeding 
30,000  has  increased  from  54  in  1886  to  69  in  1901.  These  currents  of  internal 
migration  cross  and  at  some  points  mix  with  those  of  immigration.  Between 
1851  and  1891  the  number  of  foreigners  living  in  France  increased  by  200 
per  cent.,  and  in  the  latter  year  exceeded  a  million.  Foreigners  are  very 
numerous  in  the  large  towns  and  in  the  departments  near  the  frontiers, 
forming,  for  instance,  one  quarter  of  the  population  of  the  arrondissement 
of  Lille,  and  concentrating  in  two  places  in  the  interior,  at  He  de  France 


France  243 

and  Adour-Garonne.  A  law  passed  in  1889  facilitates  naturalisation,  and 
provides  that  the  children  born  in  France  of  foreign  parents  who  were 
themselves  born  in  the  country  are  by  birth  French  citizens. 

There  is  at  present  but  little  emigration  from  France,  and  figures  can 
hardly  be  given  (say  about  10,000  per  annum).  The  people  of  the  Basses- 
Alpes  emigrate  to  Mexico  where  they  are  known  as  Barcelonnettes,  the 
Basques  habitually  make  their  way  to  the  Plata  States,  and  people  from 
the  Mediterranean  coasts  have  established  themselves  as  vine-growers  in 
Algeria.  It  is  estimated  that  half  a  million  French  citizens  live  in  foreign 
countries. 

Agriculture. — Half  the  total  surface  of  France  is  made  up  of  arable 
land,  and  almost  half  the  working  population  (46  per  cent.)  is  occupied  in 
agriculture.  Peasant  proprietors  are  very  numerous  and  cultivate  their  land 
with  tireless  assiduity.  Agricultural  societies  are  gradually  extending  the 
use  of  fertilising  agents  and  the  employment  of  scientific  methods. 
Although  the  greater  part  of  the  arable  land  (58  per  cent.)  is  devoted  to  the 
growth  of  cereals,  and  produces  annually  from  300  to  330  million  bushels  of 
wheat  (nearly  19  bushels  per  acre  on  the  average),  the  French,  being  great 
eaters  of  white  bread,  require,  when  the  harvest  is  poor,  to  import  wheat 
from  the  United  States  and  Russia.  Maize,  for  which  a  moist  and  warm 
climate  is  necessary,  grows  mainly  in  the  basin  of  Aquitaine  ;  barley  associ- 
ated with  hops  supplies  many  breweries  in  the  north  and  east,  and  beetroot, 
cultivated  on  a  large  scale  in  the  plains  of  Flanders,  Picardy,  Brie,  Beauce 
and  Limagne,  is  used  for  the  productio'n  of  alcohol  in  distilleries  attached 
to  the  farms,  or  for  the  manufacture  of  sugar  in  sugar-mills.  While  the 
work  on  large  farms  tends  more  and  more  to  assume  an  industrial  character, 
the  market  gardens  of  Provence,  Agenais,  and  Anjou  supply  fruit  to  the 
markets  of  Paris,  and  the  early  produce  of  Brittany  (the  Golden  Belt)  is 
also  largely  exported  to  London.  Horse  and  cattle  breeding  is  an 
important  branch  of  farming  on  the  coast  of  Flanders,  the  pastures  of  the 
Pays  d'Auge,  the  meadows  of  Perche,  Bocage  of  Vendee,  and  the  "  pres 
d'embouche  "  of  Nivernais  and  Charolais.  Sheep  are  largely  kept  on  the  dry 
pastures  of  Champagne  Pouilleuse  and  of  the  Causses,  those  of  Crau  are 
fed  in  summer  on  the  mountain  pastures  of  the  Alps  and  of  the  Cevennes, 
as  is  the  custom  in  Spain  and  Italy.  Dairy-farming  and  cheese-making 
prosper  in  Boulonnais,  Bray  (Neufchatel),  Lower  Normandy  (Camembert), 
Brittany  (Prevalaye),  the  Central  Plateau  (Roquefort)  and  the  Jura. 

The  vine  was  formerly  cultivated  as  far  north  as  the  shores  of  the 
Channel,  and  in  Champagne  it  is  still  grown  north  of  lat.  49°,  but  otherwise 
its  real  importance  is  now  confined  to  the  valleys  of  the  Saone  (Cote 
d'Or  and  Maconnais)  and  the  Rhone,  to  Lower  Languedoc  and  Bordelais, 
whence  there  has  been  a  regular  export  of  wine  to  England  since  the 
Hundred  Years'  War.  The  production  of  wine  in  France  is  greater  than 
that  in  Italy  or  Spain,  although  it  has  been  very  seriously  affected  by  the 
phylloxera  pest ;  a  production  of  1,850  million  gallons  in  1875  having  been 
18 


244      The  International  Geography 


reduced  to  550  million  gallons  in  1887  ;  but  the  vineyards  have  now  been 
restored  by  the  introduction  of  American  plants,  and  in  1900  the  production. 
of  wine  in  France  exceeded  1,500  million  gallons.  The  vine  is  associated 
in  the  valley  of  the  Rhone  with  the  mulberry,  employed  for  rearing  silk- 
worms, in  Provence  with  the  olive,  and  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Nice  with 
the  orange. 

Industry. — Mineral  and  textile  industries  support  one  quarter  of  the 
population,  but  France  is  far  from  being  so  favoured  as  Great  Britain  in 
this  respect ;  its  output  of  33  million  tons  of  coal  (in  1900)  is  insufficient, 
and  an  annual  import  of  from  12  to  15  million  tons  from  England,  Belgium 
and  Germany  is  required.  The  numerous  coal-fields  include  the  group  of  the 
Nord  and  the  Pas-de-Calais,  which  yield  60  per  cent,  of  the  total  production, 
and  those  of  the  Loire  (St.  Etienne),  Burgundy  and  Nivernais  (Le  Creusot),. 

Gard  (Alais),  Tarn  and  Aveyron 
(Aubin,  Carmaux),  and  Bourbon- 
nais  (Commentry).  Altogether 
140,000  workmen  are  employed  in 
coal  mines.  The  average  price  of 
the  coal  at  the  pit  mouth  varies 
from  75. 6d.  per  ton  in  the  northern 
coal-fields  to  us.  per  ton  in  the 
Loire  field  ;  but  on  account  of  the 
cost  of  transport  the  price  as  sold 
in  the  department  of  Haute-Vienne 
is  increased  to  295.  per  ton,  a  fact 
which  acts  prejudicially  on  the 
manufactures  of  districts  far  from 
the  coal-fields.  The  coal  produc- 
tion of  France  is  shown  graphically 
in  Fig.  70.  Iron  ore  is  largely  ex- 
tracted from  the  oolitic  rocks  at 
Nancy  and  Briey,  the  department  of  Meurthe-et-Moselle  yielding  nine- 
tenths  of  the  iron  raised  in  France,  and  in  the  Oolite  of  Champagne 
(Vassy) ;  some  iron  is  also  produced  in  Franche-Comte  and  the  Pyrenees. 
The  production  of  cast-iron,  wrought-iron  and  steel  exceeded  five  million 
tons  in  1900,  most  of  it  being  produced  in  Meurthe-et-Moselle,  at  Le 
Creusot,  the  rival  of  Essen  in  Germany  and  Seraing  in  Belgium,  and  at 
Fives-Lille.  Building  materials  and  other  mineral  products  are  obtained 
by  quarrying.  The  more  important  are  marble  from  the  Pyrenees,, 
building  stones  from  Lorraine,  Burgundy,  Berry,  and  Bordelais,  mill-stones 
and  hydraulic  cement  from  Ardeche,  plaster  from  the  neighbourhood  of 
Paris,  as  well  as  phosphate  of  lime  (Somme  and  Pas-de-Calais),  and  marl. 

Textile  industries  flourish  most  in  the  neighbourhood  of  coal-fields  and 
near  the  supply  of  raw  materials.  With  the  coal-field  of  the  Nord  the 
spinning  and  weaving  of  linen,  hemp,  jute,  and  cotton  are  closely  associated. 


FIG.  122.— The  range  of  the  vine  in  Franct 
shown  by  vertical  shading. 


France 


245 


On  the  other  coal-fields,  St.  Etienne  manufactures  ribbons,  Roanne  cotton 
cloth,  and  Lyons  is  the  queen  of  the  silk  trade.  The  old  Norman  weaving 
industry  is  now  represented  by  the  cloths  of  Elbeuf  and  Louviers,  and 
the  cottons  of  Rouen.  Some  industries  have  grouped  themselves  near 
waterfalls  on  the  slopes  of  the  Vosges  (cotton-weaving) ;  in  the  valley  of 
the  I  sere,  where  there  are  paper- works  and  glove  factories  at  Grenoble 
and  Voiron  ;  along  the  banks  of  large  rivers  of  pure  water,  such  as  the 
Charente  with  the  gun-factory  of  Ruelle  and  the  paper-works  of  Angou- 
leme,  and  of  the  Essonnes  with  the  paper-works  and  flour-mills  of  Essonnes 
and  Corbeil.  Historical  reasons  and  industrial  tradition  have  as  much 
to  do  as  geographical  conditions  in  explaining  the  woollen  industries  of 
Champagne  (Reims),  and  Languedoc  (Mazamet),  the  cloths  of  Sedan,  the 
porcelain  of  Sevres  and 
Limoges,  the  carpets  of 
Gobelins,  Beauvais,  and 
Aubusson,  the  mirrors  of 
St.  Gobain,  and  the  crys- 
tal of  Baccarat. 

Means  of  Com- 
munication.— Trans- 
port and  trade  furnish  a 
livelihood  to  13  per  cent, 
of  the  population.  The 
means  of  communication 
comprise  a  close  net- 
work of  roads  which  are 
regarded  with  just  pride ; 
these  comprise  the  na- 
tional high  roads,the  mag- 
nificent engineering  of 
which  is  a  heritage  from 
ancient  France,  depart- 
mental roads  and  parish  roads.  The  expansion  of  railways  has  thrown 
undeserved  discredit  on  the  old  roads  which,  after  all,  are  their  natural 
tributaries.  Steam  tramways  and  motor  cars,  not  to  speak  of  bicycles,  have, 
however,  led  to  an  increase  of  road  traffic,  which  produces  its  effect  on  the 
national  statistics. 

Waterways. — The  rivers,  whose  harmonious  arrangement  had  attracted 
the  attention  of  Strabo,  have  been  regulated  and  deepened  so  as  to  render 
their  current  more  uniform  and  permanent.  A  depth  of  nearly  7  feet  now 
prevails  in  more  than  a  quarter  of  the  rivers  used  for  navigation.  Engineers 
have  made  projects  for  improving  the  sluggish  and  capricious  Loire,  and 
they  have  overcome  in  part  the  rapid  current  of  the  Rhone,  for  although 
the  ascent  of  that  river  is  always  difficult  it  is  descended  by  numerous 
vessels.  In  the  north  of  France  the  triumph  of  the  engineers  is  complete. 


FJG.  123. — The  Rivers  and  Canals  of  France. 


246       The  International  Geography 

Works  carried  on  between  1878  and  1886  have  established  a  depth  of  water 
exceeding  10  feet  on  the  Seine  between  Paris  and  Rouen,  and  the  traffic  on 
that  section  has  doubled  in  less  than  20  years.  Paris  has  become  the 
principal  port  of  France,  and  although,  strictly  speaking,  it  cannot  be  termed 
a  seaport,  it  yet  maintains  regular  direct  communication  with  such  places 
as  Nantes  and  London.  The  natural  waterways  are  supplemented  by  an 
excellent  system  of  canals,  the  best  of  which  are  those  of  the  north  and 
east  of  France,  but  one-half  of  the  canals  in  the  country  have  a  depth 
exceeding  6^  feet.  Water  transport  has  been  rendered  more  and  more 
economical  by  the  introduction  of  steam  traction,  and  of  such  modern 
developments  as  electric  power  in  the  tunnel  of  the  Burgundy  canal,  and 
hydraulic  lifts  at  Fontinettes  on  the  Neuffosse.  Forty-two  per  cent,  of  the 
mineral  fuel  for  Paris  is  brought  into  the  city  by  water.  The  system  is  of 
particular  service  in  facilitating  the  exchange  of  heavy  and  bulky  products 
between  the  north  and  east  by  the  canals  which  join  the  Oise  to  the  Marne 
and  the  Rhine,  coal  coming  from  the  north,  cast-iron  and  iron-ore  from  the 
east  The  recently  constructed  Eastern  Canal,  and  the  canals  joining  the 
Marne  to  the  Saone  and  the  Doubs,  which  are  on  the  point  of  completion, 
unite  Franche-Comte  to  Champagne  and  Flanders.  The  canal  of  Briare, 
the  first  canal  with  level  reaches  which  was  constructed  in  France,  and  the 
Central  Canal  with  their  branches  form  important  arteries  of  traffic  between 
Paris,  Montlu?on,  Roanne,  and  Chalon-sur-Saone. 

Railways. — The  railway  system  converges  on  Paris  even  more  con- 
spicuously than  do  the  roads  and  canals,  and  each  company's  lines  radiating 
from  Paris  serves  a  separate  sector  of  France  ;  the  cross  lines  as  a  rule  have 
only  moderate  traffic  except  the  sections  from  Dunkirk  to  Nancy,  from 
Amiens  to  Chalons  and  Chaumont,  from  Caen  to  Le  Mans  by  Alencon,  from 
Tours  to  Vierzon  and  Chalon-sur-Saone,  and  from  Bordeaux  to  Cette. 

The  Northern  Railway  (Chemin  de  Per  du  Nora),  with  a  total  extent  of 
2,300  miles,  covers  a  small  territory  with  a  close  network  ;  its  traffic  is 
proportionally  greater  than  that  of  the  other  lines  as  it  serves  a  very  fertile, 
populous,  and  industrial  region.  On  this  system  Lille  is  153  miles,  or  3 
hours,  from  Paris  ;  Brussels  193  miles,  or  4^  hours ;  Berlin  665  miles,  or 
18  hours,  and  the  distance  of  1,680  miles  to  St.  Petersburg  is  covered  in  48 
hours  by  the  Northern  Express.  Only  7  hours  are  required  for  the  journey 
from  Paris  to  London  by  Calais  and  Dover,  or  by  Boulogne  and  Folkestone, 
and  the  Northern  Railway  is  the  link  connecting  Great  Britain,  by  the 
shortest  sea-passage,  through  Paris  with  all  parts  of  Europe.  Special 
through  trains  connect  Calais  with  Basel  in  14  hours  via  Chalons-Chau- 
mont ;  with  Nice  via  Paris  in  20  hours,  and  with  Brindisi,  the  port  of  the 
Far  Eastern  mails,  via  Paris  and  Modane  in  40  hours.  The  section  of  the 
Northern  Railway  between  Amiens  and  Paris  is  one  of  the  busiest  in 
Europe,  and  some  of  the  international  trains  travel  over  it  at  the  remarkably 
high  average  rate  of  56  miles  an  hour. 

The  Eastern  Railway  (Chemin  de  Per  de  I'Est),  has  a  system  of  2,900  miles 


France 


247 


THE  RAILWAYS 

OF 

F.RA 


of  line.  By  Nancy,  it  connects  with  the  south  of  Germany  and  Austria 
(Vienna  870  miles  in  22  hours).  The  Oriental  Express  runs  from  Paris  to 
Constantinople,  a  distance  of  1,900  miles  in  62  hours.  Another  line  by  Chau- 
mont  and  Belfort  communicates  with  Switzerland,  reaching  Basel  in  nine 
hours,  and  Milan  by  the  St.  Gothard  tunnel  in  18  hours  from  Paris. 

The  Paris  Lyons  and  Mediterranean  Railway  (Chemin  de  Per  Paris-Lyon- 
Mediterranee,  or  shortly  P.-L.-M.)  is  the  largest  system  in  France,  serving 
the  greatest  area,  and  with  a  total  length  of  5,400  miles  of  line.  The 
importance  of  this  great  central  artery  of  trade,  which  follows  the  old 
natural  route  formed  by  the  valleys  of  the  Yonne,  the  Saone,  and  the  Rhone, 
is  explained  by  the  diversity  of  the  districts  which  it  unites,  and  the  variety 
of  the  productions 
which  it  transports; 
the  busiest  section 
of  the  line  is  that 
between  Lyons  and 
the  sea.  The  prin- 
cipal line  unites 
Paris  and  Mar- 
seilles, a  distance 
of  537  miles,  tra- 
versed in  12  hours ; 
it  passes  through 
Dijon,  Lyons,  and 
Tarascon,  the  junc- 
t  i  o  n  for  Nimes, 
whence  trains  run 
on  the  lines  of  the 
Southern  Company 
to  Cette,  and  thus 
to  Barcelona,  754 
miles  from  Paris, 
reached  in  23  hours. 
This  system  sends 
two  lines  to  Switzerland  ;  one  from  Dijon  by  Pontarlier,  to  Lausanne, 
and  the  other  from  Macon  to  Geneva.  Two  lines  also  go  to  Italy ;  one 
by  Macon,  Modane,  and  the  Frejus  (Mt.  Cenis)  tunnel  to  Turin  and  on  to 
Rome,  a  distance  of  910  miles,  traversed  in  29  hours  from  Paris.  The 
second  line  runs  along  the  coast  of  the  Mediterranean  from  Marseilles. 

The  Paris-Orleans  Railway  (Chemin  defer  Paris-Orleans)  and  the  Southern 
Railway  (Chemin  defer  du  Midi)  meet  at  several  places,  and,  unlike  most  of 
the  French  lines,  one  occasionally  penetrates  the  territory  of  the  other. 
They  connect  the  Spanish  railway  system  with  the  French  by  one  line 
round  the  eastern,  and  another  round  the  western  extremity  of  the  Pyre- 
nees. The  most  important  section  of  this  system  is  that  through  Orleans 


FIG.  124. — The  French  Railway  System.     The  breadth  of  the 
lines  indicates  the  volume  of  traffic. 


248       The  International   Geography 

and  Tours  to  Bordeaux,  363  miles,  traversed  in  7  hours.  This  journey  can 
also  be  made  by  the  State  Railway  (Chemin  de  fer  de  I'Etat),  via  Chartres 
and  Niort.  The  Southern  Express  from  Paris  by  Bordeaux  reaches  Madrid, 
a  distance  of  900  miles,  in  27  hours.  Another  line  connects  Paris  with 
Limoges  and  Toulouse.  The  lines  of  the  Orleans  company  have  a  total 
length  of  4,300  miles,  those  of  the  Southern  company  2,100  miles,  and 
those  of  the  State  Railway  1,750  miles.  The  Neussargues-Beziers  line 
traverses  the  Central  Plateau  by  a  series  of  great  engineering  works 
including  the  viaduct  of  Garabit.  The  departments  of  the  Charentes  and 
Vendee  are  served  by  the  State  Railway,  while  the  districts  of  Anjou  and 
southern  Brittany  have  the  advantage  of  the  rivalry  between  the  Orleans 
and  the  Western  companies. 

The  Western  Railway  (Chemin  de  fer  de  I'Ouest,  3,500  miles),  runs  from 
Paris  to  Brest,  a  distance  of  387  miles,  accomplished  in  n  hours  ;  but  this 
line  is  only  important  as  far  as  Rennes.  Other  lines  run  to  Granville  and 
Cherbourg,  but  the  heaviest  traffic  of  the  system  is  carried  on  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Paris,  and  on  the  great  artery  of  trade  running  from 
Paris  to  Rouen,  and  terminating  at  Havre  (141  miles,  covered  in  3  hours) 
and  Dieppe,  the  latter  on  the  route  to  London  via  Newhaven. 

Ocean  Routes  and  Commerce. — The  railways  bring  Paris  into 
touch  with  the  great  lines  of  ocean  steamers.  The  Messageries  Maritime* 
unite  Marseilles  with  the  ports  of  the  Mediterranean,  and  through  the 
Suez  Canal  with  Madagascar,  Indo-China,  Japan,  Australia,  and  New 
Caledonia  (in  37  days).  From  Bordeaux  steamers  of  this  line  touch  at 
Lisbon  and  go  on  to  Dakar  in  West  Africa,  or  to  Rio  de  Janeiro  in  16  days, 
and  to  Buenos  Aires  in  21  days.  The  Compagnie  Generate  Transatlantique 
runs  from  Marseilles  to  Algiers  in  24  hours,  from  St.  Nazaire  to  Colon  and 
Vera  Cruz,  and  from  Havre  to  New  York  (7  days). 

The  mercantile  marine  of  France  is  declining ;  not  from  the  want  of 
sailors,  for  the  fisheries  on  the  coast  and  in  distant  seas  rear  a  vigorous 
race  on  the  Mediterranean,  the  Atlantic,  and  the  Channel ;  but  because 
the  seaports  have  not  been  improved  in  an  adequate  manner,  and  on 
account  of  the  difficulty  which  vessels  landing  large  cargoes  find  in  obtain- 
ing an  adequate  return  freight.  France,  in  fact,  imports  more  than  she 
exports,  just  as  she  receives  more  foreigners  than  she  sends  out  emigrants. 
The  imports  as  a  rule  consist  of  raw  materials  for  manufactures  which  are  in 
general  bulky  :  coal  from  the  United  Kingdom,  copper  from  Chile,  flax 
and  hemp  from  Russia,  jute  from  India,  cotton  from  the  United  States, 
raw  silk  from  the  Levant  and  the  Far  East,  wool  and  hides  from  the 
Cape,  Australia  and  the  Plata,  wood  from  Norway  and  from  America. 
The  principal  food-products  imported  are  grain  from  Russia  and  the 
United  States,  and  coffee  from  Brazil.  The  exports  include  agricultural 
produce  such  as  wine,  fruit,  butter  and  cheese,  but  consist  mainly  of  manu- 
factured articles  of  small  weight  and  high  price,  too  expensive  indeed  for 
customers  who  in  all  countries  are  more  and  more  demanding  cheaper  and 


France 


249 


plainer  goods  ;  they  consist  mainly  of  fine  woollen  cloth,  silk,  cotton,  and 
the  innumerable  artistic  manufactures  known  as  articles  de  Paris.  The 
fluctuations  of  the  total  trade  of  France  are  shown  graphically  in  Fig.  71. 

Regions  and  Towns  of  the  North.  —  France  possesses  three 
important  seaports  in  the  North  Sea  and  on  the  Channel.  Dunkirk  pre- 
sents its  deep  and  commodious  harbour  to  ships  from  the  north,  between 
a  flat  shore  bordered  by  dunes  and  the  watery  plain  of  the  Wateringues. 
Near  a  repellant  line  of  chalk  cliffs  the  triple  town  of  Calais  stretches  along 
the  shore,  comprising  the  port  with  its  immense  passenger  traffic,  the 
fortified  town,  and  the  industrial  St.  Pierre-les-Calais.  Boulogne  lies  un- 
obtrusively on  a  little  estuary  amongst  meadows.  The  relief  of  the  country 
behind  these  seaports  is  as  undecided  as  the  political  frontier  which  was 
gained  at  Lens  and  saved  at  Denain.  The  character  of  the  populous  towns 
of  the  north  still  exhibits  the  old 
Spanish  pride  softened  by  the  wider 
municipal  spirit  of  Flanders.  Lille 
has  been,  thanks  to  Vauban,  the 
principal  fortress  of  the  north,  and 
it  is  now  the  first  post  in  the  great 
line  of  frontier  fortifications  which, 
with  some  gaps  protected  by  the 
second  line  of  defence,  stretches  as 
far  as  Belfort  (see  Fig.  48).  The 
Black  Country  of  Belgium  seems 
to  be  prolonged  underground  to 
the  mining  district  of  Anzin  and 
Lens,  while  the  Flemish  textile  in- 
dustry, which  preceded  that  of 
England  and  France,  has  revived 
again  in  the  sister-towns  of  Tourcoing 
and  Roubaix  which  are  now  united 
by  the  growing  suburbs  of  Lille. 
The  towns  of  the  Somme  share  the  intense  industrial  activity  of  French 
Flanders,  especially  Amiens,  where  the  full  river  flows  slowly  through  a 
peaty  valley  at  the  base  of  long  ridges  denuded  of  chalk,  and  St.  Quentin, 
the  capital  of  the  district  of  Vermandois,  where  a  canal  unites  the  Somme 
and  the  Oise. 

One  of  the  outlying  hills  of  the  old  province  of  He  de  France  is  crowned 
by  the  citadel  of  Laon.  Another,  the  Montagne  de  Reims,  displays  a  rich 
covering  of  vineyards  on  its  slopes,  and  conceals  in  the  cellars  beneath  its 
surface  millions  of  bottles  of  champagne.  The  town  of  Reims,  where 
Clovis  was  baptized  and  the  kings  of  France  consecrated,  covers  with  its 
factories  the  beginning  of  the  plain  of  Champagne.  Champagne  Pouilleuse 
has  two  centres,  Chdlons-sur-Marne  with  its  great  camp,  and  Troyes,  the 
scene  of  one  of  the  most  ancient  fairs  in  northern  France.  Further  east, 


Mile*. 

FlG.  125. — The  manufacturing  district  of  Lille. 


250       The   International   Geography 

beyond  the  mountain  ridge  of  the  Cotes  de  Meuse,  are  the  two  strongly 
fortified  episcopal  cities  Verdun  and  Toul.  A  furrow  in  the  plateau  of 
Lorraine  is  marked  out  by  the  blast  furnaces  near  Nancy,  a  city  proud  of 
its  squares  and  of  its  monuments,  the  heritage  of  Stanislas. 

Paris,  situated  in  the  hollow  of  the  Paris  Basin  85  feet  above  sea-level, 
is  a  centre  towards  which  flow  not  only  the  rivers  converging  to  the  Seine 
but  the  commodities  of  the  surrounding  countries  and  the  people  of  France 
and  of  the  world.  Originating  on  an  island  in  the  Seine,  and  at  first,  like 
London,  a  resting  place  for  sailors,  it  has  spread  over  the  higher  ground  of 
both  banks,  until  now  it  is  bounded  on  the  south,  near  Villejuif,  by  the 
lower  slopes  of  an  agricultural  plateau,  and  is  expanding  in  suburbs  of 
villas  towards  Vincennes,  and  as  a  town  of  factories  to  the  north  including 
St.  Ouen  and  St.  Denis.  On  the  west  there  are  extensive  woods,  now  diver- 


FIG.  126. — Paris,  showing  Fortifications. 

sified  by  numerous  active  towns  including  Neuilly,  Boulogne,  and  Sevres;  in 
the  centre  of  these  forests  Louis  XIV.  created  Versailles,  with  its  beautiful 
gardens  and  artificial  lakes.  Paris  illustrates  the  rich  past  of  France  in  its 
monuments,  and  reflects  the  varied  aspects  of  the  country  in  the  daily  life 
of  its  people.  Its  beauty,  made  up  of  contrasts  softened  by  time,  makes 
many  a  Frenchman  forget  his  province  and  attracts  many  a  foreigner  from 
his  native  land. 

Normandy, — The  lower  Seine,  become  a  tidal  river,  bears  on  one 
of  its  wide  curves  the  ancient  city  of  Rouen,  the  spires  of  its  old  churches 
and  the  masts  of  its  shipping  standing  out  against  the  sky ;  while  cotton 
factories  dot  the  little  valleys  cut  deeply  into  the  plateau  of  the  Pays  de 
Caux  or  Upper  Normandy,  the  surface  of  which  is  covered  with  well- 
wooded  farms.  The  third  port  of  the  Seine,  Havre,  created  by  Francis  I., 
has  killed  Harfleur  and  strangled  the  trade  of  Honfleur,  although  it  has  not 


France  251 


'detracted  from  the  ancient  maritime  fame  of  Dieppe.  Havre  does  a  large 
trade  in  coffee  from  Brazil  and  wheat  from  the  United  States,  and  great 
flour  mills  have  been  established  in  the  town.  The  capital  of  Lower 
Normandy  is  the  market  town  and  seaport  of  Caen  on  the  Orne.  The 
stones  from  its  famous  quarries  were  used  in  the  construction  of  some  of 
the  Norman  buildings  in  England,  and  stone  quarrying  is  still  an  important 
local  industry.  The  Campagne  de  Caen  is  prolonged  beyond  A  lenfon  by 
the  Campagne  Mancelle,  adapted  for  the  growth  of  cereals  and  the  rearing 
of  poultry,  by  which  the  town  of  Le  Mans  in  particular  prospers.  The  fortified 
port  of  Cherbourg  stands  at  the  extremity  of  the  peninsula  of  Cotentin,  the 
geology  of  which  marks  it  as  Breton  rather  than  Norman  ;  the  breakwater, 
which  has  made  it  an  excellent  naval  harbour,  required  a  century  and  a 
half  for  its  completion. 

Brittany. —  Brittany,  a  land  of  granite  and  schists,  appears  infertile 
in  the  interior,  the  poorly  cultivated  ground  being  broken  up  by  woods 
of  oak  and  moorlands.  The  coast,  on  the  contrary,  bathed  by  the  warm 
Atlantic  water,  is  richly  cultivated,  and  has  also  important  sardine  fisheries. 
The  indented  coast  of  the  peninsula  of  Brittany  abounds  in  harbours  in- 
cluding St.  Malo,  an  old  haunt  of  corsairs ;  Morlaix,  which  exports  early 
vegetables  to  England  ;  Brest,  a  naval  port  on  a  great  roadstead,  the  entrance 
to  which,  however,  is  rendered  difficult  of  access  by  reefs  and  frequent 
fogs ;  Lorient,  another  naval  port,  mainly  of  value  as  a  dockyard  where 
French  men-of-war  are  built  and  repaired  ;  and  Nantes,  on  the  Loire,  one 
of  the  two  capitals  of  Brittany.  The  people  of  Nantes  have  endeavoured, 
by  the  construction  of  a  direct  outlet  to  the  sea  (the  Loire  Ship  Canal^ 
opened  in  1892),  to  recover  their  ancient  prosperity,  formerly  fostered  by 
the  West  Indian  trade,  which  has  been  seriously  menaced  by  the  competi- 
tion of  the  rising  port  of  St.  Nazaire  at  the  mouth  of  the  river.  The  other 
capital  is  the  old  parliamentary  town  of  Rennes  lying  in  a  Tertiary  basin 
traversed  by  the  railway  and  canal  from  St.  Malo  to  Redon  along  a  track 
which  has  always  been  an  important  north  and  south  road. 

The  Loire  Basin  and  Central  Plateau. — Angers,  near  the 
junction  of  the  Maine  and  the  Loire,  is  a  centre  for  the  surrounding 
orchards  and  slate  quarries.  Tours,  at  a  point  where  several  fertile  vine- 
growing  valleys  open  out  on  the  Loire,  is  surrounded  by  parks  and  fine 
country  houses.  Orleans,  on  the  most  northerly  curve  of  the  Loire,  stands 
between  the  district  of  Beauce  on  the  north,  which  has  always  been  one  of 
the  granaries  of  France,  and  that  of  Sologne,  formerly  a  pestilential  plain 
but  now  greatly  improved.  From  its  commanding  position  Orleans  played 
a  considerable  part  in  the  Hundred  Years'  War  and  in  the  war  of  1870-71; 
its  trade,  formerly  very  active,  suffers  from  the  loss  of  the  boat  traffic  on 
the  river.  Bourges,  situated  almost  in  the  geometrical  centre  of  France,  is 
the  principal  market  town  of  the  old  province  of  Berry,  the  country 
watered  by  the  tributaries  of  the  Loire  which  flow  northwards  from  the 
Central  Plateau.  Clermont-Ferrand,  high  on  the  Central  Plateau,  is  the 


2  52       The   International   Geography 


FIG.  127.— The  Gironde. 
Estuary. 


successor  of  the  old  Gaulish  town  of  Gergovia,  and  stands  between  the 
range  of  the  Puys  and  the  Limagne,  a  region  of  old  lake  beds  now  bearing 
rich  harvests  ;  Royat,  which  almost  touches  it,  and  Vichy,  not  very  far  to 
the  north,  are  famous  for  their  mineral  waters.  Limoges  stands  at  the 
meeting-place  of  several  important  routes  which  skirt  the  Central  Plateau, 
and  although  far  from  the  sea  and  far  from  coal  mines,  it  is  a  prosperous 
industrial  town  on  account  of  kaolin,  the  material 
for  the  manufacture  of  the  porcelain  which  it 
produces,  abounding  in  its  neighbourhood. 
Poitiers,  an  old  ecclesiastical  and  feudal  town, 
commands  the  uniform  plateau  drained  by  the 
western  rivers  flowing  from  the  Central  Plateau 
to  the  Loire  and  uniting  the  Paris  Basin  with  the 
south-west.  On  account  of  this  position  it  has 
been  the  scene  of  many  decisive  battles. 

The  South- West.— La  Rochelle,  with  its 
new  suburb  La  Pallice,  has  not  yet  recovered 
the  importance  which  it  formerly  held  as  the 
Protestant  capital.  Rochefort,  on  the  plain  of 
Cognac,  is  an  important  naval  harbour  in  spite  of  the  tendency  of  the  river 
Charente,  on  which  it  stands,  to  become  blocked  by  sand.  Bordeaux, 
founded  by  the,  Romans  and  long  held  by  the  English,  stands  on  the 
Garonne  in  the  centre  of  an  ancient  wine-growing  district,  which  has 
retained  its  prosperity  because  it  has  in  great  measure  escaped  the  ravages 
of  the  phylloxera.  With  its  outport,  Pauillac,  on  the  Gironde,  it  carries  on 
active  trade  with  Great  Britain,  West  Africa, 
and  South  America.  The  splendour  of  its 
monuments  attests  the,  antiquity  of  its  origin 
and  the  power  of  its  commercial  traditions. 
Pau,  the  capital  of  the  old  province  of  Beam 
and  the  birthplace  of  Henri  IV.,  in  the  midst  of 
a  wine-growing  region,  is  the  most  important 
of  the  Pyrenean  towns,  some  of  which,  like 
Cauterets  and  Bagneres-de-Luchon,  are,  much 
frequented  watering-places  on  account  of  their 
thermal  springs.  Toulouse,  half  way  between 
Bordeaux  and  Cette,  on  the  most  easterly  curve 
of  the  Garonne,  is  in  the  centre  of  rich  grain- 
growing  plains,  whence  there  is  easy  access 
to  the  Central  Plateau  and  to  Languedoc. 

The  South-East ,— In  the  basin  of  the  Saone  Dijon,  the  capital  of 
the  old  province  of  Burgundy,  stands  at  the  junction  of  the  routes  from 
the  west  and  north  by  the  valleys  of  the  Yonne  and  the  Marne  and  at  the 
commencement  of  the  vineyards  of  the  Cote-d'Or.  Besanfon,  encircled  by 
a  curve  of  the  Doubs,  is  the  key  of  the  Jura,  the  plateaux  of  which  are 


FIG.  128. — Lyons. 


France 


253 


covered  with  pasturage  while  the  valleys  shelter  numerous  small  industrial 
towns  largely  engaged  in  watch-making.  Lyons  is  ranged  upon  the  lower 
slopes  of  the  eastern  wall  of  the  Central  Plateau  at  the  junction  of  the 
Saone  and  the  Rhone,  where  the  lake-dotted  plateau  of  the  Dombes  meets 
the  mountainous  Dauphine.  It  is  the  second  town  in  France  for  popula- 
tion, for  industrial  activity,  and  the  enterprise  of  its  capitalists  ;  in  the  silk 
trade  it  is  unsurpassed.  The  neighbouring  town  of  St.  Etienne  combines 
mining  and  the  making  of  fire-arms  with  the  manufacture  of  ribbons.  The 
whole  valley  of  the  Rhone  and  the  plain  of  Languedoc  are  dotted  with  old 
Roman  towns,  forming  regular  stages  on  the  first  great  road  built  in  Gaul : 
of  these  are  Vienne,  Orange,  Avignon,  the  papal  city  ;  Beaucaire,  the  glory 
of  the  south  in  the  Middle  Ages ;  Nimes,  which  still  retains  many  fine 
memorials  of  the  past ;  and  the  old  commercial  and  university  town  of 
Montpellier,  still  celebrated  for  its  Medical  School.  Cette  was  founded  in  the 
seventeenth  century  as  a  seaport  to  replace  Narbonne, 
which  had  become  an  inland  town  by  the  silting  up 
of  the  flat  shore.  Marseilles,  on  the  edge  of  the  old 
Roman  province  of  Provence,  of  which  Aix  has  long 
been  the  centre,  has  been  successively  Greek,  Rorhan, 
Provencal,  and  French.  Beside  the  old  harbour,  the 
plan  of  which  has  become  classic  in  the  whole  Medi- 
terranean, the  docks  of  La  Joliette  are  thronged  with 
large  vessels  trading  with  the  East,  not  only  French 
liners  but  the  steamers  of  British  companies  which 
make  it  the  port  for  embarking  passengers  for  India  FJG  —Marseilles 
and  Australia.  Toulon  conceals  in  the  depths  of  its 
safe  harbour  the  vessels  of  war  of  the  French  Mediterranean  fleet,  and 
the  naval  shipbuilding  yards.  Further  east  the  Azure  Coast  takes  on  an 
Italian  splendour  at  Cannes  and  Nice,  the  favourite  winter  resort  of  the 
sovereigns  of  Europe  and  of  a  considerable  portion  of  their  subjects. 

Conclusion. — Although  France  is  a  remarkably  homogeneous  country 
it  yet  presents  a  great  variety  of  soil,  climate,  and  productions.  This 
diversity  is  reflected  in  the  national  character,  typically  lively  and  frank, 
but,  notwithstanding  appearances,  lacking  neither  in  energy  nor  earnest- 
ness. France,  toiling  under  the  burden  of  a  heavy  history,  has  been 
distanced  by  younger  and  better  equipped  nations  in  some  branches  of 
human  activity,  but  it  has  never  ceased  to  maintain  its  old  reputation  for 
bright  intelligence,  sociability  and  generous  hospitality. 

STATISTICS. 

Area  of  France  in  sq.  miles ' 
Population  (total) 

French  and  naturalised 

Foreigners 
Density  of  population  per  sq.  mile 

i  This  value,  calculated  by  the  Geographical  Service  of  the  Army,   is  preferable  to  that  of 
.404,210  square  miles,  the  area  calculated  by  the  Survey  Department  (Cadastre). 


mile 

1886. 
207,127 
38,219,000 
37,092,000 
1,126,000 
184-5    •  • 

1806. 
207,127 
38,518,000 
37,490,000 
1,027,000 
186    . 

1901. 
207,127 
39,031,000 
37,993,000 
1,037,000 
188 

254      The   International   Geography  < 


THE  FOREIGN  POPULATION  OF  FRANCE. 


1891 
1896 


Belgians. 
465,000 
395,ooo 


Italians. 
286,000 
292,000 


Germans. 
83,000 
91,000 


Swiss. 
83,000 
75,ooo 


Spaniards. 
77,000 
77,000 


British  subjects. 
.      39,ooo 
36,000 


POPULATION  OF  CHIEF  TOWNS. 


1886. 

1806. 

1901. 

1886. 

1896. 

1901. 

Paris        ..    2,344,000 

2,536,000 

2,660,000 

Brest     .  . 

71,000 

74.000 

81,000 

Marseilles         376,000 

442,000 

494.000 

Nimes 

70,000 

74,000 

80,000 

Lyons      .        402,000 

466,000 

453,000 

Tourcoing 

58,000 

73,000 

79,000 

Bordeaux  . 

241,000 

256,000 

257,000 

Montpellier 

57,000 

73,000 

76,000 

Lille 

188,000 

216,000 

215,000 

Rennes 

66,000 

69,000 

74,000 

Toulouse  .  . 

148,000 

149,000 

147,000 

Dijon 

61,000 

67,000 

70,000 

St.  Etienne 

118,000 

136,000 

146,000 

Grenoble 

52,000 

64,000 

68,000 

\  Le  Havre. 

112,000 

119,000 

129,000 

Orleans 

61,000 

66,000 

67,000 

Nantes     . 

127.000 

123,000 

128,000 

Tours 

5i,oco 

63,000 

64,000 

Nice 

77,ooo 

93.000 

125.000 

Le  Mans 

58,000 

60,000 

62,000 

Roubaix  . 

100,000 

124,000 

124,000 

St.  Denis 

48,000 

54,000 

59,000 

Rouen 

107,000 

113,000 

115,000 

Calais 

59,000 

56,000 

59,ooo 

Reims 

98,000 

107,000 

107,000 

Besancon 

56,000 

57,ooo 

55,000 

Nancy      . 

79,000 

96,000 

102,000 

Versailles 

50,000 

54,000 

54,000 

Toulon 

70,000 

95,000 

101,000 

Levallois-Perr 

29,000 

47,000 

54-000 

Amiens    . 

80,000 

88,000 

90,000 

Troyes 

47,000 

52000 

53,000 

Limoges  . 

68,000 

77,000 

83,000 

Beziers 

43,000 

48,000 

52,000 

Angers     . 

73,000 

77,000 

82,000 

Clermont-Ferrand    47,000 

50,000 

52,000 

INTERNAL  COMMERCE  ON  RAILWAYS  AND  WATERWAYS 


1  Waterways 
f  Railways 
\  waterways 


Length. 

Kilometres.      Miles. 
36,337 
12,281 


42,433 
12,130 


22,579 
7,631 

26,355 
7,534 


U     WAi  E/1XW  A  I  3. 

Amount  of  Traffic. 
Kilometre-Tons.1  Percentage 

12,898,000,000        , .        77 ) 
3,766.000,000        . .        23  j  * 
13,716,000,000        ..        75IIOO 

4,489,000,000     . .     25 ; 1U 


SHIPPING  TRADE— EXTERNAL  AND  COASTING— OF  THE  CHIEF  SEAPORTS. 
In  Tons  weight  of  goods  entered  and  cleared. 


Paris  .. 
Marseilles 
Le  Havre 
Bordeaux 


1891 
1901 


1891. 
6,878,000 
4,798,000 
3,044,000 
2,635,000 


1900. 
9,301,000 
6,221,000 
3,459,000 
2,853,000 


Dunkirk 
Rouen 
St.  Nazaire 
Algiers 


1891.  1900. 

2,132,000  ..  2,901,000 

1,780,000  . .  2,684,000 

1,153.000  ..  1,755,000 

—  . .  1,327,000 


MERCHANT  TONNAGE  OF  FRANCE. 


Sailing  Ships. 
426,000 
564,000 


Steamers. 
522,000 
546,000 


Total. 

948,000  register  tons. 
1,110,000        „         „ 


ANNUAL  TRADED  OF  FRANCE  (in  pounds  sterling). 


Imports 
Exports 


1867-76. 
136,300,000 
132,250,000 


1878-86. 
178,400,000 
133,900.000 


1887-96. 
164,250,000 
136,300,000 


1898-1901. 
184,000,000 
159,400,000 


1895.. 
1901.. 


PERCENTAGE  COMPOSITION   OF  SPECIAL   IMPORTS. 

Raw  Materials.        Manufactures.  Total. 

56-n  ..  157  ..  loo 


Food  Products. 
..        27-8 


17-0 


167 


100 


PERCENTAGE  COMPOSITION  OF  SPECIAL  EXPORTS. 


I895-. 
1901.. 


Food  Products. 

175 
..        187 


Raw  Materials. 
26-0 
26-2 


Manufactures. 
56-5 


Total. 

IOO 

IOO 


«  A  kilometre-ton  is  I  ton  of  goods  carried  for  i  kilometre  of  distance. 

*  Special  trade  only,  i.e.,  Exports  of  home  products  or  manufactures  and  Imports  consumed  in 
the  country. 


France 


255 


FRENCH  TRADE  WITH  OTHER  COUNTRIES. 

Mean  of  1898-1900. 


Imports                                        Exports 

Total  trade.        into  France.                               from  France. 

Country.          Pounds  sterling.    Pounds  sterling.  Per  cent.     Pounds  sterling.     Per  cent 

of  imports.                                   of  exports. 

United  Kingdom 

70,000,000 

23,500,000 

13 

46,500,000 

296 

French  Colonies 

34,000,000 

16,000,000 

9 

18,000,000 

II-2 

Germany 

33,700,000 

16,200,000 

9 

17,500,000 

II 

Belgium 

31,500,000 

14,200,000 

7'8 

23,300,000 

IS 

United  States 

30,500,000 

20,800,000 

11-4 

9,700,000 

6-2 

Spain 

15,500,000 

10,500,000 

57 

5,000,000 

3-2 

Argentine  Republic 

13,000,000 

11,000,000 

6 

2,000,000 

«1 

Italy 

12,500,000 

6,000,000 

3-2 

6,500,000 

42 

Switzerland   .. 

12,000,000 

3,500,000 

2 

8,500,000 

5'4 

Russia.  . 

10,700,000 

9,200000 

5 

1,500,000 

i 

All  other  countries 

70,000,000 

51,000,000 

27-9 

19,000,000 

II? 

THE  FOREIGN  POSSESSIONS  OF  FRANCE 

Area  sq.  miles.  Population. 

French  India        200 

French  Indo-China        275,000 

Algeria       184,000 

Tunis          50,000 

Sahara        1,300,000 

French  West  Africa  and  French  Congo 2,000,000 

French  Somaliland         14,000 

Madagascar  and  Comoro         228,700 

Reunion 900 

American  Possessions 31,000 

New  Caledonia 7,5oo 

Pacific  Islands 1,600 


Total  Foreign  Possessions 


4,100,000 


44,500,000 


STANDARD  BOOKS. 

J.  Michelet.    " Tableau  de  la  France."    Livre  III.  du  Tome  II.  de  "  1'Histoire  de  France." 

Paris,   1834.    (In  spite  of  its  date  an  admirable  description  of  the 

country.) 
Elisee  Reclus.    "  Nouvelle  Geographic  Universelle."    Tome  II.    "  La  France."    Paris. 

2nd  edit.  1885. 
P.  Joanne.    "  Dictionnaire  Geographique  de  la  France  et  de  ses  colonies."    Paris 

1890-1903. 
Ardouin-Dumazet.    "Voyage  en  France."    38  or  40  small  volumes  of  which  22  have 

been  published.     Paris,  1893.    In  progress. 
A.  de  Foville.    "  La  France  economique.    Statistique  raisonnee  et  comparative.    Annee 

1889."    Paris,  1890. 
P.  Vidal  de  la  Blache  and  P.  Camena  d1  Almeida.    "  La  France."    and  edit.    Paris,  1898. 

"  Atlas  separe  de  la  France."    Paris. 

"  Tableau  de  la  Geographic  de  la  France."    Paris,  1903. 

P.  Pelet.    "Atlas  des  Colonies  fran9aises."    Paris,  1902. 


Numerous  articles  on  the  regional  geography  of  France  appear  in  the  "Annales  de 
Geographic  "  published  periodically  in  Paris. 


CHAPTER  XVI.— SWITZERLAND 

BY  EMILE  CHAIX, 

Professor  of  Geography  in  the  Ecole  Superieure  de  Commerce  of  Geneva. 

Position  and  Boundaries.— Switzerland  (German  Schweiz  from 
Canton  Schwyz,  French  Suisse,  Italian  Svizzera),  lies  between  46°  and  48° 
N.,  or,  on  the  average,  3°  to  the  south  of  Lizard  Head.  It  extends  in 
longitude  from  6°  to  io£°  E.  ;  and  is  thus  as  far  east  from  Greenwich  as 
the  Island  of  Valentia  lies  west  of  it.  The  country  is  somewhat  less  than 
half  the  extent  of  Ireland.  It  measures  little  more  than  200  miles  from 
west  to  east,  and  120  from  north  to  south.  Switzerland  is  a  sort  of 
buffer  State  between  France,  Germany,  Austria  and  Italy.  The  Jura 
mountains  form  a  natural  boundary  towards  France,  and,  except  for  the 
Canton  of  Ticino,  the  main  crest  of  the  Alps  is  the  frontier  towards  Italy  ; 
but  the  details  of  the  boundaries  are  complicated  and  do  not  follow  natural 
features. 

Configuration  and  Geology.  —  Switzerland  is  naturally  divided 
into  four  geological  zones,  extending  across  the  country  from  south- 
west to  north-east,  and  roughly  parallel  to  each  other.  The  first  zone,  to 
the  north-west,  is  formed  by  the  Jura,  a  limestone  region,  some  3,000 
feet  in  height,  folded  into  a  series  of  parallel  waves.  The  second  zone  is 
the  Swiss  Plateau,  composed  of  sandstone  partially  covered  by  the  glacial 
deposits  of  the  Ice  Age.  It  is  very  irregular  and  hilly,  varying  in  height 
between  1,000  and  3,000  feet  above  the  sea.  The  remainder  of  Switzerland, 
about  three-fifths  of  the  whole,  occupies  the  Alps,  which  are  divided  into 
two  broad  bands  differing  widely  in  character.  The  northern  limestone 
Alps  are  stupendously  folded,  the  folds  being  driven  north-westward  and 
piled  up  over  each  other.  The  central  crystalline  Alps  occupy  all  the 
southern  and  south-eastern  part  of  the  land  ;  they  are  formed  of  huge 
masses  of  gneiss,  granite,  and  other  crystalline  rocks,  cropping  out  amid 
schists,  and  rising  in  many  places  to  over  13,000  feet  (Fig.  130).  The  action 
of  running  water  has  deeply  modified  the  primitive  structure.  Only  a  few 
rivers,  viz.,  the  upper  parts  of  the  Rhone,  the  Rhine,  and  the  Inn,  continue 
to  flow  along  longitudinal  valleys,  parallel  to  the  south-west  and  north-east 
trend  of  the  original  folds  ;  most  run  through  transverse  valleys  excavated 
right  across  the  folds  towards  the  north-west,  and  exhibiting  a  succession 
of  gorges  and  basin-like  expansions.  Denudation  has  been  and  is  still 
intense.  Large  rivers  have  pushed  their  sources  as  far  back  as  they  could, 
to  the  very  heart  of  the  mountain  groups,  cutting  through  or  turning 

256 


Switzerland 


257 


obstacles,  and  each  tributary  is  pursuing  the  same  work  in  its  smaller 
sphere  of  action. 

Hydrography.  —  The  principal  system  of  rivers  is  formed  by  the 
Rhine  and  its  tributaries  flowing  to  the  North  Sea  ;  then  come  the  Rhone, 
draining  to  the  Mediterranean,  the  Ticino  (Tessin),  which  discharges  into 
Lago  Maggiore  and  thence  into  the  Adriatic,  and  the  Inn  flowing  to 


iu,Zo.r     J 


, 

«*«jrf<f.Afs«LsC*f_«wrArr.iiir.fta?t-. '        v-— 


!>""'^t«VJ- 
iff 


P",I?^OW(_f^. 


X 


-£*• 


FlG.  130. — Profile  across  Switzerland,  from  Basel  to  Bellinzona.  Showing  the  Folds  of  the 
Jura  and  the  Alps;  the  dotted  curve  representing  the  Upper  Jurassic  Strata  (partly 
hypothetical)  as  they  may  have  been  before  being  worn  away.  Worked  out  from  E. 
Muhlberg  and  C.  Schmidt,  by  E.  Chaix. 

the  Danube  and  thence  to  the  Black  Sea.     Switzerland  is  thus  the  point 
of  contact  of  many  river  systems. 

The  Rhine,  after  many  changes  in  its  direction,  has  worked  its  way  up 
to  the  Oberalp  Pass.  It  has  not  yet  completely  graded  its  bed,  since  it 
forms  a  waterfall  of  60  feet  at  Schaffhausen,  and  rapids  somewhat  lower 
down.  Its  different  higher  tributaries  descend  from  the  St.  Bernardin  and 
Spliigen  Passes,  from  the  Julier  Pass,  Albula  Pass,  &c.  The  great  Lake  of 
Constance  (Bodensee)  forms  part  of  its  course.  The  Linth  rises  in  the 


258       The  International  Geography 

Alps  of  Glarus  ;  on  leaving  the  Lake  of  Zurich  under  the  name  of  Limmat, 
it  flows  into  the  Aar  close  to  the  junction  of  the  Reuss.  The  Upper 
Reuss,  before  traversing  the  Lake  of  Lucerne,  has  cut  its  way  in  wild 
gorges  through  all  the  folds  of  the  northern  Alps,  and  carried  its  head  to 
the  centre  of  the  system,  the  group  of  the  Furca,  St.  Gothard  and  Oberalp 
Passes.  The  Aar  comes  from  the  Grimsel  Pass,  and  its  tributaries  have 
radiated  into  the  middle  of  the  Bernese  Oberland  ;  it  traverses  the  lakes  of 
Brienz  and  Thun,  and  carries  all  the  drainage  of  northern  Switzerland  tc 
the  Rhine.  The  Thiele  (Zihl)  rises,  under  the  name  of  Orbe,  in  the  valley 
of  Joux  in  the  Jura,  and  after  flowing  for  some  miles  in  an  underground 
channel,  passes  through  the  lakes  of  Neuchatel  and  Bienne  to  join  the  Aar. 

The  Rhone  has  cut  its  way  through  the  French  Jura,  and  through 
the  northern  folds  of  the  Alps  at  the  foot  of  the  Dent  du  Midi,  up  to  the 
Furca  Pass.  Its  southern  tributaries  penetrate  deep  into  the  Pennine 
Alps,  and  it  leaves  Switzerland  after  passing  through  the  largest  of  the 
lakes,  the  Lake  of  Geneva  (Leman),  which  is  rather  more  than  200  square 
miles  in  area,  and  1,000  feet  in  maximum  depth. 

Mountains. — Besides  being  worn  away  by  water  and  weather,  all 
the  Alpine  system  must  have  subsided  after  the  glacial  period.  That 
movement  determined  the  formation  of  the  elongated  lakes  that  surround 
the  central  Alps  both  in  Switzerland  and  in  Italy.  The  principal  rivers 
have  isolated  and  denned  different  groups  of  mountains  (see  Fig.  51). 
Between  the  Rhone  and  Aar  lie  the  Alpes  Vaudoises  and  the  Bernese 
Oberland,  with  the  summits  of  the  Rochers  de  Naye,  Moleson  and  Niesen 
in  the  limestone  zone,  and,  in  the  crystalline  zone,  the  Finsteraarhorn 
(14,026  feet),  Jungfrau  (13,672  feet),  Monch  (13,440  feet),  Wetterhorn,  &c., 
grouped  in  one  compact  mass  of  snows  and  rugged  peaks  above  the  valleys 
of  Lauterbrunnen  and  Grindelwald.  More  than  twenty  summits  tower 
over  12,000  feet,  and  this  group  possesses  the  longest  of  all  the  600  Swiss 
glaciers,  the  Aletsch  Gletscher,  sixteen  miles  in  length.  Between  the  Aar 
and  Reuss  extend  the  Alps  of  Unterwald,  almost  severed  by  the  Briinig 
Pass.  Among  the  summits  the  Brienzer  Rothhorn  and  Pilatus  (7,000  feet) 
are  best  known  because  of  their  railway.  At  the  convergence  of  the  head- 
waters of  the  Reuss,  Rhine,  and  Ticino  lies  the  St.  Gothard  group,  cut  off  on  all 
sides  by  important  passes.  Between  the  Reuss,  the  Rhine,  and  the  Walen- 
see  extend  the  Alps  of  Glarus  and  Schwyz,  with  the  T6di(  11,887  reet)  in  its 
centre  and  the  hotel-crowned  Righi  (5,906  feet)  in  its  north-western  corner. 
Farther  to  the  north-east  the  romantic  Sentis  group  (8,215  feet)  is  isolated 
by  the  Walensee.  South  of  the  long  Rhone  valley  the  Pennine  Alps  extend 
as  a  splendid  chain,  carved  into  gigantic  buttresses  by  the  short  southern 
tributaries  of  the  Rhone.  Round  Zermatt  gathers  the  most  bewildering 
succession  of  bold  peaks  :  Monte  Rosa  (15,217  feet),  Mischabelhorner  with 
the  Dom  (14,941  feet),  Weisshorn  (14,803  feet),  and  the  incomparable 
pinnacle  of  the  Matterhorn  or  Cervin  (14,705  feet).  Over  thirty  other 
summits  exceed  12,000  feet.  The  next  group  to  the  east  are  the  Alps  oj 


Switzerland  259 

Ticino,  profoundly  trenched  by  torrent  valleys.  Between  the  Ticino,  Rhine, 
and  Inn  lie  the  Alps  of  Grisons  (Graubiinden),  a  powerful  complex,  deeply 
cut  into  by  the  tributaries  of  the  Rhine.  It  culminates  in  numerous 
summits  exceeding  10,000  feet,  including  Piz  Kesch,  and  Adula,  and 
separated  by  the  high  passes  of  St.  Bernardin,  Spliigen,  Julier,  and  Albula. 
Lastly,  to  the  south-east  of  the  Inn  the  splendid  Bernina  group  towers  to  a 
height  of  13,288  feet.  As  to  the  Jura,  its  summits  do  not  exceed  5,500 
feet,  and  its  limestone  ridges  have  effectively  withstood  partition  by  rivers. 

Perpetual  snow  begins  at  heights  varying  between  8,500  and  10,000  f  eetr 
according  to  the  exposure  of  the  slopes,  to  their  convex  or  concave  profile, 
and  to  the  extent  of  the  high  masses ;  but  glaciers  come  down  to  4,500 
feet.  Perpetual  ice  and  snow  spread  over  800  square  miles,  or  one- 
twentieth  of  the  total  area  of  Switzerland. 

Climate. — Were  Switzerland  at  sea-level  it  would  enjoy  a  temperature 
varying  between  35°  F.  for  the  average  in  January,  and  72°  for  July.  But 
this  normal  temperature  is  greatly  modified  by  the  altitude,  diminish- 
ing on  an  average  by  3°  for  each  thousand  feet  of  elevation.  Thus  the 
mean  temperature  of  the  plateau  oscillates  with  the  altitude  between  32° 
and  26°  for  January,  and  between  68°  and  62°  for  July,  while  much 
lower  temperatures  occur  on  the  mountains.  Another  cause  of  great  dif- 
ferences in  climate  is  the  exposure  :  the  northern  slopes  of  the  mountains 
never  receive  direct  sunshine,  while  the  southern  slopes  catch  the  solar 
rays  as  perpendicularly  as  flat  ground  does  in  the  tropics.  During  winter, 
regions  above  6,000  feet  often  enjoy  splendid  weather  while  cold  fogs 
gather  in  the  lower  valleys.  There  are  great  extremes  of  temperature  in 
consequence  of  strong  insolation  during  the  day,  and  active  radiation  at 
night  through  the  pure  and  thin  air  of  the  heights  ;  and  above  4,000  or 
5,000  feet  the  atmosphere  is  exceedingly  free  from  noxious  micro- 
organisms. 

Cloudiness  and  rainfall  are  great ;  rain  falls  mostly  with  westerly  and 
southerly  winds,  and  the  amount  varies  with  the  exposure  of  the 
slopes.  Windward  slopes  generally  get  more  than  60  inches  of  rain 
yearly  (some  as  much  as  90) ;  but  Geneva  receives  less  than  33  inches, 
and  parts  of  Canton  Valais  only  20,  being  protected  by  mountain  ramparts 
10,000  feet  high  on  all  sides.  The  dry  hot  Fohn  wind  descending  the 
northern  slopes  of  the  Alps  is  a  characteristic  feature  of  some  valleys.  As 
a  whole  the  climate  of  Switzerland  is  not  favourable  to  agriculture,  but 
it  is  invigorating  for  man. 

Flora  and  Fauna. — Switzerland  possesses  many  wild  plants  and 
animals  which,  although  interesting,  are  generally  useless.  The  flora  of 
the  summits,  many  members  of  which  grow  also  in  Scandinavia  and 
Spitsbergen,  is  charming.  One-third  of  the  area  of  Switzerland  is  entirely 
valueless,  being  covered  with  ice  or  bare  rock,  while  of  the  remainder 
more  than  half  is  available  only  as  pasture,  one-third  is  clad  with  forest, 
and  only  one-ninth  of  the  whole  area  can  be  cultivated.  Between 


260       The  International  Geography 

6,500  and  4,000  feet  forests  are  composed  of  Rolle  pines  (Pinus  cembra), 
larches  and  fir-trees  ;  under  4,000  feet  beeches  are  prevalent,  and  oaks  and 
chestnut-trees  are  abundant  only  in  the  southernmost  parts  of  the  country. 
Agriculture  is  generally  not  practised  above  2,500  feet. 

Wild  animals  are  becoming  rare  ;  hardly  a  bear  is  left,  no  wolves  and 
few  lynxes  ;  there  are  no  more  ibex  (Capra  ibex),  chamois  are  few  and 
extremely  shy,  and  so  are  marmots  and  blackcock  (Tetrao  urogallus). 
Eagles  and  bearded  vultures  (Gypaetus  barbatus,  Ldmmergeier)  are  quickly 
disappearing. 

People  and  History. — The  first  inhabitants  of  Switzerland  who  left 
somewhat  important  traces  were  the  lake-dwellers;  but  the  earliest  in 
historic  times  were  the  Helvetians,  of  Keltic  race.  They  were  conquered 
by  Julius  Caesar,  and  Helvetia  remained  under  Roman  rule  down  to  the 
great  migrations  from  the  north.  Then  it  was  occupied  by  three  peoples  : 
the  Allemanni  in  the  north  and  east,  the  Burgundians  in  the  west,  and  the 

Ostro-Goths  in  the  south. 
The  Allemanni  retained 
their  Germanic  language, 
while  the  others  adopted 
the  Latin.  In  the  fifth 
century  Helvetia  was 
united  under  the  Franks, 
and  Christianity  was  es- 
tablished by  Irish  mis- 
sionaries. In  the  eleventh 
century  the  German  Em- 
perors ruled  over  the 
whole  country.  The 

HI. — Hie  Languages  of  Stnuerlana,  _    ,  ..     .       .    .  , 

Dukes  of  Austria  subse- 
quently attempted  to  usurp  the  government,  but  the  Cantons  of  Schwyz, 
Uri  and  Unterwald,  which  had  made  a  first  covenant  in  1291,  renewed  it  at 
the  Griitli  in  1307,  and  resisted  and  defeated  the  Austrians  at  Morgarten. 
In  the  first  half  of  the  fourteenth  century  Lucerne,  Zurich,  Glarus,  Zug  and 
Bern  joined  these  cantons,  and  this  Confederation  of  Eight  Cantons  after 
many  wars  became  free  of  the  German  Empire,  and  from  time  to  time 
their  number  was  increased.  During  the  first  Revolution  the  French 
entered  Vaud  in  1798,  and  in  place  of  the  Confederation  of  Thirteen 
Cantons,  then  existing,  they  erected  a  "  Republic  one  and  indivisible,"  as  in 
France.  But  there  was  no  peace  in  the  country  until  the  former  Federation 
was  restored  in  1815,  with  the  accession  of  fresh  cantons,  making  twenty- 
two  in  all.  The  neutrality  of  the  Confederation  is  now  guaranteed  by  the 
European  Powers. 

Language,  Religion,  and  Government. — Switzerland  has  inherited 
many  things  from  its  past,  especially  in  the  distribution  of  religions  and 
languages.  Of  the  total  population,  72  per  cent,  speak  a  German  dialect,  5  per 


Switzerland 


cent.  Italian  (in  Ticino),  i  per  cent.  Raetho-Romanch  dialects  (in  Orisons), 
and  22  per  cent.  French  (in  Valais  and  Fribourg,  Geneva,  Vaud,  Neuchatel 
and  the  Bernese  Jura).  The  non-German  part  of  the  country  is  often  termed 
Roman  or  Welsh  Switzerland.  On  account  of  the  vast  number  of  tourists 
who  visit  Switzerland,  English  is  spoken  as  a  foreign  language  by  a  very 
large  number  of  the  people.  In  religion  the  cantons  of  Bern,  Glarus 
Neuchatel,  Schaffhausen, 
T  h  u  r  g  a  u ,  Vaud  and 
Zurich  are  almost  en- 
tirely Protestant ;  those 
of  Fribourg,  Lucerne, 
Schwyz,  Ticino,  Unter- 
wald,  Uri,  Valais  and 
Zug  are  almost  entirely 
Roman  Catholic.  In 
the  other  cantons  the 
two  religions  are  more 
or  less  mixed.  On  the 


FIG.  132.— The  Religions  of  Switzerland. 


whole     three-fifths      of 
the     population     are 

Protestant,  and  two-fifths  Roman  Catholic  ;  there  are  only  8,000  Jews. 
The  federal  institutions  are  obviously  a  consequence  of  the  topography 
and  history  of  Switzerland,  the  people  of  each  valley  or  region  having  long 
lived  by  themselves  before  uniting  with  their  neighbours.  Each  canton  is 
a  State,  with  its  own  constitution  and  government ;  but  common  affairs  are 
administered  by  a  common  executive  power  and  two  legislative  assemblies. 
Every  citizen  has  a  vote.  Two  important  and  un- 
usual rights  exist :  the  Referendum,  by  which  the 
people  can  always  oblige  the  authorities  to  submit 
newly  made  laws  to  a  general  vote  of  the  country  ; 
and  the  Right  of  Initiative,  by  which  a  group  of 
citizens  may  at  any  time  propose  any  new  measures 
and  submit  them  to  a  general  vote. 

Public  instruction  has  long  been  general,  and  is 
constantly  progressing.    Besides  the  general  schools, 
there  are  all  kinds  of  educational  institutions,  techni- 
cal, agricultural,   commercial,   and   six  universities, 
with  their  seats  in  Basel,  Bern,  Geneva,  Lausanne,  Zurich  and  Fribourg. 

Emigration  is  large,  but  the  population  nevertheless  increases.  The 
mean  density  of  population  is  184  inhabitants  to  the  square  mile  ;  but  it 
naturally  varies  greatly.  In  the  industrial  cantons — such  as  Geneva  (914), 
Basel,  and  Zurich — it  is  high  ;  in  the  agricultural  cantons  it  approaches 
the  average  ;  and  in  the  Alpine  cantons  like  Valais,  Uri,  and  especially 
Grisons  (34),  it  is  very  low. 

Industries  and  Trade. — Agriculture  is  as  well  developed  as  it  can 


FlG.  133. — Average  Popu- 
lation of  a  square 
mile  of  Switzerland. 


262       The   International  Geography 

be  with  mediocre  soil  and  climate.  Wheat  is  grown  everywhere  on  the 
Plateau  under  2,500  feet,  but  it  yields  only  half  the  quantity  required  in 
the  country.  Grapes  are  cultivated,  in  good  exposures,  generally  up  to  1,500 
feet  (in  Valais  and  Ticino  even  to  2,000  feet) ;  but  the  country  wants  twice 
as  much  wine  as  it  produces.  Wood  must  be  imported.  Even  cattle  and 
meat  are  not  sufficient ;  cattle,  however,  are  reared  for  dairy  produce,  and 
furnish  under  that  form  a  good  export,  cheese  being  made  everywhere, 
and  condensed  milk  in  many  places.  Silkworms  are  reared  in  Ticino. 
Notwithstanding  the  absolute  lack  of  raw  materials,  there  is  a  strong 
industrial  development.  The  principal  industry  is  cotton  manufacture 
and  embroidery  in  central  and  north-eastern  Switzerland,  from 
Bern  to  St.  Gallen  and  Glarus ;  then  come  silk  manufactures 
round  Basel,  Zurich,  Lucerne  and  in  Ticino,  and  straw-plaiting. 
Watchmaking  is  carried  on  on  a  very  large  scale  along  the 
Jura  and  its  base,  from  Geneva  to  Basel;  and  machinery  is 
made  in  all  the  towns.  Electro-chemical  works  are  now 
springing  up  wherever  water-power  may  be  obtained,  even 
in  mountain  recesses  hitherto  untouched  by  manufactures. 

Trade  is  necessarily  active  in  a  country  which  must  import 
half  its  food  supplies,  and  has  so  many  manufactured  goods 
to  export.  But  a  great  inconvenience  results  from  the  high 
tariffs  established  by  all  surrounding  countries  and  the  lack 
of  colonies. 

Communications. — Roads  and 
railways  are  very  difficult  to  establish 
on  account  of  the  configuration  of 
the  land.  Yet  the  network  of  roads 
is  complete,  and  that  of  railways  is 
already  highly  developed.  Good 
carriage  roads  follow  all  the  large 
valleys  of  the  Alps,  and  many  high 
passes  are  crossed  by  splendid 
causeways.  Five  railways  cross  the 
Jura.  There  are  two  great  trans- 


THE,  ST.  COTHARD  RAILWAY. 

Biascamf 
FIG.  134.— Map  of  the  St.  Gothard  Railway. 


alpine  lines,  one  carried  under  the  St.  Gothard  (see  plan  in  Fig.  134,  and  sec- 
tion in  Fig.  130),  and  the  other,  which  is  the  longest  tunnel  in  the  world, 
twelve  miles,  under  the  Simplon,  from  the  Rhone  valley.  The  Plateau  is 
covered  with  a  complete  network  of  railways,  and  lines  penetrate  along 
many  valleys  into  the  very  heart  of  the  Alps.  Some  important  inter- 
national routes  pass  through  Switzerland,  especially  the  St.  Gothard 
route  from  Germany  to  Italy  through  Basel,  Lucerne  and  on  to  Milan; 
the  Arlberg  route  from  France  to  Austria  through  Basel,  Zurich  and 
eastward  through  the  Arlberg  tunnel;  and  from  the  south  of  France 
to  Bavaria,  through  Geneva,  Bern,  Zurich  and  Winterthur.  For  the 
convenience  of  tourists  a  great  many  mountain  railways  have  been  con- 


Switzerland  263 

structed,  actuated  by  cog-wheels,  or  worked  by  cables,  and  a  daring 
project  for  an  underground  railway  to  the  summit  of  the  Jungfrau  is  in 
progress.  Only  the  lakes  and  very  short  stretches  of  a  few  rivers  are 
available  for  navigation.  Post,  telegraph  and  telephone  penetrate  every- 
where, and  are  highly  organised. 

Cantons  and  Towns. — Soil,  climate,  and  all  conditions  of  exist- 
ence are  so  much  better  on  the  Plateau,  that  most  of  the  inhabitants  and 
important  towns  are  found  there,  though  the  progress  of  communica- 
tions and  industry,  and  the  increase  of  pleasure-tours  have  led  to  the 
growth  of  noteworthy  places  everywhere.  The  canton  of  Orisons 
(Graubiinden)  occupies  the  upper  basins  of  the  Rhine  and  Inn.  Coire 
(Chur)  was  an  important  station  for  the  Romans,  and  is  yet  noteworthy 
because  of  its  situation  at  the  convergence  of  many  frequented  passes. 
Davos,  in  a  high  valley,  is  much  resorted  to  as  a  winter  sanatorium.  The 
Engadine,  the  elevated  valley  of  the  upper  Inn,  has  an  excellent  summer 
climate,  splendid  mountains,  lovely  lakes,  and  important  mineral  springs 
at  St.  Moritz  and  Tarasp,  which  attract  many  tourists.  The  canton  of  Uri 
occupies  the  upper  valley  of  the  Reuss.  The  railway  ascends  the  valley 
by  loops  and  spiral  tunnels  to  Goeschenen,  where  it 
enters  the  long  horizontal  tunnel  of  St.  Gothard. 
But  the  carriage  road  continues  over  the  Devil's 
Bridge  to  the  valley  of  Andermatt,  where  four 
passes  meet,  now  defended  by  fortifications  The 
canton  of  Unterwalden  lies  among  the  mountains 
south  of  the  lake  of  Lucerne  traversed  by  the  rail- 
way to  the  Briinig  pass.  The  canton  of  Schwyz,  FIG.  135.— The  Swiss  Flag. 
the  centre  of  Swiss  freedom,  touches  the  lakes 

of  Lucerne  and  of  Zurich.  Schwyz  is  surrounded  by  many  visited  resorts, 
including  the  battlefield  of  Morgarten,  Einsiedeln  with  its  pilgrimage,  and 
the  Righi.  The  canton  of  Glarus  occupies  the  quiet,  secluded  valley  of 
the  Linth  ;  and  its  villages  are  full  of  cotton-factories.  The  canton  of  St. 
Gall  extends  between  the  Rhine  and  the  Lakes  of  Constance,  Zurich 
and  Walenstatt.  The  manufacturing  town  of  St.  Gall  preserves  the  rich 
manuscript  collection  of  its  ancient  monastery.  Ragatz  is  much  frequented 
for  its  hot  springs.  The  lovely  canton  of  Appenzell,  round  the  Sentis, 
has  active  manufactures  of  cotton  goods  and  embroideries  in  all  its  towns. 

Thurgovia  (Thurgau),  along  the  lake  of  Constance,  has  an  active 
import  of  Hungarian  corn  at  Romanshorn  on  the  lake  The  canton  of 
Schaffhausen  projects  into  Germany  beyond  the  Rhine.  Schaffliausen 
and  Neuhausen  stand  near  the  Rhine  cataract ;  the  former  is  known  for 
its  mediaeval  appearance  ;  the  latter  for  its  manufacture  of  arms  and  alu- 
minium. The  canton  of  Zurich  is  a  great  centre  of  industry.  Zurich  is 
the  largest  town  in  Switzerland.  It  possesses  a  university,  the  federal 
Polytechnicum,  the  national  museum  and  important  manufactories  for  silk 
and  machinery.  Winterthur  is  very  important  as  a  manufacturing  town. 


264      The  International   Geography 

The  canton  of  Zug,  with  its  pretty  capital,  is  concerned  with  textile  manu- 
factures. The  canton  of  Lucerne  contains  the  town  of  Lucerne,  with 
its  old  towers,  its  covered  wooden  bridges  and  other  attractions,  which  is 
much  visited  by  tourists  because  of  its  situation  near  Mount  Pilatus,  the 
Righi  and  the  picturesque  lake. 

Argovia  (Aargau)  occupies  an  exceptional  position  near  the  con- 
fluences of  the  Rhine,  Aar,  Limmatt,  and  Reuss.  Aarau  is  known  for  its 
manufacture  of  mathematical  instruments.  Near  Brugg  stand  the  ruins  of 
Habsburg  Castle,  the  cradle  of  the  imperial  family  of  Austria,  and  those 
of  a  large  Roman  city,  Vindonissa.  The  canton  of  Basel  (Bale)  lies  at 
the  point  where  the  Rhine  leaves  Swiss  territory.  The  town  of  Basel 
has  always  been  conspicuous  because  of  its  situation  which  makes  it  the 
busiest  railway  centre  in  the  country.  The  canton  of  Soleure  (Solothurn) 
is  half  on  the  Aar  and  half  in  the  Jura.  Soleure,  with  the  surrounding  small 
towns,  and  Olten,  where  important  railways  meet,  are  all  busy  with 
machinery  and  smelting  works.  The  canton  of  Bern  is  large,  occupying 
the  Oberland,  a  part  of  the  Plateau  and  the  Bernese  Jura.  Bern  is  the 
federal  capital,  containing  the  federal  palaces,  numerous  international 
offices,  a  fine  cathedral  and  university.  The  Emmenthal  is  far-famed 
for  its  cheese,  but  is  still  more  active  in  weaving  and  spinning.  The 
Bernese  Jura  with  Bienne  (Biel),  and  other  towns  and  villages,  are  occupied 
with  watch-making.  Thun,  in  a  lovely  situation,  is  the  principal  military 
centre  in  Switzerland.  Between  the  two  lakes  of  Thun  and  Brienz, 
Jnterlaken  is  a  haunt  of  tourists  visiting  the  grand  scenery  of  the  Oberluiid. 
The  canton  of  Fribourg  on  the  Sarine  is  covered  with  excellent  pastures. 
Fribourg,  an  old  town  on  a  picturesque  site,  with  celebrated  suspension 
bridges  over  the  surrounding  gorges,  has  a  Roman  Catholic  university. 
Further  up  stands  Gruyere,  in  a  lovely  valley  famed  for  its  cheese. 

The  canton  of  Neuchatel  is  well  known  for  watch-making.  The  town 
of  Neuchatel  is  more  celebrated  for  its  schools,  its  museum  and  its  wine,  but 
Chaux-de-fonds,  in  an  arid  region  over  3,000  feet  in  elevation,  and  Le  Lode, 
with  a  watchmakers'  school,  are  the  greatest  centres  for  watch-making  in 
Europe.  The  agricultural  canton  of  Vaud  extends  from  the  Jura  to  the 
Alps.  Lausanne  occupies  a  magnificent  position.  It  possesses  a  very  beauti- 
ful cathedral,  the  federal  supreme  courts  and  a  university.  Along  the  eastern 
bank  of  the  lake,  named  La  Vaux,  and  famed  for  its  wine,  lie  Veoey, 
Montreux,  and  other  resorts  of  invalids  and  tourists  in  spring  and  autumn. 
In  the  north,  Avenches  (Aventicum)  was  the  capital  of  the  Roman  Helvetia, 
and  Ste.  Croix  is  known  for  its  manufacture  of  musical-boxes.  The  canton 
of  Geneva,  at  the  west  end  of  the  Lake  of  Geneva,  is  almost  entirely 
surrounded  by  French  territory,  which  lessens  the  natural  advantages  of 
its  situation.  Geneva  is  very  old,  but  has  few  ancient  remains.  It  is  famed 
as  a  religious,  educational  and  scientific  centre.  The  making  of  chrono- 
meters, jewels,  scientific  instruments  and  chemicals  is  very  active, 
particularly  since  the  establishment  of  great  water-works  on  the  Rhone 


Switzerland 


265 


generating,  as  it  leaves  the  Lake  of  Geneva,  30,000  horse  power.  The 
canton  of  Valais  occupies  the  high  valley  of  the  Rhone.  Sion  is 
picturesquely  dominated  by  three  rocks  crowned  with  ruins,  and 
Marttgny  stands  at  the  entrance  of  the  valley  leading  to  the  far-famed 
Grand  St.  Bernard.  Lcukerbad  (Loueche),  at  the  foot  of  the  Gemmi  pass,  is 
known  for  its  hot  springs.  To  the  south  of  the  Rhone  a  series  of 
splendid  side  valleys  opens,  in  one  of  which  Zermatt  lies  at  the  foot  of  the 
Matterhorn.  Farther  up  Brieg  is  a  point  whence  roads  radiate  to  numerous 
passes  including  the  Simplon  Road,  established  by  Napoleon  I.  for  war 
purposes,  which  has  served  as  a  model  for  subsequent  mountain-roads. 
The  canton  of  Ticino,  on  the  southern  slopes  of  the  Alps,  is  occupied  by 
people  speaking  Italian.  Bellinzona  is  the  chief  town.  At  the  entrance  of 
the  St.  Gothard  tunnel  lies  Airolo,  now  fortified.  Locarno,  on  Lago 
Maggiore,  and  Lugano  on  the  northern  bank  of  its  lake,  enjoy  marvellous 
scenery,  and  wholly  Italian  climate  and  vegetation. 


STATISTICS. 


1880. 
15.964 
.  2,827,572 
177 
75,960 

61,400 
68300 
44,100 

1800. 
15,964 
.  2,938,009 
184 
06,900 
63,500 
74-800 
46,500 

IQOO. 
15,964 
3-315,443 
207 
152,042 
II3,OOO 
I05J39 
64,864 

Area  of  Switzerland  square  miles 

Population 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile 
Population  of  Zurich      

„  Basel         

„         „  Geneva     

„  Bern         


STANDARD  BOOKS. 

M.Wirth.  "AllgemeineBeschreibungund  Statistik  der  Schweiz."  3  vols.  Zurich,  1871-75. 
F.  Umlauft.    "  Die  Alpen."    Vienna,  1887,  and  translation  London,  1889. 
Lord  Avebury.    "The  Scenery  of  Switzerland  and  the  causes  to  which  it  is  due." 
London,  1896. 


»  The  statistics  of  value  of  trade  commence  in  1885. 


CHAPTER  XVII.— THE    GERMAN    EMPIRE 

BY  DR.  ALFRED  KIRCHHOFF,' 

Professor  of  Geography  in  the  University  of  Halle. 

Position  and  Extent.  — Germany  is  the  most  central  country  of 
Europe.  It  occupies  almost  the  whole  north  and  west  of  central  Europe 
viewed  from  the  morphological  centre  of  the  continent,  the  Fichtelgebirge, 
as  the  main  mass  of  Austria  occupies  the  south  and  east  from  the  same 
centre.  Germany  extends  from  the  Alps  to  the  North  Sea  and  the  Baltic,  over 
a  range  of  latitude  corresponding  to  that  from  the  mouth  of  the  Loire  and 
the  north-eastern  apex  of  the  Sea  of  Azov  in  the  south,  to  that  of  Glasgow 
and  Moscow  in  the  north.  The  position  in  longitude  is  the  same  as  that 
of  Scandinavia  and  of  Italy.  South  Germany,  a  comparatively  narrow 
tract  south  of  the  northern  watershed  of  the  Main,  is  enclosed  by  France, 
Switzerland,  and  Austria-Hungary  ;  North  Germany,  which  is  much  larger, 
is  bounded  on  the  west  by  Holland,  Belgium,  and  Luxemburg,  and  on 
the  east  by  Russia  and  Austria- Hungary.  Almost  two-thirds  of  the 
boundaries  of  Germany  are  land  frontiers,  and  one-third  is  composed 
of  sea  coast  on  the  north.  The  peninsula  of  Jutland  projects  between 
the  short  coast-line  on  the  North  Sea  and  the  much  longer  coast  of  the 
Baltic,  forming  the  bridge  between  Germany  and  Danish  Jutland,  and, 
next  to  East  Prussia,  the  most  northerly  part  of  the  German  Empire.  The 
length  of  Germany  in  a  north  and  south  direction,  from  the  Konigsau,  the 
boundary  river  towards  Jutland,  to  the  southern  point  of  Bavaria  near  the 
source  of  the  Iller,  is  exactly  the  same  as  that  of  Great  Britain.  From 
the  north-west  to  the  south-east,  from  northern  Schleswigto  Upper  Silesia, 
the  distance  is  also  almost  the  same  ;  but  the  diagonal  from  south-west  to 
north-east,  from  Upper  Alsace  to  East  Prussia,  is  much  longer ;  the  distance 
being  as  great  as  from  Gibraltar  to  Nice.  Amongst  the  countries  of 
Europe,  Germany  is  only  surpassed  in  area  by  Russia  and  Austria- Hungary  ; 
France  comes  very  closely  after  it,  and  Spain  is  not  much  smaller.  South 
Germany  extends,  like  the  south  of  England,  through  8°  of  longitude, 
while  North  Germany  extends  over  17°. 

Configuration. — The  German  Empire  has  been  formed  in  the  great 
natural  region  of  Central  Europe,  which  is  shared  also  by  Holland, 
Belgium,  Luxemburg,  Switzerland,  and  the  part  of  Austria  which  belonged 
to  the  German  Confederation  until  1866.  But  Germany  alone  occupies 

1  Translated  from  the  German  by  the  Editor. 
266 


The  German  Empire 


367 


N'P-R.T'H 


part  of  all  the  four  zones  into  which  the  surface  of  Central  Europe  is 
naturally  divided,  viz.,  the  Alps,  Alpine  Foreland,  Central  Highlands,  and 
Northern  Plain. 

The  Alps.— Germany  has  but  a  small  share  of  the  Alps,  limited  only 
to  the  northern  limestone  Alps  on  the  southern  borders  of  Bavaria,  between 
the  Lake  of  Constance  and  Salzburg.  In  this  district  alone  does  the  sur- 
face of  Germany  approach  or  exceed  6,500  feet  in  elevation,  heaved  up  by 
the  great  pressure  from  the  south  to  which  the  Alps  as  a  whole  owe  their 
origin.  Here  alone  does  Germany  extend  into  the  region  of  eternal  snow, 
the  highest  summit  being  the  Zugspitze,  9,710  feet  above  sea-level. 

The  Alpine  Foreland.— Germany  occupies  the  Alpine  Foreland  from 
the  Lake  of  Constance  to  the  mouth  of  the  Inn.  Together  with  the  German 
Alps  this  Swabian- Bavarian  high  plain  forms  the  German  portion  of 
the  Danube  basin,  an  undulating  surface  averaging  1,600  feet  in  elevation. 
In  the  Tertiary  period  this 
region  was  occupied  by  the 
great  sea  which  extended 
from  the  Rhone  in  France 
through  the  north  of  Switzer- 
land and  across  the  Alps  to 
Hungary  and  Rumania.  The 
surface  of  the  high  plain  is, 
however,  only  partly  com- 
posed of  sediments  deposited 
in  that  sea ;  it  is  in  great  part 
covered  by  material  more 
recently  derived  from  the 
moraines  of  the  huge  Alpine 
glaciers  of  the  Great  Ice  Age, 
which  extended  as  far  as  the  latitude  of  Munich,  and  by  the  alluvial 
deposits  formed  by  the  running  water  when  these  glaciers  finally  melted. 

The  Central  Highlands,  extending  north  of  the  Danube  from  the 
Carpathians  to  the  Rhine,  exhibit  the  greatest  variety  in  the  direction 
of  their  heights  and  the  arrangement  of  their  rocks.  One  extensive  low 
plain,  that  of  the  upper  Rhine,  is  embedded  amongst  these  heights. 
The  structure  of  the  mountains  exhibits  no  recent  upridging  like  the  Alps ; 
they  scarcely  anywhere  exceed  5,000  feet  in  height,  Schneekoppe,  in 
the  Riesengebirge,  alone  reaching  5,266  feet.  All  geological  formations  are 
represented  like  mosaic  work,  although  the  Mesozoic,  and  particularly  the 
Triassic,  preponderate  in  the  South- West  German  basin,  Hesse,  and 
•  Thuringia.  The  strata  of  the  Central  Highlands  are  for  the  most  part 
ancient  marine  deposits.  The  most  extensive  mountain  group  of  the 
region  is  that  of  the  North  German  Rhine  Highlands,  composed  of 
Devonian  schists,  but  it  is  much  too  small  to  have  been  formed  on  the 

floor  of  an  independent  division  of    the  sea.     Hence  it  follows   that 
19 


FlG.  136. — Natural  Divisions  of  Germany. 


268       The   International  Geography 

the  scattered  portions  of  the  same  ancient  marine  formations,  e.g.,  the 
Coal  Measures  appearing  on  the  edge  of  the  Rhine  Highlands,  in 
Saxony  and  in  Silesia,  are  connected  by  continuous  strata  underground, 
or  that  the  once  continuous  strata  have  been  worn  away  by  denuda- 
tion. In  fact,  the  variegated  mosaic  of  this  tesselated  region  can  only 
be  understood  when  one  recognises  it  as  a  land  where  the  Earth's  crust  has 
been  dislocated  and  broken  up  into  blocks — a  Schollenland.  The  isolated 
Palaeozoic  masses  show  clearly  how  the  Devonian  strata  of  the  Rhine,  the 
Hartz,  the  Frankenwald,  and  the  Sudetes  have  undergone  violent  dis- 
turbance, being  wrinkled  into  ridges  and  domes,  although  the  primitive 
foldings  do  not  figure  prominently  in  the  scenery  of  to-day.  The  action  of 
the  encroaching  and  receding  sea  and  the  continual  influence  of  atmo- 
spheric erosion  have  worn  the  crests  away,  until  only  the  exceptionally  hard 
rocks  of  the  centre  of  the  folds  remain  ;  a  good  example  of  this  is  seen  in 
the  quartzite  hills  of  the  Hunsriick  and  Taunus.  During  the  Cretaceous 
period  the  sea  withdrew,  so  that  Cretaceous  formations  are  found  only 
along  the  north-eastern  edge  of  the  Central  Highlands  from  the  Belgian 
frontier  to  Silesia.  In  the  course  of  the  Tertiary  period  the  last  portions 
of  the  land  emerged  from  the  sea.  Then  followed  the  fracturing  and 
subsidence  of  the  isolated  blocks  of  the  Earth's  crust,  with  or  without 
marginal  elevations,  and  the  upwelling  of  molten  rock,  as  shown  by  the 
basalt  flows  of  the  Siebengebirge,  the  Rhon  and  the  Vogelsberg,  and  also 
by  the  little  volcanoes  of  the  Eifel,  which  did  not  become  extinct  until 
Quaternary  times.  The  lines  of  fracture  along  which  subsidence  and  the 
corresponding  uptilting  have  taken  place  follow  three  special  directions  : 

(a)  From  north-west  to  south-east,   the  Hercynian   (so-called  from  the 
Hartz)  line  of  strike,  marked  by  the  Weser  mountains  in  the  north,  the 
Thuringian  mountains,  the  Hartz,  the  Bohemian  Forest,  and  the  Sudetes. 

(b)  From  south-west  to   north-east,  as  shown  by  the  slate  Rhine  High- 
lands, the  Swabian  and  Franconian  Jura,  and  the  Erzgebirge.     (c)  From 
north-north-east   to    south-south-west,    including   the   Black   Forest  and 
Odenwald,  the  Vosges  and  the  Hardt. 

Where  the  land  remains  highest  as  a  rule  denudation  has  been  most 
complete,  so  that  the  upper  sedimentary  layers  have  been  entirely  removed, 
exposing  the  deep  foundations  of  Archaean  rocks  which  now  form  the 
summits  of  the  Black  Forest,  the  Vosges,  the  Brocken  dominating  the 
Hartz,  and  the  highest  crests  of  the  Erzgebirge  and  Riesengebirge,  all  of 
which  are  composed  of  granite,  gneiss,  and  mica-schist.  In  the  lower 
grounds  the  less  ancient  marine  sediments  have  been  more  protected  from 
erosion,  and,  for  example,  the  Trias,  Bunter  sandstone,  Muschelkalk,  and 
Keuper  still  remain  in  the  Thuringian  Basin,  while  they  have  been  worn 
away  both  from  the  Hartz,  which  bounds  the  basin  on  the  north,  and  from 
the  Thuringian  and  Franconian  forests  which  enclose  it  on  the  south.  The 
existence  of  patches  of  Muschelkalk  left  on  the  southern  Thuringian  moun- 
tains proves  that  the  sediment  of  the  Triassic  sea  had  at  one  time  spread 


The  German  Empire  269 

over  that  district  also.  In  the  same  way  Triassic  rocks  are  still  found  in 
the  lower  parts  of  the  Black  Forest  and  also  on  the  Swabian-Franconian 
Terraces  ;  whilst  the  Swabian-Franconian  Jura  is  named  from  the  Jurassic 
rocks  which  at  a  considerable  elevation  above  the  sea  rest  upon  the  triple 
series  of  the  Trias.  The  existence  of  Jurassic  pebbles  on  the  slopes  of  the 
granitic  Feldberg  similarly  i  eveals  the  fact  that  at  one  time  Triassic  and 
Jurassic  strata  rested  high  over  the  southern  part  of  the  Black  Forest. 

Crustal  movements  have  not  yet  quite  died  away  in  the  Central  German 
Highlands.  Where  the  solid  mountain  mass  of  the  Black  Forest  with  the 
Odenwald,  and  the  Vosges  with  the  Hardt,  is  trenched  by  the  Upper 
Rhine  Plain  earthquake  shocks  are  frequently  experienced  travelling  in  the 
direction  of  the  Rhine,  showing  that  deep  within  the  Earth  the  vast  rift 
which  separates  these  blocks  of  the  crust  is  still  an  unhealed  wound. 

That  the  present  relief  of  the  Central  German  Highlands  is  more  recent 
than  the  rivers  of  the  region  can  be  recognised  from  the  fact  that  the 
rivers  often  flow  in  directions  directly  opposite  to  the  general  elevations  of 
the  land,  frequently  breaking  through  the  highlands  in  valleys  of  erosion 
excavated  by  their  own  flow.  Thus  the  Weser  traverses  the  Weser  chain, 
the  Rhine  flows  in  its  gorge  across  the  Rhine  Highlands,  and  the  Elbe 
through  the  Bohemian  mountain  barrier.  The  Main  and  the  Neckar  in  their 
middle  courses  flow  between  high  plains,  which  are  less  elevated  than  the 
mountain  crests  separating  them  from  the  Rhine,  into  which  at  one  period 
they  were  enabled  to  force  a  passage  in  consequence  of  the  relation 
of  height  having  become  inverted. 

The  Northern  Plain  is  the  lowest  and  flattest  part  of  Germany,  yet 
only  in  parts  is  it  a  complete  low  plain.  Its  foundation  consists  of  de- 
pressed blocks  of  all  formations  down  to  the  Tertiary,  for  in  the  Tertiary 
period  it  was  still  covered  by  the  sea. '  Even  yet  a  few  small  island-like 
portions  of  the  sunken  crust-blocks  project  as  hard  rocks,  such  as  the  chalk 
cliffs  of  Riigen  and  a  plateau  of  Muschelkalk  near  Riidersdorf,  to  the  east 
of  Berlin.  For  the  rest  the  whole  plain  consists,  like  the  Alpine  Foreland, 
not  of  "  real  rocks,"  but  of  soft  material  of  Quaternary  age,  mainly  sands 
and  clays  of  alluvial  and  glacial  origin.  The  ice-sheet  of  the  Great  Ice 
Age  which  extended  from  Scandinavia  over  the  German  plain  has  covered 
a  great  part  of  the  land  with  the  stiff  clay  of  its  ground-moraine  mixed  with 
boulders  of  ancient  formations,  the  accumulations  sometimes  forming  con- 
siderable eminences.  Thus  the  land  is  by  no  means  flat  or  level,  although 
its  height  rarely  exceeds  600  feet.  On  the  melting  of  the  ice,  boulders 
of  red  granite  and  of  gneiss  carried  over  from  Sweden  were  left  scattered 
as  "  foundlings  "  or  erratic  blocks  over  the  plain.  As  the  land  became  free 
from  ice  the  rivers  which  began  to  furrow  its  surface  easily  washed  away 
the  soft  clay  and  deposited  it  in  flood-time,  forming  meadows  along  the 
banks  and  round  the  river-mouths. 

A  low  coastal  plain  extends  along  the  shore  of  the  North  Sea,  separated 
from  the  tide-washed  beach  by  a  broken  chain  of  sand-dunes.  The  sea  is 


270       The   International  Geography 

encroaching,  and  has  already  separated  from  the  land  the  line  of  the 
Frisian  islands,  which  stretch  from  the  Zuider  Zee  to  the  unbroken  coast 
of  Jutland,  and,  like  the  fertile  land  of  the  low  coast,  are  still  the  prey 
of  the  devouring  ocean.  The  shallow  flats,  or  "  Watten,"  only  uncovered  at 
low  tide,  merge  on  the  landward  side  into  the  "  marshes,"  which,  being 
a  little  higher  on  account  of  the  material  washed  up  by  the  sea,  are  only 
reached  by  water  at  high  tide.  These  tracts  have  been  utilised  since  the 
Middle  Ages,  the  people  protecting  them  from  the  sea  by  constructing  the 
'•'  golden  hoop  "  of  dykes  or  sea-walls.  The  pastures  and  corn-fields  of  this 
district  pass  without  any  orographical  difference  into  the  less  fruitful  soil 
of  the  sandy  diluvium  of  the  "  Geest." 

Hydrography. — The  Central  Highlands  and  the  Northern  Plain 
belong  to  the  North  Sea  and  Baltic  drainage  areas,  their  rivers  flowing 
as  a  rule  in  a  northerly  or  north-westerly  direction,  thus  contrasting  with 
the  German  Alps  and  Alpine '  Foreland,  which  belong  to  the  Black  Sea 
drainage  area,  with  the  east-flowing  Danube  as  the  main  river.  The 
Rhine  is  the  only  river  which  binds  southern  to  northern  Germany, 
crossing  the  Central  Highlands.  Its  sources  rise  in  Switzerland,  its 
delta  forms  Holland,  yet  the  main  part  of  its  course  makes  it  a  German 
river,  and  on  account  of  its  facilities  for  navigation,  its  great  wealth  of 
water,  and  its  exceptional  depth,  the  most  useful  of  them  all.  In 
3ummer,  when  the  other  rivers,  the  Danube  system  excepted,  shrink  on 
account  of  drought,  the  Rhine  is  fed  by  the  melting  of  the  Alpine  glaciers. 
The  system  of  tributaries  on  either  side  of  the  main  stream  is  developed 
with  beautiful  symmetry,  the  longest  flowing  in  near  the  middle  of  its 
course  where  the  Mosel  describes  its  great  curve  from  the  French  slopes 
of  the  Vosges,  and  the  Main  pursues  its  zigzag  course  from  the  Fichtelge- 
birge.  The  whole  of  the  South  German  Highlands  except  the  south- 
eastern slopes  of  the  Jura  draining  to  the  Danube,  sends  its  rivers  to  the 
Rhine.  On  the  contrary,  North  Germany  is  shared  by  several  different 
river  systems.  The  small  Ems  and  Weser  in  the  west  are  entirely  German 
from  source  to  sea,  and  so  also  is  the  Oder  in  the  east  with  the  exception 
of  its  actual  source  in  Moravia.  Between  these  the  Elbe  has  sunk  its  roots 
most  deeply  into  the  innermost  recesses  of  the  Central  European  mountains, 
where  it  gathers  the  converging  drainage  of  the  Bohemian  Basin,  and  dis- 
charges it  into  the  North  Sea.  The  share  of  Germany  in  the  Russian 
rivers  Vistula  (Weichsel)  and  Memel  is  but  small.  Both  of  these 
discharge  wholly  or  in  part  through  great  lagoons  or  "  haffs  "  into  the 
Baltic.  The  Oder  also  discharges  through  such  a  lagoon,  the  Stettiner 
Haff,  which  is  united  to  the  sea  by  channels  between  the  two  islands 
of  Usedom  and  Wollin,  while  the  Frisches  Haff,  into  which  a  branch  of  the 
Vistula  flows,  and  the  Kurisches  Haff,  which  receives  the  Memel,  are  almost 
cut  off  from  the  sea  by  narrow  spits  of  sand. 

Rivers  of  the  Plain.— All  the  great  rivers  of  the  Northern  Plain 
have  a  peculiarity  in  common.  Each  receives  its  longest  tributaries  on 


The  German  Empire 


271 


the  right,  so  that,  instead  of  flowing  across  the  plain  in  the  centre  of 
its  drainage  area,  each  river  runs  close  to  its  western  watershed.  The 
long  eastern  tributary  of  the  Ems  is  the  Haase,  of  the  Weser  the 
Aller,  of  the  Elbe  the  Havel,  of  the  Oder  the  Netze,  and  of  the  Vistula 
the  Bug.  The  sudden  change  of  course  from  west  to  north  in  the 
Elbe  at  52°  N.,  in  the  Vistula  at  53°  N.,  is  extremely  striking.  It 
would  seem  as  if  the  Elbe  at  one  time  flowed  through  the  present 
valley  of  the  Aller  and  had  received  the  Weser  at  Verden.  The  Oder 
similarly  has  at  one  time  evidently  continued  its  north-westerly  course 
(south  of  Frankfort)  and  received  on  its  left  bank  a  great  stream,  pursuing 
its  way  to  the  sea  at  the  present  mouth  of  the  Elbe.  This  primitive  river 
must  have  been  the  Vistula,  which  then  flowed  along  the  southern  base  of 
the  Baltic  lake  plateau.  The  primitive  Vistula  then  found  a  way  for  the 
first  time  across  this  elevation  down  the  Oder  gorge  to  the  present  Stettiner 
Haff,  the  Elbe  taking  over  its  old  mouth  ;  a  second  time,  and  nearer 
its  source,  it  found  another  way  across  the  ridge  to  the  Danziger  Haff,  by 


FlG.  137. — The  Rivers  of  the  North  German  Plain. 

which  its  former  tributary,  the  Oder,  was  left  an  independent  river  with  the 
deserted  mouth.  All  these  changes  were  brought  about  by  the  influence 
of  Earth-movements  which  the  crust-blocks,  or  "buried  mountains," 
experienced  far  into  the  Quaternary  period.  In  a  plain  quite  small  altera- 
tions in  level  suffice  to  break  up  the  arrangement  of  river  systems  and  to 
allow  them  to  form  new  combinations.  The  great  deserted  valleys  are  still 
before  us  ;  for  example,  the  valley  of  the  prehistoric  Oder  is  now  utilised 
by  the  Friedrich  Wilhelm's  Canal  to  unite  the  Oder  and  the  Spree,  and 
nearer  Berlin  the  small  Spree  in  the  great  richly  wooded  valley  of 
the  primitive  river  is  as  little  in  harmony  with  its  surroundings  as  a  mouse 
in  the  cage  of  a  lion.  Hydrologically,  however,  all  these  bendings  to  the 
north  result  from  the  law  that  rivers,  as  soon  as  they  have  secured  a  shorter 
course,  leave  the  earlier  one  in  stagnation,  so  far  as  a  portion  of  the  earlier 
course  is  not  taken  possession  of  by  a  former  tributary  and  thereby  restored 
to  activity.  The  portions  of  the  ancient  valley  which  have  become  swampy 
have  in  favourable  circumstances  been  again  utilised  in  order  to  restore  the 


272       The  International  Geography 

prehistoric  river-communications  and  render  them  available  for  boats  ;  on 
the  site  of  the  first  deviation  the  Finow  Canal  now  unites  the  Oder  and  the 
Havel,  on  the  site  of  the  second  deviation  the  Bromberger  Canal  unites 
the  Vistula  and  the  Oder  system. 

Lakes. — Lakes  are  most  abundant  on  the  most  recent  geological  for- 
mations, the  Alpine  Foreland  and  the  Northern  Plain.  The  lakes  of  the 
Alpine  Foreland  are  clearly  related  to  the  immense  ice-sheet  which 
descended  from  the  Alps  during  the  Great  Ice  Age,  since  the  lakes  only 
appear  on  ground  which  was  once  covered  by  glacier-ice.  A  few  small 
lakes  lie  amongst  the  mountains  themselves,  including  the  charming 
Tegernsee  and  the  KSnigsee  in  the  most  southerly  corner  of  Germany. 
The  others  lie  at  the  northern  base  of  the  Alps,  including  Lakes  Starnberg 
and  Ammer  south-west  of  Munich,  the  broader  lake  of  Chiem  between  the 
Inn  and  Salzburg,  and  innumerable  smaller  sheets  of  water,  dwindling 
to  mere  pools  amongst  the  ancient  moraine  mounds. 

The  Baltic  Lake  Plateau  in  the  north-east  of  the  Northern  Plain  is 
thickly  pitted  with  small  lakes,  as  its  name  implies.  Many  of  the  curi- 
ously irregular  lakes  of  East  Prussia  resemble  those  of  Finland,  and  are 
of  considerable  depth.  The  shallow  shore  lakes  lying  behind  the  chain 
of  dunes  on  the  Pomeranian  coast  are  of  quite  a  different  type,  identical  in 
formation  with  the  Haffs,  although  the  latter  are  in  free  communication 
with  the  sea ;  thus  the  Kurisches  Haff  may  be  considered  the  largest  lake 
in  Germany.  The  other  parts  of  the  Northern  Plain  are  much  poorer  in 
sheets  of  water,  particularly  to  the  west  of  the  Elbe,  where  the  low-lying 
and  very  flat  land,  in  consequence  of  the  damp  climate,  has  been  overgrown 
and  its  lake  basins  filled  up  by  the  typical  vegetation  of  the  moors. 

The  Central  Highlands  have  few  lakes  ;  but  in  bygone  ages  many  of 
their  valleys  have  been  temporarily  occupied  by  sheets  of  water.  The 
largest  is  the  rift  valley  of  the  Upper  Rhine  Plain,  which  was  a  gulf  of  the 
sea  in  Tertiary  times,  stretching  northward  from  the  present  Switzerland, 
just  as  the  existing  Red  Sea  (the  Erythraean  rift  valley)  stretches  northward 
from  the  Indian  Ocean.  The  uplift  of  the  Jura  mountains  shut  off  the  gulf 
and  changed  it  into  a  lake,  which  in  course  of  time  became  filled  up  by 
sediment  from  the  rivers,  and  converted  into  a  plain. 

Climate. — The  mean  annual  temperature  (reduced  to  sea-level)  of  the 
west  of  Germany  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  British  Islands,  while  that  of  the 
region  east  of  the  Oder  is  similar  to  the  climate  of  Denmark  and  the  south 
of  Sweden.  The  mean  annual  isotherms  cross  Germany  from  north-west 
to  south-east ;  in  other  words,  the  climate  grows  colder  from  the  south-west 
towards  the  north-east.  In  summer  the  zones  of  temperature  correspond 
more  closely  with  the  parallels  of  latitude,  tending  to  bend  northward  in  the 
east,  because  at  that  season  the  greater  specific  heat  of  the  land  compared 
with  the  sea  makes  itself  most  felt  on  the  air  temperature  in  the  east,  where 
the  land  is  widest.  Thus  the  temperature  of  the  air  in  South  Germany 
in  July  is  higher  than  70°  F.,  being  equal  to  that  in  Central  France,  while 


The  German  Empire 


273 


in  North  Germany  it  is  lower  than  70°  being  the  same  as  in  England.  In 
winter,  on  the  contrary,  the  south  is  no  warmer  than  the  north  in  the  same 
longitude ;  but  the  east  of  the  country  is  much  colder  than  the  west.  In 
winter  also  the  contrast  between  the  high  pressure  area  over  the  Azores 
and  the  low  pressure  near  Iceland  is  increased,  and  frequent  cyclonic 
storms  sweep  over  the  north-west  of  Germany.  On  this  account  the  warm 
south-westerly  and  westerly  winds  from  the  Atlantic  blow  most  frequently 
in  winter,  and  western  Germany  consequently  enjoys  a  mild  climate, 
while  the  east  suffers  from  unbroken  frost.  The  isotherm  of  32°  F.  in 
January  enters  Germany  at  the  mouth  of  the  Weser,  runs  southward, 
and  finally  curves  eastward  through  Munich.  The  North  Sea  coast 
of  Germany  remains  almost  free  from  frost,  while  the  harbours  on  the 
Baltic  coast  are  usually  closed  by  ice,  and  the  further  east  they  lie  the 
longer  is  their  trade  arrested,  the  increasing  shallowness  and  smaller 
salinity  of  the  Baltic  conspiring  to  increase  the  effects  of  the  colder 
winter.  The  water  of  the  Baltic  in  spring 
cannot  rise  above  the  freezing-point  until 
the  last  of  the  ice  has  melted,  hence  the 
spring  on  the  Baltic  coasts  is  cold  and  late. 
In  the  Rhine  district,  when  the  swallows 
return  and  the  almond  and  apricot  blossoms 
are  opening,  snow  is  still  lying  in  East 
Prussia,  where  the  frost  does  not  break  up 
until  the  middle  of  March.  The  different 
elevation  of  the  land  necessarily  deranges 
the  simplicity  of  the  distribution  of  tempera- 
ture outlined  above.  The  south-western  FIG.  138.— Mean  Monthly  Tempera- 
plains  and  valleys  of  the  Rhine,  Mosel,  '"*  Land  Rajnfall  Curves  fot 

f  .J  Hamburg  and  Berlin. 

Neckar,  and  Mam,  are  actually  the  warmest 

parts  of  the  country,  enjoying  an  annual  mean  temperature  of  over 
50°  F.,  with  hot  summers  and  mild  winters,  because  they  lie  low.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  high  land  of  South  Germany  is  in  no  way  more  favoured 
by  climate  than  the  northern  low  plain.  Munich  and  Konigsberg  have 
the  same  high  temperature  in  July  and  very  nearly  the  same  degree  of 
cold  in  January.  High  mountains  everywhere  act  as  refrigerators  for 
the  surrounding  districts,  and  they  act  most  vigorously  in  summer,  when 
the  temperature  falls  more  rapidly  than  at  other  seasons  with  the  increase 
of  height. 

The  mountains  similarly  receive  the  heaviest  precipitation  (on  the 
average  about,  or  over,  40  inches  per  annum)  especially  on  their  western 
and  south-western  slopes.  The  average  rainfall  for  Germany  is  about  28 
inches  ;  it  is  greater  in  the  west,  where  the  moist  westerly  winds  prevail ; 
and  there  it  attains  a  maximum  in  July.  In  most  places  the  rainfall  is 
limited  to  about  20  inches  per  annum ;  in  the  north-east  there  are  some 
areas  with  less,  while  on  the  North  Sea  coast  it  may  rise  to  over  27 


274      The  International  Geography 

inches  on  account  of  the  moist  sea  winds  blowing  upon  the  rough 
land  (Fig.  53). 

Flora  and  Fauna. — Of  the  whole  area  of  Germany  at  the  present 
time  49  per  cent,  is  cultivated,  20  per  cent,  consists  of  natural  pasture,  26 
per  cent,  is  under  forests,  and  only  5  per  cent,  can  be  classed  as  waste 
land.  Thus  the  original  plants  and  animals  of  the  country  can  occupy 
only  a  very  small  area,  the  forests  even  being  no  longer  in  a  state  of  nature, 
but  under  systematic  management.  Yet  the  German  flora  and  fauna  are 
extensive  enough,  including  at  least  2,250  species  of  vascular  plants  and 
16,000  species  of  insects  alone.  During  the  Great  Ice  Age  the  severe 
climate  reduced  the  abundant  life  of  the  earlier  time  to  a  few  surviving 
species  strong  enough  to  withstand  it.  In  the  Steppe  period  which 
followed,  the  vacant  German  lands  were  invaded  from  the  arid  regions  of 
the  south-east,  as  far  as  the  Kirghiz  steppe,  by  many  species  of  plants  and 
animals  including  the  Saiga  antelope,  jerboa,  and  hamster.  The  feather- 
grass (Stipa)  of  the  Hungarian  and  Black  Sea  steppes  also  obtained  a 
footing  in  Germany  at  this  period.  Almost  all  the  animals  peculiar  to  the 
Steppe  retired  again  to  the  east  when  the  climate  became  moister,  and  the 
land  once  more  became  wooded,  not  this  time  with  tropical  exuberance, 
but  with  northern  simplicity.  The  hamster  remains  in  many  parts  of  Ger- 
many a  surviving  relic  of  the  Steppe  period.  Most  of  the  present  plants  and 
animals  result  from  the  post-glacial  invasions  from  the  east  with  which 
Germany  is  so  closely  connected  in  soil  and  climate.  Thus  there  are  com- 
paratively few  species  peculiar  to  the  country ;  of  the  220  species  of  birds 
not  one  is  confined  to  Germany.  The  larger  wild  animals,  especially  the 
bear  and  wolf,  have  been  exterminated,  and  the  last  bison  was  killed  in 
1775.  The  stag,  roe,  and  wild  boar  still  people  the  forests  ;  the  reindeer 
has  disappeared  since  the  Middle  Ages,  but  the  elk  is  still  found  in  one  of 
the  forests  of  East  Prussia.  The  chamois  and  marmot  are  found  only  in 
the  Alps  above  the  tree  limit.  Reptiles  requiring  a  dry,  warm  climate  are 
not  numerous  ;  all  the  varieties  of  lizard  and  snake  known  in  Germany 
inhabit  the  south-west,  and  scarcely  half  of  the  species  are  found  in  other 
parts  of  the  country.  With  regard  to  fish,  the  Danube  district  forms  a 
province  of  the  Black  Sea  faunal  district  where  no  salmon  are  found, 
although  this  fish  abounds  in  the  rivers  flowing  to  the  North  Sea  and  the 
Baltic.  There  are  numerous  oyster  banks  off  the  shallow  west  coast  of 
Schleswig,  and  the  only  place  in  German  waters  where  the  lobster  lives  is 
near  Helgoland. 

Forests.— In  order  to  secure  a  profitable  supply  of  timber,  pine  and  fir 
woods  have  recently  been  extended  at  the  cost  of  the  deciduous  forests, 
which,  consisting  mainly  of  oak  and  beech,  now  occupy  only  one-third  of 
the  area  of  German  forests.  Larch  woods  are  found  chiefly  in  the  Alps, 
and  the  beautiful  Rolle  pine  (Pinus  cembra)  grows  there  only.  Proud  forests 
of  the  silver  fir  (Edeltanne)  still  beautify  the  Vosges  and  the  Black  Forest, 
and  are  found  in  places  amongst  the  hills  of  Thuringia  and  on  the  slopes 


The  German  Empire  275 

of  the  Sudetes,  but  they  do  not  occur  much  further  north.  The  cha- 
racteristic tree  of  the  Central  Highlands  is  the  spruce  (Fichte),  and  that  of 
the  Northern  Plain  is  the  Scots  pine  (Kiefer),  which  makes  up  almost  half 
of  the  German  forests,  together  with  the  white  birch.  The  beech,  which 
still  thrives  so  splendidly  on  Riigen  and  the  other  Baltic  coast  lands,  is 
suddenly  limited  by  the  climate  from  Konigsberg  towards  the  north-east ; 
beyond  this  it  cannot  thrive  on  account  of  the  increasingly  continental 
climate  reducing  the  period  with  a  mean  day  temperature  of  over  50°  F. 
to  less  than  five  months,  although  it  stands  cold  in  winter  better  than  the 
oak.  In  the  north-west,  on  the  contrary,  the  saltness  of  the  stormy  sea 
winds  stunts  the  growth  of  trees,  and  moors  and  heaths  cover  that  region 
which  is  the  least  wooded  in  all  Germany.  Vine-growing  is  impossible  in 
the  north-west  on  account  of  the  damp  air  and  dull  skies,  but  formerly  it 
was  carried  on  in  the  sunnier  regions  of  the  north-east.  Now,  however, 
when  better  means  of  transport  make  it  unnecessary  to  grow  sour  grapes, 
the  German  vineyards  are  mainly  found  in  the  valleys  of  the  Rhine  and  its 
tributaries.  On  the  Alpine  Foreland,  influenced  by  the  raw  Alpine 
climate,  the  vine  cannot  be  cultivated ;  in  eastern  Germany,  however,  as 
far  north  as  latitude  53°,  the  summer  and  early  autumn  are  warmer  and 
less  cloudy  than  similar  latitudes  in  the  west,  and  the  most  northerly  vine- 
yards in  the  world  are  those  of  Bomst,  in  the  province  of  Posen, 
52°  10'  N. 

German  Races. — Until  the  commencement  of  the  Christian  era  the 
German  tribes  only  inhabited  the  north  of  Germany,  not  extending  to  any 
great  distance  west  of  the  Rhine.  Then  they  began  to  displace  or  subju- 
gate the  Keltic  people  of  the  southern  half  of  Central  Germany  and  the  left 
bank  of  the  Rhine.  In  the  course  of  their  wanderings  the  Germans  next 
took  possession  of  the  Alpine  Foreland  and  of  the  Alps.  Even  to  the 
present  day  the  mixture  of  Keltic  blood  in  South  Germany  may  be 
recognised  in  the  large  proportion  (from  15  to  30  per  cent.)  of  dark- 
complexioned  and  dark-eyed  people ;  in  North  Germany  fair  com- 
plexions predominate,  or  at  the  most  brown  hair  with  light-coloured 
eyes,  the  proportion  with  dark  complexions  scarcely  ever  reaching  15 
per  cent.  When,  in  the  course  of  their  migration,  the  German 
people  had  deserted  the  greater  part  of  the  eastern  half  of  Central 
Europe,  Slavonic  tribes,  called  by  the  Germans  Wends,  entered  from 
the  east  and  spread  over  northern  Germany  to  Holstein,  the  Elbe,  and 
the  Thuringian  Saale.  People  of  the  closely-related  Lithuanian  group, 
coming  from  the  east,  settled  themselves  in  East  Prussia  from  the  Vistula 
to  beyond  the  Memel.  They  included  the  Prussians,  whose  language  be- 
came extinct  about  the  year  1700,  the  Letts,  and  in  the  extreme  east  to 
beyond  the  Russian  frontier,  the  Lithuanians,  who  have  still  preserved  their 
very  ancient  language,  which  in  many  ways  resembles  Sanscrit.  During 
the  second  half  of  the  Middle  Ages  the  Germans  again  took  possession  of 
the  eastern  regions.  The  Slavs  were,  however,  by  no  means  driven  out, 
20 


276       The  International  Geography 

but  German  colonists  settled  amongst  them,  gradually  introducing  their 
language  and  customs.  So  completely  has  the  process  of  Germanisation 
been  carried  out  in  the  districts  settled  by  the  early  colonists  that  in  most 
cases  the  only  sign  of  the  Slavonic  origin  of  the  peasantry  is  to  be  found 
in  the  foreign  sound  of  the  place-names,  which  often  end  in  itz  and  ow. 
The  Slavonic  peoples  of  north-eastern  Germany  related  to  the  Poles  have 
completely  adopted  the  German  language  since  their  contact  and  mixing 
with  that  people  ;  but  the  Slavs  related  to  the  Chech  family  have  still  pre- 
served the  remembrance  of  their  original  tongue  in  the  Spree  valley  between 
Bautzen  and  Cottbus.  It  is  only  in  those  parts  of  the  country  which  belonged 
to  the  kingdom  of  Poland  up  to  the  eighteenth  century  that  the  population 
continue  to  speak  Polish  generally.  The  Poles  are  not  quite  three 
millions  in  number,  and  they  live  chiefly  in  the  provinces  of  West  Prussia, 
Posen,  and  south-eastern  Silesia ;  it  is  they  principally  who  compose  the 
8  per  cent,  of  German  subjects  who  speak  foreign  languages.  Next  to 
them  come  about  a  quarter  of  a  million  French-speaking  inhabitants,  mainly 
in  Lorraine,  about  half  as  many  Dam's/f-speaking  in  northern  Schleswig, 
and  the  same  number  of  Lithuanians. 

The  chief  elements  of  the  present  German  population  are  : — 
(i)  Swabians  from  the  Vosges  mountains  to  the  river  Lech  and  in  the 
Neckar  district  (the  Germans  of  Switzerland  also  belong  to  this  family). 
(2)  Bavarians  in  the  whole  Danube  basin  east  of  the  Lech  (the  Germans 
of  the  neighbouring  parts  of  Austria  are  closely  related).  (3)  Franks  of  the 
Main,  i.e.,  the  Franks  who  migrated  from  the  North  German  Rhine  district 
to  the  Main  valley.  (4)  Palatines,  a  mixed  stock  of  Franks  and  Swabians 
in  the  Bavarian  Palatinate,  the  south  of  the  grand  duchy  of  Hesse,  and 
northern  Baden.  (5)  Franks  of  the  Rhine,  in  the  Rhine  province  and  in 
Nassau.  (6)  Hessians  in  the  highlands  of  Hesse.  (7)  Thuringians  in 
Thuringia.  (8)  Saxons  extending  from  Westphalia  to  the  Elbe  and  to 
Schleswig-Holstein,  also  called  Low  Saxons  in  contradistinction  to  the 
formerly-named  Low  German  or  Platt-Deutsch-speaking  people.  (9)  Fri- 
sians, along  the  coast  of  the  North  Sea  and  the  off -lying  islands,  formerly 
speaking  Frisian,  a  dialect  distinct  from  all  other  varieties  of  German, 
but  now  speaking  Low  Saxon. 

Language. — Where  Low  Saxons  colonised  the  Slavonic  lands  on  the 
Baltic  coasts  and  in  the  Mark  Brandenburg,  Low  German  became  the 
spoken  language.  East  Prussia,  on  the  other  hand,  was  colonised  by  the 
most  different  races  of  North  and  South  Germany  after  the  Order  of 
German  Knights  had  conquered  the  country  in  the  thirteenth  century. 
Thuringians  took  the  chief  part  in  the  Germanisation  of  Saxony  ;  and 
Thuringians  and  Hessians  in  the  settling  of  Silesia  ;  hence  in  both  these 
lands  Upper  German  is  spoken  ;  indeed,  the  dialect  of  the  kingdom  of 
Saxony  (Upper  Saxon  or  Meissnisch)  was  promoted  in  the  sixteenth 
century  to  be  the  literary  language,  or  "  High  German."  Upper  German 
was  derived  in  the  Middle  Ages  by  phonetic  change  from  the  Low 


The  German  Empire  277 

German,  once  the  universal  German  tongue.  It  spread  from  the  Swabians 
and  Bavarians  of  the  "  Upper  Lands,"  who  initiated  the  change,  gradually 
displacing  the  northern  dialects.  At  the  present  time  Low  Saxon  only 
remains  unaltered  amongst  the  Frisians,  who,  to  give  an  example,  instead 
of  using  the  High  German  das  and  Wasser,  keep  to  the  old  unchanged 
form  of  dat  and  water,  pronounced  as  in  English,  and  in  fact  almost 
identical  with  the  English  words  that  and  water.  One  of  the  most  re- 
markable cases  is  the  transitional  position  of  the  Franks.  The  Franks  of 
the  Main  speak  with  the  Upper  German  value  of  the  consonants,  the 
Franks  of  the  Rhine  Highlands  retain  some  of  the  old  unaltered  words, 
while  those  in  the  Lower  Rhine  Plain  near  the  Netherlands  speak  the 
ancient  unmodified  Prankish  dialect. 

History.— The  territory  of  the  present  German  Empire  (with  the 
exception  of  the  north-eastern  provinces,  which  were  added  later)  formed, 
together  with  the  remaining  States  of  Central  Europe,  the  East  Prankish 
Empire  as  it  was  constituted  in  843  out  of  the  Prankish  Empire  of  Charles 
the  Great  (Charlemagne).  The  ancient  German  Empire,  however,  has  been 
diminished  by  the  withdrawal  of  the  territories  now  belonging  to  Switzer- 
land, Belgium,  and  the  Netherlands.  What  remained  over  fell  at  last  into 
many  hundred  powerless  fragments — temporal  and  spiritual  principalities, 
free  cities,  even  imperial  villages — scarcely  held  together  in  a  nominal 
empire.  Only  two  of  these  practically  independent  little  States  attained 
any  real  importance.  One  of  these  was  the ,  Bavarian  Mark  of  the 
Habsburgs  which  grew  in  the  Middle  Ages  into  the  Austrian  Duchy  in  the 
south-east ;  the  other  was  the  State  of  the  Hohenzollerns,  which  spread 
from  the  Mark  of  Brandenburg  in  the  fifteenth  century  until  it  occupied,  as 
Prussia,  the  whole  of  the  north-east  of  the  German  Plain. 

The  power  of  the  great  Napoleon  brought  the  old  German  Empire  to 
an  end  in  1806,  shortly  after  the  spiritual  principalities  (the  domains  of  the 
Prince- Bishops)  had  been  suppressed  in  favour  of  the  claims  of  the 
temporal  princes.  States  of  the  old  empire  to  the  number  of  thirty-nine, 
but  later  only  thirty-five,  again  came  together  in  the  feeble  union  of  the 
German  Confederation  (Deutsche  Bund]  which  lasted  from  1815  to  1866. 
This  union  terminated  with  the  war  of  1866, 
which  was  really  a  struggle  between  Prussia  and 
Austria  for  the  leadership  in  the  Confederation, 
and  led  to  the  definite  withdrawal  of  Austria. 
Thus  the  way  was  prepared  for  the  new  German 
Empire,  under  the  leadership  of  Prussia,  which 
was  founded  after  the  united  forces  of  the  German 
States  defeated  the  French  attack  in  1870. 

FIG.  139.— The  German 

Government. — The  present  German  Empire  imperial  standard. 

is  a  strong  Confederation  of  twenty-six  sovereign 

States,,  each  possessing  its  own  independent  form  of  government,  but,  for 
the  common  affairs  of  the  empire,  all  subordinate  to  the  central  government. 


278       The  International  Geography 

This  government  consists  of  —  (i)  the  Federal  Council  (Bundesrath) 
composed  of  58  members  representing  the  constituent  States  of  the  empire; 
(2)  the  Imperial  Diet  (Reichstag),  a  popular  assembly 
elected  directly  by  the  votes  of  the  whole  German 
people  ;  (3)  the  Ministers  appointed  by  the  German 
Emperor,  who,  by  the  constitution  of  the  empire, 
must  be  the  King  of  Prussia  for  the  time  being. 
The  Emperor  is  Federal  Commander-in-Chief  and 
supreme  head  of  the  whole  imperial  administra- 

FIG.  I40.-77*  German     tion  '•  but  he  is  not  the  monarch  of  Germany— the 
Flag.  authority  he  exercises  is  vested  in   him   "in   the 

name  of  the  confederated  governments." 

Division. — In  size  Germany  is  the  third,  in  population  the  second 
country  of  Europe.  The  constituent  States  may  be  distinguished  into 
North  German  and  South  German,  as  the  course  of  their  development  was 
affected  by  one  or  the  other  of  the  great  commercial  areas  of  central 
Europe — the  northern  depending  on  maritime  trade,  the  southern  on  trade 
over  the  Alps  or  by  the  Danube.  South  Germany  consists  oiJBavaria, 
Wurttemberg,  Baden,  the  Reichsland  of  Alsace-Lorraine  (administered 
directly  by  the  empire  through  a  Statthalter,  or  governor)  and  the  southern 
part  of  the  grand  duchy  of  Hesse,  which  is  not  inhabited  by  Hessians,  but 
came  under  the  duchy  by  inheritance.  Prussia  occupies  the  lion's  share 
of  North  Germany,  although  the  growth  of  this  State  towards  the  west  did 
not  begin  until  1609,  and  until  1866  included  only  the  provinces  of  Rhine- 
land  and  Westphalia  in  the  west.  By  the  acquisition  of  Hanover,  the 
Electorate  of  Hesse  and  Nassau,  including  Frankfort-on-the-Main,  Prussia 
was  able  to  unite  its  older  provinces  of  the  east  with  the  hitherto  isolated 
provinces  in  the  west,  and  so  to  command  a  stretch  of  territory  extending 
from  the  Belgian  to  the  Russian  frontiers ;  and,  with  the  exception  of  the 
Free  Towns,  Hamburg,  Bremen,  and  Lilbeck,  left  only  three  other  States  to 
share  the  German  coast — viz.,  the  two  grand  duchies  of  Mecklenburg,  and 
Oldenburg.  The  only  North  German  State  besides  Prussia  which  is  large 
enough  to  contain  several  million  inhabitants  is  the  kingdom  of  Saxony 
lying  close  up  to  the  Bohemian  border.  The  fact  that  North  Germany, 
particularly  in  Thuringia  and  in  the  Weser  district,  contains  no  less  than 
twenty  of  the  constituent  States  of  the  empire,  shows  that  the  northern 
States  have  beeEt5a£le  to  maintain  their  separate  existence  better  than 
those  in -the  south. 

Religion^- -Germany,  the  cradle  of  the  Reformation,  where  the  strife 
between  Protel&ants  and  Roman  Catholics  first  broke  out,  has  continued  to 
be  a  land  of  mixed  confessions — 63  per  cent,  of  the  people  are  Protestant, 
36  per  cent.  Roman  Catholic,  and  i  per  cent,  are  Jews.  Their  distribution 
can  be  clearly  explained  by  historical  considerations.  Parts  of  West 
Prussia,  Posen,  and  southern  Silesia  form  the  eastern  belt  of  predomin- 
ating Catholicism  in  the  Oder  and  Vistula  region,  the  people  having 


The  German  Empire 


279 


belonged  to  Roman  Catholic  Poland.  Beyond  this  East  Prussia  is  Pro- 
testant, because  the  Grand  Master  of  the  Order  of  Knights,  the  Hohen- 
zollern  Albrecht,  who  became  Duke,  took  up  the  cause  of  the  Reformation. 
The  broad  middle  district  of  the  German  Empire  is  almost  throughout 
Protestant,  but  in  the  south-west  a  strip  of  Catholic  country  stretches  from 
Bavaria  to  the  old  district  of  the  Bishops  of  Miinster  on  the  Ems ;  here 
one  can  see  to  this  day  the  effect  of  the  religious  peace  of  Augsburg  in 
1555  when  the  dictum  was  published — Cujus  regie,  ejus  religio.  Thus 
where,  in  those  days,  the  Prince-Bishops  ruled  on  the  Rhine,  the  Mosel,  and 
the  Main,  and  as  far  as  Westphalia,  or  where  the  Bavarian  Wittelsbacher 
remained  true  to  the  old  beliefs,  the  Catholic  ritual  is  followed  to  the 
present  day  ;  but  in  old  Wiirttemberg  on  the  Neckar,  in  the  Palatinate,  and 
in  Hesse,  the  Protestant  form  of  worship  prevails,  because  there  the 
princes  took  up  the  cause  of  the  Reformation  in  the  sixteenth  century. 
The  distribution  of  the  half-million  Jews  who  inhabit  Germany  may  also 
be  explained  historically,  although  in  this  case  social  conditions  have  also 
to  be  taken  into  account.  They  are  confined  principally  to  the  districts 
on  the  east  where  there  is  a  large  Polish  population,  and  to  the  south-west 
in  Hesse,  the  Palatinate,  and  Swabia  ;  Bavaria  contains  the  smallest  num- 
ber of  Jews.  The  larger  number  of  Jews  in  Alsace  compared  with  Baden 
is  accounted  for  by  the  more  favourable  laws  in  the  former  State  during 
the  French  period. 

The  German  People. — The  density  of  population  is  to  be  explained 
by  economic  rather  than  historic  considerations.  The  average  density  of 
population  throughout  Germany 
is  250  to  the  square  mile,  a  figure 
which  is  only  exceeded  amongst 
the  large  countries  of  Europe 
by  Italy  and  the  United  King- 
dom. The  agricultural  districts, 
especially  in  the  Alpine  Fore- 
land, the  sandy  North  German 
plain,  and  the  poor  rocky  soil 
of  many  parts  of  the  Rhine 
Highlands,  of  course  are  much 
less  densely  peopled.  Yet  along 
the  whole  course  of  the  Rhine  the  density  of  population  reaches  250  per 
square  mile,  and  wherever  minerals,  especially  coal,  give  rise  to  flourishing 
industries,  the  density  approaches  400.  This  is  the  case  in  south-eastern 
Silesia  and  on  the  Waldenburger  coal-field  to  the  south-west  of  Breslau,  in 
the  kingdom  of  Saxony,  and  especially  in  the  Lower  Rhine  and  Westphahan 
manufacturing  district.  With  the  exception  of  the  Free  Towns,  Hamburg 
and  Bremen,  the  most  densely  peopled  State  in  the  world  is  the  kingdom 
of  Saxony  with  an  average  density  of  658  per  square  mile,  thus  surpassing 
even  Belgium. 


FIG.  141. — Average  popu- 
lation of  a  square  mile 
of  Germany. 


FlG.  142. — Average  popu- 
lation of  a  square  mile 
of  Saxony. 


280      The  International  Geography 

The  German  people  must  be  perseveringly  laborious,  frugal,  and  thrifty 
in  order  to  make  a  living  out  of  the  soil  of  their  country,  which,  although 
nowhere  too  rich,  everywhere  yields  a  fair  return  for  hard  work.  The 
large  families  of  the  Germans  present  a  curious  contrast  to  those  of 
other  nations,  especially  of  the  French.  Since  1871,  for  example,  the 
natural  increase  of  population  in  Germany  has  been  over  n  million,  and 
in  France  only  2  million.  The  result  is  considerable  emigration  from 
Germany  to  distant  lands,  especially  to  the  United  States  and  British 
Colonies,  where  Germans  prosper  and  make  good  citizens. 

The  German  is  not  so  quick  and  versatile  as  the  people  of  the  warmer 
countries  of  the  south,  but  his  inclement  winters  have  given  him  a  regard 
for  the  domestic  hearth,  fostered  the  family  sentiment,  encouraged  a  depth 
of  feeling,  and  habits  of  contemplation,  led  to  a  love  for  reading  and  think- 
ing, and  to  the  cultivation  of  science.  Compulsory  attendance  at  school 
and,  since  1871,  the  service  in  the  army  of  every  able-bodied  young  man, 
have  exercised  a  most  salutary  influence  on  the  intellectual  and  physical 
life  of  the  nation.  Without  being  particularly  rich,  Germany  is  ready  to 
make  great  sacrifices  in  order  to  maintain  the  army  and  navy  in  a  con- 
dition of  high  excellence  for  the  protection  of  its 
recently-won  position  amongst  the  armed  Powers 
of  Europe. 

Agriculture. — Until  the  middle  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  the  German  lands  were  almost  ex- 
clusively of  agricultural  value.  This  is  now  the 
case  with  the  north-east  only,  and  even  there  many 
FIG.  143.— German  Naval  centres  of  manufacturing  industry  are  springing 
up ;  and  these  industries  are  the  most  important 

interests  in  the  west.  Taken  as  a  whole  42  per  cent,  of  the  people  of 
the  German  Empire  are  dependent  on  agriculture,  33  per  cent,  on  manu- 
facturing industries,  8  per  cent,  on  trade,  and  3  per  cent,  on  mining  and 
the  extraction  of  metals. 

The  map  (Fig.  144)  shows  the  distribution  of  the  more  important 
branches  of  agriculture  and  related  industries.  The  favourable  climatic 
conditions  of  the  south-western  districts  naturally  fit  them  for  the  extensive 
growth  of  the  vine,  hops,  and  tobacco,  and  make  the  Upper  Rhine  plain 
almost  the  only  part  of  the  country  where  wheat  and  barley  predominate 
among  the  crops.  In  all  other  places  rye  and  oats,  the  chief  grain  crops  of 
Germany,  take  the  first  place.  With  respect  to  its  total  production  of  all 
grain-crops  Germany  is  hardly  excelled  by  the  more  favoured  fields  of 
France,  and  Russia  alone  amongst  the  nations  of  Europe  has  a  much  greater 
production.  But  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  warm  air  and  less  sandy 
soil  of  France  allow  far  more  wheat  to  be  grown  there,  and  that  the 
German  peasants  must,  to  a  large  extent,  content  themselves  with  black 
bread  made  from  rye.  The  potato  was  naturalised  in  all  parts  of  Germany 
in  the  eighteenth  century ;  it  supplies  a  cheap  form  of  food,  the  more  valu- 


The  German  Empire 


281 


able  because,  like  rye,  it  flourishes  on  a  light  soil  and  in  a  raw  climate. 
Germany  grows  more  potatoes  than  any  other  country,  and  provides  a  con- 
siderable surplus  for  export.  In  the  north-east  of  Germany  there  are  many 
distilleries  for  the  manufacture  of  spirits  from  potatoes ;  and  thus  great 
estates  dating  from  the  German  conquests  in  feudal  times,  hitherto  nearly 
useless  on  account  of  the  sandy  soil,  have  enormously  increased  in  value. 
More  recently  this  north-eastern  region  has  become  the  centre  of  beet- 
growing  mainly  in  connection  with  the  manufacture  of  sugar,  but  partly  also 
for  distilling.  The  excessive  drinking  of  spirits  which  formerly  exercised  a 


Map  of  the 
AGRICULTURAL  RESOURCES 

ofthe  GERMAN  EMPIRE. 


ami  Rye  &  Oats.  ^Wheats  Barley 

E3  Tobacco 
023  Hops.          iwi  Beet  Sugar. 
pyylDisrilting. 


FlG.  144. — Agricultural  Map  of  Germany, 

bad  effect  on  the  lower  classes  in  the  wineless  country  of  the  eastern  Elbe 
is  now  being  remedied  by  the  establishment  in  all  parts  of  Germany  of 
breweries  producing  light  beer  like  that  of  Bavaria.  In  the  excellence  and 
quantity  of  the  beer  it  produces  Bavaria  keeps  the  first  place. 

The  raising  of  live  stock  on  the  extensive  pastures  and  well-cared-for 
meadows  is  an  important  branch  of  German  farming,  and  Russia  alone  has 
a  larger  number  of  cattle  in  Europe.  The  plains  of  the  Alpine  Foreland 
and  of  the  north  are  the  best  for  horse-breeding ;  cattle  are  kept  every- 
where for  beef  and  for  dairy  purposes  trom  the  coast  marshes  to  the  Alps. 
The  high  farming  now  practised  and  the  fall  in  the  price  of  wool  due  to 


282       The  International   Geography 

imports  from  abroad  have  recently  led  to  a  considerable  reduction  in  the 
number  of  sheep  kept.  There  are  in  fact  more  cattle  than  sheep  in  Ger- 
many, and  large  flocks  are  now  only  to  be  found  on  the  estates  of  the  great 
proprietors  in  the  north-east.  Goats  also  are  less  numerous  than  formerly  ; 
they  are  kept  in  the  mountains  for  their  milk,  where  they  have  earned  the 
name  of  "  the  poor  man's  cow."  The/  number  of  swine  kept,  on  the  other 
hand,  has  increased,  mainly  on  account  of  the  development  of  the  beet- 
sugar  industry,  the  refuse  from  the  factories  making  good  food  for  pigs. 

The  Fisheries  along  the  coasts  of  the  North  Sea  and  the  Baltic  have 
been  greatly  stimulated  by  the  extension  of  railways  opening  up  the 
inland  markets,  and  a  society  for  artificial  fish-culture  is  actively  engaged 
in  increasing  the  number  of  the  more  valuable  fresh-water  fish  such  as 
trout  and  salmon. 

Industry. — The  Germans  have  been  foremost  in  mining  for  many 
centuries,  and  German  miners  are  now  to  be  found  in  every  continent.  On 
many  of  the  mountains  of  the  country,  particularly  the  Erzgebirge,  the 
diminution  of  the  output  of  ore  from  the  old  mines  has  led  to  the 
development  of  many  forms  of  domestic  industry  through  the  efforts 
of  the  people  to  make  a  living  on  their  native  soil.  Yet  the  methods 
of  working  and  the  enterprise  of  the  German  miners  have  brought  all 
processes  to  a  high  degree  of  excellence.  Almost  half  of  the  silver  pro- 
duced in  Europe  is  raised  in  Germany,  most  of  it  from  silver-lead  ores ; 
and  the  production  of  zinc,  lead,  and  copper  is  equally  advanced.  These 
metals  are  obtained  principally  from  the  mountains  of  Prussia,  from  the 
neighbourhood  of  Aachen  in  the  west  to  upper  Silesia  in  the  east.  The 
most  valuable  of  the  Earth's  riches,  however,  are  the  supplies  of  iron-ore, 
found  in  almost  all  parts  of  Germany,  and  coal.  The  most  important  coal- 
fields, which  as  a  rule  abound  in  iron-ore  also,  occur  on  the  northern 
border  of  the  Rhine  Highlands  especially  in  the  Ruhr  valley,  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Aachen,  to  which  the  Belgian  coal-field  extends,  south  of  the 
Hunsriick  on  the  Saar,  in  Saxony,  in  Silesia  near  Waldenburg,  and  in  Upper 
Silesia.  In  the  production  of  coal  and  iron  Germany  is  far  ahead  of  every 
other  country  on  the  continent,  and  is  only  surpassed  by  the  United  King- 
dom amongst  European  States  (Fig.  70).  It  is  besides  very  rich  in  rock-salt, 
and  in  potassium  salts  of  enormous  industrial  importance,  which  accompany 
the  common  salt.  Almost  all  the  salt-bearing  formations  are  found  in  the 
sunken  mountains  under  the  diluvium  covering  the  North  German  plain  ; 
and  there  a  vast  supply  is  stored  up  for  the  future. 

Brewing,  spinning,  and  weaving  were  old  domestic  industries,  and 
wood-carving  is  a  national  occupation  of  great  antiquity.  Domestic  indus- 
tries have  developed  on  the  higher  slopes  of  the  mountains  where  agricul- 
ture becomes  less  profitable  ;  there  the  weaving  of  wool  and  flax  were 
early  favoured  by  the  mountain  climate,  and  wood-carving,  lace-making, 
and,  later,  glass  and  porcelain  manufacture  were  established.  During  the 
nineteenth  century  the  introduction  of  factories  and  steam-power  has  swept 


The  German  Empire  283 

away  many  of  the  old  village  workshops,  but  has  brought  more  lucrative 
employment  to  large  numbers  of  working  men  and  women.  The  most 
developed  of  these  are  the  textile  industries,  now  including  cotton  and  silk 
as  well  as  wool,  and  the  manufacture  of  iron  where  the  ore  and  coal  are 
mined  together,  or  can  be  brought  to  the  same  place  by  steam  and  railway 
at  small  cost.  The  iron  trade  alone  occupies  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  million 
of  workmen.  By  the  quantity  and  excellence  of  its  manufactures  Germany 
has  rapidly  distanced  all  other  countries  on  the  continent  in  the  markets  of 
the  world,  and  takes  rank  next  to  the  United  Kingdom.  An  index  of  the 
rapidity  of  the  growth  of  great  industries  is  afforded  by  the  increasingly 
rapid  migration  of  people  from  the  country  to  the  towns,  and  from  the 
small  towns  to  the  larger  cities.  Thus  in  1871  there  were  8  German  towns 
of  over  100,000  inhabitants,  together  making  up  rather  less  than  5  per  cent, 
of  the  population  of  the  empire  ;  in  1891  there  were  26  of  these  towns  with 
12  per  cent,  of  the  population,  and  in  1895  there  were  28  with  14  per  cent. 
Trade. — The  external  trade  of  Germany  amounts  to  about  $2,000,000,000 
per  annum,  or  $40  per  head  of  the  population  (see  Fig.  71).  It  is  that  of  a 
typical  industrial  State,  the  exports  consisting  mainly  of  manufactured 
articles  and  the  imports  of  food  and  raw  materials,  the  proportions  being  : — 

Food  Material.        Animals.        Raw  Materials.      Manufactures.  Total. 

Imports. .        . .        28-4  6'6  587  6-3  loo-o 

Exports. .         . .          9-2  19-1  71-7  loo-o 

The  principal  trade  is  done  with  the  United  Kingdom,  then  follow  the 
United  States,  Austria- Hungary,  and  Russia.  The  two  last-named 
countries  are  important  for  the  supply  of  grain,  for  Germany  itself,  even  in 
years  of  good  harvest,  does  not  produce  enough  food  for  the  population 
which  increases  by  half  a  million.  The  importance  of  the  United  States, 
on  the  other  hand,  is  mainly  for  the  supply  of  raw  cotton. 

The  over-sea  trade  of  Germany  is  carried  On  by  means  of  a  merchant 
fleet,  only  second  in  tonnage  to  that  of  the  United  Kingdom  amongst 
European  States.  Since  1895  the  Kaiser  Wilhelm  Canal,  through  Holstein 
from  the  Baltic  to  the  estuary  of  the  Elbe,  has  stimulated  German  trade  by 
opening  a  shorter  route  from  the  Baltic  ports  to  the  Atlantic. 

Internal  Communications. — The  navigable  waterways  of  Ger- 
many measure  nearly  7,500  miles,  of  which  1,500  miles  are  canals.  The 
Rhine  is  the  most  important  of  the  navigable  rivers  ;  the  Elbe,  Oder,  and 
Vistula  come  next  in  order.  South  Germany  is  poorly  supplied  with 
water  transport  as  the  Rhine  above  Mannheim  is  too  rapid  for  easy  navi- 
gation, and  the  Bavarian  Danube  is  not  much  wider  than  the  Ems  ;  hence 
the  railways  carry  most  of  the  traffic  between  North  and  South  Germany. 

The  German  Empire  has  the  greatest  railway  system  in  the  world,  with 
the  exception  of  Russia  and  the  United  States.  There  are  29,600  miles 
of  railway,  and  there  is  scarcely  a  point  in  the  empire  which  cannot  be 
reached  within  twenty-four  hours  from  Berlin.  The  capital  sunk  in  these 
railways  is  $2,600,000,000  ;  and  the  railways  are  of  more  than  national  im- 


284      The  International  Geography 

portance.  The  lines  along  both  banks  of  the  Rhine  have  formed  an 
important  link  in  the  communication  between  England  and  India  since  the 
St.  Gothard  tunnel  was  opened ;  the  line  from  Strassburg  through  Munich 
to  Vienna  is  traversed  by  the  Orient  Express  from  Paris  to  Constantinople, 
while  the  line  from  Cologne  through  Berlin  to  Warsaw  unites  Paris  by 
the  town  of  Samara  on  the  Volga  to  Siberia,  and  thus  to  the  whole  of 
eastern  Asia.  The  central  position  of  Berlin  in  the  railway  system  of 
Europe  is  clearly  shown  in  Fig.  54. 

Districts  and  Towns  of  the  Alpine  Foreland. — The  German 
share  of  the  Alpine  Foreland  which  stretches  from  the  Lake  of  Constance 
to  the  Inn,  is  crossed  by  the  rivers  Iller  and  Lech  flowing  towards  the  north 
and  the  Isar  and  Inn  towards  the  north-east,  but  these  rivers  are  so  rapid 
that  they  are  only  available  for  floating  rafts.  The  Alpine  Foreland  is 
prolonged  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Danube  towards  the  Fichtelgebirge  in 
the  Upper  Palatinate,  which  stretches  between  the  Franconian  Jura  and 
the  Bohemian  Forest,  and  is  drained  by  the  south-flowing  Naab.  In  the 
Bavarian  Alps  and  the  neighbouring  parts  of  the  Foreland  coniferous 
forests  and  pastures  predominate,  and  the  people  are  principally  engaged 
in  cattle-rearing.  Towards  the  Danube,  however,  agriculture  prevails, 
and  the  wooden  cottages  with  shingle  roofs  adapted  to  an  Alpine  climate 
give  place  to  tiled  farm-houses.  The  western  or  Swabian  end  of  the 
Foreland  belongs  to  the  kingdom  of  Wiirttemberg  as  far  as  the  Iller  ;  and 
at  the  point  where  that  river  enters  the  Danube  at  the  commencement  of 
navigation,  the  city  of  Ulm  stands  on  the  left  bank.  It  is  renowned  for  its 
splendid  cathedral,  and  is  besides  an  ancient  commercial  town  at  the  end 
of  the  most  convenient  passage  between  the  Danube  valley  through  the 
Franconian  Jura  to  an  eastern  tributary  of  the  Neckar.  Between  the  Iller 
and  Lech  lies  the  Swabian  district  of  the  kingdom  of  Bavaria.  Augsburg, 
the  former  chief  town  of  the  Alpine  Foreland,  stands  on  the  Lech.  It 
dates  from  Roman  times,  and  remained  a  very  important  commercial 
centre  until  the  fifteenth  century,  on  account  of  the  Oriental  goods 

brought  over  the  Alpine  passes  from  Italy 
and  down  the  Lech  valley.  The  road  forked 
at  Augsburg  westward  to  Ulm  and  north- 
ward through  the  Franconian  Jura.  The 
eastern  portion  of  the  Foreland  is  the  original 
country  of  Bavaria,  which  became  a  king- 
dom in  1806  and  secured  as  an  extension 
the  Swabian  district  as  well  as  the  three  dis- 
tricts of  Franconia  in  the  basin  of  the  Main. 
Munich  (Munchen],  on  the  Isar,  has  grown 

FIG.  145.— Munich.  '  UP  since  the  thirteenth  century,  and  suc- 
ceeded Augsburg  as  the  royal  residence. 
The  kings  have  beautified  the  city  by  the  erection  of  many  fine  build- 
ings, and  made  it  the  centre  of  South  German  art,  especially  painting, 


The  German  Empire  285 

and  of  art  industries.  It  is  the  greatest  beer-brewing  town  in  the  world, 
and  the  chief  grain  market  for  the  non-agricultural  region  of  the 
Bavarian  plateau  and  the  Bavarian  Alps  ;  but,  above  all,  it  has  a  great 
future  as  a  commercial  centre  on  account  of  the  railways  converging 
to  it  from  the  north,  from  the  south  over  the  Brenner  Pass  and  down  the 
Inn  valley,  from  Paris  on  the  west  and  Vienna  on  the  east.  The  lack  of 
coal  in  the  Alpine  Foreland  has  restricted  manufactures.  Regensburg 
(Ratisbon),  the  old  residence  of  the  Dukes  of  Bavaria,  stands  on  the 
Danube  at  the  most  northerly  point  reached  by  that  river,  where  in  the 
early  Middle  Ages  the  incoming  Bavarians  first  encountered  it  as  they 
came  from  Bohemia,  and  where  in  antiquity  the  Romans  erected  a  fort 
against  the  independent  German  tribes. 

South- West  German  Districts  and  Towns.— "The  Garden  of 
Germany  "  is  the  name  fondly  given  to  the  rich,  flat  plain  of  the  Upper  Rhine, 
aglow  with  varied  agriculture,  and  framed  by  the  finely  wooded  ranges  of 
the  Vosges  and  Black  Forest.  Behind  these  bordering  ranges  of  ancient 
rock  there  follow  stretches  of  Triassic  and  Jurassic  formations.  The 
eastern  flank  of  the  system  belongs  entirely  to  Germany,  and  includes  the 
Swabian-Franconian  Jura,  a  limestone  plateau  with  an  abrupt  slope  down- 
wards on  the  side  towards  the  Rhine,  crowned  by  prominent  castles,  such 
as  those  of  Hohenzollern  and  Hohenstaufen,  and  merging  into  the 
Swabian-Franconian  terrace  region  through  which  the  Main  and  Neckar 
flow.  The  western  flank  extends  into  France  ;  here  the  boundary  strips 
exhibit  a  striking  section  where,  on  the  right  of  the  Mosel  in  German 
Lorraine,  the  Jurassic  rocks  remain  above  the  Triassic. 

The  Rhine  receives  almost  all  the  streams  of  the  south-west  German 
basin  ;  the  Neckar  and  Main,  the  chief  rivers  of  the  eastern  flank,  have 
cut  their  way  through  the  Central  Highlands  to  the  middle  Rhine  plain, 
and  on  the  western  flank  the  Mosel,  flowing  from  the  southern  Vosges  like 
a  twin  of  the  Neckar,  describes  a  wide  arc  and  returns  to  the  Rhine 
through  the  gorges  of  the  Rhine  Highlands. 

Until  the  South  German  States  extended  their  territory  under 
Napoleon's  influence  the  State  of  Wiirttemberg  was  confined  to  the 
Swabian  portion  of  the  Neckar  basin.  It  became  a  kingdom  at  the 
same  time  as  Bavaria,  and  its  capital,  Stuttgart,  has  recently  acquired 
considerable  importance.  It  is  situated  amidst  charming  scenery  on  the 
left  side  of  the  Neckar,  and  prospers  on  account  of  the  cheap  transport  of 
raw  materials  and  coal  by  the  Neckar  valley  railway  from  the  Rhine, 
enabling  it  to  become  an  industrial  centre  particularly  for  engine-con- 
struction and  cotton-weaving.  It  is  also  the  chief  centre  of  the  South 
German  printing  and  publishing  trade.  In  Bavarian  Franconia  two 
ancient  episcopal  cities  stand  in  the  valley  of  the  Main,  the  only  large 
river  in  Germany  which  flows  westward.  These  are  Bamberg,  on  the 
Rednitz  close  to  its  confluence  with  the  Main,  and  Wurzburg,  a  larger  town 
on  the  Main  itself  where  the  river  cuts  its  zigzag  course  almost  in  the 


286       The  International  Geography 

shape  of  a  W  into  the  Muschelkalk  of  the  Triassic  Franconian  plateau. 
Nurnberg  (Nuremberg),  on  the  Pegnitz,  an  eastern  tributary  of  the  Rednitz, 
is  nearly  twice  as  large.  It  was  founded  in  the  eleventh  century  on 
barren  ground  under  the  protection  of  an  imperial  castle  ;  then,  through 
the  energy  of  its  citizens,  it  acquired  the  rank  of  a  self-governing  "  Free 
Imperial  Town,"  and  became  the  most  famous  centre  of  industry  and 
invention  in  Germany  during  the  Middle  Ages.  Now  it  has  again  become 
a  busy  industrial  town,  and  a  great  centre  of  commerce  on  the  railway 
which  runs  through  it  directly  northwards  from  Augsburg  to  Erfurt. 
Nurnberg  is  a  gem  among  the  towns  of  Germany  on  account  of  the 
perfection  in  which  its  ancient  buildings  have  been  preserved,  and 
especially  for  its  noble  Gothic  churches. 

Frankfort-on-the-Main  is  on  the  threshold  of  North  Germany,  and 
has  grown  into  the  greatest  of  all  the  towns  of  the  Main  valley.  Like 
Vienna  it  stands  on  a  point  where  two  routes  cross  at  right  angles  ;  the 
east  to  west  route  following  the  Main  valley  being  cut  by  the  north  to 
south  route  from  the  Upper  Rhine  plain  to  'the  north  coast.  It  was  the 
true  centre  of  the  earliest  development  of  German  culture  in  the  Rhine 
valley,  and  in  many  respects  the  chief  town  of  the  old  German  Empire. 
It  has  always  been  a  place  of  civic  affairs,  and  of  high  intellectual  activity 
— it  is  the  birthplace  of  Goethe.  Since  1866  it  has  been  attached  to  the 
new  Prussian  province  of  Hesse-Nassau,  and  now,  by  the  deepening  of  the 
lower  channel  of  the  Main,  Frankfort  is  practically  one  of  the  Rhine  river- 
ports,  and  one  of  the  foremost  trading  and  banking  centres  of  the  west  of 
Germany.  The  southern  part  of  Hesse,  formerly  belonging  to  the 
Electoral  Palatinate,  contains  Darmstadt,  the  capital  of  the  grand  duchy,  at 
the  base  of  the  Odenwald,  and  Mainz  (Mayence),  a  fortress  on  the  bend  of 
the  Rhine  towards  the  north-west  and  the  most  important  crossing-place 
of  the  Middle  Rhine.  "  The  Bavarian  Palatinate  lies  entirely  on  the  left  of 
the  Rhine,  enriched  by  the  generous  vineyards  of  the  eastern  slope  of  the 
Hardt.  Finally,  the  northern  portion  of  the  grand  duchy  of  Baden 
contains  Heidelberg  at  the  point  where  the  Neckar  enters  the  plain  ;  this 
old  capital  of  the  Elector  Palatine  is  dominated  by  the  magnificent 

ruins  of  an  ancient  castle  destroyed  by  the 
French  in  1689.  The  later  capital,  Mann- 
heim, is  an  entirely  modern  town  at  the  con- 
fluence of  the  Neckar  and  the  Rhine,  and 
carrying  on  an  active  trade  on  the  great 
river.  The  present  boundaries  of  Baden 
date  only  from  the  nineteenth  century.  The 
capital,  Carlsruhe,  was  built  in  1715  at  the 
command  of  the  Prince  round  a  hunting 


.  140. — Larisruhc, 


castle,  from  which,  as  a  centre,  the  straight 
main  streets  radiate.  Konstanz  (Constantia,  Constance),  on  the  other  hand,  has 
been  a  town  since  the  time  of  the  Romans,  and  was  an  episcopal  city  in 


The  German  Empire  287 

the  Middle  Ages  ;  it  is  the  only  town  of  Baden  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
Rhine,  being  situated  at  the  point  where  the  Untersee  unites  with  the  Lake 
of  Constance. 

The  imperial  territory  of  Alsace-Lorraine,  re-taken  from  the  French 
in  1870,  is  made  up  of  Alsace  on  the  slopes  of  the  Vosges  draining  directly 
into  the  Rhine,  and  Lorraine  in  the  Mosel  district ;  the  former  is  inhabited 
by  people  of  Swabian  and  the  latter  of  Rhenish-Franconian  stock  so  far  as 
they  were  not  occupied  by  the  later  immigration  of  Romanised  Kelts. 
Strassburg,  the  capital  of  Alsace-Lorraine,  is  a  very  important  traffic-centre 
and  a  strong  fortress,  because  it  lies  almost  in  a  straight  line  between  the 
valley  of  the  Zorn  by  which  the  route  from  Paris  crosses  the  Vosges,  and 
the  valley  of  the  Kinzig  which  leads  across  the  Black  Forest  to  the  source 
of  the  Danube  (see  Fig.  48).  MUhlhausen,  in  the  south  of  Alsace,  is  the  most 
important  cotton  manufacturing  town  of  southern  Germany.  The  strong 
fortress  of  Meiz  protects  the  Mosel  valley,  which  forms  the  most  natural 
line  of  communication  between  France  and  Germany.  It  was  the  ancient 
capital  of  the  Keltic  Mediomatriker. 

The  Rhine  Highlands  and  their  Towns. — This  division  of  the 
country  presents  an  undulating  surface  little  over  1,500  feet  above  sea- 
level,  forming  the  worn-down  residue  of  a  mountain  range  now  presenting 
a  reniform  outline,  the  indentation  being  represented  by  the  low  plain  of 
Cologne  towards  the  north-west.  The  Rhine  flows  across  this  plateau  in  a 
gorge  towards  the  north-west,  which  is  most  contracted  between  Bingen  to 
the  small  volcanic  mountain  group  of  the  Siebengebirge  opposite  Bonn 
The  eastern  wing  of  the  Slate  Highlands  is  divided  by  the  Mosel  valley  into 
the  Hunsriick  on  the  south  and  the  Eifel  on  the  north  ;  the  right  wing  is 
called  the  Taunus  as  far  as  the  Lahn,  the  Westerwald  as  far  as  the  Sieg, 
the  Sauerland  as  far  as  the  Ruhr,  and  the  Haar  to  the  north  of  that  river. 
The  plateaux  between  those  valleys  of  the  Rhine  system  have  for  the  most 
part  an  inclement  climate  and  infertile  soil ;  in  the  Eifel  there  are  ex- 
tensive moorlands  on  account  of  the  amount  of  clay  present  forming  an 
impervious  soil ;  other  parts  bear  extensive  forests.  The  deeply  cut 
valleys,  on  the  contrary,  are  extremely  fertile  because  of  their  sheltered 
position  and  productive  alluvial  or  loess  soil.  Here  in  the  Rheingau  at  the 
base  of  the  Taunus  and  on  the  slopes  of  the  steep  slate  banks  of  the  Rhine 
and  Mosel,  frequently  crowned  by  the  ruins  of  ancient  castles,  the  best 
wines  of  Germany  are  grown.  Here  also,  close  to  the  thinly  peopled 
plateaux  untouched  by  trade,  is  one  of  the  most  thickly  peopled  and 
busiest  districts  of  the  country,  the  river  itself  traversed  by  a  ceaseless 
stream  of  passenger  and  cargo  steamers,  and  railways  following  both 
banks  through  the  gorges.  The  pulse  of  traffic  beats  less  strongly  in  the 
lateral  valleys,  but  recently  a  railway  of  great  importance  for  strategic 
purposes  has  been  constructed  along  the  valleys  of  the  Lahn  and  Mosel 
connecting  Metz  with  Berlin.  The  whole  is  now  Prussian,  the  greater 
part  being  included  in  the  Rhine  Province  inhabited  by  people  of  the 


288       The  International  Geography 


Rhenish-Franconian  stock  ;  only  the  Taunus  and  the  Rheingau  belong  to 
the  new  province  of  Hesse-Nassau,  and  the  north-east  of  Sauerland  (the 
Ruhr  district)  to  the  Low  Saxon  province  of  Westphalia.  On  the  left  side 
of  the  Rhine,  once  occupied  by  the  Romans,  there  are  towns  whose 
history  goes  back  for  more  than  a  thousand  years.  Trier  (Treves)  was 
once  the  chief  town  of  the  Keltic  Treverer  ;  it  stands  in  a  widening  of  the 
Mosel  valley  and  was  often  the  residence  of  the  Roman  emperors,  who 
made  it  an  outpost  against  the  attacks  of  the  German  tribes. 

Other  ancient  towns  are  Bingen,  the  university  city  of  Bonn,  and  right 
in  the  centre  of  the  Slate  Highlands  Coblentz  (i.e..  Confluence},  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Mosel,  the  capital  of  the  Rhine  province,  and  strongly  fortified  in 
order  to  protect  the  valley  of  the  Rhine  from  an  attack  by  way  of  the 
Mosel.  Aachen  (Aix-la-Chapelle),  at  the  northern  base  of  the  Eifel,  stands 
on  a  coal  and  iron  field,  the  only  great  industrial  town  of  Germany,  which 
is  at  the  same  time  celebrated  for  its  baths,  its  warm  springs  having  in 

fact  given  it  its  name  from 
the  Latin  Aquas.  The 
charming  bathing-place  of 
Wiesbaden,  in  a  sheltered 
spot  at  the  base  of  the 
Taunus,  has  also  been  cele- 
brated for  its  baths  since 
Roman  times. 

Thanks  to  the  metal  pro- 
duction, and  principally  to 
the  iron  of  Sauerland  and 
the  neighbourhood  of  the 
FIG.  I47—2V*  Railways  of  the  Ruhr  Coal-field.          Ruhr     coal.field>     a     close 

swarm  of  industrial  towns  has  grown  up,  including  on  and  near  the  Wupper, 
the  contiguous  towns  of  Elberfeld  and  Barmen,  engaged  in  textile  industries  ; 
Solingen  and  Remscheid,  with  iron  and  steel  manufactures  ;  and  north  of 
the  Ruhr  valley,  Essen,  with  Krupp's  famous  cast  steel  works,  and  further 
east  Dortmund,  a  centre  of  iron  and  coal  mining  on  the  edge  of  the  Haar 
and  the  seat  of  a  great  iron  industry,  particularly  the  construction  of 
machinery. 

The  Hessian  Uplands. — The  narrow  Hesse  and  Weser  Uplands 
lying  east  of  the  Rhine  Highlands,  are  unified  by  the  Weser  river  system 
but  fall  naturally  into  two  divisions.  That  of  Hesse  to  the  south  is  higher, 
with  masses  of  hard  basalt  standing  out  from  the  prevailing  Triassic 
rocks  and  forming  the  highest  parts  of  the  district  in  the  Vogelsberg 
(2,533  feet)  anc*  the  Rhon  mountain  (3,146  feet).  The  river  Fulda 
rises  in  the  Rhon,  and  unites  at  Miinden  (i.e.,  mouth,  called  after  the 
confluence)  with  the  Weser,  which  flows  from  the  south-western  slope  of 
the  Thiiringerwald,  and  is  called  as  far  as  Miinden  by  the  Upper  German 
dialect  name  of  Werra.  The  Eder  flows  east  to  the  Fulda  from  the  slopes 


The  German  Empire  289 

of  the  Rhine  Highlands,  and  the  Diemel  north-east  to  the  Weser  below 
M iinden.  Being  without  mineral  wealth  H.esse  has  perforce  developed  as 
a  purely  agricultural  district ;  until  the  thirteenth  century  it  could  only 
boast  of  small  villages,  and  even  yet  there  are  scarcely  any  but  small 
market  towns.  The  two  famous  mediaeval  abbey-towns  of  Fulda  and 
Hersfeld  stand  on  the  Fulda ;  and  lower  down  the  same  river  Kassel,  the 
capital  of  the  Prussian  province  of  Hesse-Nassau,  is  built  on  a  fertile  ex- 
pansion of  the  valley,  an  important  meeting-place  of  traffic  from  the 
north  and  south,  and  from  Thuringia  on  the  east.  The  flat  dome-like 
mass  of  the  Vogelsberg,  together  with  the  fruit-growing  plain  of  the 
Wetterau  stretching  from  the  bed  of  the  Lahn  at  Giessen  to  Frankfort- 
on-the-Main,  forms  the  North  German  half  of  the  grand  duchy  of  Hesse. 
The  Principality  of  Waldeck  stretches  from  the  Eder  to  the  Diemel 
west  of  Kassel. 

The  Weser  Uplands. — The  varied  scenery  of  the  Weser  Uplands, 
scarcely  any  parts  of  which  exceed  1,500  feet  in  elevation,  is  formed  almost 
entirely  of  Mesozoic  sedimentary  rocks.  It  consists  mainly  of  fairly 
abrupt  and  finely  wooded  hills  which  pleasantly  break  the  monotony  of 
the  flat  fields  and  meadows  on  either  side  of  the  Weser.  In  the  north 
there  are  two  long  narrow  mountain  ridges,  the  Teutoburger  Wald  and 
the  Weser  chain  converging  towards  it  and  cut  through  by  the  Weser  in 
the  Pona  Westfalica.  There  is  no  natural  centre  for  the  growth  of  a 
town,  but  the  Low  Saxon  people  have  always  combined  their  farming 
with  other  work,  particularly  with  weaving,  and  recently  the  utilisation  of 
supplies  of  coal,  both  of  Carboniferous  and  of  Cretaceous  age,  has  led  to 
an  advance  in  industrial  enterprise.  Bielefeld,  renowned  from  an  early 
period  for  the  fine  linen  it  produces,  is  in  the  Prussian  province  of  West- 
phalia, at  a  remarkable  gap  in  the  Teutoburger  Wald  which  gives  passage 
to  the  railway  from  Cologne  to  Minden.  Most  of  the  rest  of  this  region 
belongs  to  the  Prussian  province  of  Hanover.  The  university  town  of 
Gottingen,  in  the  south,  stands  on  the  Leine,  which  flows  out  of  Thuringia, 
and  runs  parallel  to  the  Weser,  reaching  the  northern  plain  before  it  joins 
the  Aller,  a  tributary  of  the  Weser.  In  the  north  of  the  province  of 
Hanover  there  are  two  interesting  old  episcopal  cities  :  Hildesheim,  on 
the  Innerste,  which  flows  from  the  Hartz  plateau  to  the  Leine,  a  town 
whose  quaint  architecture  has  won  for  it  the  name  of  "  the  North  German 
Niirnberg,"  and  Osnabruck  lying  between  the  converging  spurs  of  the 
Weser  chain  and  Teutoburger  Wald  in  the  west,  now  the  seat  of  varied 
industries  in  consequence  of  the  recent  discovery  of  coal.  The  two  parts 
of  the  province  of  Hanover  are  almost  completely  separated  by  a  series  of 
small  States  running  east  and  west,  including  the  principality  of  Lippe 
between  the  Weser  and  the  Teutoburger  Wald,  with  its  capital  Detmold; 
and  a  narrow  strip  of  the  territory  of  Brunswick  (Braunschweig)  from  the 
Weser  to  the  Hartz,  and  north-east  of  the  Porta  Westfalica,  the  principality 
of  Schaumburg-Lippe,  one  of  the  smallest  States  in  Germany. 


290       The  International  Geography 

Thuringia  and  the  Hartz. — The  Thuringian  basin  lies  between 
the  elliptical  plateau  of  the  Hartz  on  the  north  and  the  Thuringerwald 
which  runs  north-westward  as  a  mountain  ridge  from  the  plateau  of 
the  Frankenwald  dominated  by  the  Fichtelgebirge.  It  is  a  comparatively 
low  district  of  Triassic  formation  covered  in  great  part  by  cultivated  fields, 
contrasting  with  the  bare  ancient  rocks  and  old  forests  of  the  bordering 
highlands  which  rise  in  places  to  over  3,000  feet  (the  Brocken  3,740  feet) 
in  elevation,  too  high  for  profitable  agriculture.  The  Hartz  contains  great 
mineral  wealth,  its  mines  yielding  large  quantities  of  iron,  lead,  silver,  and 
copper  ore  ;  while  the  Thuringerwald  and  Frankenwald  are  noted  for  the 
variety  of  their  industries,  amongst  which  the  manufacture  of  glass  and 
porcelain  and  wood-carving  are  pre-eminent.  In  the  Thuringian  basin 
also  there  is  a  good  deal  of  small  industry,  although  with  the  exception  of 
salt  there  are  no  useful  minerals,  and  farming  is  the  chief  occupation  of 
the  people.  Northern  Thuringia  and  part  of  the  Hartz,  including  the 
Brocken,  belong  to  the  Prussian  province  of  Saxony.  Erfurt,  the  metro- 
polis of  Thuringia,  is  an  important  traffic  centre  on  the  east-and-west 
artery  of  trade  formed  by  the  Thuringian  railway  between  Eisenach  and 
Halle.  Halle-a-S.  (i.e.,  Halle  on  the  Saale,  the  river  which  rises  in  the 
Fichtelgebirge  and  receives  on  the  left  the  chief  Thuringian  stream,  the 
Unstrutt)  has  recently  outstripped  Erfurt  in  the  growth  of  population  on 
account  of  its  fine  commercial  situation  in  the  south-eastern  "  bay  "  of  the 
North  German  plain,  and  to  the  promotion  of  manufactures  on  a  large 
scale  by  the  presence  in  the  neighbourhood  of  large  deposits  of  Tertiary 
lignite.  On  account  of  the  frequent  divisions  of  inheritance  amongst  the 
branches  of  the  Saxon  Ernestine  family,  the  south  of  Thuringia  forms  a 
mosaic  of  small  States,  which  are  grouped  into  about  a  dozen  areas 
scattered  over  the  district.  The  grand  duchy  of  Weimar  is  made  up 
of  two  parts,  one  containing  Weimar  to  the  east  of  Erfurt,  the  other 
Eisenach  with  the  old  castle  of  the  Wartburg,  celebrated  throughout  the 
world  for  its  associations  with  Luther,  finely  situated  at  the  north-western 
end  of  the  Thuringerwald.  Coburg-Gotha  is  a  double  State  made  up  of 
two  separate  parts — the  Thuringian  duchy  surrounding  Gotha,  between 
Eisenach  and  Erfurt,  and  the  Franconian  duchy,  containing  Coburg,  in  the 
drainage  area  of  the  Main.  Meiningen  stretches  from  the  Werra  valley, 
in  which  its  capital  Meiningen  stands,  to  the  Frankenwald,  where  Sonnenberg 
is  the  greatest  doll-making  town  in  the  world,  and  as  far  as  the  upper 
Saale.  Altenburg  shares  part  of  the  Saale  valley  near  the  borders  of 
Meiningen,  and  a  separate  portion  farther  east  where  the  capital  Altenburg 
is  situated,  near  the  Pleisse  to  the  south  of  Leipzig.  There  are  two  other 
pairs  of  little  States  not  of  the  Ernestine  group,  but  also  made  up  of 
scattered  bits  of  territory,  Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt  with  Rudolstadt  on 
the  Saale,  where  the  beautiful  Schwartzathal  opens  ;  Schwarzburg- 
Sondershausen  with  Sondershausen,  entirely  surrounded  by  Prussian 
territory  to  the  north  of  Erfurt ;  Reuss  of  the  older  line,  with  Greiz  on  the 


The  German  Empire  291 

Elster,  and  Reuss  of  the  younger  line,  with  the  industrial  town  of  Gera 
further  down  the  same  river. 

The  Kingdom  of  Saxony. — The  kingdom  of  Saxony  with  the 
outline  of  a  right-angled  triangle,  lies  close  to  the  east  of  Thuringia. 
The  Erzgebirge  which  rise  steeply  from  Bohemia  sink  gradually  in  the 
form  of  a  plateau  towards  the  north-west  on  the  Saxon  side,  down  which 
the  two  Mulde  rivers  flow  to  unite  on  the  fertile  loess-covered  plain 
and  pass  onwards  to  the  Elbe.  The  highest  summit  of  the  Erzgebirge, 
which  run  north-eastwards  from  the  Fichtelgebirge,  is  the  Keilberg,  4,052 
feet.  The  granitic  plateau  of  Leusitz  lies  at  the  eastern  angle  of  Saxony  in 
the  line  of  the  south-east  running  Sudetes.  Between  these  ranges  the 
Elbe  breaks  through  from  Bohemia,  and  with  its  tributaries  has  cut  up  a 
plateau  of  Cretaceous  sandstone  into  a  series  of  miniature  table-topped 
mountains  of  great  picturesqueness,  which  have  been  termed  the  Bohemian- 
Saxon  Switzerland.  The  Elbe,  a  navigable  river  before  it  leaves  Bohemia, 
flows  in  a  north-westerly  direction  across  the  fertile  and  in  some  parts 
vine-clad  Saxon  lands.  The  capital,  Dresden,  stands  on  both  sides  of  the 
river  in  a  beautiful  expansion  of  the  valley.  Its  collected  art  treasures  and 
fine  architecture  have  won  for  it  the  name  of  "  the  Florence  of  the  Elbe  "  ; 
but  it  has  recently  become  a  great  industrial  and  commercial  town  as  well. 
The  somewhat  more  populous  city  of  Leipzig,  at  the  confluence  of  the 
Elster  and  the  Pleisse,  stands  at  the  north-western  angle  of  the  kingdom,  its 
position  in  the  south-western  "  bay "  of  the  North  German  plain  corre- 
sponding to  that  of  Halle.  Hence  it  is  the  natural  objective  for  warlike 
movements  or  peaceful  commerce  coming  from  the  north-east  and  keep- 
ing as  long  as  possible  on  the  plain,  or  coming  from  the  south-west  with 
the  design  of  reaching  the  low  ground  as  rapidly  as  possible.  Thus,  next 
to  Berlin,  Leipzig  is  the  most  important  inland  trade  centre  of  Germany, 
and  consequently  it  has  become  a  great  industrial  town  also.  It  is  the 
chief  seat  of  the  German  book  trade.  The  most  productive  coal  basin  of 
Saxony  stretches  over  the  Mulde  district  between  the  great  manufacturing 
towns  of  Zwickau  and  Chemnitz.  On  the  poor,  forest-clad  soil  of  the 
Erzgebirge,  the  inhabitants,  like  those  of  the  Thiiringerwald,  maintain 
themselves  by  a  variety  of  domestic  industries  such  as  lace-making,  and 
through  their  diligence  and  frugality  have  attained  a  greater  density 
of  population  than  the  agricultural  people  of  the  fruit-bearing  lands 
along  the  northern  border. 

The  Sudetes. — The  Sudetic  mountain  system  is  composed  of  moun- 
tain ridges  and  plateaux  of  Hercynian  strike.  It  separates  the  drainage 
areas  of  the  Bohemian  Elbe  and  the  Moravian  March  from  that  of  the 
Oder, which  flows  through  the  "Moravian  Gate"  (a  gap  less  than  1,000 
feet  in  elevation  between  the  Sudetes  and  the  Carpathians)  in  a  curve 
towards  North  Germany,  and  receives  on  its  course  north-westwards 
through  Silesia  tributaries  flowing  north-eastward  from  the  eastern 
Sudetes  and  those  flowing  northward  from  the  western  end  of  the  range. 


2  9  2       The  International  Geography 

The  range  runs  next  rather  to  the  east-south-east,  the  Lausitzer  mountains, 
from  the  edge  of  the  plateau  towards  Bohemia,  and  on  the  other  side  of 
the  deep  valley  of  the  upper  Neossa  come  the  Iser  mountains  and  their 
immediate  continuation,  the  Riesengebirge,  at  the  east  end  of  which,  not  far 
from  Schneekoppe,  the  most  important  and  central  pass  of  the  Sudetes 
leads  from  Landshut  in  the  Silesian  Bober  valley  to  Bohemia.  Finally  it 
follows  the  irregularly  grouped  Waldenburger  hills  and  the  two  closely 
approaching  terminal  members  of  the  whole  system  with  a  due  south- 
easterly direction,  enclosing  the  rectangular  mountain  basin  of  Glatz  out 
of  which  the  Neisse  flows  north-eastwards  through  a  deep  and  narrow 
gorge,  and  the  similarly  formed  but  wider  plateau-like  depression  which 
gives  birth  to  the  Oder.  Many  of  the  summits  of  the  Riesengebirge 
exceed  5,000  feet,  and  the  Altvater  in  the  Gesenke  reaches  4,890 
feet,  heights  not  found  elsewhere  in  Germany  except  in  the  Alps.  The 
whole  crest  of  the  Riesengebirge,  averaging  4,250  feet  in  height,  rises 
above  the  forest  limit  and  is  covered  only  with  bushy  mountain  pine.  The 
high-stemmed  coniferous  forests  belong  as  a  rule  to  the  upper  mountain 
slopes,  and  are  mixed  with  deciduous  trees  lower  down.  The  hot  summers 
of  eastern  Europe  allow  of  agriculture  being  practised  up  to  3,000  feet, 
and  the  juicy  mountain  pastures  are  favourable  for  cattle-rearing  ;  on  the 
Riesengebirge  the  Alpine  method  of  cattle  farming  prevails,  and  formerly 
large  flocks  of  sheep  were  kept.  The  wool  produced  on  the  spot  and  the 
excellent  mountain  flax  supply  the  materials  for  an  active  domestic  weaving 
industry  which  has  been  long  established ;  and  recently  textile  factories, 
including  those  for  cotton,  have  developed,  and  are  supported  by  the 
charcoal  made  in  the  forests.  The  abundance  of  timber  and  the  rapid 
currents  of  the  mountain  streams  have  led  to  the  establishment  of  many 
saw-mills,  and  glass-making  has  also  been  introduced  from  Bohemia. 
Thus  the  whole  of  this  mountain  region  is  thickly  peopled,  but  although 
the  villages  of  weavers  stretch  for  miles  along  the  valleys  there  are  no 
large  towns.  Since  the  three  Silesian  wars  of  Frederick  the  Great  almost 
the  half  of  the  Sudetes  have  belonged  to  Prussia,  and  with  the  plain  of 
the  Oder  forms  the  province  of  Silesia  (Schlesien). 

The  North  German  Low  Plain. — The  north  of  Germany  is 
characterised  by  open  plains  with,  at  most,  an  undulating  surface,  and  is 
divided  up  by  the  numerous  streams  and  rivers  which  have  frequently 
cut  steep-sided  valleys  through  the  gently  swelling  elevations.  The  most 
charming  features  of  the  landscape  in  the  plain  are  the  small  lakes 
with  their  fringe  of  reeds  and  the  white  and  yellow  water-lilies  mirrored 
in  the  placid  surface.  These  are  most  numerous  on  the  Baltic  ridge  and 
south  of  it  in  Brandenburg  ;  in  Posen  they  disappear  as  the  base  of  the 
mountains  is  approached,  but  there  fertile  stretches  of  loess  are  mixed 
with  the  otherwise  sandy  soil,  and  pine  forests  take  the  place  of  the 
deciduous  woods,  while  wheat,  barley,  and  sugar-beet  are  cultivated. 
Deciduous  forests,  however,  do  not  entirely  fail  to  grace  the  other 


The  German  Empire  293 

regions  ;  Oldenburg  itself  boasts  some  fine  oak  woods,  and  the  most 
westerly  coast  lands  of  the  Baltic  rejoice  in  magnificent  beech  forests. 
The  sandier  the  soil  grows  towards  the  east  the  more  monotonous  do 
its  pine  woods  become,  relieved  only  by  the  silvery  bark  of  the  birch. 
About  one-third  of  the  surface  is  covered  by  such  woods,  the  rest  being 
occupied  by  sheep  pastures  and  fields  of  rye,  oats  and  potatoes.  The 
Luneburg  Heath  extending  west  from  the  Elbe  to  the  Aller,  is  covered 
with  heather  and  now  has  many  oases  of  tree  plantations.  Beyond  it  the 
scenery  becomes  more  and  more  like  that  of  the  neighbouring  country 
of  Holland,  quite  flat  and  sterile,  with  wide  moors  on  account  of  the 
lack  of  natural  drainage  ;  the  smell  of  peat  fills  the  air,  windmills  are 
prominent  features,  and  the  Frisian  cattle  graze  on  the  rich  marsh 
meadows  behind  the  protecting  sea-walls  on  the  North  Sea  coast. 
Remains  of  the  row  of  North  Sea  dunes  are  only  to  be  found  along  the 
former  coast  line  of  the  Continent  long  since  worn  away  and  represented 
only  by  the  line  of  Frisian  islands,  while  sand-dunes  run  along  the  Baltic 
coast  in  place  of  marsh  lands.  The  only  rocky  island  in  the  North  Sea 
belonging  to  Germany  is  the  sandstone  islet  of  Helgoland,  lying  off  the 
mouth  of  the  Elbe,  which  was  held  as  a  British  possession  from  1807  to  1890. 
Political  Divisions  of  the  Plain.— The  North  German  low  plain 
is  politically  much  more  Homogeneous  than  the  rest  of  the  empire. 
Besides  the  three  Free  Towns — Liibeck,  Hamburg,  and  Bremen — the 
grand  duchy  of  Mecklenburg-Schwerin  stretches  from  the  lower 
Elbe  to  Pomerania  containing  the  pretty  capital  Schwerin  on  a  lake  of 
the  same  name,  flanked  on  east  and  west  by  the  two  unequal  divisions 
of  the  smaller  grand  duchy  of  Mecklenburg-Strelitz.  The  duchy 
of  Anhalt  extends  in  the  south  across  the  province  of  Saxony  from  the 
Hartz  eastward,  with  the  capital  Dessau  on  the  lower  Mulde.  In  the  north 
of  the  Hartz  lies  the  main  portion  of  the  duchy  of  Brunswick,  with 
its  capital  Brunswick  (Braunschweig)  on  both  sides  of  the  little  river  Oker 
which  flows  from  the  Hartz  to  the  Aller.  Finally,  the  grand  duchy  of 
Oldenburg  extends  from  the  Jade  Gulf  and  the  lower  Weser  southward 
into  the  interior.  Its  capital,  Oldenburg,  stands  on  the  Hunte,  a  left-bank 
tributary  of  the  Weser ;  other  portions  of  this  duchy  are  detached  from 
the  main  body.  All  the  rest  of  North  Germany  is  made  up  of  provinces  of 
the  kingdom  of  Prussia.  East  Prussia  extends  from  the  Frisches  to  the 
Kurisches  Haff  and  the  Russian  frontier,  with  Konigsberg  just  above  the 
mouth  of  the  Pregel  in  the  Frisches  Haft.  West  Prussia  lies  on  both  sides 
of  the  Vistula,  with  Danzig  at  the  mouth  of  that  river  as  its  chief  town,  and 
south  of  it  comes  the  province  of  Posen  with  the  capital  Posen  on  the 
Warte,  the  chief  right-bank  tributary  of  the  Oder.  Silesia  is  the  fourth 
Prussian  province  touching  the  Russian  frontier,  and  has  Breslau  as  its 
capital.  Brandenburg,  historically  the  nucleus  of  the  kingdom  of  Prussia, 
lies  between  Mecklenburg  and  the  kingdom  of  Saxony  and  between  the 
Warte  and  Oder  and  the  Elbe  with  its  tributary  the  Havel.  At 


294      The  International  Geography 


Spandau,  the  westerly  fort  protecting  Berlin,  the  Havel  receives  its 
tributary  the  Spree.  The  province  of  Saxony  lies  on  both  sides  of  the 
Elbe,  and  its  capital,  Magdeburg,  stands  on  that  river.  Schleswig-Holstein, 
in  the  south  of  Jutland,  has  as  its  capital  Schleswig,  on  one  of  the  long 
narrow  inlets  which  penetrate  the  land  from  the  Baltic  shore.  Hanover 
extends  to  the  Teutoburger  Wald  and  the  frontier  of  the  Netherlands,  with 
its  capital  Hanover  on  the  Leine  ;  and  Westphalia  (with  Milnster  in  the 
"  bay  "  of  the  plain  between  the  Teutoburger  Wald  and  the  Haar)  and1  the 
Rhine  Province  on  both  sides  of  the  river  before  it  leaves  Germany,  com- 
plete the  divisions  of  Prussia. 

Chief  Coast  Towns. — The  two  great  naval  stations  of  Germany  are 
Wilhelmshaven  on  Jade  Bay  on  the  North  Sea,  and  Kiel  on  the  inlet  of  the 
same  name  near  the  Baltic  entrance  of  the  Kaiser- Wilhelm  Canal,  which 
enables  German  war  vessels  to  pass  rapidly  from  one  sea  to  the  other  and 
concentrate  at  any  desired  point  on  either  coast.  In  the  extreme  east, 
Konigsberg  belongs  to  the  group  of  towns  that  have  prospered  through 
over-sea  trade,  although  on  account  of  the  shallowness  of  the  Frisches 
Haff  large  vessels  cannot  reach  the  harbour,  and  the  outport  of  Pillau  on 
the  sand-spit  enclosing  the  lagoon  has  been  built  to  carry  on  the  trade. 
The  navigable  Pregel  enables  Konigsberg  to  serve  as  a  centre  for  dis- 
tributing goods  through  the  interior  of  East  Prussia,  and  in  winter  when 
the  Russian  harbours  are  frozen  up,  there  is  great  traffic  by  railway  to  the 
Baltic  provinces  of  Russia.  Danzig  is  not  only  the  great  commercial 
centre  of  West  Prussia,  but  is  important  as  the  seaport  of  Russian  Poland, 
exporting  the  wood  and  wheat  brought  down  the  Vistula.  Stettin  is 
similarly  not  only  the  chief  seaport  of  Pomerania  but  of  an  extensive 
hinterland,  even  to  a  certain  extent  serving  as  the  Baltic  port  of  Berlin, 
since  it  is  the  most  southerly  point  which  sea-going  vessels  can  reach  from 
the  Baltic,  and  the  navigable  Oder  is  linked  by  canals  to  all  parts  of 
northern  Germany,  including  the  Elbe  system.  Lubeck,  on  the  Trave, 
which  falls  into  the  head  of  the  Baltic  bay,  which  reaches  farthest  to  the 

south-west,  has  since  the 
time  of  the  Hanseatic 
League  been  a  favourite 
centre  for  Baltic  trade. 
On  the  North  Sea 
coast  the  ports  are  the 
small  Emden  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Ems,  and 
the  great  harbours, 
Bremen  and  Hamburg, 

FIG.  148.— Hamburg.  which   jn  happy  rivalry 

command  the  whole  German  trade  with  America.  Bremen  has  only 
recently  been  made  accessible  to  the  largest  sea-going  vessels  by  the 
deepening  of  the  lower  Weser  ;  but  Hamburg  receives  the  greater  share 


The   German  Empire  295 

of  the  trade  on  account  of  its  situation  on  the  most  south-easterly  inlet  of 
the  North  Sea  where  the  Elbe  allows  of  easy  anchorage  for  ships  of  any 
draught,  and  because  of  the  cheap  water-transport  by  which  goods  can  be 
forwarded  to  the  interior  of  the  country  ;  so  it  has  become  the  greatest 
seaport  on  the  continent  of  Europe,  and  now  realises  the  benefits  of  being 
no  longer  separated  from  the  rest  of  the  country  by  a  Customs  barrier. 
The  large  town  Altona,  in  Schleswig-Holstein,  shares  the  favourable 
situation  of  Hamburg,  and  is  now  united  with  it  by  continuous  streets. 

Inland  Towns  of  the  North  German  Low  Plain. — Within 
recent  years  the  coal-fields  of  the  Ruhr  valley  have  enabled  many  of  the 
towns  of  the  lower  Rhine  district  to  become  great  manufacturing  centres. 
Such  in  particular  are  Krefeld,  some  distance  from  the  left  bank  of  the 
Rhine,  which  is  now  the  chief  silk  manufacturing  town  in  Germany,  and 
Diisseldorf,  the  splendid  river-port  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Rhine,  in  close 
railway  communication  with  the  neighbouring  Barmen  and  Elberfeld 
(see  Fig.  147)  and  celebrated  also  for  its  Academy  of  Painting.  In  the  inland 
trade  between  east  and  west,  Cologne,  Hanover,  Brunswick,  Magdeburg, 
Frankfort-on-the-Oder,  and  Posen  have  all  in- 
creased in  importance  on  account  of  their 
position  at  the  crossing  places  of  important 
rivers.  Cologne  (Koln),  with  its  lordly  cathedral, 
is  naturally  the  most  important  of  the  series,  for 
sea-going  vessels  can  reach  it  easily  from  Rotter- 
dam, thus  it  is  a  place  for  transhipping  cargo 
and  of  immense  activity  on  account  of  the  great 
north  and  south  river  highway  of  the  west  cross- 
ing the  greatest  east  and  west  railway  of  the 
north.  Cologne  is  very  strongly  fortified  on  this 

account,  and  so  are  Magdeburg,  the  chief  centre  of  the  German  beet-sugar 
trade,  and  Posen,  which  lies  on  the  central  line  of  approach  from  Russia 
towards  Berlin.  Breslau  also,  the  true  centre  of  Silesia,  became  important 
from  its  position  at  a  crossing  of  trade  routes,  the  roads  from  Bohemia 
through  the  Landeshut  Pass,  and  from  the  March  through  Glatz,  meet 
there  and  cross  the  Oder  in  the  direction  of  Posen. 

Berlin. — Berlin  has  grown  as  the  seat  of  the  Hohenzollerns  in  the 
centre  of  Mark  Brandenburg,  increasing  in  importance  with  the  growing 
power  of  the  Brandenburg-Prussian  state.  Its  position  on  the  Spree  has 
assisted  its  development  as  a  commercial  town  from  an  early  period  ;  even 
in  the  thirteenth  century  it  shipped  wheat  to  Hamburg,  and  now,  by  means 
of  canals  from  the  Spree  and  Havel  to  the  Oder,  goods  can  be  carried  cheaply 
over  the  whole  Elbe  and  Oder  river  systems,  a  very  important  consideration 
for  the  supply  of  food  and  fuel  to  the  city.  The  full  advantages  of  situation 
only  appeared  in  the  nineteenth  century,  when  the  level  stretches  of  the 
north-east  plain,  equidistant  between  the  coast  and  the  highlands,  developed 
a  system  of  direct  lines  of  communication  with  Hamburg  and  Breslau,  with 


296       The  International  Geography 

the  Halle-Leipzig  lowland  "  bay  "  and  Stettin.  Thus  Berlin  naturally  be- 
came the  greatest  centre  of  radiating  railway  lines  in  Central  Europe,  in 
direct  touch  with  every  capital  on  the  Continent  (see  Fig.  54),  a  huge  com- 
mercial city,  the  head-quarters  of  German  banking,  and  one  of  the  chief 
industrial  towns  of  Europe,  especially  for  the  manufacture  of  clothing  and 
artistic  articles,  in  fact,  half  the  population  live  by  its  manufactures. 
Frederick  the  Great  made  Berlin  a  leading  town  in  the  scientific  and 
artistic  world,  a  position  it  has  since  maintained  and  improved.  Including 
the  suburbs  and  the  inseparable  town  of  Charlottenburg  on  the  west,  the 
total  population  of  Berlin  is  at  least  2,000,000,  making  it  second  in  size 
only  to  Paris  amongst  the  cities  of  continental  Europe. 


FIG.  150. — The  Surroundings  of  Berlin. 


STATISTICS. 
AREA  AND  POPULATION  OF  THE  GERMAN  STATES. 


Population.  . 

In  1890 

in  1900. 

Area  in 
State.                                Style.                    sq.  miles. 

persq. 
Number.      mile. 

Number. 

per  sq. 
mile. 

Prussia  (including  Haffs)  ..        Kingdom           ..     136,116 

29,957,367 

223 

34,472,509 

253 

Bavaria          „                    ..      29,291 

5,594,982 

191 

6,176,057 

2IO 

Wiirttemburg          ....             „                    ..        7,535 
Baden            Grand  Duchy    .  .        5,822 

2,036,522 
1,657,867 

270 

285 

2,169,480 
1,867,944 

288 
320 

Saxony           Kingdom            .  .        5,789 

3,502,684 

605 

4,202.216 

743 

Alsace-Lorraine       .  .        .  .        Imperial  Territory       5,500 

1,603,506 

286 

i  719.470 

306 

Mecklenburg-Schwerin      .          Grand  Duchy     ..        5,135 

578,342 

«3 

607,770 

iiS 

Hesse  

„                .  .        2,966 

992,883 

335 

1,119,893 

377 

Oldenburg      

2,481 

354-968 

143 

309,180 

161 

Brunswick     

Duchy 

1,418 

403,773 

283 

464.333 

326 

Saxe  Weimar 

Grand  Duchy 

i,396 

326,091 

235 

362,873 

260 

Mecklenburg-Strelitz 

. 

1,131 

97,978 

87 

102,602 

90 

Saxe  Meiningen 
Anhalt  

Duchy     .  . 

953 
906 

223,832 
271,963 

235 
300 

250,731 
316,085 

263 
348 

Saxe  Coburg-Gotha  .  . 

,. 

756 

206,513 

273 

229,550 

304 

Saxe  Altenburg 

w 

5" 

170,864 

332 

194,914 

380 

The  German  Empire 


297 


AREA  AND  POPULATION  OF  THE  GERMAN  STATES-(continued). 

Population. 
In  1890.  In  1900. 


State.                                    Stvle. 

Lippe  
Waldeck 

Principality 

Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt 
Schwarzburg-Sondershau 

n            „ 

Reuss,  younger  line 

- 

Hamburg 

Free  Town  " 

Schaumburg  Lippe.  . 
Reuss,  older  line     . 

Principality 

Liibeck 

Free  Town 

Bremen 

„         .  . 

German  Empire 


Area  in 

per  sq. 

per  sq. 

sq.  miles. 

Number. 

mile. 

Number. 

mile. 

469 

128,495 

274 

138,952 

296 

433 

57,28i 

132 

59,9i8 

133 

363. 

85,863 

236 

93,059 

255 

333 

75,5io 

227 

80,898 

242 

319 

119,811 

376 

139,210 

435 

158 

622,530 

3,949 

768,349 

4,862 

131 

39,i63 

299 

43-132 

329 

122 
115 

62.754 
76,485 

8 

68,306 
96,775 

559 
841 

99 

180,443 

1,823 

224,882 

2,269 

210,248   49,428,470   236   56,367,178   269 


POPULATION  OF  THE  LARGEST  GERMAN  TOWNS. 


1890.           1900. 

1890.            1900. 

Berlin 

1,578,794     1,888,326 

Elberfeld 

93,538        156,937 

Hamburg 

569,260       705,738 

Bremen 

125,684        156,718 

Munich  (Miinchen) 

349,024        499,959 

'Halle 

101,401        156,611 

Leipzig 

357,122        456,126 

Strassburg 

123,500        150,268 

Breslau 

335,186        422,738 

Dortmund 

89,663        142,418 

Dresden 

289,844        395,349 

Barmen 

116,228        141,947 

Cologne  (Koln)     .  . 
Frankfort-on-the-Main 

281,681        372,229 
136,819        288,489 

Danzig 
Mannheim 

120,338        140,539 
79,058        140,3*5 

Nuremberg  (Niirnberg) 

142,590        261,022 

Aachen  (Ai 

la-Ch 

pelle 

103,470        135,235 

Hanover 

174,455        235,666 

Brunswick 

101,074        128,177 

Magdeburg.  . 
Diisseldorf 

202,234        229.663 
144,642        213,767 

Kiel  .. 
Posen 

69,172        121,790 
69,627        117,014 

Stettin 

116,228        210,680 

Krefeld 

105,376        109,119 

Chemnitz    .. 

138,954        206,584 

**Kassel 

72,477        106,001 

Charlottenburg    .  . 

76,859        189,296 

Carlsruhe 

73,684         97,161 

Konigsberg.  . 

161,666        187,897 

Duisburg 

59,285         92.729 

Essen 

78,706        182,135 

Augsburg 

75,629         89,109 

Stuttgart 

139,817        176,318 

Miilhausen 

76,892          89,012 

Altona 

143,249        161,507 

Wiesbaden 

64,670       86,086 

ANNUAL  TRADE  OF  THE  GERMAN  EMRIRE  (in  pounds  sterling). 


Imports 
Exports 


Average  for  1872-75.1 
187,041,000 
124,720,000 


1881-85. 
157,207,000 
158,039,000 


1891-95. 
212,960,000 
172,100,000 


THE  GERMAN  FOREIGN  POSSESSIONS  (estimates). 


Area  in  square  miles 
384,180 

Population. 
8,000,000 

3,500,000 

Togoland                .                                        . 

•  •          33,7oo 

2,500,000 

German  South-West  Africa      
German  New  Guinea     .  .        .  .        .  . 

322,450 
70,000 

200,000 
110,000 

Marshall  Islands  

13,000 

Caroline  and  Marianne  Islands 

610 

40,000 

Total 


1,002,220 


14,363,000 


STANDARD  BOOKS. 

G.  B.  Mendelssohn.    "  Das  germanische  Europa."     Berlin,  1836. 

A.  Penck.     "  Das  Deutsche  Reich."    Vienna,  1887. 

R.  Lepsius.    "  Geologic  von  Deutschland  und  den  angrenzenden  Gebieten  I  Teil.     Das 

westliche  und  siidliche  Deutschland."     1887-1892. 

• "Geologische  Karte  von  Deutschland"  (Atlas  in  27  sheets).     1892-93. 

C.  Vogel.    "  Karte  des  Deutschen  Reiches  "  (Atlas  in  27  sheets).     1892-93. 

O.  Drude.    "  Deutschlands  Pflanzengeographie."     I  Teil.     1896. 

"  Forschungen  zur  Deutschen  Landes-  und  Volkskunde."     Edited  by  R.  Lehmann,  and  later 

by  A.  Kirchhoff  (in  progress).    14  vols.    Stuttgart,  1886-1902. 


The  earlier  statistics  are  less  satisfactory  than  the  later. 


CHAPTER  XVIII.— THE    AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN 
MONARCHY 


I,— AUSTRIA-HUNGARY 

BY  DR.  ALBRECHT  PENCK, 

Formerly  Professor  of  Geography  in  the  University  of  Vienna. 

Position  and  General  Character. — The  Austro- Hungarian  Mon- 
archy lies  in  the  latitude  of  France,  between  42°  and  51°  N.,  but  farther 
east,  in  the  interior  of  the  continent,  between  10°  and  26°  E.  long.  Whilst 
France  has  the  sea  on  three  sides  and  has  longer  coast-lines  than  land 
frontiers,  Austria- Hungary  is  only  touched  by  an  arm  of  the  Mediterranean, 
and  its  land  frontiers,  towards  the  German  Empire,  Russia,  Rumania, 
Servia,  Turkey,  Montenegro,  Italy  and  Switzerland,  are  five  times  longer 
than  its  coast-line.  No  other  part  of  Europe  has  so  great  a  variety 
of  geographical  features,  climates  and  nations.  It  embraces  the  greater 

part  of  the  Eastern  Alps,  with  their  high, 
snow-clad  summits,  the  greater  part  of 
the  Boian  or  Bohemian  plateau,  nearly 
the  whole  chain  of  the  Carpathians,  with 
a  large  part  of  their  northern  forelands, 
the  nearly  level  plains  of  Hungary,  and  a 
part  of  the  Dinaric  Mountains  of  the  Balkan 
peninsula.  Its  western  parts  are  under  the 
climatic  influence  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean ; 
in  the  east  a  continental  climate  prevails, 
with  hot  summers  and  cold  winters  ;  the 
south  has  the  mild  winters  and  dry  summers 
of  the  Mediterranean,  whilst  the  highest 


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VIENNA  TRIEST  

FIG.  151.— Mean   Monthly  Rainfall    summits  in  the  Alps  and  Carpathians  have 

and  TrieftTtUre  ^^  °f  ******    the  mean  annual  temperature  of  the  Arctic 

regions.  Extensive  forests  are  found,  es- 
pecially in  the  mountain  districts.  The  eastern  plains  in  the  interior 
of  Hungary,  and  on  the  northern  slope  of  the  Carpathians,  are  natural 
meadows,  belonging  to  the  steppes  of  south-eastern  Europe.  Consider- 
able areas  in  the  south  show  bare  rock  with  only  traces  of  vegetation. 
All  the  races  of  Europe  are  represented  in  the  Monarchy.  The  north-west 
belongs  to  the  Teutonic  race — it  is  German.  The  east  is  occupied  by 
different  Slavonic  peoples,  separated  into  a  northern  group  of  three,  the 

2Q8 


The  Austro- Hungarian  Monarchy      299 

Chechs,  Poles  and  Ruthenians ;  and  a  southern  group  of  two,  the  Croats 
and  Slovenians ;  and  by  the  Hungarians,  whose  language  is  not  allied  to  that 
of  the  other  European  races,  but  points  to  an  affinity  with  the  Uralian 
peoples.  The  Mediterranean  coasts  and  the  south-east  corner  belong  to 
the  Latin  race  ;  Italians  in  the  west  and  Rumanians  in  the  east.  There  are 
only  three  provinces  of  Austria  in  which  one  language  (German)  is 
generally  spoken.  In  Hungary  there  are  numerous  villages  and  even 
towns  where  three  distinct  languages  are  in  common  use.  As  to  religion, 
only  the  western  parts  of  Austria  are  uniform  ;  they  belong  to  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church.  In  the  east  Greek  Catholics,  adherents  of  the  Eastern 
Church,  and  Protestants  of  different  denominations  are  met  with,  and  in 
several  towns  the  Jewish  population  is  in  the  majority.  On  the  Mediter- 
ranean coasts  the  civilisation  is  directly  derived  from  the  Romans  ;  the 
Alpine  and  Boian  countries  have  shared  in  the  evolution  of  German  life 
since  the  Middle  Ages.  The  Carpathian  lands  and  Hungary  possess  a 
newer  civilisation,  the  Turks  having  been  driven  out  from  several  parts 
only  two  hundred  years  ago.  The  Dinaric  lands  are  only  now  entering 
into  the  life  of  civilised  Europe.  The  north-west  of  the  Monarchy  belongs 
to  the  great  manufacturing  belt  of  Central  Europe  ;  the  east,  however,  to 
the  agricultural  lands  of  Eastern  Europe. 

Boundaries. — All  these  differences  are  found  in  a  group  of  countries 
which  are  united  by  their  natural  frontiers.  The  northern  boundary  is  de- 
termined by  a  nearly  continuous  succession  of  different  mountains.  There 
are  the  mountainous  rims  of  the  Boian  lands,  which  surround  the  upper  Elbe 
basin,  and  the  long  arc  of  the  Carpathians  around  the  basin  of  the  middle 
Danube  ;  thus  Bohemia  and  Hungary  are  circumscribed,  and  both  coun- 
tries are  connected  by  frequent  passes.  South  of  Bohemia  the  Eastern 
Alps  form  a  mountainous  country,  which,  drained  mainly  by  the  Danube, 
is  connected  by  that  river  with  the  Hungarian  basin.  The  same  holds 
good  of  the  Dinaric  Mountains.  Austria- Hungary  is  in  fact  the  basin  of  the 
middle  Danube,  with  its  mountainous  surroundings,  to  which  is  added  the 
neighbouring  upper  Elbe  basin.  Only  that  part  of  the  Danubian  slope  of  the 
Dinaric  Mountains,  which  forms  the  kingdom  of  Servia,does  not  belong  to  the 
Monarchy,  and  there  the  frontiers  are  determined  by  the  great  river  Save 
On  the  other  hand,  the  Monarchy  reaches  the  Adriatic  Sea  and  stretches  in 
the  Alps  into  the  basin  of  the  Adige,  and  even  of  the  Rhine.  In  the  north- 
east Austria  extends  over  the  water-parting  of  the  Carpathians  and  embraces 
the  lowlands  beyond.  Towards  the  north  a  natural  limit  is  drawn  by  the 
infertile  land  along  the  Vistula,  the  river  itself  forming  the  boundary  for  a 
considerable  distance,  but  towards  the  east  the  frontier  is  arbitrary.  There 
are  four  considerable  openings  in  the  mountain  border,  one  by  which  the 
Danube  enters  Austria  as  a  navigable  river  ;  the  second  by  which  it  leaves 
Hungary  ;  the  third  is  a  breach  between  the  Sudetes  and  the  Carpathians ; 
and  the  fourth  is  the  saddle-like  gap  between  the  Alps  and  the  Dinaric 
Mountains,  which  opens  the  way  to  the  Adriatic  Sea.  Two  highways  of 
21 


300       The  International  Geography 

European  commerce  are  determined  by  these  openings  ;  one  follows  the 
Danube  to  the  south-east,  to  Asia  Minor,  the  other  connects  the  Medi- 
terranean with  the  great  plains  of  northern  Europe.  The  crossing  of  both 
ways  is  the  site  of  Vienna,  the  capital  of  the  Monarchy,  and  a  great  centre 
of  European  activity. 

People  and  History.— The  large  Austro-Hungarian  basin  has  always 
been  an  attraction  for  the  neighbouring  peoples,  but  it  has  rarely  been  in 
the  possession  of  one  nation.  The  Romans  extended  their  Empire  over 
the  south-western  half,  in  general  not  farther  than  to  the  Danube.  They 
were  thrown  backward  to  the  Mediterranean  coast  by  Teutonic  peoples 
who  did  not  occupy  the  conquered  country,  but  left  it  to  the  Slavonic 
tribes  which  wandered,  in  the  sixth  century,  over  nearly  the  whole 
ground  with  the  exception  only  of  the  western  Alpine  provinces.  Then 
came  a  new  German  immigration.  The  Bavarians  followed  the  course  of 
the  Danube  on  its  right  bank,  and  settled  between  the  Slavonic  clans  as 
far  as  the  mouth  of  the  river  Drave.  Charles  the  Great  (Charlemagne) 
extended  the  frontiers  of  his  mighty  empire  as  far  east  as  this,  forming  its 
eastern  marches  (Ostmark)  there  ;  and  he  also  conquered  Bohemia.  In 
this  way  tjie  western  half  of  the  Monarchy  became  connected  with  the  old 
German  Empire.  The  east,  however,  was  conquered  at  the  end  of  the 
tenth  century  by  the  Hungarians,  who  formed  ^national  kingdom  ;  another 
arose  in  Poland,  a  third  in  Bohemia,  which  however  never  ceased  to  be  a 
German  fief.  Some  of  the  rulers  of  these  kingdoms  favoured  German 
immigration,  and  North  Germans  cleared  the  forests  of  the  Boian  mountains 
and  of  the  Carpathians  as  far  as  Transylvania,  and  founded  numerous 
towns  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Danube,  those  on  the  right  being  mostly  of 
Roman  origin.  In  1276  the  remnants  of  the  old  eastern  marches,  then  called 
Oesterreich  (Eastern  realm),  came  into  the  possession  of  the  Habsburg 
family,  who  gained  the  neighbouring  countries  by  treaties  of  inheritance. 
At  first  they  obtained  the  Alpine  provinces,  and  later  succeeded  to  Bohemia 
and  Hungary.  This  happened  at  a  moment  when  the  Turks  had  invaded 
Hungary,  and  it  needed  two  hundred  years  of  continual  fighting  to  conquer 
that  kingdom,  and  after  its  conquest  Germans  were  settled  on  the  devastated 
lands.  When,  at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  kingdom  of 
Poland  was  divided,  Austria  gained  Galicia,  and  soon  afterwards  received 
Bukovina  from  the  Turks.  When  the  old  German  Empire  ceased  to  exist 
the  Habsburg  countries  were  declared  an  Austrian  Empire,  and  this  was 
enlarged  after  the  Napoleonic  wars  by  some  provinces  in  Italy,  which  have 
since  been  lost,  with  the  exception  of  the  Venetian  colonies  on  the  east 
shore  of  the  Adriatic  Sea,  in  Dalmatia  and  I  stria.  Finally,  in  1878,  the 
adjoining  parts  of  Turkey  (Bosnia  and  Hercegovina)  were  occupied, 
though  nominally  they  still  belong  to  the  Sultan. 

Organisation. — The  gradual  growth  of  the  Monarchy  can  be  com- 
pared with  a  crystallisation  of  lands  around  their  natural  centre,  that  is, 
Vienna.  This  happened  in  a  peaceful  way ;  the  different  countries  pre- 


The  Austro-Hungarian  Monarchy      301 

served  their  own  organisations,  and  their  inhabitants  retained  their  own 
languages  ;  but  by  the  fact  that  German  colonists  were  and  are  active 
nearly  everywhere  the  whole  came  into  the  sphere  of  German  culture,  and 
though  the  Germans  form  only  27  per  cent,  of  the  population,  German  is  the 
language  of  intercourse  of  the  whole  Monarchy,  and  is  spoken  by  every 
educated  man.  Several  attempts  to  amalgamate  the  different  countries  of 
the  Monarchy  into  one 
uniform  State  have  been 
made  and  failed.  In  1867 
complete  home  rule  was 
established  for  Hungary, 
and  the  title  of  the 
Austrian  Empire  was  re- 
placed by  that  of  the 
Austro-Hungarian  Mon- 
archy. This  name  recalls 
that  of  the  United  King- 
dom of  Great  Britain  and 
Ireland.  Indeed,  the  re- 
lations between  Austria 
and  Hungary  may  be 
compared  to  those  be- 
tween Great  Britain  and  Ireland  as  they  were  before  the  final  union. 
The  Emperor  of  Austria  is  always  King  of  Hungary,  and  in  Hungary 
uses  only  that  title.  The  foreign  relations,  the  army  and  navy,  as 
well  as  the  customs-tariffs  and  currency,  are  common  affairs  to  the 
whole  Monarchy.  In  their  internal  administration  both  moieties  of  the 
Monarchy  have  complete  independence,  with  their 
own  parliaments  and  governments.  Delegates 
elected  by  both  parliaments  arrange  a  new  mutual 
treaty  (Ausgleich)  every,  ten  years,  and  control  the 
common  affairs,  which  are  administered  by 
common  Ministries  for  Foreign  affairs,  War,  and 
Finance  ;  the  last  named  also  administers  Bosnia 
and  Hercegovina.  The  official  title  of  Austria  is, 
"  The  Kingdoms  and  Countries  represented  in  the 
Reichsrat  "  (Austrian  parliament) ;  Hungary  is  called  "The  Lands  of  the 
Hungarian  Crown."  Thus,  independent  in  their  own  administration,  both 
moieties  are  mutually  dependent  on  one  another  in  all  foreign  matters ; 
and  both  together  form  one  of  the  six  Great  Powers  of  Europe  with  a 
common  flag. 


FlG.  152. — Austria-Hungary,  showing  countries  and 
provinces.     Austria  white,  Hungary  stippled. 


FlG.    153.  —  Austro-Hun- 
garian Merchant  Flag, 


302       The  International  Geography 


II.— AUSTRIA 

BY  DR.  ALBRECHT  PENCK, 

Formerly  Professor  of  Geography  in  the  University  of  Vienna. 

The  Empire  of  Austria. — Austria  embraces  the  old  Habsburg 
possessions  of  the  Alps  (Lower  and  Upper  Austria,  Salzburg,  Styria, 
Carinthia,  Carniola,  Tirol,  Gorz,  Triest),  most  of  the  lands  of  the  old  king- 
dom of  Bohemia  (Bohemia,  Moravia,  Silesia),  parts  of  the  former  kingdom 
of  Poland  (Galicia  and  Bukovina),  and  the  Venetian  colonies  on  the  east 
side  of  the  Adriatic  (Istria  and  Dalmatia).  These  four  historical  groups 
correspond  in  general  to  the  natural  groups  of  the  Alpine,  Boian,  Car- 
pathian, and  Dinaric  lands.  Each  of  these  groups  consist  of  provinces 
or  Crown  lands  (Fig.  152),  which  still  bear  their  old  titles  such  as  kingdom 
or  duchy,  &c.  Each  has  its  governor,  called  Statthaltet,  and  its  own 
provincial  diet  or  parliament.  They  are  all  represented  together  in  the 
Reichsrat,  or  Austrian  parliament,  partly  by  popular 
election,  partly  by  the  election  of  privileged  classes. 
Alpine  Provinces. — The  Alpine  lands  of 
Austria  cover  the  larger  part  of  the  Eastern  Alps 
and  of  the  northern  and  eastern  Alpine  forelands. 
The  characteristic  features  of  the  Austrian  Alps  are 
two  long  rows  of  longitudinal  valleys,  with  a  mean 
elevation  of  2,000  to  2,500  feet  running,  like  the 


FIG  154—  Average  popu-    mountains,  from  west  to  east.     They  separate  a  cen- 

lation  of  a  square  mile    tral  zone  from  two  lateral  mountainous  belts.     The 

Central    Zone    consists    of    ancient    rocks,    gneiss, 

mica-schist  and  granite.  In  the  west  it  is  cut  into  separate  groups  of 
mountains,  which  reach  heights  of  from  12,000  to  13,000  feet,  and  are 
divided  by  passes  of  moderate  elevation  ;  the  Ortler  (12,800  feet)  is  the 
culminating  point ;  the  Brenner  (4,400  feet)  is  the  lowest  and  most  important 
pass  (Fig.  51).  East  of  the  Brenner  the  Central  Zone  forms  a  long  wall 
with  summits  of  12,460  feet  (Gross  Glockner),  which  is  not  interrupted  by 
any  pass  lower  than  7,500  feet  for  a  distance  of  TOO  miles.  Farther  east 
their  height  diminishes  to  6,000  feet,  and  glaciers  cease  ;  the  mountains 
lose  their  rugged  form  and  become  rounded,  the  valleys  widen  at  several 
places,  especially  in  Carinthia,  into  basins,  and  some  passes  are  below 
3,000  feet.  The  lateral  zones  of  the  Eastern  Alps  consist  of  limestone,  and 
are  therefore  called  the  Northern  and  Southern  Limestone  Alps.  In  the 
west  they  are  lower  than  the  Central  Zone  ;  the  Northern  range  does  not 
reach  more  than  10,000  feet,  the  Southern  not  more  than  11,500  feet. 
In  the  east,  however,  they  surpass  the  Central  Zone,  and  even  at  their 
ends  have  heights  of  6,600  feet  on  the  north,  and  8,200  feet  on  the  south. 


Austria  303 


In  general,  they  rise  as  steep  masses  of  naked  rock,  separated  by 
deep  valleys  and  low  passes.  In  some  parts  there  are  beautiful  lakes 
in  these  hollows,  e.g.,  the  Garda-lake,  Achen-lake  in  Tirol ;  and  the  lakes 
of  the  Salzkammergut.  The  Northern  Belt  is  cut  through  by  three 
important  rivers,  which  leave  the  northern  row  of  longitudinal  valleys ; 
the  Inn,  the  Salzach  and  the  Enns  are  direct  affluents  of  the  Upper 
Danube.  Only  one  river  of  this  line,  the  Mur,  turns  to  the  south-east 
and  reaches  the  eastern  forelands.  In  the  southern  row  of  valleys,  how- 
ever, the  main  river,  the  Drave,  flows  eastward,  and  parallel  to  it  farther 
south  is  another  Alpine  affluent  of  the  middle  Danube,  the  Save.  Only 
one  river  of  the  southern  line,  the  Adige,  or  Etsch,  turns  in  a  deep  valley 
to  the  Plain  of  Lombardy  on  the  south.  There  are  numerous  other 
passages  between  the  steep  mountains,  especially  in  the  east,  where  the 
valleys  of  the  Drave,  the  Save  and  the  Tagliamento  are  connected  by  a 
set  of  passes  lower  than  2,700  feet. 

North  of  the  Alps  there  is  a  narrow  strip  of  flat,  undulating  land,  which 
sinks  eastward  from  1,500  to  600  feet  in  elevation.  It  is  narrowed  in  the 
middle  by  the  projecting  southern  corner  of  the  Boian  plateau  to  a  width 
of  only  six  miles,  forming  the  important  Austrian  Gap.  To  the  west  and 
east  this  foreland  widens  out  between  its  mountainous  walls.  Its  general 
trend  is  followed  by  the  Danube  ;  but  this  mighty  river  prefers  the  course 
in  a  gorge-like  valley  through  the  border  of  the  Bohemian  plateau  to  that 
in  the  lowlands.  At  Krems  it  leaves  the  plateau  and  runs  to  the  north- 
eastern extremity  of  the  Alps  at  Vienna.  In  the  east  several  chains  of  the 
Alps  branch  off  into  the  Hungarian  plain,  a  corner  of  which  penetrates 
basin-like  between  them  westward.  The  frontier  between  the  two 
countries  cuts  off  the  branches  and  leaves  the  Styrian  basin  with  Austria. 
It  is  a  hilly  country,  which  rises  gradually  from  600  to  1,500  feet.  In  the 
south-east  the  Southern  Limestone  Alps  are  connected  with  the  Dinaric 
Mountains  by  the  saddle-like  Karst  plateau,  whose  lowest  point  is  a  little 
below  1,900  feet.  It  consists  principally  of  limestone  and  exhibits  the 
typical  development  of  all  those  features  which  are  called  Karst  phenomena. 
A  distinct  valley-system  is  wanting ;  the  rivers  run  over  flat  basins, 
descend  into  caves,  and  reappear  as  great  springs  in  other  basins.  The 
surroundings  of  Adelsberg  are  famous  for  the  cave  where  the  river  Poik 
disappears.  In  the  same  neighbourhood  the  lake  of  Zirknitz  is  formed 
now  and  then  by  the  inundation  of  the  low  grounds  from  springs.  The 
grandest  scenery  is  found  along  the  subterranean  course  of  the  Reka  in 
the  Caves  of  St.  Canzian  (Fig.  158). 

Climate  and  Agriculture  of  the  Alpine  Provinces. — The 
climate  of  the  Alpine  lands  shows  great  variety.  The  highest  meteoro- 
logical station  on  the  Sonnblick  (i.e.,  Sun-glimpse,  11,190  feet)  has  the 
winter  of  north-east  Russia  and  the  summer  of  Franz  Josef  Land.  In 
the  principal  valleys  the  climate  of  the  Alpine  forelands  reigns  in  a  some- 
what intensified  form.  Thus  the  eastern  valleys  have  a  strongly  continental 


304      The  International  Geography 

climate  with  cold  winters  ;  in  the  valley  of  the  Adige,  however,  the 
Mediterranean  climate  with  warm  winters  extends  nearly  to  the  centre  of 
the  mountains,  where  Bozen  and  Meran  lie  in  a  climatic  oasis.  The 
northern  valleys,  like  the  northern  Alpine  forelands,  have  the  relatively 
mild  winters  of  western  Central  Europe,  and  the  temperature  is  often 
raised  by  a  warm  south  wind,  called  fohn.  The  range  of  temperature, 
however,  is  determined  also  by  the  elevation,  and  is  less  in  the  interior 
than  in  the  border  regions,  especially  on  the  forelands ;  on  the  Karst 
plateau,  however,  it  is  raw  and  severe.  The  rainfall  is  highest  on  the 
northern  and  southern  rim  of  the  mountains,  where  it  rises  in  several 
places  to  80  inches  per  annum  ;  the  valleys  are  dryer  than  the  forelands. 
The  snowfall  increases  with  the  elevation,  and  from  8,500  feet  in  the 
border  region,  from  10,000  feet  in  the  inner  parts,  the  Eastern  Alps  are 
covered  to  the  extent  of  600  square  miles  with  perpetual  snow.  The 
Austrian  Alps  produce  1,000  glaciers  ;  the  largest  and  finest  is  the  Pasterze, 
near  the  Gross  Glockner,  12  square  miles  in  area. 

Below  the  snow-line  there  is  a  zone  of  natural  pastures,  called  the 
Alpine  region.  The  last  trees  mount  up  to  6,000  feet,  and  in  the  interior 
at  several  places  to  7,000  feet.  The  high  ground  is  used  during  the  summer 
as  pasture  ;  the  lower  slopes  are  woodland.  Cultivated  fields  are  rarely 
found  above  4,000  feet.  Agriculture  is  therefore  concentrated  in  the 
valleys,  and  no  large  village  lies  higher  than  4,000  feet,  only  some  hamlets 
are  met  with  in  the  western  Central  Zone  as  high  as  6,000  feet.  In  the 
northern  and  eastern  valleys  grain  is  grown  ;  in  the  valley  of  the  Adige 
vine-growing  prevails,  and  the  mulberry-tree  is  cultivated  for  silkworms. 
In  the  three  Alpine  provinces  which  are  confined  to  the  mountains 
(the  County  of  Tirol  with  Vorarlberg,  and  the  Duchies  of  Salzburg  and 
Carinthia  or  Kiirnteri)  nearly  one-half  of  the  ground  is  uninhabited  ;  only  one- 
seventh  of  the  area  consists  of  arable  land,  while  three-fifths  are  woodland 
and  one-fourth  pasture  lands.  The  density  of  population  averages  85  per 
square  mile.  The  Alpine  forelands,  however,  are  excellent  agricultural 
lands.  In  the  eastern  parts  of  the  northern  and  in  the  Styrian  basin  there 
is  extensive  vine-culture  ;  the  Karst  plateau  bears  still  in  most  parts  its 
extensive  original  forests.  The  four  Alpine  Crown-lands,  therefore,  which 
lie  partly  on  the  forelands,  are  far  better  populated  than  the  three  of  the 
interior.  The  arable  lands  amount  to  30  per  cent.,  and  the  pastures  to  less 
than  10  per  cent.  The  Archduchies  of  Lower  and  Upper  Austria  (Unter- 
and  Ober-Oesterreich},  which  extend  from  the  Alps  over  their  northern  fore- 
lands and  the  opposite  slope  of  the  Boian  plateau,  have  (without  Vienna) 
184  inhabitants  per  square  mile,  while  the  Duchies  of  Styria  (Steiermark) 
and  Carmola  (Krairi),  which  extend  over  the  eastern  parts  of  the  Alps,  the 
Styrian  basin  and  the  Karst,  have  149. 

The  principality  of  Liechtenstein  is  a  very  small  independent  State 
on  the  western  frontier  of  Vorarlberg,  united  with  Austria- Hungary  merely 
by  a  Customs  treaty. 


Austria  305 


Minerals  and  Manufactures  of  the  Alpine  Provinces.— The 

gold  mines  of  the  Central  Zone  being  now  exhausted,  there  are  only  five 
important  mineral  products  in  these  mountains  :  salt  in  several  parts  of 
the  Northern  Limestone  Alps ;  iron  in  Styria  and  Carinthia,  especially  at 
Eisenerz,  where  a  whole  mountain  consists  of  the  purest  iron-ore  (whence 
the  name) ;  lignite  in  some  parts  of  Upper  Austria,  in  the  valleys  of 
Styria  and  the  Styrian  basin  ;  lead  in  Carinthia  (at  Bleiberg)  and  Carniola  ; 
and  mercury  at  Idria  in  Carniola.  The  Styrian  iron,  worked  only  with 
charcoal,  already  known  to  the  Romans  as  Norian,  has  caused  an  extensive 
iron-manufacture  in  the  valleys  of  Upper  Styria  and  the  neighbouring  parts  of 
Lower  and  Upper  Austria.  But  since  the  new  processes  of  refining  enable 
good  iron  to  be  made  from  poor  ores,  the  Boian  lands  with  their  coal  have 
become  the  chief  centre  of  iron  manufacturing  in  Austria.  Another 
industrial  region  of  the  Alpine  lands  is  close  to  the  Swiss  frontier  in 
Vorarlberg,  where  there  are  numerous  spinning  factories,  and  where 
embroidery  is  a  branch  of  domestic  industry.  A  third  is  in  the  south  of 
Tirol,  where  silk  is  produced  and  manufactured. 

Communications  and  Towns  of  the  Alpine  Provinces. — The 
great  lines  of  communication  avoid  the  Alps  as  far  as  possible  and  follow 
the  Alpine  forelands.  There  are  two  important  routes  in  the  northern 
and  eastern  foreland,  both  converging  on  Vienna,  (i)  That  of  the  northern 
foreland  has  the  natural  waterway  of  the  Danube,  and  is  followed  by  the 
Western  Railway  of  Austria,  which  prefers,  however,  the  low  country  be- 
tween the  Alps  and  the  Boian  plateau  to  the  narrow  valley  of  the  great  river. 
Where  the  river  leaves  its  gorge  for  the  first  time  and  runs  for  some  miles 
along  the  Alpine  foreland,  Linz,  the  capital  of  Upper  Austria,  is  situated  ; 
and  where  the  land  route  passes  into  Bavaria  at  the  entrance  of  the  Valley 
of  the  Salzach,  lies  Salzburg,  the  beautifully  situated  capital  of  the  duchy. 
(2)  The  eastern  foreland  route,  which  goes  to  the  sea,  has  no  waterway, 
although  an  artificial  one  was  commenced  but  not  finished ;  it  is  followed 
by  the  Southern  Railway  which  has  rather  heavy  gradients,  for  it  cuts  off 
the  north-eastern  branch  of  the  Alps,  ascending  by  a  wonderful  piece  of 
engineering  to  the  Semmering  Pass  (3,000  feet)  and  crossing  the  Karst. 
Graz,  the  capital  of  Styria,  stands  on  the  Mur,  where  the  railway  enters 
the  Styrian  basin.  -The  quarters  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Mur  are  the  site  of 
the  Government  offices,  of  a  university  and  a  technical  school.  On  account 
of  their  garden-like  surroundings  they  are  much  favoured  by  Austrian 
pensioners.  On  the  right  side  of  the  river  there  are  large  industrial  estab- 
lishments. The  ascent  of  the  Karst  begins  at  Laibach  (Lubiand),  the  capital 
of  Carniola,  in  a  wide  and  partly  fertile  basin.  The  Southern  Railway  con- 
nects with  a  line  going  over  the  low  passes  of  the  Central  Zone  and  between 
the  Drave  and  Tagliamento  directly  to  Italy.  It  passes  near  Klagen- 
furt,  the  capital  of  Carinthia.  One  other  great  railway  crosses  the  western 
part  of  the  Central  Alps  by  the  Brenner  ;  it  connects  Germany  with  Italy  and 
is  therefore  of  international  importance.  It  leaves  the  Inn  Valley  at  Inns- 


306       The  International  Geography 

bruck,  the  capital  and  university-city  of  Tirol,  and  reaches  the  valley  of  the 
Adige  at  Bozen,  a  place  well  known  for  the  grandeur  of  its  surroundings. 
Farther  down  the  line  Trient  (Trentd)  is  the  capital  of  the  industrial  part  of 
Tirol  with  Italian  population.  A  third  railway  across  the  Eastern  Alps 
is  in  course  of  construction  between  Salzburg  and  Sorizia.  The  long 
northern  row  of  longitudinal  valleys  has  special  importance  for  Austria,  as 
they  establish  a  direct  connection  with  Switzerland,  which  is  made  prac- 
ticable by  a  tunnel  almost  6£  miles  long  through  the  Arlberg. 

Taken  as  a  whole,  the  Alpine  provinces  of  Austria  are  a  poor  country, 
though  there  are  some  very  rich  parts  in  the  valley  of  the  Adige  and  on 
the  Alpine  forelands.  One-tenth  of  their  area  is  uncultivated,  nearly  one- 
fourth  is  poor  pasture  land,  only  one-fifth  is  arable.  The  population, 
without  Vienna,  is  less  dense  than  anywhere  else  in  Austria,  there  being 
only  140  per  square  mile.  It  is  for  the  greater  part  German  (72  per  cent.); 
Italian,  however,  in  the  south  of  Tirol  (8  per  cent.),  and  the  Slovenian 
language  is  spoken  in  parts  of  Styria  and  Carinthia,  and  nearly  the  whole 
of  Carniola.  Cattle,  cheese,  wine,  wood,  iron,  lead,  and  mercury  form 
the  chief  exports  ;  grain  must  be  imported.  In  recent  years  the  higher 
parts  especially  of  Tirol,  with  their  magnificent  glaciers  of  the  Oetzthal, 
Zillerthal,  and  Sulden,  and  the  grand  rocky  scenery  of  the  Dolomites,  have 
become  favourite  summer  resorts.  Visitors  also  flock  to  the  valleys  of 
Salzburg,  Upper  Austria  (the  Salzkammergut),  and  Carinthia  with  their 
charming  lakes.  The  south  of  Tirol  is  important  as  a  winter  resort, 
especially  Meran,  Arco  and  Riva  on  the  Garda  lake.  The  hot  springs  of 
Gastein  in  the  Central  Alps  and  those  at  several  places  along  the  eastern 
rim  of  the  Alps,  e.g.,  Baden  near  Vienna,  Gleichenberg  and  Romerbad  in 
Styria,  are  much  frequented. 

Bohemia. — The  Boian  lands  of  Central  Europe  form  a  plateau  of 
primitive  and  Palaeozoic  rocks,  which  are  covered  only  in  the  north  by 
Cretaceous  sandstones  and  marls.  The  centre  is  a  basin-like  depression 
forming  Bohemia  ;  the  peripheral  parts  belong  in  the  north  and  west  to  the 
German  Empire,  in  the  south  to  Upper  and  Lower  Austria,  and  in  the  east  to 
Moravia  and  Silesia.  Bohemia  (German  Bohmen)  is  nearly  conterminous 
with  the  upper  Elbe  basin.  Its  south-west  side  is  formed  by  the  parallel 
ridges  of  the  Bohemian  forest,  which  reach  nearly  5,000  feet  in  the 
south,  whilst  they  are  in  general  lower  than  3,000  feet  in  the  north.  On 
the  north-west  side  the  Erzgebirge  (Ore  Mountains)  rise  abruptly  to 
heights  of  over  4,000  feet,  which  slope  gently  down  to  Saxony.  The 
Sudetes  chain  stretches  in  the  north-east,  the  highest  part,  known  as 
Riesengebirge  (Giant's  Mountains)  reaches  in  the  Schneekoppe  (snow- 
dome)  an  elevation  of  5,300  feet,  which  is  the  highest  point  of  West- 
Central  Europe  north  of  the  Alps.  Only  the  south-east  side  of  Bohemia  is 
without  a  distinct  chain  of  mountains ;  but  instead  there  is  a  highland 
region  averaging  2,000  feet  in  elevation  and  in  two  groups  of  mountains 
approaching  3,000  feet.  The  interior  of  Bohemia  is  hilly  in  the  southern 


Austria  307 


half,  and  has  a  mean  elevation  of  1,500  feet ;  some  chains,  such  as  the  Brda 
(mountains)  exceed  2,500  feet.  The  north  is  in  general  a  level  lowland, 
from  600  to  900  feet  in  elevation  ;  near  the  Erzgebirge  there  is  a  group  of 
isolated  conical  mountains  of  volcanic  origin,  called  the  Mittelgebirge,  2,800 
feet  in  height,  and  in  the  northern  corner  a  plateau  of  sandstone  extends, 
which  is  dissected  by  numerous  valleys  and  gullies,  forming  the  wonderful 
scenery  which  is  generally  known  under  the  name  of  Saxon  Switzerland, 
but  which,  for  the  greater  part,  belongs  to  Austria. 

The  drainage  of  Bohemia  is  very  regular.  The  Moldau,  running  from 
south  to  north,  forms  a  median  axis  to  which  rivers  approach  from 
both  sides.  Among  them  is  the  Elbe,  which  comes  from  the  Riesenge- 
birge  and  continues  the  course  of  the  Moldau  northward.  It  breaks 
through  the  Mittelgebirge  in  a  charming  valley,  and  leaves  Bohemia  in 
a  winding  gap  of  the  sandstone  mountains  walled  by  heights  of  400  feet. 
This  is  the  only  point  at  which  Bohemia  can  be  left  at  a  level  below 
1,500  feet. 

Climate  and  Vegetation  of  Bohemia. — The  climate  of  the 
interior  lowland  is  very  agreeable,  the  summer  is  warm,  the  winter  not 
too  cold.  The  rainfall  is  moderate  ;  some  parts,  especially  at  the  foot  of 
the  Erzgebirge,  are  dry,  the  annual  precipitation  being  only  16  inches. 
In  the  south  the  climate  is  more  severe,  and  it  is  raw  on  the  surrounding 
mountains.  The  winter  is  rich  in  snow,  but  the  elevation  is  nowhere  so 
high  as  to  bring  Bohemia  beyond  the  limits  of  forest  growth,  and  its 
whole  surface  is  productive.  The  excellent  soil  of  the  interior  lowland 
favours  extensive  agriculture  ;  wheat  and  beetroots  are  grown  on  the 
southern  slopes  of  the  Mittelgebirge,  the  vine  is  productive  as  far  north 
as  in  the  Rhine  valley,  and  hops  are  cultivated  at  the  foot  of  the 
Erzgebirge.  Orchards  surround  all  the  villages.  The  hilly  south  is 
a  rye,  oat,  and  potato  country  ;  while  extensive  forests  cover  the  moun- 
tains of  the  interior  and  of  the  border  region.  More  than  one  half  of 
Bohemia  is  cultivated  as  arable  land,  and  two-fifths  are  well-administered 
forests. 

Bohemian  Minerals,  Manufactures  and  Towns.— The  wealth 
in  precious  metals  once  attracted  many  settlers,  especially  to  the  Erzge- 
birge ;  now  most  of  the  mines  are  exhausted  ;  only  at  Mies  in  the  west 
and  at  Przibram  in  the  centre  there  are  still  silver  mines,  the  latter  being 
the  deepest  on  the  continent  (3,691  feet).  The  actual  mineral  wealth  of 
Bohemia  consists  in  its  coal.  Coal  Measures  occur  in  the  centre  near 
Prague  and  Pilsen  ;  lignite  is  found  in  enormous  quantities,  sometimes  in 
layers  nearly  100  feet  thick,  at  the  foot  of  the  Erzgebirge  near  Teplitz, 
Dux  and  Briix,  and  near  Eger.  The  centre  has  iron  mines,  and  all  the 
conditions  for  extensive  iron  working  exist.  The  quartz  of  the  sandstone 
mountains  in  the  north  has  given  rise  to  glass  manufactures  of  all  kinds, 
especially  of  the  well-known  Bohemian  cut  glass.  The  kaolin  deposits 
connected  with  the  granite  of  Karlsbad  favour  the  making  of  porcelain. 
22 


30  8       The  International   Geography 

The  rapid  rivers  of  the  Sudetes  supply  power  for  many  spinning  factories  ; 
cotton  manufactures  are  spread  over  the  whole  of  the  mountains,  and 
Reichenberg  is  a  centre  of  woollen  manufacture.  Many  paper  mills  work 
up  the  wood  of  the  forest  districts.  A  flourishing  sugar  manufacture  is 
based  on  the  extensive  cultivation  of  the  beet ;  beer  of  superior  quality  is 
brewed,  especially  at  Pilsen.  Numerous  thermal  springs  are  connected 
with  the  former  volcanic  activity  on  the  foot  of  the  Erzgebirge.  Teplitz, 
Karlsbad,  Franzensbad  and  Marienbad  are  bathing-places  of  European 
celebrity.  The  picturesque  scenery  of  the  sandstone  mountains  near  the 
Elbe  Gap  is  also  well  known  as  a  tourist  resort. 

The  kingdom  of  Bohemia  belongs  to  the  densely  populated  countries 
of  Central  Europe.  Its  population  has  an  average  density  of  315  per 
square  mile  ;  but  in  the  industrial  parts  of  the  north  it  rises  to  1,000  and 
1,200.  Of  the  people  37  per  cent,  are  German,  occupying  the  border  region, 
especially  the  industrial  district  of  the  north,  and  63  per  cent.  Chechs,. 
who  occupy  the  centre,  and  reach  the  frontiers  only  at  three  places. 

The  peripheral  arrangement  of  the  mountains  and  the  convergent  course 
of  the  rivers  of  Bohemia  favour  the  development  of  a  natural  centre,  which 
is  the  main  crossing-point  of  all  radial  lines  of  communication.  This  is 
Prague  (Prag,  Prahd).  It  lies  in  the  midst  of  the  country  on  both  sides  of 
the  Moldau  in  a  rather  narrow  valley,  but  the  suburbs  extend  over  the . 
neighbouring  heights.  Seen  from  the  Hradschin,  the  castle  of  the  old 
Bohemian  kings  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Moldau,  the  city  is  highly  pictu- 
resque, with  its  numerous  towers  and  monumental  buildings  on  prominent 
points.  But  the  interior  is  narrow  and  unhealthy  ;  an  aqueduct  is  wanting,, 
and  the  population  increases  slowly.  Prague  is  the  capital  of  Bohemia, 
with  the  Government  offices,  two  universities  and  two  technical  schools — 
one  for  the  Germans,  one  for  the  Chechs.  The  suburbs,  which  raise  the 
number  of  the  mainly  Chech  population  to  over  470,000,  are  the  industrial! 
quarters.  The  manufacture  of  engines  and  railway  cars  is  considerable. 
The  other  towns  of  Bohemia  are  of  less  importance.  They  lie  on  the 
numerous  radial  railway  lines  near  the  frontiers,  Budweis  on  the  southern, 
Pilsen  on  the  south-western,  and  Reichenberg  on  the  northern  line.  The 
Elbe  is  the  chief  traffic  route  from  Bohemia  to  the  sea  ;  on  it,  the  frontier 
is  passed  annually  by  20,000  vessels,  and  there  are  railways  on  both  sides 
of  the  river.  Aussig  and  Bodenbach-Tetschen  are  considerable  river-ports. 

Moravia  and  Silesia. — Moravia  and  Silesia  (in  German  Mahren 
and  Schlesien)  occupy  the  south-east  side  of  the  Boian  plateau  and  stretch 
over  the  lowlands,  bordering  the  western  chains  of  the  Carpathians,  which 
form  their  eastern  frontier.  The  south  is  drained  by  the  March  to- 
the  Danube,  the  north  by  the  Oder  to  the  Baltic  Sea.  The  water- 
parting  between  the  two  rivers  is  low  in  the  Carpathian  forelands,  and 
forms  the  deep  Moravian  Gap  between  the  Boian  plateau  and  the 
Carpathians.  It  allows  of  the  construction  of  a  canal  connecting  the 
Baltic  and  Black  Seas,  the  summit  level  on  which  is  less  than  1,000  feet. 


Austria  309 


In  the  north  of  both  countries,  at  the  sources  of  the  Oder  and  the 
March,  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  Sudetes  forms  a  plateau  2,000  feet 
high,  and  rising  in  the  Altvater  to  nearly  5,000  feet.  In  spite  of  the 
rough  climate  there  is  a  crov/ded  German  population,  carrying  on  the 
Austrian  linen  manufacture.  In  the  south  the  low  ground  penetrates 
basinlike  between  the  Boian  plateau  and  the  Carpathians ;  the  climate 
of  these  parts  is  mild,  and  agriculture  flourishes ;  barley  and  beetroot  are 
extensively  grown ;  even  the  vine  is  found.  The  Carpathians  at  the 
eastern  frontier  are  extensively  wooded.  The  Silesian  coal  basin  of  Prussia 
extends  over  the  Austrian  frontiers  ;  Witkowitz  and  Mahrisch  Ostrau  are 
the  chief  places  for  coal-mining  in  Austria,  and  since  the  neighbouring 
Carpathians  supply  iron,  there  is  also  a  centre  of  iron  manufacture. 
The  plateaux  at  the  sources  of  the  Oder  contain  beds  of  roofing  slates, 
which  are  much  worked.  The  south  has  scarcely  any  mineral  wealth.  The 
Margravate  of  Moravia  and  the  Duchy  of  Silesia  have  an  average  density 
of  population  of  295  per  square  mile  ;  the  industrial  north  having  a  denser 
population  than  the  agricultural  south — in  some  parts  of  Silesia  there  are 
1,000  inhabitants  to  the  square  mile.  Of  the  people,  33  per  cent,  are 
Germans,  60  per  cent,  are  Chechs,  and  7  per  cent.,  in  the  eastern  parts  of 
Silesia,  are  Poles. 

•  Towns  of  Moravia  and  Silesia. — The  lowland  between  the  Car- 
pathians and  the  Boian  plateau  is  the  principal  way  of  communication  of 
the  Monarchy.  Its  rivers  are  not  navigable,  but  it  is  followed  by  the  most 
frequented  Austrian  railway,  the  Northern.  It  points  to  Vienna,  which 
therefore  absorbs  the  Moravian  trade,  and  hinders  the  development  of 
any  considerable  centre  in  that  country.  The  capital  of  the  margravate  is 
Brtinn  (Brno),  on  the  edge  of  the  Boian  plateau,  where  the  main  route 
from  Bohemia  enters  the  lowlands.  It  is  the  chief  centre  of  Austria  for 
woollen  manufactures,  and  has  two  technical  schools.  One-half  of  its  in- 
habitants are  German.  Another  woollen  manufacturing  place  is  Iglau,  a 
German-speaking  town  on  the  heights  adjoining  Bohemia.  The  former 
capital  of  Moravia,  Olmiitz,  is  situated  in  a  fertile  basin  of  the  Upper 
March,  and  has,  though  it  is  the  ecclesiastical  centre  of  the  country,  only 
local  importance.  The  capital  of  Silesia,  Troppau,  is  an  active  place  with  a 
German  population  close  to  the  Prussian  frontier. 

Vienna. — The  two  main  routes  in  the  eastern  and  northern  Alpine 
forelands  and  the  Moravian  route  along  the  south-east  side  of  the  Boian 
plateau  meet  at  Vienna.  In  the  east  there  is  a  whole  series  of  gaps 
between  the  Alps  and  the  Carpathians,  termed  together  the  Hungarian 
gate,  where  the  Danube  enters  the  great  Hungarian  plains.  Vienna,  there- 
fore, has  a  commanding  position  between  the  Bpian  and  Alpine  lands  on 
one  side,  and  Hungary  on  the  other.  The  routes  through  the  Austrian 
Gap  to  South  Germany,  and  through  the  Moravian  Gap  to  the  plains  of 
northern  Europe,  unite  here  with  the  Semmering  route  to  Italy,  and 
the  ways  through  Hungary  to  the  south-east  of  Europe.  Over  the  low 


310       The   International  Geography 

south-eastern  edge  of  the  Boian  plateau  the  Elbe  Gap  of  Bohemia  can 
also  be  easily  reached,  and  by  means  of  the  longitudinal  valleys  of  the 
Alps  the  Rhine  basin  is  accessible.  Vienna  lies  at  the  crossing  of  great 
routes  from  London,  Berlin  and  Paris  to  Constantinople,  and  from  St. 
Petersburg  to  Rome  (Fig.  54).  Its  general  situation  has  thus  no  equal 
in  Europe,  and  the  more  immediate  surroundings  of  its  site  are  also  very 
distinguished. 

The  north-eastern  branch  of  the  Alps,  called  the  Kahlengebirge,  termi- 
nates with  a  height  of  nearly  1,800  feet  over  the  low  plain  of  the  Vienna 
basin  with  an  elevation  of  600  feet,  and  both  are  cut  off  by  the  magnificent 
river.  The  mountains  bear  a  beautiful  forest,  the  Wiener  Wald  ;  their 


FIG.  155.— The  Site  of  Vienna. 

base  is  covered  with  vineyards,  and  the  plain  is  richly  cultivated.  The 
site  of  the  city  is  the  corner  between  mountains,  plain  and  river.  Only 
one  industrial  suburb  (Floridsdorf)  lies  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Danube,  and 
only  the  smaller  part  of  the  city  is  on  the  river  plain ;  the  principal 
quarters  extend  on  the  hills  to  the  right  of  the  river  and  stretch  even  into 
the  valleys  of  the  Kahlengebirge,  along  the  base  of  which  there  is  a  con- 
tinuous belt  of  small  towns  from  Klosterneuburg  in  the  north  to  Modling 
in  the  south,  a  distance  of  20  miles.  Vienna  is  the  intellectual  and  material 
capital  of  Austria- Hungary.  It  is  the  seat  of  the  Imperial  Court,  of  the 
Common  Ministries  and  of  the  Austrian  Government.  There  is  an  old, 
much-frequented  university,  and  there  are  also  a  polytechnic  school, 


Austria  311 


an  academy  of  agriculture,  and  rich  museums  of  fine  art  and  natural 
history.  Commerce  has  at  its  disposal  in  the  Danube  the  longest  water- 
way of  Europe  outside  Russia,  and  eight  important  railways  radiate  in  all 
directions.  The  city  and  its  neighbourhood  form  the  chief  industrial 
district  of  the  monarchy.  There  are  extensive  iron  and  engine  works,  the 
manufacture  of  all  kinds  of  metal  goods,  especially  of  bronze  and  instru- 
ments, is  important ;  Viennese  furniture,  clothes,  leather  and  fancy  wares 
are  objects  of  large  export.  In  the  Vienna  basin  there  are  numerous 
spinning  factories  and  paper  mills. 

Vienna  (German  Wieti)  derives  its  name  from  the  Roman  camp  of 
Vindobona,  but  it  does  not  retain  many  signs  of  high  antiquity.  The 
sieges  of  the  Turks  destroyed  the  ancient  suburbs  totally,  and  large  parts 
of  the  city ;  the  magnificent  St.  Stephen's  Cathedral  is  the  only  relic  of 
ancient  times.  The  older  houses  date  principally  from  the  eighteenth 
century,  but  the  greater  part  are  modern  ;  the  Ringstrasse  is  one  of  the 
most  magnificent  modern  boulevards  in  the  world.  The  quickly 
increasing  population  is  almost  exclusively  German. 

The  Carpathian  Lands.— The  long  arc  of  the  Carpathians  is 
occupied  by  Austria  only  on  its  western  and  north-eastern  slopes.  The 
former  stretches  through  Moravia  and  Silesia,  the  latter  through  Galicia 
and  Bukovina.  These  two  Crown-lands  extend  from  the  mountains  over 
the  Carpathian  foreland ;  and  Galicia  even  reaches  the  Podolian  plateau, 
which  forms  the  water-parting  between  the  Dniester  and  the  Dnieper. 
The  Austrian  Carpathians  form  a  chain  of  sandstone  ridges  which  con- 
tinue the  Kahlengebirge,  at  first  in  a  north-easterly  and  then  in  a  south- 
easterly direction.  In  the  west  they  gradually  rise  to  4,000  feet  in  Silesia 
and  5,000  feet  in  western  Galicia  ;  at  the  point  where  the  direction  of  the 
chains  turns  at  a  right  angle  there  are  numerous  passes  of  from  1,150  to 
2,000  feet  in  height,  called  the  Eastern  Beskids,  which  afford  short 
passages  from  Galicia  to  the  plains  of  lower  Hungary ;  the  Western 
Beskids  are  the  passes  between  Silesia  and  upper  Hungary.  The  eastern 
chains  rise  in  the  Czornahora  (Black  Mountain,  over  6,750  feet).  In  the 
south  of  these  sandstone  mountains  the  Upper  Hungarian  plateau  extends. 
It  consists  of  old  rocks,  which  now  and  then  rise  to  sharp  ridges.  The 
highest  is  the  High  Tatra,  which  culminates  with  8,740  feet.  From  this 
highest  part  of  the  whole  Carpathians  two  rivers  break  through  the  sand- 
stone chains  ;  along  one  of  them  the  frontier  of  Galicia  sweeps  up  to  the 
High  Tatra.  The  sandstone  ridges  of  the  Carpathians  are  thickly  covered 
with  forests  ;  the  whole  chain,  therefore,  is  often  called  the  Forest  Car- 
pathians. Only  the  highest  chains  of  the  east  arise  above  the  tree-line ; 
they  are  covered  with  grassy  flats  called  polonines,  which  correspond 
to  the  Alpine  region.  The  Tatra,  however,  is  a  rocky  ridge  with  some 
deep  corries,  the  tarns  of  which  are  called  "  eyes  of  the  sea." 

Galicia  and  Bukovina. — The  Carpathian  foreland  is  a  low,  un- 
dulating country  with  a  mean  height  of  from  600  to  900  feet.  As  there  is 


312       The  International  Geography 

only  a  low  watershed  in  the  west  between  the  March  and  the  Oder,  there 
are  also  in  the  east,  in  Galicia,  low  water-partings  between  the  Vistula, 
Dniester  and  Pruth.  These  rivers  are  navigable  for  flat-bottomed  boats. 
The  soil  is  fertile,  with  the  exception  of  the  angle  between  the  Vistula 
and  the  San,  where  it  is  too  sandy.  The  Podolian  plateau  swells  gently 
north  of  the  Dniester,  and  forms  an  escarpment  of  600  feet  against  the 
flat  moorlands,  which  are  drained  to  the  Vistula  and  to  the  Dnieper.  The 
water-parting  between  the  Baltic  and  Black  Seas  is  here  flat  and  indistinct. 
Numerous  parallel  rivers  run  from  the  plateau  southward  to  the  Dniester  ; 
they  have,  like  the  latter,  a  meandering  course,  and  flow  in  deep  valleys. 
The  heights  of  the  plateau  are  part  of  the  steppes  of  south-eastern  Europe ; 
the  woods  are  restricted  to  the  steep  sides  of  the  valleys. 

The  climate  of  Galicia  and  Bukovina  is  continental;  the  summers 
are  hot,  the  winters  cold  ;  the  country  is  open  to  the  snowstorms  of  Russia. 
The  rainfall  is  not  great,  but  occurs  throughout  the  whole  year.  In  the 
mountains  it  is  sufficient,  but  the  temperature  is  low.  By  their  elevation 
the  Carpathian  lands  are  divided  into  agricultural  lowlands  and  wooded 
highlands.  Nearly  one-half  of  the  land  is  arable  ;  wheat  and  maize  in  the 
east,  rye  and  potatoes  in  the  higher  regions,  are  the  chief  crops.  The 
forests  cover  two-sevenths  of  the  surface  ;  they  consist  in  the  lower 
mountains  of  beech  (the  name  of  Bukovina  is  derived  from  the  beech 
forests),  and  in  the  higher  regions  pine  woods  prevail.  The  sandstone  of 
the  Carpathians  contains  natural  oil  at  numerous  places,  which  is  bored  for, 
especially  at  Drohobycz,  in  the  same  way  as  in  Pennsylvania.  Natural  wax 
is  also  dug.  The  Carpathian  foreland  is  rich  in  salt,  which  has  been 
mined  as  rock-salt  at  Wieliczka,  near  Cracow,  for  centuries ;  at  Stanislau 
and  other  places  it  is  obtained  in  the  form  of  brine.  In  the  west  a  small 
part  of  the  Silesian  coal-field  extends  into  Galicia. 

The  population  of  the  Carpathian  lands  is  large,  and  its  density 
is  nearly  the  same  as  the  average  for  Austria.  The  lowlands  con- 
tinue the  thickly  populated  zone  of  the  German  central  mountains 
eastward  to  the  Podolian  plateau,  and  there  300  per  square  mile  are 
found.  The  Carpathians  are,  however,  poor  in  men.  There  are  still 
hundreds  of  square  miles  in  eastern  Galicia  and  Bukovina  covered  with 
virgin  forests,  without  a  single  village.  The  two  Slavonic  nationalities  in 
Galicia  are  nearly  equal  in  number  ;  the  west  belongs  to  the  Poles  (55  per 
cent.),  who  are  dominant,  the  east  to  the  Ruthenians  (42  per  cent.).  In 
Bukovina  the  latter  meet  with  the  Rumanians,  and  there  are  22  per 
cent,  of  Germans.  The  general  condition  of  the  population  is  unsatis- 
factory. There  are  rich  landowners  and  poor  peasants,  whose  wages  are 
below  the  minimum  which  can  be  held  sufficient,  and  who  are,  for  the 
greater  part,  illiterate.  The  trade  is  in  the  hands  of  the  Jews,  who  form 
one-eighth  of  the  inhabitants ;  manufactures  are  undeveloped,  with  the 
exception  of  distilling  brandy,  which,  together  with  potatoes,  forms  the 
usual  diet  of  the  people.  Everything  else  must  be  imported  ;  the  exports 


Austria  313 

consist  of  grain,  cattle,  wood  and  horses,  which  are  bred  in  the  east, 
•especially  in  Bukovina. 

Towns  of  the  Carpathian  Lands. — The  Carpathian  foreland  in 
Galicia  is  followed  by  one  European  main  .route.  In  the  south  the 
mountains,  in  the  north  the  swamps  of  the  Pripet,  hinder  free  communi- 
cation. The  ways  from  western  Austria  and  Germany  to  the  south-east 
converge  to  one  point  of  the  western  Carpathian  foreland,  run  together  on 
the  east,  and  diverge  on  the  Podolian  plateau  to  Russia  and  Rumania. 
Thus  there  are  two  centres  in  Galicia.  Cracow  (German,  Krakau,  Polish, 
Krakow)  commands  the  entrance  from  the  west,  and  the  substantial 
appearance  of  the  city  bears  witness  to  its  importance  from  olden  times, 
when  it  was  one  of  the  outposts  of  the  Germans  in  the  east.  Later, 
Cracow  was  the  capital  of  Poland  ;  the  Polish  kings  are  buried  there,  and 
it  is  still  a  centre  of  Polish  life.  It  has  an  old  Polish  university  and  a 
modern  Polish  Academy  of  Science.  The  commerce  is  still  considerable. 
The  commanding  position  of  the  city  is  expressed  by  its  selection  as  one 
of  the  strongest  Austrian  fortresses  for  the  defence  of  the  upper  valley  of 
the  Vistula.  The  inhabitants  are  mostly  Poles.  Lemberg  (Polish,  Lwow)  is 
the  radiating  point  of  the  east.  Here  the  main  railway  line,  which  follows 
the  Carpathian  foreland,  and  is  the  continuation  of  the  Austrian  Northern 
Railway,  sends  off  two  branches  to  Russia,  to  Kiyev  and  to  Odessa,  and  is 
connected  by  a  transverse  line  with  Budapest.  Lemberg  was,  since  its 
foundation,  the  capital  of  the  Ruthenian  provinces  of  Poland,  and  the 
neighbourhood  has  a  Ruthenian  population,  but  its  inhabitants  are  for  the 
greater  part  Poles,  and  the  Ruthenians  are  less  in  number  than  the 
Germans.  In  the  Middle  Ages  Lemberg  also  was  a  German  outpost. 
There  is  a  university  and  a  technical  school.  The  manufactures  have 
only  local  importance.  Between  Cracow  and  Lemberg  lies  Tarnow,  on  the 
Dwnajec,  and  Przemysl,  a  strong  fortress,  which  defends  the  eastern 
Beskids,  on  the  San.  On  the  two  lines  from  Lemberg  to  Russia  the  chief 
towns  are  Brody  and  Tarnopol ;  the  continuation  of  the  main  line  to  the 
south-east  passes  through  Kolomea,  on  the  Pruth,  and  reaches  the  Russian 
and  Rumanian  frontier  near  Czernowitz,  a  somewhat  new  town  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  Pruth,  which  is  the  capital  ofc  Bukovina.  It  has  im- 
portance as  a  local  centre,  and  as  a  frontier  place.  Its  population  is  more 
mixed  than  that  of  any  other  town  in  Austria ;  Jews,  Greek  Christians, 
and  Roman  Catholics  are  nearly  equal  in  number  ;  the  German  language 
predominates,  and  is  used  in  the  university,  which  was  founded  in  1875. 

The  Dinar ic  Lands. — The  narrow  strip  of  the  Dinaric  lands 
which  forms  the  Austrian  coast  is  accompanied  by  a  mountain  range, 
5,000  to  6,000  feet  in  height,  which  consists  of  limestone,  and  shows  all  the 
irregularities  of  the  Karst  phenomena.  Deep  valleys  are  wanting,  and 
only  one  fairly  long  river  from  the  interior,  the  Narenta,  reaches  the  sea. 
A  low  foreland  forms  the  peninsula  of  Istria.  Farther  south  there  are 
some  low  grounds  in  the  middle  of  the  Dalmatian  coast,  on  both  sides  of 


li 


314       The   International  Geography 

which  rows  of  long  islands  follow  the  coast,  the  ridges  of  a  drowned  land. 

The  northern  part  of  the  coast  extends  along  the  Karst,  which  continues 

the  mountain  range  at  a  height  of  only  2,000  feet ;  and  a  small  part  of  the 

Plain  of  Lombardy,  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Isonzo,  belongs  also  to  Austria. 
The  climate  of  the  Austrian 
coast,  which  stretches  between 
45°  45'  and  42°  N.,  is  truly  Mediter- 
ranean. The  winters  are  warm 
and  relatively  rainy,  the  summers 
are  hot  and  dry.  In  the  north, 

FIG.  156.— The  Karst.  The  map  measures  300  especially  along  the  Karst,  the 
miles  by  150.  Karst  region,  white ;  Adriatic  R  •  freauent  cold  and  drv 

drainage,  black ;  Danube  drainage,  stippled.  t  S  a  treclue  l  coia  ana  ai7 

wind  coming  from  the  interior, 

and  the  charms  of  the  Mediterranean  climate  can  only  be  enjoyed  at 
places  like  Abbazia,  which  are  sheltered  from  it.  The  south  wind,  called 
Scirocco,  is  warm  and  moist ;  the  sudden  changes  between  Bora  and 
Scirocco  are  consequently  very  disagreeable.  The  evergreen  bushes  and 
trees,  and  the  culture  of  the  olive  reach  from  the  sea  to  600  and  1,000  feet. 
The  higher  slopes  are  bare  rock,  and  the  growth  of  trees  is  hindered  by 
the  strength  of  the  Bora  and  the  heavy  rain  showers  of  the  Scirocco.  The 
mean  annual  precipitation,  which  is  at  the  coast  above  40  inches,  rises 
here  to  80  inches,  and  at  several  places  even  to  200  inches.  The 
forests  have  often  been  devastated  by  reckless  wood-cutting. 

Resources  and  People  of  the  Dinaric  Lands.— The  con- 
figuration and  the  soil  of  the  Austrian  Coast-lands  do  not  favour  agriculture. 
Only  one-eighth  of  the  land  is  arable  ;  the  olive  gardens  and  vineyards  are 
nearly  as  extensive.  In  the  north,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Isonzo,  mul- 
berries are  cultivated  for  silkworms.  Nearly  one-half  of  the  ground 
serves  as  pasture  for  sheep,  and  especially  goats.  The  mineral  wealth 
is  confined  to  some  coal-beds  in  Dalmatia :  excellent  building  stone 
is  quarried  in  Istria ;  the  Brionian  islands,  near  Pola,  furnished  the 
marbles  of  Venice.  The  sea  affords  a  rich  fishing-ground,  resorted  to  by 
11,000  fishermen.  The  trade  in  fish  with  the  interior  suffers,  however, 
from  the  want  of  means  of  communication. 

The  population  of  the  maritime  provinces,  consisting  of  the  County  of 
Gorizia,  the  Territory  of  Triest,  the  Margravate  of  Istria,  and  of  the  King- 
dom of  Dalmatia  has  a  density  of  168  per  square  mile,  much  below  the 
average.  The  greater  number  of  the  people  (68  per  cent.)  are  Slavonic, 
in  the  north  Slovenians,  in  the  south  Croats  and  Servians.  In  the 
harbours,  and  along  the  coast  of  the  maritime  provinces,  descendants 
of  the  old  Roman  population  still  exist,  refreshed  by  Italian  colonists. 
Nearly  30  per  cent,  of  the  inhabitants  are  Italians,  and  Italian  is  the 
language  along  the  sea.  The  German  element  forms  little  over  i  per  cent. 

Coast  Towns.— The  Austrian  coast  has  many  excellent  ports  along 


Hungary  315 


the  Dinaric  Mountains,  but  most  of  the  deep  and  sheltered  bays  have  no 
importance,  since  there  are  no  practicable  ways  from  them  into  the 
interior.  That  part  of  the  coast,  however,  which  can  be  easily  reached 
from  the  other  Austrian  provinces  over  the  Karst  has  no  good  harbour. 
Triest  lies  on  the  slope  which  rises  directly  to  1,000  feet  round  an  open  bay. 
The  ancient  Greeks  had  a  settlement  (Tergeste)  on  this  site,  but  its  de- 
velopment as  a  harbour  dates  only  from  the  decay  of  Venice,  when  Austria 
began  to  make  efforts  for  maritime  power.  By  the  foundation  of  the 
Austrian  Lloyd  Steamship  Company,  and  since  the  opening  of  the  railway, 
which  ascends  the  Karst  in  a  long  loop,  Triest  became  a  port  of  interna- 
tional importance,  but  being  exposed  to  the  full  force  of  the  Bora,  and 
having  only  one  mountain  railway  to  the  interior,  notwithstanding  many 
improvements,  it  has  not  the  rank  which  the  country  deserves  for  its  chief 
seaport,  and  the  trade  of  the  whole  north  of  Austria  gravitates  to  German 
ports.  The  population  of  Triest  does  not  increase 
as  much  as  that  of  other  Austrian  cities  ;  it  is  mainly 
Italian.  The  great  military  port  of  Austria,  Pola, 
lies  on  a  deep  and  sheltered  bay  near  the  south 
point  of  the  peninsula  of  Istria,  from  which  the 
neighbouring  coasts  can  be  easily  defended.  The 
capital  of  Dalmatia,  Zara,  is  a  port  of  local  value 
on  the  Dalmatian  lowlands.  In  the  south,  Ragusa 
was  in  the  Middle  Ages  the  chief  harbour  of  the 
whole  Dinaric  coast  ;  now  it  is  a  dead  place,  but  there  is  a  narrow-gauge 
railway  to  the  interior  of  Hercegovina  and  Bosnia. 

The  shores  of  Dalmatia  are  amongst  the  most  beautiful  of  Europe. 
They  combine  the  steepness  of  the  Norwegian  coast  with  Mediter- 
ranean scenery  and  the  picturesque  relics  of  an  old  civilisation.  Nothing 
can  be  compared  with  the  deep  narrows  (bocche)  of  Cattaro,  where  the 
sea  penetrates  in  several  basins  among  cliffs  of  6,000  feet  in  height.  At 
Spalato  a  whole  town  is  built  in  the  ruins  of  the  palace  of  the  Roman 
Emperor  Diocletian  (whence,  indeed,  the  name  of  palace  is  derived).  Palms 
grow  on  some  of  the  islands,  especially  at  Lissa.  Dalmatia  will  one 
day  become  a  favourite  haunt  of  tourists,  and  its  sheltered  towns  will  be 
prized  as  winter  resorts.  But  it  is  still  very  isolated,  and  its  inhabitants 
extremely  ignorant,  only  31  per  cent,  of  them  being  able  to  read  and  write. 
Abbazia,  near  Fiume,  and  the  island  Lussinpiccolo,  are  winter  stations. 

III.— HUNGARY 

BY  DR.  BELA  ERODI, 

President  of  the  Hungarian  Geographical  Society,  Budapest. 

Position  and  Extent.  —  The  Kingdom  or  State  of  Hungary 
(Magyarorszdg=Land  of  the  Magyars)  lies  about  the  middle  of  the  southern 
half  of  Europe  in  the  basin  of  the  Danube,  between  the  same  parallels  of 


3 1 6       The  International  Geography 

latitude  as  France,  north  of  Bordeaux.  Its  form  resembles  a  semicircle, 
and  excepting  a  small  part  of  the  western  side,  it  is  separated  on  three  sides 
by  natural  boundaries  from  the  neighbouring  lands.  On  the  west,  north 
and  north-east  these  are  hereditary  provinces  of  Austria,  which  form  with 
it  one  monarchy ;  on  the  south-east  and  south  Rumania  and  Servia,  on 
the  south-west  the  occupied  provinces  of  Austria- Hungary.  Hungary 
is  a  continental  country  ;  only  on  its  extreme  western  boundary  does  a 
small  portion  of  it  touch  on  the  Adriatic  Sea.  The  natural  boundaries 
are  formed  on  the  west,  north-west,  north,  north-east,  east,  south-east  and 
south  by  the  mighty  range  of  the  Carpathians,  then  on  the  south  by  the 
Danube,  the  Save  and  the  Unna,  and  finally  on  the  west  by  the  Leitha 
(Lajta)  river  and  Leitha  hills,  which  separate  it  from  Austria. 

Configuration  of  Surface. — Hungary  is  surrounded  for  more  than 
1 ,000  miles  by  the  immense  curve  of  the  Carpathians,  which,  starting 
from  the  gate  of  the  Danube  at  Deveny  (near  Pozsony)  sweep  round  one- 
half  of  the  country  from  west,  through  north  and  east,  to  south,  where  they 
again  reach  the  Danube  at  the  so-called  Iron  Gates  (Vaskapu)  near  Orsova. 
This  great  range  of  mountains  is  divided  into  three  principal  sections 
forming  the  north-western,  the  north-eastern,  and  the  south-eastern  high- 
lands. The  most  interesting  of  the  mountains  is  the  High  Tatra  (Magas 
Tdtrd),  in  the  north,  a  picturesque  high  mountain  group,  without  any  foot 
hills.  Its  loftiest  peaks  are  those  of  Lomnicz,  more  than  8,600  feet  high, 
and  Gerlachfalva  (named  since  1896  Ferencz  Jozsef  Peak),  8,737  feet,  the 
highest  mountain  in  Hungary.  These  are  all  bare  rocks,  on  which  in 
some  places  snow  remains  even  in  summer  ;  and  in  their  hollows  more 
than  a  hundred  small  mountain  tarns,  the  fairy-like  "eyes  of  the  sea," 
attract  many  visitors  to  this  splendid  mountain  wilderness.  The  most 
extensive  members  of  the  Carpathian  system  are  the  south-eastern  high- 
lands, which  form  one  grand  natural  fortress,  through  which  there  are 
few  passes.  The  Vereczke  Pass,  in  the  north-eastern  frontier  range,  is 
famous  in  history  as  that  by  which  the  Magyars  entered  the  country  in  the 
year  898.  The  offshoots  of  the  mountain  system  of  the  Alps,  which  enter 
Hungary,  are  divided  into  three  chief  groups.  Between  the  Danube  and 
the  Drave,  the  eastern  offshoots  of  the  Noric  Alps,  between  the  Drave  and 
the  Save,  the  last  spurs  of  the  Carnic  Alps,  and  finally  between  the  Save 
and  the  Adriatic  the  eastern  continuation  of  the  Julian  Alps.  In  the  space 
surrounded  by  the  Carpathians  and  the  Alps  stretch  two  level  expanses  of 
land — the  Little  and  the  Great  Hungarian  Plains.  The  Little  Hungarian 
Plain  (Kis-Alfold]  lies  in  the  western  part  of  the  country,  upon  the  islands 
and  both  sides  of  the  Danube  from  Pozsony  to  Esztergom.  Its  extent  is 
about  5,000  square  miles  ;  the  lowest  portion  of  it  is  the  Hansag,  between 
the  Ferto  (Neusiedler)  lake  and  the  Rabcza  river.  This  plain,  called  also 
the  Pozsony  basin,  is  exceedingly  fertile.  Coming  through  the  passes  of 
the  Danube  at  Vacz  from  the  small  plain,  we  reach  the  Great  Hungarian 
Plain,  the  most  characteristic  part  of  the  country,  lying  in  the  centre  of 


Hungary 


317 


the  land  and  bounded  by  the  Carpathians  on  one  side  and  the  Lower 
Danube  on  the  other.  It  occupies  about  30,000  square  miles.  The  Tisza 
{Theiss)  traverses  its  greatest  length.  This  plain,  appearing  as  an  unend- 
ing, and  for  trie  most  part  uniformly  flat  surface,  is  not  so  monotonous  as  it 
appears  upon  a  map.  Its  surface  is  undulating  ;  rows  of  mounds  and  sand- 
dunes  are  frequent,  in  many  places  there  are  deep  hollows  which  are  damp 
and  impregnated  with  alkaline  salts,  in  other  parts  there  are  marshes. 
But  in  general  the  plain  is  very  fertile,  ploughed  fields  stretch  to  the 
horizon,  and  the  immense  pasture-grounds  are  filled  with  herds  of  horned 
cattle,  horses,  sheep  and  swine.  The  villages,  frfnged  by  rows  of  shady 
trees,  especially  acacias,  stand  at  great  distances  apart,  but  are  large  and 
populous,  and  are  transversed  bv  State,  county  and  communal  roads  and 
railway  lines. 

Hydrography.— Most  of  the  rivers  belong  to  the  Danube  system ; 


M 


FIG.  158.— The  Chief  Canal  at  the  Iron  Gates. 

only  two  streams  having  their  sources  in  the  High  Tatra  flow  to  the 
Vistula.  The  Danube  (Duna\  which  is  the  principal  waterway  of 
Hungary,  traverses  the  country  for  almost  600  miles,  forming  several 
large  islands  in  its  course,  of  which  the  most  important  are  Csallofcoz 
and  Szigetkoz  between  Pozsony  and  Komarom,  the  first  formed  by  a 
branch  on  the  left,  the  second  by  a  branch  on  the  right  of  the  main 
stream.  The  island  of  Szent  Endre  is  above  and  that  of  Csepel  below 
the  capital.  The  Danube  is  navigable  by  steamships ;  the  rocky  bed  of 
the  Iron  Gates,  which  was  dangerous  to  navigation,  has  been  cleared  and 
all  obstacles  removed  by  the  Hungarian  Government.  Tributary  streams 
of  the  Danube  on  the  left  hand  are  the  Morva  (forming  in  part  the  Austrian 
boundary),  Vag,  Garam,  Ipoly,  Tisza,  Temes  ;  on  the  right  side  the  Lajta 
(Leitha),  Raba,  Kapos,  Drave  (which  receives  the  Mura)  and  Save.  The 
Tisza  is  the  one  great  truly  Hungarian  river,  as  it  rises  and  ends  in 


318       The   International  Geography 

the  country.  In  the  Hungarian  coat-of-arms  four  silver  stripes  represent 
the  Danube,  the  Tisza,  the  Drave  and  the  Save  (Fig.  159.)  Hungary  contains 
only  two  large  lakes,  the  Balaton  and  the  Ferto,  both  on  the  right  side  of 
the  Danube.  The  Balaton  (or  Flatten  lake)  has  an  area  of  230  square  miles, 
and  stands  420  feet  above  sea-level.  It  is  separated  into  two  parts  by  the 
mountainous  peninsula  of  Tihany.  On  its  banks  mineral  springs  of  acid 
water  burst  out  at  Balaton- Fiired,  which  is  a  celebrated  watering-place. 
The  lake  is  commonly  called  the  Hungarian  Sea,  and  its  shores  are  much 
cultivated.  The  Ferto  (or  Neusiedler  lake)  has  an  area  of  no  square  miles, 
and  stands  370  feet  above  sea-level,  but  its  surface  is  not  permanent. 
Between  the  streams  there  are  many  canals  for  navigation.  Mineral  waters 
are  abundant  in  many  places. 

Resources  of  Hungary. — More  than  97  per  cent,  of  the  soil  of  Hun- 
gary is  productive,  and  about  half  of  this  is  arable  land.  The  plains,  the 
land  between  the  Danube  and  the  Drave,  and  between  the  Drave  and  Save 
are  covered  with  black,  yellow,  and  sandy  earth,  which,  in  the  highlands, 
is  mixed  with  gravel.  The  alluvial  and  diluvial  deposits  in  the  plains  form 
good  soils  for  the  growth  of  wheat,  rye,  barley  and  maize,  the  crop  of  which 
not  only  supplies  the  country  but  furnishes  a  great  export.  The  mountains 
are  chiefly  formed  by  granite,  upon  which  rest  crystalline  schist  formations. 
The  Carpathian  sandstone  is  widely  distributed.  The  mountains  conceal 
many  mineral  treasures,  which  have  been  mined  from  very  early  times. 
Iron-ore  is  very  abundant ;  the  mountains  of  Transylvania  produce  much 
gold ;  silver,  copper,  cobalt,  nickel,  mercury,  zinc  and  lead  are  found  in 
varying  quantities.  A  special  product  of  the  country  is  the  noble  opal, 
which  is  found  in  the  trachyte  beds  near  Vorosvagas.  Salt  is  found  in 
immense  abundance  in  Transylvania  and  Maramaros.  There  is  plenty 
of  coal  and  lignite,  and  petroleum  is  also  worked.  The  mountainous 
districts  are  covered  for  the  most  part  with  forests ;  the  woods  occupy 
30  per  cent,  of  their  area,  in  contrast  with  only  from  i  to  5  per  cent, 
of  the  plains.  The  export  of  timber  is  important.  The  most  common 
trees  are  the  oak,  poplar  and  acacia.  Fruit  trees  are  largely  cultivated,  and 
Hungary  furnishes  apples,  pears,  and  plums  for  export.  Wine  production 
is  of  great  importance,  for  the  grape  grows  and  ripens  well  almost  every- 
where. Cattle  breeding  has  not  received-  as  much  attention  as  agriculture, 
though  lately  the  breeding  of  horned  cattle,  horses  and  swine,  has  shown 
improvement.  The  bear,  fox,  wolf,  badger,  wild  cat  and  lynx,  the  roe, 
red  deer,  wild  swine  and  wild  goat  are  common  in  the  immense  forests. 

Climate. — As  Hungary,  excepting  one  small  portion  on  the  Adriatic 
Sea,  lies  far  from  the  ocean,  the  climate  is  moderately  continental.  Three 
types  may  be  distinguished — that  of  the  mountain  districts,  of  the  plains 
and  of  the  sea-coast.  The  winter  is  in  general  very  cold,  especially  in  the 
great  plain  and  in  the  inner  basin  of  Transylvania  ;  the  summer  is  hotter 
than  in  western  Europe  in  the  same  latitude.  In  the  highlands  the  climate 
is  very  variable,  but  snow  does  not  lie  in  summer,  except  in  some  hollows 


Hungary  319 


of  the  High  Tatra.  The  rainfall  is  very  capricious.  Most  falls,  on  the 
average,  in  spring  and  autumn  in  the  north  and  north-eastern  highlands,  and 
in  the  Transylvanian  mountains  ;  and  less  in  the  Great  Plain.  The  yearly 
rainfall  in  the  Carpathian^  is  on  an  average  40  to  50  inches,  while  on  the 
Great  Plain  it  is  20  to  25  inches.  The  most  cloudy  season  is  spring.  In 
summer  the  delibdb,  or  Fata  Morgana,  is  a  very  charming  and  everyday 
phenomenon,  which  on  tranquil,  warm  days  rises  about  noontide,  and  like 
a  resplendent  sea  spreads  over  the  heated  plain  as  far  as  the  eye  can 
reach.  Fiume  has  a  very  dry  summer  and  a  very  rainy  autumn  and 
winter  ;  strong  north  and  north-east  winds  (bora)  prevail. 

History. — The  territory  of  the  present  kingdom  of  Hungary  was 
a  great  highway  of  nations.  At  the  earliest  period  after  the  Romans 
came  the  Huns,  under  King  Attila,  after  whose  death  the  empire  fell  in 
pieces.  After  German  people  came  the  Avars,  an  Asiatic  nation,  which 
inhabited  this  land  for  two  and  a  half  centuries,  until  Charlemagne 
broke  their  power.  The  Hungarians,  who  lived  in  the  earliest  time  in 
Asia,  between  the  Lower  Irtish  and  the  Ural,  and  later  between  the  Lower 
Dnieper  and  the  Don  (Lebedia),  penetrated  in 
898,  under  the  leadership  of  Arpad,  through  the 
pass  of  Vereczke  into  their  present  country,  and 
settled  in  it  after  subduing  the  different  nations  of 
the  land.  The  house  of  Arpad  reigned  till  1301. 
Stephen,  the  first  king,  converted  the  nation  from 
heathenism  to  Christianity,  was  crowned  in  1000, 

j  .       ,    ,,        TT  0.    ,  ,.  FIG.  150. — Hungarian 

and  organised  the  Hungarian  State  according  to  state  Flag. 

western  patterns.     The  Hungarian  State  attained 

its  greatest  area  under  King  Nagy  Lajos  (fourteenth  century),  and  under 
King  Matyas,  surnamed  the  Just,  it  came  to  the  climax  of  its  glory,  both 
military  and  political.  In  1526,  after  the  catastrophe  of  Mohacs,  where  the 
Hungarians  were  defeated  by  the  Turks,  the  Habsburg  dynasty  succeeded, 
and  Transylvania  was  created  a  separate  principality  under  national 
princes.  The  Turks  occupied  a  great  portion  of  the  land  and  were  not 
finally  expelled  for  nearly  two  hundred  years.  In  1723  the  Hungarian 
Parliament  accepted  the  Pragmatic  Sanction,  which  established  the 
succession  of  the  female  line  of  the  Habsburgs.  In  1848  laws  were  enacted 
which  abrogated  the  old  constitution,  introduced  parliamentary  govern- 
ment with  a  responsible  national  ministry,  reunited  Transylvania  to  the 
mother  country,  abolished  all  agrarian  burdens,  asserted  the  freedom  of 
the  press  and  the  complete  legal  equality  of  the  recognised  religions,  ano? 
made  many  important  reforms.  Events,  however,  necessitated  a  fresh 
struggle  with  Austria,  which,  by  the  help  of  a  large  Russian  army,  imposed 
a  period  of  absolute  government  on  Hungary  for  eighteen  years. 

The  constitution  of  1848  was  restored  by  King  Francis  Joseph  in  1867. 
That  year  was  the  beginning  of  a  new  era,  and  since  then  progress  in 
every  department  of  national  life  has  been  rapid.  In  virtue  of  the 


320      The   International  Geography 

Hungarian  Constitution  the  Apostolic  King  of  Hungary,  whose  person  is 
sacred  and  inviolable,  shares  legislation  as  a  joint  right  with  the  parliament, 
which  he  summons  for  a  term  of  five  years.  The  House  of  Commons 
consists  of  413  representatives  chosen  by  Hungarian  districts,  and  of  40 
deputies  of  the  Croatian-Slavonian  Diet.  Members  of  the  House  of 
Magnates  sit  in  virtue  of  inherited  right,  office,  or  dignity,  or  by  nomi- 
nation or  election.  The  Royal  Hungarian  Cabinet  consists  of  the  presi- 
dent of  the  council  and  of  nine  Ministers,  including  the  Croatian-Slavonian 
Minister  without  a  portfolio.  In  virtue  of  the  Pragmatic  Sanction,  Hungary 
and  Austria  are  independent  States  allied  with  each  other,  but  preserving 
their  own  sovereignty  undiminished,  with  separate  and  independent  State 
administration.  But  by  the  personal  identity  of  the  ruler,  they  form  for 
mutual  protection  one  monarchy.  For  the  management  of  the  common 
affairs  60  delegates,  who  meet  alternately  at  Budapest  and  Vienna,  are 
chosen  by  each  parliament,  the  Hungarian  Parliament  selecting  40 
members  from  the  House  of  .Deputies  and  20  from  the  Magnates.  The 
contribution  for  common  expenses  is  arranged  by 
mutual  agreement  for  ten  years  at  a  time  ;  the  actual 
quotas  are  30  per  cent,  for  Hungary  and  70  per 
cent,  for  Austria. 

People.  —  The  people  of  Hungary  are  composed 
of  several  nationalities,  all  together  forming  the  Hun- 
garian nation.  The  Hungarians  proper,  or  Magyars, 
are  the  leading  element,  for  although  they  form 
only  about  one-half  of  the  population,  80  per  cent. 
of  the  Pe°Ple  s?eak  the  Hungarian  language-a 


mile  of  Hungary.  proportion  which  is  increasing  every  year.  It  must 
be  particularly  stated  that  the  Hungarian  race 
who  conquered  the  country  and  created  the  kingdom  take  the  leading 
position  also  in  intelligence;  and  far  from  oppressing  the  other  nation- 
alities, they  allow  to  all  the  same  rights  and  privileges.  Besides 
Hungarians  there  are  (in  order  of  their  number)  Serbo-Croats,  Ru- 
manians or  Walachians,  Germans,  Slovaks  and  other  nationalities,  whose 
number  together  does  not  amount  to  more  than  a  million.  According  to 
religion,  the  greatest  part  of  the  population  belongs  to  the  Roman  and 
Greek  Catholic  Churches  ;  then  follow  the  non-united  (or  schismatic)  Church, 
the  Protestant  Churches  of  Calvinist  and  Lutheran  confession  ;  finally  the 
Unitarian  confession  and  the  Jews.  The  Roman  Catholics,  the  United 
Greek  Church,  and  the  Armenian  Catholics  are  under  the  authority  of  the 
Pope  in  Rome.  The  king  must  belong  to  the  Roman  Catholic  faith. 

The  people  of  Hungary  live  chiefly  by  agriculture,  the  breeding  of  live 
stock,  and  mining,  to  which  occupations  they  are  directed  by  the  nature 
of  the  soil.  They  have  no  great  inclination  for  industry  ;  therefore  the 
imports  are  almost  double  the  value  of  the  exports.  Though  trade 
makes  great  progress  by  the  increasing  extension  of  railways,  the  want 


Hungary 


321 


of  corresponding  capital  and  enterprise  allows  many  natural  resources 
of  great  value  to  lie  undeveloped.  Yet  material  and  intellectual  progress 
is  remarkable.  At  the  census  of  1890,  61  per  cent,  of  the  male  and 
46  per  cent,  of  the  female  population  above  the  age  of  six  years  could 
write  and  read.  Higher  instruction  is  provided  by  three  universities, 
namely,  at  Budapest,  Kolozsvar,  and  Zagreb,  and  many  colleges  for  higher 
training  in  special  subjects.  The  supply  of  secondary  schools  is  better 
than  in  Austria,  and  approaches  to  that  of  some  States  of  Germany.  The 
pharmaceutical,  philosophical  and  medical  faculties  of  the  universities 
are  open  to  ladies.  Great  progress  is  made  in  the  provision  of  technical 
schools.  As  for  the  administration,  Hungary  (the  mother-land),  is  divided 
into  63  counties  (vdrmegye),  at  the  head  of  which  stand  the  prefects  (foispdn) 
and  deputy-prefects  (alispdii).  Croatia-Slavonia  numbers  eight  counties. 
Hungary  is  well  supplied  with  railways  ;  more  than  three-quarters  of  the 
whole  Hungarian  system  belong  to  the  State  or  are  under  the  management 
of  the  Hungarian  State  Railways.  The  present  tariff  for  passengers,  the  so- 
called  zone  system,  was  inaugurated  in  1889,  according  to  which  the  long 
distance  is  divided  into  fourteen  zones,  and  the  price  is  regulated  by 
sections.  In  the  zone  tariff  the  longest  journey,  from  140  miles  to  any 
distance  which  can  be  traversed  in  twenty-four  hours,  costs  only  $5  first- 
class,  which  is  the  maximum  fare  for  any  journey  in  the  kingdom. 

Hungary  Proper. — Budapest  is  the  capital  and  residence-town  of 
Hungary,  situated  in  a  splendid 
position  on  both  sides  of  the 
Danube,  a  short  distance  below 
its  great  bend  from  an  east- 
ward to  a  southward  course, 
surrounded  on  the  right  bank 
by  picturesque  hills,  the  off- 
shoots of  the  Alps.  One  of 
these  hills  which  dominates 
the  city  is  the  site  of  the 
Royal  Palace,  and  another, 
named  Mount  St.  Gerard 
(Szent  Gellerthegy},  rises 
abruptly  from  the  Danube  to 
a  height  of  720  feet  above 
sea-level.  The  left  bank  of 
the  Danube  is  a  plain.  Buda 
on  the  right  and  Pest  on  the 
left  side  formed,  before  1873, 
two  towns  with  separate  ad- 
ministrations, but  are  now  united.  They  are  connected  by  several  bridges 
for  passengers  and  two  railway  bridges.  The  town  is  the  residence  of.  the 
king,  who  is  understood  to  reside  there  for  half  the  year ;  it  is  the  seat 


FIG.  161.— Budapest. 


322       The   International  Geography 

of  government,  of  the  parliament  and  of  the  supreme  courts.  It  has 
many  public  institutions,  including  the  Hungarian  Academy  of  Sciences, 
the  National  Museum,  with  rich  collections  in  different  branches,  and 
the  National  Picture  Gallery.  Budapest  has  a  university,  a  polytechnic, 
many  colleges,  technical  schools,  and  learned  societies.  It  is  also  the 
centre  of  the  commercial  as  well  as  of  public  and  intellectual  life  of  the 
kingdom.  The  population  is  increasing  rapidly,  at  the  average  rate  of 
about  10,000  a  year.  The  town  presents  a  very  animated  appearance,  with 
the  electric  tram-lines  which  intersect  it  in  all  directions,  and  the  great 
steamer  traffic  on  the  Danube.  The  boulevards  and  ring-streets  and  the 
colossal  new  buildings  testify  to  the  enthusiastic  spirit  in  which  the 
improvement  of  the  city  is  carried  on  with  reference  to  art  as  well  as 
material  progress.  Amongst  them  the  new  Royal  Palace,  the  new  Parlia- 
ment House  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Danube,  modelled  after  the  Parliament 
Houses  in  London,  the  new  Palace  of  Justice,  and  many  of  the  theatres  and 
churches  may  be  mentioned  as  of  conspicuous  merit.  Budapest  has  many 
hydropathic  establishments  with  hot  mineral  springs.  The  fairy -like 
Margaret  Island,  the  property  of  the  Archduke  Joseph,  but  used  as  a  public 
park,  and  the  hilly  environs  of  Buda  are  charming  places  of  popular  resort. 

Szeged,  Debreczen  and  Arad  are  the  chief  towns  of  the  Great  Plain. 
Szeged,  on  the  bank  of  the  Tisza,  has  been  rebuilt  and  improved  since 
the  great  inundation  of  1879,  which  destroyed  the  whole  city.  Debreczen, 
a  railway  centre  east  of  the  Tisza,  is  a  large  provincial  centre  of  com- 
merce, industry,  and  intellectual  life.  It  is  situated  in  the  Hortobagy 
puszta  (steppe),  the  most  important  part  of  Hungary  for  cattle  and  horse- 
breeding.  Debreczen  has  been  termed  "  Calvinist  Rome,"  as  most  of  its 
inhabitants  are  of  the  Calvinist  confession  and  the  town  takes  a  leading 
part  in  religious  affairs.  Arad  is  a  fine,  intelligent,  and  commercial  town 
on  the  shore  of  the  river  Maros,  which  comes  from  Transylvania  and 
discharges  near  Szeged  into  the  Tisza.  Pozsony  (Pressburg)  is  one  of  the 
most  cultivated  provincial  towns,  and,  after  Budapest,  the  handsomest  city 
of  the  country.  It  is  situated  on  the  Danube  in  a  very  fine  position  close 
to  the  Austrian  border,  and  was  the  seat  of  the  Hungarian  Parliament  until 
1848,  and  since  1526  the  place  of  coronation  of  the  kings.  Kassa  is  the 
most  considerable  town  of  Upper  or  northern  Hungary,  an  ancient  royal 
free  town,  with  an  interesting  cathedral,  the  finest  Gothic  church  in  the 
country,  built  in  the  years  1290-1382.  Szekesfehervdr  (Alba  Realis}  is  the 
most  flourishing  commercial  town  in  the  Trans- Danubian  region  (i.e.,  the 
region  west  of  the  Danube),  the  earliest  coronation  and  burial-place  of 
the  Hungarian  kings.  Esztergom  (Latin,  Strigonium;  German,  Gran},  on 
the  right  bank  of  the  Danube,  above  its  great  bend  to  the  south,  is  a 
picturesque  city,  the  seat  of  the  Prince-primate,  the  ecclesiastical  chief 
of  Hungary. 

Kolozsvar  (Klausenburg),  situated  on  the  banks  of  the  river  Szamos,  is 
the  capital  of  Transylvania  (Erdely),  after  Budapest,  the  first  centre  of 


Hungary  323 

intellectual  and  public  life  of  Hungary.  It  has  a  university,  a  remarkable 
museum,  three  colleges  (a  Roman  Catholic,  a  Calvinist,  and  a  Unitarian), 
and  is  the  seat  of  the  Calvinist  and  the  Unitarian  bishops  of  Transylvania. 
It  was  the  birthplace  of  Matyas  (Matthias  Corvinus),  the  greatest  king  of 
Hungary.  Gyulafeheivdr  (Karlsburg  the  Roman  Apulum),  near  the  river 
Maros,  was  the  ancient  residence  of  the  princes  and  is  the  seat  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Bishop  of  Transylvania. 

Croatia-Slavonia  and  Dalmatia  form  a  self-governing  political 
unit  inside  the  dominion  of  Hungary,  and  on  that  account  bear  the  name 
of  Borderland  (Paries  adnexce).  Despite  this  legal  and  correct  triple  desig- 
nation, Dalmatia,  which  at  the  beginning  of  the  twelfth  century  was  united 
to  Hungary  by  King  Kalman,  now  belongs  only  de  jure  to  Hungary  and 
the  Borderlands,  while  de  facto  it  is  united  to  Austria.  Croatia  was  united 
to  Hungary  under  Kings  Ladislaus  and  Kalman,  and  King  Kalman  was  the 
first,  who  in  the  year  1 102  was  crowned  King  of  Croatia  and  Dalmatia. 
The  local  government  is  concerned  only  with  home  affairs,  religious 
service  and  public  instruction,  and  justice.  Croatia-Slavonia  has  a 
National  Assembly  of  one  Chamber,  which  consists  of  90  elected  depu- 
ties, and  of  personal  voters  holding  a  privileged  position.  It  is  repre- 
sented in  both  Chambers  of  the  Hungarian  Parliament. 

Zagreb  (Hungarian,  Zdgrdb  ;  German,  Agram),  near  the  Save,  is  the  seat 
of  the  Banus  (governor),  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Archbishop  of  Croatia,  and 
of  the  Diet  (National  Assembly).  It  has  a  university,  academy  of  sciences, 
museum,  and  a  remarkable  late  Gothic  cathedral  of  the  fifteenth  century, 
recently  restored  after  an  earthquake,  which  damaged  it  seriously. 

Fiume  and  its  Territory,  annexed  to  Hungary  in  1779  by  Queen 
Maria  Theresa  as  a  separate  body  (corpus  separatum),  is  represented  in 
the  Hungarian  Parliament,  but  administered  by  a  special  governor.  The 
town  of  Fiume  lies  in  the  north-east  corner  of  the  Gulf  of  Quarnero,  in  the 
Adriatic  Sea.  It  was  formerly  an  insignificant  fishing  village,  but  since  its 
union  with  Hungary  it  has  developed  into  a  considerable  seaport  and  a 
commercial  town  of  the  first  rank,  a  notable  rival  of  the  Austrian  Triest. 
Fiume  has  three  good  harbours,  one  the  petroleum  harbour.  Whitehead's 
torpedo  factory,  a  great  paper  factory,  petroleum  refineries,  and  rice-mills, 
give  it  considerable  industrial  importance.  Fiume  is  the  residence  of  the 
Governor,  of  the  Imperial  and  Royal  Marine  Academy,  and  of  a  Royal 
Mercantile  Marine  Academy.  The  greater  part  of  the  inhabitants  speak 
Italian,  which  is  the  recognised  official  language  of  the  territory. 


324      The   International  Geography 

IV.— BOSNIA  AND  HERZEGOVINA 

BY  PROF.  A.  PENCK. 

Bosnia  and  Herzegovina. — The  hinterland  of  Dalmatia,  nearly 
the  whole  north-west  of  the  Dinaric  lands,  is  "  occupied  and 
administered"  by  Austria- Hungary.  It  is  a  mountainous  country;  the 
west  consists  of  limestone,  which  is  partially  bare,  and  reaches  at  several 
points  to  from  6,500  to  7,500  feet.  Between  the  ridges  there  are  numerous 
broad  basins  called  Poljes,  which  are  drained  by  subterranean  channels 
and  are  inundated  during  the  wet  season.  In  the  east  slates  and 
sandstone  prevail ;  the  mountains  are  covered  there  with  dense  forests, 
which  extend  over  one-half  of  the  country;  they  contain  iron  ores, 
and  silver  at  several  places.  Coal  and  salt  are  found  in  broad  basins 
along  the  rivers.  The  west,  embracing  Herzegovina,  has  a  Medi- 
terranean climate  in  the  valleys.  It  is  drained  by  the  Narenta  to  the 
Adriatic  Sea.  The  east,  Bosnia  proper,  has  severer  winters  and  cooler 
summers ;  rain  occurs  at  all  seasons.  It  is  drained  by  the  Una,  Vrbas, 
Bosna  and  Drina  to  the  Save,  and  belongs  in  all  respects  to  the  lands  of 
the  Danube. 

Bosnia  and  Herzegovina  formed,  before  the  conquest  of  the  Turks,  a 
separate  kingdom,  and  from  an  ethnographical  point  of  view  they  are  still 
uniform.  Their  inhabitants  belong  to  the  Croatian  branch  of  the  Southern 
Slavs,  but  they  are  diversified  by  religion.  Forty-three  per  cent,  are 
Christians  of  the  Eastern  Church,  called  Servians ;  20  per  cent,  are  Roman 
Catholics,  called  Croats  ;  and  37  per  cent,  are  Mohammedans,  called  Turks, 
though  there  has  been  only  a  very  insignificant  Turkish  immigration. 
The  landowners,  or  Begs,  are  mostly  Mohammedans  ;  the  tenants,  or  Kmets, 
are  Christians.  This  state  of  things  has  not  been  changed  since  the  occu- 
pation, but  the  old  system  of  despotism  has  disappeared,  and  the  country, 
which  twenty  years  ago  had  only  bridle-tracks,  has  now  an  extensive  net- 
work of  excellent  public  roads,  and  some  narrow-gauge  railways,  by  which 
it  is  connected  with  Hungary  and  the  mouth  of  the  Narenta.  Different 
manufactures  are  now  established  ;  mining  is  going  on  ;  there  are  iron 
and  salt  works,  and  even  paper  mills.  The  population  is  growing  rapidly ; 
and  the  average  density  of  the  population  has  increased  from  59  in  1879 
to  68  in  1885.  The  exports  are  wood,  especially  oak,  plums  and  cattle. 
Sarajevo,  formerly  called  Bosna  Serail,  is  the  flourishing  capital,  lying  in 
a  basin  of  the  Upper  Bosna,  surrounded  by  high  mountains.  The  chief 
place  of  Herzegovina  is  Mostar,  on  the  Narenta. 

STATISTICS  OF  AUSTRIA-HUNGARY. 

(Without  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina.) 

1880.         1890.         1900. 

Area  of  Austria-Hungary  (square  miles)         240,042  . .         240,942  . .         240,942 

Population  „  ..         ..     37,883,609  ..     41,358,886  ..  45,242,889 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile  . .  157  171  ..  187 


Austria-Hungary  :   Statistics'        325 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  BY  LANGUAGE  (1890).! 


German  

Chech,  Moravian,  and  Slovak 
Polish      

Austria. 
8,461,000 

5,  -172,000 

Hungary. 
2,107,000 
1,910,000 

383,000 
94,000 
2,604,000 

2,592,000 
7,426,000 
82,000 

Total. 
10,568,000 
7,382,000 
3,719,000 
3,488,000 
1,270,000 
3,249,000 
675,000 
2,801,000 
7,434,000 
82,000 

Ruthenian 
Slovenian 
Servian  and  Croatian 
Italian  and  Ladin 
Rumanian 
Magyar    .. 
Gypsies 

3,105,000 
1,176,000 
645,000 
675,000 
209,000 
8,000 

Total    .. 


23,895,000 


17.463,000 


41,358,000 


AVERAGE  ANNUAL  TRADE  OF  AUSTRIA-HUNGARY  (in  pounds  sterling). 

1876-1880.       1880-1885.       1891-1895. 

Imports          46,861,000        ..        51,525,000        ..        55,491,000 

Exports          , 54,609,000        . .        60,448,000        . .        64,205,000 


STATISTICS  OF  AUSTRIA. 

1880. 
Area  of  Austria  (square  miles)       ..        ..        115,925 

Population  of  Austria          22,144,244        ..    23,895,413 

Density  of  Population  (per  square  mile)  192        . .  207 


1890. 


1000. 


26,150,507 
226 


1880. 

Vienna  ..  1,112,025 
Prague  ..  177,026 
Lemberg  109,746 
Graz  . .  97,791 


POPULATION  OF  AUSTRIAN  TOWNS. 

1880. 
144,844 
82,600 


1890. 
1,364,548 
182,530 
127,943 
112,069 


1900. 
1,674,957 
201,589 
159,143 
138,080 


Triest      . . 
Briinn 
Cracow    . . 
Czernowitz 


66,095 
45,600 


1890. 
157,466 
94,462 
74,593 
54,174 


1900. 
134,143 
109,346 
91,323 
67,622 


THE  LANDS  OF  THE  AUSTRIAN  CROWN. 


Area  Sq.  Miles.        1880. 
Lower  Austria      ..        7,654         2,330,621 
Upper  Austria      ..        4,627            759,620 
Salzburg    .  .        .  .        2,762            163,570 
Styria         ..        ..        8,659         1,213,597 
Carinthia   ..        ..        3,988            348,730 
Carniola     ..        ..        3,844            481,243 
Tirol  &  Vorarlberg      11,307            912,549 

Inhabitants. 
1890. 
2,661,799 
785,831 
173,510 
1,282,708 
361,008 
408,958 
928,769 

1900. 
3,100,493 
810,246 
192,763 
1,356,494 
367,337 
508,150 
981,949 

Mean  Density 
per  Square  Mile. 
1880.     1890.     1900. 
303        347        405 
163        170        175 
60          62          69 
140        148        156 
88          91          92 
124        129        132 
80          83          86 

Alpine  lands     .  . 

Bohemia 
Moravia 
Silesia 

Boian  lands 

Galicia 
Bukovina 

42,841 

20,058 
8,580 
1,987 

6,209,930 

5,560,819 
2,153,407 
565,475 

6,692,583 

5,843,094 
2,276,870 
605,649 

8,725,613 

6,607,816 
646,591 

7,327,282 

6,318,697 
2,437,706 
680,422 

145 

277 
251 
282 

156 

293 
264 
306 

171 

315 
284 
342 

30,625 

30,307 
4,032 

8,279,701 
5,958,907 

9.436,825 

7,315,816 
730,195 

270 

196 
142 

285 

218 
161 

308 

241 
181 

Carpathian  lands      34,339        6,530,578        7,254,407        8,046,011 


Maritime  Provinces 
Dalmatia 


Dinaric  lands 


3,077 
4,956 

8,033 


647,934 
476,101 


695-384 

527,426 


756,546 
593,783 


1,124,335       1,222,810       1,350,329 


190 

210 
96 

140 


211 

S 

152 


234 


249 
1 2O 


168 


STATISTICS  OF  HUNGARY. 

1880.  1890.  1900. 

Area  of  the  Hungarian  Crown  Lands,  square  miles         125,039  125,039  125,039 

Population  of  Hungarian  Crown  Lands        . .         . .     15,739,375  17,709,375  19,254,55° 

Density  of  population,  per  square  mile          . .        . .               126  139  153 


From  'L  he  Statesman's  Year  Book. 


326      The  International  Geography 


POPULATION  OF  HUNGARIAN  TOWNS. 


Budapest  (without  military) 
Szeged    .  .                            .... 

1880. 

360,551 

•  •          73  675 

1890.                      1900. 
505,763                   732,322 

87  4.IO                        IO2  QQI 

Szabadka  (Maria  Theresiopol) 

61,367 

v/y^AW                          xu^j^^j. 
73.526                            82,122 

58,952                    75  006 

Pozsony  (Pressburg)  
Zagreb  (Agram)         
Kolozsvar  (Klausenburg)     .. 
Fiume  and  territory    

48,006 
28,388 
29,923 
20,981 

56  048                   65,867 
40,26*                   61,002 
34,858                    49,295 
30,337                     38,955 

STATISTICS  OF  THE  HUNGARIAN  CROWN  LANDS. 


Area  Population, 

square  miles.     1880.  1890. 

Hungary,  with  Transylvania        108,258      13  812,446  15,232,159 

Croatia  and  Slavonia  . .        . .        16,773        1,905,295  2,200,977 

Territory  of  Fiume      . .        . .                8            20,981  3O.337 


Density  of  Population, 

1900.       I880.   l890.   IQOft. 

16,838,255       127       139       155 

2,416,304       113       130       147 

38,955        —         —         — 


(For  analysis  of  population  according  to  language  see  Statistics  of  Austria-Hungary.) 


STATISTICS  OF  BOSNIA  AND  HERCEGOVINA. 


Area  of  Bosnia  and  Hercegovina  (sq.  miles) 

Population  „  „ 

Density  of  Population 


1879. 
19,734 
1,158,453 
59 


1885. 

19,734 
1,336,091 


1900. 

19,734 

1,568,092 

80 


STANDARD  BOOKS. 

H.  F.  Brachelli.    "  Handbuch  der  Geographic  und  Statistik  des  Kaiserthums  Oesterreich." 

Leipzig,  1861. 
"  Statistische   Skizze    der    Oesterreichisch-Ungarischen   Monarchic." 

I3th  edit.     1892 

Grassauer.    "  Landeskunde  yon  Oesterreich-Ungarn."    Vienna,  1875. 
F.  Umlauft.    "  Die  Oesterreichisch-Ungarische  Monarchic.    Geographisch-Statistische* 

Handbuch."    3rd  edit.     1896-7. 
• "  Die  Lander  Oesterreich-Ungarns  in  Wort  und  Bild."    15  small  volumes. 

Vienna,  1880-89. 
H.  Neumeyer-Vukassowitsch.    "  Oesterreich-Ungarn  nach  eigenen  Beobachtungen  ge- 

schildert."    Leipzig,  1885. 

A.  Supan.    "  Oesterreich-Ungarn."    Vienna,  &c.,  1889. 
"  Die  Oesterreichisch-Ungansche  Monarchic  in  Wort  und  Bild.    Auf  Anregung  und 

unter  Mitwirkung  Seiner  k.  und  k.   Hoheit  Kronprinzen   Erzherzog 

Rudolf."    Vienna.    17  volumes.    1887-1900. 
R.  Sieger.     "  Geographischer  Jahresbericht  iiber  Oesterreich."    Vienna,  annually  since 

1894. 
C.  Diener  (and  others).     "  Bau  und  Bild  Oesterreichs. "    Vienna  and  Leipzig,  1903. 


CHAPTER  XIX.— THE  DANUBIAN  AND  BALKAN 

STATES ' 

BY  DR.  A.  PHILIPPSON, 

Lecturer  on  Geography  in  the  University  of  Bonn. 

I— RUMANIA 

Position  and  Boundaries. — The  great  mountain  chain  of  the 
Carpathians  on  the  east  of  Transylvania  runs  trom  north  to  south,  turns 
at  right  angles  towards  the  west,  as  the  Transylvanian  Alps,  and  again 
towards  the  south  at  the  point  where  the  Danube  breaks  through  it  in  the 
gorge  of  the  Iron  Gates,  and  there  the  chain  enters  the  Balkan  Peninsula. 
The  Carpathians  form  the  western  boundary  of  Rumania  towards 
Hungary.  The  country  includes  the  low  plain  on  the  east  and  south, 
which  is  physically  part  of  the  great  plain  of  Russia.  On  the  north  the 
boundary  is  an  artificial  line  towards  Bukovina ;  on  the  east  the  river 
Pruth  separates  Rumania  from  Russia,  and  on  the  south  the  Danube  is 
the  boundary  towards  Bulgaria.  Rumania  also  includes  the  delta  of  the 
Danube  and  the  district  of  the  Dobruja,  the  coast  of  which  is  a  low  plain, 
bordered  by  lagoons  on  the  Black  Sea.  Thus  the  country  is  the  gate  of  the 
Balkan  Peninsula  towards  Russia,  stretching  as  it  does  from  the  Carpathian 
barrier  to  the  Black  Sea.  Together  with  Russia  it  commands  the  mouths 
of  the  Danube,  and  with  Bulgaria  the  lower  course  of  that  river,  the 
greatest  channel  of  inland  navigation  in  Central  Europe. 

Surface  and  Resources. — The  great  wall  of  the  Carpathians, 
which  rises  in  several  summits  above  8,000  feet,  slopes  down  to  the 
Rumanian  plain  in  beautiful  wooded  declivities  cut  by  the  valleys  of 
numerous  rivers  fed  by  the  high  rainfall  of  the  region.  The  foot-hills  of 
recent  Tertiary  formation  contain  important  deposits  of  rock  salt  and 
petroleum  springs.  The  province  of  Moldavia  occupies  the  eastern  foreland 
and  forms  a  tableland  sloping  to  the  south,  covered  with  the  black  earth 
of  the  steppes,  and  trenched  deeply  by  the  steep-walled  valleys  of  the 
Sereth,  the  Pruth  and  other  tributaries  of  the  Danube.  The  province  of 
Walachia  occupies  the  southern  slope  from  the  Transylvanian  Alps.  It 
forms  a  low  plain  of  pebbles  and  clay,  which  is  crossed  by  the  broad,  flat 
valleys  of  rivers  flowing  southward  or  south-eastward  to  the  Danube. 
The  most  important  of  these  rivers  is  the  Aluta,  which  rises  in  Tran- 
sylvania and  breaks  through  the  Transylvanian  Alps.  The  left  bank 

1  Translated  from  the  German  by  the  Editor. 
32? 


328      The  International  Geography 


FiG.  162. — The  Mouths  of  the  Danube. 


of  the  Danube,  which  is  here  divided  into  numerous  branches,  forms  a 
perfectly  flat,  marshy,  alluvial  plain,  so  that  the  river  can  only  be  approached 
at  a  few  points,  and  there  are  very  few  towns  upon  it.  The  right  or 
Bulgarian  bank,  on  the  other  hand,  is  high  and  forms  the  site  of  several 
towns.  The  higher  steppe-like  plateau  of  the  Dobruja  causes  the  Danube 
to  "turn  northward,  and  where  it  resumes  its  easterly  course  the  delta,  a 
mere  wilderness  of  swamps,  begins  at  once.  The  most  important  mouths 

are,  from  north  to  south,  those  of  Kilia, 
Sulina,  and  St.  George ;  the  Sulina 
mouth  is  that  used  by  shipping,  silting 
being  overcome  by  engineering  works. 
The  Dobruja  and  south-eastern  Wala- 
chia  are  mainly  pastoral  Steppes  ;  the 
rest  of  the  Rumanian  plain  is  very 
fertile,  especially  for  grain.  In  the 
hill-zone  fruit  and  excellent  wine  are 
produced ;  while  in  the  mountains 
cattle-rearing  and  forestry  are  more 
important. 

Climate. — In  climate,  as  well  as  in 
soil,  Rumania  belongs  to  the  region  of 
the  Russian  Steppes.  The  winters  are  very  cold,  the  temperature  may  even 
fall  as  low  as  -20°  F. ;  the  summers  are  hot,  the  range  of  temperature  being 
great.  The  rainfall  is  small  and  irregularly  distributed  throughout  the  year. 
It  is  heaviest  in  early  summer  (June),  while  the  later  part  of  summer  is  very 
dry.  The  mean  temperature  of  the  year  at  Bukarest  is  51°,  that  for  July 
73°,  and  the  extreme  temperatures  of  the  year  are  -6°  and  +94°. 

History. — The  Rumanian  region  was  inhabited  in  ancient  times  by  the 
Thracian  tribe  called  Dacians,  and  formed  a  part 
of  the  Roman  province  of  Dacia.  When  or  how 
the  Rumanian  people,  who  speak  a  language  closely 
allied  to  Latin,  and  call  their  country  Romana, 
took  their  rise  is  doubtful.  Some  believe  that  they 
were  originally  Roman  colonists,  others  that  they 
were  Romanised  natives  of  the  Balkan  peninsula, 
who  came  into  the  country  in  the  Middle  Ages.  FIG.  163. — The  Rumanian 
The  independent  principalities  of  Moldavia  and  Fla& 

Walachia  date  from  the  thirteenth  century ;  but  later  they  came1  under 
the  power  of  Turkey.  During  the  nineteenth  century  Russian  influence 
has  been  gradually  increasing.  The  efforts  of  the  Rumanian  people  to 
secure  their  independence  of  both  Powers  led,  after  the  Crimean  War,  to 
the  union  of  the  two  principalities  in  1859.  By  the  Berlin  Treaty  of  1878 
Rumania  was  obliged  to  give  up  Bessarabia  to  Russia,  but  received  in 
return  the  Dobruja,  and  attained  complete  independence  of  Turkey.  In 
1 88 1  it  was  declared  a  hereditary  kingdom,  the  power  of  the  king  being 


Rumania  329 

limited    by    a    Senate    and    a    Chamber    of    Deputies   representing  the 
people. 

People  and  Trade. — The  great  majority  of  the  people  belong  to 
the  Rumanian  nation  and  the  Greek  Catholic  Church ;  the  remainder 
are  nearly  all  Jews.  The  people  live  mainly  by  agriculture,  the  growing 
of  wheat  and  maize  being  most  important.  Cattle-breeding  also  occupies 
a  considerable  part  of  the  population  ;  there  is  very  little  other  industry 
except  salt-mining  and  the  extraction  of  petroleum.  Rumania  is  one  of 
the  most  important  grain-growing  countries  in  Europe,  73  per  cent,  of  its 
exports  being  grain,  and  the  rest  consisting  almost  entirely  of  other  farm 
produce.  The  exports,  which  are  considerably  less  than  the  imports,  go 
mainly  to  Belgium,  the  United  Kingdom,  Austria- Hungary,  and  Germany. 
The  order  of  importance  for  imports  is  :  Austria- Hungary,  Germany,  the 
United  Kingdom,  and  France.  The  Danube  shipping  trade  is  of  great 
importance  to  Rumania ;  the  chief  seaports  are  the  mouths  of  the  river, 
the  navigation  of  which  is  under  the  charge  of  an  international  com- 
mission meeting  in  Galatz.  The  Pruth  is  also  navi- 
gable for  a  considerable  distance.  The  railway 
system,  with  Bukarest  as  its  centre,  is  well  de- 
veloped. Three  lines  enter  the  country  from 
Austria- H  ungary ;  on  the  west  at  Orsova  at  the 
Iron  Gates  ;  from  Translyvania  by  the  Predeal  Pass 
(3,400  feet  high) ;  and  on  the  north-east  from 
Lemberg  through  Moldavia.  Two  lines  cross  the 


Danube  to  Varna  and  Constantsa  (Kustenji),  on  FlG  ^_Avera^e  pop. 
the  Black  Sea,  with  direct  communication  to  Con-  ulation  of  a  square 
stantinople  ;  and  there  are  also  two  lines  into  Russia.  mik  °f  Rumania- 

Towns. — The  capital  is  Bukarest,  in  the  middle  of  the  Walachian 
Plain  on  the  small  river  Dimbovitsa.  It  is  first  referred  to  in  history  in  the 
fourteenth  century,  and  since  the  seventeenth  century  it  has  been  the 
capital  of  Walachia.  The  town  has  quite  a  western  appearance,  and  is 
indeed  one  of  the  most  elegant  cities  of  southern  Europe.  In  every 
respect  it  is  the  intellectual  centre  of  the  Rumanian  people,  possessing  a 
university  and  other  educational  establishments.  Eighteen  forts  protect 
the  capital.  North  of  Bukarest,  on  the  railway  to  Transylvania,  Ploesci 
stands  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains.  In  western  Walachia,  Craiova  is  the 
most  important  town.  In  Moldavia  the  chief  towns  are  the  provincial 
capital,  Jassy,  situated  near  the  Pruth,  and  Botosani  in  the  extreme  north. 
The  principal  commercial  harbours,  particularly  for  the  export  of  grain, 
are  Galatz  and  Braila,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Lower  Danube,  not  far 
from  the  mouths  of  the  Sereth  and  Pruth.  Constantsa,  the  only  harbour 
of  the  Dobruja,  has  recently  acquired  importance  for  trade  with 
Constantinople. 


330      The  International  Geography 

STATISTICS. 

1887.  1899. 

Area  of  Rumania  (square  miles) 50,700  . .         50,700 

Population 5,500,000  ..      5,912,520 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile 109  . .  116 

POPULATION  OF  TOWNS. 


1876.*  1899. 

Bukarest     ..        221,000  ..  282,071 

Jassy.          ..          90,000  ..  78,067 

GalaU         ..          81,000  ..  62,678 


1876.*  1899. 

Braila          ..          28,000  ..  58,392 

Craiova       ..          23,000  ..  45.438 

Ploesci        ..          33,000  ..  42,687 


ANNUAL  TRADE  (in  pounds  sterling}. 

Average  1870-75.2  1881-85.  1891-95. 

Imports 3,300,000        ..      11,700,000  ..      15,800,000 

Exports 6,000,000       ..        8,800,000  ..      11,000,000 


II— THE  BALKAN  PENINSULA 

General  Features. — The  Balkan  Peninsula  is  the  most  easterly  of 
the  three  great  peninsulas  of  southern  Europe,  and,  unlike  the  others,  is 
united  to  the  body  of  Europe  along  a  long  la"nd  boundary.  In  the  west 
the  Dinaric  Alps  and  in  the  middle  the  Carpathians  run  into  the  peninsula 
which  is  bounded  between  them  by  the  Hungarian  Plain,  and  in  the  north- 
east by  the  plain  of  Rumania.  The  boundary  of  the  Balkan  Peninsula 
can  best  be  drawn  from  the  Gulf  of  Fiume  to  the  source  of  the  Kulpa,  and 
along  that  river,  the  Save,  and  the  Danube  to  the  Black  Sea. 

From  this  border  the  peninsula  stretches  as  a  broad  quadrilateral 
towards  the  south.  The  Black  Sea  coast  on  the  east  is  for  the  most  part  a 
steep,  low  shore,  the  only  sharp  indentation  being  the  Gulf  of  Burgas  in 
the  middle.  In  the  south-east  it  almost  touches  Asia  Minor,  being 
separated  only  by  the  narrow  river-like  Strait  of  Constantinople  (the 
ancient  Bosporus),  the  small  Sea  of  Marmora  (Propontis),  and  the  Strait 
of  the  Dardanelles  (Hellespont).  The  south  coast  in  the  east  is  for  the 
most  part  low  and  uniform,  but  in  the  west  the  deeply  notched  mountainous 
peninsula  of  Chalcidice  projects  and  forms  the  Gulf  of  Salonica.  The 
south-west  corner  is  formed  by  the  peninsula  of  Greece  which  is  separately 
described.  The  west  coast,  facing  the  Adriatic,  runs  northward  as  a  flat 
shore  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  Drin  ;  thence,  north-westwards  to  Fiume, 
it  is  mountainous,  and  bordered  by  a  complicated  series  of  long,  narrow 
islands  and  peninsulas  separated  by  straits  and  bays,  and  stretching  for  the 
most  part  parallel  to  the  coast,  a  formation  resulting  from  the  partial 
submergence  of  a  folded  mountain  region. 

The  great  importance  of  the  Balkan  Peninsula  depends  upon  the  fact 
that  the  channels  separating  it  from  Asia  Minor  are  so  narrow  that  it  forms 
a  bridge  between  Asia  and  Europe,  connecting  the  mountain  structure  of 
the  continents,  and  interposing  no  barrier  to  plants  and  animals,  or  human 

*  These  figures  are  estimates,  not  the  results  of  a  census.       *  No  data  for  1873. 


The   Balkan  Peninsula  331 

movements.  Through  its  channels  it  commands  the  communication 
between  the  Black  Sea  and  the  Mediterranean,  and  thus  the  "  Eastern 
Question  "  has  acquired  its  importance  in  modern  European  politics. 

Configuration. — Two  great  systems  of  folded  mountains  penetrate 
the  Balkan  Peninsula  from  the  north  ;  one  of  these,  the  Balkan,  occupies 
the  north-eastern  part ;  the  other,  the  Dinaric  Alps  (called  after  Mount 
Dinara  in  Dalmatia),  occupies  the  whole  western  portion.  Between  the 
two  extends  the  ancient  crystalline  mass  of  the  Thraco-Macedonian 
Highlands,  forming  the  nucleus  of  the  peninsula  (Fig.  165). 

The  Balkan  Region. — The  Carpathians,  turning  southwards  after 
having  formed  the  boundary  between  Hungary  and  Rumania,  are  broken 
through  by  the  Danube  in  a  long  picturesque  gorge  between  Bazias  and 
Turn  Severin.  The  numerous  rapids,  the  most  dangerous  of  which  is 
called  the  Iron  Gates/were  formerly  a  serious  obstacle  to  shipping  ;  but  the 
difficulties  have  now  been  removed  by  blasting  and  canalising  (Fig.  158). 
South  of  the  Danube  gorge  the  Balkan  range  begins  as  the  immediate  con- 
tinuation of  the  Carpathians,  and  with  a  similar  structure  runs  first  south- 
wards, and  then  east  to  the  Black  Sea,  shutting  in  the  Lower  Danube  Plain 
on  the  south.  The  first  section  of  the  Balkans,  running  southward,  occu- 
pies eastern  Servia  ;  ranges  of  crystalline  schist  yielding  iron,  lead,  and 
copper  ore,  alternate  with  broad,  wild  limestone  ridges  rising  to  6,500  feet 
in  height.  The  Central  Balkans,  on  the  contrary,  form  a  long  and  nearly 
uniformly  high  central  ridge,  running  eastwards,  with  rounded  summits 
up  to  7,800  feet  in  height.  On  the  north  this  ridge  is  bordered  by  a  broad 
zone  of  parallel  folded  chains  of  sedimentary  rock  which  become  gradually 
lower  towards  the  plain.  These  bordering  heights  form  the  third  or 
eastern  section  of  the  Balkans,  after  the  main  ridge  has  disappeared. 
The  mountains  sink  gradually  towards  the  north,  but  break  away  in  steep 
slopes  on  the  south  to  a  series  of  fertile  intermont  basins  of  which  the 
most  important  is  that  of  Sofia.  From  the  Sofia  basin  the  river  Isker  flows 
northward,  cutting  through  the  Balkans  in  a  narrow  gorge.  South  of  this 
series  of  basins  several  mountain  masses  rise  parallel  to  the  Balkan,  and 
are  named  the  Anti- Balkan;  Mount  Vitosha  near  Sofia  is  the  most 
important  of  these. 

The  Bulgarian  Foreland,  stretching  from  the  foot  of  the  Balkans  to- 
wards the  north,  is  formed  of  horizontal  Cretaceous  and  Tertiary  strata, 
covered  with  the  fertile  earth  of  the  steppes,  and  well  cultivated.  The 
north-running  rivers  flow  through  deep,  steep-walled  valleys  across  the 
plateau,  which  forms  a  high  bank  where  it  meets  the  Danube.  From  the 
ferries  on  the  river  roads  cross  the  tableland,  and  the  wooded  foot-hills 
gradually  rising  to  the  great  barrier  of  the  main  ridge  which  is  crossed 
by  numerous  easy  but  very  important  passes.  On  this  account  the  high 
bank  of  the  Danube,  the  valleys  which  furrow  the  Bulgarian  plateau,  and 
the  Balkan  passes,  are  the  natural  defensive  lines  of  the  peninsula  and  have 
been  the  scenes  of  many  great  battles. 
23 


332       The   International  Geography 

The  Thraco-Macedonian  Region. — In  contrast  to  the  younger 
folded  mountains,  the  relief  of  the  ancient  highlands  of  crystalline  rock 
in  Thrace,  Macedonia,  and  western  Servia  is  of  an  extremely  irregular 
character.  Here  and  there  rounded  mountain  masses  rise  to  a  great 
height,  while  in  other  places  the  land  forms  broad,  flat,  undulating  hills  ; 
and  the  whole  district  is  so  penetrated  by  deep  basins  and  river  valleys 
that  lofty  mountains  are  often  immediate  neighbours  of  low  plains.  The 
valleys  with  their  fertile  soil  naturally  form  the  centres  of  cultivation 
and  lines  of  communication,  especially  where  several  basins  approach 
each  other  so  as  to  form  a  continuous  furrow.  One  of  these  which 
traverses  the  whole  peninsula  from  north-west  to  south-east  is  known  as 
the  Diagonal  Furrow.  It  is  formed  by  the  broad  valley  of  the  Morava, 

flowing  northwards 
to  the  river  Danube, 
through  the  fertile 
hills  of  Servia,  from 
which  low  passes 
lead  through  the 
basin  of  Sofia  to  the 
great  river  Maritsa 
flowing  to  the  ^Egean 
Sea  through  the  two 
most  extensive  basins 
of  the  Balkan  Penin- 
sula in  the  ancient 
province  of  Thrace. 
The  first  of  these 
is  the  extremely  fer- 
tile plain  of  Eastern 
Rumelia,  which 
stretches  along  the 
south  of  the  Balkans ; 

FIG.  165. — Orographic  Structure  of  the  Balkan  Peninsula.         ancj  ^e  second  is  the 

steppe-like  basin  of  Adrianople,  which  reaches  to  the  Marmora  and  ^Egean 
Seas,  and  is  separated  from  the  Black  Sea  by  the  low  range  of  the  Stranja 
hills.  This  great  diagonal  furrow  was  used  for  the  old  road,  as  it  is  for  the 
modern  railway,  from  central  Europe  by  Belgrade  to  Constantinople  and  Asia 
Minor.  Another  important  furrow,  followed  by  a  road  and  railway,  branches 
southward  from  the  Morava  valley  over  a  low  pass,  and  the  river  Vardar, 
flowing  along  it,  traverses  several  basins  in  Macedonia  to  the  Gulf  of 
Salonica.  These  two  furrows  diverging  towards  the  south  are  the  greatest 
highways  of  traffic  and  of  industry  in  the  peninsula,  and  in  all  ages  they 
have  been  the  sites  of  the  greatest  centres  of  population.  Between  the  two 
stretches  the  wild  mountainous  district  of  the  Rhodope,  which  in  the  north 
reaches  a  height  of  almost  10,000  feet  in  the  peaks  of  Rilodagh  and  Muss- 


Political  Boundaries 
Mountains 
Chief  Railways 
Boundary  of  "Thr«c.o- 
MaceOonian  Region. 


The  Balkan  Peninsula  333 


Alia.  Upper  Macedonia,  west  of  the  Vardar  valley,  contains  the  mass  of 
Shardagh,  the  highest  summit  in  the  Balkan  Peninsula,  just  10,000  feet 
above  sea-level.  Both  of  these  mountainous  districts  are  intersected  with 
numerous  basins  and  fruitful  valleys,  some  of  which  in  Macedonia, 
particularly  in  the  west  near  the  Albanian  frontier,  contain  large  lakes. 

The  Dinaric  Region. — The  west  of  the  peninsula  is  occupied  by  the 
broad  folds  of  the  Dinaric  Mountains,  which,  continuous  with  the  Alps  in 
the  north,  turn  south-eastward  and  then  southward  parallel  to  the  coast 
through  Dalmatia,  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  Montenegro  and  Albania,  into 
the  Greek  peninsula.  They  consist  of  a  great  number  of  parallel  chains 
for  the  most  part  of  limestone  formation,  rising  in  places  in  jagged  crests 
to  more  than  6,500  feet  above  the  sea  ;  and  in  other  places  showing  the 
peculiar  features  of  the  Karst,  swallow-holes  and  subterranean  channels 
abounding  on  account  of  the  solution  of  the  rock.  Stony  and  barren 
plateaux  separated  by  longitudinal  valleys  following  strips  of  softer 
schistose  rocks,  are  characteristic  features.  The  rivers  Narenta,  Drin, 
and  Semen,  break  through  the  chains  in  wild  inaccessible  ravines.  Com- 
munication with  the  interior  is  exceptionally  difficult,  as  a  traveller  from 
the  coast  has  to  cross  a  succession  of  high  ridges  and  deep  valleys  ;  and, 
to  add  to  the  physical  difficulties,  these  barren  mountain  lands  have 
always  been  the  home  of  robber  tribes. 

The  mountain  barrier  on  the  west  walled  in  the  important  and  easily 
accessible  trade  routes  from  Hungary,  Asia  Minor,  the  Aegean  Sea,  and  the 
Lower  Danube  Plain,  which  hr.ve  made  the  centre  of  the  Balkan  Peninsula 
a  channel  for  trade,  for  the  passage  of  armies  and  for  the  migration  of 
peoples  in  all  ages.  This  central  part  is  rich  in  fertile  plains,  and  mineral 
resources  are  not  wanting  ;  so  that  the  country  is  capable  of  supporting 
a  dense  and  highly  civilised  population,  were  it  not  for  the  thousand  years 
of  confusion  and  misgovernment  \vhich  have  made  it  the  least  advanced 
part  of  Europe. 

Climate  and  Productions. — The  Balkan  Peninsula  exhibits  several 
varieties  of  climate.  The  centre  and  the  east  coast,  as  far  as  the  Bosporus, 
are  intermediate  between  Central  Europe  and  the  south  of  Russia,  with 
winters  as  cold  and  snowy  as  in  the  east  of  Germany  or  in  the  north  of 
Norway,  the  temperature  often  sinking  below  zero  F.  ;  the  summers,  on 
the  contrary,  are  as  warm  as  in  the  south  of  France.  The  rainfall  is  less 
on  the  east  coast  than  in  the  interior  ;  June  is  the  wettest  month,  but  rain 
is  fairly  uniformly  distributed  throughout  the  year.  On  the  ^Egean  coast 
the  climate  is  that  of  the  Mediterranean,  with  mild  winters  like  those  of  the 
south  of  France  ;  the  rainfall,  especially' on  the  south-east,  is  small,  with  a 
maximum  in  autumn  and  winter.  The  greatest  contrast  occurs  between 
the  interior  and  the  west  coast,  which  is  exposed  to  the  warm  winds  from 
the  Adriatic  and  protected  by  mountains  from  the  north-east ;  the  average 
January  temperature,  in  the  same  latitude,  is  about  7°  F.  higher  on  the  west 
than  on  the  east.  The  rainfall  on  the  Adriatic  coast  is  heavy  at  all  seasons, 


334      The  International  Geography 

especially  in  autumn.  The  typical  Mediterranean  vegetation  of  evergreen 
shrubs,  olives,  figs,  oranges,  and  lemons,  is  luxuriant  along  the  whole  west 
coast,  very  poorly  developed  in  the  south,  and  altogether  wanting  in  the 
interior,  where  the  forests  and  fruits  of  central  Europe  take  its  place.  In 
the  east,  particularly  in  the  Adrianople  Plain,  there  are  steppes  like  those  of 
Asia.  The  Balkan  Peninsula  is  also  a  meeting-place  for  European,  Medi- 
terranean and  Asiatic  animals  ;  the  wolf  and  bear  are  at  home  on  the 
mountains,  the  jackal  prowls  over  the  southern  plains,  herds  of  buffaloes 
and  Oriental  fat-tailed  sheep  graze  beside  the  ordinary  European  cattle  ; 
but  the  camel  has  now  almost  disappeared. 

People  and  History. — In  ancient  times  the  Balkan  Peninsula  was 
occupied  by  two  Aryan  races,  the  Thracians  in  the  east  and  the  Illyrians  in 
the  west ;  the  Vardar  Valley  between  them  was  the  dwelling-place  of  the 
Macedonians  of  mixed  Illyrian,  Thracian  and  Grecian  stock.  The  Greeks , 
who  settled  on  the  coast  as  sailors  and  traders,  gradually  spread  over  the 
south-east  of  the  peninsula  as  far  as  the  Balkans,  introducing  the  Greek 
language  and  culture,  although  Latin  was  afterwards  adopted  in  the  north. 
Under  Roman  and  Byzantine  rule  the  land  prospered  greatly,  and  in  the 
time  of  the  Eastern  Roman  Empire,  Constantinople  became  the  most 
renowned  city  in  the  world  through  its  trade  and  industry.  In  the  seventh 
century  the  Slavs  from  the  north,  pressing  upon  the  declining  empire,  drove 
the  Greeks  back  to  the  coast,  the  Romans  into  the  distant  mountains,  and 
the  Illyrians  (the  present  Albanians)  into  the  south-west  of  the  peninsula. 
These  Slavs  consisted  essentially  of  two  peoples,  the  Servians  in  the  west 
and  the  Bulgarians  in  the  east :  both  accepted  Christianity  in  the  ninth 
century  and  gradually  raised  themselves  out  of  barbarism  into  civilisation. 
The  Bulgarians  by  the  fourteenth  century  had  made  themselves  masters  of 
the  whole  peninsula,  and  were  then  conquered  by  the  Servians,  but  their 
short  supremacy  was  brought  to  an  end  by  the  invasion  of  the  conquering 
Turks  before  whom  the  Byzantine  Empire  fell  in  1453,  and  Servia  in  1459. 
The  heavy  rule  of  the  Turks  put  a  stop  to  progress,  and  the  subject  peoples 
sunk  into  ignorance  and  barbarity,  except  on  the  north-west  coast  where 
Dalmatia  remained  in  the  possession  of  Venice  and  later  passed  to  Austria. 
Comparatively  few  Turks  settled  in  the  interior,  but  many  of  the  natives  were 
perverted  to  Mohammedanism.  In  the  course  of  the  nineteenth  century 
the  oppressed  nationalities  were  roused,  with  Russian  help,  to  throw  off  the 
Turkish  yoke,  or  to  acquire  some  measure  of  independence.  The  present 
political  condition  of  the  peninsula  was  determined  by  the  Treaty  of  Berlin 
which  followed  the  last  Russo-Turkish  War  in  1878.  The  Balkan  Peninsula 
was  by  it  divided  into  five  States,  (i)  The  north-western  part  of  the  Dinaric 
Mountains,  including  Dalmatia,  Bosnia,  and  Herzogovina,  attached  to 
Austria- Hungary.  (2)  The  small  independent  principality  of  Montenegro 
to  the  south.  (3)  On  the  east  the  kingdom  of  Servia  around  the  Morava 
valley.  (4)  The  principality  of  Bulgaria,  under  the  suzerainty  of  the 
Sultan,  occupying  the  north-eastern  part  of  the  peninsula  on  both  sides  of 
the  Balkan  Mountains.  (5)  The  Ottoman  Empire,  or  Turkey,  in  the  south. 


Servia 


335 


The  ethnographical  boundaries  do  not  correspond  with  the  political. 
The  Servians  occupy  the  north-west,  the  Bulgarians  the  east,  and  Slavs 
of  doubtful  origin  Macedonia.  The 
ancient  Albanian  people  remain 
by  themselves  in  the  south-west. 
Many  Greeks  live  on  the  coast,  and, 
with  the  Armenians,  are  settled  as 
merchants  in  all  the  towns.  Jews, 
descended  from  those  who  were 
expelled  from  Spain  in  the  fifteenth 
century  and  still  speaking  Spanish, 
also  occupy  the  towns  as  trades- 
men and  merchants.  The  Turks 
are  numerous  only  in  Constanti- 
nople ;  they  live  in  small  groups  in 
Thrace,  Bulgaria  and  Macedonia, 
and  elsewhere  as  Government 
officials  and  soldiers.  The  Balkan  Peninsula  is  thus  the  theatre  of 
numerous  races  and  religions,  the  adherents  of  which  live  in  an  atmosphere 
of  fanatical  hatred  and  political  rivalry. 


FIG.  1 66. — The  Shrinking  of  Turkey  in  Europe. 


Ill,— SERVIA 

History. — The  Servians  were  the  first  of  the  Balkan  peoples  to  recover 
their  liberty  from  the  Turks.  As  early  as  1817  the  land  on  both  sides  of  the 
Lower  Morava  was  formed  into  a  principality  under  Turkish  suzerainty,  but 
the  Turks  occupied  the  fortresses  till  1867.  Repeated  wars  and  internal 
troubles,  the  struggle  between  the  dynasties  of  Karageorgevich  and 
Obrenovich,  ending  in  the  victory  of  the  latter,  hindered  the  progress  of 
the  country.  The  Berlin  Congress  at  last 
secured  complete  independence  to  Servia,  and 
an  important  increase  of  territory  in  the  south, 
including  the  upper  reaches  of  the  Morava  above 
Nish.  Immediately  afterwards,  in  1882,  it  was 
declared  a  kingdom,  the  power  of  the  king  being 
limited  by  a  popularly  elected  Parliament,  the 
Skupchina. 

Configuration. — Servia  is  separated  on  the 


FIG.  167.— The  Servian  Flag. 


north  by  the  Save  and  Danube  from  Hungary  and  Rumania,  on  the  west 
by  the  Drina  from  Bosnia,  while  the  boundaries  on  the  east  and  south 
are  merely  arbitrary  lines  drawn  towards  Bulgaria  and  the  district  still 
known  as  Turkish  Old  Servia,  which  was  the  nucleus  of  the  Servian  Empire 
in  the  Middle  Ages.  The  east  of  Servia  lies  on  the  rugged  chains  of  the 
Balkans,  and  is  therefore  very  thinly  inhabited,  although  containing  copper, 


336       The  International  Geography 


lead,  and  iron  at  Maidanpek,  and  coal  near  Cuprija.  The  highlands  of 
crystalline  rock  in  the  south  include  the  Kopaonik  Mountains,  rising  to 
7,000  feet ;  but  western  Servia  consists  of  a  hilly  district  of  younger 
Tertiary  strata,  which  extends  to  the  Hungarian  Plain.  The  hills  are 
covered  by  beautiful  oak  forests  interspersed  with  fertile  fields.  The 
Morava  Valley,  the  great  artery  of  commerce  through  the  peninsula,  with 
its  tributary  valley  of  the  Western  Morava,  forms  the  best  part  of  the 
country.  The  central  position  of  this  valley,  commanding  the  entrance  to 
the  Balkan  Peninsula  from  central  Europe,  to  some 
degree  compensates  Servia  for  being  completely  shut 
out  from  the  sea. 

Resources  and  Trade.— Servia  is  the  most 
fertile  and  densely  peopled  of  the  Balkan  States,  but 
the  want  of  tranquility  and  diligence  amongst  the 
people,  and  the  violence  of  party  strife  in  politics 
lead  to  maladministration  and  retard  the  progress  of 
the  country.  Only  18  per  cent,  of  the  surface  is  cul- 

FIG.  168.— -Average  popu-    tivated,  yet  the  people  depend  almost  exclusively  upon 
lalton     of    a    square  //  /    , 

•mile  of  Setvia.  agriculture  and  the  rearing  of  live  stock,  particularly 

of  swine  in  the  great  oak  forests.  The  exports,  princi- 
pally of  swine,  fowls,  dried  plums  (prunes),  wheat,  maize,  and  other  farm 
products  considerably  exceed  the  imports  of  manufactured  goods,  and  the 
external  trade  is  practically  with  Austria- Hungary  alone.  Except  for  the 
undeveloped  mines,  there  is  no  other  industry  in  the  country.  Means  of 
communication  stand  sorely  in  need  of  improvement ;  the  roads  are  bad, 
and  the  railway  system  is  confined  to  the  lines  from  Belgrade  to  Nish,  and 
thence  to  Constantinople  and  Salonica,  with  a  few  unimportant  branches. 
River  trade,  on  the  other  hand,  is  important  both  towards  central  Europe, 
by  the  Save  and  Danube,  and  towards  the  sea  by  the  latter  river.  The 
education  of  the  people,  who  are  practically  all  of  Servian  race,  and 
belong  to  the  Greek  Orthodox  Church,  still  leaves  much  room  for  im- 
provement. 

Towns.— Belgrade,  the  capital,  is  situated  in  a  splendid  position  on  a  hill 
at  the  confluence  of  the  Save  and  Danube, 
not  far  from  the  mouth  of  the  Morava,  and 
thus  it  commands  the  great  artery  of  traffic 
between  central  Europe  and  the  peninsula. 
It  was  formerly  of  great  importance  as  a 
fortress,  and  was  the  scene  of  many  battles 
in  the  Turkish  wars.  It  now  concentrates 
the  national  life  of  Servia ;  it  contains  the 
Servian  University  and  Government  build- 
ings, but  it  is  by  no  means  a  handsome 
town.  The  railway  junction  Nish  on  the  Upper  Morava  is  the  only  other 
town  that  requires  to  be  mentioned. 


FIG.  169. — Belgrade. 


Montenegro  337 

STATISTICS. 


1890.  1900. 

Area  of  Servia  in  square  miles         18,650  18,650 

Population         2,162,759  2,493,770 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile 116  134 

Population  of  Belgrade         54.249  69,097 


Nish 19,877 


24-451 


ANNUAL  TRADE  OF  SERVIA  (in  pounds  sterling). 

1871-75.  1884-88.  1891-^5- 

Imports  .,        1,200,000        ..        1,600,000        ..        1,500,000 

Exports 1,300,000        ..        1,500,000        ..        1,900,000 

IV,— MONTENEGRO 

Position  and  Surface. — On  the  stony  limestone  mountains  which 
rise  above  the  steep  coast  of  southern  Dalmatia,  the  Black  or  Barren  Moun- 
tains (Montenegro  in  Italian,  Chernagora  in  Slavonic),  a  small  and  very  poor 
tribe  of  the  Servian  race  has  always  maintained  its  independence  against 
both  Turks  and  Venetians,  and  through  their  warlike  spirit  and  frequent 
raids  the  clansmen  have  made  themselves  feared  by  the  surrounding 
people.  The  nucleus  of  the  little  State  is  an  elevated,  stony,  limestone 
region,  a  portion  of  the  Karst,  with  a  raw  climate  and  possessing  only  a 
few  patches  of  cultivable  land  scattered  amongst  the  poor  pastures.  The 
natural  entrance  is  by  the  steep  ascent  from  the  deeply  cut  Bay  of  Cattaro, 
which,  however,  is  in  Austrian  territory.  In  the  north-east  the  Karst 
plateau  is  dominated  by  huge  limestone  mountains  exceeding  8,000  feet  in 
height,  and  cleft  by  profound  gorges,  which  form  the  boundary  towards 
Turkey.  In  the  south-east  a  well-watered  and  wooded  schistose  range, 
the  Brda,  rises  to  a  similar  height.  By  the  Treaty  of  Berlin  in  1878  the 
fertile  and  warm  low  plain  of  the  river  Zeta  and  the  north  shore  of  the 
Lake  of  Scutari,  into  which  it  flows,  as  well  as  a  strip  of  coast  west  of  this 
lake  containing  the  harbours  of  Antivari  and  Dulcigno,  were  added  to 
Montenegro. 

People  and  Trade. — On  the  low  ground  maize,  fruit  and  wine  are 
•cultivated,  but  most  of  the  Montenegrins,  a  tall,  powerful  and  honest  moun- 
tain people,  make  their  living  by  cattle-rearing.  The  very  small  export  trade 
is  almost  entirely  with  Austria- Hungary,  and  consists  of  products  of  the 
pastures.  Many  Montenegrins  emigrate  as  workmen  to  other  countries. 
The  State,  like  the  people,  is  very  poor,  and  can  only  exist  through  the  help 
of  Russia.  There  is  absolutely  no  industry,  and  in  spite  of  all  attempts  at 
improvement,  roads,  commerce,  and  education  are  in  a  very  backward 
state  ;  there  are  no  railways  at  all.  The  hereditary  Prince  is  an  absolute 
monarch ;  every  man  serves  in  the  army  in  time  of  war,  and  almost  all 
belong  to  the  Greek  Orthodox  Church. 

The  area  of  Montenegro  is  only  3,500  square  miles,  and  the  population 
about  a  quarter  of  a  million.  The  capital,  Cetinje  (Cettigne),  situated  on  the 
plateau  not  far  from  the  Bay  of  Cattaro,  and  the  larger  town  Podgoritza, 
on  the  Zeta,  are  little  more  than  villages. 


338       The   International  Geography 


V.— BULGARIA 

History  and  Constitution. — The  national  life  of  Bulgaria  recovered 
later  than  that  of  Servia.  It  was  only  in  the  second  half  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  that  the  Bulgarians  began  to  try  to  escape  from  Turkish 
tutelage  and  from  the  influence  and  guidance  of  the  Greek  nation, 
jind  to  found  a  national  church,  schools  and  literature.  The  Russo- 
Turkish  War  secured  to  the  principality  of  Bulgaria  an  autonomous 
government  under  Turkish  suzerainty,  and  the  Treaty  of  Berlin  in  1878 
denned  it  as  the  land  between  the  Danube  and  the  Balkans,  together  with 
the  Sofia  plain  and  its  surrounding  mountains. 
The  autonomous  province  of  Turkey,  Eastern 
Rumelia,  formed  at  the  same  time,  has  been 
treated  as  an  integral  part  of  Bulgaria  since  1885. 
The  whole  country  is  governed  constitutionally, 
the  Sobranye,  or  parliament,  being  elected  by  the 
people. 

Surface. — The  form  of  the  country  is  that  of 
a  rectangle  directed  from  west  to  east,  from  Servia 


FlG.  ijo.—The  Bulgarian 
Flag. 


to  the  Black  Sea.  The  Danube  divides  it  on  the  north  from  Rumania, 
except  the  Dobruja.  On  the  south  the  frontier  follows  the  hills  which 
separate  the  plains  of  Eastern  Rumelia  and  Adrianople,  and  zigzags  across 
the  northern  Rhodope.  The  chain  of  the  Balkans  divides  Bulgaria  into 
two  large  parts — the  Danubian-Bulgarian  plateau  in  the  north,  with  an 
extreme  and  dry  climate  but  good  soil  for  grain-growing,  and  the  hill- 
girdled  basins  in  the  south.  To  the  west  a  group  of  high  valley  basins 
with  a  raw  climate  surround  the  central  Sofia  basin.  The  eastern  group 
of  basins  south  of  the  Balkans,  especially  the  Eastern 
Rumelian  Plain,  through  which  the  Maritza  flows, 
is  warm,  well-watered,  and  fertile,  forming  the  best 
part  of  the  country.  The  Rilodagh  and  other  moun- 
tains south  of  the  fertile  zone  are  wild  and  thinly 
peopled. 

People  and  Trade.— Bulgaria  is  the  strongest 
and  most  settled  of  the  Balkan  States,  in  spite  of 
some  troubles  resulting  from  past  centuries  of  FIG.  171.— Average  pop- 
misgovernment.  A  keen  desire  exists  amongst 
the  people  to  annex  the  neighbouring  part  of 
European  Turkey  inhabited  by  Slavs,  especially  Macedonia ;  hence  the 
national  interests  conflict  with  those  of  Servia,  Greece  and  Austria, 
and  necessitate  the  maintenance  of  a  large  standing  army.  Three- 
quarters  of  the  population  are  Bulgarians  belonging  to  the  Greek  Ortho- 
dox Church,  which  is  established  under  a  separate  Exarch.  About 
half  a  million  Turks  still  remain  in  the  east  of  the  country,  but  the 
number  is  being  reduced  by  emigration,  and  the  Greek  element  is  con- 


ulation   of  a   squa;  t 
mile  of  Bulgaria. 


Bulgaria  339 

siderable  in  the  coast  towns.  The  population  is  not  yet  nearly  so  dense  as 
the  fertility  of  the  land  can  support,  and  consequently  the  peasants  are  in 
easy  circumstances ;  yet  they  are  steadily  improving  their  methods  of 
agriculture.  Maize  and  wheat  are  grown  in  Danubian  Bulgaria ;  in 
Eastern  Rumelia  rice,  cotton,  wine,  and  fruit,  particularly  plums,  are  also 
cultivated.  Silk-growing  is  a  feature  of  this  district,  and  the  cultivation  of 
roses  is  carried  on  to  a  very  large  extent  for  the  extraction  of  the  typical 
Oriental  perfume,  attar  of  roses.  Sheep,  goats,  many  cattle  and  buffaloes 
are  kept.  The  woods  on  the  mountains  yield  excellent  timbsr  ;  and  the 
water-power  is  utilised  for  industrial  purposes,  particularly  wool-weaving 
and  small  ironworks.  The  mineral  resources  are  insignificant.  External 
commerce  is  more  developed  than  in  Servia,  the  exports  consisting  chiefly  of 
grain,  particularly  wheat,  pastoral  products,  and  attar  of  roses  ;  it  is  carried 
on  principally  with  Turkey,  the  United  Kingdom,  Germany  and  France. 
The  imports  are  principally  manufactured  goods  from  Austria- Hungary, 
the  United  Kingdom,  Turkey,  and  Germany.  The  Danube  and  the  fairly 
good  harbours  of  Varna  to  the  north  and  Burgas  to  the  south  of  the  Balkans 
facilitate  external  trade.  Numerous  roads  traverse  the  country  in  all 
directions.  A  railway  connects  Rushchuk  on  the  Danube  with  Varna,  and 
a  branch  from  the  great  Orient  railway,  which  traverses  the  Diagonal 
Furrow,  reaches  Burgas.  A  line  in  course  of  construction  from  Sofia 
through  the  Isker  valley  will  be  the  first  railway  to  cross  the  Balkans. 

Towns.— The  capital,  Sofia,  is  situated  in  the  basin  between  the 
Vitosh  Mountains  and  the  Balkans,  at  an  important  meeting-place  of 
roads.  It  is  very  ancient,  but  has  only  begun  to  flourish  since  the  in- 
dependence of  the  country ;  it  has  been  completely  rebuilt  after  the 
style  of  a  Russian  town.  Philippopolis  is  picturesquely  built  on  an  iso- 
lated basaltic  height  overlooking  the  Maritza  in  the  middle  of  the  Eastern 
Rumelian  Plain.  A  series  of  fortified  towns  along  the  high  bank  of 
the  Danube  command  the  ferries.  Rushchuk  is  the  most  important,  but 
Vidin  and  Silistria  have  played  a  great  part  in  military  history.  Plevna  in 
the  east  of  the  Bulgarian  plateau  was,  from  its  commanding  position,  the 
scene  of  the  decisive  battle  in  the  last  Russo-Turkish  War. 

STATISTICS. 


Area  of  Bulgaria  (square  miles) 
Population  of  Bulgaria 

1893- 
37,282 

1000. 

37,282 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile 
Population  of  Sofia 

89 

100 

„             Philippopolis   
„             Varna    .  . 

36,000 

42,849 

„             Rushchuk        
ANNUAL  TRADE 
Imports  

28,000 

(in  pounds  sterling). 
1880-84.2 

33  443 
32,661 

1891-95. 
3,300,000 

Exports   

1,600,000 

3,100,000 

1  It  is  to  be  noted  that  in  commercial  reports,  throughout  the  East  generally,  Austria- 
Hungary  is  credited  with  a  considerable  amount  of  export  trade  which  really  consists  of 
German  goods  sent  by  rail  into  the  Balkan  Peninsula  (or  by  Triest). 

2  Before  the  annexation  of  Eastern  Rumelia. 

24 


340      The  International  Geography 

VI, — EUROPEAN  TTJEKEY 

Position  and  Surface. — The  centre  of  gravity  of  the  Ottoman 
Empire  now  lies  entirely  in  Asia,  only  the  crumbling  ruins  of  former 
great  possessions  remain  in  Europe.  It  includes  the  greater  part  of  Asia 
Minor,  Syria,  Mesopotamia,  parts  of  Arabia,  and  exercises  suzerain  rights 
over  Tripoli  and  nominally  over  Egypt  and  Cyprus.  European  Turkey 
now  (Fig.  166)  occupies  a  narrow  strip  of  the  Balkan  Peninsula  between 
Bulgaria  and  the  ^Egean  Sea,  the  southern  part  of  ancient  Thrace,  and  in 
the  west  a  triangular  area  including  Macedonia,  Old  Servia,  and  Albania,, 
reaching  to  the  Adriatic  and  bordered  by  Servia,  Bosnia,  and  Montenegro- 
in  the  north,  and  by  Greece  in  the  south.  The  western  portion  of 
Turkey  is  so  shut  in  by  the  Rhodope  Mountains  from  eastern  Thrace 
that  the  two  are  only  put  in  communication  by  the  plain  along  the  coast. 
The  provinces  have  no  common  interests,  they  are  peopled  by  a  mixture 
of  races,  amongst  which  the  Turks  are  in  a  minority,  and  they  are  only 
held  together  by  the  force  of  arms  and  the  jealousy  of  the  Great  Powers. 
While  the  possession  of  the  straits  and  the  proximity  of  Asia  Minor  domi- 
nate the  eastern  part,  and  have  led  to  it  becoming  the  centre  of  both  the 
Byzantine  and  the  Ottoman  Empires,  the  Vardar  valley  in  western 
Turkey  supplies  the  line  of  communication  between  central  Europe  and 
the  jEgean  Sea.  The  possession  of  the  straits  as  an  outlet  for  its  Black 
Sea  fleet  is  a  great  desideratum  for  Russia,  and  the  control  of  the  Vardar 
valley  is  of  equal  importance  to  Austria.  The  Greeks  look  upon  Epirus  and 
western  Macedonia  as  belonging  by  right  to  Greece  ;  in  Albania,  Austrian 
and  Italian  interests  oppose  each  other,  and  are  met  by  the  ambition  of 
the  inhabitants  for  an  independent  Albania. 

People,  Government  and  Trade.— In  spite  of  many  reforms  in» 
w  •  details  the  methods  of  Turkish  government  still 

remain  essentially  Oriental,  and  foreign  to  modern 
principles.  The  Sultan  is  absolute  master  of  the 
land  and  the  people,  his  ministers  and  officials  being 
responsible  to  him  alone.  Only  Mohammedans 
possess  civil  rights,  small  as  these  are  in  such  a 
State,  and  they  have  to  bear  the  whole  heavy 
FIG.  172.— Turkish  Naval  burden  of  military  service.  The  Christian  popu- 
lation is  practically  without  rights.  The  Turkish 

administration  shows  by  the  arbitrary  conduct,  the  acceptance  of  bribes,  and 
the  entire  want  of  method  on  the  part  of  the  frequently  changed  officials, 
that  it  has  never  understood,  and  still  does  not  understand,  how  to  utilise 
or  develop  the  rich  resources  of  the  country.  The  population  lives  almost 
exclusively  by  agriculture  and  cattle-rearing,  very  carelessly  carried  out  and 
leaving  much  of  the  land  unutilised.  Almost  all  the  land  belongs  to  the 
crown,  the  church,  or  to  large  proprietors;  the  peasants  live  in  the 
deepest  poverty  and  ignorance,  oppressed  by  heavy  taxation.  The  chief 


European  Turkey 


productions  are  grain,  maize,  flax,  hemp,  cotton,  tobacco,  silk,  wine,  and,  on 
the  coast,  olives.  Oxen  and  buffaloes  are  used  as  beasts  of  burden  and  for 
farm-work.  The  forests  have  been  nearly  destroyed,  and  are  very  badly 
managed.  There  is  practically  no  industry  except  hand-loom  weaving  and 
artisan's  work.  Most  of  the  trade  in  the  towns,  and  almost  all  the  shipping 
are  in  the  hands  of  Greeks  and  Armenians,  or  of  foreigners  who  enjoy  the 
great  privileges  of  freedom  from  taxation,  and  the  protection  of  their  consular 
courts.  The  roads  are  so  bad  and  so  little  developed  that  large  districts  are 
unable  to  place  their  products  on  the  market.  Yet 
there  are  now  a  few  important  railways,  including 
the  lines  from  Belgrade  by  Sofia  to  Constantinople 
and  to  Salonica,  and  the  line  along  the  coast  from 
Constantinople  to  Salonica  and  Monastir,  and  that 
from  Uskub  to  Mitrevitza.  The  postal  and  telegraph 
systems  are  undeveloped  and  so  unsatisfactory  that 
the  Great  Powers  have  their  own  post-offices  in 
the  large  towns.  In  spite  of  the  exceptionally 


FIG. 


I73-— Turkish  Mer- 
chant Flag. 


favourable  geographical  position  of  European  Turkey,  political  conditions 
have  prevented  any  developments  of  transit  trade  or  shipping.  The  chief 
exports  are  grain,  beans,  fruit,  honey,  wax,  wine,  tobacco,  wool,  attar  of 
roses,  also  carpets,  arms,  and  leather  goods.  The  chief  imports  are 
textiles,  colonial  wares,  wool  and  coal,  rice,  petroleum  and  iron.  The 
United  Kingdom,  France,  Austria- Hungary,  and  indirectly  Germany,  have 
the  chief  trade  with  Turkey. 

The  population  consists  in  nearly  equal  parts  of  Turks,  Greeks, 
Albanians,  and  Slavs  (Bulgarians  and  Servians),  and  also  a  certain  number 
of  Rumanians,  Jews,  Cherkesses,  Armenians,  and 
Gypsies.  About  half  the  population  are  Moham- 
medans, including  the  Turks  and  Cherkesses,  most 
of  the  Albanians  and  some  Bulgarians.  The  rest 
are  principally  Greek  Catholics,  and  were  formerly 
under  the  Greek  Patriarch  at  Constantinople,  but 
now  most  of  the  nationalities  have  a  separate  form 
of  Church  government.  None  of  the  Turkish 
statistics  can  be  viewed  as  trustworthy,  and  all 
figures  must  be  looked  upon  as  mere  estimates. 
The  country  is  divided  into  a  number  of  vilayets  or 
provinces,  the  boundaries  of  which  are  arbitrarily  drawn  and  frequently 
changed. 

The  Bosporus. — The  Bosporus  forms  the  focus  of  the  shipping  routes 
between  the  Black  Sea  and  the  Mediterranean,  and  of  the  land  routes  between 
Europe  and  Asia  Minor.  It  is  a  winding,  river-like  valley  with  picturesque 
slopes  leading  up  on  both  sides  to  a  level-topped  plateau  of  schistose  rocks. 
A  strong  current  flows  through  it  from  the  Black  Sea  to  the  Mediterranean, 
and  the  depth  is  more  than  sufficient  for  the  largest  ships.  The  beautifully 


FlG.  174. — Average  pop- 
ulation of  a  square 
mile  of  European 
Turkey. 


342       The  International  Geography 


wooded  and  cultivaed  banks  are  lined  witth  towns  and  villages,  castles  and 
parks,  ancient  towers  and  modern  forts  which  can  stop  the  passage  of  a 
hostile  fleet.  In  contrast  to  the  rich  fertility  of  the  banks  the  plateau  is 
bare  and  desolate.  The  southern  end  of  the  Bosporus  is  the  great  centre  of 
population,  and  here  the  world-famous  city  of  Constantinople  surrounds  the 
narrow  curved  inlet  of  the  Golden  Horn  which  forms  a  magnificent 
harbour  on  the  European  side,  and  the  coast  of  the  Sea  of  Marmora  bounds 
a  triangular  hilly  peninsula  on  which  the  Greek  colony  of  Byzantium  was 
founded  about  700  B.C.  The  Roman  Emperor  Constantine,  changing  its 
name  to  Constantinople,  made  it  the  capital  of  the  Roman  Empire  ;  and  as 
the  metropolis  of  the  Eastern  Empire  it  became  in  the  Middle  Ages  the  most 
splendid  and  richest  town  in  the  world,  the  great  meeting-place  of  East 

and  West.  The  glory  of  those  days  is 
still  recalled  by  the  incomparable  church 
of  St.  Sofia,  now  a  mosque,  the  great  city 
walls  and  other  buildings.  When  the 
Turks  conquered  it  in  1453,  "Stambul" 
lost  much  of  its  commercial  value,  but  it 
has  always  continued  to  be  the  centre  of 
the  Islamic  as  well  as  of  the  Greek  Orient. 
Its  beautiful  mosques  with  their  minarets 
commanding  magical  views  of  the  city, 
the  bazars,  the  public  wells,  the  multi- 
farious street  life,  give  to  the  town  even 
yet  a  purely  Oriental  aspect.  Here  the 
Turkish  element  preponderates  as  the 
Greek  does  in  the  adjoining  suburb  of 
Phanar.  On  the  contrary  the  suburbs  of 
Pera  and  Galata  on  the  northern  side  of 
the  Golden  Horn  are  quite  European  in 
appearance,  and  form  the  modern  com- 
mercial city.  Scutari  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  Bosporus  is  entirely  Turkish. 


FIG.  175. — The   Bosporus. 


Altogether  these  towns  contain  about  a  million  inhabitants,  half  of  them 
Mohammedans,  the  other  half  almost  equally  divided  between  Armenians, 
Greeks  and  foreigners,  most  of  whom  are  Greek  subjects  ;  about  5  per  cent, 
of  the  population  are  Jews.  On  the  wider  and  less  picturesque  strait  of  the 
Dardenelles,  also  protected  by  numerous  forts,  stands  the  harbour  of 
Gallipoh. 

Eastern  Turkey. — Compared  with  the  neighbourhood  of  the  straits, 
the  whole  of  Eastern  Turkey,  the  vilayets  of  Constantinople  and  Adrian- 
ople,  are  thinly  peopled,  except  on  the  notable  Maritza  river  which  flows 
through  a  very  fertile  vallev.  Where  it  enters  the  hill-girdled  plain,  and 
is  rendered  navigable  by  the  junction  of  important  tributaries,  at  the 
intersection  of  the  Diagonal  Furrow  with  the  roads  from  the  Balkan 


European  Turkey  343 

Passes,  the  town  of  Adrianople,  the  most  important  military  post  of 
European  Turkey,  has  its  site.  Dede  Agach  is  the  harbour  of  the 
Maritza  region,  exporting  grain  on  the  ^Egean  Sea.  From  this  point  the 
railway  to  Salonica  passes  along  the  low  coastland  which,  like  the  off- 
lying  islands,  is  mainly  inhabited  by  Greeks.  The  Rhodope  Mountains 
in  the  north  are  inhabited  by  wild  Pomaks  or  Mohammedan  Bulgarians. 
The  island  of  Thasos,  although  the  nearest  to  Europe,  is  politically  part 
of  Egypt,  while  Samothrace,  Imbros,  Lemnos,  and  Strati,  belong  to 
Asia. 

Macedonia. — Macedonia,  including  the  vilayet  of  Salonica  and  part 
of  Monastir,  is  the  best  part  of  European  Turkey.  It  contains  many 
fertile  hill-girdled  plains;  and  in  the  south-east  gold  and  silver  were 
formerly  mined,  but  the  mineral  resources  are  not  yet  properly  utilised. 
The  principal  products  are  grain,  tobacco,  and,  on  the  coast,  olives. 
On  the  coast  and  in  the  south-west  the  people  are  Greeks  ;  elsewhere  the 
Slavs  predominate,  with  a  sprinkling  of  Greeks,  Turks,  Rumanians  and 
Jews,  and  the  strife  of  races  is  very  acute.  The  important  seaport  of 
Salonica,  inhabited  mainly  by  Spanish  Jews,  stands  at  the  outlet  of  the  great 
Vardar  valley.  The  other  towns  of  importance  are  Seres,  in  the  east,  and 
Bitolia,  in  the  fertile  high  basin  of  Monastir  in  the  west. 

Old  Servia,  or  the  vilayet  Korsovo,  between  Macedonia,  Albania,  Monte- 
negro, Bosnia,  Servia  and  Bulgaria,  on  the  upper  tributaries  of  the  Vardar, 
Morava,  Drina,  and  Drin,  contains  an  alternation  of  fertile  hill-girdled 
valleys  and  high  mountains.  In  this  district  Albanians,  Servians  and 
Bulgarians  struggle  and  intrigue  for  supremacy,  and  on  account  of  its  com- 
manding geographical  position  it  is  of  exceptional  political  importance.  The 
north-western  part  forming  the  Sanjak  (district)  of  Novi- Bazar,  between 
Servia  and  Montenegro,  is  in  the  military  occupation  of  Austria- Hungary. 
The  chief  towns  are  Prisrend,  at  the  northern  base  of  the  Shardagh  and 
Uskub  on  the  upper  Vardar,  where  the  roads  from  Servia,  Bosnia,  and 
Montenegro  to  Salonica  converge. 

Albania.— Albania,  comprising  the  vilayets  of  Scutari,  Janina,  and  part 
of  Monastir,  is  a  wild  and  inaccessible  mountain-land  descending  on  the 
west  to  a  swampy  and  unhealthy  coastal  plain.  Epirus,  which  belongs  physi- 
cally to  the  Greek  Peninsula,  and  is  inhabited  almost  exclusively  by  Greeks, 
is  included  in  Albania,  and  has  quite  a  similar  character.  The  Albanians 
are  a  warlike  and  very  uncultivated  people,  whose  speech  has  never  up  to 
modern  times  become  a  literary  language  ;  they  are  divided  into  several 
tribes  at  enmity  with  each  other,  and  many  fall  victims  to  family  feuds  and 
private  vengeance.  The  authority  of  the  Turkish  jurisdiction  is  confined  to 
the  larger  towns.  The  people  are  in  almost  equal  parts  Mohammedans, 
Greek  and  Roman  Catholics — a  fact  which  places  a  very  serious  obstacle 
in  the  way  of  independence  for  Albania.  The  resources  of  the  land  are 
small,  consisting  of  cattle-breeding  in  the  interior,  and  olive  culture  in  the 
coast.  The  principal  towns  are  Scutari  in  the  north  on  the  Drin,  not  far 


344      The  International  Geography 

from  the  coast  and  close  to  Lake  Scutari,  and  Janina  in  the  interior.  In 
ancient  times  the  harbour  of  Dyrrhachion  (Durazzo)  and  Apollonia 
(Valona)  carried  on  a  great  trade  with  Italy,  but  there  are  no  Albanian 
harbours  of  modern  importance. 

STATISTICS  (estimates}. 

Area  of  European  Turkey  in  square  miles 65.598 

Population 5,864,000 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile 89 


POPULATION  OF  CHIEF  TOWNS. 


Constantinople   (with     European 

suburbs,  1 1 885) 874,000 

Salonica       150,000 

Adrianople 71,000 

Monastir 50,000 

Prisrend       40.000 


Gallipoli 

Janina 

Seres 

Skutari 

Uskub 


Turkey  in  Europe 

Anatolia  (Asia  Minor) 

Armenia  and  Kurdistan 

Mesopotamia 

Syria 

Arabia 

Tripoli 


THE  OTTOMAN  EMPIRE  (estimates). 

Area  in  square  miles. 

65,600 

200,000 

89,200 

100,200 

115,100 

I73,7oo 

308,700 


30,000 
30,000 
25,000 
20,000 
20,000 


Population. 
5,864,000 
9,000,000 
2,457,000 
1,350,000 
2,677,000 
6,000,000 
1,300,000 


Ottoman  Empire 1,142,500        ..      28,648,000 

Bulgaria,  Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  Samos  and  Egypt  are  also  considered  to  form  part  of  the 
Sultan's  dominions. 


VII, — GREECE 

Position  and  Boundaries. — The  Greek  Peninsula  stretches  south- 
ward from  the  south-west  corner  of  the  Balkan  Peninsula  between  the 
^Egean  and  the  Ionian  Seas.  The  coast,  which  is  almost  everywhere 
mountainous,  is  deeply  indented  by  great  gulfs  and  by  innumerable  small 
bays  which  form  a  great  number  of  excellent  harbours.  The  country  is 

divided  by  gulfs  on  opposite 
coasts  into  three  parts,  Northern 
Greece,  Central  Greece  and  the 
Peleponnesus  ;  the  last  named  is 
connected  only  by  the  low  and 
narrow  Isthmus  of  Corinth,  across 
which  the  Gulfs  of  Corinth  and 
^Egina  are  now  united  by  a  ship 
canal.  Numerous  islands  diver- 

FIG.  i76.-The  isthmus  of  Corinth  Ship  Canal.    sify  the  -Egean  Sea  ;  the  sailor  in 

passing  from  Greece  to  Asia  Minor 

has  -always  land  in  sight.  The  Ionian  Islands  lie  along  the  west  coast. 
While  the  barren  mountains  of  the  Balkan  Peninsula  effectually  shut  off 
Greece  from  overland  trade,  its  position  is  exceptionally  favourable  for 
traffic  by  sea. 

Surface. — The  Greek  Peninsula  is  filled  with  the  continuation  of  the 


Greece  345 


mountain  systems  of  the  Balkan  Peninsula  (see  Fig.  165).  The  folds  of  the 
Dinaric  Mountains,  with  their  long,  parallel  limestone  ridges,  separated  by 
troughs  of  sandstone  and  schists,  run  through  the  west  of  the  region,  and 
are  closely  bordered  by  the  wild  Pindus  range,  which  divides  Greece  as  far 
as  the  Gulf  of  Corinth  into  definite  eastern  and  western  parts.  The  Dinaric 
mountain  system  also  occupies  the  Ionian  Islands  and  the  greater  part  of  the 
Peleponnesus,  where  Mount  Taygetos  reaches  the  height  of  7,890  feet,  and 
finally  it  turns  and  runs  in  a  curve  of  islands  towards  Asia  Minor,  shutting 
in  the  ^gean  Sea  on  the  south.  The  north-east  of  Greece  is  traversed  by 
the  continuation  of  the  crystalline  rocks  of  Thrace  and  Macedonia,  which 
build  the  mountains  of  Thessaly,  including  the  fabled  mount  of  the  gods, 
Olympus  (9,800  feet).  The  east  of  Central  Greece,  Eubcea,  and  north-eastern 
Peleponnesus  are,  on  the  contrary,  mainly  occupied  by  mountain  chains  of 
Mesozoic  limestone  stretching  in  curves  from  west  to  east ;  the  best-known 
summit  of  these  mountains  is  Parnassus,  rising  in  the  very  heart  of  Greece 
to  the  height  of  8,060  feet.  The  Cyclades  stretching  to  the  east  of  the 
Peleponnesus  are  occupied  by  less  abrupt  and  lower  mountains  of  crystal- 
line formation. 

The  steep  and  rugged  highlands  of  Greece  are  cleft  by  many  irregular 
depressions  or  rifts,  the  floors  of  which  are  sometimes  occupied  by  the 
sea,  sometimes  by  fertile  plains  or  hilly  ground.  Strong  earthquake  shocks 
which  originate  in  them  often  cause  great  destruction.  Many  of  these 
basins  are  drained  by  subterranean  channels  in  the  limestone  ;  these 
sometimes  get  blocked  and  lead  to  the  formation  of  lakes,  which  frequently 
disappear  again  after  some  years,  but  are  often  permanent.  Although  the 
little  mountain-girdled  plains  take  up  but  a  small  part  of  the  area  of  the 
country,  they  have  in  all  ages  been  the  centres  of  culture.  In  this 
small  region  the  sharpest  physical  contrasts  are  crowded  together ; . 
wild  mountains  and  sterile  limestone  plateaux  rise  close  to  fertile  plains 
and  tranquil  inlets  of  the  sea.  While  this  arrangement  gives  much 
variety  and  beauty  to  the  landscape  and  is  favourable  for  seafaring  and  to 
some  extent  for  mining,  it  leads,  on  the  other  hand,  to  a  low  general 
average  of  productiveness  and  to  the  subdivision  of  the  country  into  a 
number  of  separate  provinces. 

Climate  and  Vegetation. — On  the  low  grounds  Greece  enjoys  the 
typical  Mediterranean  climate,  hot  and  almost  rainless  summers  with  warm 
and  rainy  winters,  although  frost  and  snow  are  not  entirely  unknown.  The 
rainfall  is  considerable  in  the  west  but  small  in  the  east,  where  the  drought 
is  often  excessive  ;  there  are  few  permanent  streams,  and  in  summer  all 
grass  and  vegetation  on  the  plains  wither.  Artificial  irrigation  is  conse- 
quently necessary  for  successful  fruit-growing.  In  the  mountains  rain  falls 
in  summer  and  much  snow  in  winter.  The  vegetation  of  the  plains  con- 
sists principally  of  evergreen  shrubs  and  occasional  fir  and  oak  woods.  In 
the  mountains  there  are  some  fine  forests  of  conifers  and  oak,  but  at  great 
heights  the  vegetation  assumes  an  Alpine  character. 


346       The  International  Geography 

History  and  People. — From  the  dawn  of  authentic  history  Greece 
has  been  inhabited  by  the  Hellenic  people  (Greed,  Greeks)  a  branch  of 
the  Aryan  family.  The  intellectual  supremacy  of  Greece  in  antiquity  was 
the  foundation  of  modern  civilisation,  and,  from  the  material  point  of  view, 
was  not  due  only  to  the  careful  utilisation  of  the  manifold  though  not  rich 
resources  of  the  country  by  a  highly  gifted  people,  but  also  to  the  fine 
situation  of  Greece  for  the  trade  of  the  early  world  between  the  ancient 
civilised  countries  of  Asia  and  the  newly  opened  lands  of  the  western  Medi- 
terranean. Side  by  side  with  the  commercial,  there  was  a  great  industrial 
development,  and  Greek  merchants  and  sailors  spread  the  culture  of  their 
people  by  founding  colonies  in  every  part  of  the  then  known  world. 
During  the  last  centuries  of  antiquity  Greece  lost  its  importance  more  and 
more  on  account  of  changes  in  trade  routes ;  while  political  subdivision 
and  the  small  fertility  of  the  land  led  to  its  gradual  impoverishment  and 
depopulation.  In  consequence  of  the  destruction  of  woods  and  allowing 
the  land  to  lie  fallow,  much  of  the  soil  was  washed  away  by  the  heavy 
rains  of  winter  and  the  old  harvest-fields  became  useless.  The  inroads  of 
barbaric  tribes,  the  endless  wars  of  the  Middle  Ages,  and  lastly  the 
tyranny  of  the  Turks  completed  the  ruin  of  the  land.  Yet  Greece  all  along 
retained  a  certain  importance  in  the  trade  of  the  Levant,  and  Venice  held 
some  of  the  best  of  the  Greek  islands  and  harbours  on  the  coast  for  cen- 
turies against  the  Turks.  In  the  course  of  the  Middle  Ages  many  Slavs 
and  Albanians  settled  in  the  mainland,  and  many  Italians  on  the  islands  ; 
but  all  of  these  gradually  became  assimilated  with  the  original  Greeks  in 
speech  and  habit,  until  now  only  a  few  of  the  Albanians  speak  their 
original  language. 

The  reawakening  of  the  Hellenes  began  late  in  the  eighteenth  century, 
and  culminated  in  the  spirited  war  of  independence  from  1821  till  1829.  The 
result  was  the  creation  of  the  kingdom  of  Greece  which  contained  only 
the  Peleponnesus,  Central  Greece,  Eubcea  and  the  Cyclades.  In  1864  the 
Ionian  Islands  were  ceded  to  Greece  by  the  United  Kingdom,  and  the  Treaty 
of  Berlin  in  1878  extended  its  territory  to  the  north  so  as  to  include  the 
greater  part  of  Thessaly.  The  northern  boundary  of  Greece  is  now  a  line 
starting  from  the  Gulf  of  Arta  in  the  west,  following  the  Arta  river  north- 
wards, then  crossing  the  Pindus  and  the  low  ranges  of  Thessaly  to  the 
southern  base  of  Olympus ;  it  does  not  coincide  with  the  natural  frontier, 
which  should  run  from  Cape  Akrokeranian  to  Olympus  and  include  the 
whole  of  Thessaly  and  Epirus.  Crete  and  other  neighbouring  islands 
belonging  geographically  and  ethnographically  to  Greece  are  also  outside 
its  limits.  The  Greek  people  indeed  are  scattered  over  all  the  islands 
and  the  coast  of  the  Balkan  Peninsula  and  Asia  Minor. 

Government. — The  population  is  almost  entirely  Greek  ;  it  includes 
only  about  a  quarter  of  a  million  Albanians  in  the  east  of  Central  Greece 
and  the  north-east  of  the  Peleponnesus,  and  a  few  Rumanians  in 
northern  Greece  The  Greek  Orthodox  Church  includes  almost  the  whole 


Greece 


347 


people ;  it  is  an  independent  national  church  under  a  Metropolitan  in 
Athens.  Education  is  well  cared  for,  and  the  number  of  illiterates  is 
smaller  than  in  any  other  part  of  easterner  southern  Europe.  The  govern- 
ment is  that  of  a  very  free  constitutional  monarchy,  the  parliament  being 
chosen  directly  by  the  people.  Party  strife,  frequent  changes,  of  ministry 
and  officials,  do  serious  harm ;  yet,  in  spite  of  the  great  weakness  of  the 
government,  the  country  has  made  immense  progress  since  its  indepen- 
dence, and  the  Greeks  are  the  best-educated  people 
and  the  highest  in  culture  in  the  Balkan  States. 

Resources  and  Trade.— Agriculture  is  the 
principal  resource  of  the  country,  although  the 
amount  of  cultivable  land  is  small  (only  about  18  per 
cent.),  the  warm  plains  are  of  extraordinary  fertility. 
The  condition  of  the  peasants  is  very  good,  except 
in  Thessaly  where  large  estates  are  the  rule.  Grain 


and  maize  are  not  produced  in  sufficient  quantity  to  FlG  I77  ^Average  popu- 
meet  the  home  demand,  but  wine,  olives,  tobacco  lation  of  a  square 
and  fruit  give  an  abundance  for  export,  and  some  mile  of  Greece' 
cotton  and  silk  are  also  produced.  The  fruit  most  important  in  trade  is  the 
currant  (the  name  is  a  corruption  of  Corinth]  which  is  produced  only  in 
Greece  and  mainly  in  the  west.  The  rearing  of  live  stock,  principally 
sheep  and  goats,  the  wasted  forests  and  the  fisheries  do  not  yield  enough 
for  home  needs.  The  only  important  products  of  the  sea  are  bath  sponges. 
Laurion,  in  Eastern  Attica,  is  an  important  mining  district  ;  emery  is 
obtained  in  the  island  of  Naxos,  and  inferior  lignite  occurs  in  Greece.  No 
great  industrial  development  is  possible  on  account  of  the  want  of  coal, 
water-power  and  capital. 

The  merchant  fleet  is  important  and  carries  on  a  great  part  of  the  trade 
in  the  eastern  Mediterranean  ;  and  the  foreign  trade  of  Greece  itself  is 
considerable.  One-half  of  the  value  of  the  exports 
consists  of  currants,  then  follow  lead  and  zinc 
ores,  wine,  oil,  tobacco,  figs,  sponges  and  valonia 
(acorns).  The  exports  go  principally  to  the  United 
Kingdom,  France,  Austria-  Hungary  and  the  United 
States  ;  the  imports,  consisting  mainly  of  grain, 
manufactures  of  all  kinds,  wood  and  fish,  come 
The  Greek  chiefly  from  the  United  Kingdom,  Russia,  Turkey 
and  Austria-Hungary.  Traffic  is  mainly  by  sea 
along  the  coast  ;  the  roads,  formerly  for  the  most  part  mere  mule-tracks, 
are  being  improved  ;  and  railways  are  also  being  developed.  The  only 
lines  of  importance  are  one  from  Athens  across  the  Isthmus  of  Corinth  to 
the  Peleponnesus,  where  it  branches  to  the  west  along  the  coast  to  Patras, 
and  to  the  south.  There  are  two  lines  in  Thessaly,  and  a  few  local 
railways.  Post  and  telegraphic  communication  are,  however,  well  pro- 
vided  for. 


FIG. 


348       The  International  Geography 

Northern  Greece.— Northern  Greece  includes  the  wild  mountain 
district  of  the  Pindus,  except  Turkish  Epirus,  inhabited  by  poor  and  some- 
times predatory  herdsmen,  and  Thessaly  to  the  east,  the  mountains  of 
which  surround  the  largest  and  most  fertile  plains  of  Greece.  The  land  is 
comparatively  ill-cultivated  and  thinly  peopled,  as  it  was  only  recently  freed 
from  Turkey.  Still,  since  that  time  the  province  has  made  surprising 
strides  as  the  flourishing  condition  of  its  towns,  Trikkala  in  the  interior  and 
Volo  on  the  coast  demonstrated  before  the  last  war,  in  1896,  had  again 
thrown  the  province  back. 

Central  Greece. — Central  Greece,  although  mainly  mountainous  in 
the  west,  contains  some  fertile  plains  where  currant-growing  is  carried  on 
in  ^Etolia.  The  chief  harbour  of  the  district  is  Missolonghi,  lying  on  a  great 
lagoon,  and  renowned  for  its  heroic  defence  during  the  war  of  independ- 
ence, and  for  the  death  of  Lord  Byron  whose  verse  celebrated  the  revival 
of  Greek  nationality.  On  the  east  there  are  some  rich  inland  plains,  par- 
ticularly in  Boeotia,  one  of  which  contained  the  recently  drained  lake  Kopais. 

Cotton  is  largely  culti- 
vated in  this  district. 
Thebes,  the  old  capital  of 
Boeotia,  is  now  merely  a 
village.  The  large  moun- 
tainous island  of  Euboea 
is  celebrated  for  its 
wine-growing,  and  is 
separated  from  the  main- 
land by  the  very  narrow 
Strait  of  Euripus.  The 
FIG.  i79.-Athens  and  the  Piraus.  south-eastern  extremity 

of  Central  Greece,  which  projects  as  a  peninsula,  only  shelters  small  stony 
plains  between  its  mountains,  which  are  low  and  barren,  although  rich  in 
marble  and  ores.  Six  miles  from  the  sea,  in  one  of  the  little  plains  opening 
southward  on  the  beautiful  island-studded  Gulf  of  ^gina  stands  Athens,  the 
city  which  in  ancient  times  embodied  the  highest  development  of  Greek 
culture.  Its  material  prosperity  depended  upon  its  position  in  the  centre 
of  the  Greek  world  on  the  most  important  trade  route  which  traversed  the 
Gulfs  of  ^Egina  and  Corinth  uniting  the  trade  of  the  ^Egean  with  that  of 
the  West.  After  a  long  period  of  obscurity  Athens  is  now  once  more  the 
centre  of  the  whole  Greek  nation.  The  brilliant  and  beautiful  city  is 
entirely  modern,  but  built  round  the  steep,  rocky  hill  of  the  Acropolis  with 
its  splendid  world-renowned  ruins.  Museums,  educational  establishments, 
including  a  university  and  a  polytechnic,  and  other  fine  public  buildings 
adorn  the  capital,  while  trade  and  industry  have  their  seat  around  the 
excellent  natural  harbour  of  the  Piraeus  which  now  forms  a  suburb  of 
Athens. 

Peleponnesus. — The  Peleponnesus,  approached  from  Central  Greece 


Greece 


349 


by  the  Isthmus  of  Corinth,  contains  in  the  luxuriant  plains  of  the  north  and 
west  coasts  the  richest  part  of  Greece ;  the  districts  of  Achaia,  Elis  and 
Messenia  producing  the  greatest  crops  of  currants,  which  are  exported 
mainly  from  the  harbour  of  Patras  in  the  north-west.  The  plains  of 
Laconia  (Sparta)  in  the  south-east  of  Argos,  and  Corinth  in  the  north-east 
were  important  centres  of  ancient  culture  ;  but  the  towns  now  known  by 
these  names  are  of  small  importance.  The  highland  district  of  Arcadia 
in  the  interior  also  contains  some  fertile  land. 

The  Greek  Islands.— The  Ionian  Islands,  Corfu,  Leukas,  Cephalonia, 
Ithaca,  Zante  and  Cythera  are  all  mountainous  in  the  middle,  but  round  the 
heights  there  are  zones  of  hilly  land  and  plains  of  extraordinary  produc- 
tivity in  currants,  wine  and  fruit.  A  large  part  of  the  Greek  merchant 
shipping  belongs  to  these  islands.  The  good  government  which  they 
long  enjoyed  under  the  Venetian  Republic  and  the  United  Kingdom 
leaves  its  mark  in  their  well-ordered  affairs.  The  town  of  Corfu,  with  its 
splendid  harbour,  is  specially  engaged  in  the  trade  with  Italy  and  Austria. 

The  Greek  Islands  in  the  ^Egean  Sea  are  on  the  whole  of  small  fertility, 
yet  the  Cyclades,  particularly  Naxos  and  Santorin,  produce  excellent  wine 
and  fruits.  Santorin  is  a  ruined  volcano,  the 
great  crater  of  which  has  been  invaded  by 
the  sea,  and  in  the  centre  of  it  repeated 
eruptions,  the  latest  in  1866,  have  formed 
several  new  small  volcanic  islands.  Little 
Syra,  in  the  centre  of  the  Cyclades,  contains 
the  town  of  Syra,  also  called  Hermoupolis, 
which  has  risen  during  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury into  the  most  important  trading -centre 
of  the  whole  ^Egean ;  but  it  is  now  de-  FlG-  rto.— Santorin.  (Sea  less  than 
dining.  Several  small  islands  on  the  east 

coast  of  the  Peleponnesus,  Hydra,  Spetsae  and  Paros  are  inhabited  by 
Albanians  and  carry  on  considerable  shipping  trade. 


STATISTICS. 

1889. 

Area  of  Greece  (square  miles)        25,152 

Population  of  Greece           2,187,208 

Density  of  population  (per  square  mile) 87 

Population  of  Athens           107,251 

„               „       (with  Piraeus  and  suburbs)        . .        . .  148,924 

Piraeus        34,327 

„               Patras         33,529 

„              Trikkala 14,820 

„              Syra 22,104 

„              Corfu          19.025 

„              Volo 11,029 


1896. 

25,152 

2,433,806 

96 

111,486 
179,755 
43-001 
37,085 
21,149 
18,760 
18,581 
16,788 


ANNUAL  TRADE  OF  GREECE  i.n  dollars). 

1871-75.  1879-33.  1891-95- 

Imports 20,000,000      ..    24,500,000  ..     22,500,000 

Exports 15,500,000      ..     13,500,000  ..     17,000,000 


FIG.  181.— The  Cretan  Flag 
of  1898. 


350      The  International  Geography 

VIII.— CRETE 

Crete.— The  Island  of  Crete  (modern  Greek  Kriti,  Italian  Candid)  forms 
part  of  the  great  curve  of  islands  which  bounds  the  ^gean  Sea  on  the  south. 
Three  mountain  masses,  principally  composed  of  limestone,  occupy  the 
island  ;  the  chief  being  Mount  Ida,  8,070  feet  high.  The  mountains  fall 
steeply  on  the  south  to  a  harbourless  coast,  in  the  middle  of  which  the 
only  low  ground  occurs  as  the  plain  of  Mesara.  To  the  north  they  fall 
more  gently,  forming  a  hilly  region  of  con- 
siderable fertility  and  ending  in  a  richly  in- 
dented coast.  The  climate  is  warm  and  the 
rainfall  sufficient.  Extensive  herds  are  pastured 
on  the  mountains,  and  the  plains  yield  grain, 
oil,  wine  and  fruit  plentifully.  Crete  has  ac- 
quired particular  importance  on  account  of  its 
position  at  the  exit  of  the  ^Egean  Sea,  which 
made  it  in  ancient  times  a  great  sea  power, 
with  numerous  thriving  towns.  In  the  Middle 
Ages  it  was  for  some  time  in  the  possession  of  the  Arabs ;  it  declined 
gradually  in  importance  under  the  Venetians,  and  its  ruin  was  com- 
pleted by  the  dominion  of  the  Turks  from  1669  to  1898.  The  island  has 
now  received  autonomous  government,  guaranteed  by  the  Great  Powers, 
but  it  remains  under  Turkish  suzerainty.  A  part  of  the  population  having 
become  perverted  to  Mohammedanism,  bitter  religious  feuds  have  led  to 
continuous  strife  and  bloodshed,  in  which  the  brave  mountain  tribe  of 
the  Sphakiotes  took  a  conspicuous  part.  In  spite  of  religious  differences 
almost  all  the  people  belong  to  the  same  Greek  stock, 
even  the  Mohammedans  speaking  no  language  but 
Greek.  Before  the  revolution  of  1896  about  one- 
quarter  of  the  population  were  Mohammedans,  but 
now  most  of  them  have  left  the  island.  The  people 
live  almost  exclusively  by  agriculture  and  cattle- 
breeding  ;  the  principal  products  being  wine,  olive 
oil  and  carobs.  The  three  towns  of  the  island  all  lie  FIG.  1*2.— Average  pop- 
on  the  north  coast,  and  possess  indifferent  harbours ;  ulaiion  of  a  square 
Khania  (Caned}  in  the  west,  Rethymnon  further  east, 
and  the  largest  town,  Iraklion  (Megalokastrom  or  Candid},  about  the 
middle  of  the  coast-line.  Suda  Bay,  with  the  best  anchorage  for  shipping, 
lies  a  little  to  the  east  of  Canea. 


STATISTICS. 


1900. 


Area  of  Crete  in  square  miles •        ••  3.324 

Population  of  Crete  (estimated) ..        ..        ..  303,543 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile 91 

Population  of  Candia 22,331 

„              Canea          ..        . .  21,025 

Rhetymnon 9,311 


Crete  351 


STANDARD  BOOKS. 

Th.  Fischer.  "  Die  drei  siideurppaische  Halbinseln  "  in  Kirchhoff's  "  Unser  Wissen  von 
der  Erde."  Vienna. 

F.  Kanitz.    "  Serbien."    Leipzig,  1868. 

"  Donau,  Bulgarien  und  der  Balkan."    Leipzig,  1882. 

K.  Hassert.    "  Beitrage  zur  physischen  Geographic  von  Montenegro."    Gotha,  1895. 

A.  Boue.     "  Die  Europaische  Turkei."    2  vols.    Vienna,  1889. 

C.  Neumann  and  J.  Partsch.    "  Physikalische  Geographic  von  Griechenland."    Breslau,  1885. 

A.  Philippson.     "  Der  Peloponnes."     Berlin,  1892. 

"  Thessalien  und  Epirus."     Berlin,  1897. 

"  Griechenland  und  seine  Stellung  in  Orient."     Leipzig,  1897. 

T.  A.  B.  Spratt.     "  Travels  and  Researches  in  Crete."    2  vols.    London,  1865. 

E.  de  Lavelaye.  "  La  peninsule  des  Balkans."  2  vols.  Brussels,  1886.  English  transla- 
tion, London,  1887. 

E.  A.  Freeman.    "  The  Ottoman  Power  in  Europe."    London,  1877. 


CHAPTER    XX.— ITALY    AND    MALTA 


I.— ITALY 

By  DR.  THEOBALD  FISCHER/ 

Professor  of  Geography  in  the  University  of  Marburg. 

Position  and  Geological  History. — The  Italian  Peninsula,  central 
amongst  the  peninsulas  of  southern  Europe,  owes  its  origin  and  configura- 
tion to  the  circumstance  that  a  branch  of  the  great  Eurasian  Earth-fold  on 
the  eastern  edge  of  the  old  Tyrrhenian  crust-block  diverges  in  a  southerly 
direction  across  the  Mediterranean  belt  of  subsidence,  and  only  resumes  the 

east  and  west  direction 
of  the  Eurasian  folds  in 
the  south  in  the  present 
Sicily.  This  accounts 
for  the  configuration  of 
Italy  and  its  extent 
through  11°  of  latitude 
from  47°  to  36°  N.  as  a 
long,  narrow  land  bridge 
across  the  Mediterranean 
Sea.  The  Appennines 
are  perhaps  the  most 
recently  formed  moun- 
tains in  Europe.  The 
plain  of  Lombardy  in  the 
north  took  its  rise  from 
the  elevation  in  Quater- 
nary times  of  a  deep  gulf 
of  the  Adriatic  Sea  be- 
tween the  Alps  and 
Appennines,  combined 
with  the  accumulation 
of  the  sediment  brought 
down  from  both  ranges 
by  glaciers  and  rivers. 
The  Quaternary  uplift 
also  brought  together  the  severed  portions  of  an  older  pre-Miocene 
Appennine  range  which  had  not  been  incorporated  by  the  last  folding 
movement ;  thus  Gargano  and  the  Apulian  Cretaceous  plateau  in  the  south- 
west were  united  with  the  Appennines.  A  portion  of  the  Appennine  land 
1  Translated  from  the  German  by  the  Editor 
352 


Appennine  forelands  ESI  Alluvium 
Remnants  of  Tyrrhenian  crust  block. 
Fold  system  of  Alps  and  Appennines. 

FIG.  183.— Tectonic  Map  of  Italy. 


Italy 


353 


separated  in  the  Pliocene  epoch  by  a  rift,  being  cut  off  at  the  same  time  by 
a  similar  dislocation  from  the  continuation  of  the  Appennines  in  Tunisia, 
forms  the  present  island  of  Sicily.  The  Malta  group,  Lampedusa,  and  the 
^Egadian  Islands  at  the  west  end  of  Sicily  are  all  that  remain  of  the  great 
Tertiary  plateau  which  once  united  Sicily  with  Tunisia.  Only  fragments  are 
left  of  the  ancient  mass  of  Tyrrhenia  which  lay  to  the  west  of  the  present 
Appennine  lands,  and  in  the  course  of  the  Tertiary  and  Quaternary  periods 
gave  rise  by  direct  subsidence  to  the  vast  depression  now  occupied  by  the 
Tyrrhenian  Sea.  Some  of  these  relics  were  attached  to  the  Appennine  lands 
by  the  latest  crustal  movements  and  form  the  plateau  of  Tuscany,  Calabria 
and  the  north-east  of  Sicily,  while  the  twin  islands  Sardinia  and  Corsica 
represent  a  portion  left  standing  in  the  middle  of  the  depression. 

Natural  Divisions  and  Coasts. — Italy  consists  of  three  parts  : 
the  Continental — including  the  slopes  of  the  Alps  and  Appennines  towards 
the  northern  plain — the  Peninsular,  and  the  Insular.  The  two  latter 
form  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  whole,  and  even  in  continental  Italy 
the  distance  from  the  coast  is  so  small  that  80  per  cent,  of  the  whole 
country  is  within  62  miles  of  the  sea ;  Turin  is  65  miles  and  Milan 
only  75  miles  from  the  coast.  Italy  is  separated  from  central  Europe  by 
the  great  wall  of  the  Alps,  and  it  is  as  a  whole  a  maritime  Mediterranean 
country.  The  detailed  structure  of  the  coast  emphasises  this  character 
by  its  remarkable  richness  in  natural  harbours,  particularly  on  the  west, 
where  the  bays  of  Genoa,  Spezia,  Talamone,  Gaeta,  Naples,  Salerno, 
Policastro,  Santa  Eufemia,  Palermo,  and  Castellamare  succeed  one 
another.  The  numerous  islands  off  the  coast  include  Elba,  a  remnant 
of  the  ancient  Tyrrhenia,  and  the  volcanic  groups  of  Ponza,  Ischia, 
and  the  Lipari  Islands,  which  beautify  the  surface  of  a  sea  rich  in 
fisheries  and  precious  coral.  While  the  land  frontier  of  Italy  measures 
only  1,200  miles,  the  coast  stretches  for  more  than  4,000.  Except  on 
the  shallow  shores  at  the  head  of  the  Adriatic,  the  coast  is  everywhere 
easily  accessible  from  the  interior,  and  is  as  a  rule  bold  and  rocky  with 
picturesque  promontories  furnishing  magnificent  landmarks  and  offering 
fine  sites  for  lighthouses  visible  far  to  seaward.  On  the  west  coast  only  the 
northern  part  from  Spezia  to  the  Gulf  of  Gaeta  is  flat  and  swampy,  making 
artificial  harbours  necessary  at  Civita  Vecchia  and  Leghorn.  The  population 
of  Italy  is  generally  dense  along  the  coast,  and  more  than  16  per  cent,  of 
the  present  population  live  within  three  miles  of  the  sea. 

Value  of  the  Position  and  Resources  of  Italy.— Italy,  as  a 
whole,  looks  towards  the  west,  and  in  a  sense  towards  the  east  also, 
although,  so  to  speak,  the  peninsula  turns  its  back  upon  the  Adriatic, 
which  is  only  no  miles  wide  on  the  average,  and  at  the  Strait  of 
Otranto  less  than  fifty.  The  country  .is  singularly  well  placed  for 
communication  with  the  eastern  Mediterranean  and  the  Suez  Canal 
on  account  of  its  fine  eastward-facing  harbours  of  Venice,  Brindisi 
Taranto,  Messina,  and  Syracuse.  From  Sicily  and  Sardinia  com- 


354       The  International  Geography 

munication  with  the  north  coast  of  Africa  is  easy,  the  distance  from 
Sicily  being  less  than  100  miles.  With  continental  Europe  there  is  land 
communication  by  the  Alpine  roads  which  converge  on  Turin,  Milan,  and 
Venice.  These  many-sided  relations  make  the  geographical  position  of 
Italy  exceptionally  favourable  for  commerce,  and  on  this  account  it  became 
the  focus  of  the  trade  and  civilisation  of  the  narrow  world  of  antiquity  and 
the  Middle  Ages.  It  is  to-day  the  very  heart  of  the  Mediterranean  lands 
and  plays  a  great  part  as  a  link  in  the  chain  of  communication  between 
north-western  Europe  and  the  Far  East.  Italy  may  become  one  of  the 
real  Great  Powers  only  if  it  succeeds  in  commanding  the  Mediterranean 
by  its  naval  forces.  The  Italian  people  are  directed  to  the  sea  as  their 
field  of  enterprise  the  more  distinctly  because  three-quarters  of  the  surface 
of  the  land  is  built  up  of  geological  formations  not  older  than  the  Tertiary 
period,  and  consequently  there  is  little  mineral  wealth.  No  coal  is  found, 
and  the  sulphur  deposits  which  occur  mainly  in  Sicily  are  the  most 
valuable  mineral  resources ;  they  supplied  till  a  short  time  ago  most 
of  the  sulphur  used  throughout  the  world.  The  marble  quarries  of 
Massa,  Carrara,  and  Serravezza  are  of  great  value.  Iron-mining  is 
only  important  in  the  relics  of  the  ancient  Tyrrhenia  in  Elba  and 
Sardinia.  The  industrial  value  of  the  country  is  due  to  the  production 
of  a  few  important  raw  materials — silk,  flax,  hemp,  and  straw — to  the 
economy  of  sea-transport,  the  cheapness  of  labour  in  a  country  with  so 
rich  a  soil  and  so  genial  a  climate,  and  at  the  present  day  to  the  utilisa- 
tion through  electricity  of  the  important  water  power  made  available 
in  the  Alps  and  Appennines. 

Configuration  of  the  Alps. — Since  Italy  is  mainly  composed  of  the 
Appennine  range  with  which  the  inner  slopes  of  the  Alps  unite,  it  is  on  the 
whole  a  mountainous  land.  Only  one-third  of  the  surface  is  made  up  of 
plains,  most  of  this  being  the  great  Plain  of  Lombardy.  The  Italian  Alps 
(Fig.  51),  usually  named  after  the  provinces  of  the  neighbouring  plain, 
e.g.,  the  Alps  of  Piedmont,  Lombardy,  and  Venetia,  tower  into  lofty  summits 
and  abound  in  snow-fields  and  glaciers.  Mont  Blanc  and  Monte  Rosa  rise 
on  the  boundary  line.  The  Alpine  chain  is  trenched  by  numerous  transverse 
valleys  running  parallel  to  one  another,  formed  by  the  erosion  of  the  Po 
and  its  tributaries  the  Dora  Baltea,  Sesia,  Ticino,  Adda,  and  further  east 
the  Adige  and  Tagliamento,  by  which  roads  are  carried  through  the  border- 
ing mountains  up  to  the  important  passes  across  the  Alps — the  Mt.  Cenis, 
Simplon,  St.  Gothard,  Spliigen,  Maloja  and  Brenner.  Where  the  valleys 
meet  the  plains  they  are  often  occupied  by  long,  narrow  lakes  along  which 
the  Alpine  roads  run  through  scenes  of  famous  beauty.  The  upper  Italian 
lakes,  especially  Lago  Maggiore,  Lago  di  Como  and  Lago  di  Garda  are  not 
only  important  as  pleasure  resorts  but  they  form  the  great  reservoirs  for 
the  rivers  of  the  plain. 

Configuration  of  the  Plain. — The  Plain  of  Lombardy  is  a  long, 
narrow  trough  formed  by  subsidence  between  the  Alps  and  Appennines, 


Italy 


355 


which  inclines  eastward  towards  the  Adriatic  as  well  as  inwards  towards 
the  central  line  along  which  the  river  Po  flows.  In  the  middle  of  the 
plain  beautiful  groups  of  small  hills  arise,  especially  the  Monti  Berici  near 
Vicenza  and  the  Colli  Euganei  near  Padua,  both  of  which  are  remains  of  old 
volcanic  activity,  on  the  inner  side  of  the  great  crack  between  the  Alps  and 
the  plain.  The  Montf  errato  hills  between  Turin  and  Alessandria  in  which  La 
Superga  rises  to  2,140  feet,  commanding  a  splendid  view  across  the  plain, 
are  orographically  separated  from  the  Appennines  by  the  broad  valley  of  the 
Tanaro,  which  occupies  a  synclinal  fold  of  the  Appennine  system.  These 
hills  give  a  special  character  to  the  Piedmont  portion  of  the  plain.  A  hilly 
region,  for  the  most  part  made  up  of  old  moraine  amphitheatres  set  with 
small  lakes  and  moors,  the  peat  of  which  is  already  in  most  cases  exhausted, 
runs  close  along  the  base  of  the  Alps,  the  perfect  form  of  the  plain  first 
appearing  at  some  distance  further  out.  The  many  rapidly  flowing 
rivers,  the  rich  cultivation  and,  in  a  special  degree,  the  wealth  of  forests 
together  with  the  many  towns  and  villages  and  the  views  of  the  encircling 
mountains  free  this  part 
of  the  plain  from  any 
appearance  of  monotony. 
All  the  rivers  flow  towards 
the  central  line  running 
from  west  to  east  formed 
at  first  by  the  Dora  Riparia 
and  from  Turin  onwards 
by  the  Po,  which,  from  its 
volume  of  water  and  the 

force  of  its  flow,  has  drawn 

FIG.  184.— The  Plain  of  Lombardv. 
their  lower  courses  in  an 

easterly  direction  as  is  shown  in  the  Ticino,  Adda,  Oglio,  and  Mincio,  while 
the  Adige  has  been  completely  turned  aside  and  pursues  an  independent 
course  eastward  across  the  deltaic  plain.  Although  as  true  torrential  rivers 
the  streams  of  the  Plain  of  Lombardy  do  not  attract  population  to  their 
banks,  their  valleys  have  played  an  important  part  as  strategic  lines  in  time 
of  war. 

Configuration  of  the  Appennines. — The  Appennines  present  a 
fine  example  of  a  folded  mountain  chain  broken  off  abruptly  on  one 
side  by  the  sunken  area  of  the  Tyrrhenian  depression.  The  parallelism  of 
the  successive  chains  is  clearly  shown  in  the  northern  and  central  Appen- 
nines by  their  arrangement  en  echelon  so  that  the  general  south-easterly 
trend  of  the  chains,  like  the  wings  of  a  theatre,  pushes  a  more  easterly 
before  a  more  westerly  which  gradually  falls  off  in  height  and  is  finally 
broken  at  the  Tyrrhenian  trough.  Each  chain  thus  forms  a  portion 
of  the  watershed  until  that  function  is  taken  over  by  a  more  easterly. 
In  this  way — and  not  as  a  simple  chain — the  mountain  wall,  which  serves 
also  as  a  dividing  line  of  climates,  is  formed  between  Genoa  and 


356       The   International  Geography 

Ancona,   and   about  the  44th  parallel   separates   Northern  and  Central 
Italy. 

The  Northern  Appennines  are  usually  separated  into  the  Ligurian  and 
Etruscan  from  the  Col  di  Cadibona  (1,600  feet  high)  which  separates  the 
Ligurian  Appennines  from  the  Alps,  to  the  Bocca  Serriola  (2,400  feet). 
They  have  a  small  elevation  both  for  crest  and  peaks,  the  highest  summit 
being  Monte  Cimone  (7,110  feet)  which  is  crowned  by  a  meteorological 
observatory.  The  northern  section  of  the  range  is  formed  throughout  of 
Tertiary  strata,  mainly  clay,  which,  in  spite  of  the  moderate  elevation  of  the 
passes  (rarely  above  3,000  feet)  makes  the  construction  and  maintenance 
of  roads  very  difficult.  This  is  true,  indeed,  for  the  whole  range  of  the 
Appennines  as  far  as  Sicily.  Throughout  the  whole  range  also,  the  outer 
or  eastern  side  is  cut  into  blocks  by  the  valleys  of  parallel  streams 
which  flow  at  right  angles  to  the  direction  of  the  chain,  e.g.,  the  Trebbia, 
Panars,  and  Reno,  while  on  the  inner  or  western  side  the  rivers 
have  been  developed  in  the  longitudinal  valleys  of  the  mountain-folds 
where  they  form  a  few  large  drainage  systems  and  are  much  longer  than 
those  of  the  other  slope.  The  chief  western  rivers  are  the  Magra,  Serchio, 
Arno,  Tiber,  Garigliano,  Volturno,  and  Sele. 

The  Central  Appennines  may  be  divided  into  those  of  Umbria  and  the 
Marches  in  the  north,  and  those  of  the  Abruzzi  in  the  south.  They  are 
very  clearly  distinguished  from  the  Northern  Appennines  by  the  absence 
of  the  numerous  intrusions  of  serpentine  which  distinguish  the  former, 
and  by  the  increasing  prevalence  of  limestones,  principally  Cretaceous, 
which  give  rise  to  steep  bald  slopes  and  wildly  rugged  crests  and  peaks. 
These  have  suggested  the  erroneous  idea  that  the  Appennines  are  a  lime- 
stone range,  whereas  they  really  are  mainly  argillaceous.  From  Monte 
Nerone  to  the  Matese  mountains  the  country  exhibits  the  karst  phenomena 
of  lakes,  caverns,  and  powerful  springs  which  give  rise  to  permanent  rivers. 
There  are  signs  also  of  gre^at  vertical  displacements  or  faults  which 
here  play  an  important  part  in  mountain  building.  These  dislocations 
are  associated  with  the  increased  frequency  and  force  of  the  earth- 
quakes experienced  towards  the  south.  The  Central  Appennines  contain 
some  high  summits,  chief  amongst  which  is  the  Gran  Sasso  d' Italia,  9,583 
feet,  and  there  are  many  peaks  exceeding  8,000  feet.  On  the  Tyrrhenian 
side  the  development  of  numerous  folds  of  gentle  curvature  in  the  main 
chain  forms  extensive  highlands  such  as  those  of  Umbria  and  Abruzzi  with 
sharply  defined  longitudinal  valleys  in  which  the  rivers  flow,  and  depressed 
intermont  basins. 

The  Southern  Appennines,  beginning  at  the  Vinchiaturo  Pass  (1,800  feet), 
may  be  divided  into  a  Neapolitan  and  a  Calabrian  portion.  The  Neapolitan 
Appennines  are  characterised  by  the  outcrop  of  older  Triassic  limestones 
along  the  whole  Tyrrhenian  side  and  by  plateaux  made  up  of  flat- lying 
recent  Tertiary  strata,  particularly  on  the  eastern  side.  Traffic  across  the 
range  is  impeded  not  so  much  by  the  height  of  the  passes  (the  two 


Italy 


357 


important  railways  from  Campania  to  the  Apulian  plain  at  Foggia  and  to 
the  Gulf  of  Taranto  hardly  reach  an  elevation  of  2,000  feet)  as  by  the 
narrowness  of  the  defiles  which  in  former  times  played  their  part  in 
military  history,  and  later  opposed  great  difficulties  to  the  construction  of 
railways.  Monte  Polino,  with  an  elevation  of  7,450  feet,  rises  in  rugged 
limestone  peaks  above  the  valley  of  the  Crati,  which  separates  it  abruptly 
from  the  gentler  forms  of  the  Archaean  rocks  of  Sila  in  Calabria.  The 
drainage  of  the  Southern  Appennines  runs  in  regular  parallel  valleys  of 
erosion  eastward  to  the  Adriatic,  the  Biferno  Fortore  and  Ofanto,  or  south- 
ward to  the  Gulf  of  Taranto,  the  Bradano  Basento,  Agri,  and  Sinni.  The 
Calabrian  Appennines  are  mainly  composed  of  fragments  of  the  ancient 
Tyrrhenian  crust-block,  with  remains  of  ancient  sedimentary  strata  on  the 
eastern  side  which  formed  a  group  of  islands  in  Pliocene  times  and  were 
only  united  by  a  Quaternary  uplift  as  a  narrow  land  bridge  rising  from  a 
great  depth  between  the  Tyrrhenian  depression  on  one  side  and  the  yet 
greater  Ionian  deep  on  the  other.  The  flanking  Tertiary  zone  of  the 
Appennines  is  in  this  part  submerged  in  the  Ionian  depression  and  only 
reappears  in  Sicily  where  it  forms  the  broad  southern  slope  of  the 
island.  The  Calabrian  range  consists  practically  of  the  masses  of  the 
Sila  mountains  and  of  the  Aspromonte.  No  point  of  it  quite  reaches 
6,500  feet ;  its  rounded,  massive  forms  are  explained  by  the  gneisses, 
crystalline  schists  and  granite  of  which  it  is  composed.  A  usually 
narrow  zone  of  the  most  recent  formations  borders  the  ancient  rock 
masses ;  it  is  built  up  principally  of  the  deltaic  fans  of  the  torrents  and 
forms  a  coast  line  without  shelter,  so  that  Calabria  remains  a  closed  land  to 
this  day. 

The  Appennine  Foreland. — A  broad,  low  foreland  formed  by  the 
unsubmerged  border  of  the  Tyrrhenian  depression  and  gulfs  filled  up  by 
river  and  volcanic  sediments  lies  along  the  Appennine  region  from 
the  Gulf  of  Spezia  to  that  of  Policastro.  The.  line  of  fracture  separating 
the  two  is  distinct  both  orographically  and  hydrographically  :  all  the 
rivers  follow  the  longitudinal  valley  to  which  it  gave  rise,  after  leaving 
the  Appennine  region,  and  it  is  also  one  of  the  most  important  lines  of 
communication  in  Italy,  along  which  a  railway  runs  from  Pistoja  and 
Florence  to  the  Vallo  di  Diano  which  separates  the  mountains  of  Cilento 
from  the  Appennines.  The  broad  belt  of  land  cut  off  by  this  valley  is 
partly  composed  of  surviving  fragments  of  Tyrrhenia,  such  as  the  highlands 
of  Tuscany,  partly  of  sunk  portions  of  the  Appennines,  like  the  Lepini  and 
Ciiento  mountains,  and  partly  of  small  volcanic  cones  and  craters  contain- 
ing lakes,  such  as  the  Albanian  mountains  and  the  Phlegraean  fields  with 
Vesuvius  (Figs.  191  and  192),  and  finally  of  elevated  portions  of  the  sea-bed 
covered  with  volcanic  ejecta,  such  as  the  plains  of  Rome  and  Cam- 
pania, or  river  sediments  of  the  Arno,  Tiber,  &c.  As  the  Tyrrhenian 
Appennine  foreland  was  first  brought  into  contact  with  the  Appennine 
region  in  the  Quaternary  period  so  also  was  the  much  lower  foreland 


358       The   International  Geography 

on  the  Adriatic  side.  At  the  beginning  of  that  period  a  strait  ran  from 
the  Gulf  of  Taranto  through  the  Plain  of  Foggia  to  the  Adriatic  and  here, 
where  a  transverse  fault  crossed  the  great  longitudinal  crack,  the  mass 
of  Monte  Volturno  (4,265  feet)  was  upheaved.  From  the  depression,  which 
is  still  easily  recognisable,  rise  the  heights  of  Monte  Gargano  and  the 
chalk  tableland  of  Apulia  (Le  Murgie)  a  poorly  watered  karst-land 
rendered  very  fertile  in  parts  by  a  covering  of  loess. 

The  Italian  Islands. — Of  the  many  straits  which  divided  the  south 
of  Italy  into  islands  in  Pliocene  times  only  one,  the  Strait  of  Messina,  has 
resisted  the  great  Quaternary  upheavals  whose  action  produced  the 
wonderful  terraced  scenery  of  Calabria.  The  Strait  of  Messina  was 
produced  by  an  exceptionally  deep-seated  fracture,  which  accounts  for 
the  severe  earthquakes  still  experienced  in  Messina  and  Calabria.  The 
crossing  of  this  fracture  by  the  fault  which  gave  rise  to  the  steep  south-eastern 
scarp  of  Calabria  is  marked  by  the  upheaval  of  the  greatest  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean volcanoes — the  giant  mass  of  Etna,  which  towers  to  the  height  of 
10,740  feet.  The  triangular  island  of  Sicily  resembles  the  Appennine  region 
in  having  its  steepest  slope  to  the  Tyrrhenian  depression  out  of  which  rise 
the  volcanic  Lipari  Islands.  This  steep  northern  side  is  composed  like 
southern  Italy  of  Triassic  formations,  while  on  the  outer  side  towards  Africa 
soft  Tertiary  rocks,  rich  in  sulphur,  form  a  gently  sloping  tableland  with  a 
mean  height  of  1,450  feet  which  has  been  cut  into  a  chaos  of  rounded  hills 
by  river-erosion  and  denudation.  Except  Etna,  no  mountain  in  Sicily 
attains  6,500  feet,  and  the  highest  summits  all  lie  in  the  well-watered 
district  near  the  north  coast,  the  scenery  of  which  is  remarkably  varied  and 
picturesque.  Its  agricultural  resources  make  this  the  most  densely  peopled 
part  of  the  island,  and  in  the  strip  of  land  from  the  sea-shore  to  the  height 
of  1 60  feet  the  density  of  population  reaches  2,530  per  square  mile. 

Only  the  Peloritanian  mountains  in  the  extreme  north-east  of  Sicily  can  be 
viewed  as  a  relic  of  the  ancient  Tyrrhenia,  but  the  whole  of  Sardinia  is  a 
portion  of  that  vanished  land.  Sardinia  is  mainly  composed  of  ancient 
crystalline  rocks,  especially  granite  ;  but  in  the  south  there  are  Palasozoic 
strata  rich  in  copper  and  silver-lead  ores,  and  on  the  west  side  recent 
eruptive  rocks  appear.  The  island  is  almost  all  occupied  by  mountains 
covered  with  wasted  forests  and  undergrowths,  and  with  a  raw  climate, 
although  no  point  reaches  the  height  of  6,000  feet.  The  small  plains  are 
swampy  and  malarial,  and  of  the  little  islands  only  Caprera,  the  dwelling- 
place  of  Garibaldi,  need  be  mentioned.  La  Maddalena,  now  united  to 
Caprera  by  a  bridge,  has  been  converted  into  a  naval  station  commanding 
the  Strait  of  Bonifacio. 

Climate. — Its  climate  makes  Italy  one  of  the  most  favoured  lands  of 
the  Earth,  and  the  garden  of  Europe.  The  great  wall  of  the  Alps  protects 
it  from  the  northerly  winter  winds  and  from  continental  influences.  The 
Appennines  from  Nice  to  Ancona  form  a  second  line  of  climatic  defence,  and 
the  whole  land  is  open  to  the  south  and  to  the  equalising  influence  of  the 


Italy 


359 


Mediterranean,  a  sea  filled  to  its  greatest  depth  with  water  over  50°  F.  in  tem- 
perature. The  winters  are  milu  everywhere,  even  in  the  Plain  of  Lombardy, 
and  south  of  the  Appennines  the  temperature  seldom  falls  to  the  freezing 
point,  and  never  goes  far  below  it,  while 
January  in  Sicily  is  like  May  in  England. 
South  of  the  4oth  parallel  the  prevailing 
wind  in  summer  is  northerly,  and  tends  to 
moderate  the  heat.  The  protection  of  the 
mountains  forms  veritable  climatic  oases 
close  to  the  foot  of  the  Alps,  on  the  Ligurian 
coast,  and  at  Amain  and  Salerno.  Yet  even 
in  Sicily  a  little  snow  is  no  very  rare  occur- 
rence. On  account  of  the  position  of  the 
Atlantic  high  pressure  area  to  the  north  of 
Italy  in  summer  and  to  the  south  in  winter, 
the  Italian  summer  is  deficient  in  rain,  and 


f*  IM.  f  n.  MM  An.  MAT.  AM.  Mi.  ABC.  SEP.  Mr.  Mv  In.  la 

" 

76 

"70 

/ 

/• 

r* 

~\ 

-\ 

\ 

1 

II 

OB 

t 

'/ 

\ 

\ 

// 

\ 

\ 

.' 

/ 

\ 

'•'-. 

S 

/ 

m 

— 

T 

\i 

-r 

& 

FIG.  185. — Rainfall  and  Tempera- 
ture of  Turin  and  Naples. 


there  is  an  accumulation  of  rainfall  in  winter,  but  towards  the  north  the 
summer  rainfall  is  not  so  deficient,  and  in  some  places  at  the  foot  of  the  Alps 
there  is  not  much  difference  in  the  amount  of  precipitation  in  spring,  summer, 
or  autumn.  In  Sicily  and  Sardinia  from  35  to  40  per  cent,  of  the  annual 
rainfall  comes  in  the  winter  months.  Hence  the  rivers,  except  those  fed  by 
the  powerful  springs  of  the  limestone  regions,  are  remarkably  variable  in 
volume.  Floods  and  inundations  occur  in  the  rainy  period  with  very  high 
water  during  autumn,  especially  in  the  rivers  flowing  from  the  Alps,  but  in 
the  centre  and  south  of  Italy  the  rivers  are  little  more  than  dry  stony  beds 

during  summer,  and  artificial  irrigation 
is  rendered  necessary.  The  distribution 
of  rainfall  is  determined  by  the  configu- 
ration of  the  land.  It  is  greater  on  the 
Tyrrhenian  than  on  the  Adriatic  slope; 
greater  on  the  southern  margin  of  the 
Alps  than  on  that  of  the  Appennines,  but 
greatest  on  the  slopes  of  the  mountains 
near  Genoa,  where  it  is  51  inches,  and  at 
Tolmezzo  in  Friaul,  where  it  reaches  100 
inches.  The  rainfall  of  northern  Italy 
may  be  stated  as  about  40  inches  on  the 
average,  that  of  central  Italy  about  32 
inches,  and  of  southern  Italy  not  much 
more  than  27. 

Malaria,  which  is  characteristic  of  all 
the  Mediterranean  lands,  is  particularly  common  in  Italy,  and  is  the 
greatest  drawback  to  a  land  otherwise  so  favoured.  Only  six  of  the 
69  provinces— Porto  Maurizio,  Genoa,  Messa-Carrara,  Florence,  Pesaro, 
and  Piacenza— are  entirely  free  from  malaria.  It  makes  large  areas  un- 


FlG.  1 86.— The  Malarial  Districts 
of  Italy,  shown  in  stipple. 


360       The   International  Geography 

inhabitable  and  uncultivable  in  spite  of  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  which  can 
only  be  utilised  for  winter  pastures,  and  it  hampers  the  railway  service. 
One-sixth  of  the  population  of  Italy  suffers  from  malaria,  which  causes 
14,000  deaths  per  annum. 

Flora  and  Fauna. — The  flora  of  Italy  is  that  typical  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean region,  at  least  so  far  as  regards  the  centre  and  south,  and  along  a 
broad  belt  of  the  west  coast  south  of  Liguria.  It  includes  evergreen  trees 
of  kinds  fitted  to  withstand  the  long  drought ;  and  the  olive  may  be  looked 
upon  as  the  most  characteristic  growth.  The  olive  is  excluded  from  the 
Plain  of  Lombardy  by  the  comparatively  severe  winter ;  but  it  appears 
along  the  immediate  foot  of  the  Alps,  especially  round  the  borders  of  the 
lakes,  and  it  surrounds  the  whole  coast  of  Italy,  growing  in  Liguria  to 
altitudes  of  nearly  2,000  feet,  and  in  Sicily  to  3,000  feet.  The  flora  of 
central  Europe  prevails  in  the  Plain  of  Lombardy,  and  in  the  mountains ; 
in  Sicily  there  are  forests  of  chestnut  trees  between  2,000  and  3,000  feet, 
and  of  beech  from  3,000  to  5,500  feet.  The  Mediterranean  belt  is  charac- 
terised by  the  evergreen  oak  and  pine,  the  Aleppo-pine,  cypress,  and 
especially  a  number  of  low  evergreen  and  often  thorny  aromatic  shrubs. 

The  fauna  of  Italy  is  poor,  and  has  little  of  geographical  interest.  The 
reptiles  (lizards),  however,  are  almost  too  abundant,  and  so  are  the 
snails. 

People. — The  favoured  land  of  Italy  has  been  the  goal  of  many 
migrating  peoples  both  from  the  north  and  south,  yet  they  all  adopted 
one  language,  and  at  present  unity  of  speech  prevails  in  Italy  to  an 
extent  unapproached  in  any  other  country  of  Europe.  The  people  is 
ethnically  remarkably  mixed,  and  the  contrast  between  the  northern  and 
southern  Italians  is  very  great.  The  mixture  of  races  may  be  traced  back 
to  the  great  Roman  trade  in  slaves,  by  which  Phoenicians,  Greeks,  Berbers 
and  Arabs  from  the  south  were  brought  into  contact  with  Kelts,  Germans, 
and  Slavs  from  the  north.  Five  ethnical  groups  are  now  believed  to  have 
inhabited  prehistoric  Italy.  These  were  the  Iberians  in  Sardinia,  the  Ligu- 
rians  in  Liguria,  the  Italians  in  the  greater  part  of  central  and  southern  Italy, 
the  Illyrians,  in  Venetia  and  Apulia,  and  the  Etruscans,  amongst  whom  the 
Kelts  intruded  themselves,  in  the  Plain  of  Lombardy.  All  of  these  adopted 
the  Latin  language  in  the  Roman  period,  but  to  this  day  traces  of  the 
primitive  physical  types  may  be  recognised  in  the  local  dialects  of  Italian. 
In  the  south,  especially  in  Sardinia  and  Calabria,  the  physical  type  is 
narrow-skulled  (dolichocephalic),  of  short  stature,  with  dark  complexion  and 
hair,  while  in  the  north  the  type  is  on  the  whole  broad-skulled  (brachy- 
cephalic),  tall,  fair,  and  light-haired.  Of  the  dialects  of  Italian,  Tuscan  is 
considered  the  purest  form  of  the  language.  In  the  valleys  of  the  western 
Alps  about  120,000  people  still  speak  French,  and  in  the  east  half  a  million 
Friaulians  preserve  their  Rhaeto-romanic  tongue.  A  few  German  settle- 
ments in  the  Alpine  valleys  and  some  Slavs  in  Friaul  and  Abruzzi  are 
almost  all  bilingual.  There  are  also  a  few  Albanians  in  Calabria  and  Sicily, 


Italy 


361 


some  Greeks  in  Apulia,  and  about  40,000  Jews,  mainly  in  northern  Italy 
and  in  Leghorn.  Reckoning  the  Friaulians  as  Italians,  there  is  a  foreign 
population  of  only  i  per  cent,  on  Italian  soil,  while  about  5  per  cent,  of  the 
Italian  people  live  abroad,  about  one  million  in  North  and  South  America, 
and  the  others  mainly  in  Switzerland,  Austria,  Corsica,  and  Malta. 

History  and  Government.— The  historical  subdivision  of  Italy 
stands  in  the  sharpest  contrast  to  the  physical  unity  and  isolation  of  the 
land.  The  Romans  united  Italy  first  politically  and  then  linguistically ; 
the  splitting  up  commenced  with  the  fall  of  the  Empire,  and  led  to  the 
establishment  of  foreign  rule  over  larger  or  smaller  areas  by  the  Germans, 
Spaniards,  French,  and  Austrians.  Yet  in  spite  of  this  the  linguistic  and 
intellectual  individuality  of  Italy  was  never  lost,  and  in  the  Middle  Ages 
Italian  influence  on  the  rest  of  the  world,  on 
account  of  the  power  of  the  Pope  in  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church,  was  hardly  less  than  in  Roman 
times.  In  maritime  trade  the  Republics  of  Amalfi 
and  Pisa,  and  still  more  those  of  Venice  and  Genoa, 
dominated  the  world  until  the  sixteenth  century, 
and  they  also  centralised  a  large  share  of  the  land- 
trade  of  Europe.  In  recent  times  Italy  was  united 
after  the  war  of  1860,  when  six  of  the  independent 


FIG.  i8j.—The  Italian 
Naval  Ensign. 


States  combined  to  form  the  kingdom  of  Italy  as  a  constitutional  monarchy. 
To  this  Lombardy  was  added,  and  Venetia  in  1866,  both  being  reconquered 
from  the  Austrians,  while  in  1870  the  last  remnant  of  the  Papal  States  was 
incorporated  and  Rome  became  the  capital.  The  kingdom  of  Sardinia 
was  the  nucleus  around  which  the  united  nation  crystallised.  The  new 
kingdom  was  subject  at  first  to  great  dangers  and  difficulties,  not  least 
those  due  to  the  fact  that  the  citizens  had  not  been  trained  to  freedom  and 
self-government,  while  a  heavy  national  debt  has  involved  excessive  taxa- 
tion under  which  the  country  still  suffers. 

Economic  Geography.  —  Italy  is  destined  by  nature  to  be  an 
agricultural  country.  The  climate  allows  of  all  the  crops  of  Europe  and 
many  of  those  of  the  tropics  being  grown,  while  in  Sicily,  by  artificial 
irrigation,  seed-time  and  harvest  may  occur  at  all  seasons  of  the  year.  In 
the  Campagna  the  irrigated  meadows  may  yield  as  many  as  ten  crops  in 
the  year,  and  in  Lombardy  from  four  to  six.  In  almost  all  parts  of  the 
country  two  or  three  harvests  can  be  reaped  in  one  year  from  the  same 
land.  Artificial  watering  is  very  important  in  the  north  where  the  object  is 
to  increase  the  yield  of  the  crops  and  to  allow  rice  to  be  grown  iti  the 
Plain  of  Lombardy,  and  in  the  south  to  allow  of  the  growth  of  oranges 
and  lemons.  The  irrigated  area  is  nearly  8,000  square  miles,  and  it  can 
still  be  greatly  increased.  The  yield  is  enhanced  two  or  three-fold  on  the 
average,  and  as  much  as  twenty-fold  in  Sicily,  on  account  of  the  growth  of 
oranges  and  lemons.  The  cultivation  of  southern  fruit  trees,  especially  of 
the  olive,  to  which  alone  3,500  square  miles  are  devoted,  gives  to  whole 


362       The   International   Geography 


countrysides  the  appearance  of  well-cultivated  gardens.    Terrace  cultiva- 
tion also  is  a  characteristic  of  Italian  agriculture.    Wheat  of  exceptional 
quality  is  raised  in  Sicily,  rice  and  maize  are  more  grown  in  the  north. 
Vineyards  occupy  about  8,000  square  miles,  and  Italy  is  second  only  to 
France  as  a  wine-producing  country.     Yet  agriculture  no  longer  stands  at 
its  former  high  level.    The  system  of  large  estates  and  the  prevalence  of 
malaria  renders  great  areas  of  the  most  fertile  land 
unproductive.     In  some  provinces  only  18  per  cent, 
of  the  land  is  under  cultivation,  and  the  average 
for  the  whole  country  is  37  per  cent.,  while  only 
n  per  cent,  can  be  considered  as  naturally  unpro- 
ductive.   Cattle-breeding  is  in  a  still  worse  position. 
Italy  is  poor  in  live  stock,  and  it  is  only  in  the 
FIG.  188.— The  Merchant    north,  especially  in  Lombardy,  that  cattle  are  profi- 
tably kept  for  butter  and   cheese.      There    also 

poultry  farming  and  artificial  fish-breeding  are  largely  carried  on.  In 
the  centre  and  south  the  flocks  and  herds  wander  as  the  season  changes 
from  the  mountains  to  the  coastal  plain  and  back  again. 

Trade  and  Communications. — In  Lombardy,  Liguria  and  Pied- 
mont, silk  spinning  and  weaving  give  employment  to  200,000  people,  and 
there  are  factories  for  woollen  and  cotton  weaving  and  for  the  preparation 
of  flax  and  hemp,  as  well  as  other  industries. 

The  trade  of  Italy  is  mainly  maritime  ;  but  the  opening  of  the  Alpine 
tunnels  has  developed  a  considerable  land  trade  as  well,  bringing  pros- 
perity to  Turin  and  Milan,  and  even  making  Genoa  to  some  extent  the  port 
of  south-western  Germany.  The  mercantile  fleet  of  Italy  has  recently  been 
declining  in  importance,  and  now  comes  fifth  amongst  the  nations  ;  but 
Genoa,  although  mainly  an  import  harbour,  attracts  much  shipping,  and  is  a 

serious  rival  to  Marseilles.     Most  trade  is  done  with    

France,  and  next  with  the  United  Kingdom,  Austria- 
Hungary  and  Germany.  The  exports  are  chiefly 
agricultural  products,  the  imports  grain  and  textiles. 
The  improvement  of  trade  has  been  fostered  since 
1860  by  the  construction  of  harbours,  railways,  and 
roads  on  a  scale  attempted  in  few  other  countries— 
too  much,  indeed,  for  the  finances  of  Italy  if  not  yet 
enough  for  its  necessities.  The  railway  system  FIG.  iSg.-Average  popu- 
amounts  to  about  7,500  miles,  and  there  are  also  1,200 
miles  of  steam- tram  ways.  For  a  land  in  which  agri- 


lation  of  a  square  mile 
of  Italy. 


culture  predominates,  Italy  is  very  densely  peopled,  even  although  many 
extensive  districts,  such  as  the  neighbourhood  of  Rome,  are  entirely  unin- 
habited, and  the  number  of  emigrants  is  steadily  increasing  on  account  of 
the  poverty  of  the  country. 

Towns  of  Northern  Italy. — For  administrative  purposes  Italy  is 
divided  into  69  provinces,  differing  greatly  in  area  and  population,  and  with 


Italy 


363 


boundaries  showing  little  relation  to  physical  features.  The  old  division 
into  sixteen  regions  is  better  for  geographical  purposes.  Five  of  these 
divisions — Piedmont,  Lombardy,  Venetia,  Emilia,  and  Liguria— belong  to 
northern  Italy.  They  are  the  most  important  from  an" economic  point  of 
view  and  contain  45  per  cent,  of  the  popu- 
lation. The  principal  towns  have,  as  a  rule, 
grown  up  on  the  edge  of  the  plain  along 
the  borders  of  the  Alps  and  Appennines 
(Fig.  184).  There  is  a  town  at  the  outlet  of 
every  mountain  valley  ;  the  larger  the  valley 
and  the  more  important  as  an  entrance  to 
the  mountains  or  a  passage  through  them, 
the  more  important  is  the  town,  and  the 
greater  the  part  it  has  played  historically. 
Only  those,  however,  on  which  the  Alpine 
and  Appennine  roads  converge  have  become 
really  great  cities ;  such  for  instance  is 
Bologna,  and,  in  a  still  higher  degree,  Turin 
and  Milan.  These  also  lie  on  the  most 
important  east-and-west  line  of  communi- 


FiG.  if)Q.—The  Site  of  \ 


cation,  and  are  centres  of  a  fertile  and  diligently  cultivated  neighbour- 
hood in  which  manufacturing  industries  are  well  developed.  Amongst 
the  historically  important  towns  of  the  plain  are  Pavia  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Ticino,  Piacenza  and  Cremona  at  points  where  the  Po  could  easily 
be  bridged,  Mantua,  a  fortress  in  the  midst  of  a  defensive  system  of  lakes  ; 
Padua,  an  ancient  seat  of  learning,  and  Ferrara,  which  dominated  the 

trade  on  the  waterways 
of  the  Po  delta  ;  but  their 
old  greatness  has  waned. 
Venice  (Venezia),  a  lagoon 
port  unassailable  alike  by 
land  or  sea,  which  suc- 
ceeded to  the  importance 
of  Ravenna  when  the 
sea  approaches  to  that 
town  were  silted  up, 
now  preserves  only  the 
shadow  of  the  splendour 
it  attained  in  the  Middle 
Ages.  Genoa  (Genova), 
FIG.  I9rv.— The  Environs  of  Rome.  on  the  other  hand,  on 

account  of  the  trade  through  the  Alpine  tunnels  and  because  it  is  the  true 
centre  of  the  whole  of  Liguria,  has  grown  in  importance  and  secures  still 
further  advances  by  continuous  improvements  of  the  harbour.    Spezia,  on 
the  border  of  Central  Italy,  is  a  purely  naval  port. 
25 


364       The  International  Geography 

Towns  of  Central  Italy. — This  division  includes  the  regions  of 
Tuscany,  the  Marches,  Umbria,  Rome,  Abruzzi,  and  Molise,  and  contains 
21  per  cent,  of  the  population.  The  coasts  are  unfavourable,  and  the  only 
seaport  requiring  mention  is  the  artificial  harbour  of  Leghorn  (Livorno)  taking 
the  place  of  Pisa  which  was  silted  up  long  ago.  The  centres  of  population 
are  dependent  on  the  north-and-south  lines  of  communication,  e.g.,  Siena, 
Perugia,  Florence  (Firenze),  and  even  Rome  itself,  each  of  which  is  connected 
with  the  passes  of  the  Appennines  and  is  also  the  chief  town  of  a  rich  agri- 
cultural neighbourhood.  Rome  (Roma),  founded  on  a  group  of  tufa  hills  at 
a  crossing-place  of  the  Tiber,  and  the  mouth  of  the  Anio,  indeed  in  some 
respects  commanding  the  mouth  of  the  Tiber  itself,  occupies  a  remarkably 
favourable  position  for  the  Tyrrhenian  coast  (Fig.  191).  At  the  same  time 
the  convenient  route  across  the  Appennines  to  Ancona  on  the  Adriatic  and 
thence  by  Rimini  to  northern  Italy  makes  it  almost  the  geometrical:  centre 


B  A  Y~    OF 
N A  PLUS 


FIG:  192. — The  Environs  of  Naples. 

of  the  peninsula.  On  this  account  it  has  become  the  capital  of  united  Italy, 
and  so  entered  upon  a  third  period  of  prosperity,  the  former  epochs  mark- 
ing the  climax  of  the  greatness  of  the  ancient  and  the  mediaeval  world.  No 
city  approaches  it  in  the  number  and  interest  of  its  historical  associations. 
The  ruins  of  the  ancient  Forum  and  Colosseum  are  grand  relics  of  ancient 
Rome,  while  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Peter's  is  the  most  famous  church  in 
the  world.  The  King  of  Italy  resides  in  the  Quirinal ;  the  Pope  lives  in 
seclusion  in  his  palace  of  the  Vatican. 

Towns  of  Southern  Italy. — The  regions  of  Campania,  Apulia,  the 
Basilicata,  Calabria,  Sicily,  and  Sardinia  form  Southern  Italy  with  34  per 
cent,  of  the  population  of  the  country.  All  the  important  towns  of  this 
division  are  situated  on  the  coast.  The  comparatively  easy  conditions  of 
life  in  the  fertile  Campania  have  caused  Naples  (Napoli)  to  grow  into  the 
largest  city  of  Italy.  Its  surroundings  are  of  rare  beauty,  and  the  climate 
is  typical  of  the  south  at  its  best,  while  the  neighbouring  town  of  Pozzuoli 


San  Marino 


365 


stands  in  the  midst  of  vast  ruins  of  the  Roman  period.  The  ancient 
Roman  watering-places  of  Herculaneum  and  Pompeii  at  the  base  of  Mt. 
Vesuvius,  destroyed  and  buried  by  the  great  eruption  of  A.D.  79,  have  been 
to  a  large  extent  excavated,  and  the  old  streets  and  houses  have  become 
once  more  a  centre  of  attraction  for  pleasure-seekers.  Arfialfi  and  Salerno 
have  shrunk  to  shadows  of  what  they  were,  but  the  fine  natural  harbours  of 
Brindisi  and  Tarento  have  given  a  new  lease  of  prosperity  to  these  towns, 
and  they  rank  next  to  Bari,  the  largest  of  the  coast  towns  of  Apulia. 

Palermo,  the  capital  of  Sicily,  stands  on  a  grandly  sheltered  bay  of  the 
north  coast,  facing  Italy,  in  the  middle  of  a  vast  forest  of  fruit  trees.  On 
the  eastern  side  turned  towards  Greece,  Syracuse,  once  the  chief  town  of 
the  Greek  world,  has  fallen  into  decay,  and  is  surpassed  in  importance  by 
Catania  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Etna  on  the  shore  of  the  Strait  of  Messina. 
For  centuries  during  the  Middle  Ages  and  even  in  antiquity,  Sicily  main- 
tained the  closest  relations  with  Africa,  and  Girgenti  on  the  south  coast  was 
then  a  flourishing  town. 

In  Sardinia  the  chief  towns,  Cagliari  on  the  south  and  Sassari  in  the 
north,  have  never  had  more  than  local  importance. 


STATISTICS. 


Area  of  Italy  in  square  miles  . .        . . 

Population          

Density  of  Population  per  square  mile 


1881. 

(Census.) 

110,684 

28,459,628 

257 


POPULATION  OF  LARGE  TOWNS. 


1901. 
(Census.) 

110,684 

32,449,754 

293 


Naples  (Napoli), 
Rome  (Roma) 
Milan  (Milano) 
Turin  (Torino) 
Palermo 
Genoa  (Geneva) 
Florence  (Firenze 
Venice  (Venezia) 
Bologna      .  . 

1881.               looi. 
463,000           564,000 
273,000           463,000 
296,000           491,000 
230,000           336,000 
206,000           310,000 
138,000           235,000 
135,000           205,000 
129,000           152,000 
104,000           152,000 

Catania 
Leghorn  (Li 
Ferrara 
Padua 
Lucca 
Alessandria 
Bari  .  . 
Verona 
Brescia 

vorno; 

1881.               1901. 
96,000           150,000 
79,000             98,500 
28,800             87,700 
47,300             82,300 
20,400             74.700 
30,700             71.300 
58,200             79,700 
60,700             74.200 
43,300             70,600 

ANNUAL  TRADE  (in  pounds  sterling). 

1881-85. 
59,400,000 
49,800,000 


1871-75- 

Imports 52,600,000 

Exports 48,200,000 


1890-94. 
52,000,000 
42,500,000 


STANDARD  BOOKS. 


H.  Nissen.    "  Italische  Landerkunde,"  Bd.  I.    Berlin,  1883.    Bd.  II.,  "  Die  Stadte."    Berlin,  1902. 
Th.  Fischer.     "Landerkunde  von  Europa  herausgegeben  von  A.  Kirchhoff,"  Bd.  II.  2.  Halfte  s. 
285-515.    Prag,  1893. 
i  Penisola  Italiana."    Turin,  ic 


G.  Marinelli. 
W.  Deecke. 


1902. 

"L'ltalia,  La  Terra,"  vol.  iv.     Milan,  1892. 
'  Italian. "     Berlin,  1899 — and  translation,  "  Italy."     London,  1904. 


II.— SAN  MARINO 

The  Republic  of  San  Marino.1 — The  city  of  San  Marino,  pictu- 
resquely massed  on  a  rocky  height  about  ten  miles  south-west  of  Rimini, 
is  the  centre  of  the  most  ancient  and  the  smallest  republic  in  the  world. 

1  By  the  Editor. 


366       The  International   Geography 

This  little  State,  with  an  area  of  only  23  square  miles  and  a  population  of 
8,000,  is  entirely  surrounded  by  Italian  territory,  but  remains  quite  inde- 
pendent of  Italian  jurisdiction.  The  supreme  authority  is  vested  in  a 
Senate  of  sixty  members  elected  for  life.  The  foreign  relations  of  San 
Marino  are  necessarily  with  Italy  alone,  and  a  treaty  of  friendship  with 
that  Power  is  the  only  international  agreement  necessary. 


Ill,— MALTA 

BY  LIEUT.-COL.  SIR  R.  LAMBERT  PLAYFAIR. 

Position  and  Resources. — The  Maltese  group  consists  of  two 
principal  islands,  Malta  and  Gozo,  separated  from  each  other  by  a  channel 
three  miles  broad,  in  which  are  the  islets  of  Comino  and  Cominetto,  while 
off  the  south-west  coast  is  the  small  rock  called  Filfila.  Malta  is  situated 
in  lat.  36°  N.,  and  long.  14^°  E.  on  the  bank  which  connects  Sicily  with 
the  African  continent,  and  which  here  divides  the  Mediterranean  into  an 

eastern  and  a  western  basin.  Its 
distance  from  Sicily  is  sixty  miles, 
and  from  Cape  Bon  in  Africa  about 
two  hundred.  These  islands  are 
the  insignificant  remnants  of  land 
now  submerged,  which  must  at  one 
time  have  been  covered  with  an 
extensive  flora,  the  home  of  gigantic 
mammals  and  reptiles,  the  remains 
of  which  have  been  preserved  in 
the  fissures  and  caves  of  Malta. 

Although  they  are  mere  rocks 
cropping  out  of  the  ocean  (Malta 
only  contains  95  square  miles), 
they  are  happily  covered  with  a 
thin,  rich  mould,  which  enables  a 

larger  number  of  people  to  live  on  them  than  on  any  other  equal  number 
of  square  miles  on  the  surface  of  the  globe.  The  great  enemy  to  vegeta- 
tion is  the  violence  of  the  wind,  which  necessitates  the  gardens  being  made 
small  and  surrounded  with  high  walls,  so  that  from  a  distance  the  place 
looks  like  huge  stone  quarries.  Yet  enormous  crops  are  raised,  and  fruit  of 
all  kinds  and  of  excellent  quality  is  grown  in  abundance.  The  flora  greatly 
resembles  that  of  Sicily.  The  flowers  have  long  been  celebrated,  and  in 
springtime  give  an  appearance  of  great  beauty  to  some  of  the  valleys  ; 
others,  however,  are  bare  and  rocky,  and  yield  little  beyond  a  few  carob- 
trees  and  prickly  pears.  The  indigenous  mammalia  belong  to  well-known 
European  species  ;  migratory  birds  visit  the  island  on  their  passage  across 
the  Mediterranean,  but  only  seven  species  remain  there  throughout  the  year. 


FIG.  193.— Valetta  and  the  Harbour. 


Malta  367 


Amongst  the  reptiles  are  several  snakes,  but  all  harmless ;  St.  Paul  is  said 
to  have  banished  the  venomous  ones,  as  St.  Patrick  did  in  Ireland. 

History. — Malta,  from  its  commanding  position,  midway  between 
Gibraltar  and  Egypt,  and  its  magnificent  harbour,  has  always  been  a 
position  of  the  greatest  importance,  and  at  present  is  one  of  the  strongest 
fortified  positions  of  the  British  Empire.  The  most  interesting  part  of  its 
history  is  comprised  in  the  268  years  during  which  it  was  subject  to  the 
Knights  of  St.  John,  or  Hospitallers,  as  they  were  called.  After  their 
expulsion  from  Rhodes,  Malta  and  its  dependencies  were  made 'over  in 
perpetual  sovereignty  to  the  Order  by  Charles  V.,  and  the  knights  arrived 
here  in  1530,  under  their  Grand  Master,  L'Isle  Adam.  The  Turks  made 
repeated  vain  attempts  to  expel  them  ;  their  greatest  and  final  effort  being 
in  1565,  when  the  siege  lasted  about  four  months.  The  final  disaster  which 
befell  the  Order  was  in  1798,  when  the  island  was  taken  by  the  French 
under  General  Bonaparte,  but  they  soon  made  themselves  so  unpopular 
by  their  unsparing  policy  of  plundering  the  churches  and  charitable  insti- 
tutions, that  an  insurrection  broke  out.  A  British  squadron  was  sent  by 
Nelson  to  blockade  the  harbour,  and  the  French  surrendered  from  famine 
on  September  5,  1800.  In  1814  the  island  was  finally  transferred  to  the 
United  Kingdom  by  the  treaty  of  Paris. 

Government,  People  and  Towns.— The  government  now  con- 
sists of  the  Governor-General,  who  is  also  commander- 
in-chief  of  the  forces,  and  an  Executive  Council  con- 
sisting of  six  official  and  fourteen  elected  members — 
all  natives  of  the  island.  The  language  of  Malta  is  a 
corrupt  form  of  Arabic,  mixed  with  ancient  Phoenician 
and  modern  Italian  words.  Valetta,  the  capital  on 
the  grand  harbour  of  Malta,  is  full  of  splendid  build- 
ings;  the  great  object  of  admiration  is  the  Church  FlG-  J94-  —  Colonial 
of  St.  John,  remarkable  for  its  historical  associations 
and  the  richness  of  its  decoration  ;  there  are  many  magnificent  auberges 
or  palaces  of  the  Knights,  and  the  whole  island  is  full  of  fine  build- 
ings and  objects  of  archaeological  interest,  probably  of  Phoenician 
origin.  St.  Paul's  Bay,  the  traditional  scene  of  the  apostle's  shipwreck, 
is  the  site  of  ruins  supposed  to  have  been  occupied  in  his  time. 

STATISTICS. 

IQOO 

Area  of  Malta  and  adjacent  islands  in  square  miles ...        ..  II7 

Population                    „             „             183,679 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile \  eno 

Population  of  Valetta          6s'ooo(?) 


CHAPTER  XXI.— THE  IBERIAN   PENINSULA 
I,— SPAIN 

BY  DR.  THEOBALD  FISCHER/ 

Professor  of  Geography  in  the  University  of  Marburg. 

The  Iberian  Peninsula. — The  Iberian  Peninsula,  the  south-western 
promontory  of  Europe,  is  a  world  in  itself,  and  a  world  of  contradictions. 
Although  the  sea  surrounds  seven-eighths  of  its  periphery,  it  has  all 
the  features  of  a  continental  mass  with  restricted  access  to  the  ocean  ; 
forming  a  huge  square,  or  rather  pentagon,  with  an  average  elevation  of 
2,200  feet,  and  terminating  on  its  seaward  faces  in  a  high,  straight  and 
little  indented  shore.  Although  situated  between  the  Atlantic  and  the 
Mediterranean,  and  between  central  Europe  (France)  and  Africa,  its  ranges 
of  east-and-west  mountains  serve  rathei  to  separate  than  to  unite  the 
continents.  There  are  almost  no  well-marked  inlets  on  the  coast,  and  few 
navigable  rivers,  or  off-lying  islands  ;^  the  inland  routes  are  made  difficult 
by  the  many  mountain  passes.  The  Iberian  Peninsula  thus  provides  no 
traffic  route  between  the  ocean  and  the  Mediterranean  nor  between  the 
Mediterranean  lands  and  north-western  Europe.  In  the  course  of  a  long 
history  the  relations  have  been  closer  with  the  southern  neighbour 
Marocco  than  with  the  northern  neighbour  France,  so  that  there  is  some 
truth  in  the  French  proverb — "  Africa  begins  at  the  Pyrenees."  This  posi- 
tion, together  with  certain  peculiarities  developed  in  the  people  by  their  five- 
century-long  struggle  with  Islam,  have  thrown  obstacles  in  the  way  of  real 
development.  Only  one  of  the  many  clearly  characterised  natural  regions 
of  the  peninsula,  Portugal,  has  acquired  importance  as  a  maritime  Power  : 
and  this  also  alone  amongst  the  ancient  kingdoms  has  remained  an 
independent  State.  Its  territory  was  marked  out  for  the  seat  of  separate 
national  life  by  the  gorges  of  the  Minho  in  the  north,  the  Guadiana  in 
the  south-east,  and  the  deep  canyons  of  the  Douro  and  Tagus  cutting  it 
off  from  the  rest  of  the  plateau  and  forming  splendid  harbours  in  their 
estuaries. 

Configuration  of  the  Meseta. — The  broad  geographical  features  of 
the  peninsula  are  explained  by  its  geological  structure.  Three-quarters  of 
the  peninsula  is  composed  of  an  ancient  and  much  altered  block  of  the 
Earth's  crust  which  may  be  termed  the  Iberian  Meseta  ;  on  its  margins  two 
younger  land  masses  were  upheaved  by  tangential  thrust  into  lofty  border- 

1  Translated  from  the  German  by  the  Editor. 
368 


Spain 


369 


ing  ranges,  the  Pyrenean-Cantabrian  on  the  north  and  the  Andalusian  on 
the  south.  The  Meseta  is  made  up,  for  the  greater  part,  of  a  wide  tableland 
of  flat-lying  strata,  its  mountainous  edges  on  the  west  and  east  turned 
towards  the  ocean  and  the  Mediterranean  contrasting  sharply  with  the 
central  plateau.  The  Iberian  Meseta  is  mainly  composed  of  Archaean  and 
Palaeozoic  rocks,  especially  those  of  Cambrian,  Silurian  and  Devonian 
formation ;  their  fractured  edges  looking  down  on  the  plain  of  Andalusia  in 
the  south  and  on  that  of  Aragon  in  the  north.  Towards  the  close  of  the 
Palaeozoic  period  these  strata  had  been  upheaved  into  a  vast  mountain  chain 
broken  through  by  masses  of  granite,  which  was  later  reduced  by  marine 
action  and  long-continued  atmospheric  erosion  to  a  uniform  surface,  a 
peneplain,  in  the  south-west.  This  was  in  large  part  covered  over  with 
Mesozoic  continental  strata,  particularly  Cretaceous  and  Tertiary ;  and  in 
part  by  lacustrine  deposits.  The  general  uniformity  of  the  surface  of  the 
wide  high  plains  contrasts 
with  the  more  varied 
character  of  the  borders 
of  the  Meseta.  As  a 
whole,  the  Iberian  table- 
land slopes  gently  west- 
ward to  the  ocean.  Its 
highest  part  is  the  Iberian 
Border  Range  which 
separates  the  plateau  of 
Castile  from  the  Ebro 
basin  and  both  from  the 
narrow  coastal  plain  of 
Valencia,  a  district  which 
over  an  area  of  about 
15,000  square  miles  attains 
an  average  elevation  of  from  3,500  to  5,000  feet.  A  greater  variety 
of  scenery  is  only  found  in  the  Main  Dividing  Range  which  has  been 
formed  by  successive  fractures  and  vertical  movements,  giving  rise 
to  a  series  of  crust-block  mountains  which,  starting  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Tagus,  follow  each  other  en  echelon  from  the  south-west  towards 
the  north-east.  These  heights  separate  the  basin  of  the  Douro  from 
that  of  the  Tagus,  the  province  of  Old  Castile  from  that  of  New  Castile. 
Although  in  this  region  there  are  some  lofty  summits  such  as  the  Plaza 
Almanzor,  8,730  feet,  in  the  Sierra  de  Credos,  and  the  Pico  de  Penalara, 
7,890  feet,  in  the  Sierra  de  Guadarrama,  yet  these  summits  only  rise 
about  5,000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  plateau.  The  so-called  Sierra 
Morena  is  nothing  more  than  the  steep  southern  edge  of  the  Meseta  border- 
ing the  great  valley  of  the  Guadalquivir.  The  parallel  Sierra  de  Toledo, 
which  forms  part  of  the  watershed  between  the  Tagus  and  the  Guadiana  is 
a  denuded  highland  of  small  relative  elevation  composed  of  a  series  of 


TEAU  (Meseta) 


FIG.  195. — Physical  Structure  of  the  Iberian  Peninsula. 


370       The  International  Geography 

steep  saddles  of  Cambrian  and  Silurian  quartzite  closely  following  one 
another  in  a  north-west  and  west-north-west  direction,  similar  in  character 
to  the  German  Taunus.  While  the  more  recent  formations  of  the  plateau 
yield  no  minerals,  except  salt,  and  form  featureless  expanses  of  arable  or 
pasture  land,  the  older  strata,  especially  towards  the  margins  of  the  plateau, 
are  rich  in  all  mineral  wealth. 

Hydrography  of  the  Meseta. — The  drainage  of  the  Meseta  is 
effected  along  more  or  less  parallel  river  valleys  towards  the  west  :  the 
Minho,  Douro,  Tagus,  and  Guadiana,  and,  most  amply  supplied  of  all,  the 
Guadalquivir.  This  river,  however,  draws  the  greatest  part  of  its  supplies 
from  the  high  mountains  of  Andalusia,  but  the  fault  which  gave  rise  to  the 
Andalusian  plain  also  outlines  the  steep  edge  of  the  plateau.  The  name 
Guadalquivir  means  Great  River,  and  it  has  a  right  to  be  so  called  because 
it  is  the  only  river  of  the  peninsula  navigable  to  any  distance  from  the 
sea,  vessels  being  able  to  ascend  it  as  far  as  Seville.  The  other  river.s  are 
of  less  importance,  flowing  in  the  deep  rocky  valleys  which  their  streams 
have  cut  through  the  plateau,  poorly  supplied  with  water,  not  navigable, 
difficult  to  cross,  and  so  far  sunk  below  the  general  level  as  to  be  useless 
even  for  irrigation.  At  the  northern  end,  the  smaller  Ebro,  which  in  many 
respects  contrasts  with  the  Guadalquivir,  flows  through  a  similar  valley 
defined  by  the  boundary  fault  of  the  Meseta  forming  the  narrow  depression 
of  Aragon,  which  is  connected  with  the  Mediterranean  only  by  a  tortuous 
gorge.  Its  largest  tributaries,  the  Aragon  and  Segre,  bringing  in  a  great 
supply  of  water  from  the  slopes  of  the  Cantabrian  mountains  and  the 
Pyrenees  render  it  particularly  advantageous  for  irrigating  the  lowlands 
of  Aragon  ;  and  the  Imperial  Canal  which  has  been  constructed  parallel 
to  it  would  itself  be  a  most  important  waterway  if  the  situation  were  more 
favourable. 

Configuration  of  the  Fold-Mountains. — The  Andalusian  plain 
and  the  Ebro  basin  separate  the  Meseta  from  the  chains  of  fold-mountains 
in  the  north  and  south.  Nowhere  is  there  a  greater  contrast  in  scenery. 
The  Andalusian  system  of  crust-folds  consists  of  a  low  outer  zone  of  folded 
Mesozoic  and  Tertiary  strata,  and  a  lofty  inner  girdle  in  which  the  Archaean 
and  Palaeozoic  rocks  are  thrust  up  so  steeply  above  the  Mediterranean 
depression  that  Mulahacen,  the  loftiest  summit  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  and 
of  all  Europe  outside  the  Alps,  rises  to  a  height  of  11,420  feet  at  a  distance 
of  only  22  miles  from  the  coast.  This  system  of  folds  begins  at  the 
transverse  dislocation  which  separates  it  from  the  Atlas  mountains  and  in 
Pleistocene  times  gave  rise  to  the  Strait  of  Gibraltar.  It  extends  west  by 
north,  and  is  crossed  by  a  series  of  transverse  valleys  at  Malaga,  Motril 
and  Guadiz,  the  tectonic  character  of  which  is  indicated  by  the  frequency 
of  earthquake  shocks  and  by  the  deep  bays,  now  almost  silted  up,  at  the 
mouths  of  the  rivers.  It  ends  at  the  Cabo  de  la  Nao ;  but  the  line  of 
the  Balearic  Islands,  Ibiza,  Mallorca  and  Menorca  (or  Ivizo,  Majorca 
and  Minorca),  and  some  smaller  ones,  continues  in  the  same  direction 


Spain 


371 


and  their  structure  shows  that  they  are  the  continuation  of  the  folded 
chain. 

The  lofty  boundary  wall  of  the  Pyrenees  in  the  north  is  also  a  fine 
example  of  a  young  folded  mountain  system  built  up  of  parallel  belts  and 
chains,  their  direction  being  usually  west-north-west.  On  the  east  they  are 
broken  off  at  Cape  Creux,  while  on  the  west  they  are  separated  from  the 
Cantabrian  mountains  by  no  definite  geological  dividing  line.  The 
Cretaceous  and  Eocene  belts  of  the  western  Pyrenees  continue  on  the 
Spanish  side  as  the  southern  belt  of  the  Cantabrian  mountains  with  the 
same  character  as  far  as  Asturias.  But  there  is  a  depression  in  the  Creta- 
ceous mountains  in  the  Basque  Province  south  of  San  Sebastian,  possibly 
connected  with  the  formation  of  the  Ebro  basin,  which  gives  passage  to 
the  most  important  roads  from  France.  In  Asturias,  the  ancient  formations 
of  the  Meseta,  including  some  coal-bearing  strata  of  the  Carboniferous, 
have  been  much  folded  and  contorted.  Rocks  of  the  newer  Palaeozoic 
series,  together  with  the  Eocene  and  Miocene  folds  of  the  Pyrenees,  unite 
in  the  structure  of  the  Cantabrian  mountains,  which  attain  their  greatest 
height  in  the  Picos  de  Europa  (Torre  de  Cerredo,  8,670  feet),  scarcely  19 
miles  from  the  sea.  The  wildness  of  the  scenery  on  this  mountain  border, 
trenched  with  the  deep  furrows  of  eroded  valleys,  may  be  judged  from 
the  fact  that  it  was  only  with  difficulty  that  a  piece  of  level  ground  could 
be  found  in  Asturias  long  enough  to  serve  as  a  base-line,  under  a  mile  in 
length,  for  a  trigonometrical  survey.  The  loftiest  summits  of  the  Pyrenees, 
formed  of  the  central  core  of  crystalline  rock,  occur  in  the  Montes  Malditos 
in  Aneto,  which  are  11,168  feet  high;  but  the  peaks  of  the  Tres  Sorores 
(Mont  Perdu),  of  Cretaceous  formation,  reach  10,997  ^ee^  Jus^  as  the 
narrow  and  easily  defended  passes  of  the  Andalusian  fold-mountains 
enabled  the  Moors  of  Granada  to  hold  their  own  for  centuries  against 
the  Christians,  so  the  small  enclosed  mountain  valleys  of  Sobrarbe  in  the 
Pyrenees,  and  of  Liebana  and  Valdeon  in  the  Picos  de  Europa,  formed  the 
last  refuges  of  Christians  during  the  Mohammedan  supremacy,  and  the 
centres  from  which  they  reconquered  the  land.  The  Meseta  is  entirely 
wanting  in  such  natural  strongholds. 

Climate  and  Vegetation. — In  spite  of  the  length  of  its  coast-line 
the  Iberian  Peninsula  has  a  climate  which  may  almost  be  termed  conti- 
nental, being  characterised  by  large  range  of  temperature  between  summer 
and  winter,  great  and  rapid  variations  of  temperature,  and  remarkable  dry- 
ness,  resulting  from  the  arrangement  of  border  mountains  and  plateau.  In 
the  north  and  north-west,  from  the  border  of  Portugal  to  the  boundary  river 
Bidassoa,  there  is  an  oceanic  climate  with  mild  winters,  cool  summers,  and 
rain  at  every  season.  The  vegetation  is  that  of  central  Europe,  and  in 
some  places  cider  is  even  the  national  drink.  But  in  the  interior  the  air  is 
everywhere  dry ;  and  in  the  south-east  the  province  of  Murcia  is  so  hot 
and  arid  that  it  is  the  only  part  of  Europe  in  which  the  date  palm  ripens 
in  true  oases,  for  example  at  Elche.  Artificial  irrigation  is  absolutely 


372      The  International  Geography 


necessary  for  agriculture  in  that  region  and  all  along  the  whole  Mediter- 
ranean border,  except  for  the  irrigated  huertas,  the  vegetation  has  a 
steppe-like  character,  the  predominant  cultivation  being  esparto  grass  for 
paper-making.  The  coast-strip  of  the  Mediterranean  between  Gibraltar 
and  Almeria,  sheltered  by  the  lofty  Andalusian  chain,  possesses  the 
warmest  winter  climate  of  Europe.  In  the  small  well-watered  coastal 
plains  of  Malaga  and  Motril  sugar-cane  is  cultivated  on  a  large  scale,  and 
the  banana,  the  Peruvian  cherimaja,  and  other  tropical  plants,  grow 
luxuriantly.  The  mean  temperature  of  January  there  is  55°  F.,  and  frost 
and  snow  are  extremely  rare ;  but  at  Madrid,  in  the  centre  of  the 
peninsula,  skating  can  often  be  indulged  in,  although  in  summer  the 
temperature  may  go  up  to  over  107°  F.  in  the  shade.  The  climate  of 
Madrid  is  the  most  extreme  in  western  Europe. 

Rainfall  is  most  abundant  around  the  border  region  in  winter  :  in 
the  interior,  spring  is  usually  the  season 
of  maximum  rain,  but  in  some  parts  the 
rainiest  season  is  autumn.  As  a  rule  the 
quantity  of  total  precipitation  diminishes 
from  the  north-west  towards  the  south- 
east, but  in  La  Mancha,  and  other  parts 
of  the  plateau  it  is  so  small  that  the 
soil  remains  charged  with  soluble  salts 
and  in  consequence  only  bears  steppe- 
like  vegetation.  Yet  tremendous  and  sud- 
den bursts  of  rain  are  apt  to  occur  in 
FIG.  196.— Mean  Monthly  Tempera-  all  parts  of  the  peninsula,  giving  rise  to 
^"gteWaUofCoimbraavd  serious  floods  With  such  climatic  con- 

ditions   it  is  natural  that   both   plant  and 

animal  life  should  exhibit  great  contrasts  in  their  nature  and  in  their 
distributions.  Barely  half  of  the  country  has  a  predominant  Mediter- 
ranean flora,  characterised  by  evergreen  shrubs.  The  cold  of  winter  and 
the  excessive  dryness  of  summer  make  such  vegetation  impossible  in  the 
greater  part  of  the  highlands  of  New  Castile.  The  south-western  half 
of  the  peninsula,  especially  Estremadura,  is  rich  in  thickets  of  aromatic 
evergreen  shrubs.  The  mountains  of  the  northern  border,  and  also  those 
of  the  Main  Dividing  Range,  bear  forests  of  a  central  European  type. 

People  and  History. — The  Iberians  appear  to  have  been  the  oldest 
inhabitants  of  the  peninsula,  and  to  form  the  basis  of  the  present  Spanish, 
or  rather  Castilian,  race.  Their  language  still  survives,  if  the  dwindling 
remnant  of  the  Basques,  less  than  half  a  million  of  whom  live  in  the 
mountains  of  the  extreme  north-east,  may  be  looked  upon  as  their  descen- 
dants. Keltic  invaders  early  obtained  a  footing  in  the  north-west.  The 
Romans  civilised  almost  the  whole  peninsula,  by  the  establishment  of  strong 
military  colonies.  The  immigration  of  Suevi,  Alemanni,  and  West  Goths 
did  not  suffice  to  change  the  established  Roman  language  and  affected  the 


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Spain 


373 


physical  type  of  the  Spaniards  only  in  a  few  places,  for  example  in  the 
Sierra  de  Bejar,  one  of  the  most  isolated  districts  of  the  Main  Dividing 
Range.  The  incursion  of  the  Arabs  and  Berbers  (Moors)  had  a  much 
deeper  influence  on  the  country,  affecting  not  only  the  physical  type  of  the 
people,  but  their  customs  and  the  geographical  names,  as  is  well  seen  in 
Valencia,  Murcia,  and  Andalusia,  where  numerous  traces  of  the  Moham- 
medan invasion  remain.  The  Castilian  language  itself  has  incorporated 
many  Arabic  words.  A  large  fraction  of  the  African  immigrants  remained 
in  the  country  and  were  absorbed ;  the  Jews  alone  were  completely  and 
permanently  driven  out.  The  kingdoms  of  Castile  and  Aragon,  which  existed 
separately  for  700  years,  and  others,  were  created  through  the  existence  of 
sharply  defined  natural  regions  ;  and  it  was  only  in  the  fifteenth  century  that 
these  became  united,  so  that  only  two  States  now  occupy  the  peninsula. 
This  history  explains  the  contrasts  in  physical  type,  customs,  and  organisa- 
tion between  the  people  of  the  separate  districts,  especially  between  the 
Andalusians,  Castilians,  Aragonese,  and  Catalonians.  The  few  traits  which 
the  whole  Spanish  people  have  in  common,  their  military  spirit  and 
religious  fervour  and  intolerance,  may  be  traced  to  the  eight  centuries  of 
struggle  against  Islam.  For  a  century  the  possession  of  the  rich  colonies  of 
America  made  Spain  the  mistress  of  the  world,  but  the  small  esteem  in  which 
civil  occupations  were  held  has  led  to  the  loss  of  all  the  valuable  colonies,  and 
the  impoverishment  and  depopulation  of  the  mother  country  ;  the  unabated 
but  hollow  Spanish  pride  is  now  a  serious  drag  to  all  progress.  Besides 
the  predominant  Castilian  dialect,  Catalonian,  which  is  nearer  to  the  French 
Provencal,  is  spoken,  written  and  even  used  in  education  throughout 
Catalonia  and  the  adjacent  provinces  of  Valencia  and  Aragon.  The 
Gallegos,  near  the  frontier  of  Portugal,  not  only  resemble  the  Portuguese 
type  in  appearance,  but  speak  several  old-fashioned  dialects  which  approach 
closely  to  Portuguese.  The  diversity  of  the  provinces  plays  an  important 
part  in  the  modern  history  of  Spain,  and  there  is  room  to  doubt  whether 
Spain  can  continue  to  exist  as  a  single  country. 

Agriculture. — At  least  half,  perhaps  three-quarters,  of  the  people 
depend  directly  on  the  fruits  of  the  soil,  which  also  supply  two-thirds  of 
the  exports.  In  the  Mediterranean  belt  of  huertas,  the  rock  has  to  be 
blasted  and  then  powdered  with  hammers  to  form  soil,  the  slopes  of  all  the 
hill-sides  are  terraced,  and  every  available  fertilising  agent,  even  the 
sweepings  of  the  streets,  is  utilised,  while  artificial  irrigation  of  a  highly 
elaborate  kind  is  resorted  to  in  order  to  produce  the  utmost  possible  yield. 
On  the  other  hand  vast  stretches  of  fertile  land  on  the  plateau  remain  entirely 
untilled,  or  else  are  cultivated  in  a  destructive  fashion,  without  the  use  of 
manure  or  irrigation.  The  apathy  of  the  people  makes  all  progress 
impossible  ;  the  multiplication  of  large  estates,  the  depopulation  of  the 
country  districts,  absence  of  roads  and  want  of  capital  are  other  causes 
which  have  contributed  to  this  result.  Almost  everywhere,  even  in  the 
midst  of  the  most  flourishing  huertas,  the  tillers  of  the  soil  live  in  the 


374       The  International  Geography 


deepest  poverty,  a  fact  which  explains  the  frequency  of  socialistic  and 
communistic  outbreaks.  About  40  per  cent,  of  the  country  is  under  culti- 
vation, and  9  per  cent,  is  artificially  irrigated  ;  but  nearly  15  per  cent, 
consists  of  fertile  soil  lying  waste.  In  Murcia  the  productiveness  of  the 
ground  is  increased  thirty-seven  times  by  artificial  watering.  The  huertas 
are  mainly  devoted  to  fruit  trees  such  as  the  orange,  date-palm,  and  pome- 
granate ;  but  here  and  there  rice,  ground-nuts,  cotton,  sugar-cane,  maize, 
tomatoes,  onions  and  vegetables  of  every  kind  are  grown.  Wheat  yields  a 
hundred  fold,  and  lucerne  may  be  cut  ten  or  twelve  times  in  the  year. 
The  olive  and  vine  are  largely  cultivated  on  unwatered  land,  mainly  on  the 
low  grounds.  On  the  highlands  of  course  the  nature  of  the  cultivation  is 
more  uniform  ;  trees  lose  their  importance,  and  in  many  places  disappear, 
the  tableland  being  characteristically  treeless  ;  even  the  mountains  have 
been  despoiled  of  their  timber  and  rise  in  bald,  rocky,  and  barren  slopes. 
Wheat  is  an  important  crop  everywhere,  the  province  of  Valladolid  is 
called  the  granary  of  Castile ;  yet  grain  has  sometimes  to  be  imported  to 
make  up  the  supply  for  home  consumption.  The  moist  northern  border 
bears  groves  of  the  fruit  trees  common  in  central  Europe  ;  maize  and  millet 
are  cultivated,  and  there  are  green  meadows  on 
which  cattle  are  reared  for  export  to  England. 
The  great  stretches  of  dry  pasture  on  the  tableland, 
on  the  contrary,  are  only  useful  for  sheep  farming, 
an  occupation  which  was  formerly  much  more 
prosperous  than  now.  The  flocks  are  driven  down 
in  winter  to  the  warm  and  low-lying  districts  of 
the  south,  returning  to  the  highlands  in  spring. 
The  forests  of  evergreen  oaks  in  Estremadura  make 


FIG.  197. — Spanish  Naval 
Ensign. 


swine-keeping  profitable,  while  Andalusia  is  famous  for  the  breeding  of 
horses  and  of  bulls  for  the  public  bull-fights,  a  cruel  sport  confined  to 
Spain  and  Spanish-speaking  countries. 

Mining. — Spain  has  been  the  classic  land  of  mining  industry  since  the 
time  of  the  Phoenicians.  The  variety  of  -the  mineral  wealth  in  the  mar- 
ginal mountains  is  astonishing.  They  yield  large  quantities  of  lead  and 
silver,  particularly  in  the  south-east  from  Adra  to  Cartagena ;  almost  one- 
quarter  of  all  the  copper  produced  in 'the  world  is  mined  near  Huelva  on 
the  Rio  Tinto ;  the  mercury  mines  of  Almaden  have  been  famous  foi 
centuries,  and  the  splendid  iron  ore  of  the  north  coast  supports  an  immense 
trade.  Near  Oviedo  and  elsewhere  coal  is  mined.  At  present  the  mines 
are  worked  mainly  by  foreign  capital,  and  in  some  years  the  output  is 
worth  as  much  as  $30,000,000.  During  the  nineteenth  century  a  certain 
amount  of  industrial  activity  has  been  developed,  chiefly  in  Catalonia  and  the 
Basque  Province,  where  it  is  favoured  by  the  proximity  of  mineral  wealth, 
the  abundant  supply  of  water-power,  and  cheap  sea  transport.  The  chief 
industry  is  the  manufacture  of  iron  and  machinery ;  cork-cutting  and  tobacco 
manufacture  are  characteristic,  and  cotton  spinning  is  important  in  Catalonia. 


Spain 


375 


FlG.  198. — The  Met  chant 
Flag  of  Spain. 


Trade.  —  In  spite  of  its  fine  position  for  trade  with  all  parts  of  the  world 
Spain  now  takes  but  a  small  share  in  international  commerce.  The  internal 
trade  which  is  stimulated  by  the  different  character  of  the  various  natural 
regions  is  rendered  difficult  by  the  configuration  ;  roads  and  railways  have 
to  be  carried  across  the  marginal  mountains  by  very  costly  engineering 
works,  the  general  traffic  centre  of  the  country  being  Madrid  in  the  centre 
of  the  tableland.  From  historical  causes  such 
foreign  commerce  as  Spain  retains  is  mainly  with 
its  former  colonies,  especially  Cuba  and  the  Philip- 
pines, but  the  shipping  in  Spanish  ports  is  almost 
all  under  the  British  or  French  flags,  the  Spanish 
mercantile  marine  being  very  small.  Commercially 
Spain  depends  most  largely  on  France  ;  the  rail- 
ways, for  instance,  were  built  by  French  com- 
panies, and  one-third  of  the  foreign  trade  is  done 
with  that  country,  more  however  by  sea  than  by  land.  One  quarter  of  the 
trade  is  with  the  United  Kingdom.  The  value  of  the  exports  of  home 
produce,  mainly  wine  and  minerals,  exceeds  that  of  the  imports,  which 
consist  chiefly  of  cotton,  coal,  wood,  sugar  and  fish.  There  are  fisheries  of 
some  value  on  the  coasts  of  Galicia  and  Andalusia  ;  but  the  frequent  fasts 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  to  which  practically  the  whole  population 
belongs,  make  a  constant  demand  for  salted  and  dried  fish  from  abroad. 

Natural  Divisions  and  Towns.—  Judged  by  the  number  of  inhabi^ 
tants,  the  small  density  and  slow  increase  of  population,  Spain  is  to  be 
classed  with  countries  of  the  second  rank  ;  it  could  support  three  times 
as  many  inhabitants  as  it  contains.  The  distribution  of  the  people  accen- 
tuates the  contrasts  between  the  natural  regions.  There  is  a  comparatively 
dense  population  on  the  slopes  of  the  bordering  mountains,  while  on  the 
plateau  vast  stretches  of  country,  like  the  despoblados 
which  occupy  2,000  square  miles  south-west  of  Toledo, 
are  practically  uninhabited  :  and  in  those  regions 
even  the  population  of  the  provincial  capitals  is 
diminishing.  Except  Madrid,  all  the  large  towns  lie 
on  the  margin  of  the  tableland,  which  is  the  only  part 
of  Spain  where  progress  is  being  made,  and  contains 
66  per  cent,  of  the  population  of  the  country  on  45  per 

cent'  of  the  area-  There  the  Pe°Ple  live  in  thicklv 
square  sown  villages,  and  in  the  Basque  province  and  Galicia 

in  Camlets  and  isolated  farms  ;  but  on  the  plateau,  in 
spite  of  the  complete  dependence  of  the  peasants  on  agriculture,  they  are 
grouped  entirely  in  towns  scattered  15  or  20  miles  apart,  the  groups  of  low 
houses  standing  on  the  bare  plain  with  no  sign  of  tree  or  shrub  about  them. 
Spain  is  poor  in  large  towns,  even  the  capitals  of  the  48  provinces,  arbi- 
trary political  divisions  without  geographical  meaning,  are  small  as  a  rule  ; 
those  of  the  historical  regions  —  the  former  kingdoms  —  are  larger.  All  the  im- 


lation    of  a 
mile  of  spam. 


FlG.  200. — The  Harbour  of 
San  Sebastian. 


37^      The   International  Geography 

portant  towns  of  the  marginal  belts  naturally  stand  on  the  sea  coast.  The 
fine  natural  harbours  of  Galicia  have  allowed  of  the  establishment  of  the 
naval  port  Ferrol  and  the  commercial  towns  Corunna,  Vigo,  and  Pentevedra  : 
but  the  ancient  capital,  Santiago  di  Compostela,  famous  of  old  as  a  place  of 
pilgrimage,  lies  in  the  interior.  Similarly  in  Asturias  Oviedo  is  an  interior 
town,  while  its  harbour  Gijon  grows  rapidly  on  account  of  the  development 
of  the  neighbouring  mines.  The  same  is  true  of 
Santander,  the  most  northerly  harbour  of  Castile, 
and  of  Bilbao  and  San  Sebastian,  the  chief  ports 
of  the  Basque  province,  all  of  which  have  a  large 
export  of  iron  ore  to  the  United  Kingdom. 
Pamplona  and  Vitoria  are  fortresses  commanding 
the  land  routes  between  Spain  and  France  on  the 
west.  In  Old  Castile  the  towns  of  the  border 
district  of  the  tableland  include  Leon  and 
Astorga  in  the  north,  Salamanca,  Avila,  Segovia, 
and  Burgos  in  the  south,  all  of  them  extra- 
ordinarily old  fashioned,  rich  in  historical  memorials,  but  showing  signs 
of  present  decay.  The  hydrographic,  and  almost  geometric,  centre  of 
the  Douro  basin  is  the  larger  town  of  Valladolid.  In  New  Castile  the 
peculiar  predominant  land-forms  have  also  given  the  marginal  towns  the 
highest  degree  of  development ;  but  the  central  position  of  this  region  in 
the  heart  of  the  whole  peninsula  has  introduced  other  conditions  which 
led  to  the  importance  of  Toledo  on  the  Tagus,  the  former  capital,  and  still 
more  to  that  of  Madrid,  the  modern  capital.  Madrid  has  grown  more  and 
more  important  as  a  focus  of  railways,  has  increased  rapidly  in  population, 
and  grown  to  be  the  head  and  heart  of  Spain  in  spite  of  its  situation  in  a 
region  of  little  charm,  with  an  un- 
pleasant climate.  It  has  no  his- 
torical associations,  its  people  have 
come  together  merely  because  all 
the  lines  of  communication  between 
the  marginal  towns  run  through 
the  capital,  and  it  has  become  the 
seat  of  great  educational  institutions 
and  financial  and  commercial  estab- 
lishments. The  only  town  of  Estre- 
madura  requiring  mention  is  Badajoz 
in  the  Guadiana  valley,  a  fortress  on 
the  Portuguese  frontier.  In  lower  Andalusia  there  are  three  notable  towns 
connected  with  the  Guadalquivir,  Cordoba,  now  a  mere  shadow  of  its  former 
greatness,  but  still  famous  for  its  splendid  cathedral  which  was  once  a 
mosque  ;  Seville  with  many  art  treasures,  and  important  on  account  of  manu- 
factures and  trade ;  and  Cadiz,  a  fortified  naval  harbour  which  may  be 
looked  upon  as  commanding  the  entrance  to  the  river.  In  upper  Andalusia 


FlG.  201. — Madrid. 


Spain 


377 


Granada  is  made  famous  for  ever  by  the  natural  beauty  of  the  neighbouring 
Vega  and  the  exquisite  architecture  of  the  Moorish  Alhambra.  Malaga  is 
the  export  harbour  for  the  wine  and  fruits  of  the  fertile  coast  border  of 
Andalusia.  More  to  the  east  Almeria  and  Alicante  are  small  seaports, 
but  at  the  same  time,  like  Murcia,  characteristic  huerta  towns,  they 
give  their  names  to  the  districts  of  which  they  are  the  centres.  The 
naval  port  Cartagena  owes  its  importance  primarily  to  its  splendid 
harbour,  but  recently  mining  has  added  to  its  prosperity.  Valencia, 
now  the  third  Spanish  city  in  size,  has  become  prominent  because 
it  is  the  centre  of  the  richest  part  of  the  coastal  plain.  Catalonia 
abounds  in  towns  and  in  industry  ;  chief  amongst  its  harbours  is  the 
ancient  town  of  Barcelona,  now  the  second  in  Spain  and  still  rapidly 
growing ;  it  has  long  since  cast  into  the  shade  the  anciently  renowned 
port  of  Tarragona.  The  natural  centre  of  Aragon  is  Zaragoza  on  the 
Ebro,  which  eclipses  all  the  other  towns  of  the  basin  of  that  river. 

The  Islands  and  Presidios. — In  the  Balearic  Islands  the  chief 
town  of  the  largest  island  is  Palma.  The  harbour  of  Mahon  on  Menorca 
dominates  the  whole  north-western  basin  of  the  Mediterranean.  The 
Spaniards  also  reckon  with  Spain  the  volcanic  group  of  the  Canary 
Islands  belonging  geographically  to  Africa.  The  Presidios,  or  Spanish 
possessions  on  the  coast  of  Marocco,  are  also  viewed  as  part  of  Spain. 
Melilla  and  Ceuta  are  the  most  important  of  these. 

The  colonial  possessions  of  Spain  were  once  enormous,  but  have 
gradually  diminished  as  the  old  colonies  became  independent  republics. 
The  last  valuable  possessions  in  America  were  lost  when  the  Philippine 
Islands,  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico  were  transferred  to  the  United  States  in  1899. 
There  remain  only  a  strip  of  the  Sahara  coast,  and  the  islands  of  Fernando 
Po,  Annobon,  Corisco,  and  Eloby  in  Africa,  none  of  any  importance. 

Andorra.1 — A  lofty  valley  on  the  southern  slope  of  the  Pyrenees,  sur- 
rounded by  high  mountains,  forms  a  separate  State,  "  the  Valleys  and 
Sovereignty  of  Andorra,"  which  has  maintained  its  independence  for  a 
thousand  years.  Its  area  is  only  150  square  miles,  and  the  population  does 
not  exceed  10,000 ;  the  people  are  more  akin  to  the  Spaniards  than  to  the 
French  and  speak  a  Catalan  dialect.  The  valley  of  Andorra  is  drained  by 
the  Valira,  a  tributary  of  the  Segre,  and  is  approached  from  the  Spanish 
city  of  Urgel  by  a  mule-path  along  the  steep  gorge  of  the  river.  It  may 
also  be  reached  from  the  French  town  of  Ax  on  the  northern  slope  by  a 
very  rough  track  crossing  the  crest  of  the  range.  The  altitude  of  the 
valley  is  about  3,000  feet,  and  its  only  resources,  apart  from  a  little  trade 
and  a  good  deal  of  smuggling  between  France  and  Spain,  consist  in  the 
tilling  of  the  infertile  soil  and  pasturage  on  the  steep  mountain-slopes. 
The  isolation  of  the  valley  of  Andorra  has  made  it  the  resting-place  of 
many  curious  ancient  laws  and  customs.  The  little  State  is  governed  by 

1  By  the  Editor. 


378       The  International  Geography 

a  Council  elected  by  the  heads  of  families  and  presided  over  by  a  Syndic 
who  is  appointed  for  one  year.  The  French  Republic  and  the  Spanish 
bishopric  of  Urgel,  however,  exercise  certain  rights  of  suzerainty,  and  each 
has  a  representative  in  Andorra  charged  with  all  matters  of  external  policy 
and  justice.  The  organisation  appears  to  be  rather  a  feudal  survival  with 
a  divided  allegiance  than  what  is  usually  understood  as  a  republic.  The 
people  of  Andorra  have  the  reputation  of  being  quiet  and  taciturn  ;  they 
are  much  attached  to  their  old  ways  and  ancient  priveleges,  and  live  with 
austere  simplicity.  The  capital,  Andorra  la  Vieja,  is  a  plain  stone-built 
little  town  of  2,800  inhabitants. 


STATISTICS. 

1877. 

Area  of  Spain  (including  Balearic  Is.),  square  miles. .         192,004 

Population  „  „  16,341,201 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile 85 

POPULATION  OF  CHIEF  TOWNS. 


1887. 
192,004 
17,246,688 
89 


1897. 
192,004 
, ..    18,089.500 


1877 

1887. 

1897. 

1877. 

1887. 

1897. 

Madrid   .. 

398,000 

472,228 

512,150 

Cartagem 

i 

75,9°o 

84,000 

86,245 

Barcelona 

277,000 

272,481 

509,589 

Cadiz 

65000 

62,500 

70,177 

Valencia.. 

144,000 

171,000 

204,769 

Jerez 

64,500 

61,700 

60,004 

Seville    .  . 

134-000 

143,000 

146,205 

Palma 

58,200 

60,500 

62,525 

Malaga  .. 
Murcia   .. 

116,000 
91,800 

134.000 
98,500 

125,579 
108,408 

Lorca 
Valladoli 

52,900 
52,200 

58,300 
62,000 

59,624 
68,746 

Zaragoza 

84,600 

92,400 

98,188 

Cordoba 

47,800 

55,6oo 

57,3i3 

Granada.  . 

76,000 

73,ooo 

75,054 

Bilbao 

35,2oo 

50,800 

74,°9S 

Imports 
Exports 


ANNUAL  TRADE  (in  pounds  sterling). . 

1866-70.  1881-85.  1890-94. 

18,128,000  31,244,400  35,088,000 

12,388,000  27,704,000  32,096,000 


II,— GIBRALTAR 

BY  SIR  R.  LAMBERT  PLAYFAIR. 

Gibraltar. — The  celebrated  fortress  of  Gibraltar  is  situated  on  a  rocky 
promontory  which  rises  to  the  height  of  1,396  feet.     The  town  is  on  the 

west  side,  the  east  and  south  sides 
are  very  rugged  and  almost  per- 
pendicular. The  northern  side, 
fronting  the  narrow  isthmus  or 
neutral  ground  connecting  it  with 
Spain,  is  precipitous  and  difficult 
of  access.  The  circumference  is 
six  miles,  the  length  three  miles, 
and  the  area  1,266  acres.  In 
ancient  times  this  was  Calpe,  the 

European  side  of  the  Pillars  of  Hercules,  the  African  one  being  Abyla. 
The  rock  now  bears  the  name  of  its  Arab  conqueror — Jebel  Tarik,  or 


Portugal  379 


hill  of  Tarik— who  landed  here  in  A.D.  711.  It  was  incorporated  with  the 
Spanish  Crown  in  1502,  and  it  was  taken  by  the  British  during  the  War  of 
Succession  in  1704.  Since  that  time,  notwithstanding  repeated  efforts  by 
Spain  and  France,  and  a  protracted  siege  which  lasted  four  years,  Great 
Britain  has  maintained  possession  of  it  at  a  lavish  ex- 
penditure. The  fortifications  have  been  constantly 
improved  and  extended,  and  it  may  now  be  considered 
as  impregnable  as  defensive  works  can  make  any  place. 
The  growing  importance  of  Gibraltar  as  a  naval  station 
and  as  a  coaling  port  has  led  the  Government  to  lay 
out  a  protected  harbour  with  an  area  of  about  450 
acres.  It  was  to  be  enclosed  by  solid  moles,  alongside 
of  which  the  largest  battleships  could  lie.  Three  large 
graving  docks  were  to  be  provided,  and  the  dockyard  establishment  fitted 
to  undertake  every  kind  of  repair.  The  northern  mole  was  to  be  reserved 
for  merchant  steamers,  with  facilities  for  coaling  from  the  very  large 
stocks  of  coal  kept  in  the  stores. 


Ill,— PORTUGAL 

BY  CAPTAIN  ERNESTO  DE  VASCONCELLOS, 

Portuguese  Royal  Navy. 

Position  and  Coasts. — The  kingdom  of  Portugal  occupies  the  most 
western  part  of  the  Iberian  peninsula,  washed  on  the  south  and  west  by 
the  Atlantic  Ocean.  The  country  lies  between  the  parallels  37°  and 
42°  N.  and  the  meridians  of  6°  and  9°  W.  Its  coast  line  measures 
nearly  465  miles,  and  is  formed  on  the  north  by  hills  of  moderate 
height  rising  inland  to  mountain  ranges.  It  continues  to  run  south- 
ward to  a  little  beyond  the  Douro,  where  it  begins  to  change  in  aspect, 
becoming  less  elevated,  and  is  bordered  by  sand-hills,  behind  which 
several  mountain  ranges  appear,  looking  from  the  sea  like  a  single 
chain,  of  which  the  Serras  da  Gralheira,  Caramulo,  and  Bussaco  are 
part,  the  latter  sending  out  spurs  south-westward  to  near  the  mouth 
of  the  Mondego  and  ending  in  the  cape  of  the  same  name.  To  fix  the 
sand-hills  and  prevent  the  cultivated  land  in  the  interior  from  being  in- 
vaded by  them,  the  royal  pine  forests  (Pinhal  Real)  were  planted  on  the 
coast  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Leiria,  and  protect  the  stretch  of  coast  from 
the  heights  of  S.  Martinho  to  Vieira  beach.  Owing  to  the  neighbouring 
Serras  do  Bouro,  Monte  Junto  and  Cintra,  the  coast  becomes  more  elevated 
south  of  Pedreneira,  where  it  bends  towards  the  south-west.  Here  the 
small  Peniche  peninsula  is  formed  by  steep  rocks,  off  which  lie  the 
Berlenga  Islands.  Cape  da  Roca,  the  seaward  end  of  the  Serra  de  Cintra, 
is  the  most  westerly  point  of  Portugal  and  of  continental  Europe.  Near 
it  the  coast  forms  an  ample  bay,  where  the  river  Tagus  has  its  outlet. 


380       The  International  Geography 

This  bay  is  bounded  on  the  south  by  Cape  Espichel,  the  extremity  of  -fee 
peninsula  between  the  Tagus  and  Sado.  Beyond  this  point  the  coast, 
formed  by  the  southern  slopes  of  the  Serra  da  Arrabida,  recedes  eastwards 
to  Setubal  bar,  where  it  resumes  its  southerly  trend  as  a  flat  and  sandy 
stretch,  till  the  proximity  of  the  Serra  de  Grandola  makes  it  mountainous 
once  more  as  far  as  Cape  Sao  Vicente  (Cape  St.  Vincent),  the  extreme 
south-westerly  point  of  Europe,  where  it  is  broken  by  some  inlets 
forming  natural  harbours.  Here  the  coast  turns  sharply  eastwards  to 
the  river  Guadiana,  which  separates  Portugal  from  Spain.  Near  Faro, 
the  most  important  town  of  Algarve,  the  coast  is  sandy.  At  some  distance 
from,  and  running  parallel  with,  the  beach,  long  sandbanks  rise  above  the 
water. 

Configuration. — The  general  configuration  of  Portugal  can  be  con- 
sidered as  due  to  three  orographic  systems — in  the  north,  the  Trans- 
montano,  or  Mountains  of  Traz-os-Montes  (Behind  the  Mountains),  including 
as  its  name  indicates  the  mountains  situated  north  of  the  river  Douro,  the 
highest  summit  of  which  is  Gerez  (4,816  feet) ;  in  the  centre,  the  Beirense, 
or  Mountains  of  Beira,  including  the  mountains  between  the  rivers  Tagus 
and  Douro,  the  highest  of  which  is  Estrella  (6,532  feet) ;  in  the  south,  the 
Transtagano,  or  Alemtejo,  which  includes  all  the  mountain  system  south 
of  the  Tagus,  of  which  S.  Mamede  (3,362  feet)  is  the  highest. 

The  country  north  of  the  Tagus  is  the  most  mountainous  and  elevated, 
whereas  south  of  the  Tagus  stretch  the  extensive  plains  of  Alemtejo, 
principally  near  Ourique  and  Beja,  and  those  of  Estremadura  between  the 
Sorraia  tributary  of  the  Tagus  and  the  river  Sado,  the  latter  being 
generally  known  by  the  name  of  Baixas  (Lowlands)  do  Sorraia,  near  to 
which  are  the  Lezirias,  parts  of  the  interior  delta  of  the  Tagus,  the  soil  of 
which  is  extremely  fertile.  Between  the  northern  mountains  there  are  the 
remarkable  plains  or  Veigas  of  Chaves  and  Valenga. 

Geology. — Almost  all  the  geological  formations  are  to  be  found  in 
Portugal  :  granite  in  the  north,  in  Minho,  in  a  part  of  Traz-os-Montes,  and 
in  the  centre  of  Beira  and  Alemtejo  ;  porphyry  in  a  part  of  Alemtejo ; 
basalt  in  the  surroundings  of  Lisbon  ;  gneiss  in  the  Douro  district ;  mica- 
schist  appears  irregularly  in  different  parts ;  the  Palaeozoic  formations  occupy 
part  of  the  north,  the  centre,  and  nearly  all  the  southern  region ;  Mesozoic 
rocks  occur  between  Aveiro  and  Lisbon,  and  Cainozoic  in  the  centre  ; 
Jurassic  rocks  being  abundant  in  Estremadura,  where  they  form  several 
mountain  chains  and  the  peninsula  of  Peniche.  Deposits  of  crystalline 
limestone  form  the  greater  part  of  Alemtejo. 

Rivers. — The  principal  rivers  of  Portugal  have  their  origin  in  Spain. 
The  river  Minho,  which  coming  from  the  Cantabrian  Mountains  enters 
Portugal  above  Melgaco  and  forms  the  boundary  between  the  two  coun- 
tries. Its  banks  are  very  fertile,  and  salmon  and  lamprey  are  abundant, 
giving  rise  to  fisheries  of  considerable  importance.  The  Douro,  rising  in 
the  Serra  d'Urbion,  crosses  Portugal  from  east  to  west.  Its  bed  is  cut 


Portugal 


between  mountains  in  a  narrow  tortuous  valley,  and  it  receives  many 
tributaries,  the  most  important  of  which  cross  the  province  of  Traz-os- 
Montes  from  north  to  south.  On  the  right  bank,  between  the  tributaries 
Tua  and  Tamega,  the  Douro  irrigates  the  well-known  wine  regions,  the 
centre  of  which  is  Pezo  da  Regua,  producing  the  famous  wines  which 
being  exported  from  Oporto  are  known  as  Port.  The  city  of  Oporto  lies 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Douro,  on  the  north  bank,  and  faces  Villa  Nova  de 
Gaia,  the  great  wine  cellar  centre. 

The  Tagus  divides  Portugal  into  two  nearly  equal  parts.  It  rises  in  the 
Serra  de  Albarracim  in  Spain,  and  flows  south-west  to  the  sea.  Between 
its  tributaries,  Erjes  and  Sever,  it  marks  the  frontier  with  Spain.  Near 
Villa  Velha  de  Rodam,  the  Tagus  passes  between  two  high  cliffs,  which 
form  the  celebrated  Portas  do  Rodam,  receives  the  waters  of  the  Ocreza 
and  Zezere,  crosses  plains  of  great  fertility,  to  Lisbon,  where  it  widens  out 
to  a  great  basin,  called  the  Mar  da  Palha 
(Straw  Sea),  the  eastern  estuary  by  which  its 
waters  flow  into  the  ocean,  forming  in  front 
of  the  Portuguese  capital  one  of  the  best  and 
largest  harbours  in  the  world.  The  Guadiana 
enters  Portugal  near  Elvas,  where  it  is  joined 
by  the  Caia,  runs  south,  and  receives  several 
tributaries,  forming  the  so-called  Raia  Mol- 
hada  (wet-border).  Then  it  curves  slightly 
to  the  south-west,  running  through  a  deep 
and  rocky  bed,  till  it  flows  into  the  ocean, 
between  Villa  Real  de  Santo  Antonio  and 
Ayamonte  (Spain).  Near  the  Guadiana  are 


Miles. 


the  important  copper  mines  of  S.  Domingos,   FlG>  204._r/ie  lowcr  Ta^  sllowitlg 
which  are  connected  by  a  railway  to  Pomarao,  the  Mar  da  Palha. 

the  most  important  port  of  the  Guadiana. 

The  Mondego  from  the  west  of  the  Serra  da  Estrella  flows  past  the 
picturesque  city  of  Coimbra,  and  finds  its  outlet  through  marshes  and  salt- 
pans at  the  little  port  of  Figuera  de  Foz.  The  little  river  Sado,  one.  of 
those  with  their  course  entirely  in  Portugal,  runs  from  south  to  north 
in  many  curves,  and  when  passing  Alcacer  do  Sal  widens  out  through  flat 
banks,  where  there  are  celebrated  salt-pans,  which  produce  salt  of  finest 
quality,  exported  in  large  quantities  from  the  port  of  Setubal  at  its  mouth. 

Climate.  —  Portugal,  though  not  extensive,  has  a  varied  climate,  due, 
doubtless,  to  the  great  differences  of  altitude  in  the  country.  In  the  north 
it  is  cold  and  damp.  In  the  district  surrounding  the  Mondego,  temperate  and 
damp  (Fig.  196).  South  of  the  Tagus  the  hot  winds  from  Africa  are  felt. 
Thus  north  of  the  Douro  the  mean  annual  temperature  is  50°  F.  ;  between 
the  Tagus  and  Douro,  the  mean  at  Coimbra  is  nearly  62°  F.,  and  in  the 
Guadiana  valley  it  is  over  64°  F.  The  mean  temperature  in  Oporto  is  59° 
F.  ;  in  the  Serra  da  Estrella  only  45°  ;  and  in  Lisbon  61°.  The  prevailing 


382       The  International  Geography 

winds  blow  from  the  north-north-east,  and  north-west.   The  climate  on  the 
south  coast  near  the  Tagus  is  very  genial  in  winter. 

Resources.— The  agricultural  resources  are  great,  but,  unfortunately, 
agriculture  is  not  in  as  high  a  state  of  development  as  could  be  desired. 
The  staple  cereals  cultivated  are  wheat,  rye,  and  maize,  the  two  latter  in 
the  north  and  centre,  the  former  in  the  south.  The  vine  is  grown  over  the 
whole  country,  producing  various  types  of  generous  and  lighter  wines. 
Vegetables  and  fruit  are  of  the  first  quality.  The  oak  and  chestnut  trees 
are  the  most  abundant  in  the  north,  and  on  the  Beira  mountains.  Pines 
grow  principally  on  the  sea  coast,  and  the  olive  in  Estremadura.  In 
Alemtejo  the  azinheira  and  sobreira  (cork  trees),  are  important,  the  cork 
taken  from  the  bark  of  the  latter  constituting  one  of  the  riches  of  the 
country.  In  Algarve  the  fig  trees  and  alfarrobeira  (carob  tree)  are  abundant. 
The  fauna  and  the  domestic  animals  of  Portugal  are  similar  to  those  of 
Spain.  Sardine  fishing  and  preserving  are  extensive  industries  on  the  coast  ; 
and  the  tunny  caught  along  the  Algarve  coast  is  also  cured  and  preserved. 
The  most  important  mines  are  those  of  copper  in  Alemtejo,  and  of  iron 
in  Moncorvo.  Coal  is  worked  in  Cape  Mondego, 
and  is  also  found  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Leiria. 
Portugal  is  very  rich  in  mineral  waters.  Those  of 
Vidago  can  be  compared  with  the  Vichy  waters, 
and  the  sulphurous  waters  of  Caldas  da  Rainha, 
Vizella,  and  Cucos  are  also  of  the  best. 

People  and  History.— Owing  to  insufficient 
-ortuguese  Flag.  investigatiorlj  the  origin,  of  the  Portuguese  people 
is  not  as  yet  fully  established ;  however,  Berber  influence  can  be  considered 
as  proved,  but  not  the  existence  on  this  part  of  the  peninsula  of  Ligurians 
and  Kelts.  History  narrates  that  Turdetans,  Turdulos,  Suevi,  Arabs,  etc., 
passed  through  at  different  periods,  leaving,  as  would  be  natural,  ethnic 
traces.  The  Portuguese  race  is  of  the  Aryan  stock,  and  the  Latin  family. 
The  language  is  the  Lusitanian,  derived  from  the  Latin,  and  is  spoken  in 
Portugal,  Madeira,  Acores,  in  the  Portuguese  colonies,  and  Brazil,  and  to 
some  extent  in  Ceylon,  Malacca,  and  other  places.  The  Roman  Catholic 
religion  is  established  by  the  State,  though  other  religions  are  tolerated,  if 
without  public  forms  of  worship. 

The  Portuguese  became  famous  through  their  bold  adventurous  genius. 
Inhabiting  the  sea  coast,  the  constant  vision  of  the  broad  ocean  inspired 
them  to  achieve  the  maritime  discoveries  of  the  fifteenth  century  which 
astounded  the  world.  Masters  of  the  sea  route  to  India,  they  destroyed 
by  a  clever  stroke  of  political  economy  the  commercial  supremacy  of 
Venice.  Portugal  then  reached  the  height  of  her  glory,  which  later  she 
lost  on  Alcacer-Kibir.  Spain  annexed  Portugal  in  1580,  and  only  in  1640, 
by  the  energy  of  half  a  dozen  men,  did  she  regain  her  independence,  but 
her  best  colonies  were  lost.  The  form  of  government  is  a  constitutional 
hereditary  monarchy. 


Portugal  383 


Industry  and  Trade. — The  Portuguese  manufacturing  industries, 
after  a  long  time  of  decline,  have  undergone  remarkable  development  since 
1890.  Factories  for  woollen,  cotton,  linen  and  silk  textiles  are  established 
in  Lisbon,  Oporto  and  other  towns,  and  lace  is  made  in  Peniche,  Setubal  and 
the  Acores.  Woollen  and  cotton  goods  find  good  markets  in  the  Portuguese 
West  African  Colonies.  The  manufacture  of  paper  is  important,  the  Almasso 
paper  being  a  speciality  generally  used  in  the  country,  and  greatly  appre- 
ciated abroad.  Glass  and  china  are  also  largely  manufactured.  Metals  are 
worked  principally  in  connection  with  cutlery,  all  kinds  of  iron  goods, 
and  articles  in  gold  and  silver.  Oporto  filigrees  are  characteristic  and 
unique.  Gold  ornaments  are  greatly  prized  by  the  people,  who  show  their 
wealth  by  the  amount  of  jewelry  they  wear  on  fete  days. 

Commerce  consists,  principally,  in  the  export  of  wines,  cork,  fresh 
and  tinned  fish,  copper,  and  fruit ;  and  the  import  of  cereals,  cotton, 
wool,  machinery,  iron,  coal,  and  sugar.  Most  trade  is  done  with  the 
United  Kingdom,  France,  Germany,  Brazil,  the  United  States,  and  Spain. 
Traffic  is  carried  on  principally  by  means  of  a  main 
railway  line,  which  connects  Faro,  the  most  southern 
town  of  Portugal,  with  Valen9a  do  Minho  in  the 
extreme  north,  passing  through  Lisbon,  the  centre  of 
the  railway  system.  From  this  main  line  others 
branch  off  along  the  valleys  of  the  Tagus  and  the 
Douro,  and  to  all  the  principal  towns  of  Portugal. 

Political   Divisions. — Portugal  comprises,  be- 


sides her  colonies,  the  "adjacent  islands"  of  the  FlG  206.— Averagepopu- 
Acores  and  the  Madeira  Archipelago  forming  part  lation  of  a  square  mile 
of  the  kingdom  of  Portugal  proper.  Formerly  the  of  Portugal. 
administrative  division  consisted  of  eight  provinces  named  from  north  to 
south  Minho,  Traz-os-Montes,  Douro,  Beira  Alta,  Beira  Baixa,  Estremadura, 
Alemtejo,  and  Algarve;  and  this  division  is  still  generally  used.  The  present 
administrative  divisions  are  17  districts,  most  of  which  are  subdivisions  of 
the  provinces,  made  with  regard  to  equality  in  the  population  and  wealth 
of  the  locality  and  hence  they  vary  much  in  size.  The  districts  are  divided 
on  the  same  principle  into  concelhos,  or  municipalities,  and  these  again 
subdivided  into  freguezias,  or  parishes. 

Lisbon,  the  national  capital,  is  built  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Tagus; 
crowned  by  hills  and  robed  with  white  buildings,  it  offers  the  traveller 
superb  views,  not  only  of  the  majestic  Tagus  but  also  of  the  surrounding 
country,  covered  with  plantations  and  parks,  spread  over  the  sides  of  the 
encircling  hills.  In  the  neighbourhood  of  Lisbon  is  the  picturesque 
Cintra,  loved  by  Byron,  with  its  castle  rising  on  the  mountain  crags ; 
Mafra,  the  monumental  town  renowned  for  its  monastery,  seen  from  the 
ocean  in  front  of  a  forest ;  Cascaes  and  Estoril  on  the  coast  are  two  favourite 
bathing  resorts.  Estoril  is  also  a  first-class  winter  station,  owing  to  its 
uniformly  mild  climate.  Lisbon  is  the  seat  of  the  Government  and  Court, 


384      The  International   Geography 

and  also  the  first  commercial  port  of  the  country,  and  the  only  naval 
arsenal.  Oporto  is  situated  on  the  Douro,  where  the  railway  crosses  by  a 
monumental  bridge.  It  is  an  active  and  important  commercial  centre, 
where  the  most  important  port  wine  trade  is  carried  on.  Oporto  is  a 
lovely  city  with  splendid  views,  and  fine  public  buildings.  Setubal,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Sado,  is  the  third  port  in  rank. 

The  Adjacent  Islands.— The  Acores  Archipelago  lies  between  the 
parallels  37°  and  40°  N.,  and  the  meridians  of  25°  and  31°  W.,  at  a  distance 
of  740  miles  from  Lisbon.  It  is  made  up  of  three  groups  of  islands  : 
the  eastern,  comprising  S.  Miguel  (the  largest),  Santa  Maria  and  the  islet 
of  Formigas ;  the  central  consisting  of  Terceira,  Graciosa,  S.  Jorge,  Pico, 
and  Fayal;  and  the  western  of  the  two  islands,  Flores  and  Corvo  (the 
smallest  of  the  Acores).  The  most  notable  mountain  peaks  are  Pico 
(8,530  feet)  and  Pico  de  Vara  in  S.  Miguel,  with  an  altitude  of  5,578  feet. 
In  S.  Miguel  is  the  curious  volcano  crater,  named  Lagoa  das  Sete  Cidades 
(Lake  of  the  Seven  Cities),  containing  four  lagoons.  The  geological 
constitution  of  the  Acores  is  volcanic.  The  climate  is  mild  and  temperate. 

The  Acores  produce  pineapples, 
oranges,  cereals,  and  wine.  Many 
cattle  are  kept  and  the  chief  in- 
dustries are  the  making  of  butter, 
cheese,  and  alcohol.  Commerce  is 
carried  on  principally  with  the 
United  States,  the  United  Kingdom, 
and  the  European  Continent.  The 
Acores  are  divided  into  three  ad- 


!•*'««     «Jerceira 


-SSoMig 


FIG.  wj.-The  Azores  Archipelago. 


ministrative  districts  :  Ponta  Delgada,  with  seven  concelhos  ;  Angra  do 
Heroismo  with  five,  and  Horta  with  six. 

The  Madeira  Archipelago,  about  33°  N.  and  71°  W.,  includes,  besides  the 
island  of  the  same  name,  the  Islands  of  Porto  Santo,  Desertas,  Bujio,  and 
Selvagens.  The  capital  is  Funchal,  which  is  also  the  seat  of  the  district 
government  and  a  stopping-place  for  passenger  steamers  between 
European  ports  and  South  Africa.  The  highest  peak  in  Madeira  is  Pico 
Ruivo  (6,568  feet),  and  in  Porto  Santo,  Funcho  (1,817  feet).  The  soil  is 
volcanic.  The  climate  is  undoubtedly  one  of  the  best  in  the  world, 
enjoying  a  universal  reputation  and  much  recommended  to  sufferers 
from  chest  complaints.  The  principal  products  are  wine,  superior  to 
sherry,  sugar-cane  and  cereals.  There  are  many  cattle.  Industry  is 
represented  advantageously  by  articles  of  inlaid  wood,  cane  (chairs, 
sofas,  baskets),  lace,  embroideries,  and  straw  hats. 

Colonies.  —  Portugal  still  stands  high  amongst  the  colonial  Powers  so 
far  as  extent  of  territory  is  concerned.  For  centuries  the  chief  European 
nation  holding  African  territory,  Portugal  retains  the  Cape  Verde  Islands, 
part  of  Guinea,  the  islands  of  San  Thome  and  Principe,  and  the  very 
important  territories  of  Angola  in  West  Africa  and  Mogambique  in  East 
Africa.  There  are  also  some  less  valuable  possessions  in  Asia. 


Portugal 


385 


STATISTICS. 


1878.                  1890.                   looo. 

Area  of  continental  Portugal,  square  miles          34,345 
Population          4,l6o,3i5 

34,345 
4,660,095 

34,345 
5,428,629 

Density  of  population,  per  square  mile 
Population  of  Lisbon  (Lisboa) 
„            Oporto  (Porto) 
Braga     

121 

..         242,297 
105,838 
19,755 
14,798 

135 
301,206 
138,860 
23,089 

158 
357,000 
172,421 
24,309 
21,819 

„            Coimbra  

13,369 

16)985 

18,424 

Area  of  Adjacent  Islands,  in  square  miles 
Population          

(?)926 
390,384 

(?)926 
389,634 

(?)926 
407,002 

Density  of  population,  per  square  mile 
Population  ol  Funchal  
PontaDelgada.. 

i  1         19,752 
17,635 

(§430 

18,778 

16,767 

439 

(?)22,000 

17,675 

ANNUAL  TRADE  (in  pounds  sterling). 

1871-75.                     1881-85.                   1891-95. 

Imports    

6,875,000        ..        8,040,000        ..        8,875,000 

Exports     

5,142,000        ..        5,100,000       ..        7,625,000 

PORTUGUESE 

COLONIES  IN  1896. 

Area  in  sq.  miles.         Population. 

1,480                     114,000 
4,800                  845,000 
484,800               4.119,000 

Portuguese  Guinea  and  Islands 



301,000                  3,120,000 
1,560                     572,000 
7,460                     379,000 

Portuguese  Possessions  in  India 
Timor,  Macao,  &c  



Total  Portuguese  Possessions 


801.100 


9,217,000 


STANDARD  BOOKS. 

Ibanez.    "  Resefia  geografica  y  estadistica  de  Espana."    Madrid,  1888. 

Th.  Fischer.    "  Die  Iberische  Halbinsel.    Kirchhoff's  Landerkunde  von  Europa."    Bd.  U. 

Leipzig,  1893. 
L.  Williams.    "  The  Land  of  the  Dons."    London,  1902.    • 


CHAPTER  XXII.— THE  RUSSIAN  EMPIRE 


BY  D.  AixoFF.1 

I  —  GENERAL 

The  Russian  Empire  in  General.— Upon  a  terrestrial  globe  the 
Russian  Empire  appears  in  the  form  of  a  rectangle  twice  as  long  as  it  is 
broad  (Fig.  208).  Two  sides  are  washed  by  the  sea,  the  Baltic  with  its 
three  gulfs,  the  Arctic  Sea  on  the  north,  and  the  Pacific  Ocean  on  the 
east.  The  southern  side  is  marked  by  mountains  and  steppes,  the  Turko- 
man Steppe,  Alai-ta^h,  Tian  Shan,  Tarbagatai,  Sailugem,  Sayan,  Yablonovyi 
Khrebet,  Khingan,  Sikhota-alin.  The  fourth  side  is  open  towards  Europe, 
and  is  bounded  by  arbitrary  lines  which,  for  a  certain  distance,  follow  the 
slopes  of  the  Carpathians,  separating  Russia  from  the  Austro- Hungarian 
Monarchy  ;  but  further  to  the  north  a  purely  artificial  frontier  winds  across 
the  northern  plain  of  Europe.  Within  these  limits  the  Russian  Empire 
occupies  in  one  continuous  expanse  one-twenty-second  part  of  the 
surface  of  the  Earth,  or  one-sixth  of  the  land  of  the  globe. 

In  Russia,  more  than  other  parts 
of  the  globe,  the  geographical  and 
historical  evolution  of  the  country 
has  been  guided  by  the  configu- 
ration of  the  land.  The  plain  which 
stretches  from  the  western  confines 
of  the  empire  to  the  Pacific  pre- 
sents no  physical  obstacle  in  any 
part  to  the  expansion  of  Russia.  In 


f. 


FlG.  208. — The  Russian  Empire  from  a  globe. 

past  ages  it  has  served  as  the  route 

for  the  nomadic  peoples  who  descended  from  the  high  plateaux  of  Asia 
and  swept  onwards  to  conquer  Europe  or  to  dwell  in  its  unoccupied 
territories.  Later,  the  Slavs  who  settled  in  what  is  now  Russia  formed  a 
bulwark  to  western  Europe,  and  stopped  the  invasions  of  the  Asiatic 
hordes  which  made  their  homes  in  the  south  of  the  country.  The 
Mongols,  having  made  themselves  masters  of  all  the  Slavonic  principalities, 
served  as  a  sort  of  cement  to  bind  together  these  disunited  States,  and 
thus  helped  'forward  the  formation  of  a  country  which  two  centuries  later 
became  strong  enough  to  drive  them  out.  For  several  subsequent  cen- 
turies the  Russian  plain  was  the  theatre  of  the  wars  of  the  Muscovite 
State,  by  which  the  Asiatic  hordes  were  conquered  and  the  dying  power 

1  Translated  from  the  French  by  the  Editor. 
386 


Russian  Empire — General          387 

of  Poland  extinguished.  Finally,  it  was  in  the  Russian  plain  and  not  in 
Brabant  that  the  empire  of  Napoleon  was  shattered. 

While  most  of  the  rivers  of  Europe  take  their  rise  in  the  mountains,  the 
largest  streams  of  European  Russia  have  their  source  in  the  moderate 
elevation  of  the  Valdai  hills,  the  height  of  which  scarcely  exceeds  1,000 
feet.  From  this  region  the  rivers  flow  to  the  Baltic,  the  Arctic  Sea,  the 
Black  Sea,  and  the  Caspian.  By  a  singular  and  happy  chance  the  rivers 
which  traverse  the  Russian  plain  spread  through  the  country  like  the 
arterial  or  venous  system  of  an  organised  body.  The  Volga,  the  Dnieper, 
the  Duna,  and  the  Niemen  rise  close  together  and  diverge  to  the  furthest 
limits  of  the  country  ;  and  some  rivers  such  as  the  Don  and  the  Volga, 
born  in  distant  regions,  approach  until  they  almost  touch  and,  although  no 
apparent  obstacle  prevents  their  meeting,  separate  again  to  fall  into 
different  seas.  Again,  the  Dnieper,  the  Bug,  and  the  Dniester,  coming 
from  distant  sources,  converge  to  what  may  be  termed  a  single  estuary. 

The  Russian  plain,  no  part  of  which  exceeds  1,150  feet  in  height, 
naturally  forms  a  single  climatic  region  ;  atmospheric  disturbance  can  be 
propagated  over  the  surface  without  encountering  any  obstacles  from  the 
border  of  the  White  Sea  to  that  of  the  Black,  and  from  the  plainsjrf 
Bessarabia  to  those  of  the  Pechora.  The  winds  which  blow  from  the 
Arctic  Sea  reach  unchecked  the  borders  of  the  Euxine,  and  conversely  the 
influence  of  the  southern  breezes  is  felt  along  the  slopes  of  the  Ural  and 
upon  the  shores  of  the  Polar  waters.  It  is  true  that  the  mean  temperature 
varies  very  considerably  from  north  to  south  ;  in  some  parts  of  the  north 
it  is  even  colder  in  summer  than  it  is  in  winter  in  more  favoured  spots  ; 
but  the  transition  between  the  various  climates  is  so  gentle  as  to  be 
imperceptible. 

The  Russian  Empire  and  the  Russian  People. — It  was  in  this 
plain,  and  at  first  in  the  very  region  where  its  great  rivers  rise,  that  the 
Muscovite  kingdom  had  its  origin,  grew,  and  strengthened  until  it  became 
the  Russian  Empire,  which  originally  an  Asiatic  power  in  Europe  is  now  a 
European  power  in  Asia.  The  dominant  character  of  the  region  which 
has  given  birth  to  Russia  is  monotony  :  one  land,  one  climate,  one  flora, 
one  fauna,  one  race.  In  its  growth  the  Russian  Empire  has  come  in 
contact  with  countries  of  an  entirely  different  type,  and  has  incorporated 
them  so  that  now  it  possesses  every  variety  of  surface  and  scenery.  Like 
Palestine  with  the  Dead  Sea,  Holland  with  its  polders,  and  the  United 
States  with  Death  Valley,  Russia  contains  an  area  of  depression,  that  of 
the  Caspian,  larger  than  all  the  other  sunk  plains  in  the  world  put  together. 
While  the  mountain  chain  of  the  Tian  Shan  must  cede  the  supremacy  to  the 
Himalayas  and  the  Andes,  yet  the  peak  of  KhanTengri  exceeds  24,000  feet, 
an  altitude  equal  to  that  of  the  culminating  summit  of  the  Carpathians  added 
to  the  giant  of  the  Alps.  Even  at  the  doors  of  Europe,  Elbruz,  Kazbek,  and 
several  other  summits  of  the  Caucasus  exceed  16,500  feet.  In  the  south, 
steppes  more  extensive  than  all  the  savannas  and  prairies  of  America  ;  in 


388       The  International  Geography 

the  north,  vast  tundras,  on  which  the  hold  of  frost  never  relaxes  ;  in  the 
north-west,  a  lake  region,  smaller  indeed  than  those  of  America  or  of 
Africa,  but  yet  of  great  size  ;  here  a  region  of  black  earth  of  extraordinary 
fertility,  there  solitudes  greater  and  less  known  than  those  of  the  far  west 
of  America  or  the  centre  of  Australia  ;  finally,  from  the  Crimea  to  Kam- 
chatka a  belt  of  wild  and  picturesque  mountain  chains.  Such  are  the 
varieties  of  land  and  scenery  within  the  Russian  Empire.  Striking  as 
these  diversities  are,  they  are  paralleled  by  those  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
empire.  Just  as  the  central  plain  is  surrounded  by  regions  of  the  greatest 
variety,  so  the  people  of  the  Great  Russian  branch  of  the  Slav  race  are 
surrounded  by  a  number  of  races  incomparably  greater  than  in  any 
other  country  of  the  world.  These  include  Slavs  of  the  Polish  branch, 
Jews,  Tatars,  more  than  thirty  different  races  in  the  Caucasus  alone, 
Kalmuks,  Turkomans,  Tunguses,  Yakuts,  Koryaks,  Samoyeds,  Ostyaks, 
Voguls,  Finns,  and  many  others.  From  the  point  of  view  of  religion, 
beside  the  great  body  of  members  of  the  Orthodox  Greek  Church,  there 
live  believers  in  all  creeds  and  in  none — Freethinkers,  various  sectaries  of 
the  Greek  Church,  Protestants,  Roman  Catholics,  Moslems,  followers 
of  the  Jewish  persuasion,  who  are  not  all  Semites,  Buddhists,  Brah- 
manists,  and  Fetish  worshippers,  or  simple  Pagans.  Russia  is  no  less 
varied  when  considered  from  the  moral  and  intellectual  standpoint.  Side 
by  side  with  the  absolutism  of  the  Government  is  the  independent 
spirit  of  the  moral  leaders  of  Russian  society ;  custom  has  an  almost 
Asiatic  power,  yet  there  is  an  entire  want  of  tradition ;  obligatory 
membership  of  the  all-powerful  Orthodox  Church  is  confronted  with  the 
utter  Atheism  of  the  intellectual  and  witji  hundreds  of  different  sects,  some 
ritualistic,  some  rationalistic  :  such  is  "  the  Russian  people." 

Natural  Divisions  of  the  Russian  Empire.— The  central  nucleus 
of  European  Russia  is  a  slightly  undulated  plain  rising  to  a  moderate 
elevation  somewhat  to  the  north-west  of  its  geometrical  centre,  and  giving 
rise  to  all  the  great  rivers  of  the  country.  It  is  the  river  system  which 
distinguishes  this  plain  from  all  others.  In  the  north-west  the  Lake  Region 
is  unique  in  the  complex  mingling  of  land  and  water.  In  the  south-west 
there  is  a  region  very  distinct  in  its  natural  characteristics,  but  without  a 
special  name  ;  it  might  be  termed  Transdnieperia  (from  the  Russian  point 
of  view),  or  Carpathia.  In  the  south,  separated  from  the  Russian  plain  by 
lowlands  or  even  sunk  plains,  comes  the  great  chain  of  the  Caucasus,  with 
its  western  prolongation,  the  Crimea,  and  its  eastern  termination  in  the 
highlands  of  Transcaspia.  In  Asia  two  varieties  of  steppe  are  to  be- 
distinguished,  the  high  and  the  low,  the  latter  sometimes  sinking  below 
the  level  of  the  sea,  the  former  rising  to  elevations  of  many  thousand  feet ; 
but  both  presenting  the  same  characteristics  of  land  surface,  climate,  flora, 
and  fauna.  The  vast  territory  of  Siberia  sloping  wholly  towards  the  north, 
furrowed  by  its  immense  but  useless  rivers  and  with  a  rigorous  climate, 
supports  upon  an  area  greater  than  all  Europe  no  more  inhabitants  than 


Russian  Empire — Configuration      389 

dwell  in  the  single  town  of  London.  The  last  of  the  varied  natural 
divisions  of  the  Russian  Empire  is  the  mountainous  land  of  the  Transbaikal 
Province  and  the  Pacific  slope.  Each  of  these  regions  is  remarkable  for  the 
unity  of  its  geographical  features,  and  each  will  be  described  in  the  order 
given  above  without  special  reference  to  administrative  subdivisions,  the 
boundaries  of  which  have  no  relations  to  natural  features. 


II,— CONFIGURATION 

Central  Russia. — The  natural  region  of  Central  Russia  is  bounded 
on  the  north-west  by  the  Lake  Region  ;  on  the  west  its  limit  is  the  depres- 
sion which  runs  from  the  Black  Sea  to  the  mouth  of  the  Oder  by  the 
valleys  of  the  Dnieper  and  the  Pripet  and  the  plains  of  the  Vistula  ;  on  the 
south  it  is  bordered  by  the  low  steppes  and  the  depressions  which  mark 
off  the  Caucasus  ;  and 
on  the  east  by  the 
steppes  between  the 
Volga  and  Ural,  the 
Obshchii  Syrt,  and 
the  chain  of  the  Ural, 
while  further  north 
it  merges  without  a 
break  into  European 
Siberia. 

A  gentle  elevation 
of  the  surface  denned 
by  the  contour  line  of 
170  metres  (say  600 
feet)  extends  from  the 
bend  of  the  Mologa 
in  58°  N.  in  a  south- 
south-easterly  direction  to  Kharkov  in  50°  N.  It  culminates  in  the  Valdai 
hills  at  an  elevation  of  1,150  feet.  A  second  smaller  "island"  of  high 
ground  extends  from  north  to  south  along  the  right  bank  of  the  Volga 
from  Kazan  in  56°  N.  to  Kamyshin  in  50°  N.  A  third  and  smaller 
"  island "  of  the  same  elevation  lies  to  the  south  of  the  Donets,  a 
tributary  of  the  Don.  If  we  consider  the  central  mass  of  Russia  as 
bounded  by  a  lower  contour  line  (that  of  425  feet),  a  western  projection 
will  be  observed  occupying  the  whole  space  between  the  Pripet  on  the 
south,  the  Duna  on  the  north,  and  the  meridian  of  Dvinsk  on  the  west. 
The  top  of  the  entire  region  in  which  the  principal  rivers  rise  is  a  land  of 
swamps,  and  appears  to  be  an  almost  dead  level.  All  the  great  rivers  of 
Central  Russia  have  arrived  at  a  state  of  mature  adjustment  to  the  land, 
having  drained  their  ancient  lakes  and  established  their  individuality  as 
river  systems.  They  carry  an  enormous  volume  of  water,  although  com- 


FlG.  209. — Central  Russia — Area  above  600  feet  in 
elevation  shown  in  black. 


390       The   International  Geography 

pared  with  its  area,  Russia  is  traversed  by  a  much  smaller  volume  of 
running  water  than  western  Europe. 

The  Volga.— The  Volga  is  the  first  of  Russian  rivers ;  it  is  the  longest 
and  has  the  largest  volume  of  water  in  all  Europe.  Rising  in  a  peat  moss 
the  little  stream  flows  through  a  series  of  lakes,  and  on  leaving  Lake  Volgo 
it  is  a  considerable  river  with  a  volume  of  from  no  to  1,320  cubic  feet  per 
second,  according  to  the  season.  Its  first  important  tributary  is  the 
Selizharovka,  which  flows  from  the  lake  of  Seliger,  and  at  the  confluence 
of  these  two  rivers,  which  are  of  almost  equal  volume,  the  true  course  of 
the  Volga  may  be  said  to  commence.  The  tributaries  on  the  left  bank 
flow  from  the  low  watersheds  which  separate  the  Volga  from  the  river 
systems  of  the  Baltic  and  the  White  Seas.  At  Nizhnii-Novgorod  it  unites 
with  the  Oka,  a  river  of  equal  size,  but  much  greater  historical  importance. 
The  Oka  was  long  the  frontier  between  the  Tatars  and  the  Slavs,  and  it 
flows  through  the  very  centre  of  the  European  Russia  of  to-day  ;  from  its 
source  in  the  Black  Earth  region  it  waters  the  most  fertile  part  of  Great 
Russia  along  a  course  of  970  miles,  and  where  it  enters  the  Volga  it  is 
almost  a  mile  in  width.  About  60  miles  below  the  point  where  the  Volga 
turns  to  a  southerly  direction,  it  receives  on  the  left  bank  the  Kama,  which 
brings  in  the  drainage  of  a  region  larger  than  the  United  Kingdom.  The 
Kama  and  the  Volga  are  nearly  equal  in  volume,  but  the  water  has  a 
different  colour,  that  of  the  upper  Volga  being  grey,  and  of  the  Kama 
yellow.  The  united  river  flows  on  in  the  direction  of  the  great  tributary  as 
far  as  Simbirsk,  where  the  volume  of  the  stream  is  as  great  as  it  is  at  its 
mouth.  Below  Simbirsk  the  Volga  closely  follows  the  base  of  a  calcareous 
plateau  which  causes  it  to  make  a  sharp  bend  at  Samara.  In  its  lower 
course  the  great  river  divides  into  several  branches,  the  most  westerly  of 
which  retains  the  name  of  Volga  and  the  most  easterly  is  called  Akhtuba. 
Between  Simbirsk  and  Samara  the  banks  of  the  Volga  are  very  picturesque, 
the  hills  of  the  right  bank  rising  abrupt!}'  for  more  than  300  feet  above  the 
water,  present  indeed  an  almost  mountainous  appearance.  The  Belyi 
Klyuch,  south-west  of  Syzran,  rises  to  1,100  feet  above  the  average  level  of 
the  river,  and  other  summits  reach  600  or  800  feet,  forming  imposing 
heights  compared  with  the  almost  imperceptible  swellings  which  ripple 
the  surface  of  Central  Russia.  The  uniform  low  level  plain  which  lines 
the  left  bank  presents  the  most  striking  contrast. 

The  Western  Rivers  of  Central  Russia. — While  the  Volga  is  the 
greatest  of  Russian  rivers,  the  "  Mother  Volga  "  of  the  Great  Russians,  the 
Dnieper  in  its  own  region  is  no  less  honoured  ;  the  Little  Russians  call  it 
"  Father  Dnieper."  It  rises  only  50  miles  from  the  source  of  the  Volga, 
and  although  shorter  (1,330  miles),  its  drainage  area  is  as  large  as  France. 
The  Dnieper  receives  few  tributaries  in  its  upper  course  as  far  as  Smolensk 
and  Mohilev,  but  below  Rogachev  it  receives  successively  three  great 
tributaries,  the  Berezina,  the  Pripet,  which  traverses  a  region  of  swamps, 
now  in  large  measure  drained  and  converted  into  meadows,  and  the  Desna. 


Russian  Empire — Configuration      391 

Below  the  confluence  of  the  Desna  the  left  bank  of  the  Dnieper  is  every- 
where low,  while  the  right  bank  rises  in  cliffs  to  the  height  of  300  and  400 
feet ;  and  the  course  of  the  stream  is  obstructed  by  rapids  (porog/n),  which 
were  mentioned  by  the  early  Byzantine  chroniclers. 

The  third  river  which  flows  from  the  central  plateau  is  the  Duna,  or 
Western  Dvina,  which  is  the  great  river  of  the  White  Russians  and 
Lithuanians.  Originating  as  the  outflow  of  Lake  Okhvat,  only  12  miles 
from  Lake  Volgo,  the  Duna  flows  to  the  south-west  as  far  as  Vitebsk,  and 
then,  turning  at  right  angles,  it  flows  north-westwards  to  its  mouth  in  the 
Gulf  of  Riga.  It  has  no  tributaries  of  any  importance,  and  its  banks  are 
low  and  marshy.  The  Velikaya,  the  Lovat,  and  the  Msta  belong  by  their 
mouths  to  the  Lake  Region,  and  the  Sukhona,  the  main  branch  of  the 
Northern  Dvina,  will  be  described  in  the  section  on  Siberia. 

The  Vistula  is  essentially  a  Polish  river.  It  enters  Russia  as  a  consider- 
able stream,  navigable  by  large  vessels  from  the  confluence  of  the  San, 
and  leaves  it  as  a  majestic  river  carrying  a  volume  of  at  least  8,000  cubic 
feet  per  second  to  the  Baltic.  It  receives  no  tributaries  beyond  the 
frontier,  its  most  important  affluents  being  the  united  Bug  and  Narev. 

The  Don  and  its  upper  tributaries  rise  in  the  central  swelling  of  the 
Russian  plain,  which  also  gives  origin  to  the  Volga,  the  Dnieper,  and  the 
Duna.  It  is  one  of  the  largest  rivers  in  Europe,  having  a  breadth  in  some 
places  of  1 8  miles  during  the  spring  floods,  although  the  droughts  of 
summer  reduce  its  volume  to  such  a  degree  that  navigation  is  very  difficult 
even  for  light-draught  vessels  on  account  of  the  shallowness  of  the  channels 
and  the  number  of  sand-banks  ;  some  of  the  tributaries  dry  up  completely. 
The  largest  tributary  is  the  Little  Don,  or  Donets,  which  was  navigable 
down  to  the  seventeenth  century,  but  has  since  been  reduced  in  volume 
on  account  of  the  destruction  of  the  forests  which  covered  vast  areas  of 
southern  Russia.  Now  navigation  is  possible  only  in  the  lower  course  of 
the  river  when  it  is  in  flood.  The  basin  of  the  Donets  is  commercially 
important  on  account  of  its  coal-mines,  which  are  worked  here  and  there 
over  an  area  of  9,000  square  miles. 

South- Western  Russia. — This  region,  which  we  suggest  might  be 
named  Carpathia,  extends  on  the  north  to  the  low  plains  of  the  Vistula 
and  Pripet,  on  the  east  to  the  valley  of  the  Dnieper,  while  on  the  west  it 
is  prolonged  into  Austria- Hungary  and  Rumania  as  far  as  and  beyond  the 
Carpathians  and  the  Transylvanian  Alps.  Elisee  Reclus  says  of  it :  "  From 
the  geological  point  of  view  the  depression  which  joins  the  Black  Sea  and 
the  Baltic  through  the  valleys  of  the  Dnieper  and  the  Oder  separates  two 
different  worlds ;  on  each  side  everything  is  unlike  :  the  outline  of  the 
contours,  relief  of  the  land-forms,  and  the  folding  of  the  strata.  On  the  west 
[the  author  should  have  said  on  the  south]  the  land  is  the  result  of  frequent 
and  complicated  geological  changes  ;  on  the  east  it  bears  the  impress  of 
slow  and  regular  oscillations."  The  culminating  point  of  this  district,  cut 
up  here  and  there  into  superb  escarpments  and  beautifully  diversified  by 


The  International  Geography 

forests,  is  in  Poland,  where  the  St.  Catherine  beacon  on  the  Bald  Mountain 
(Lysa  Gord)  reaches  a  height  of  2,003  ieet  '>  and  in  Russian  territory  the 
Castle  of  Kremenets  reaches  1,309  feet.  The  rivers  of  this  region  are  the 
Bug,  the  Dniester,  and  the  Pruth,  a  tributary  of  the  Danube.  The  Dniester 
is  the  largest,  rising  in  the  forest  region  and  crossing  the  land  of  the  black 
earth  and  the  bare  steppes  to  the  south  of  it ;  and  although  it  is  one  of  the 
most  tortuous  rivers  on  the  surface  of  the  Earth  its  bed  is  very  deeply  cnt 
into  the  strata  across  which  it  flows. 

The  Lake  Region. — The  region  of  the  northern  lakes  includes 
Finland  and  the  Russian  governments  of  Olonets,  Novgorod,  St.  Peters- 
burg, and  Pskov.  The  fact  that  the  government  of  Novgorod  alone 
contains  3,200  separate  lakes  and  that  of  Olonets  2,000,  is  sufficient  justifi- 
cation for  the  name.  The  parts  not  occupied  by  sheets  of  water  or  by 
marshes  consist  of  isthmuses  and  peninsulas  ;  the  lakes,  as  a  rule,  com- 
municate with  one  another.  The  highest  part  of  this  region  is  in  the  north, 
where  some  summits  exceed  3,000  feet.  Southern  Finland  and  the 
Russian  part  of  the  region  contain  no  mountainous  elevations,  the  highest 
hills  being  rounded  knolls  worn  by  the  action  of  the  ancient  ice-sheet.  No 
other  part  of  Europe  abounds  in  erratic  blocks  to  such  an  extent  as 
Finland,  and  many  of  these  are  so  large  that  the  peasants  build  houses 
in  their  shelter.  The  ancient  glaciers  have  left  the  marks  of  their 
passage  deeply  engraved  on  the  syrface  of  the  land,  and  the  general  forms 
of  the  country  are  everywhere  due  to  glaciation.  There  are  few  better 
marked  land  surface  features  in  the  world  than  the  parallel  valleys  which 
descend  to  the  Gulf  of  Bothnia/both  on  the  Finnish  and  Swedish  sides,  and 
the  same  phenomenon  occurs  in  the  interior.  In  many  parts  of  the  country 
the  general  alignment  is  of  almost  geometrical  regularity  ;  hills,  lakes, 
marshes,  and  chains  of  boulders  running  parallel  to  one  another  from 
north-west  to  south-east  ;  and  all  public  works,  embankments,  cuttings, 
lines  of  communication,  even  the  streets  of  villages  and  of  towns  have 
necessarily  to  follow  the  same  direction.  The  whole  of  Finland  is  sprinkled 
with  lakes,  lagoons,  and  marshes  ;  the  lakes,  indeed,  forming  such  a  laby- 
rinth that  it  is  impossible,  without  paying  the  most  minute  attention,  to 
trace  the  watersheds  separating  the  drainage  areas  of  the  Gulfs  of  Bothnia 
and  Finland  and  of  Lake  Ladoga,  the  zone  of  separation  being  frequently 
a  tract  of  almost  level  marsh.  Amongst  the  more  important  lakes  of  Finland 
may  be  mentioned  the  little-known  Enere,  Saima,  which  has  been  united  by 
canal  since  1856  with  the  Gulf  of  Finland,  and  Paijanne,  which  empties  by 
the  Kymmene  Elf  into  the  same  gulf.  The  rivers  which  unite  the  lakes 
sometimes  spread  out  to  a  wide  expanse  and  sometimes  form  rapids,  the 
most  celebrated  of  which  is  the  grand  cataract  of  Imatra  in  a  granite 
gorge  which  interrupts  the  course  of  the  Vuoxen. 

The  Larger  Lakes. — The  Russian  portion  of  the  Lake  Region 
includes  15,500  square  miles  of  water  surface.  Lake  Ladoga  is  the  chief 
and  still  the  largest  lake  in  European  Russia,  and  fifth  in  size  in  all  the 


Russian  Empire — Configuration      393 

Empire,  ranking  next  to  the  Caspian,  Aral,  Baikal  and  Balkhash.  In  former 
times  its  dimensions  were  much  greater,  for  it  formed  one  basin  with  the  Gulf 
of  Finland.  From  the  low  southern  shore,  an  almost  treeless,  boulder-strewn 
region  of  glacial  origin,  the  lake  bed  descends  by  a  gentle  slope  towards 
the  depths  whence  rise  the  granite  cliffs  of  its  northern  coast.  The  average 
depth  is  estimated  at  almost  300  feet  (50  fathoms),  which  gives  a  total 
volume  of  water  nineteen  times  as  great  as  that  of  the  Lake  of  Geneva. 
The  water  is,  as  a  rule,  very  clear  and  remains  cold  at  all  seasons  ;  even  in 
August  the  surface  temperature  scarcely  exceeds  54°  F.,  and  in  May  it  is 
only  36°.  Lake  Ladoga  is  frozen  over  for  about  120  days  in  the  year,  from 
December  to  April.  Near  Valaam  Island  masses  of  ice  have  been 
measured  piled  up  to  a  height  of  75  feet,  and  presenting  from  a  distance 
the  appearance  of  hills  of  weathered  schist.  The  gales  which  frequently 
blow  over  this  lake  raise  high  and  confused  waves  followed  by  a  heavy 
ground  swell.  Notwithstanding  the  freezing  of  the  lake  its  animal  life  is 
very  abundant,  including  not  only  fish,  but  a  species  of  seal  which  may  be 
seen  in  winter  on  the  edge  of  the  ice  cracks.  The  river  Neva,  flowing 
from  the  lake  into  the  Gulf  of  Finland,  has  a  length  of  43  miles,  and  carries 
a  volume  of  water  equal  to  that  of  the  Rhone  and  Rhine  united.  Lake 
Onega  is  for  the  most  part  very  deep,  and  near  the  centre  soundings  of 
740  feet  (120  fathoms)  have  been  obtained.  The  northern  side  of  the  lake 
forms  numerous  bays  running  towards  the  north-west,  and  prolonged 
towards  Lapland  by  chains  of  small  lakes  and  by  rivers  following  the  same 
direction  and  separated  by  lines  of  hills  between  800  and  1,000  feet  in 
height ;  these  features  running  parallel  to  those  already  noted  in  Finland. 
Lake  Onega  communicates  with  the  White  Sea  by  a  series  of  lakes  and 
rivers,  and  with  the  Gulf  of  Finland  by  the  river  Svir,  which  flows  into 
Lake  Ladoga.  Its  tributary,  the  Vitegra,  brings  it  into  connection  with 
the  Volga  system  on  one  side,  and  with  the  Mezen  on  the  other.  Lake 
Ilmen  is  really  nothing  more  than  a  permanent  inundation  formed  by  a 
number  of  rivers  which  meet  at  a  point  whence  the  outlet  is  not  large 
enough  to  carry  off  the  whole  of  the  water ;  its  depth  does  not  exceed 
30  feet,  and  the  waters  are  almost  always  muddy.  The  Volkhov,  which 
carries  off  the  overflow  of  the  lake,  is  the  chief  affluent  of  Lake  Ladoga, 
and  is  a  muddy  river  throughout  its  whole  length.  The  streams  which 
meet  in  Lake  Ilmen  are  the  Shelon,  Lovat,  and  the  Msta,  which  places  it 
in  communication  with  the  Volga.  Lake  Peipus,  the  southern  branch 
of  which  is  called  the  Lake  of  Pskov,  has  a  north-north-west  and  south' 
south-east  direction,  like  Ladoga  and  Onega.  Its  average  depth  is 
some  30  feet  and  at  the  deepest  point  it  only  reaches  90  feet,  yet  it  remains 
frozen  for  a  shorter  time  than  the  other  Russian  lakes.  It  receives  the 
Velikaya  and  the  Embakh,  which  places  it  in  connection  with  the  Gulf  of 
Riga,  and  its  own  outlet  is  by  the  Narova  to  the  Gulf  of  Finland. 

The  Crimea. — The  Crimea,  which  we  consider  as  a  prolongation  of 
the  Caucasus,  is  placed  entirely  outside  Russia  by  its  geological  structure. 


394       The  International  Geography 

The  southern  slope  of  the  Yaila  Tagh  is  for  the  Russians  a  second  Italy  as 
far  as  climate,  vegetation,  and  the  appearance  of  earth  and  sky  can  make  it 
so.  "  Like  the  Caucasus,"  says  Elisee  Reclus,  "  the  Crimea  is  one  of  those 
districts  which  has  contributed  most  to  develop  the  love  of  nature  in  the 
modern  Russians."  The  mountain  chain  which  extends  along  the  south- 
east of  the  Crimea  is  little  more  than  100  miles  in  length,  and  its  culmi- 
nating point  has  an  elevation  of  5,060  feet.  Although  a  hundred  feet  lower, 
the  best  known  of  its  summits  is  the  Chatyr  Dagh,  which  may  be  taken  as 
an  example  of  a  land-form  common  in  this  district,  a  limestone  wall  cut 
into  battlements,  which  from  a  distance  presents  the  appearance  of  a  giant 
tent.  There  are  few  rivers  in  the  Crimea,  the  largest  of  them  being  the 
Salgir. 

The  Caucasus. — As  a  mountain  chain  the  Caucasus  is  remarkable  for 
the  unity  of  its  geographical  features  and  its  general  orientation,  the  chain 
running  direct  from  south-east  to  north-west  with  only  the  smallest  devia- 
tions. Each  end  of  the  chain  forms  a  peninsula,  that  of  Apsheron  in  the 
Caspian  on  the  east,  and  that  of  Taman  in  the  Black  Sea  on  the  west.  The 
latter  is  only  separated  from  the  peninsula  which  forms  the  eastern  ter- 
mination of  the  Crimean  range  by  the  narrow  Strait  of  Kerch.  The 
peninsula  of  Apsheron  is  continued  across  the  Caspian  by  a  series  of 
volcanic  islands  and  then  by  a  submarine  ridge,  and  beyond  that  sea  it 
runs  eastward  as  a  chain  of  heights,  either  mountains,  hills,  rocks,  or  the 
scarped  edges  of  plateaux,  as  far  as  the  valley  of  the  Murghab  between  Merv 
and  Herat.  The  range  of  the  Caucasus  is  750  miles  in  length,  and  is 
divided  almost  exactly  half-way  between  the  two  seas  into  two  unequal 
parts  by  a  depression  through  which  the  great  military  road  passes  in  the 
Darial  defile.  At  this  point  the  range  is  only  60  miles  wide  between  the 
northern  and  the  southern  plains,  while  the  western  Caucasus  is  twice  and 
the  eastern  two  and  a  half  times  as  wide  as  the  constricted  portion  which 
divides  them.  The  western  Caucasus  contains  the  highest  summits ; 
Elbruz,  Koshtantau,  Dikhtau,  and  two  other  peaks  surpassing  the  altitude 
of  Mont  Blanc.  The  eastern  Caucasus  is  lower  than  the  western,  but 
less  uniform,  more  varied  in  outline,  and  the  spurs  which  ramify  from 
the  central  ridge  in  various  directions  give  rise'  to  a  labyrinth  of  valleys. 
The  general  relief  of  the  Caucasus  is  formed  almost  throughout  by  two,  and 
in  some  places  by  three  or  four,  ranges  running  parallel  to  one  another,  or 
only  slightly  diverging,  and  connected  here  and  there  by  knots.  The  main 
chain  may  be  considered  to  be  that  which  forms  the  watershed,  although 
in  several  parts  of  the  system  it  is  not  the  most  elevated,  Mount  Elbruz,  for 
instance,  rises  to  the  north  of  it.  From  the  orographic  point  of  view  the 
loftiest  summit  of  the  Caucasus  is  Koshtantau,  which  rises  on  the  water- 
shed, and  is  the  highest  granitic  mountain  of  the  range.  As  a  rule  the 
southern  slope  of  the  Caucasian  ranges  is  much  more  abrupt  than  the 
northern.  The  regularity  of  structure  is  as  apparent  in  the  great  geological 
features  as  in  the  general  relief,  at  least  upon  the  northern  side.  The  main 


Russian  Empire — Configuration      395 

chain  is  composed  throughout  of  crystalline  schists  resting  here  and  there 
on  granite,  and  diminishing  in  extent  from  west  to  east.  On  both  sides  of 
the  central  chain  the  slopes  consist  mainly  of  calcareous  and  silicious  strata 
of  different  ages,  Jurassic,  Cretaceous,  and  Eocene ;  to  the  north  these 
rocks  dip  under  the  Pliocene  and  Recent  formations  of  the  steppe.  Near 
the  middle  of  the  chain,  where  it  is  constricted,  the  high  valley  of  the 
Terek  forms  a  sort  of  geological  gulf  in  which  a  great  horizontal 
plateau  of  Tertiary  sandstone  advances  like  a  peninsula  in  the  midst  of 
the  Cretaceous  strata.  Elbruz,  the  highest  summit  of  the  Caucasus,  is  an 
ancient  volcano,  and  Kazbek  is  also  a  trachytic  cone.  Thermal  springs  are 
exceedingly  abundant.  The  peaks  of  the  Caucasus,  although  higher  on 
the  whole  than  those  of  the  Alps,  are  not  so  heavily  enfolded  in  snow 
and  ice.  This  is  due  not  only  to  their  more  southern  latitude  and  other 
climatic  conditions,  but  also  to  the  narrowness  of  the  high  ridges  and 
the  absence  of  corries  in  which  the  snow  could  accumulate  in  extensive 
neves.  The  snow  line  varies  much  in  its  position ;  on  the  western  flanks 
of  Garibalo  it  comes  down  to  8,300  feet,  while  on  the  north-west  of  Great 
Ararat  it  reaches  only  to  14,300,  and  Alagoez,  13,500  feet  in  height,  is 
entirely  free  from  snow  in  summer.  The  average  height  of  the  snow- 
line  is  about  2,000  feet  higher  in  the  Caucasus  than  in  the  Pyrenees 
which  occupy  the  same  latitude. 

The  plateau  of  Armenia,  separated  from  the  Caucasus  by  the  narrow 
furrow  in  which  the  Rion  and  the  Kura  flow,  is  only  partly  in  Russia,  and 
may  be  better  described  in  the  general  account  of  Asia.  Its  highest  summit 
is  Mount  Ararat,  where  three  empires,  Russia,  Turkey,  and  Persia,  meet. 

The  Kuban  is  the  chief  river  of  the  Caucasus,  with  a  length  of  550 
miles,  and  next  to  it  rank  the  Kuma,  the  Terek,  and  the  Manych.  They 
have  all  a  very  variable  volume  ;  in  spring  and  in  autumn  they  are  swollen 
by  the  melting  of  the  snow  or  the  fall  of  rain,  and  consequently  inundate 
the  low  grounds,  but  in  summer  they  shrink  enormously  after  leaving  the 
mountains,  partly  on  account  of  evaporation  and  partly  because  of  the 
quantity  of  water  diverted  from  them  for  purposes  of  irrigation.  The 
Kuma  terminates  in  the  midst  of  a  reedy  swamp  sixty  miles  from  the 
Caspian.  On  the  south  of  the  Caucasus  the  Ingur,  Rion,  and  Chorokh 
flow  to  the  Black  Sea,  while  the  Caspian  receives  the  Kura  (830  miles), 
with  its  scarcely  less  important  tributary  the  Araxes  (640  miles). 

The  Aralo-Caspian  Basin. — There  is  no  general  name  for  the 
region  which  lies  between  the  Caspian  on  the  west,  the  plateaux  of  Persia 
and  Afghanistan  on  the  south,  and  the  Pamirs  on  the  east,  stretching  to  the 
Tian  Shan  and  the  Tarbagatai  on  the  north-east,  to  Siberia  on  the  north, 
and  merging  on  the  north-west  into  the  steppes  which  lie  between  the 
Ural  and  the  Caspian.  The  three  provinces  of  Syr-daria,  Samarcand, 
and  Ferghana  bear  the  name  of  Turkestan.  The  northern  part  of  the 
region,  from  an  administrative  point  of  view,  forms  the  General  Govern- 
ment of  the  Steppes,  and  the  country  between  the  Amu-daria  and  the 
27 


396       The   International  Geography 

Caspian  is  termed  the  Transcaspian  district.  The  whole  region  is 
made  up  in  almost  equal  parts  of  highlands  and  lowlands  ;  on  one  side 
mountains  rise  to  heights  of  from  20,000  to  23,000  feet,  while  on  the 
other  side  the  surface  sinks  to  the  Caspian  85  feet  below  the  level  of  the 
sea.  Notwithstanding  this  diversity  the  region  presents  a  remarkable  unity, 
especially  with  regard  to  climate.  In  July  the  temperature  ranges  between 
68°  and  77°  F.  on  the  average,  the  temperature  of  the  Cape  Verde  Islands  ; 
but  in  January  the  average  is  from  5°  to  23°  F.,  the  same  as  in  the  heart  of 
Canada,  in  southern  Greenland,  or  in  Spitsbergen.  The  range  of  extreme 
temperature  is  no  less  than  133°,  from  m°  F.  to  —  22°.  Another  general 
characteristic  is  the  progressive  dessication  of  the  country.  The  Syr-daria 
and  the  Amu-daria  were  formerly  of  much  larger  volume  and  probably 
united  in  one  stream  which  flowed  to  the  Caspian.  The  great  lakes,  such 
as  Lake  Balkhash  and  Lake  Aral,  have  shrunk  in  their  dimensions,  those  on 
the  high  plateau  have  been  partly  emptied  like  Issyk-kul,  and  others  have 
completely  disappeared.  In  consequence  of  this  dessication  a  large  part 
of  the  country,  in  the  mountains  as  well  as  on  the  plains,  has  assumed  the 
character  of  the  steppes.  On  the  Pamirs,  in  the  Tian  Shan  and  the  Tar- 

bagatai,  every  longitudi- 
nal valley  and  every 
hollow  is  a  steppe,  with 
vegetation  singularly  re- 
stricted both  as  to  number 
of  species  and  the  annual 
period  of  growth  which 

FIG.  210.  —  Relative  areas  of  the  Tian  Shant  Alps  and       is       limited     to       three 
Pyrenees-after  Reclus. 


The  Tian  Shan,  the  Alai-tagh,  the  Alai,  and  the  Trans-Alai,  are  the 
principal  mountain  chains  of  Turkestan,  the  two  latter  being  the  ramparts 
of  the  Pamirs,  which  completely  separate  the  two  parts  of  Asia.  The 
vastness  of  the  Tian  Shan  is  clearly  shown  by  the  accompanying  figure 
adapted  from  the  "  Geographic  Universelle  "  of  Elisee  Reclus.  It  includes 
steppes,  deserts,  half-dried  lakes,  and  salt  marshes.  The  Pamirs,  which 
form  the  meeting-place  of  the  three  great  empires  of  Asia,  are  described  in 
the  general  account  of  that  continent. 

The  Steppes.  —  The  steppes  which  extend  through  the  whole  of 
Turkestan  and  across  the  river  Ural  into  the  interior  of  Russia  form  a  vast, 
naked  land,  except  during  a  few  weeks  of  spring  and  summer,  when  they 
are  clothed  as  if  by  enchantment  with  verdure  and  flowers.  Deserts,  pro- 
perly so  called,  extend  over  half  of  the  plain  of  Turkestan  between  the 
watershed  of  the  Ob  and  the  plateau  of  Iran  ;  the  most  famous  is  the 
Bek-Pak-Dala,  or  Hunger  steppe.  The  whole  country  is  sprinkled  with 
lakes,  with  funnel-shaped  hollows,  and  salt  marshes  side  by  side  with 
lagoons  and  lakes  of  fresh  water.  Of  the  numerous  rivers  which  formerly 
emptied  into  Lake  Aral  two  alone  now  reach  it.  The  Syr-daria  (the 


Russian   Empire — Configuration      397 

Jaxartes  of  ancient  authors  and  the  Seihun  of  the  Arabs)  rises  in  the  heart  of 
the  Tian  Shan.  As  it  flows  across  the  steppe  the  great  river  diminishes  in 
volume  more  and  more,  on  account  of  the  abstraction  of  its  water  by  irri- 
gation canals  which  change  a  great  part  of  the  barren  plain  into  smiling 
gardens.  Between  the  Syr-daria  and  the  Kara-daria  the  whole  country  is 
cultivated,  shaded  by  trees,  and  musical  with  running  water  ;  it  is  the 
most  fertile  part  of  Turkestan.  Sandy  districts  lacking  the  water  necessary 
to  fertilise  them  form  little  deserts  here  and  there,  and  a  zone  of  sterile 
and  uninhabited  country  stretches  along  the  right  bank  of  the  river.  The 
most  important  of  the  streams  which  flow  towards  the  Syr-daria,  but  dry 
up  without  reaching  it,  is  the  Chu. 

The  Amu-daria  (the  Oxus  of  the  ancients  and  the  Jihun  of  the  Arabs), 
more  than  1,550  miles  in  length,  is  formed  by  two  rivers,  the  Aksu,  which 
is  probably  the  more  important,  and  another  issuing  from  Lake  Victoria  on 
the  Pamirs,  which  was  discovered  by  Wood  in  1838.  The  Surghab,  fed  by 
the  snows  of  the  Trans-Alai,  joins  the  river  lower  down  ;  beyond  that  the 
Oxus  escaping  from  the  gorges  of  the  outer  heights  of  the  Pamirs  only 
receives  tributaries  of  minor  importance.  Below  the  tributaries  flowing  from 
western  Badakhshan  it  does  not  receive  another  drop  of  water  from  the 
south  ;  all  those  rivers,  including  the  Zarafshan,  which  would  naturally 
have  flowed  to  it,  are  either  diverted  for  irrigation  or  are  drunk  up  by  the 
insatiable  sands  of  the  desert.  The  Murghab,  which  was  formerly  a 
tributary  of  the  Amu-daria,  is  now  exhausted  in  forming  the  oasis  of  Merv 
long  before  it  reaches  the  great  river.  The  changes  which  the  course  of 
the  Oxus  have  undergone  during  the  historic  period,  are  among  the  most 
extraordinary  phenomena  of  physical  geography.  During  the  first  half  of 
the  sixteenth  century  it  was  one  of  the  feeders  of  the  Caspian  ;  this 
was  indeed  only  a  temporary  phenomenon,  for  since  the  period  of  the  Greek 
historians  it  has  twice  been  turned  from  the  Caspian  to  Lake  Aral.  In 
Strabo's  time  the  Oxus,  "  the  largest  river  of  all  Asia,  with  the  exception  of 
those  of  India,"  fell  into  the  Caspian  Sea  ;  but  on  the  map  of  Idrisi,  the 
Seihun  and  the  Jihun  flowed  together  into  Lake  Aral.1 

Very  few  rivers  flow  into  the  Caspian  on  the  Asiatic  side.  The  largest  of 
them  is  the  Ural,  which  is  usually  considered  as  the  boundary  between 
Europe  and  Asia.  It  is  long,  but  narrow,  and  of  small  depth  ;  its  only 
importance  lies  in  the  very  considerable  fisheries  between  Uralsk  and  the 
mouth.  The  largest  lake  of  the  region  is  usually  termed  the  Aral  Sea  ;  it 
has  an  area  of  more  than  23,000  square  miles,  and  is  filled  with  very  salt 
water.  The  next  in  order  of  size  is  Lake  Balkhash,  which  extends  for  340 
miles  from  west  to  east.  Both  lakes  are  very  shallow  and,  like  all  the  sheets 
of  water  in  this  region,  are  diminishing  in  extent. 

Siberia. — Siberia  forms  a  plain  far  more  extensive  than  that  of 
European  Russia.  Its  special  character  is  the  regular  slope  of  its  surface 

1  See  the  author's  reduction  of  the  70  maps  of  Idrisi's  Geography  in  Schrader'S 
Historical  Atlas.  Paris,  Hachette. 


398       The   International  Geography 

from  south  to  north,  as  is  indicated  by  the  direction  of  all  the  Siberian 
rivers.  The  Tian  Shan,  Alatau,  Tarbagatai,  Altai,  Sayan  mountains,  Apple 
Tree  (Yablonovyi)  chain,  and  the  Dorsal  (Stanovoi)  chain  separate  it  on  the 
south  and  south-east  from  Mongolia  and  the  Pacific  slope.  The  nature 
of  the  land  divides  Siberia  into  two  parts  :  Western  Siberia,  which  includes 
the  north  of  Russia  in  Europe  from  which  the  extremity  of  the  Ural  range 
scarcely  separates  it,  and  Eastern  Siberia.  West  of  the  Yenisei  the  country 
is  low,  covered  with  rich  soil  or  sheets  of  water,  marshes,  and  trembling 
meadows.  The  watershed  between  the  Ob  and  the  Yenisei,  for  instance,  is  so 
imperceptible  that  according  to  the  direction  of  the  wind  the  water  of  the 
marshes  which  compose  it  flows  out  sometimes  to  one  river,  sometimes  to  the 
other.  The  steppe  of  Baraba,  between  Omsk  and  Tomsk,  is  as  flat  as  the  sur- 
face of  a  lake,  and  the  soil  is  formed  of  sand  so  fine  that  the  inhabitants  have 
no  idea  what  a  stone  is  like.  Between  the  Tobol  and  the  Ob  the  country  is 
one  huge  marsh,  impassable  in  summer  except  along  the  margins  of  the 
rivers  which  drain  off  the  superfluous  moisture  of  the  land  in  their 
immediate  neighbourhood.  The  only  mountain  chain  of  any  importance 
west  of  the  Yenisei  is  the  Ural,  which  runs  from  north  to  south  along  the 
meridian  of  60°  E.  for  1,500  miles,  with  a  breadth  varying  from  i £  to  100 
miles.  It  is  built  up  throughout  of  crystalline  rocks  covered  by  regularly 
disposed  strata  and  contrasting  with  the  uniformity  of  the  neighbouring 
plains.  In  the  north  and  in  the  south  the  Ural  mountains  rise  to  5,300  feet, 
but  in  the  centre  their  elevation  is  so  slight  that  one  crosses  the  chain 
between  Perm  and  Yekaterinburg  without  seeing  more  than  some  gently 
rounded  and  hardly  recognisable  eminences.  In  spite  of  its  northern 
situation  the  Ural  has  no  glaciers,  the  snow-fall  being  insufficient,  on 
account  of  the  dryness  of  the  air,  to  produce  permanent  snow  fields.  It  is 
only  in  some  of  the  deep  ravines  with  a  northern  exposure  that  any  snow 
remains  unmelted  during  summer.  East  of  the  Yenisei  the  land  is  diversified 
and  stony,  with  outcrops  of  solid  rock  appearing  here  and  there,  and  it  even 
rises  into  groups  of  hills  which  are  difficult  of  access.  Mount  Makachinga, 
the  highest  summit  north  of  the  Arctic  circle,  reaches  a  height  of  8,500  feet. 
Pacific  Slope.— The  mountains  which  traverse  Asiatic  Russia  from 
south-west  to  north-east  are  divided  into  a  series  of  highlands,  plateaux,  and 
chains.  From  the  Tian  Shan  to  the  Sayan  these  mountains  form  the  boun- 
dary between  the  Russian  and  Chinese  empires  ;  further  east,  where  the 
Russian  frontier  runs  furthest  to  the  north,  the  highlands,  of  an  average 
altitude  of  from  6,500  to  10,000  feet,  constitute  the  border  chain  of  the  great 
inclined  plain  of  Siberia.  From  the  high  plateau  of  Transbaikalia,  bounded 
on  the  south-west  by  the  Khamar-Daban  and  the  Sokhondo,  9,200  feet  high, 
the  Apple  Tree  chain  (Yablonovyi  Khrebef)  branches  towards  the  north-east 
but  contains  ncLSummits  of  an  equal  height.  From  the  shores  of  the  Sea  of 
Okhotsk  the  whole  eastern  region  is  very  diversified,  and  the  forms  of  the 
land  are  most  abrupt  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  sea.  The  edge  of  the 
Siberian  high  plain,  to  which  the  land  rises  imperceptibly  from  the  north- 


Russian    Empire — Configuration      399 

west,  is  sharply  scarped  when  seen  from  the  Pacific  side,  and  bears  the  name 
of  the  Backbone  or  Dorsal  chain  (Stanovoi  Khrebef)  which  Middendorff 
proposed  to  call  Stanovoi  Vodorazdel  or  Main  Divide.  This  edge,  which  is 
improperly  represented  on  maps  in  the  form  of  a  mountain  chain,  is 
really  composed  of  heights,  hills,  mountains,  or  plateaux,  still  little  known, 
and  winding  from  the  Transbaikal  plateaux  to  Cape  Dezhneff  (East  Cape),  a 
distance  of  2,500  miles. 

The  island  of  Sakhalin,  separated  from  the  mainland  by  the  strait  known 
as  the  Gulf  of  Tartary,  resembles  the  neighbouring  coast  of  Russian  Man- 
churia in  its  configuration.  The  mountain  chain  which  borders  the  west 
coast  rises  here  and  there  into  real  peaks  of  from  3,000  to  5,000  feet  in  height. 

Finally,  the  mountains  of  Kamchatka,  although  attached  to  the  Stanovoi 
Khrebet,  differ  from  it  completely.  They  are  the  highest,  after  the  giants  of  the 
Tian  Shan,  and  are  the  only  mountains  in  Russian  territory  which  continue 
volcanically  active.  The  highest  of  the  many  volcanoes  of  the  peninsula  is 
Mount  Klyuchev,  which  attains  to  within  a  few  feet  of  the  height  of  Mont 
Blanc.  Most  of  the  volcanoes  of  Kamchatka,  ten  of  which  are  in  full 
activity,  are  ranged  in  a  single  row  along  the  east  coast.  Although  smoking 
continually  and  sometimes  glowing  with  molten  lava,  these  mountains  stand 
clothed  in  eternal  snow  and  covered  with  glaciers. 

The  great  Khingan  and  the  Sikhota-Alin,  running  from  south-west  to  north- 
east, are  two  ranges  distinct  from  the  other  mountains  of  Asiatic  Russia. 

Rivers  of  the  Arctic  and  Pacific  Slopes. — The  rivers  of  Siberia 
are  amongst  the  largest  in  the  world.  If  we  only  suppose  that  half  of 
the  annual  precipitation  is  carried  by  them  to  the  sea,  the  volume  of 
the  Ob  and  of  the  Yenisei  must  in  each  case  exceed  110,000  cubic  feet 
per  second,  or  more  than  four  times  that  of  the  Rhone  and  the  Rhine, 
but  they  vary  greatly  throughout  the  year.  In  winter  the  frozen  surface 
retards  the  movement  of  the  deeper  water,  and  the  small  streams  are 
completely  stopped.  The  largest  rivers  of  Siberia  and  the  north  of 
European  Russia  are,  in  Europe,  the  Northern  Dvina  and  the  Pechora, 
and  in  Asia,  going  from  west  to  east,  the  Ob  with  the  Irtysh,  the  Yenisei, 
the  Lena,  the  Amur,  and  a  dozen  other  streams  which  would  elsewhere 
be  considered  great  rivers,  but  appear  insignificant  in  comparison  with 
those  which  have  been  named. 

At  the  junction  of  its  two  main  branches,  the  Sukhona  with  the  Yug 
and  the  Vychegda,  the  breadth  of  the  Northern  Dvina  is  more  than  two- 
thirds  of  a  mile ;  further  down,  after  receiving  the  Vaga  and  the  Pinega, 
it  spreads  over  a  space  which  varies  from  two  to  four  miles  in  breadth 
from  bank  to  bank,  and  its  delta  on  the  White  Sea  has  an  area  of  440 
square  miles.  The  Pechora  and  its  principal  tributaries  rise  on  the  slopes 
of  the  Ural  mountains,  and  the  river  is  larger  in  every  way  than  the 
Dvina;  its  delta  on  the  Arctic  Sea  having  a  length  of  125  miles. 

The  Ob  and  its  tributaries  drain  an  area  almost  equal  to  that  of  western 
Europe  (i£  million  square  miles).  Judged  by  length  and  directness  of 


400       The  International  Geography 

course,  the  Irtysh  and  not  the  Ob  is  the  main  river  of  this  system.  It  rises 
in  Mongolia,  where  at  first  it  bears  the  name  of  Urungu  and  later  Ulyungur, 
and  it  is  only  where  it  leaves  Lake  Zaisan  that  it  receives  the  name  of 
Irtysh,  which  it  bears  to  60°  N.  The  Ob  and  the  Irtysh  are  navigable 
throughout  almost  their  whole  length  ;  in  summer  all  the  large  tributaries 
and,  during  the  spring  floods,  several  of  the  second  rank  admit  of  the 
passage  of  barges  and  light-draught  steamers  ;  the  whole  navigable  distance 
of  the  Ob  and  its  tributaries  together  exceeds  9,000  miles.  At  its  mouth, 
on  the  Kara  Sea,  the  Ob  is  more  than  five  miles  wide  and  has  a  depth  of 
from  five  to  fifteen  fathoms. 

The  Yenisei,  like  the  Ob,  is  shorter  than  its  chief  tributary,  which  rises 
in  Mongolia  where  its  principal  branch  is  called  the  Selenga  ;  it  flows  into 
Lake  Baikal,  whence  it  escapes  under  the  name  of  the  Upper  Tunguska  or 
Angara.  The  Yenisei  itself  is  formed  by  the  junction  of  the  Ulu-Kem  and 
the  Bei-Kem  in  a  corry  of  the  mountain  range  which  continues  the  Sayan 
range  on  the  east,  then  after  escaping  from  its  high  mountain  basin  by  a 
succession  of  defiles  cutting  across  the  parallel  ridges  of  the  Sayan,  it 
flows  straight  northward  to  the  Arctic  Sea.  The  chief  tributaries  of  the 
Yenisei  come  from  the  east.  The  most  northern  of  these  is  the  Lower 
Tunguska,  which  places  the  basin  of  the  Yenisei  in  communication 
with  that  of  the  Lena.  The  tributaries  on  the  left  bank,  all  of  which 
are  comparatively  short  and  insignificant,  give  access  to  the  basin  of  the 
Ob.  The  Yenisei  enters  the  Arctic  Sea  at  the  head  of  the  long  Gulf  of 
Yenisei,  which  is  separated  from  that  of  the  Ob  by  a  low  and  compara- 
tively narrow  peninsula. 

The  Lena  rises  about  30  miles  from  Lake  Baikal ;  it  is  the  largest  river 
of  Eastern  Siberia,  and  lies  wholly  within  the  Russian  Empire.  In  its  upper 
course  the  scenery  is  very  picturesque.  The  only  tributary  of  any 
importance  which  it  receives  on  the  left  bank  is  the  Vilyui ;  but  on 
the  right  from  the  Vitim  plateau,  the  Olekma  and  the  ample  Aldan 
double  the  volume  of  the  upper  Lena.  From  the  confluence  of  the  latter 
stream  the  bed  of  the  Lena  has  a  breadth  of  from  four  to  five  miles  from 
bank  to  bank,  and  in  some  places  the  river  expands  into  lake-like  reaches. 
Unlike  the  Ob  and  the  Yenisei,  the  Lena  enters  the  Arctic  Sea  by  numerous 
branches  which  form  an  immense  delta. 

The  Amur,  formed  by  the  union  of  the  Shilka  and  the  Argun,  flows  at 
first  in  the  same  direction  as  the  upper  Lena,  then  from  the  confluence  of 
the  two  branches  to  its  mouth  it  describes  a  semicircle  of  almost 
geometrical  exactness.  Few  rivers  have  to  traverse  a  country  so  broken 
with  mountain  ranges,  the  most  important  of  which  are  the  Great  and  the 
Little  Khingan.  Being  as  large  as  any  of  the  three  great  northern  rivers  of 
northern  Siberia  the  eastward  course  of  the  Amur  gives  it  a  special 
importance  for  the  expansion  of  Russian  colonisation  towards  the  Pacific, 
and  it  is  by  the  valley  of  a  southern  tributary,  the  Ussuri,  that  Vladivostok 
is  reached. 


Russian   Empire — Climate  401 

Lake  Baikal  is  the  largest  accumulation  of  fresh  water  in  Asia,  and  is  of 
enormous  depth,  the  soundings  in  some  places  exceeding  700  fathoms,  the 
average  depth  of  the  southern  portion  being  140  fathoms. 


III.— CLIMATE  AND  ANTHROPOGEOGRAPHY 

Climate  of  the  Russian  Empire. — In  the  first  part  of  this 
description  of  the  Russian  Empire  a  simple  statement  of  facts  could  alone 
be  made  without  any  attempt  at  explanation  in  the  present  state  of  our 
knowledge,  but  in  what  follows  it  is  possible  to  explain  the  various 
distributions  by  reference  to  the  configuration  of  the  country,  and,  indeed, 
they  might  be  deduced  a  priori.  The  whole  Russian  Empire,  in  one 
continuous  mass,  lies  between  the  parallels  of  35°  and  75°  N.,  and  is  most 
elevated  in  the  south.  Consequently  the  average  temperature  of  winter 
must  be  low,  and  indeed  in  almost  all  parts  of  the  country  it  is  below 
the  freezing  point.  All  the  rivers  are 
frozen  and  the  ground  in  most  parts  is 
covered  by  snow  for  several  months,  the 
only  exceptions  being  some  districts  in  the 
south.  Russia  is  essentially  continental  in 
character ;  the  ratio  between  the  extent  of 
its  coast-line  and  its  area  is  remarkably 
small,  and  the  greatest  stretch  of  coast  is 
that  which  borders  the  icy  Arctic  Sea  ; 
from  west  to  east  there  is  not  a  single  ele- 
vation to  break  the  force  of  the  polar 
winds,  on  the  contrary,  great  mountain 
masses  ranged  along  the  southern  frontier 
bar  the  way  against  any  warm  breezes  from 
the  tropics.  Thus  the  climate  of  every 

region,  indeed,  of  every  town  in  the  Russian  Empire  is  more  rigorous  and 
more  extreme  as  one  goes  from  west  to  east,  and  all  are  more  severe  than 
in  the  regions  and  towns  of  western  Europe  situated  in  the  same  latitudes. 
The  diagram  of  the  mean  annual  temperature  for  Asia  (Fig.  228)  shows  this 
clearly  by  the  isotherms  forming  a  constant  angle  with  the  meridians  in 
almost  all  places  and  for  all  temperatures.  The  form  of  the  winter 
isotherms  is  most  interesting  and  suggestive  from  this  point  of  view. 
The  diagram  shows  how  sharply  the  isotherms  of  winter  bend  to  the  south 
as  they  approach  the  interior  of  the  continent.  Orenburg,  for  example, 
has  the  same  temperature  as  Arkhangelsk,  which  is  13°  further  north. 
Although  fourteen-fifteenths  of  the  vast  solitudes  of  Siberia  are  as  unknown 
from  the  climatic  point  of  view  as  from  any  other,  yet  observations  which 
have  been  made  on  the  shores  of  the  Lena  and  the  Yana  point  to  the 
existence  of  the  pole  of  cold  at  Verkhoyansk  (see  Fig.  95),  which  is 
not  quite  so  near  the  pole  as  is  Bodo.  The  isotherms  of  summer,  on 


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10    MOSCOW  SEVASTOPOL  

FlG.  an. — Rainfall  and  Temperature 
of  Moscow  and  Sevastopol. 


402       The   International  Geography 

the  contrary,  run,  on  the  whole,  from  west  to  east,  inclining  slightly 
towards  the  north,  except  on  the  Pacific  coast,  where  they  turn  sharply 
southwards  ;  thus  in  summer  Yakutsk  has  the  same  temperature  as  Moscow, 
although  it  is  6°  further  north.  In  a  similar  manner  the  lines  of  equal 
atmosphere  precipitation  and  of  equal  humidity  of  the  air  incline  towards 
the  south  as  they  run  from  west  to  east,  the  rainfall  being  least  in  the 
interior.  Atmospheric  disturbances  propagate  themselves  with  remarkable 
rapidity  over  the  almost  unbroken  plain  of  the  empire  ;  but  the  prevailing 
winds  are  different  in  each  part  of  the  country.  In  winter  the  cold  dense 
air  accumulates  in  eastern  Siberia  in  the  sort  of  hollow  through  which  the 
Lena  flows  ;  the  sky  is  always  clear,  the  weather  calm  and  still,  and  in 
some  parts  of  the  region  snow  falls  so  rarely  that  it  is  impossible  to  use 
.sledges  during  much  of  the  winter.  An  opposite  effect  is  produced  in 
summer  ;  the  same  part  of  Siberia  over  which  the  barometer  indicates  the 
greatest  pressure  in  winter  has  then  the  lowest  pressure  found  in  any 
continent,  and  thus,  speaking  generally,  it  is  this  part  of  Russia  that  is 
the  centre  from  which  the  winds  blow  outwards  in  all  directions  in 
winter,  and  towards  which  they  blow  inwards  from  all  directions  in 
summer. 

Flora. — The  climate  explains  the  flora,  which  in  turn  renders  visible 
and  defines  the  zones  of  climate.  Along  the  margin  of  the  Arctic  Sea 
there  are  great  stretches  of  marshy  land,  the  bare  ground  of  which  only 
bears  mosses,  lichens,  and  little  shrubs  so  stunted  that  they  are  no  higher 
than  the  grass  of  a  meadow  ;  this  is  the  zone  of  the  Tundra.  To  the  south 
it  is  bordered  by  a  region  of  Low  Forests,  in  which  birch,  larch  and  silver 
fir  grow  vigorously  enough  to  merit  the  name  of  trees.  Still  further  south 
Forests  of  splendidly  grown  trees  cover  almost  the  whole  country  ;  they 
include  birch  and  conifers  of  many  kinds,  and  here  and  there  the  clearings 
are  cultivated.  The  region  of  deciduous  forests,  including  the  greater  part 
of  Central  Russia,  is  that  in  which  agriculture  is  most  energetically  carried 
on,  the  crops  including  rye,  flax,  and  hemp,  the  principal  commodities  of 
Russia.  The  Black  Earth  Region  is  a  broad  zone  which  extends  from  the 
valley  of  the  Dnieper  to  the  base  of  the  Urals,  and  here  wheat,  fruit  trees, 
and  rich  grass  bring  prosperity  to  the  country  ;  while  south  of  the  barren 
Steppes,  the  valley  bottoms,  the  margin  of  the  Black  Sea,  Bessarabia,  and 
the  Crimea,  form  a  Southern  Zone,  where  maize  and  the  vine  flourish. 
In  the  Trans-Caucasus,  and  in  the  south  of  the  Crimea,  where  the  winter 
temperature  does  not  fall  below  the  freezing  point  (Fig.  211),  the  olive 
ripens  and  even  cotton  may  be  grown. 

The  boundaries  of  the  various  zones  of  vegetation  run  on  the  whole 
from  north-west  to  south-east ;  for  instance,  the  northern  limit  of  wheat  is 
north  of  60°  N.  in  Finland,  while  on  the  Pacific  coast  it  is  south  of  50°.  A 
glance  at  the  map  of  summer  temperature  (Fig.  230)  explains  how  in  the 
southern  zone  it  is  possible  to  cultivate  certain  Algerian  vegetables  which 
only  require  great  heat  in  summer,  while  the  map  of  winter  temperature 


Russian  Empire — People  403 

(Fig.  229)  explains  the  absence  of  fruit  trees  in  the  eastern  division  of  the 
same  zone.  The  forests  of  European  Russia  occupy  450  million  acres ; 
the  timber  which  predominates  in  the  north  is  pine  and  fir,  mixed  with 
larch  and  cedar  in  the  east,  and  with  birch,  aspen,  and  alder  in  the  west. 
In  the  centre  of  Russia  the  commonest  trees  are  the  oak,  the  maple,  the 
ash,  and  the  lime.  The  area  of  woodland  is  diminishing  with  alarming 
rapidity  ;  in  some  parts  of  the  country  which  were  densely  wooded  at  the 
commencement  of  the  nineteenth  century,  only  a  few  trees  are  now  pre- 
served in  gardens  as  a  rarity.  The  destruction  of  forests  increases  the 
dryness  of  the  climate,  and  the  lakes  and  rivers  are  beginning  to  lose  more 
by  evaporation  than  they  receive  from  rain,  and  some  waterways  which 
were  formerly  navigable  are  so  no  longer. 

Fauna. — The  fauna  of  the  different  parts  of  Russia  is  controlled  by 
the  land-forms,  the  climate,  and  the  flora.  The  Polar  bear,  the  Arctic  fox, 
seals,  and  reindeer,  such  birds  as  the  Polar  wild  goose,  and  fish  like  the 
cod,  salmon,  and  trout,  inhabit  the  land  and  waters  within  the  Arctic 
circle.  The  forest  region  and  the  Urals  shelter  the  stag,  the  weasel,  fox, 
hare,  bear,  and  wolf,  as  well  as  the  lynx  and  the  elk,  which  are  disappear- 
ing  ;  the  wild  boar  only  lives  in  the  basin  of  the  Duna,  and  the  beaver  is 
found  only  in  the  government  of  Minsk.  The  birds  include  the  grouse, 
partridge,  and  the  hazel  hen,  while  the  Salmonidae  and  the  Coregoni  are 
characteristic  fishes.  The  country  bordering  the  steppe  contains  most  of 
the  carnivora  of  the  forest  belt,  and  in  addition  squirrels,  foxes,  and  hares 
greatly  abound,  but  the  most  characteristic  animals  are  the  suslik  and  the 
baibak,  which  ravage  the  corn-fields.  Birds  are  less  numerous  than  in  the 
forests.  The  fish  include  carp,  silures,  and  sturgeon,  and  the  sterlet  of  the 
Volga  is  justly  famed  for  its  caviare.  What  has  been  said  of  the  fauna  of 
European  Russia  applies  equally  to  the  fauna  of  Siberia,  the  Ural  mountains 
interposing  no  barrier  to  the  movement  of  species.  The  only  difference  is 
that  the  Siberian  species  are  larger  in  size  than  those  of  European  Russia, 
and  the  fur-yielding  animals  are  very  important.  In  the  east  and  south  a 
tiger  may  occasionally  be  met  with,  and  on  the  Pamirs  the  Ovis  Poli,  or 
great  mountain  sheep,  is  still  abundant. 

Races. — The  nucleus  of  the  Russian  population  is  formed  by  the 
Slavonic  branch  of  the  Aryan  people,  who  occupy  the  most  of  Russia  and 
Poland  in  compact  masses,  speaking  different  dialects.  The  north-west 
and  the  north  are  occupied  by  the  Finns.  Scattered  amongst  the  Slavs 
in  tribes  and  families  there  are  many  Asiatic  races  —  the  Samoyeds, 
Zyrians,  and  Lapps  in  the  north,  and  the  Kirghiz  and  Kalmuk  hordes  in  the 
south.  The  west  is  occupied  by  another  Aryan  race  akin  to  the  Slavs,  but 
quite  distinct,  that  of  the  Letto- Lithuanians.  The  Tatars  in  the  east,  and 
the  Jews  in  the  south-west,  complete  the  main  racial  elements  of  European 
Russia.  The  Caucasus  is  occupied  by  Georgians  and  other  Caucasian 
peoples,  Turks,  Aryans  like  the  Armenians  and  Kurds,  and  Mongol 
Kalmuk  tribes. 
28 


404       The  International  Geography 


Asiatic  Russia  is  the  native  home  of  numerous  tribes,  some  scattered 
and  others  grouped  in  compact  masses  :  Samoyeds,  Tunguses,  Yugaghirs, 
Ostyaks,  Voguls,  Koryaks,  Kamchadales,  Turks,  Tatars,  Mongols,  Gilyaks, 
and  a  host  of  others. 

The  Russian  Slavs  may  be  distinguished  into  three  distinct  groups, 
(i)  The  White  Russians  occupy  the  forest-covered  plains  which  extend 
from  the  left  bank  of  the  Duna  to  the  marshes  of  the  Pripet.  (2)  The 
Little  Russians  occupy  the  vast  territory  between  the  Donets,  the  San,  and 
the  sources  of  the  Tisza.  (3)  The  Great  Russians  inhabit  the  remainder  of 
Russia,  especially  the  centre  and  the  north.  Generally  speaking  the  Rus- 
sian Slavs  differ  in  appearance  from  their  brethren  of  Austria  and  the 
Balkan  States.  Mixture  has  taken  place  chiefly  on  the  borders  of  the 
various  groups ;  thus  in  the  north  Russians  may  be  met  with  the  flat 

features  and  high  cheek- 
bones of  the  Finns,  and 
in  the  south  the  Slavs 
have  mixed  with  the 
Mongols,  Turks,  and 
Tatars, 

At  the  commencement 
of  written  history,  about 
900  years  ago,  the  Sla- 
vonic people  were  not 
numerous  in  the  plains 
of  what  is  now  Russia  ; 
they  occupied  scarcely  a 
fifth  part  of  the  territory, 
all  the  rest  of  the  country 
belonged  to  the  Lithu- 
anians, the  Finns,  and 
the  various  wandering  or 
settled  tribes  which  had  come  from  the  steppes  of  Asia.  At  the  pre- 
sent day  the  change  is  marvellous;  Russians  and  other  Slavs  inhabit 
four-fifths  of  the  empire,  and  have  spread  to  its  furthest  limits,  in 
Siberia,  in  Turkestan,  and  in  the  Caucasus.  Many  minglings  of  diverse 
populations  have  necessarily  taken  place  during  those  nine  centuries 
of  Slavonic  expansion  throughout  the  territory  occupied  by  the  ancient 
inhabitants.  The  Great  Russians  are  model  colonists ;  the  habit  of 
migration  is  hereditary  with  them,  their  ancestors  migrated  into  the 
Muscovite  forests,  and  the  descendants  of  these  pioneers  have  gone  on 
from  clearing  to  clearing,  from  steppe  to  steppe,  have  climbed  the  slopes 
of  the  Caucasus  and  of  the  Altai,  and,  descending  the  Amur,  they  have 
colonised  the  shores  of  the  Pacific. 

Population. — According  to  the  first  and  only  census  of  the  Russian 
Empire,  which  took  place  on  February  7,  1897,  the  population  numbers 


FlG.  212. — European  Russia — density  of  population. 


Russian  Empire — Resources        405 


130  million  inhabitants.  This  figure  is  exceeded  only  by  the  British 
Empire  and  China.  The  distribution  of  population  is  very  unequal,  as 
the  accompanying  map  of  the  population  of  European  Russia  clearly 
shows  (Fig.  212).  While  some  Russian  governments  have  as  many  as 
360  inhabitants  to  the  square  mile  (Petrokow  in  Poland)  others  have  not  so 
much  as  one  inhabitant  for  four  square  miles,  as  in 
the  coast  province  of  Siberia. 

Agriculture. — Agriculture  occupies  nine-tenths 
of  the  population,  and  900  million  acres,  forming  about 
two-thirds  of  the  whole  territory,  is  cultivable  land, 
of  which  225  million  acres  consist  of  the  celebrated 
Chernoziom,  or  black  earth,  stretching  from  the  Ural 
to  the  western  frontier  of  the  empire  ;  but  on  account 


of  the  slight  density  of  the  population  only  about  240  ulation  o/*™  square 
million  acres  are  actually  cultivated.  The  chief  place  mile .  °f  European 
amongst  the  products  of  the  soil  is  taken  by  cereals, 
and  then  follow  flax,  hemp,  potatoes,  beetroot,  and  tobacco ;  in  the  southern 
zone,  especially  in  the  Crimea,  fruit  trees  are  largely  grown,  and  the  vine 
is  cultivated  as  far  north  as  the  48th  parallel. 

The  rearing  of  cattle  acquires  considerable  importance,  especially 
in  the  grassy  steppe  land.  Sheep  are  most  numerous  amongst  the 
live  stock,  followed  in  order  by  horned  cattle,  horses,  camels,  buffaloes, 
goats  and  pigs.  The  fisheries  are  very  productive,  especially  in  the 
Volga,  the  Ural,  and  the  Siberian  rivers.  Hunting  and  the  collection  of 
furs  is  the  exclusive  occupation  of  the  native  tribes  in  the  Siberian 
solitudes. 

Mines. — Mining  is  carried  on  most  extensively  in  the  Urals,  the  Altai, 
and  the  Sayan  mountains,  and  in  Transbaikalia.  The  most  important 
minerals  produced  are,  in  the  order  of  their  value,  gold,  silver,  copper 
iron,  salt,  coal  (in  the  basin  of  the  Donets  and  the  Oka),  and  petroleum  at 
Baku,  Kerch,  and  Taman.  Platinum,  lead,  tin,  and 
zinc  are  found  in  smaller  quantities  ;  some  precious 
stones  occur  in  the  Urals  and  Transbaikalia,  and 
marble  is  quarried  in  Finland  and  the  Crimea. 

Industries.— Not  very  long  ago  all  manufactured 
goods  were  imported  into  Russia  from  abroad,  or  were 
made  locally  on  a  small  scale,  but  during  the  last  few 
FIG  214  —Average  bob-   decades  Russia  has  been  making  itself  more  and  more 
ulation  of  a  square  independent  of  foreign  manufactures.    There  are  now 
mtle  of  Siberia.  ag  manv  as  Ioo,ooo  factories  and   workshops   of  all 

kinds,  most  of  them  being  situated  in  the  great  centres  of  population, 
especially  St.  Petersburg  and  Moscow,  in  Poland,  and  in  the  mining 
districts ;  but  six-sevenths  of  the  industrial  population  work  in  their 
own  houses  (Knstari).  The  first  place  amongst  the  industries  belongs 
to  the  distilleries  and  breweries  ;  cotton  factories  and  sugar  refineries 


406       The  International  Geography 


come  next,  and  then  follow  flour  mills,  brick  works,  woollen  factories, 
iron  works,  tobacco  manufactories,  and  textile  mills  for  linen  and  hemp. 

Trade. — The  internal  commerce  of  Russia  is  considerably  developed, 
the  number  of  merchants  being  more  than  80,000.  Much  of  the  trade  is 
still  carried  on  in  great  fairs,  to  which  people  come  from  far  and  near  ; 
they  are  held  in  many  of  the  towns  in  European  Russia,  the  most  cele- 
brated being  that  of  Nizhnii-Novgorod.  The  navigable  rivers  of  Russia 
are  not  very  extensive  compared  with  the  size  of  the  country.  European 
Russia  does  not  contain  more  than  22,000  miles  of  navigable  waterway,  or 
one  mile  for  every  90  square  miles  of  area.  Since  all  the  rivers  are  frozen 
during  the  cold  of  winter,  and  much  reduced  in  depth  by  the  dryness  of 
summer,  navigation  upon  them  is  in  many  cases  confined  to  the  period  of 
the  spring  floods.  The  one  advantage  which  the  rivers  of  Russia  present 
from  a  commercial  point  of  view  is  their  divergence  from  neighbour- 
ing sources,  which  facilitates  transport  from  one  to  another,  and  the 
construction  of  canals.  The  Russian  canals  are  of  much  commercial  impor- 
tance ;  the  greatest 
of  these,  as  regards 
the  traffic  carried  on 
by  it,  is  the  system 
which  unites  the 
Caspian  and  the  Bal- 
tic by  the  Volga  and 
Neva,  the  Marie 
canal,  those  of  Tikh- 
vin,  and  of  Vyshnii- 
V  o  1  o  c  h  e  k  .  The 
canals  uniting  the 
FIG.  215.— The  Resources  of  the  Russian  Empire.  Black  Sea  with  the 

Baltic  by  the  Dnieper  on  the  one  side,  and  the  Duna,  the  Nieman  and 
the  Vistula  on  the  other,  are  less  important,  being  only  available  for  barges. 
Considering  the  area  of  the  country,  the  railway  system  is  not  as  yet  very 
extensive,  though  growing  steadily.  The  cart  roads  are  generally  very 
bad,  especially  in  spring  and  autumn.  Winter  is  the  best  season  for 
the  transport  of  goods,  for  then  the  whole  plain  of  Russia,  with  its  rivers, 
lakes,  and  marshes,  is  covered  with  a  uniform  pavement  of  snow,  and 
sledging  is  universal.  Foreign  trade  by  land  is  carried  on  with  western 
Europe,  and  with  the  various  countries  of  Asia  on  the  east  and  south. 
The  most  important  trading  towns  near  the  western  frontier  are  the 
ancient  Kiyev  (Kieff),  on  the  Dnieper,  Warsaw,  the  old  capital  of  Poland, 
on  the  Vistula,  and  Vilna.  On  the  Asiatic  side  the  most  important  centres 
are  Orenburg,  Troitsk,  Petropavlovsk,  Semipalatinsk,  and  Kyakhta. 

Seaboard  and  Shipping. — The  Russian  Empire  has  280  square 
miles  of  area  for  every  mile  of  coast,  and  this  comparative  isolation  from 
the  sea  is  increased  practically  by  the  fact  that  the  Arctic  coast  is  almost 


W  Platinum     X  Foss 
V  Copptr  Ivory 

-»  Furs  0  Petroleum 

H  Black  Earth  District 


Russian  Empire — Government       407 

always  and  everywhere  closed  by  ice  ;  the  seas  of  Bering,  Okhotsk,  and  of 
Japan,  although  free  for  several  months  of  the  year,  border  an  uninhabited 
country  far  removed  from  all  the  great  centres  of  population  ;  near  these 
centres  the  White  Sea  is  only  navigable  during  three  months  of  the  year. 
The  Baltic  is  a  dangerous  sea,  and  for  five  months  the  greater  part  of  the 
coast  is  blocked  by  ice  ;  recent  attempts  to  keep  the  harbours  open  by  the 
use  of  ice-breaking  steamers  have  to  some  extent  mitigated  this  disadvan- 
tage. Finally,  the  Caspian  is  enclosed  by  land,  affording  no  outlet  to  the 
ocean.  The  Black  Sea  and  the  Sea  of  Azov  alone  are  nearly  always  ice-free, 
but  the  former,  though  deep  and  safe  for  shipping,  has  few  harbours,  and  the 
latter  is  too  shallow  to  be  useful ;  moreover  they  are  both  separated  from 
the  ocean  by  a  series  of  straits  commanded  by  foreign  countries.  These 
facts  explain  the  long  struggle  of  Russia  to  gain  a  footing  on  the  Baltic, 
which  was  accomplished  under  Peter  the  Great,  and  the  recent  tendency  to 
expansion  towards  Constantinople  and  the  Mediterranean  on  the  one  hand, 
and  towards  the  Yellow  Sea  on  the  other,  where  Port  Arthur  and  Dalni 
(Ta-lien-wan)  were  held  for  a  time.  The  nature  of  its  coasts  explains  why 
Russia  possesses  few  great  seaports.  The  most  important  on  the  Baltic  are 
St.  Petersburg  with  Cronstadt,  Narva,  Revel,  Riga,  Windau  and  Libau ;  on 
the  Black  Sea,  Odessa,  Nikolayev,  Kherson,  Eupatoria,  Theodosia,  Kerch, 
Berdyansk,  Taganrog,  Mariupol,  Rostov  on  the  Don,  Yeisk  and  Poti ;  on  the 
Arctic  coast,  Arkhangelsk  and  Alexandrovsk ;  on  the  Caspian,  Astrakhan, 
Derbent  and  Baku,  and  on  the  eastern  coast  the  Pacific  ports,  Vladivostok, 
Port  Arthur,  and  Dalni. 

Government. — The  Russian  Empire  was  an  absolute  autocratic 
monarchy,  in  which  the  Emperor  or  Tsar  was  the  temporal  chief  of  all  his 
subjects.  He  made  the  laws,  declared  war  and  concluded  peace  in  his  own 
name,  and  on  his  own  responsibility.  The  only  dignitaries  who  took  part 
in  the  legislative  powers  of  the  emperor  were  the  eleven  Ministers,  the  Coun- 
cil of  State,  the  Senate,  and  the  Holy  Synod.  The  Council  of  State  ought 
in  principle  to  take  cognisance  of  all  laws  and  of  all  important  measures 
before  they  are  submitted  to  the  sovereign,  but  it  had  no  right  of  initiative 
for  the  preparation  of  new  laws.  The  ''Directing  Senate  "  created  by  Peter 
the  Great  was  charged  with  the  registration  and  publication  of  the  imperial 
uka%ps,  and  it  also  served  as  the  supreme  court  of  appeal  in  judicial  matters. 
The  Holy  Synod,  also  instituted  by  Peter  the  Great,  is  presided  over  by 
the  Metropolitan  of  St.  Petersburg  and  Novgorod,  and  is  composed  of  a 
certain  number  of  prelates,  while  a  lay  procurator,  nominated  by  the 
Emperor,  represents  the  wishes  of  the  sovereign.  In  1905  an  elective 
parliament  called  the  Duma  was  convened  by  the  Emperor,  who  however 
retains  his  personal  power  and  legislative  initiative.  In  1864  the  statute 
of  territorial  institutions  had  been  promulgated,  which  recognised  the  elec- 
tive principle  in  the  conduct  of  business  for  each  government  and  for 
each  district.  These  local  institutions  bear  the  name  of  Zemstov,  and  are 
composed  of  representatives  drawn  from  all  classes  of  society —nobles, 


40  8       The  International  Geography 

citizens,  traders,  and  peasants.  The  President  of  the  Zemstvo  is  almost 
always  the  marshal  of  the  nobility,  and  the  sittings  are  very  short.  The 
governor  of  the  province  has  the  right  of  suspending  any  decision  of  the 
Zemstvo  which  he  considers  to  be  contrary  to  the  laws  or  to  the  well- 
being  of  the  State.  The  municipal  institutions  are  analogous  to  the 
Zemstvo.  The  grand-duchy  of  Finland  has  preserved  some  remains  of  its 
ancient  constitution  in  a  national  parliament,  consisting  of  four  estates — the 
nobles,  the  clergy,  the  burghers,  and  the  peasants.  The  Central  Asiatic 
State  Bokhara  has  still  nominally  its  own  sovereign,  but  from  1873  it  has 
been  practically  a  Russian  dependency.  The  khanate  of  Khiva  has  also 
been  under  Russian  supremacy  since  1872. 

Administration  of  Justice. — The  organisation  of  justice,  estab- 
lished in  1864,  is  justly  considered  as  one  of  the  greatest  reforms  of  the 
Tsar  Alexander  II.  As  yet  the  Russian  courts,  and  especially  the  juries, 
have  shown  that  clemency  which  is  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  traits  of 
the  national  character,  and  have  not  aspired  to  the  ideal  of  implacable 
severity  which  prevails  in  other  countries.  In  principle  the  judicial 
power  is  independent  of  the  administrative  ;  trials  are  public,  and  serious 
cases  have  to  be  submitted  to  assize  courts  with  a  jury.  In  reality,  how- 
ever, several  offences  such  as  bigamy,  resistance  to  local  authorities,  and 
malversation  of  public  money,  are  reserved  from  the  privilege  of  trial  by 
jury ;  political  crimes,  which  consist  in  the  spreading  of  more  or  less 
advanced  ideas,  fall  under  the  jurisdiction  of  special  courts,  and  for  some 
years  even  this  semblance  of  a  fair  trial  has  been  set  aside  by  a  private 
process  of  the  administrative  authority  which  banishes  the  delinquents  or 
the  suspects  to  the  north  of  Russia,  or  even  to  Siberia,  for  periods  which 
may  extend  to  as  much  as  ten  years.  Since  1864  Justices  of  the  Peace  had 
been  elected  by  representatives  of  the  Zemstvos,  but  these  were  changed 
in  1889  for  "  chiefs  of  the  district"  (Uyezdnyi  nachalnik]  in  the  country,  and 
"  town  magistrates  "  (Gorodskoi  sudia)  in  the  towns  ;  both  being  nominated 
by  the  administration. 

Books,  magazines,  which  are  very  numerous  in  Russia,  and  newspapers 
when  containing  objectionable  matter  are  not,  as  in  all  other  countries, 
made  the  subject  of  investigation  in  the  courts,  but  are  judged  privately 
by  the  Government ;  a  committee  of  Ministers  has,  since  1872,  exercised 
a  censorship  without  appeal  on  all  literary  works,  and  interdicted  or 
confiscated  those  which  they  considered  it  undesirable  to  place  before 
the  public.  Newspapers  are  subject  to  the  special  disability  of  being 
only  supplied  to  subscribers,  the  sale  of  single  numbers  being  prohibited. 

Education. — There  are  in  Russia  nine  universities  and  42  special 
colleges.  Secondary  instruction  is  given  in  the  Gymnasia  and  other 
schools  under  the  charge  of  the  Ministry  of  Education,  as  well  as  in  the 
Cadets'  College,  which  is  under  the  Ministry  of  War.  These  institutions 
number  in  all  900.  Elementary  education  is  much  neglected  ;  in  European 
Russia  there  are  about  65,000  schools,  with  rather  more  than  3  million 


Russian  Empire — Towns  409 

pupils  of  both  sexes,  a  proportion  of  one  pupil  for  34  inhabitants ;  in 
the  Caucasus  there  is  one  pupil  for  every  50  inhabitants,  and  in  Siberia 
a  smaller  ratio.  The  expenditure  upon  education  in  1896  was  about 
£2,600,000,  or  £i  for  50  inhabitants.  In  contrast,  it  may  be  noted  that  in 
the  United  Kingdom,  with  one-third  of  the  population  of  the  Russian 
Empire,  the  schools  are  attended  by  5,400,000 
pupils,  or  one  for  every  seven  inhabitants,  and  the 
government  expenditure  on  primary  education  is 
^9,000,000,  or  more  than  £i  for  every  five  in- 
habitants. 

Army  and  Navy. — Military  service  is  uni- 
versal and  compulsory  ;  the  period  of  service  in 
the  regular  army  is  five  years  for  the  illiterate,  but 
reductions  are  made  in  proportion  to  the  degree  of  education  of  the  con- 
scripts. The  effective  strength  of  the  army  on  a  peace  footing  is  about 
42,000  officers,  and  more  than  1,000,000  men.  In  case  of  war  Russia  can 
place  in  the  field  upwards  of  4^  millions  of  men,  and  more  than  half  a 
million  horses.  The  most  important  fortresses  in  European  Russia  are 
Warsaw,  Ivangorod,  Novo-Georgievsk,  and  Brest-Litovsk,  forming  what 
has  been  termed  the  Polish  Quadrilateral ;  Vilna,  Ust  Dvinsk  (which 
defends  Riga),  Dvinsk  (formerly  called  Dunaburg),  and  Vitebsk,  between 
the  Polish  frontier  and  the  Duna ;  Bendery  and  Akkerman,  which  defend 
south-western  Russia.  In  the  Caucasus  Alexandropol,  Kars,  and  other 
towns  are  strongly  fortified,  and  in  Asia  Samar- 
cand,  Tashkent,  and  Vladivostok  may  be  men- 
tioned, but  there  are  many  smaller  forts  at  different 
points  on  the  frontier. 

In  the   navy  the   period  of   active    service  is 
seven  years.      The  Russian  fleet  in    Europe   and 
Asia  contains  250  vessels  with  38,000  men,  and  its 
FIG.  2ij.—The   Russian     annual  cost  is  about  one-fifth  that  of  the  army. 
The  chief  fortified  seaports  are  Sveaborg  in  Fin- 
land, Cronstadt  and  Ust  Dvinsk  on  the  Baltic,  Sevastopol  and  Nikolayev 
on  the  Black  Sea,  Vladivostok  and  Port  Arthur  (on  Manchurian  territory 
leased  from  China)  in  Asia. 

IV.— TOWNS 

The  Towns  of  Russia.— With  a  few  exceptions  the  towns  of  Russia 
are  hardly  more  than  villages ;  the  houses  are  usually  of  wood  or  brick, 
and  the  streets  are  ill-paved  when  they  are  paved  at  all.  In  rainy  weather 
the  foot  passengers  have  to  wade  through  the  mud,  and  in  the  drought  of 
summer  they  are  half  blinded  with  driving  dust.  The  towns  contain  few 
or  no  buildings  of  any  interest.  In  1897  there  were  in  the  Russian  Empire 
twenty  towns  with  a  population  exceeding  100,000,  but  in  addition  to 


4-io       The   International  Geography 

hese  several  of  the  smaller  towns  ueserve  to  be  mentioned  on  account  of 
specially  interesting  circumstances. 

St.  Petersburg. — St.  Petersburg,  the  modern  capital  of  Russia,  ranks 
fifth  by  population  amongst  the  great  towns  of  Europe.  It  occupies  six 
large  and  many  small  islands  at  the  mouth  of  the  Neva,  but  its  true  centre 
is  now  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Great  Neva,  south  of  the  islet  on  which 
Peter  the  Great  founded  his  new  capital  two  centuries  ago.  Here  stand 
the  Winter  Palace,  the  Admiralty,  the  Cathedrals  of  St.  Isaac  and  Kazan, 
the  equestrian  statue  of  Peter  the  Great,  based  upon  the  heaviest  mass  of 
rock  that  has  ever  been  transported  by  human  agency,  and  the  column  of 
Alexander,  a  granite  monolith  75  feet  in  height.  The  part  of  the  town 
which  was  first  built  contains  the  Fortress  of  Peter  and  Paul,  where  so 
many  prisoners  of  State  have  been  confined,  and  the  church  in  which  the 
Emperors  are  buried.  On  Vassili  Ostrov  (Basil  Island),  the  University,. 


v'-.,-     -..  /v-«        n  t      .y\ 


FIG.  218. — St.  Petersburg  and  surroundings. 

the  Academy  of  Sciences,  the  Exchange ;  in  the  quarter  of  Viborg,  the 
School  of  Medicine,  and  the  Artillery  College  are  situated.  The  streets 
of  St.  Petersburg  are  wide  and  regular  with  lofty  houses  of  five  or  six 
stories,  but  there  are  few  public  gardens  and  no  thoroughfares  planted 
with  trees.  The  climate  is  unhealthy,  and  the  mortality  exceeds  the 
birth  rate  so  that  the  population  is  only  maintained  by  the  immigration 
of  people  from  all  parts  of  the  empire,  and  even  from  abroad.  Although 
St.  Petersburg  is  essentially  a  town  of  soldiers  and  government  offi- 
cials (Ckinovniks]  it  has  also  considerable  industrial  importance  :  some 
large  establishments,  belonging  to  the  State,  manufacture  tapestry,  glass 
and  china,  but  the  main  industrial  activity  is  found  in  the  factories  of 
private  firms.  The  commercial  movement  of  St.  Petersburg  by  sea 
amounts  to  a  quarter  or  even  a  half  of  the  total  trade  of  Russia,  but  most 
of  the  traffic  in  the  ports  of  the  capital  is  carried  on  by  foreign  vessels ; 
the  British,  German  and  Norwegian  flags  are  more  common  amongst 


Russian  Empire — Towns  411 

the  merchant  shipping  than  the  Russian,  and  indeed  many  of  the 
vessels  sailing  under  this  flag  belong  to  Finnish  owners.  Education 
of  every  grade,  from  the  University  downwards,  is  more  developed  than  in 
any  other  town  in  Russia,  and  in  all  matters  concerning  literature,  science 
and  art,  St.  Petersburg  leads  the  empire.  The  Public  Library  ranks  next 
to  the  British  Museum  Library  in  London  and  the  National  Library  in 
Paris.  The  museums  are  amongst  the  finest  on  the  continent.  The  most 
important  is  the  Hermitage,  which  contains  a  great  number  of  pictures  by 
the  most  famous  European  painters,  and  a  unique  selection  of  the  works  of 
Russian  artists,  little  known  in  western  Europe  ;  but  the  glory  of  the 
museum  is  the  collection  of  ancient  Greek  remains  of  the  best  period  of 
Hellenic  art  and  the  Scythian  antiquities  from  the  Tauride  and  the  south 
of  Russia.  A  city  of  sumptuous  palaces  St.  Petersburg  completes  the 
splendour  of  its  state  by  a  ring  of  parks,  royal  residences  and  pleasure 
resorts  at  Peterhof,  Oranienbaum  and  Pavlovsk.  The  village  of  Pulkovo, 
about  twelve  miles  south  of  the  capital,  is  the  site  of  the  national  observa- 
tory which  sets  the  meridian  for  Russia.  It  is  approximately  30°  20'  east 
of  that  of  Greenwich.  Twenty  miles  to  the  west  of  St.  Petersburg  the 
powerfully  fortified  naval  port  of  Cronstadt,  on  an  island,  forms  the  centre 
of  the  chain  of  impregnable  fortifications  which  protects  the  mouth  of  the 
Neva. 

North-Western  and  Northern  Towns. — Riga  is  situated  at  the  head 
of  the  Gulf  of  Riga  on  the  Baltic,  at  the  mouth  of  the  great  navigable  Duna,  a 
river  whose  sources  rise  close  to  those  of  the  Volga  and  Dnieper.  The  har- 
bour is  the  third  in  the  Russian  Empire  in  order  of  trade,  but  its  prosperity 
is  hampered  by  the  length  of  the  winter,  during  which  all  traffic  is  stopped 
by  ice  for  several  months.  More  than  one  third  of  the  trade  of  Riga  is 
with  Great  Britain,  which  sends  salt,  coal,  tobacco,  spirits,  colonial  com- 
modities and  manufactured  goods,  and  receives  in  exchange  hemp,  flax, 
grain,  tallow  and  timber.  The  old  Hanseatic  town  still  presents  a 
mediaeval  appearance  in  its  central  parts,  where  some  interesting  buildings 
have  survived,  including  the  palace  of  the  old  Teutonic  Knights  and  the 
Guild  halls  ;  but  all  round  beyond  the  boulevards  modern  suburbs  extend 
with  wide  and  straight  streets.  The  Polytechnic  School  is  the  principal 
educational  establishment.  The  river  is  crossed  by  a  viaduct  nearly  half 
a  mile  in  length,  and  all  approaches  are  protected  by  fortifications. 

Vilna,  the  ancient  capital  of  Lithuania,  on  a  tributary  of  the  Niemen, 
contains  an  ancient  cathedral  founded  by  Yagello,  and  historic  castles 
which  have  been  in  ruins  since  the  Muscovite  occupation.  Vilna  was  one 
of  the  centres  of  culture  in  White  Russia,  and  the  first  printing  office  in  the 
empire  which  employed  the  Cyrillic  character  was  founded  here  in  1525. 
The  historial  museum  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  in  Russia,  and  there 
is  also  a  Geographical  Society. 

Arkhangelsk  (Archangel)  was  founded  at  the  mouth  of  the  Northern 
Dvina  on  the  White  Sea  in  the  twelfth  century,  but  only  became  important 


412       The  International  Geography 

when  the  English  navigators  seeking  the  North-East  Passage  arrived  there 
by  chance  in  the  sixteenth  century,  when  it  was  the  only  Russian  seaport. 
During  the  few  months  when  the  sea  is  free  from  ice  Arkhangelsk  exports 
flax,  hemp,  oats  and  other  grain,  timber,  tar,  tallow  and  fish  oil.  A  colony 
of  English  workmen  is  established  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  town, 
taking  charge  of  the  great  saw-mills.  The  railway  recently  extended  to 
Arkhangelsk  from  Moscow  makes  it  the  most  northerly  terminus  in  Russia. 

Yekaterininsk,  newly  founded  on  the  Murman  coast,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
river  Kola,  is  an  ice-free  port  which  will  be  of  value  when  placed  in  com- 
munication with  the  railway  system. 

Towns  of  Finland.— Helsingfors,  the  capital  of  the  Grand  Duchy  of 
Finland,  is  a  well-built  European  town  laid  out  with  parks  and  promenades, 
and  possessing  the  most  northerly  botanic  garden  in  the  world.  Its 
university  is  a  centre  of  scientific  activity,  and  the  library  contains  a 
valuable  collection  of  documents  bearing  on  Finland  and  its  history.  It  is 
an  active  seaport,  trading  particularly  with  England.  The  formidable 
defensive  works  of  Sveaborg,  on  the  rocks  of  the  Seven  Islands,  command 
the  channel  leading  to  Helsingfors  and  protect  the  town  from  attack  on 
the  seaward  side. 

A  bo,  the  most  ancient  city  in  Finland,  is  a  centre  for  the  maritime  trade 
of  the  gulfs  of  Bothnia  and  Finland.  It  is  the  second  town  of  the  grand 
duchy  in  population,  and  third  in  trade,  the  staples  of  the  port  being  timber 
and  grain.  The  astronomer  Argelander  compiled  his  famous  star-catalogue 
at  Abo.  Viborg  is  the  most  frequented  harbour  of  Finland,  and  stands 
second  in  the  value  of  its  trade,  on  account  of  its  favourable  position,  being 
near  St.  Petersburg  and  a  terminus  of  railways  and  canals  leading  to  the 
interior.  Large  vessels  cannot  reach  the  port,  but  discharge  and  load  at 
Trangsund,  a  strongly  fortified  roadstead  eight  miles  further  south.  The 
chief  export  is  timber. 

Towns  of  Poland. — Warsaw  (Warszawa  in  Polish),  situated  on  a  great 
navigable  river  in  the  centre  of  a  fertile  plain,  is  the  point  of  convergence 
of  commercial  routes  from  all  parts  of  Russia  and  western  Europe,  and  is 
destined  one  day  to  become  one  of  the  greatest  cities  in  Europe.  The 
ancient  palace  of  the  kings  of  Poland,  surrounded  by  terraced  gardens 
rising  immediately  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  is  the  most  remarkable  of  the 
public  buildings,  and  contains  a  library  and  collection  of  works  of  art. 
From  it  diverge  the  principal  avenues  lined  with  hotels  and  public  build- 
ings. The  old  town  with  narrow  streets  extends  towards  the  north,  while 
the  newer  quarters  with  their  wide  avenues  are  situated  towards  the 
south.  A  railway  viaduct  and  a  seven-arched  bridge  across  the  yellow 
waters  of  the  Vistula  unite  the  city  to  the  suburb  of  Praga.  There  is  a 
university,  founded  in  1816,  but  closed  after  the  insurrection  of  1830-31, 
until  it  was  re-opened  in  1861.  It  does  not  enjoy  all  the  rights  which  the 
other  Russian  universities  possess,  and  the  teaching  must  be  given  entirely 
in  the  Russian  language.  Warsaw  also  possesses  a  School  of  Arts  and 


Russian  Empire — Towns  413 


Industries  and    a    musical    Conservatoire.      The    capital    of    Poland    is 
•distinguished  by  remarkable  industrial  and  commercial  activity. 

Lodz,  which  was  only  a  poor  village  of  less  than  800  inhabitants  in  1821, 
is  now  the  second  city  in  Poland  by  population  as  well  as  by  industry.  It 
is  not  an  ordinary  town  ;  it  consists  of  one  street  about  six  miles  in  length 
on  each  side  of  which  there  are  hundreds  of  factories  where  seven-eighths 
•of  all  the  cotton  goods  manufactured  in  Poland  are  produced.  Czestochowa 
with  a  celebrated  convent  is,  next  to  Kiyev,  the  most  frequented  place  of 
pilgrimage  in  the  Slavonic  world,  and  it  is  also  a  busy  market  town,  doing 
a  large  trade  in  cattle  and  in  cloth.  The  convent  perched  on  the  summit 
of  a  hill  looks  like  a  fortress,  and  was  indeed  one  of  the  chief  castles  of 
Poland  in  former  days.  Lublin  is  the  second  Polish  town  in  size,  if  the 
great  agglomeration  of  population  in  the  straggling  villages  of  Lodz  is  not 
considered.  It  became  famous  by  the  stormy  meeting  of  the  Diet  of  1568, 
which  decreed  the  incorporation  of  Lithuania  with  Poland. 

Moscow. — The  great  city  of  Moscow  is  situated  almost  in  the  geome- 
trical centre  of  European 
Russia,  and  thus  forms  a 
focus  where  roads  and  rail- 
ways from  all  parts  of  the 
country  converge.  In  its 
larger  outlines  the  plan  of 
Moscow  resembles  that  of 
Paris,  the  same  winding 
river  and  the  same  circular 
boulevards  appear  ;  but 
while  the  Seine  is  large 
enough  to  make  Paris  the 
principal  port  of  France, 


FIG.  219. — Moscow. 


the  Moskva  which  traverses  the  ancient  capital  of  Russia  is  only  navigable 
for  small  vessels.  The  centre  of  the  town  is  the  Kremlin  or  fortress  situ- 
ated on  the  left  bank  of  the  Moskva,  and  constituting  a  picturesque  pile  of 
•cathedrals,  monasteries,  palaces  and  barracks.  There  rises  the  tower  of 
Ivan  the  Great,  266  feet  high,  and  an  object  of  veneration,  almost  of  worship 
to  the  people.  Some  of  the  buildings  of  the  royal  palace  are  remarkable  in 
their  architecture,  recalling  in  turn  the  palaces  of  Venice  and  those  of 
India,  and  presenting  a  confused  congeries  of  domes,  turrets  and  colon- 
nades painted  vividly  in  green  and  red  and  yellow.  Besides  the  Kremlin 
there  is  another  fortified  enclosure,  that  of  Kitaigorod,  the  commercial  city 
containing  many  remarkable  buildings,  including  the  famous  church  of 
Basil  the  Blessed  (Vassili-Blazhennyi)  ornamented  with  tiles  and  variegated 
colours,  the  details  of  its  architecture  purely  Byzantine,  but  entirely 
Muscovite  in  its  general  appearance.  Since  1755  Moscow  has  been  the 
seat  of  the  most  frequented  university  in  Russia,  which  has  exercised 
considerable  influence  on  all  philosophical  and  literary  movements  in  the 


414       The  International  Geography 

empire,  especially  between  1830  and  1848.  Moscow  is  a  great  centre  of 
publishing,  and  the  books  and  prints  produced  there  are  carried  to  the 
most  remote  provinces  of  Russia  to  be  sold  or  exchanged  for  the  products 
of  the  country.  It  is  one  of  the  chief  industrial  centres,  the  manufactures 
of  the  government  of  Moscow  amounting  to  one-fifth  of  the  whole  pro- 
duction of  the  empire. 

Tula  is  the  chief  station  on  the  railway  between  Moscow  and 
Kharkov,  in  the  centre  of  a  manufacturing  district.  Several  thousand 
workmen  are  employed  in  the  manufacture  of  arms  in  one  factory  which 
produces  70,000  rifles  as  well  as  swords  and  instruments  of  iron  and  steel. 
Tula  is  great  in  making  cutlery,  mathematical  instruments,  machinery  and 
metal  work  of  every  kind  ;  no  less  than  200,000  of  the  samovars,  of  which 
every  Russian  family  possesses  one,  are  turned  out  each  year. 

Towns  of  the  Volga  Basin. — Nizhnii-Novgorod,  a  town  of  100,000 
inhabitants,  is  one  of  the  most  important  in  Russia  on  account  of  its 
great  annual  fair,  which  is  not  only  the  most  frequented  in  the  empire 
but  in  the  world.  The  town  stands  320  feet  above  the  river  at  the  con- 
fluence of  the  Oka.  Kazan  is  first  mentioned  in  the  Russian  Annals  in 
the  year  1376.  The  town  having  been  removed  in  the  fifteenth  century 
more  than  three  miles  back,  is  no  longer  situated  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
Volga,  except  during  floods,  when  the  great  river  spreads  over  the  plain 
and  reaches  the  base  of  the  little  hill  on  which  Kazan  stands.  All  the 
houses  are  modern  with  the  exception  of  the  ancient  red  brick  tower  of 
Sumbek.  Kazan  contains  a  university  and  a  Tatar  printing  establishment, 
which  produces  a  great  number  of  books,  as  well  as  an  ecclesiastical  college 
dating  from  1646.  It  is  also  an  important  commercial  town,  half  of  its 
inhabitants  being  engaged  in  manufactures  and  trade.  Saratov  is  the 
largest  city  of  the  lower  Volga,  possessing  factories  of  every  kind  and 
forming  the  centre  of  trade  for  the  German  colonies  established  along  the 
river.  There  is  considerable  river  navigation,  which  has  increased  in  amount 
since  the  establishment  of  direct  railway  communication  with  Moscow. 
The  ancient  town  of  Astrakhan  occupies  the  site  of  Atel  or  I  til,  one  of 
the  capitals  of  the  kingdom  of  the  Khazars.  The  minarets  of  the  mosques 
rise  here  and  there  amongst  the  spires  and  gilded  bulbs  of  the  churches, 
and  with  the  numerous  canals  crowded  with  the  shipping  of  the  Volga  and 
the  Caspian  give  an  air  of  variety  very  unusual  in  Russian  towns. 

Perm  is  situated  in  the  middle  of  a  great  mining  region  almost  at  the 
confluence  of  two  great  fluvial  waterways,  the  Kama  and  Chusovaya.  It 
is  an  important  place  for  trade  between  European  Russia  and  Siberia, 
especially  since  the  construction  of  a  railway  across  the  Urals  to  Tyumen. 
This  line  passes  through  Yekderinburg,  the  residence  of  the  Director- 
General  of  the  Ural  mines,  where  there  are  assay  offices,  gold  smelting 
furnaces,  and  establishments  for  cutting  the  precious  stones  found  in  the 
neighbourhood. 

Towns  on  the  Dnieper. — Kiyev  (Kieff),  the  "  Holy  Town,"  was 


Russian  Empire- -Towns  415 

destined  from  the  first  by  its  position  to  be  one  of  the  centres  of  gravity 
of  Russian  history.  It  is  situated  almost  in  the  centre  of  the  basin  of 
the  Dnieper,  below  the  confluence  of  all  the  upper  tributaries,  where  the 
main  stream  concentrates  in  one  channel  their  collective  waters  and 
trade.  Kiyev  stands  on  a  terrace  from  300  to  400  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  river ;  the  houses  are  ranged  along  the  stream,  but  at  some 
distance  from  the  water,  for  a  length  of  six  miles.  Some  of  the  avenues 
are  as  wide  as  squares  ;  masses  of  poplars  growing  here  and  there 
on  the  slopes  contrast  their  greenery  with  the  glitter  of  the  gilded 
cupolas.  The  Church  of  St.  Andrew,  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Sophia  and 
the  Monastery  of  Pechersk,  the  holiest  place  in  all  Russia,  are  the  most 
famous  of  the  many  religious  edifices  in  the  town.  The  university 
ranks  third  amongst  those  of  Russia  ;  there  is  also  an  ecclesiastical 
college  which  attracts  students  from  all  Slavonic  countries,  and  a  poly- 
technic institute.  Two  great  bridges  cross  the  Dnieper  below  the  town. 
Kherson,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Dnieper,  is  the  capital  of  the  government 
which  bears  the  same  name  and  is  an  active  business  town,  less  important 
than  Odessa  or  Nicolayev,  but  yet  exporting  large  quantities  of  wood, 
cereals  and  hides.  Nicolayev  may  almost  be  considered  as  a  town  of  the 
Dnieper  estuary,  although  situated  at  the  junction  of  the  Bug  and  Ingul. 
It  is  the  chief  naval  station  on  the  Black  Sea,  and  is  equipped  with  exten- 
sive dockyards,  machine-shops  and  provisioning  depots,  which  employ 
thousands  of  workmen.  There  are  strong  fortifications,  and  a  great 
floating  dock  anchored  in  the  Bug  can  receive  the  largest  battleships. 
Apart  from  its  pre-eminence  as  a  naval  port  the  harbour  is  acquiring  a 
considerable  amount  of  export  trade,  and  the  town  is  growing  rapidly. 
Yekaterinoslav,  a  new  town,  has  acquired  importance  during  the  nine- 
teenth century  on  account  of  its  position  at  the  great  bend  of  the 
Dnieper  above  the  rapids,  where  the  river  is  crossed  by  a  bridge  more 
than  three-quarters  of  a  mile  in  length. 

Other  South  Russian  Towns. — Odessa  is  the  most  important 
seaport  of  the  Black  Sea,  affording  safe  anchorage  for  ships.  Being  a 
town  of  recent  formation  it  has,  next  to  St.  Petersburg,  the  most  European 
aspect  of  all  the  towns  of  Russia.  It  presents  a  beautiful  appearance  from 
the  sea,  as  it  is  situated  on  the  highest  part  of  the  terrace  of  the  steppe. 
Handsome  houses  line  a  promenade  on  the  edge  of  the  cliff  whence  a 
monumental  stairway  leads  down  to  the  quays  and  the  harbour.  In  the 
central  part  of  the  town  the  houses,  built  in  the  Italian  style,  are  laid 
out  in  wide  and  handsome  streets.  The  university  of  Odessa  is  one  of 
the  smallest  in  Russia.  The  population  is  extremely  mixed,  the  principal 
merchants  being  Jews,  Italians,  Greeks,  Germans  and  Frenchmen.  Kharkov, 
which  was  a  simple  village  in  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
has  grown,  thanks  to  its  position  intermediate  between  the  Dnieper 
and  the  Don,  and  between  Kiyev  and  Taganrog.  The  fairs  held  in 
Kharkov  are  amongst  the  most  active  in  Russia,  and  the  commerce  and 


4i 6      The  International  Geography 

industry  of  the  town  is  well  developed.  It  is  also  an  intellectual  centre 
of  some  importance,  having  a  flourishing  university,  founded  in  1804. 
Rostov,  on  the  Don,  is  a  great  commercial  town  where  nearly  3,000 
coasting  vessels  come  each  year  laden  with  cereals,  flax,  wool,  tallow  and 
other  commodities.  It  is  the  gathering  place  of  the  harvesters,  haymakers 
and  vine-dressers  who  assemble  to  offer  their  services  to  the  proprietors  of 
the  surrounding  country  ;  but  the  town  has  no  other  claim  to  consideration. 
Kishinev  is  a  large  village  in  Bessarabia,  with  wide  streets  thick  with 
mud  or  smothered  in  dust,  according  to  the  season,  and  serving  as  a  market 
for  the  grain  and  live  stock  of  the  surrounding  agricultural  country. 

Orenburg,  formerly  a  fortress,  is  important  from  the  strategic  point  of 
view,  for  it  is  situated  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Ural  river  which  separates 
Russia  from  the  Kirghiz  steppe,  and  inhabited  by  nomads  who  were  tur- 
bulent and  semi-independent  some  fifty  years  ago.  It  has  lately  become 
an  important  town,  and  the  industrial  population  has  steadily  increased 
during  recent  years,  while  a  railway  is  being  built  to  Tashkent. 

Sevastopol  is  a  fortress  celebrated  for  its  great  siege  by  the  allied  armies 
in  1854,  and  now  it  mingles  ruins  of  modern  date  with  those  of  high 
antiquity  extending  back  to  the  times  of  the  Scythians  and  the  Greeks. 
Ruined  by  the  disasters  of  the  Crimean  war,  the  population  of  Sevastopol 
was  reduced  to  6,000  in  1865  ;  but  the  construction  of  a  railway  which 
attaches  it  to  the  continental  system,  and  its  situation  on  a  fine  bay  have 
restored  the  town  to  prosperity.  Stores  for  grain  have  been  built  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  port,  a  monumental  railway  station  takes  the  place 
of  an  old  redoubt,  and  the  famous  hill  of  the  Malakhov  has  been  converted 
into  promenades.  The  port  has  recently  been  reserved  for  Russian  naval 
vessels. 

Caucasian  Towns. — Tiflis  stands  on  the  two  banks  of  the  Kura  on  a 
valley  floor  surrounded  by  grey  heights,  rising  to  1,200  and  1,500  feet  above 
its  level.  The  town  is  divided  into  two  parts,  an  Asiatic  quarter  which 
recalls  Constantinople,  and  the  new  town  which  has  sprung  up  since  the 
Russian  conquest,  and  contains  fine  shops  and  all  the  equipment  of  a 
European  city.  One-third  of  the  inhabitants  of  Tiflis  are  Armenians  ;  the 
Russians  only  compose  one-fifth  of  the  population.  There  are  no  buildings 
of  special  interest,  but  a  valuable  Natural  History  Museum.  Tiflis 
contains  several  scientific  societies  ;  its  Geographical  Society  has  published 
many  standard  works  on  the  geography  and  ethnography  of  the  Caucasus. 
Baku,  an  ill-built,  irregular  dusty  town  of  Asiatic  appearance,  is  an  active 
seaport  on  the  Caspian.  A  railway  connects  it  with  Poii  and  Batum  on 
the  Black  Sea,  and  another  line  has  been  opened  to  Derbent,  which  unites 
it  to  the  railway  system  of  European  Russia.  All  the  inhabitants  of  the 
neighbourhood  are  occupied  in  refining  petroleum  and  preparing  bitumen. 

Towns  of  the  Trans-Caspian  Railway. — The  railway  across 
the  Trans-Caspian  district  of  Turkestan  is  of  immense  strategic  value,  for 
it  can  throw  a  great  body  of  troops  with  extreme  rapidity  against  the 


Russian  Empire- -Towns  417 

Afghan  or  Indian  frontier.  The  line  was  commenced  in  1884  and  now 
extends  to  Tashkent  on  one  side  and  to  Kushk  in  the  vicinity  of  Herat  in 
another.  The  chief  towns  through  which  the  railway  runs  are  Askhabad, 
the  administrative  capital  of  the  Trans-Caspian  province;  Merv,  which 
disputes  with  Balkh  the  title  of  the  "  Mother  City  of  Asia,"  once  a  centre 
of  science;  and  Bokhara  which,  under  Russian  protection,  only  since  1873, 
shines  in  the  history  of  human  thought.  Bokhara,  formerly  a  town  of  poets, 
doctors,  and  illustrious  men  of  science,  now  retains  only  the  dead  shell  of 
its  old  intellectual  life.  Routine  Moslem  instruction  is  still  given  in  more 
than  a  hundred  "madrassees"  (schools),  but  the  science  has  vanished. 
There  are  still,  however,  some  interesting  Industries,  including  the  manu- 
facture of  fine  cotton  fabrics,  ornamental  leather  and  silk.  From  a  com- 
mercial point  of  view  the  capital  of  the  Emirate  of  Bokhara  has  always 
been  great  as  the  meeting-place  of  merchants  from  the  markets  of  Russia, 
India,  Afghanistan,  Persia,  and  China.  Samarcand  was  in  ancient  days  an 
illustrious  city  in  the  development  of  human  knowledge,  and  also  one  of 


FIG.  220. — The  Trans-Caspian  Railway. 


the  largest  towns  of  Asia.  When  besieged  by  Jenghiz  Khan  it  was  garrisoned 
by  an  army  of  100,000  men.  Subsequently  it  was  Timur's  capital,  but  most 
of  the  palaces  and  mosques  of  that  period  are  now  in  ruins.  A  few  scattered 
relics  remain,  here  a  piece  of  wall,  there  a  tower  or  a  cupola ;  the  mosque 
containing  Timur's  tomb  in  particular  is  surmounted  by  a  cupola  of  rare 
beauty.  A  still  finer  mosque  is  that  of  Shah  Zindeh,  the  most  splendid  in  all 
Central  Asia.  The  Russian  quarter  of  Samarcand  has  regular  streets,  gardens, 
and  wooded  avenues,  contrasting  with  the  irregular  plan  and  ruined  archi- 
tecture of  the  native  city.  Tashkent  is  scattered  over  a  space  about  eight 
miles  long  and  five  wide.  The  houses,  most  of  which  are  low,  are  hidden 
by  the  verdure  of  poplars,  willows,  and  other  trees  which  border  the 
irrigation  canals.  The  Russian  quarter,  in  spite  of  the  recent  occupation, 
is  already  of  importance,  and  consists  of  one-storied  houses  built  of  sun- 
dried  bricks,  the  roofs  made  of  willow  branches  and  reeds  covered  with  a 
layer  of  clay  and  turf.  The  chief  industries  are  the  weaving  of  silk  stuffs 
and  the  tanning  of  leather.  There  is  an  astronomical  observatory  and  a 
geographical  society  in  the  town.  Kokan,  which  in  1870  was  the  capital 
of  an  independent  State  of  the  same  name,  is  a  modern  city  for  this  part  of 


8       The  International  Geography 


the  world,  with  fairly  wide  and  regular 
streets,  large  gardens,  and  the  best 
equipped  bazar  in  Russian  Turkestan. 

Khiva.— The  capital  of  the  Khanate 
of  Khiva  is  only  an  agglomeration  of  mud 
hovels  through  which  wind  narrow  roads 
of  deep  mud  or  thick  dust  according  to 
the  season.  Before  the  Russian  expedition 
of  1873  it  was  one  of  the  chief  slave- 
markets  in  Asia,  but  the  industry  and 
trade  of  town  and  State  are  now  of  little 
importance. 

Towns  on  the  Great  Siberian 
Railway.— Although  the  Russian  Empire 
is  far  behind  other  European  States  in  the 
extent  of  its  railways  when  compared  with 
the  area  of  the  country,  it  actually  possesses 
the  greatest  length  of  railway  lines  after 
the  United  States.  From  Alexandrovo,  on 
the  German  frontier,  the  iron  ways  run 
without  a  break  to  the  northern  shore  of 
Lake  Baikal,  and  on  from  the  southern 
shore  to  Vladivostok  and  Port  Arthur 
on  the  Pacific,  a  distance  of  5,000  miles 
as  the  crow  flies.  The  great  railway 
across  Siberia  has  a  very  high  impor- 
tance, not  only  for  Russia  but  for  the 
whole  world,  since  it  places  western 
Europe  in  direct  and  rapid  communication 
with  China  and  Japan.  The  line  com- 
mences at  Samara  on  the  Volga,  and  passes 
through  Ufa  on  the  Belaya  and  Zlatoust 
situated  in  a  smiling  valley  of  the  Urals,  a 
town  of  metallurgical  works  and  manu- 
factories of  small-arms,  especially  rifles 
and  sporting  guns.  Omsk,  farther  on  upon 
the  Irtysh,  is  an  important  centre  of 
Western  Siberia  in  the  midst  of  the  steppes, 
but  Tomsk,  which  possesses  the  one  uni- 
versity of  Siberia,  is  left  on  one  side  of  the 
railway,  and  the  line  goes  on  through 
Krasnoyarsk  on  the  Yenisei,  the  chief  town 
of  the  gorernment  of  Yeniseisk  and  the 
commercial  centre  of  the  neighbouring 
valleys  rich  in  mines.  Irkutsk,  a  town  of 


Russian  Empire— -Towns  419 

wide  and  straight  streets,  was  founded  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Angara, 
near  its  exit  from  Lake  Baikal,  in  1669.  It  possesses  the  oldest  building  in 
Siberia,  a  fort  inscribed  with  the  date  1661.  It  is  not  only  an  industrial 
centre,  but  a  focus  of  intellectual  life  as  well.  The  Geographical  Society 
publishes  important  works  on  Russian  Asia  and  the  neighbouring 
countries.  Farther  east,  beyond  Lake  Baikal,  the  line  passes  Chita,  the 
capital  of  Transbaikalia.  A  branch  of  the  great  railway  follows  the  Amur 
valley  to  Nerchinsk,  the  chief  trading  centre  of  a  great  mining  region 
where  silver-lead,  mercury,  copper  and  iron  are  worked  ;  and  to  Sretensk. 
From  Chita  the  great  Siberian  railway  runs  south-eastward  through  Man- 
churia to  Kharbin,  a  new  Russian  city,  and  thence  one  branch  goes  to 
Vladivostok,  and  another  to  Port  Arthur  and  Peking. 

Vladivostok  is  situated  on  the  only  sea  freely  open  for  almost  all  the 
year,  which  bathes  the  shores  of  the  Russian  Empire.  With  the  increase 
of  agricultural  population  and  the  stimulus  of  its  approaching  position  as 
a  railway  terminus,  Vladivostok  promised  to  become  the  Constantinople  of 
the  East  as  its  founders  hoped  when  they  established  it  in  1860,  the  name 
they  gave  meaning  Rule  the  East.  Though  the  population  of  the  town 
has  grown  to  nearly  30,000  its  future  prospects  were  compromised  by  the 
rise  of  the  leased  harbours  of  Port  Arthur  and  Dalni,  but  the  loss  of  these 
in  1905  as  a  result  of  the  war  with  Japan  restores  its  earlier  importance. 


FIG.  222.— Railways  of  European  Rtusia. 


42  o       The  International  Geography 


STATISTICS   OF  THE   RUSSIAN  EMPIRE. 


Great  Polil 
European  Ri 
Poland 
Finland 
Caucasia 
Siberia 
Steppes 
Turkestan   . 

icall 

issia 

Area 
Mvisions.                       in  sq.  miles. 
.  .        .  .        .  .        i.  002.  202 

Population 
in  1897. 

94,215,415 
9,455,943 
2,527,801 
9,248,695 
5,727,090 
5,451,385 
4^70,299 

49,159 
144.255 
180,843 
4,833,496 
908,073 
47I.37I 

Total.. 


Largest  administrative  division,  Yakutsk 
Most  populous    „  „         Kiyev. . 


8,489,399 


130,896,628 

Area  in  sq.  miles. 
1,533,400 
19,690 


Density  of  Popul*. 
tion  per  sq.  mile. 


193 
17 
54 
i 

4 
9 

15 

Population. 
261,531 

3,576,125 


POPULATION  OF  CHIEF  TOWNS    IN   1897. 


St.  Petersburg  and  suburbs 

1,267,023 

Yaroslav    .  . 

70,610 

Moscow  and  suburbs 

1,035,664 

Orel  .  . 

69,858 

Warsaw    .  . 

638,208 

Kherson 

69,219 

Odessa 

405,041 

Vitebsk 

66  141 

Lodz 

315.209 

Yekaterinodar 

TT^i" 

65,697 

Riga 

256,197 

Zhitomir 

65,452 

Kiyev 

247,432 

Revel 

64,578 

Kharkov  .. 

174,846 

Libau 

64,505 

Tiflis 

160,645 

Belostok      . 

63,927 

Vilna 

159.568 

Namangan 

61,906 

Tashkent  .  . 

156,414 

Penza 

61,851 

Saratov 

137.109 

Yelisavetgrad 

61,841 

Kazan 

131,508 

Cronstadt  .. 

CQ  C-7Q 

Yekaterinoslav 

121,216 

Kremenchug 

56*648 

Rostov-on-the-D 

n 

119,889 

Tsaritsyn    .. 

55,967 

Astrakhan 

113,001 

Yekaterinburg 

55,488 

Baku 

112,253 

Samarcand 

54,900 

Tula 

111,048 

Ivanovo-  Voznese 

k 

53,949 

Kishinev  .. 

108,796 

Berdichev  .  . 

53,728 

Nizhnii-Novgorcx 

95.124 

Tver.  . 

53,477 

Nikolayev 

92,060 

Poltava 

53,o6o 

Samara 

91,672 

Kursk 

52,896 

Minsk        .  . 

9L494 

Tomsk 

52,005 

Voronezh  .  . 

84,146 

Novocherkask 

52,005 

Kokan      .  . 

82,054 

Taganrog     . 

51,965 

Kovno 

73,543 

Irkutsk 

51,434 

Orenburg  .  . 

72,740 

Sevastopol 

50,710 

Dvinsk  (Dunaburg) 

72,231 

Lublin 

50,152 

MEANS  OF  TRANSPORT  IN   1896. 


European  Russia.1 
Miles. 

Railways 29,300 

Waterways  (total)          . .        . .        48,000 
„          nav.  for  steamers  . .        17,000 


Asiatic  Russia. 

Miles. 

5,3002      . 
52,000 
30,000 


Total 
Miles. 
34,6oo 
100,750 
47,000 


SHIPPING  TRADE  OF  CHIEF  PORTS 

(in  million  tons  of  merchandise). 


Foreign  Trade.                                 Coasting  Trade 
Port.                                                  Imports.           Exports.           Total.              Total. 

Odessa      . 

o'35 

2'60 

2.95 

1-82 

St.  Petersburg  and  Cronstadt. 

i  '93 

1-02 

2'95 

0-17 

Riga 

0-44 

I'I3 

i'57 

0-24 

Nikolayev 

. 

O'02 

I'36 

1-38 

0-09 

Libau 

O'20 

0*80 

roo 

O'I2 

Baton 

. 

0-09 

0-81 

0-90 

0-27 

Rostov 

O'OI 

074 

o'75 

0-26 

Sevastopol 

O'OI 

0-52 

o'53 

O'll 

Novorossiisk 

O'OI 

o'so 

O'si 

O'll 

Taganrog 

• 

O'02 

0'45 

0*47 

0-04 

Including  Finland. 

To  this  should  be  added  1,600  miles  of  the  Siberian  railway  in  Chinese  territory. 


Russian  Empire — Statistics         421 


ANNUAL  TRADE  OF  RUSSIAN  EMPIRE 
(in  millions  of  rubles). 


Exports 
Imports 

Difference 


1885-89. 
634-8 
4I5-9 

218-9 


1890-94. 
628-6 
436-2 

192-4 


1895. 
689-1 
526-1 

163-0 


1896. 
668-7 
540-2 


ANNUAL  TRADE  OF  RUSSIA 
(in  pounds  sterling,  approximate).* 


Imports 
Exports 


1871-75. 
52,000,000 
60,000,000 


1881-85. 
55,000,000 
58,000,000 


1891-95. 
46,900,000 
62,800,000 


PERCENTAGE  COMPOSITION  OF  SPECIAL  EXPORTS. 

1885-89.  1890-94.  1895.  1896. 

Food  Products 60-2  . .  57-0        . .        56-8  . .  55-6 

Raw  Materials 34'6  . .  37-7        . .        37-8  . .  37-4 

Animals 2-1  ..  2-2        ..         2-3  ..  2-2 

Manufactures 3*1  ••  3'i        ••         3'i  ..  i'9 


RUSSIAN  TRADE  WITH  OTHER  COUNTRIES 
(in  millions  of  rubles. 


Total 

Total 

Countries.                Exports. 

Imports. 

Trade. 

Countries.                 Exports. 

Imports. 

Trade. 

Germany 

184-0 

190-2 

374'2 

Finland 

17-7 

20-5 

38-2 

United  Kingdom 

160-9 

Iii*3 

272-2 

Persia 

I4-5 

i7'5 

32-0 

France 

58-2 

23'4 

8r6 

Turkey 

6-1 

20-4 

Netherlands  .  . 
United  States 

70-8 
1-6 

5'8 
65-7 

76-6 
67-3 

Egypt 
Sweden 

6-4 

•8 

I7-4 

12-2 

Austria-H  ungary 
China 
Italy 

29-9 

22-9 
4i;3 

52-8 
46-8 

Aft*  A 

Denmark 
Other  Countr 

es 

9-1 
52-5 

2-3 
53-9 

11-4 

I06-4 

Belgium 

23-1 

19'S 

40  4 
42-6 

Total  688-6 

589-8 

I,278-4 

STANDARD  BOOKS. 

K.  E.  von  Baer  and  Gr.  von  Helmerson.  "  Beitrage  zur  Kenntniss  des  russischen  Reichs." 

25  vols.    St.  Petersburg,  1852-1872. 
A.  Erman.    "Archiv  fur  wissenschaftliche   Kunde  von  Russland,"    25  vols.     Berlin, 

1841-67. 
P.  Semenoff.    "  Geographi  co-Statistical  Lexicon  of  the  Russian  Empire  "  [in  Russian] 

5  vols.    St.  Petersburg,  1863-85. 

"  Industries  of  Russia,"  translated  by  J.  M.  Crawford.    5  vols.    St.  Petersburg,  1893. 
A.  Kovalevsky  (editor).    "  La  Russie  a  la  fin  du  19*  siecle."    Pans,  1900. 
Lodijensky  (and  others).    "  Russia,  its  Industries  and  Trade."    Glasgow,  1901. 
A.  Krausse.    "  Russia  in  Asia."    2nd  edit.    London,  1900. 
"  Official  Guide  to  the  Great  Siberian  Railway."    St.  Petersburg,  1900. 

C.  Aulagnon.    "  La  Siberie  Economique."    Paris,  1901. 

"  Finland  in  the  Nineteenth  Century,"  by  Finnish  Authors.    Helsingfors,  1894. 

D.  W.  Freshfield  and  V.  Sella.  "  The  Exploration  of  the  Caucasus.' '  2  vols.  London,  1896. 
P.  Kropotkin.    "General  Geographical  Sketch  of  Eastern  Siberia"  [in  Russian].    St. 

Petersburg,  1875. 
H.  Wild.    "  Die  Temperatur-Verhaltnisse  des  Russischen  Reiches."    1881.    "  Die  Regen- 

Verhaltnisse   des    Russischen    Reiches."      1887.     With    Atlases.     St. 

Petersburg. 
A.  F.  Rittich.    "  Die  Ethnographic  Russlands."    Gotha,  1878. 

The  publications  of  the  Imperial  Russian  Geographical  Society  at  St.  Petersburg,  and 
of  its  branches  throughout  the  empire,  contain  most  important  works  on  the  geography 
of  European  and  Asiatic  Russia  in  the  Russian  language. 


1  The  value  is  calculated  at  the  average  rate  of  exchange  for  each  period. 

2  The  ruble  averaged  2s.  in  1896,  hence  moving  the  decimal  place  one  to  the  left 
gives  the  value  in  pounds,  e.g.,  184-0  million  rubles  =  18-40  million  pounds. 


BOOK    II.:   ASIA 


CHAPTER  XXIII.— THE   CONTINENT  OF  ASIA 
BY  A.  J.  HERBERTSON,  M.A.,  PH.D., 

Reader  in  Geography,  University  of  Oxford. 

Position  and  Dimensions.— Asia  is  by  far  the  largest  of  the 
continents.  Its  area,  17^  million  square  miles,  is  more  than  that  of  the 
whole  of  the  New  World,  and  includes  almost  one-third  of  the  land 
surface  of  the  globe.  It  lies  wholly  within  the  northern  hemisphere  ;  but 
its  southern  point,  Cape  Buru,  at  the  tip  of  the  Malay  peninsula,  comes 
within  90  miles  of  the  equator.  Cape  Chelyuskin,  the  northern  point,  lies 
nearly  half  way  between  the  Arctic  circle  and  the  North  Pole  :  the  direct 
distance  between  these  extreme  points  is  5,350  miles.  Between  Cape  Baba, 
the  western  extremity  of  Asia  Minor,  and  Cape  Dezhneff  (East  Cape)  on 
Bering  Strait  there  is  a  distance  of  6,000  miles,  and  a  range  of  164°  in  longi- 
tude, corresponding  to  eleven  hours'  difference  of  time.  On  all  sides,  except 
the  west,  Asia  is  bounded  by  the  ocean  :  on  the  north  by  the  icy  Arctic 
waters,  on  the  .south  by  the  tropical  Indian  Ocean,  on  the  east  by  the 
Pacific,  whose  northern  waters  are  frozen  near  the  shores  in  winter.  On 
the  west  Asia  is  extended  into  Europe,  and  it  is  joined  to  Africa  by  the 
narrow  Isthmus  of  Suez.  Yet  between  Europe  and  Asia  the  Aralo- 
Caspian  depression  placed  the  Arctic  and  Mediterranean  seas  in  free  com- 
munication in  Quaternary  times,  giving  to  Asia  a  more  distinct  continental 
individuality  than  now  appears.  The  continent,  as  seen  on  a  globe,  has  a 
quadrilateral  core  from  which  many  peninsulas  jut  out.  Professor  H. 
Wagner  chooses  as  the  angular  points  of  this  core  the  southern  shore  of 
the  Yugor  Strait,  Cape  Dezhneff,  Canton,  and  the  north-western  point  of  the 
Persian  Gulf.  Thus  defined  the  core  of  Asia  forms  80  per  cent.,  and  the  penin- 
sular part  nearly  14  per  cent,  of  the  whole  surface.  The  coast  line  of  Asia  is 
3-2  times  the  minimum  which  could  circumscribe  its  area.  By  this  index  its 
coastal  development  is  less  than  that  of  Europe  or  North  America,  but  greater 
than  that  of  the  three  southern  continents.  It  is  only  on  the  east  that  the 
boundaries  differ  greatly  from  those  of  the  continent  proper.  The  islands 
lying  in  wreaths  on  the  east  of  Asia  outline  the  eastern  margin  of  the  conti- 
nental block.  Those  in  the  south-east  form  a  great  archipelago  between 
Asia  and  Australia,  and  no  definite  geomorphological  line  divides  them 
into  an  Asiatic  and  an  Australian  group.  "  Wallace's  Line,"  following  the 

422 


Asia  423 


depression  which  forms  the  Makassar  Strait  and  runs  between  Bali  and 
Lombok,  is  at  most  a  faunal  boundary,  and  is  sometimes  chosen  as  the 
division  between  Asia  and  Australasia.  But  the  line  of  young  volcanoes 
is  continuous  through  Sumatra,  Java,  the  Sunda  Islands  and  the  islands 
between  Timor  Laut  (Tenimber)  and  Ceram,  and  can  be  traced 
through  the  Moluccas  and  Philippines.  Thus  New  Guinea  and  the  Aru 
Islands  are  counted  Australian,  the  others  west  of  a  line  passing  east  of 
Timor,  Timor  Laut,  the  Kei  Islands  and  the  Moluccas  are  reckoned 
Asiatic.  The  islands  of  Asia,  thus  delimited,  have  an  area  of  over  a 
million  square  miles  ;  and  the  insular  and  peninsular  parts  of  the  continent 
amount  to  one-fourth  of  the  area  of  the  core.  In  this  respect  also  Asia 
ranks  next  to  North  America  and  Europe,  and  comes  before  the  southern 
continents.  These  relations,  however,  depend  on  a  somewhat  arbitrary 
definition  of  what  constitutes  a  continental  core  or  a  coast-line,  and  are  not 
to  be  strongly  insisted  on. 

Coasts. — The  northern  coast  lies  almost  entirely  north  of  the  Arctic 
circle.  It  is  on  the  whole  low  and  flat, 
running  out  in  the  Taimyr  peninsula  to  the 
most  northern  point,  Cape  Chelyuskin.  The 
great  estuaries  of  the  Ob  and  Yenisei  open  in 
the  western  part  of  this  coast,  which  is  here 
penetrated  by  fjords  and  fringed  with  islands, 
and  according  to  Nansen,  shows  every  evi- 
dence of  having  been  glaciated.  The  island 
of  Novaya  Zemlya  encloses  the  Kara  Sea 
which  has  a  bad  reputation  for  ice,  but  has 
recently  been  crossed  every  year  by  ships  FIG.  223.— The  Continental  Core 
seeking  the  Yenisei  during  the  few  weeks  °f  Asia' 

when  the  ice  is  broken  up.  East  of  the  Taimyr  peninsula  the  rivers 
form  great  deltas  contrasting  with  the  estuaries  on  the  west,  and 
indicating  that  the  land  has  long  been  stationary  with  regard  to  the  sea- 
level,  not  subsiding  as  in  the  west.  Nordenskiold  alone  has  sailed  round 
the  north  coast  of  Asia,  and  his  name  is  perpetuated  in  the  Nordenskiold 
Sea  between  Taimyr  and  the  New  Siberian  Islands.  West  of  these  islands 
Nansen  let  the  Fram  become  fast  in  the  ice,  and  his  soundings  proved 
that  the  Asiatic  continental  block  does  not  extend  far  beyond  the  Siberian 
coast,  and  that  the  Arctic  Sea  is  a  depression  of  very  great  depth. 

The^jRorth-eastern  peninsula  of  Asia  reaches  within  36  miles  of  the 
north-western  peninsula  of  North  America,  from  which  it  is  separated  by 
the  shallow  Bering  Strait.  The  northern  part  of  the  Bering  Sea,  between 
Kamchatka  and  Alaska,  is  also  very  shallow.  Thus  the  Arctic  and  Pacific 
basins  are  clearly  separated,  and  in  this  region  land  communication 
between  Asia  and  America  probably  existed  in  the  past.  There  are  two 
eastern  coasts  to  consider,  that  of  the  continent  itself,  and  that  of  the 
fringing  islands  on  the  edge  of  the  continental  block.  Both  are  as  a  rule 


424       The  International  Geography 

irregular  and  steep,  showing  evidence  of  being  sunken  coasts  except  where 
the  great  rivers  have  built  vast  deltas,  the  flat  shores  of  which  have  simple 
outlines.  They  are  not  sinking  at  the  present  day  except  perhaps  in 
eastern  China.  The  inner  coast  has  a  north-east  to  south-west  trend,  and 
projects  southwards  in  the  volcanic  Kamchatkan  and  mountainous  Korean 
peninsulas  whose  southern  ends  approach  the  outer  fringing  islands.  The 
islands  of  Sakhalin  and  Formosa  are  other  links  by  which  the  outer  island 
groups  approach  the  continental  shore.  Four  fringing  seas  lie  between 
these  peninsulas  and  islands,  each  bounded  to  the*  east  by  a  loop  of 
the  island  wreath.  In  the  north  the  Sea  of  Okhotsk  is  bordered  by  the 
Kuriles,  further  south  the  Japanese  Islands  mark  off  the  Sea  of  Japan, 
next  the  East  China  Sea  is  defined  by  the  Luchu  Islands,  and  in  the 
south  the  South  China  Sea  is  bounded  by  the  Philippines  and  Borneo.  The 
northern  part  of  the  shallow  East  China  Sea  between  Korea  and  the  main- 
land is  called  the  Yellow  Sea.  Its  western  shores  are  formed  by  the  low 
deltaic  plain  of  the  Yellow  River  (H  wang-ho),  which  carries  down  the  yellow 
earth  that  gives  the  name  both  to  the  river  and  to  the  sea.  The  rocky 
Shantung  peninsula  rises  like  an  island  above  the  level  alluvial  land,  and 
projects  eastwards  forming  rocky  coasts  with  good  harbours,  and  cutting 
off  the  Gulf  of  Pechili  from  the  Yellow  Sea.  A  similar  inner  gulf  is  cut 
off  from  the  East  China  Sea  by  the  mountainous  island  of  Hainan.  The 
south-eastern  margin  of  the  continental  block  towards  the  Pacific  follows 
the  Philippines  and  the  Moluccas,  and  within  it  lie  the  fringing  seas  of 
Sulu  and  Celebes.  The  bold  convex  arc  of  the  Sunda  Islands  and  their 
northern  prolongation  in  the  Nicobars  and  Andamans  towards  the  Indian 
Ocean  enclose  the  fringing  seas  of  Banda,  Java  and  Andaman.  Borneo 
and  Celebes  are  the  largest  islands  lying  between  the  two  sets  of  fringing 
seas  ;  and  the  south  of  the  South  China  Sea  might  be  regarded  as  a 
midland  or  mediterranean  sea.  The  south-eastern,  or  Indo-Chinese,  penin- 
sula of  Asia  ends  in  the  long  narrow  Malay  peninsula,  which  is  only  45 
miles  wide  at  the  Isthmus  of  Kra,  where  a  ship  canal  would  greatly 
shorten  the  voyages  from  western  to  eastern  Asia.  The  gulfs  of  Siam  in 
the  east  and  of  Martaban  in  the  west,  are  alike  in  having  the  rapidly  growing 
deltas  of  great  rivers  at  their  head. 

Asia  projects  into  the  Indian  Ocean  in  two  massive  peninsulas,  the 
Dekkan  and  Arabia,  which  are  not  fringed  by  islands,  but  rise  with  ter- 
raced sides  from  the  coastal  plain,  which  is  usually  narrow.  The  triangular 
Dekkan  with  its  severed  southern  portion,  the  island  of  Ceylon,  still 
nearly  united  by  Adam's  Bridge,  lies  between  two  wide  round-headed 
gulfs,  the  Bay  of  Bengal  and  the  Arabian  Sea.  The  rectangular  Arabian 
peninsula,  on  the  other  hand,  is  defined  by  the  narrow  rifts  of  the  Persian 
Gulf  and  the  Red  Sea,  the  former  silted  up  by  the  sediments  of  great 
rivers,  the  latter  of  great  depth  and  terminated  in  one  arm  by  the  narrow 
sandy  Isthmus  of  Suez  across  which  a  ship  canal  has  been  cut  to  the 
Mediterranean.  The  other  arm  runs,  as  the  Gulf  of  Akabah,  in  the  line  of 


r 


Asia  '423 


the  great  Dead  Sea  rift ;  and  between  the  two  the  rocky  Sinai  peninsula 
rises.  The  entrance  to  the  Persian  Gulf  is  through  the  shallow  and  narrow 
Strait  of  Ormuz,  that  to  the  Red  Sea  through  the  narrower  if  less  shallow 
Strait  of  Bab  el-Mandeb. 

The  plateau  of  Asia  Minor  projects  westwards  and  sinks  abruptly  to 
the  Mediterranean  and  Black  Seas.  In  the  west  the  indented  ria-coast  is 
fringed  by  many  picturesque  islands  which  unite  with  those  of  the  Balkan 
peninsula  to  form  the  Greek  Archipelago.  The  Sea  of  Marmora,  joined  to 
the  Aegean  by  the  Dardanelles  and  to  the  Black  Sea  by  the  Bosporus, 
serves  as  the  historic  dividing  line  between  Europe  and  Asia. 

Surface  and  Chief  Divisions. — Asia  is  divided  into  four  great 
natural  divisions,  each  of  which  has  marked  physical  characteristics. 

(1)  The  Northern  Lowlands,  a  vast  plain  rising  gradually  to  the  south 
and  to  the  east.     One  quarter  of  the  continent  is  less  than  600  feet  above 
the  sea-level,  and  by  far  the  greatest  part  of  this  is  in  the  north.     These 
northern  lowlands  are  continuous  and  homologous  with  the  northern  plains 
of  Europe,  and  together  they  form  the  Old  World  Lowland  Area. 

(2)  The  Central  Mountains,   a   band   of    lofty  folded    mountains    and 
plateaux  widening  to  the  east  and  running  from  west  to  east  across  Asia. 
More  than  one-twelfth  of  the  continent  lies  above  10,000  feet,  and  most 
of  the  elevated  land  is  in  this  mountainous  region,  which  is  continuous  and 
homologous  with  the  folded  mountains  of  Europe,  and  together  they  form 
the  Old  or  Mid- World  Mountain  Area. 

(3)  The   Southern   Tablelands  of  the   Dekkan   and  Arabia  are  table- 
lands and  not  folded  mountain  regions,  with  little  land  over  6,000  feet. 
They  form  the  north-eastern   outliers  of  the  great  I ndo- African  or  Old 
World  Tableland  Area.     They  are  separated  from  the  rest  of  Asia  by  the 
low  Indo-Gangetic  and  Mesopotamian  flood  plains,  and  from  the  African 
portion  of  the  Old  World  Tableland  by  the  rift  valley  ot  the  Red  Sea. 

(4)  Tht  Eastern  Voicati*  Mountains,  a  belt  of  mountains  bordering  the 
eastern  and  south-eastern  edges  of  the  continental  block,  and  rising  as 
fringing  islands  above  the  waters  that  cover  the  continental  shelf.    This 
region  has  no  exposed  plateaux,  and  is  largely  volcanic ;  it  forms  part  of 
the  Pacific  Volcanic  Area  that  girdles  that  ocean.   They  are  separated  from 
the  rest  of  Asia  by  the  easteriiffringing  seas. 

Asiatic  Portion  of  Old  "World  Lowland  Area. — The  simplest 
subdivisions  of  this  area  in  Asia  are  the  river  basins,  which  give  five 
\  distinct  regions,  one  of  inland  and  four  of  oceanic  drainage. 

(i)  Turan,  or  the  region  of  inland  drainage,  mainly  to  Lake  Aral. 
These  plains  are  covered  with  wind-blown  desert  sand,  except  near  the 
.  mountains  along  the  river  courses  and  round  the  lakes,  where  water-borne 
deposits  of  recent  origin  are  found,  and  in  the  Ust  Urt  upland  of 
Teritary  rocks  between  Lake  Aral  and  the  Caspian  Sea.  The  surface  of 
the  land  round  the  Caspian  is  below  sea-level.  In  the  east  the  surface 
rises  to 'the  bordering  mountains  whence  the  rivers  flow.  The  most 


426       The  International  Geography 


important  are  the  Amu-daria  (Oxus)  and  Syr-daria  (Jaxartes)  flowing  to 
Lake  Aral,  and  the  Hi  to  Lake  Balkhash. 

The  region  of  oceanic  drainage  belongs  to  the  Arctic  drainage  area  and 
is  known  as  the  Siberian  Plain.  Here,  as  in  the  European  Lowlands,  the 
main  valley-lines  (Thalwegs}  strike  from  south  to  north,  and  are  joined  by 
others  running  mainly  from  east  to  west.  A  generalised  section  of  Siberia 

from  west  to  east  shows  a  series 
of  very  gradual  ascents  broken 
by  shorter  and  steeper  falls,  with 
the  great  rivers  flowing  in  the 
hollows  (Fig.  225). 

(2)  The  Ob-Irtysh  Region  lies  east 
of  the  Urals,  from  whose  steep 
eastern  slopes  several  rivers  flow 
to  the  Tobol,  which  lies  in  the 
south  to  north  valley-line.  The 
great  tributaries  all  enter  from  the 
east.  Most  of  the  basin  is  overlaid 
with  recent  deposits,  but  Mesozoic 
rocks  appear  in  the  lower  course  of  the  river  south  of  its  great  estuary. 

(3)  The   Yenisei  and  its  three   tributaries— the  Lower  Tunguska,  the 
Middle  or  Stony  Tunguska,  and  the  Upper  Tunguska  or  Angara — form 
another    great  river  system.     The  Angara  drains   Lake   Baikal,  a  deep 
and  long  trough  in  the  crystalline  mountains.      Most  of  this  basin  is  a  low 
tableland  of  Palaeozoic  rocks,  with  Mesozoic  deposits  south  of  the  mouth 
of  the  Angara  and  round  its  course  after  it  leaves  Lake  Baikal.     Some 
recent  eruptive  rocks  are  found  on  the  Lower  Tunguska. 

(4)  The  Lena  Basin   is   composed   of  a   similar  succession  of  rocks. 
Unlike  the  two  western  rivers  the  Lena  has  no  estuary,  but  forms  a  great 
delta  where  it  enters  the  Arctic  Sea.     Somf  of>  tfte  secondary  valley-lines 
run  from  west  to  east.    The  main  river  rises  west  of  Lake  Baikal  and 
does  not  turn  north  until  near  its  junction  with  the  Aldan  in  130*  E. 

Milts 


FIG.  225. — Section  across  Siberian  plain  from  W.S.W.  to 
E.N.E.  about  lat.  60°  N. 

(5)  The  extreme  North-East  of  Asia  forms  a  distinct  region  bordered  by 
the  Verkhoyansk-Stanovoi  heights,  composed  probably  mainly  of  Palaeozoic 
rocks,  which  run  from  the  Lena  delta  to  St.  Lawrence  Island.  The  Yana, 
Indigirka  and  Kolyma  are  the  chief  rivers  draining  this  little-known  region 
to  the  Arctic  Sea.  During  the  summer  months  the  great  Siberian  rivers 
are  navigable,  but  they  possess  the  great  disadvantage  of  flowing  from 


Asia 


427 


THE 

MOUNTAIN  SYSTEMS 

As'lA 

Miles 


warmer  to  colder  climes  where  the  ice  covers  the  sea  most  of  the  year. 
In  spring  the  upper  portions  of  the  rivers  thaw  long  before  the  lower 
reaches,  and  great  and  dangerous  floods  are  consequently  frequent. 

Asiatic  Portion  of  the  Old  World  Mountain  Area.— At  first 
sight  the  Asiatic  mountains  seem  a  complicated  and  unrelated  series  of 
ranges  ;   but  a  closer  examination  shows  a  certain   symmetry  that  has 
attracted  many  students,  whose  views  of  their  relationship  are  not  always 
concordant.     Professor  Suess  sees  in  the  region  between  the  Yenisei,  near 
Krasnoyarsk  and  Chita,  east  of  Lake  Baikal,  a  centre  round  which  the  various 
Asiatic  mountain  ranges  can  be  grouped  from  Sakhalin  to  Java,  from  the 
Himalaya  to  the  Persian  Gulf,  without  asserting  that  this  was  the  centre 
of  action  whence  these  ranges  were  folded.   From  the  pre-Cambrian  to  the 
latest  times  the  same  forces  have  been  at  work  folding  the  strata  along 
the    same    lines ;    the   youngest    folds    being    those    at    the    periphery. 
Richthofen,   Naumann 
and  others    have   also 
drawn    maps   showing 
the    fundamental   axes 
of    folding    and    their 
relationship     to     each 
other.     For  most  pur- 
poses it  is  more   con- 
venient to  consider  the 
mountains     from     the 
centre  of  the  Pamirs, 
a  region  separating  the 
lower   western    ranges 
and  plateaux  from  the 
loftier   mountains   and 
plateaux    of    the    east. 
The    Pamir    region    is 
called  by  the  dwellers  there  the  "  roof  of  the  world,"  and,  as  the  name  Pamir 
really  indicates,  consists  of   a  series  of  valleys  and  ridges.     The  ridges 
.rise  several  thousand  feet  above  the  valleys,  whose  floors  are  at  the  great 
average  elevation  of  n,ooo  feet  above  sea-level.     From  the  Pamirs  the 
mountains  spread  out  both  west  and  east.     The  eastern  ranges  separate  as 
they  pass  eastward.     The   western   ranges  are  drawn  together  in  the 
Armenian  plateau  to  another  node,  which  is  neither  so  compact,  so  exten- 
sive,  nor   so  lofty.      Two  very  different    regions  spread  longitudinally 
throughout  this  vast  mountain  area ;   a  northern  one  of  relative  depression, 
a  southern  one  of  relative  elevation.     The  Yalta  (Crimea),  Caucasus,  Tian 
Shan,  Altai  and  Yablonovyi  mountains  rise  steeply  from  the  Old  World  Low- 
lands and  form  the  northern  ranges  of  the  Mountain  Area.   South  of  these  lie 
the  hollows  of  the  Black  and  Caspian  Seas  with  the  Kura  depression  between, 
and  the  Kara-kum  and  Shamo  basins,  with  the  Kizil-su  valley  between. 
29 


FlG.  226. — Mountain  Systems  of  Asia. 


428       The  International  Geography 

The  central  ranges,  Pontus,  Elburz,  Hindu  Kush  and  Kwen-lun,  rise  steeply 
from  these  depressions,  but  have  much  shorter  slopes  on  the  south  to  the 
plateaux  of  Asia  Minor,  Iran,  and  Tibet.  These  plateaux  are  bounded  on  the 
south  by  the  Taurus,  South  Persian,  Sulaiman,  and  Himalaya  ranges,  which 
have  short  slopes  to  the  plateaux  on  the  north,  but  very  steep  slopes  to 
the  flood  plains  which  separate  the  Old  World  Mountain  Area  from  the 
Tableland.  Most  of  these  mountains  have  an  axis  of  Archaean  rock  with 
sedimentary  strata  of  different  ages,  down  to  the  early  Tertiary,  which  were 
formed  before  the  last  upheaval,  on  either  flank.  Great  glaciers  descend 
from  the  snow  gathered  in  their  loftiest  hollows,  whence  many  large 
rivers  flow  to  southern  and  eastern  seas.  The  Euphrates  and  Tigris  rise  in 
the  Armenian  plateau,  collecting  tributaries  from  the  southern  ranges  that 
meet  there,  and  flow  to  the  Persian  Gulf,  forming  the  Mesopotamian 
flood  plain.  The  Indus,  Ganges  and  Brahmaputra  carry  water  from 
the  southern  ranges  to  the  Indian  Ocean.  They  make  great  flood 
plains  which  separate  the  mountain  area  from  the  Dekkan.  The  Salwin 
and  Mekong  rise  in  the  east  of  Tibet,  and  flow  in  deep  valleys  between 

the  three  great  mountain 
ranges  of  the  south-eastern 
peninsula  to  the  sea.  The 
western  or  Burma-Sunda 
range  passes  through  Ara- 
kan,  the  Andaman  and 
Nikobar  islands,  Sumatra, 
Java,  and  the  smaller 
Sunda  Islands.  A  minor 
range  separates  the  river 
Irawadi  from  the  Salwin,  east  of  which  the  great  Malay  range  passes, 
from  the  north  along  the  Malay  peninsula.  East  of  this  another  minor 
range  separates  the  Menam  from  the  Mekong  valley,  which  is  bounded 
by  the  Annani  range.  These  mountains  are  composed  of  old  crystal- 
line and  Palaeozoic  rocks,  but  the  Burma-Sunda  range  contains  abun- 
dant recent  volcanic  rocks  and  many  active  volcanoes.  South  and  north  of 
the  Kwen-lun,  known  as  the  Tsing-ling  in  China,  two  great  rivers  flow 
from  Tibet  to  the  east— the  Yangtse-kiang  and  the  Hwang-ho,  or  Yellow 
river.  South  of  the  Yangtse-kiang  is  a  region  consisting  of  older  moun- 
tains formed  by  a  succession  of  faults,  and  not  by  folding  of  the  strata, 
which  consist  of  Palaeozoic  marine  layers  and  Mesozoic  deposits  not  of 
marine  origin.  In  the  south  the  land  is  drained  by  the  Si-kiang  or  West 
river  and  by  the  Song-ka  or  Red  River  of  Tongking.  The  Hwang-ho  has 
cut  its  channel  deep  into  the  loess  of  northern  China,  and  formed  a  vast 
fertile  flood  plain  above  the  level  of  which  it  flows  for  the  last  few  hundred 
miles. 

Asiatic  Tablelands.— Ceylon,  the  Dekkan  and  Arabia,  differ  from  the 
rest  of  Asia  in  their  geological  as  well  as  in  their  tectonic  condition.     Old 


FIG 


227.-  Section  across  Asia  from  south  to  north,  along 
the  meridian  of  90°  E. 


Asia 


429 


crystalline  rocks  predominate  ;  but  in  the  north-west  of  the  Dekkan  and  in 
Arabia  great  flows  of  recent  eruptive  materials  are  found.  The  Dekkan 
trap  forms  a  rich  hygroscopic  soil,  especially  favourable  for  cotton  cultiva- 
tion. There  are  also  old  sedimentary  rocks  in  this  area,  which  differ  from 
those  of  the  rest  of  Eurasia  by  containing  a  flora,  characterised  by  the 
fossil  Glossopteris,  which  is  related  to  that  found  in  similar  rocks  in 
Australia,  South  Africa,  and  parts  of  South  America,  thus  pointing  to 
geographical  changes  of  vast  dimensions  since  the  time  when  Gondwana- 
land  stretched  across  what  is  now  the  Indian  Ocean. 

The  Eastern  Volcanic  Mountains  are  characterised  by  their 
young  volcanic  rocks  and  the  number  of  still  active  volcanoes;  which 
stretch  from  Kamchatka  through  the  Kurile  Islands  and  Japan,  through  the 
Philippines,  the  Moluccas,  and  the  Sunda  Islands.  Old  crystalline  and 
Palaeozoic  rocks  are  not  wanting ;  Tertiary  and  Quaternary  deposits  are 
much  commoner  than 
those  of  Mesozoic  age. 
These  mountains  rise 
from  profound  oceanic 
depths,  and  over  the 
actic  area  earthquakes 
and  other  seismic  dis- 
turbances are  frequent 
and  often  severe. 

Climates  of  Asia. 
— The  vastness  of  Asia 
makes  the  climate  of 
large  areas  severely 
continental,  with  great 
extremes  of  cold  in  the 
north  and  of  heat  in 
the  south.  Only  the 


FlG.  228. — Mean  annual  isotherms  for  Asia.     (After  Buchan.) 

south  and    south-east    coastal    lands  have  fairly 


uniform  temperatures  throughout  the  year.  The  mean  annual  temperature 
(Fig.  228)  corrected  for  altitude  is  nearly  the  same  across  the  whole  breadth 
of  the  continent  in  the  same  latitude  ;  but  is  somewhat  lower  on  the  east 
coast  than  in  the  west.  In  winter  (Fig.  229)  this  condition  remains  unaltered 
in  the  south ;  but  in  the  north  the  air  temperature  falls  from  all  sides 
towards  a  pole  of  cold  in  north-eastern  Siberia,  where  at  Verkhoyansk,  400 
feet  above  the  sea,  the  mean  January  temperature  is  — 60°  F.,  a  degree  of 
cold  unknown  in  the  Polar  regions.  In  summer  (Fig.  230)  the  north  of  the 
continent  shows  a  uniform  temperature  from  west  to  east  in  the  same  lati- 
tude, but  in  the  south  there  is  a  heat  centre  in  north-west  India,  Baluchistan 
and  Arabia,  in  which  the  mean  temperature  for  July  exceeds  95°  F.,  and 
round  which  less  heated  air  is  found  on  every  side.  The  vast  height  of  the 
Mountain  and  Plateau  region  brings  about  great  local  differences  of  tem- 
perature, the  temperature  of  Tibet  being  always  low.  The  seasonal  tempera- 


43°      The   International  Geography 

ture  changes  determine  two  well-marked  pressure  conditions — a  winter 
high-pressure  system  which  is  most  powerfully  developed  over  Mongolia, 
and  a  summer  low-pressure  system  which  is  most  intense  between  the  middle 

Indus  and  the  Gulf  of 
Oman.  The  winter 
winds  of  the  continent 
are  consequently  out- 
flowing, the  summer 
winds  are  inflowing. 
The  cold  outflowing 
winds  of  winter  are 
dry,  and  over  the  whole 
of  Asia  hardly  any  rain 
falls  at  this  season,  ex- 
cept in  regions  where 
the  winds  are  deflected 
upwards  by  mountains, 
especially  after  passing 
over  the  sea.  The 


FlG.  229. — January  isotherms  for  Asia.     (After  Bnchan.) 


Malay  Archipelago  and  Peninsula  and  Ceylon,  as  well  as  the  extreme  south 

of  the  Dekkan,  are  near  enough  the  equator  to  have  the  double  rainy 

seasons  characteristic  of  sub-equatorial  regions.     The  rest  of  the  continent 

receives  rain  from  the  inflowing  winds  of  summer,  and  these  fall  most 

heavily  where  the  course  of  the  surface  wind  is  normal  to  that  of  the  great 

mountain  ranges,  e.g.,  the  western  mountains  of  the  Dekkan  and  Burma, 

and  the  eastern  ranges  of  the  east  coasts.     Local  topographical  variations 

deflect  the  rain-bearing 

wind ;    and    thus    the 

southern  slopes  of  the 

Himalaya  and   of   the 

Khasia    Hills     receive 

abundant  rains.     Only 

the    interior     regions, 

shut  off  from  oceanic 

influences  by  very  high 

mountains,  have    little 

or  no  rain  in  summer, 

and  are  in  consequence 

deserts. 

Climatic    Areas. 
— Asia  may  be  divided 

into  five  great  Climatic  Fl°'  23a-?«/>  isotherms  for  A*a.     (After  Buchan.) 

areas — (i)  The  Arctic  Cold  Dry  Area,  with  a  mean  temperature  not  exceeding 
50°  F.  in  the  warmest  summer  month,  and  a  mean  rainfall  never  over  i  inch 
in  the  wettest  month.  This  is  a  small  region  almost  entirely  within  the  Arctic 


Asia  43 1 


circle.  (2)  The  Siberian  or  Temperate  Continental  Area  has  great  severity  of 
winter  cold,  but  the  summer  temperatures  range  from  50°  to  70°  or  75°  F.  The 
temperature  extremes  are  greater  in  the  east  than  in  the  west.  Hardly  any 
rain  falls  here  in  winter,  but  in  the  short  summer  a  mean  monthly  fall  of 
from  i  to  2  inches  is  observed.  (3)  The  Central  or  Arid  Area,  including 
Arabia,  Iran,  Turan,  Taklamakan  and  Gobi,  is  one  of  varied  elevation 
and  of  varied  temperature  conditions.  Most  of  it  is  very  dry,  but  slight 
winter  rains  characterise  the  west,  whereas  what  precipitation  occurs  in 
the  east  falls  mainly  in  summer.  The  extreme  south  of  Arabia  is  also 
a  region  of  summer  rains.  This  area  exhibits  in  a  high  degree  the 
desiccation  characteristic  of  the  central  plateaux  of  great  mountain  ranges. 
The  arid  basin  of  Taklamakan,  for  example,  abounds  in  ruined  cities  of  a 
time  when  rain  must  have  been  abundant,  land  fertile,  and  population  dense. 
(4)  The  -Monsoon  Area  includes  India,  Indo-Chinaj  and  the  eastern  coastal 
lands,  where  rain  falls  when  the  inflowing  summer  winds  blow.  The  south 
of  this  area  is  much  warmer  and  more  equable  in  temperature  than  the 
north,  where  cold  winters  are  the  rule.  The  regions  within  this  area  which 
have  winter  rains  are  the  south-east  of  India,  and  of  Indo-China,  and  the  west 
of  Japan.  The  monsoon  winds  set  in  and  cease  at  different  times  in  different 
parts  of  the  area.  During  their  prevalence  the  atmospheric  conditions 
remain  relatively  steady,  but  at  the  periods  of  change  they  are  very 
unstable,  giving  rise  to  the  dreaded  cyclones  of  the  Indian  Ocean,  and  the 
typhoons  of  eastern  waters,  which  often  do  great  damage  both  on  land  and 
to  ships  at  sea.  (5)  The  Sub-equatorial  Area,  characterised  by  two  rainy 
seasons,  is  always  warm  and  always  wet,  so  that  we  should  speak  of  its 
possessing  two  less  wet  rather  than  two  dry  seasons  in  the  year. 

Minerals  and  Soils.  —  The  mineral  wealth  of  Asia  is  very  great. 
The  precious  stones  and  metals  have  long  been  famous  :  the  diamonds 
anciently  cut  and  sold  at  Golconda,  the  Ceylon  sapphires,  the  Burma 
rubies,  the  jade  of  Turkestan,  and  the  gold  of  the  Caucasus  and  of 
Japan.  Gold  is  found  in  the  Ural,  Altai,  and  the  mountains  of  the  north- 
east, and  this  gold  zone  probably  extends  across  the  Pacific  to  the  Yukon 
region.  These  mountains  are  also  all  rich  in  many  other  minerals,  and  so 
are  the  mountainous  provinces  of  China.  The  tin  of  the  Malay  peninsula,  the 
copper  and  mercury  of  Japan,  the  silver,  copper  and  graphite  of  Siberia, 
the  rock  salt  of  India  and  the  salt  in  the  dried  up  lakes  of  the  deserts  may 
be  mentioned  as  useful  minerals  already  largely  utilised.  Iron  is  found  in 
many  regions,  but  is  little  worked  by  modern  methods.  Rich  petroleum 
wells  occur  in  the  Caucasus,  Burma,  and  Sumatra ;  and  the  immense 
coal-fields  of  China,  and  some  of  the  eastern  islands,  including  Sakhalin, 
Japan,  and  Hainan,  which  are  hardly  yet  used,  lock  up  vast  stores  of  wealth. 

Large  areas  of  northern  Asia  are  enriched  with  loam.  Much  of 
the  dry  centre  is  covered  with  wandering  sand  dunes,  beyond  which 
the  fine  loess  is  blown  over  vast  tracts  of  land  which  are  highly  fertile 
where  water  also  exists.  The  Indian  and  Indo-Chinese  peninsulas  have  a 


432       The  International  Geography 

surface  of  laterite,  a  clay  rich  in  iron  formed  in  warm,  wet,  tropical  regions. 
The  flood  plains  of  the  great  rivers  are  covered  with  a  fertile  alluvium 
whereon  rich  crops  are  grown. 

Northern  Vegetation  Zones. — The  soils  determine  three  great  floral 
areas.  The  glacial  or  fluviatile  soils  of  the  north  and  east  support  forests, 
the  ceolian  soils  of  the  centre  and  south-west  are  steppe  lands  or  deserts, 
and  the  laterite  regions  of  the  south  and  south-east  are  wooded.  But  the 
climate  is  the  chief  factor  determining  the  distribution  of  the  different  plant 
associations  ;  and  the  three  great  typical  soil  areas,  which  are  themselves 
largely  conditioned  by  climatic  factors,  can  be  subdivided  into  smaller 
districts  with  different  types  of  vegetation.  In  the  Arctic  climate  area 
only  the  surface  of  the  soil  is  thawed  during  the  brief  summer,  and  it  is  a 
frozen  desert  most  of  the  year.  Here  no  trees  can  grow,  and  the  plant 
association  is  termed  Tundra  ;  the  vegetation  includes  low  shrubs  of  birch, 
willow,  larch,  spruce,  and  other  plants  that  are  trees  in  better  conditions, 
and  berry-bearing  bushes  such  as  the  cranberry ;  but  the  most  characteristic 
plants  are  lichens  and  mosses.  During  the  brief  summer  poppies,  saxi- 
frages, and  many  of  the  plants  found  on  European  mountains  burst  into  a 
brief  season  of  bloom,  when  the  land  is  gay  with  many  coloured  flowers. 
The  Siberian  climate  area  where  loam  exists  is  a  land  of  Forests,  The  typical 
plants  associated  together  are  coniferous,  the  larch  (Larix  Sib  erica)  and 
firs  (Abies  Sibericd)  predominating;  but  birches,  poplars,  and  other  trees 
familiar  in  temperate  Europe  abound.  The  forests  can  be  traced  farthest 
north  along  the  river  valleys.  In  the  south  the  deciduous  trees  become 
more  abundant,  and  alter  the  aspect  of  the  forest ;  and  still  farther  south  a 
belt  of  birch  woods  forms  the  transition  from  forest  to  steppe  land.  The 
forests  are  thick  and  in  many  places  impenetrable.  Brehm  has  given  a 
vigorous  description  of  the  forest  primeval,  with  its  contrasting  glades  of 
living  trees  and  thick  underwood  of  clematis,  rhododendron  and  honey- 
suckles, climbing  over  dead,  fallen  and  rotting  trunks.  Meadow  lands 
with  bright  summer  flowers  exist  in  the  Siberian  area,  and  predominate  in 
the  rich  grass  steppes  further  south.  Towards  the  east  the  proportion  of 
European  species  in  the  forests  diminishes,  and  in  the  Amur  basin  comes 
to  a  minimum,  while  Chinese  and  Japanese  species  increase  in  number. 

Steppes  and  Deserts.  —  The  dry  conditions  which  permit  the 
transference  and  accumulation  of  wind-blown  soil  militate  against  the 
development  of  large  trees.  The  loose  porous  soil  and  the  extremes  of 
heat  and  cold  serve  to  promote  a  rapid  growth  of  grasses  and  other  annuals 
during  the  short  moist  season,  but  these  perish  even  more  quickly  than 
they  rose,  and  are  preserved  until  the  next  moist  season  by  their  hardy 
seeds  or  roots.  The  Steppe  lands  are  of  two  kinds,  grass  steppes  bordering 
the  forests,  and  poor  steppes  passing  into  sterile  deserts.  The  grass 
steppes  of  south-western  Siberia  lie  between  50°  and  55°  N.,  and  reach  as 
far  east  as  the  Ob.  Similar  steppes  exist  east  of  the  Altai  and  south  of  the 
Sayan  and  Yablonovyi  mountains,  in  the  upper  valleys  of  the  great  rivers 


Asia  433 


rising  in  eastern  Tibet,  at  the  base  of  the  mountains  enclosing  the  Tarim 
basin,  rising  from  Turan  and  in  the  south-west  of  Iran.  The  snows  of  the 
high  mountains  are  a  source  of  water  for  these  steppes ;  and  where  peren- 
nial streams  flow,  rich  oases  are  formed  along  their  courses.  The  irrigated 
regions  yield  fine  fruits,  vegetables  and  cereals.  Poor  steppes  are  found 
round  the  true  desert  regions,  and  all  steppes  may  be  divided  by  their  rela- 
tion to  the  three  low  and  the  three  lofty  areas  of  inland  drainage — (i)  The 
Turanian  or  Caspian- Aral- Balkhash  region  passes  from  salt  desert  through 
poor  steppe  with  saxaul  (Borsczowia  aralo-caspica)  to  the  mountains,  round 
which  are  fertile  regions  watered  by  the  rivers.  (2)  The  Taklamakan  or 
Tarim  region  has  much  the  same  characteristics,  the  saxaul  being  the 
typical  plant.  (3)  The  Gobi  or  Mongolian  region  where  grasses  live,  but 
hardly  a  bush  is  to  be  found.  (4)  The  Arabian  region  is  a  continuation  of 
the  Sahara,  with  date-palm  oases.  (5)  The  Anatolian  and  Iranian  desert 
regions  have  few  plants,  some,  such  as  the  Astragalus  Tragacantha,  yielding 
gum  tragacanth ;  and  (6)  the  Tibetan  region  has  a  desolate  tundra-like  appear- 
ance, with  coarse  grasses  and  a  few  stunted  trees  in  the  less  elevated  parts. 
The  moister  sides  of  the  mountains  rising  out  of  the  steppe  land  may  be 
wooded,  but  the  vegetation  in  most  places  passes  from  rich  grassy  steppe 
to  poor  steppe,  and  gradually  into  tundra  just  under  the  snow  line. 

Warm  Zone. — In  the  north  of  the  Warm  Zone  we  find  the  Sub- 
tropical Forest  Area,  the  western  region  of  which  has  winter,  and  the 
eastern  region  summer  rains.  The  Western  or  Mediterranean  region, 
yields  olives,  figs,  pomegranates,  Aleppo  pines,  cedars,  myrtles,  evergreen 
oaks,  and  other  trees  on  tha  lower  mountain  slopes,  and  Oriental 
planes  higher  up.  The  Eastern  or  Sino-Japanese  region  has  tea  trees, 
camellias,  and  rich  flowers,  many  of  which,  grown  in  European  gardens, 
may  be  recognised  by  their  specific  names  sinensis  or  japonica.  The 
upper  slopes  of  the  mountains  of  Japan  and  Korea  are  covered  with 
beeches  and  conifers  such  as  Fagus  Sieboldi  or  Abies  Firma.  The 
Savanna  area  of  Asia  is  found  in  the  south  of  Arabia,  in  India,  Indo- 
China,  and  the  higher  parts  of  Ceylon  and  the  Malay  Archipelago. 
Southern  Arabia  forms  part  of  the  African  savanna  area.  The  other 
regions  may  be  grouped  as  the  south  Asiatic  savanna  area,  and  they  are 
characterised  by  great  grasses  such  as  the  alang-alang  (Imperata  cylindrica). 
The  moister  lower  regions  of  southern  and  south-eastern  Asia  contain  dense 
wet  jungles,  with  a  rich  vegetation  consisting  of  giant  banyans,  screw-pines, 
lofty  palms,  and  other  great  trees,  up  which  innumerable  creepers  climb 
to  the  light  above,  while  saprophytic  and  other  orchids,  lycopods  and 
mosses  live  in  their  branches.  The  mountain  slopes  above  the  plains  are 
also  covered  with  great  forests,  with  sal  and  deodar  in  the  Himalayas,  and 
teak  in  the  Dekkan  and  Burma,  and  areca  palms  in  the  Western  Ghats, 
and  the  Malay  peninsula  and  islands  south  of  10°  N.,  while  liquid  amber 
grows  on  the  middle  slopes  of  the  mountainous  Sunda  Islands.  The 
tropical  growths  flourish  to  nearly  3,000  feet  above  sea-level  and  then  give 


434      The  International   Geography 

place  to  sub-tropical  and  temperate  plants,  the  last  disappearing  above 
about  12,000  feet. 

Economic  Plants.— The  rich  flood  plains  and  deltas  of  the  great  rivers 
of  southern  and  eastern  Asia  are  among  the  most  fertile  regions  of  the  world. 
They  yield  rich  crops  of  rice,  sugar-cane,  cotton  and  indigo  ;  while  in  the 
drier  regions  wheat  may  be  grown  in  irrigated  districts.  Coco-nut  and 
sago  palm,  tamarind  and  bread-fruit  are  grown  in  the  south-eastern  islands, 
where  spices,  such  as  pepper,  nutmeg,  c4ove  and  vanilla  are  found.  Most 
of  the  common  cereals,  wheat,  barley,  rye  and  oats,  have  long  been  cultivated 
in  western  Asia,  where  date-palms  grow  in  the  oases  of  the  deserts,  and 
olives,  vines,  figs,  pomegranates,  oranges,  and  other  fruits  flourish  round 
the  Mediterranean.  In  Arabia  coffee  is  cultivated,  and  also  in  southern 
India,  where  cacao  has  recently  been  introduced.  Cinchona  is  grown  in  the 
south  and  south-east,  yielding  the  anti-febrile  quinine.  In  the  far  east  tea, 
rice,  cotton,  sugar,  lac,  are  among  the  chief  economic  plants,  and  in  recent 
years  the  cultivation  of  tea  has  spread  from  China  to  India  and  Ceylon. 

Fauna. — Tundra,  temperate  forest,  steppe,  desert,  savanna,  and  wet 
jungle,  each  contains  its  own  association  of  animals  whose  habits  are  adapted 
to  their  surroundings.  The  lack  of  barriers  in  northern  Asia  gives  a  certain 
unity  to  the  fauna  over  this  vast  area,  but  the  lofty  mountains  and  wide 
deserts  form  impassable  barriers  to  most  forms,  so  that  different  faunal 
realms  exist  in  the  north  and  in  the  south.  The  extreme  south-west  shut 
off  by  desert,  and  the  south-east  with  its  isolating  seas  have  each  animals  of 
different  type  from  those  of  the  north  and  south.  North  of  the  southern 
mountains  the  animals  belong  to  the  Palaearctic  realm  ;  in  India,  Indo- 
China,  and  the  adjacent  islands  to  the  Oriental  realm.  The  south  of  Arabia 
is  African  in  faunal  as  well  as  in  physical  characteristics,  and  the  islands 
east  of  Wallace's  line  are  Australian  rather  than  Asian  in  type.  The  tiger 
ranges  over  the  greater  part  of  the  south  and  east  of  Asia,  and,  with  the 
elephant  and  rhinoceros,  may  be  looked  upon  as  typical  of  the  southern 
part  of  the  continent.  The  wild  horse  and  camel  feed  on  the  steppes  of 
central  Asia,  and  huge  mountain  sheep  (Ovis  argali  and  poll}  are  well  known 
as  game  on  the  Pamirs.  Most  of  the  domestic  animals  of  the  world  are  of 
Asian  origin.  The  reindeer  is  the  draught  and  milk-giving  animal  of  the 
Tundra.  In  the  Tibetan  cold  and  desert  regions  the  yak  is  as  important  as  the 
reindeer  is  in  the  north.  The  camel  serves  man  in  the  great  desert  regions, 
round  whose  outskirts  horses  are  the  most  important  animals  belonging  to 
the  nomad,  and  with  his  herds  of  cattle,  sheep  and  goats,  constitute  his 
wealth.  In  many  western  regions  the  donkey  of  a  fine  breed  is  invaluable, 
and  mules  are  common.  The  Indian  buffalo  is  a  draught  animal,  but  in 
India,  as  in  China  and  Japan,  where  the  land  is  fertile,  it  is  too  valuable  for 
grazing,  and  few  animals  are  kept,  save  pigs  and  fowls,  for  which  there  is 
plenty  of  food,  and  which  yield  the  fat  and  nitrogen  so  often  lacking  in  a 
vegetable  diet.  In  India  and  Indo-China  the  elephant  has  been  tamed,  and 
performs  many  transport  services.  The  great  aquatic  mammals  are  hunted 


Asia  435 


in  Polar  seas  for  skin  and  oil  and  bone,  and  the  pearl  oyster  is  brought  up 
by  divers  from  the  bottom  of  tropical  waters. 

People. — The  more  important  groups  of  the  White  race  represented  in 
Asia  are  the  Semitic  type  of  Syria  and  Arabia,  the  numerous  tribes  of  the 
Caucasus,  the  Slavonic  people  pressing  eastwards  across  Siberia  and  in  Turan, 
and  the  Aryan  people  of  Iran  and  northern  India.  The  Yellow  or  Mongo- 
lian type  is  the  most  numerously  represented  in  Asia,  and  includes  two- 
thirds  of  the  inhabitants.  The  northern  Mongoloids  speaking  polysyllabic 
languages  may  be  distinguished  from  the  southern  Mongoloids  using  so-called 
monosyllabic  tongues.  Among  the  former  are  the  various  Finno-Tatar  and 
Turki-Tatar  races  of  the  northern  and  of  central  Asia,  the  true  Mongolians, 
and  the  Manchus,  all  of  whom  may  be  grouped  as  Ural-Altai  Mongols,  and 
are  to  be  distinguished  from  the  Koreans  as  well  as  from  the  Japanese.  The 
southern  Mongoloids  include  Chinese,  Tibetans,  various  Himalayan  hill 
tribes,  Burmans,  Siamese  and  Annamese.  The  relationships  of  the  north- 
eastern tribes,  sometimes  called  hyperboreans  or  Bering  tribes,  are  not 
well  known.  The  Black  type  is  represented  in  the  south  by  the  negroid 
Dravidians  of  the  Dekkan  and  Ceylon,  who  are  quite  distinct  from  the 
Negritos  of  the  Malay  Peninsula  and  Archipelago.  These  have  been 
pushed  into  the  interior  by  the  Malay  races  who  occupy  the  coasts  and 
favourable  places ;  and  have  probably  a  large  proportion  of  Mongoloid 
blood. 

Occupations. — By  far  the  greatest  part  of  Asia  is  occupied  by  many 
nomadic  tribes,  relatively  few  in  individuals  when  compared  with  the  mass 
of  settled  inhabitants  of  the  Indian  and  eastern  plains.  The  northern  and 
north-eastern  tribes  are  hunters  and  fishers,  and  in  so  far  as  they  rear 
reindeer,  are  also  pastoral.  Pastoral  nomads  occupy  the  rest  of  the  con- 
tinent that  is  not  cultivated.  Agriculture  is  carried  on  in  Asia  Minor  and 
Mesopotamia,  along  the  river  courses  and  on  the  oases  of  central  Asia,  in 
southern  Siberia,  and  down  the  Amur,  including  the  region  north  of 
Vladivostok,  in  Korea,  southern  Manchuria,  northern  China,  the  Dekkan, 
and  the  Upper  Ganges  and  Indus  flood  plains.  The  soil  is  so  carefully 
cultivated  in  Japan,  and  most  of  China-proper,  that  we  may  call  these 
regions  gardens.  There  also  manufactures  of  all  kinds  flourish,  but  as  yet 
the  modern  factory  system  of  Europe  has  been  introduced  into  few  places 
in  Asia.  Tropical  plantations  exist  in  south-western  Arabia,  the  Dekkan, 
Ceylon,  Bengal,  Assam,  Burma,  on  the  flood  plains  of  Indo-China,  and  the 
Malay  Archipelago.  Much  of  the  Malay  peninsula  and  of  the  islands  of  the 
Malay  Archipelago  is  so  very  fertile  that  the  inhabitants  have  to  do  little 
more  than  clear  the  surface  of  the  ground  and  plant  cuttings  to  obtain  good 
crops.  It  is  natural  to  find  that  the  south  and  east  are  the  most  densely 
peopled  regions  of  Asia,  and  it  is  estimated  that  over  830  million  people  live 
in  India,  Indo-China,  China,  Korea,  Japan,  and  the  south-eastern  islands,  i.e., 
half  the  population  of  the  world  on  one-tenth  of  its  surface.  The  rest  of 
Asia  has  onlv  70  million  people,  and  of  it  an  area  half  as  large  as  Europe 
30 


43 ^      The  International  Geography 

is  practically  uninhabited.  The  total  population  of  the  continent  is  estimated 
at  840  millions,  55  per  cent,  of  the  human  race. 

History.— The  (physical  configuration  of  Asia  has  largely  determined 
its  history.  On  the  northern  plains  the  conditions  have  been  unfavourable 
to  the  growth  or  agglomeration  of  population,  and  hence  to  the  development 
of  any  important  civilisation  or  religion.  South  of  the  central  barrier  of 
mountains  and  deserts,  three  distinct  natural  areas  of  favourable  conditions 
have  developed  characteristic  civilisations.  Of  these  the  oldest  is  probably 
that  of  Mesopotamia,  the  rich  alluvial  flood  plain  of  the  Euphrates  and 
Tigris,  which  has  been  the  seat  of  a  series  of  important  empires,  the  most 
ancient,  that  of  Chaldea,  reaching  back  to  the  dawn  of  history.  Through 
the  narrow  strip  of  Mediterranean  coast-line  Mesopotamian  civilisation  in- 
fluenced the  development  of  Europe,  and  was  influenced  by  it.  An  equally 
opulent  and  magnificent  civilisation  grew  up  on  the  flood  plains  of  the 
Himalayan  rivers,  but  the  mountain  and  desert  barriers  on  the  north,  and 
the  sea  on  the  other  side,  confined  their  influence  to  a  more  limited  area. 
The  third  great  Asiatic  civilisation  arose  on  the  flood  plains  of  the 
Yangtse-kiang  and  the  Hwang-ho,  and  its  records  reach  back  to  a  remote 
antiquity.  The  wealth  of  all  these  regions  has  naturally  always  exposed 
them  to  invasion  by  attracting  the  cupidity  of  the  nomads  of  the  steppes, 
but  the  progress  of  barbarian  aggression  became  irresistible,  as  the  gradual 
dessication  of  central  Asia  made  it  absolutely  necessary  for  the  nomads  to 
quit  their  withering  pasture  grounds.  This  drying-up  of  central  Asia  is 
probably  the  ultimate  explanation  of  such  great  events  in  the  world's  history 
as  the  successive  Mongol  conquests  of  China,  the  Mongolian  settlement  of 
the  Russian  plains  and  Hungary,  and  the  downfall  of  the  Roman  Empire. 
Even  India,  with  its  almost  impenetrable  barriers  of  mountain  and  desert, 
was  attacked.  The  last  great  pastoral  invasion  of  the  west,  which  made 
the  fairest  part  of  western  Asia  and  the  eastern  capital  of  the  Roman  world 
the  prey  of  the  Ottoman  Turks,  took  place  less  than  500  years  ago,  and  even 
as  late  as  the  seventeenth  century  the  expansion  of  the  Turkish  Empire 
was  a  menace  to  Europe. 

While  Asia  has  thus  expanded  into  Europe,  influences  have  been  at 
work  in  the  opposite  direction.  What  was  first  prompted  by  the  ambition 
of  individual  conquerors,  from  Alexander  onwards,  is  now  the  outcome  of 
the  economic  conditions  of  Europe,  and  has  become  the  settled  policy  of 
its  Great  Powers.  Greek  and  Roman  civilisations  succeeded  each  other  in 
Asia  Minor,  but  until  modern  times  no  western  Powers  penetrated  much 
further.  The  ancient  Armenian  nation  subjugated  by  the  Turks,  has  main- 
tained its  religious  faith  and  its  national  character,  though  its  territory  is 
parted  between  three  empires.  The  development  of  sea  power  afforded  a 
new  means  of  aggression,  and  helped  to  shorten  distance.  Portugal,  Spain, 
Holland,  France  and  the  United  Kingdom  all  founded  empires  in  eastern 
Asia.  Little  remains  of  Portuguese  and  nothing  of  Spanish  possessions  in 
the  east,  but  the  Dutch  still  hold  most  of  the  Malay  Archipelago.  India  was 


Asia  437 


subjected  from  the  sea  by  the  French,  and  then  by  the  British,  who  have 
welded  the  isolated  States  into  an  empire,  and  control  the  key  positions  on 
the  routes  both  to  east  and  west.  France  has  conquered  a  new  empire  in 
the  south-east  and  has  interests  in  China,  where  Germany  and  Russia  have 
also  obtained  a  footing.  The  British  colonies  of  Straits  Settlements  and 
Hongkong  are  bases  from  which  a  vast  commercial  interest  in  China  has 
been  developed.  These  conquests,  however,  are  mainly  military,  or  at  best 
commercial,  i.e.,  of  the  least  permanent  types.  Very  different  is  the  steady 
advance  of  Russia  across  the  Turanian  and  Siberian  plains,  and  more  recently 
through  Manchuria  towards  northern  China.  Here  the  advance  is  the 
pushing  onwards  of  settlers  into  lands  which  are  as  yet  sparsely  peopled, 
and  in  which  new  routes  have  opened  many  regions  well  suited  to  the  de- 
velopment of  the  great  Slavonic  race.  Persia,  Afghanistan,  Siam,  and  Korea 
retain  a  precarious  independence  through  the  rivalries  of  the  Powers  whose 
territories  border  their  lands.  Japan  has  attempted  to  forestall  European 
conquest  by  copying  European  civilisation,  and  has  itself  adopted  a  policy 
of  expansion.  The  application  of  European  capital  and  supervision,  and 
the  introduction  of  telegraphs  and  modern  means  of  rapid  communication 
are  working  an  economic  transformation  in  Asia,  the  outcome  of  which 
cannot  at  present  be  foreseen.  So  far  it  has  relieved  the  pressure  of 
western  needs  by  opening  new  markets,  but  as  the  industrial  development 
of  Asia  proceeds,  the  competition  must  be  severely  felt  in  Europe. 

As  Europe  is  typically  the  continent  of  limited  monarchies,  Australia 
that  of  colonies,  and  South  America  that  of  republics,  so  Asia  may  be 
looked  upon  as  the  continent  of  absolute  monarchies,  the  principle  of  abso- 
lutism is  even  carried  out  in  the  European  possessions  on  the  mainland, 
and  in  Japan  alone  is  the  government  limited  by  a  popular  constitution. 

Religion. — Asia  has  been  the  cradle  of  all  the  great  world  religions. 
In  each  culture  area  a  great  religious  type  developed.  Brahmanism,  the 
dominant  religion  of  India,  professed  by  208  million  people,  gave  birth  to 
Buddhism,  which  is  the  religion  of  425  million  human  beings  in  Tibet, 
Mongolia,  China  and  Japan.  China,  however,  produced  a  religious  or 
moral  teacher  of  its  own  in  the  person  of  Confucius,  whose  precepts  codify 
the  ethics  of  a  patriarchal  agricultural  people.  These  religions,  like  the 
civilisations  with  which  they  are  associated,  have  exercised  but  little  influence 
on  Europe.  The  centre  of  influence  in  both  cases  lay  further  west.  Judaism, 
the  purest  of  the  Semitic  cults,  has  produced  two  religions  which  have 
radiated  respectively  west  and  north  and  east  and  south.  The  older, 
Christianity,  has  become  the  religion  of  Europeans  and  their  descendants, 
but  has  made  little  progress  in  Asia,  where  its  adherents  do  not  number 
20  millions.  The  younger,  Islam  or  Mohammedanism,  has  spread  over 
south-western  Asia,  and  extended  eastwards  to  India,  and  even  to  China. 
It  was  the  motive  power  which  led  to  the  Arab  conquests  in  Asia,  in 
Africa,  and  even  in  Europe ;  to  the  mediaeval  Persian  empire ;  and  to 
the  Turkish  invasions.  It  was  ever  a  religion  of  the  sword ;  and  its  pro 


438       The   International  Geography 

gress  is  attested  by  the  fact  that  160  million  Asiatics  now  profess  it.  The 
religions  of  the  northern  Asiatic  peoples  and  of  the  Negroids  in  the 
south-east  are  fetishistic,  and  have  played  little  part  in  world  history. 
Asia,  with  its  vast  masses  of  population  remaining  passively  in  the  place 
of  their  birth,  is  the  one  stronghold  of  the  spirit  of  the  past ;  the  great  bulk 
of  the  people  live  to-day  as  they  lived  when  Marco  Polo  sojourned  amongst 
them,  or  as  they  lived  a  thousand  years  before  ;  and  while  the  hordes  of 
wandering  Asiatics  have  convulsed  the  world,  and  again  and  again  turned 
the  course  of  history,  the  stationary  mass  may  still  long  resist  the  penetration 
of  European  commerce,  as  it  has  for  many  centuries  withstood  European 
civilisation  and  religion. 


STATISTICS. 

THE  CHIEF  COUNTRIES  OF  ASIA. 

Area  square  mile 

Asiatic  Russia           6,394,000 

Chinese  Empire         . .        . .        4,278,00* 

Indian  Empire           1,800,000 

Asiatic  Turkey           654,000 

Persia                           650,000 

Dutch  East  Indies 584,000 

Afghanistan                250,000 

French  Indo-China v         ..  256,000 

Siam                           200,000 

Japan                          160,000 

British  Colonies          150,000 

Korea                          82,ooo 


Population. 

24,700,000 

40o,ooo>ooo(f) 

294,000,000 

17,000,000 

8,000,000 

34,000,000 

4,000,000 

18,200,000 

9,000,000 

42,000,000 

5,000,000 

17,000,000 


STANDARD  BOOKS. 

A.  H.  Keane.     "Asia."    2  vols.     Stanford's  Compendium.     London,  1896. 

W.  Sievers.     "Asien."     2nd  ed.     Leipzig,  1904. 

F.  H.  H.  Guillemard.    "  The  cruise  of  the  Marchesa  to  Kamschatka  and  New  Guinea." 

2  vols.     London,  1886. 
Baron  A.  E.  Nordenskiold.    "  The  voyage  of  the  Vega  round  Asia  and  Europe."    2  vols. 

London,  1881. 

E.  Suess.    "  Das  Antlitz  der  Erde."    Bd.  III.,  Th.  i.    [Deals  almost  entirely  with  Asia.] 
Sven  Hedin.    "  Scientific  Results  of  a  Tourney  in  Central  Asia,  1899-1902."    6  vols.  and 

2  vols.     Atlas.     Stockholm  and  London,  1904. 
A.  Little.     "The  Far  East."     Oxford,  1905. 


CHAPTER  XXIV.— ASIATIC  TURKEY  AND  ARABIA 

I.— ANATOLIA 

BY  GENERAL  SIR  CHARLES  W.  WILSON,  K.C.B.,  F.R.S. 

Boundaries  and  Coast. — Anatolia  occupies  the  westward  extension 
of  the  Iranian  plateau  that  stretches  out  like  an  arm  towards  Europe.  On 
the  north  it  is  bounded  by  the  Black  Sea  ;  on  the  west  by  the  Bosporus, 
the  Sea  of  Marmora,  the  Dardanelles,  and  the  ^Egean  ;  on  the  south  by  the 
Mediterranean,  Syria,  and  Mesopotamia  ;  and  on  the  east  by  Russia  and 
Persia.  The  north  coast  is  rocky,  has  no  good  harbours,  and  only  one  safe 
roadstead — Sinope,  between  the  Bosporus  and  the  Russian  frontier.  There 
are,  however,  several  open  roadsteads  and  small  ports  at  which  steamers 
ship  the  produce  of  the  interior.  The  west  coast  is  deeply  penetrated  by 
the  waters  of  the  Marmora  and  ^Egean,  and  s^ome  of  its  inlets,  such  as  the 
Gulf  of  Smyrna,  form  excellent  harbours.  For  several  miles  it  is  only 
separated  from  Europe  by  the  narrow  channels,  Bosporus  and  Dardanelles, 
that  connect  the  Marmora  with  the  Black  Sea  and  the  ^Egean.  South  of  the 
Dardanelles  the  coast  is  fringed  with  islands.  The  south  coast  is  deeply 
indented  by  the  broad  bay  of  Adalia,  and  towards  the  east  its  cliffs  give 
way  to  the  low  shore  of  the  Cilician  plain.  East  of  Cape  Alupo  are  the 
land-locked  harbours  of  Marmarice  and  Makri,  and  further  east  are  small 
ports  at  which  steamers  call.  South  of  Cape  Anamur  lies  Cyprus. 

Configuration. — The  Anatolian  plateau  rises  from  west  to  east,  and 
attains  its  greatest  altitude,  above  6,000  feet,  near  Erzerum.  On  the  north 
it  is  buttressed  by  the  Pontic  coast  range,  which  varies  greatly  in  height, 
and  rises  abruptly  from  the"  sea.  The  only  coast  plains  are  the  deltas 
formed  by  the  Kizil  and  Yeshil  Irmaks.  On  the  south  the  plateau  is  simi- 
larly buttressed  by  the  Taurus  range,  which  in  places  has  an  altitude  of 
from  7,000  to  10,000  feet.  Except  where  the  Pamphylian  and  Cilician  plains 
intervene,  the  range  approaches  the  sea.  Farther  east  it  is  separated  from 
Syria  by  the  gorge  of  the  Jihun,  and  breaks  down  to  the  lowlands  of 
Mesopotamia  in  a  series  of  rock-terraces  seamed  by  deep  ravines.  The 
western  face  of  the  plateau  is  broken  by  broad  valleys,  and  only  in  the  case 
of  Olympus  (7,600  feet)  rises  much  higher  than  2,500  feet.  On  the  east  the 
Anatolian  passes  into  the  Iranian  plateau. 

The  Anti-Taurus  range,  which  rises  east  of  Sivas  and  runs  south-west  to 
Mount  Taurus,  divides  the  plateau  into  Western  and  Eastern  Anatolia.  In 
the  first  the  most  striking  features  are  the  great  central  plain  with  its  salt 
lake ;  the  absence  of  navigable  rivers ;  Mount  Argaeus  (13,100  feet),  and  the 

439 


44°  The  International  Geography- 
volcanic  district  to  the  south  with  its  rock-hewn  houses  and  underground 
villages ;  the  subterranean  flow  of  streams  beneath  the  Taurus ;  the  pic- 
turesque lake  district  east  of  Dineir,  and  the  number  of  hot  medicinal 
springs.  In  Eastern  Anatolia,  elevated  plains  are  separated  by  mountain 
ranges  that  run  from  east-north-east  to  west-south-west.  The  principal 
features  are  the  fertile  volcanic  district  of  Van,  with  its  salt  lake  (area  2,000 
square  miles,  altitude  5,300  feet),  and  the  old  craters  Sipan  Dagh  (12,000  feet) 
and  Nimrud  Dagh  ;  the  lofty  Bingeul  Dagh  ;  snow-capped  Ararat  (17,160 
feet),  and  the  wild  gorges  through  which  the  waters  of  the  Euphrates 
and  Tigris  find  their  way  to  lower  levels.  The  Pontic  coast  range,  the 
plateau,  and  the  Taurus  are  here  roughly  distinguished  as  Lazistan, 
Ermenistan,  and  Kurdistan — the  countries  respectively  of  the  Lazis,  the 
Armenians,  and  the  Kurds.  Kurdistan  includes  also  the  mountainous 
district,  east  of  Mosul,  through  which  the  two  Zabs  run  to  the  Tigris. 

Some  of  the  Anatolian  rivers  are  of  considerable  size.  From  the  high 
plateau  of  Eastern  Anatolia  the  Choruk  Su  (Acampsis)  and  the  Yeshil 
Irmak  (Iris)  run  to  the  Black  Sea,  and  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris,  after 
reaching  the  lowlands  of  Mesopotamia,  flow  through  them  to  the  Persian 
Gulf.  From  the  plateau  of  Western  Anatolia  the  Kizil  Irmak  (Halys)  and 
the  Sakaria  (Sangarius)  flow%>  the  Black  Sea,  and  the  Gediz  Chai  (Hermus) 
and  Mendere  Chai  (Mceander)  to  the  Mediterranean.  The  Geuk  Su  (Caty- 
cadnus),  which  rises  in  the  Taurus  range,  and  the  Sihun  (Saras)  and  Jihuu 
(Pyramus),  which  rise  in  the  recesses  of  Anti-Taurus,  also  discharge  their 
waters  into  the  Mediterranean. 

The  great  plain  of  Western  Anatolia  is  composed  of  lacustrine  deposits 
of  the  Tertiary  period.  Mount  Taurus  consists  chiefly  of  Cretaceous  lime- 
stone, the  Pontic  range  of  schists  and  metamorphic  rocks.  Igneous  rocks 
of  the  Tertiary  and  later  periods  occur  in  many  districts,  and  some  of  the 
minor  ranges  are  of  granite.  The  mineral  wealth  is  great,  but  neglected ; 
it  includes  gold,  silver,  lead,  iron,  coal,  boracite,  chrome,  fuller's  earth, 
rock-salt,  alum,  kaolin,  antimony,  emery,  and  meerschaum.  Serpentine 
and  fine  marbles  are  found  in  several  localities.  Anatolia  is  subject  to 
earthquakes  of  great  severity. 

Climate,  Flora,  and  Fauna.— On  the  north  coast  summers  of 
damp,  enervating  heat  are  followed  by  cold 'winters  with  much  rain  and 
heavy  falls  of  snow.  On  the  plateau  the  summer  is  hot  and  the  winter 
very  cold,  in  Eastern  Anatolia  often  reaching  — 15°  or  — 20*  F.  On  the 
south  and  west  coasts  the  winter  is  mild  and  the  summer  heat  is  tempered 
by  sea  breezes.  Malaria  is  prevalent  in  some  localities. 

The  Pontic  range  is  clothed  with  magnificent  forests  of  oak,  fir,  and 
beech,  and  on  the  higher  slopes  rhododendrons  and  azaleas  flourish.  On  the 
ranges  to  the  south,  including  the  Taurus,  there  is  less  variety  of  foliage 
in  the  forests.  There  is  excellent  wheat  land  on  the  plateau,  and  various 
districts,  according  to  climate,  favour  the  growth  of  the  vine,  olive,  fig, 
orange,  lemon,  apple,  pear,  maize,  rice,  opium,  cotton  and  liquorice.  The 


Asiatic  Turkey— Anatolia          441 

central  districts  are  almost  treeless,  and,  as  a  rule,  dreary  and  uninviting  ; 
but  where  the  rivers  break  through  the  coast  ranges  the  scenery  is  some- 
times grand,  often  picturesque,  and  occasionally  of  rare  beauty. 

Bear,  panther,  lynx,  wolf,  hyaena,  wild  boar,  chamois,  ibex,  moufflon, 
deer,  gazelle,  bustard,  francolin,  pheasant,  swan,  pelican,  and  stork  are 
found.  Trout  abound  in  the  mountain  streams,  and  a  species  of  herring 
is  caught  in  Lake  Van.  Wiry  horses  and  excellent  mule  camels  *  are  bred 
on  the  plateau,  which  is  also  the  home  of  the  Angora  (mohair)  goat. 

History. — Geographical  position,  close  proximity  to  Europe,  the 
absence  of  navigable  rivers,  and  the  few  approaches  to  the  plateau  from 
the  coast,  have  had  an  important  influence  on  the  history  of  Anatolia.  The 
earliest  routes  to  the  East  passed  through  it,  and  it  has  ever  been  the  scene 
of  an  unending  struggle  between  the  influences  of  the  East  and  West. 
Although  kingdoms  (Phrygia,  Lydia,  Pergamum,  Pontus,  Armenia  and 
Seljukian  Rum)  have  from  time  to  time  risen  within  its  borders,  it  has 
never  been  the  seat  of  permanent  empire.  At  two  periods — when  Greek 
colonists,  and  later  when  Genoese  and  Venetians  occupied  the  islands  and 
ports  of  the  coast,  and  grew  rich  as  "  middlemen  "  between  the  East  and 
West — the  history  of  the  maritime  districts  had  little  in  common  with  that 
of  the  plateau. 

In  the  dawn  of  history  Anatolia  was  occupied  by  non- Aryan  races. 
Such  were  the  "  Hittites,"  whose  capital  was  at  Boghaz  Keui,  and  the 
people  of  Biainas  who  dwelt  at  Van.  When  the  Aryan  immigration  com- 
menced is  unknown,  but  in  the  western  districts  there  must  have  been 
a  great  fusion  of  blood  several  centuries  before  the  Persian  conquest 
(B.C.  546).  In  the  east  the  Armenians  displaced  the  people  of  Biainas  in 
the  seventh  century  B.C.  Alexander  destroyed  the  Persian  Empire 
(B.C.  334-331),  and  under  his  successors  Greek  culture  and  the  Greek 
language  prevailed  amongst  natives  of  the  higher  class.  But  western 
civilisation  made  little  progress  in  the  interior  until  the  Roman  period,  and 
the  most  efficient  agent  in  diffusing  it  was  Christianity.  Under  the  Roman 
emperors  western  Anatolia  was  Europeanised,  whilst,  after  years  of  strife, 
all  east  of  the  Euphrates  became  a  Persian  province.  The  Arabs  made 
predatory  incursions  (A.D.  661-867),  but,  except  in  Armenia,  obtained  no 
real  hold  of  the  country.  The  advent  of  the  Seljuk  Turks  (A.D.  1071)  initi- 
ated a  long  period  of  decay.  For  four  centuries  wave  after  wave  of  nomads 
— Turks,  Mongols  (1235),  Timur  and  Tatars  (1386-1402) — swept  over  the 
country  and  destroyed  its  prosperity  and  wealth.  Constantly  on  the  move 
in  search  of  fresh  pasture  for  their  flocks,  despising  agriculture,  caring 
nothing  for  town  life,  and  heedless  of  the  morrow,  they  rendered  cultiva- 
tion impossible,  and  forced  the  peasantry  to  become  nomad  or  seek  refuge 
in  the  mountains.  From  these  disasters  Anatolia  has  never  recovered,  and 
recolonisation  from  Europe  can  alone  restore  its  pristine  prosperity. 

1  Bactrian  sire,  Arab  dam. 


442       The   International   Geography 

People.—  The  present  population  is  partly  sedentary,  partly  nomad  ; 
partly  Moslem,  partly  Christian.  The  sedentary  inhabitants  represent  on 
he  whole  the  races  that  occupied  the  country  when  the  Seljuks  first 
appeared  on  its  borders.  The  Moslems  are  the  descendants  of  those  who 
changed  their  faith,  the  Christians  of  those  who  retained  it.  Turks  whose 
ancestors  settled  in  the  towns  and  villages  are  met  with  throughout  the 
country,  and  in  some  localities  there  are  Turkish  villages.  Kurds,  sedentary 
and  nomadic,  are  widely  spread.  Their  principal  home  is  in  the  mountain 
tract  called  Kurdistan,  which  they  have  occupied  from  a  remote  period. 
They  are  of  Median  origin,  and  speak  Kermanji  and  Zaza,  two  Persian 
dialects  intermixed  with  Syriac  and  Armenian  words.  Lazis,  who  belong 
to  the  Caucaso-Tibetan  race,  and  speak  a  language  allied  to  Georgian,  live 
in  the  coast  range  east  of  Trebizond.  In  western  Anatolia  there  are  large 
Circassian,  Tatar,  and  Bulgarian  colonies.  Greeks  are  in  a  majority  in  the 
islands  and  on  the  west  coast  ;  and  in  Cappadocia  and  the  Pontic  coast 
range  there  are  large  Greek-speaking  communities.  In  the  isolated  villages 
on  the  plateau  the  Greeks  only  speak  Turkish.  Armenians  are  found  in 
all  Anatolian  towns,  but  there  are  few  Armenian 
villages  west  of  the  Sivas  and  Adana  vilayets.  In 
certain  districts  of  eastern  Anatolia  they  form  a 
majority  of  the  people,  and  occupy  the  towns  and 
high-lying  valleys.  The  language  is  Armenian,  but  in 
isolated  villages  the  peasants  only  speak  Turkish  or 
Kermanji.  Nestorians  live  in  the  valleys  of  the  Great 
Zab  and  Bohtan,  near  the  Persian  frontier.  They 
FIG.  231.—  Average  pop-  speak  a  dialect  of  Syriac,  containing  Persian,  Arabic, 


lmUe°of  AnatoliT^6    and  Kurdish  words,  and  are  the  descendants  of  Syrian 

Christians  driven  to  the  mountains  from  Mesopotamia 

by  the  encroachments  of  the  nomads.     The  Turkomans,  Tatars,  Avshars, 

and  Yuruks,  who  are  widely  distributed,  are  nomads  of  Turk  or  Mongol 

origin. 

The  Moslems  are  either  Sunnis  or  Shias,  the  former  being  in  a  large 
majority.  The  Christians  belong  either  to  the  Greek  Orthodox,  the 
Armenian  Gregorian,  the  Nestorian,  the  Protestant,  or  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church.  All  non-Moslems  must  belong  to  one  of  the  recognised 
religious  communities  (millets),  each  of  which  has  two  representatives  on 
the  Council  of  State  at  Constantinople.  Education  is  backward  amongst 
Moslems  ;  but  the  Christians  have  latterly  made  great  progress  with 
the  assistance  of  colleges  and  schools  established  by  the  American 
Missions. 

Trade  and  Communications.  —  Most  of  the  people  make  their 
living  by  agriculture,  which  is  in  a  backward  state.  Large  numbers  are, 
however,  employed  in  the  various  mines  and  industries  in  the  interior,  and 
as  sailors,  and  in  the  sponge  and  other  fisheries  on  the  coast  and  in  the 
islands.  Silks,  cotton  stuffs,  mohair  cloth,  carpets,  sweetmeats,  wine,  soap,. 


Asiatic  Turkey — Anatolia          443 


liquorice  paste,  and  copper  utensils  are  largely  manufactured.  The  prin- 
cipal imports  are  textile  fabrics,  iron,  coal,  petroleum,  and  sugar.  The 
exports  are  raisins,  figs,  wine,  liquorice,  wheat,  olive  oil,  opium,  drugs,  gum 
tragacanth,  raw  silk,  cocoons,  mohair,  wool,  carpets,  beeswax,  tobacco, 
sponges,  hides,  valonea,  yellow  berries,  boxwood,  timber,  meerschaum, 
metals  and  ores.  Austrian,  French,  Greek,  and  Russian  steamers  call  at 
the  various  ports,  but  most  of  the  foreign  trade  is  done  with  the  United 
Kingdom. 

During  the  Roman  period  Anatolia  was  intersected  by  well-kept  roads ; 
but  with  the  advent  of  the  nomads  wheeled  transport  disappeared  and 
camels  and  mules  became  the  common  means  of  transport.  The  roads 
were  neglected,  and  it  is  only  during  the  last  thirty  years  that  any  attempt 
has  been  made  to  improve  them,  introduce  carts,  and  make  railways.  One 
line  of  railway,  which  it  is  proposed  to  continue  to  Mesopotamia,  runs 
from  the  Bosporus  to  Ismid  (Nicomedia)  and  Eskishehr  (Dorylceum), 
whence  one  branch  goes  to  Angora  (Ancyra),  and  another  to  Konia 
(Iconium).  Other  lines  run  from 
Mudania  to  Brusa ;  from  Smyrna 
to  Manisa  (Magnesia)  and  Alashehr 
(Philadelphia},  with  a  branch  to 
Ak-Hissar  (Thyateira)  and  Soma  ; 
from  Smyrna  to  Ephesus,  Aidin 
(Tralles),  and  Dineir  (Apamea), 
with  short  branches  to  Denizli 
and  Chivril  ;  and  from  Mersina 
to  Tarsus  and  Adana.  Most  of  the 
railways  are  in  the  hands  of 
German  capitalists. 

Divisions  and  Towns. — Turkey  in  Asia  is  divided  into  provinces 
(vilayet)  governed  by  valis  who  are  appointed  by  the  Sultan.  Each  vali 
has  a  staff  of  civil  servants,  and  is  assisted  by  an  administrative  council 
on  which  the  spiritual  heads  of  the  non-Moslem  communities  have  seats. 
For  administrative  purposes  each  vilayet  is  divided  into  districts  (sanjak), 
sub-districts  (kazd),  communal  circles  (nahieh),  and  communes  (karieh), 
governed  respectively  by  mutessarifs,  kaimakams,  mudirs,  and  mukhtars. 
Justice  is  administered'  in  accordance  with  the  common  law  (nizam),  by 
civil,  criminal  and  commercial  provincial  courts,  from  which  there  is  a 
right  of  appeal  to  the  High  Court  at  Constantinople.  In  Anatolia  there 
are  fifteen  vilayets,  two  separate  sanjaks,  and  one  principality  (Samos). 
Amongst  the  towns  Trebizond  (Trapezus)  on  the  Black  Sea,  the  capital  of 
the  old  empire  of  Trebizond,  is  the  natural  trade  outlet  of  Erzerum  and 
northern  Persia,  but  Russian  railways  are  rapidly  diverting  the  traffic. 
Samsiln  (Amisus),  on  the  Black  Sea,  exports  the  produce  of  the  Sivas 
vilayet.  Skutari  (Chrysopolis),  on  the  Bosporus,  is  a  suburb  of  Constanti- 
nople. Smyrna,  the  most  important  town  in  Anatolia,  and  one  of  the 


FIG.  232. — Anatolian  Railways. 


444      The  International  Geography 

principal  ports  of  the  Ottoman  Empire,  lies  at  the  head  of  a  deep  gulf,  and 
is  the  natural  trade  outlet  for  the  western  districts.  It  has  direct  steam 
communication  with  England.  Adalia  (Atialid)  and  Mersina,  on  the  south 
coast,  are  the  ports  of  the  Konia  and  Adana  vilayets.  Brusa  (Prusa),  at  the 
foot  of  Mount  Olympus,  is  noted  for  the  beauty  of  its  situation,  its  hot 
iron  and  sulphur  springs,  its  silk  manufactories,  and  the  mosques  and  tombs 
of  the  early  Sultans  who  made  it  their  capital.  Angora  (Ancyrd),  the 
ancient  capital  of  the  Gauls,  is  celebrated  for  its  fruit,  honey,  and  mohair 
cloth.  It  gives  its  name  to  the  Angora  (mohair)  goat  and  Angora  cat. 
Konia  (Iconium),  connected  with  the  missionary  labours  of  St.  Paul,  and 
later  the  capital  of  the  Seljuks,  lies  near  the  southern  edge  of  the  great 
plain  of  western  Anatolia.  Kaisariyeh  (Ccesarea},  at  the  foot  of  Mount 
Argaeus,  whence  roads  lead  by  easy  passes  across  the  Anti-Taurus,  has 
been  a  trade-centre  from  the  dawn  of  history.  It  is  still  the  most  impor- 
tant commercial  town  on  the  plateau,  and  is  remarkable  for  the  enterprise 
of  its  merchants.  Sivas  (Sebastea),  in  the  valley  of  the  Kizil  Irmak,  is  the 
centre  of  a  rich  wheat-growing  district.  Erzerum,  the  principal  town  of 
eastern  Anatolia,  is  a  military  station  protected  by  a  circle  of  detached 
forts.  Van  (Dhuspas),  near  Lake  Van,  is  situated  at  the  foot  of  an  isolated 
rock  on  which  are  inscriptions  in  cuneiform  Van,  Bitlis,  and  Mush  are 
centres  of  Armenian  districts. 

Islands  of  Anatolia. — Some  of  the  islands  are  very  fertile,  others 
are  little  more  than  lofty  masses  of  rock  that  rise  abruptly  from  the  sea. 
Most  of  them  have  steam  communication  with  Smyrna.  They  produce 
fruit,  wine,  raisins,  olive  oil,  and  mastic.  Sponge  fishing  is  the  principal 
industry.  The  population  is  Greek,  and  Greek  dialects  are  spoken. 
Excepting  Samos,  they  form*  the  Archipelago  Vilayet.  Tenedos  is  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Dardanelles.  Lemnos,  midway  between  Mount  Athos 
and  the  Dardanelles,  has  an  almost  land-locked  harbour  suitable  for  large 
ships.  Lesbos,  or  Mitylene,  between  the  Dardanelles  and  the  Gulf  of 
Smyrna,  was  the  home  of  the  ^olian  school  of  lyric  poetry,  and  the 
birthplace  of  Alcaeus  and  Sappho.  It  has  two  deep  gulfs,  which  form 
land-locked  harbours,  and  hot  mineral  springs.  Chios,  the  most  fertile  of 
the  islands,  is  noted  for  its  wine  and  mastic,  and  is  the  reputed  birthplace 
of  Homer.  Samos  rose  to  great  power  under  Polycrates  (B.C.  532),  and 
became  the  centre  of  Ionian  luxury,  art  and  science.  It  was  the  home 
of  Pythagoras,  and  for  a  time  the  residence  of  Antony  and  Cleopatra. 
Samos  has  a  good  harbour,  and  is  very  fertile.  Since  1832  it  has  been  a 
principality  paying  tribute  to  Turkey,  but  otherwise  independent.  Moun- 
tainous Icaria  is  connected  with  the  legend  of  Icarus  ;  and  on  rugged 
Patmos,  twenty  miles  south  of  Samos,  St.  John  wrote  the  Apocalypse. 
Further  south  are  Leros,  Kalymna,  Kos,  with  its  memories  of  Hippocrates, 
Nisyros  with  its  hot  sulphur  springs,  and  Syme,  a  broken,  rugged  island 
with  two  good  harbours  and  a  large  trade  in  .sponges.  Rhodes,  the  most 
eastern  island  of  the  ^Egean,  has  played  a  conspicuous  part  in  history.  It 


Cyprus  445 


had  powerful  fleets,  and  its  maritime  laws  were  embodied  in  the  Roman 
civil  law.  Its  capital,  Rhodes,  at  the  north  end  of  the  island,  was  one  of 
the  most  magnificent  cities  of  antiquity,  and  had,  at  the  entrance  to  its 
harbour,  the  bronze  "  Colossus  of  Rhodes."  For  two  centuries  it  was  the 
stronghold  of  the  Knights  of  St.  John,  who,  after  successfully  resisting  the 
Turks  in  1480,  surrendered  to  Suleiman  I.  after  a  famous  siege  in  1522. 
The  island  is  only  partially  cultivated.  Between  Rhodes  and  Crete  are 
Karpathos  and  Kasos. 

II.— CYPRUS 

BY  THE  LATE   LlEUT.-COL.  SlR   R.   LAMBERT  PLAYFAIR. 

Position  and  Surface.— Cyprus  is  the  most  eastern  island  in  the 
Mediterranean.  Seen  at  a  distance  from  the  west  it  has  the  appearance 
of  two  islands  parallel  to  each  other,  owing  to  the  two  mountain  ranges 
which  run  along  its  northern  and  southern  shores.  These  are  separated 
by  an  extensive  plain  of  Tertiary  formation  called  the  Mesorea.  The 
northern  range,  that  of  Kyrenia,  extends 
from  Cape  Kormakiti  on  the  west  to  Cape 
-St.  Andreas,  at  the  extremity  of  the  narrow 
.strip  of  land,  called  Karpas,  which  stretches 
out  to  the  north-east  for  a  distance  of  47 
miles,  with  an  average  breadth  of  not  more 

than  six  miles.    This  range  has  its  crest  "  _,"        __c  .    5 

finely  serrated  and  its  sides  rather  steep,  and 
where  it  falls  to  the  sea  it  is  bordered  by  only  a  narrow  plain.  The 
highest  summit  is  the  castle-crowned  peak  of  Buffavente,  3,135  feet  high, 
and  the  most  remarkable  as  to  shape  is  Pendactylon,  named  from  its 
resemblance  to  a  hand  with  the  fingers  outstretched.  The  southern 
range  is  that  of  Troodos,  'or  Olympus.  Its  highest  point  is  6,406  feet, 
covered  with  noble  forests,  and  now  used  as  a  summer  station  for  the 
British  troops. 

The  extreme  length  of  Cyprus  is  140  miles,  and  its  greatest  breadth  60 
miles.  It  does  not  contain  a  single  river,  properly  so  called  ;  what  figure 
as  such  on  the  map  are  winter  torrents,  dry  in  summer,  or  with  only  a  few 
pools  here  and  there.  There  are  a  few  lakes,  the  largest  being  the  salines 
(alykce)  of  Larnaka  and  Limasol,  both  of  which,  when  dry  in  summer, 
yield  a  large  supply  of  salt. 

History,  People  and  Resources.  —  Cyprus  is  the  Chittim  of 
Scripture,  represented  as  the  resort  of  Tyrian  fleets.  The  Phoenicians 
•established  settlements  there  about  B.C.  1045.  After  the  decay  of  Tyre 
the  island  was  occupied  by  colonies  from  Greece ;  it  passed  successively 
under  the  dominion  of  the  Assyrians,  Egyptians,  Persians,  Romans,  Saracens 
and  Byzantines.  In  1191  Richard  Cceur  de  Lion  took  it  and  assumed  the 
dtle  of  king.  Two  years  later  he  made  it  over  to  Guy  de  Lusignan,  whose 


446       The  International  Geography 

successors  became  tributaries  to  the  Sultans  of  Egypt.  In  1373  it  was 
taken  by  the  Republic  of  Genoa,  which  held  it  for  ninety  years,  when  the 
Venetians  took  it,  and  in  1571  it  was  conquered  by  the  Turks.  By  the 
Anglo-Turkish  Convention  of  1878  the  administration  was  handed  over  to 
Great  Britain.  The  people,  mainly  of  Greek  race  and  language,  belong 
mostly  to  the  Orthodox  Greek  Church,  but  about  one-quarter  of  the  popu- 
lation are  Mohammedans.  In  early  times  the  hills  of  Cyprus  were  densely 
wooded,  but  the  great  demands  made  on  its  forests  for  smelting  ore  and 
for  shipbuilding  were  the  main  causes  of  their  destruction.  The  principal 
drawbacks  to  agriculture  are  the  uncertainty  of  the  seasons  and  the  visita- 
tion of  locusts.  The  chief  products  are  cereals,  cotton,  wine,  olive  oil, 
carobs,  silk,  salt,  sponges  and  leather.  An  important  source  of  wealth  in 
ancient  times  was  copper  (^Es  Cyprium  =  Cuprum  = 
Copper),  and  mining  has  recently  been  recommenced. 
Towns. — Nicosia  (Greek,  Levkosia),  the  capital,  on 
the  central  plain,  was  the  residence  of  the  Lusignan 
kings ;  its  monasteries  were  numerous,  and  there  were 
about  300  Greek  and  Latin  churches.  Famagusta,  on 
the  east  coast,  has  fortifications  which  were  the  work 


FiG.2u.-Averagepopu-  of  the  Lusignans,  Genoese  and  Venetians  ;  they  are 
lation  of  a  square  in  good  preservation,  but  the  town  itself  is  ruinous 
mile  of  Cyprus.  and  filthy  The  harbour  is  the  only  one  in  the  island 

that  could  be  made  available  for  large  vessels,  but  it  is  silted  up  with  sand, 
and  the  unhealthiness  of  the  site  renders  it  unfit  for  a  military  station. 
Larnaka,  on  the  south  coast,  the  ancient  Kitium,  the  rival  of  Tyre,  and  the 
birthplace  of  Zeno,  founder  of  the  Stoics,  is  the  principal  commercial 
emporium  of  the  island,  and  the  residence  of  the  foreign  consuls.  It  has 
no  harbour,  and  the  roadstead  is  exposed  to  the  south  and  east.  The  old 
town  is  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  sea  ;  the  newer  portion,  along 
the  shore,  is  called  La  Scala,  or  Marina.  The  antiquities  of  Cyprus  are  as 
varied  as  they  are  numerous,  and  there  is  hardly  a  museum  in  the  world  that 
has  not  a  collection  of  objects  found  in  Cypriote  tombs.  The  local  museum 
at  Nicosia  contains  a  good  collection  of  the  treasures  unearthed  since  the 
British  occupation. 

STATISTICS. 

iSgi.  I90I. 

Areaof  Cyprus 3,584  ••  3,584 

Population  of  Cyprus 209,286  ..  237,022 

Density  of  population,  per  square  mile        58  •  •  66 

Population  of  Nicosia 12,5*5  •  •  14,752 

STANDARD  BOOKS. 

L.  P.  Di  Cesnola.    "  Cyprus,  its  Cities,  Tombs,  &c."    London.  1877. 
C.  D.  Cobham.    "A  Bibliography  of  Cyprus,"  3rd  ed.     Nicosia  1894. 


Asiatic  Turkey— Mesopotamia        447 

III.— MESOPOTAMIA 

BY  GENERAL  SIR  CHARLES  W.  WILSON,  K.C.B.,  F.R.S. 

Position  and  Surface. — Mesopotamia  includes  all  Turkish  territory 
south  of  Diarbekr,  which  lies  between  the  eastern  edge  of  the  Syrian 
desert  and  the  foot  of  the  mountains  that  buttress  the  Persian  plateau. 
Mesopotamia  proper,  the  country  between  the  Euphrates  and  the  Tigris, 
has  a  gradual  fall  of  950  feet  from  the  spurs  of  the  Taurus  range  to  an  old 
coast-line  south  of  Hit.  Thence  an  almost  unbroken  plain  extends  to  the 
Persian  Gulf.  The  great  plain  of  Upper  Mesopotamia  is  broken  by  low 
ranges  of  hills  between  which  the  Khabur  and  its  tributaries  flow  to  the 
Euphrates.  Between  the  Khabur  and  the  Euphrates  lies  the  Biblical 
Aram-Naharaim,  a  fertile  district  watered  by  the  Belik,  once  cultivated 
and  thickly  peopled,  but  now  waste.  On  the  plain  east  of  Mosul,  between 
the  Tigris  and  the  Khazr,  was  the  heart  of  the  Assyrian  Empire.  The 
mountain  district  that  borders  the  plain  and  extends  to  the  Persian 
frontier  forms  part  of  Kurdistan.  The  lower  plain  (ancient  Babylonia), 
south  of  Hit,  was  formerly  a  vast  expanse  of  fertile  land  intersected  and 
irrigated  by  canals.  It  is  now  almost  uncultivated  and  partially  covered 
with  fever-breeding  swamps.  At  Kurna  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris  unite, 
and  their  combined  stream  forms  the  Shatt  el-Arab.  The  delta  of  the 
great  river  is  advancing  at  the  rate  of  about  72  feet  per  annum,  but  the 
land  is  liable  to  Trequent  inundation.  The  hills  of  Upper  Mesopotamia 
are  limestone.  The  plain  south  of  Jebel  Sinjar  is  a  dreary  flat,  with  a 
subsoil  of  gypsum  and  marl,  intersected  by  nullahs.  At  Hit,  Hammam 
Ali,  and  other  places  are  petroleum,  bitumen,  sulphur,  and  salt  springs. 
The  climate  is  good  in  winter,  but  so  hot  in  summer  that  people  usually 
pass  the  day  in  underground  chambers  (serdab}.  The  lion,  leopard,  wild 
ass,  wild  boar,  and  gazelle  are  found  in  certain  localities. 

History  and  People. — The  early  history  of  Mesopotamia  is  one  of 
constant  struggles  for  supremacy  between  contending  nations.  But  the 
country  remained  rich  and  prosperous  until  the  battle  of  Kadisia  (A.D.  635) 
placed  it  at  the  mercy  of  the  Arabs.  As  the  nomads  pressed  forward  the 
peasants  were  driven  from  their  lands,  the  great  irrigation  works  were 
neglected,  and  the  Euphrates,  no  longer  controlled,  spread  out  into  wide 
marshes.  What  the  Arabs  commenced  Turks,  Mongols  and  Tatars  com- 
pleted, and  one  of  the  most  fertile  regions  of  the  Earth  was  abandoned  to 
nomads.  The  majority  of  the  population  is  now  Arab,  sedentary  and 
nomad  ;  but  the  original  inhabitants  are  still  represented  by  Kurds,  Yezidis 
or  "  Devil  Worshippers,"  Nestorians,  Chaldaeans  or  Roman  Catholic  Ara- 
ma3ans,  and  Jacobites  in  the  north  ;  and  by  Sabaeans  in  the  south. 

Trade,  Communications  and  Towns. — The  only  manufactures 
are  for  home  consumption.  The  chief  exports  are  cereals,  dates,  wool, 
gum,  rice  and  hides  ;  and  the  imports  sugar,  cloth,  coffee,  indigo,  iron  and 


448       The  International  Geography 

copper.  The  foreign  trade  is  chiefly  with  the  United  Kingdom,  India  and 
Persia. 

On  the  Tigris  passengers  and  merchandise  are  carried  from  Diarbekr 
to  Baghdad  on  rafts  of  inflated  sheepskins.  Below  Samara  sailing  boats 
are  used.  From  Baghdad  river  steamers  run  to  Basra,  whence  there  is 
steam  communication  with  India  and  England.  In  flood  time  a  steamer 
ascends  the  Euphrates  as  far  as  Meskineh,  but  there  is  no  trade.  All  land 
transport  is  by  mule  or  camel. 

There  are  four  vilayets  and  one  separate  sanjak  in  Mesopotamia, 
Amongst  the  towns  are  Diarbekr  (Amidd),  at  the  head  of  raft  navigation 
on  the  Tigris  ;  Urfa  (Edessa) ;  Harran,  "  the  City  of  Nahor  "  ;  and  Mosul ,, 
on  the  Tigris,  opposite  the  mounds  Kuyunjik  (Nineveti).  Baghdad,  the 
city  of  Hanin  er-Rashid,  has  a  large  transit  trade.  It  occupies  an  un- 
rivalled position  as  a  centre  of  trade,  but  has  lost  much  of  its  former 
wealth.  Basra,  on  the  Shatt  el-Arab,  is  the  port  of  transhipment  from 
river  craft  to  ocean  steamers,  and  has  a  large  trade  in  dates.  Nejef  and 
Kerbela,  the  burial  places  of  Ali  and  Hussein,  lie  west  of  the  Euphrates,, 
some  miles  from  the  mounds  of  Babylon.  They  are  the  "Holy  Places 'r 
of  the  Shia  Moslems,  and  every  year  large  pilgrim-caravans  arrive  from1. 
Persia  bearing  corpses  to  be  buried  within  the  sacred  precincts. 

IV,— SYRIA 

BY  GENERAL  SIR  CHARLES  W.  WILSON,  K.C.B.,  F.R.S. 

Position  and  Surface. — Syria,  which  includes  Palestine,  stretches 
southward  from  Anatolia,  and  is  separated  from  it  by  the  deep  gorges  of 
the  Jihun  and  its  tributaries.  Its  western  limit  is  the  Mediterranean  :  its 
eastern  the  valley  of  the  Euphrates.  On  the  south  Wadi  el-'Arish  separates 
it  from  Egypt,  but  no  natural  feature  parts  it  from  Arabia.  The  coast 
towards  the  north  is  rocky ;  towards  the  south  low,  and  in  places  sandy. 
There  are  no  good  harbours,  but  several  open  roadsteads  and  small  ports,, 
at  which  steamers  call — Iskanderun,  Latakia,  Tripoli,  Beirut,  Haifa,  and' 
Jaffa. 

Syria  and  Palestine  comprise  a  coastal  plain  of  varying  width,  two- 
parallel  ranges  of  mountains  between  which  lies  a  remarkable  depression,, 
and  a  plateau  falling  eastward  to  the  Euphrates.  On  the  north  the 
.  mountains  approach  the  sea,  and  here  the  coastal  plains  are  small  and 
narrow.  But  south  of  Mount  Carmel  the  hills  recede  from  the  shore  and 
leave  room  for  the  broad  fertile  plains  of  Sharon  and  Philistia.  The  coast 
range  is  known  under  different  names.  The  Giaour  Dagh  (Mons  Amanus} 
extends  from  the  gorge  of  the  Jihun  to  the  valley  of  the  Orontes,  and, 
though  rarely  more  than  6,000  feet  high,  is  crossed  by  only  two  good 
passes — the  Amanian  and  Syrian  "  gates."  Between  the  Orontes  and  the 
valley  of  the  Nahr  el-Kebir  (Eleutherus),  "  the  entrance  of  Hamath,"  are 


Turkish  Empire — Syria  449 

the  rugged  Ansariyeh  mountains,  over  which  there  is  no  good  pass.  South 
of  the  Eleutherus  is  Mount  Lebanon,  which  has  its  culminating  point  in 
Dhahr  el-Kosdib  (10,050  feet),  and  is  crossed  by  only  one  good  pass.  The 
gorge  of  the  Litany  (Leontes)  separates  Lebanon  from  the  hills  of  Galilee, 
which  gradually  break  down  to  the  plain  of  Esdraelon  and  valley  of  the 
Kishon.  Southward  of  Esdraelon  stretches  the  hill  country  of  Samaria  and 
Judaea,  which  falls  away,  south  of  Hebron,  to  the  desert  plateau  of  et-Tih. 
East  of  the  coast  range  is  the  great  rift-valley,  or  depression,  in  part  below 
the  level  of  the  sea,  that  extends  from  the  base  of  the  Giaour  Dagh  to  the 
Red  Sea,  and  probably  far  into  the  heart  of  Africa.  In  this  valley  flow  the 
Orontes  and  its  tributary,  the  Kara  Su  ;  the  Leontes  and  the  Jordan.  The 
Orontes  and  Leontes  rise  near  each  other  between  Lebanon  and  Anti- 
Lebanon,  and  one  flows  north,  the  other  south  until  both  cut  their  way 
westward  to  the  sea.  The  Jordan  rises  west  of  Mount  Hermon,  and  after 
spreading  out  into  Lake  Huleh  and  the  Sea  of  Galilee  discharges  its  waters 
into  the  Dead  Sea,  1,292  feet  below  the  level  of  the  sea.  From  Lake  Huleh 
to  the  Dead  Sea,  which  is  salt  and  has  no  outlet,  the  course  of  the  Jordan 
is  below  the  sea-level.  Between  the  Dead  Sea  and  the  Gulf  of  Akabah  the 
depression  is  known  as  the  Arabah.  The  range  east  of  the  depression  is 


FiG.  235.— •Section  from  the  Mediterranean  across  the  Dead  Sea.    (Heights  exaggerated  8  times.) 

not  always  well  denned.  In  the  north  it  is  a  long  unbroken  ridge  of  lime- 
stone, called  the  Kurt  Dagh.  Farther  south  it  is  continued  by  Anti- 
Lebanon,  which  ends  abruptly  in  Mount  Hermon  (9,200  feet) ;  and  it 
is  then  represented  by  the  hills  of  Bashan,  Gilead,  Moab  and  Edom. 
Eastward  of  this  range  the  ground  falls  gradually  to  the  Euphrates. 
North  of  Aleppo,  where  the  distance  between  the  Mediterranean  and 
the  river  is  only  from  1 10  to  140  miles,  the  plateau  presents  the  character 
of  rolling  downs  broken  by  rich  well-watered  valleys.  South  of  Aleppo 
the  plateau  gradually  broadens  out  into  an  extensive  pastoral  district,  with 
a  scant  supply  of  water,  which  east  of  the  Dead  Sea  is  between  500  and 
600  miles  wide.  This  district,  known  as  the  Syrian  desert,  stretches 
southward  into  Arabia.  With  the  exception  of  the  sandstone  and  granite 
hills  of  Edom,  limestones  prevail  throughout  the  country.  Igneous  rocks 
appear  in  a  few  localities  west  of  Jordan,  and  east  of  the  river  there  are 
large  areas  of  basalt — the  Leja,  Hauran,  &c.,  which  correspond  to  the 
H arras  of  Arabia.  The  most  important  geological  feature  is  the  great 
rift  or  valley  hollowed  out  along  a  line  of  fracture  and  displacement  of  the 
Earth's  crust  before  the  Cretaceous  period.  Bitumen  and  bromine  are 
obtained  from  the  Dead  Sea,  and  petroleum  would  probably  be  found 


The  International  Geography 

by  boring.     Near  Tiberias  and  near  Umm  Keis  (Gadard)  there  are  hot 
sulphur  springs. 

Climate  and  Resources. — The  climate  of  the  coast  and  hill  country 
is  not  unlike  that  of  southern  Italy,  but  in  the  Jordan  valley,  near  the  Dead 
Sea,  it  is  almost  tropical.  Snow  falls  heavily  on  the  mountains  of  northern 
Syria,  and  occasionally  as  far  south  as  Jerusalem.  The  summers  on  the 
eastern  plateau  are  intensely  hot. 

The  cedars  of  Lebanon  are  now  represented  by  small  groves,  and  there 
are  no  large  forests  such  as  exist  in  Anatolia.  In  certain  localities,  how- 
ever, the  hills  are  well-wooded,  and  in  the  Jordan  valley  the  vegetation  is 
sub-tropical.  Wheat  is  grown  on  the  coast  and  upland  plains,  the  olive, 
fig,  and  vine  are  cultivated  in  the  hills,  and  the  downs  of  the  eastern 
plateau  afford  pasturage  for  countless  flocks  of  sheep.  But  the  ground  is 
still  for  the  most  part  waste,  and  though  the  ancient  terrace-culture  is  in 
places  being  restored,  it  will  be  long  before  the  country  can  recover  from 
the  ruin  and  desolation  of  centuries.  Bear  and  panther  are  found  in  the 
northern  districts,  deer  and  gazelle  occasionally  in  the  south.  There  is  a 
close  affinity  between  the  fauna  of  the  Jordan  and  the  rivers  of  tropical 
Africa.  The  crocodile  still  lives  in  the  Nahr  ez-Zerka,  south  of  Carmel. 

History  and  People. — At  the  earliest  period  of  which  there  is  any 
record  northern  Syria  was  in  the  hands  of  a  strong  power — the  Khita,  or 
"  Hittites,"  whose  capital  was  at  Kadesh,  on  the  Orontes.  Palestine  was, 
at  the  same  time,  occupied  by  a  number  of  petty  States  sometimes  free, 
sometimes  subject  to  Egypt.  Later  the  Phoenician  cities,  including  Tyre 
and  Sidon,  rose  to  great  power  and  splendour ;  and  the  Jews  entered 
Palestine,  where  they  created  a  kingdom  that  attained  its  widest  extent  in 
the  reign  of  Solomon.  Hittites  and  Jews  were  alike  conquered  by  Assyria, 
and  the  whole  country  afterwards  passed  first  to  Persia,  then  to  rival 
Seleucids  and  Ptolemies,  and  next  to  Rome.  Syria  and  Palestine  fell  an 
easy  and  early  prey  to  the  Arabs,  and,  like  Anatolia,  they  were  either 
wholly  or  in  part  overrun  by  nomad  Seljuks,  Mongols  and  Tatars. 
Agriculture  was  destroyed,  towns  were  deserted,  and  the  rich  lands 
turned  into  a  wilderness.  In  the  eleventh  century  the  ill-treatment  of  the 
Christians  by  the  Moslems  at  Jerusalem  and  in  the  Holy  Land  led  to  the 
Crusades.  Jerusalem  was  taken  in  1099,  and  a  Latin  kingdom  established 
in  Palestine,  which  lasted  for  eighty-eight  years.  At  the  same  time 
Antioch,  Tripoli,  and  other  places  were  erected  into  principalities  or 
countships.  In  the  sixteenth  century  Syria  was  conquered  by  the  Osmanli 
Turks,  in  whose  possession  it  still  remains.  The  most  momentous  events 
in  the  history  of  the  country  are  those  connected  with  the  birth  and 
ministry  of  Christ  and  the  spread  of  Christianity  after  His  crucifixion. 

In  the  Giaour  Dagh  and  the  country  eastward  to  the  Euphrates  the 
people,  excepting  in  a  few  Armenian  villages,  are  of  Turk  or  Mongol 
origin,  and  speak  Turkish.  To  the  south  Arabic  is  spoken,  but  the  popu- 
lation is  of  varied  origin.  The  Ansariyeh  are  partly  descendants  of  the 


Arabia  451 


original  inhabitants  of  the  mountains,  and  partly  of  Persian  origin.  They 
worship  the  Sun  and  Moon.  The  Maronites  of  Lebanon  are  Christians  belong- 
ing to  an  indigenous  race  akin  to  the  Ansariyeh.  The  Druses,  who  dwell 
in  Lebanon  and  the  Hauran,  are  partly  indigenous  and  partly  of  Persian 
origin.  South  of  the  Litany  the  peasantry  (fellahin},  whether  Christian  or 
Moslem,  are  for  the  most  part  of  Ganaanite  origin,  but  there  has  been  a 
great  fusion  of  blood.  In  most  of  the  inland  towns  the  Moslems  are  of 
Arab  and  the  Christians  of  Aramaean  origin.  Jacobites  are  thinly  scattered 
over  the  country.  The  Syrian  desert  is  occupied  by  nomad  Arabs,  who 
at  times  advance  to  the  vicinity  of  Aleppo,  Horns,  Damascus,  and  the 
Jordan.  Colonies  of  Germans,  Jews,  and  Circassians  have  been  estab- 
lished during  the  last  thirty  years,  and  Palestine  is  dotted  with  monasteries 
occupied  by  Greek,  Latin,  Russian,  and  other  monks. 

Trade,  Communications  and  Towns. — Silk,  half -silk  stuffs, 
soap,  and  articles  for  sale  to  pilgrims  are  manufactured,  but  the  principal 
occupation  of  the  sedentary  population  is  agriculture.  The  chief  exports 
are  wheat,  fruit,  wool  and  hides;  the  imports  mainly  textile  fabrics  and 
iron  goods.  There  is  an  excellent  carriage-road  from  Beirut  to  Damascus, 
and  inferior  roads  run  from  Iskanderun  to  Aleppo,  Haifa  to  Nazareth,  and 
Jaffa  to  Jerusalem.  Lines  of  railway  connect  Beirut  with  Damascus  and 
Jaffa  with  Jerusalem,  and  a  steam  tramway  runs  from  Damascus  to  the 
Hauran.  Other  inland  transport  is  by  mule  or  camel. 

In  Syria  there  are  two  vilayets,  one  separate  sanjak,  and  one  district 
(Lebanon),  with  a  special  constitution  guaranteed  by  the  European  Powers. 
Amongst  the  towns  are  :  Iskanderun  (Alexandrettd),  the  port  of  Antioch, 
Aleppo,  and  parts  of  Mesopotamia,  near  the  Beilan  pass.  Beirut,  the 
port  of  Damascus,  and  the  largest  maritime  town  in  Syria.  Aintab,  east 
of  the  Kurt  Dagh,  with  a  large  Armenian  community  and  an  American 
college.  Aleppo,  a  place  of  military  and  commercial  importance  from  the 
earliest  times.  Antioch,  on  the  Orontes,  the  ancient  capital  of  Syria. 
Damascus,  the  largest  town  in  Syria,  built  amidst  extensive  gardens, 
on  the  edge  of  the  desert,  beneath  Anti-Lebanon.  Jerusalem,  in  the 
heart  of  the  hill  country  of  Judaea,  is  sacred  alike  to  Christian,  Jew  and 
Moslem.  The  city,  which  contains  the  sepulchre  of  Christ  and  the  rock 
from  which  Mohammed  is  said  to  have  ascended  to  heaven,  is  annually 
visited  by  numbers  of  Christian  and  Moslem  pilgrims.  Hebron,  in  the  hills 
south  of  Jerusalem,  is  the  burial-place  of  the  patriarchs. 

V.— AKABIA 

BY  GENERAL  SIR  CHARLES  W.  WILSON,  K.C.B.,  F.R.S. 

Position  and  Coasts. — The  Arabian  Peninsula  stretches  southward 
from  Edom  and  the  Syrian  desert,  of  which  it  is  a  direct  continuation.  Its 
size  is  about  one-third  that  of  Europe,  and  its  form  is  strikingly  regular. 


452       The  International  Geography 

On  the  north,  where  there  is  no  natural  frontier,  a  line  joining  the  head  of 
the  Gulf  of  Akabah  with  that  of  the  Persian  Gulf  (very  nearly  the  parallel 
of  30°  N.)  is  generally  adopted  as  the  boundary.  On  the  west,  south  and 
east  its  shores  are  bathed,  respectively,  by  the  waters  of  the  Gulf  of 
Akabah  and  the  Red  Sea,  of  the  Indian  Ocean  and  of  the  Persian  Gulf. 
Isolated  thus  in  a  measure,  and  traversed  by  no  important  trade  route, 
Arabia  had  little  in  common  with  the  great  empires  of  the  ancient  world. 
But  her  position  was  favourable  to  maritime  enterprise,  and  the  keen  com- 
mercial instinct  of  her  people  soon  led  them  to  push  their  fortunes  beyond 
their  own  shores.  At  a  remote  period  the  south  coast  became  the  seat  of 
a  sea-borne  trade  with  south-eastern  Africa  on  the  one  hand,  and  India 
and  the  further  East  on  the  other. 

The  west  coast  is  almost  a  straight  line.  It  has  open  roadsteads, 
difficult  of  approach  on  account  of  shoals  and  coral  reefs,  but  no  true 
harbours.  Towards  the  south  there  are  small  islands,  of  which  the  most 
important  is  Perim,  at  the  entrance  to  the  Strait  of  Bab  el-Mandeb.  The 
south  coast,  from  the  strait  to  Ras  el-Hadd,  is  slightly  convex  towards 
the  Indian  Ocean,  and  has  some  good  harbours — Aden,  Dafur,  and  Keshum. 
The  east  coast,  from  Ras  el-Hadd  to  Cape  Masandam,  is  nearly  parallel  to 
the  west  coast,  and  has  the  almost  land-locked  harbour  of  Muscat.  At 
Masandam  the  oceanic  coast  line  ends.  Beyond  it  lies  the  shallow  Persian 
Gulf,  with  its  low,  sandy  shore  stretching  eastward  and  northward  to  the 
harbour  of  Koweit,  or  Grane,  near  its  head.  Close  to  the  narrow  entrance 
to  the  gulf  are  several  islands  (Jishm,  &c.) ;  and  the  coast  of  Katar,  beyond 
Masandam,  is  bordered  by  islands  (Bahrein,  &c.),  celebrated  for  their 
productive  pearl  fisheries. 

Configuration. — The  relief  of  Arabia  is  also  regular.  The  table-land, 
which  extends  southward  from  the  Syrian  Desert,  is  buttressed  by  coast- 
ranges  that  attain  their  greatest  altitude  in  the  south,  and  are  often  rugged, 
and  precipitous  in  outline.  The  centre  of  this  mass  is  occupied  by  a 
plateau  with  long,  undulating  slopes,  covered  with  pasture,  and  deep, 
narrow  valleys  in  which  lie  irrigated  gardens  and  plantations.  This  is 
Nejd,  the  true  home  of  the  Arabs.  In  the  latitude  of  Mecca  a  ridge  joins 
Nejd  to  the  western  coast-range.  Elsewhere  it  is  bordered  by  arid  desert, 
or  wastes  of  shifting  sand,  the  Nefuds.  Between  the  coast-ranges  and  the 
sea  there  is  a  low-lying  strip  of  sand  and  coral  debris,  with  a  hot  climate, 
and  forbidding  aspect.  This  is  the  Tehama,  a  name  specially  applied  to 
the  Red  Sea  littoral  south  of  Mecca.  As  the  valleys  of  Arabia  originate  in 
no  well-defined  ridge,  the  line  of  water-parting  is  irregular.  Many  of  the 
districts  are  well  supplied  with  water,  but  no  stream  of  any  size  reaches 
the  sea.  The  central  plateau,  the  desert,  and  the  coast  range  (including 
the  Tehama),  each  occupy  about  one-third  of  Arabia. 

Geologically,  the  peninsula  apparently  consists  of  granites,  traps,  and 
old  basalts,  on  which  lie  Cretaceous  sandstones  continuous  with  those  of 
Petra.  Limestones,  sometimes  with  flints,  overlie  the  sandstones,  and  in 


Arabia  453 


the  north  (Arabia  Petrcea)  the  surface  is  covered  with  flint  gravels.  At 
intervals,  on  a  line,  approximately  parallel  to  the  Red  Sea  depression,  are 
vast  lava  beds  (harra)  with  their  craters,  which  may  be  compared  with 
those  in  Syria  and  Palestine.  The  largest  are  Harrat  el-'Aue,  near  Medain 
Salih,  and  Harrat  Khaibar,  north  of  Medina. 

Climate  and  Products.— The  climate  varies  greatly.  The  coast 
districts  are  hot  and  unhealthy.  The  mountain  districts  of  Oman  are 
healthy  and  cool.  On  the  central  plateau,  where  heavy  rains  fall  in  spring 
and  autumn,  the  days  are  hot,  and  the  nights  cold.  In  Yemen  the  winter 
temperature  often  falls  below  freezing,  whilst  in  summer  it  is  rarely  over 
80°  F.  in  the  shade ;  rain  falls  in  March  and  again  in  July,  August  and 
September.  As  far  north  as  et-Taif,  east  of  Mecca,  rain  lasts  about  five 
weeks  in  autumn.  In  the  north  rain  is  rare  and  falls  in  winter. 

The  most  fertile  district  of  Arabia  is  Yemen,  where  coffee,  fruit  and 
vegetables  are  extensively  cultivated.  Senna  grows  in  southern  Hejaz  and 
the  Tehama,  balsam  in  Safra,  near  Mecca,  henna  on  the  west  coast,  incense 
in  Hadramut,  indigo  on  the  shore  of  the  Persian  Gulf,  and  the  date  palm 
in  many  places.  Coco-nut,  betel,  banana,  &c.,  have  been  introduced  from 
India,  and  thrive  well.  The  only  important  routes  in  Arabia  are  those 
along  which  pilgrims  travel  to  Mecca  from  Syria,  Egypt  and  Persia. 

The  horses  of  Arabia  have  always  been  celebrated.  The  best,  for 
which  high  prices  are  demanded,  are  bred  in  Nejd,  where  the  pedigrees 
are  carefully  kept.  Riding  camels  (dromedaries),  with  good  pedigrees, 
come  from  Nejd  and  Oman.  Common  camels  are  often  reared  and  kept 
for  their  milk,  wool,  and  flesh.  The  large  white  donkeys  of  Hassa  and 
eastern  Nejd  are  much  prized  in  Egypt  and  Turkey.  Broad-tailed  sheep 
are  bred  in  Yemen  and  Nejd,  goats  in  Hejaz,  cattle  with  a  hump  in  Yemen, 
Oman  and  Nejd,  and  cattle  without  a  hump  in  the  north.  Ostriches  are 
found  on  the  central  plateau,  small  tigers  in  Oman  and  Nejran,  and  the 
panther,  lynx,  hyaena  and  gazelle  in  several  localities.  The  pearl-fisheries 
on  the  east  coast  are  said  to  yield  nearly  ^300,000  per  annum. 

People. — The  population  is  very  sparse.  The  inhabitants,  excepting 
Turkish  officials  and  soldiers,  belong  to  two  great  septs — the  Joktanites 
and  the  Ishmaelites,  both  having  Arabic  as  their  language,  and  Islam  as 
their  religion.  The  Joktanite  tribes  occupy  the  southern  districts,  and  are 
the  more  ancient.  They  are  descendants  of  Shem,  through  Joktan 
(Kahtari),  the  father  of  Hazarmaveth  (Hadramut),  Sheba  (Saba),  Ophir,  and 
others.  The  sept  is  divided  into  three  stems  descended  from  Saba  (Abd 
esh-Shems,  "servant  of  the  Sun"),  through  his  son  Himyar,  and  his  grand- 
sons, Malik  and  Arib.  Hence  they  were  called  Sabaeans.  The  Ishmaelite 
tribes,  also  called  Nizarites,  are  descended  from  Ishmael,  through  el-Yas, 
and  Keis  Alan  the  grandsons,  and  Rabiah,  the  son  of  Nizar.  The  tribe  of 
Koreish,  to  which  Mohammed  belonged,  was  a  branch  of  el-Yas.  The 
most  important  historical  events  are  the  foundation  of  a  new  religion, 
Islam,  by  Mohammed,  and  the  rapid  rise  of  the  Arabs  to  power.  The 


454       The  International  Geography 

flight  (Hejra)  of  Mohammed  from  Mecca  to  Medina  (Friday,  July  16, 
622  A.D.)  is  the  date  from  which  Moslems  commence  their  era.  The 
Prophet  died  in  632,  and  ten  years  later  the  Arabs  had  conquered  Palestine, 
Syria,  Mesopotamia,  Persia,  Egypt,  and  North  Africa.  At  present  the 
tribes  in  Hejaz,  Yemen  and  Hassa  are  subject  to  Turkey  ;  those  in  Nejd 
are  practically  independent,  and  those  between  Aden  and  Muscat  pay  no 
tribute  to,  and  have  no  communication  with,  Turkey. 

Hejaz  and  Yemen. — The  western  coast-range  of  Arabia,  which 
continues  the  mountains  of  Moab  and  Edom,  has  no  denned  crest  line. 
Here  and  there  it  is  broken  by  broad  valleys,  and  one  of  these,  Wadi  Hams, 
separates  Madian  (Midian)  from  Hejaz.  The  Turkish  province  of  Hejaz 
extends  from  Madian  to  Yemen,  and  is  from  60  to  150  miles  wide.  The 
pilgrim  routes  from  Syria  and  Egypt  pass  through  it,  and  the  southern 
end  in  which  Mecca  lies  is  known  as  the  Haram,  "  sacred  territory."  The 
water  is  brackish,  and,  in  some  of  the  wells,  tepid.  Mecca,  the  birth- 
place of  Mohammed,  is  about  fifty  miles  from  Jedda,  its  port  on  the  Red 
Sea.  A  pilgrimage  to  Mecca  is  incumbent,  once  in  his  life,  on  every 
Moslem,  and  every  year  the  holy  city  is  crowded  with  pilgrims,  most  of 
whom  travel  by  sea,  and  disembark  at  Jedda,  the  seat  of  government. 
Medina  also  lies  inland  from  its  port  Yambo.  The  trade,  except  during 
the  time  of  pilgrimage,  is  small. 

The  Turkish  province  of  Yemen  occupies  the  south-west  corner  of 
the  peninsula.  Beyond  the  Tehama  the  mountains  rise  rapidly  to  a  height 
of  from  6,000  to  10,500  feet.  They  are  cut  up  by  deep  ravines,  and  their 
slopes  are  terraced  for  the  cultivation  of  coffee,  wheat,  fruits  and  vege- 
tables. The  highlands  of  Yemen  consist  of  a  succession  of  gently  sloping 
valleys,  which  are  terraced  and  cultivated,  and  form  the  plateaux  of 
Nejran  on  the  north,  Sanaa  on  the  south,  and  Mareb  on  the  east.  The 
roads  in  Yemen  are  zigzag  paths,  with  massive,  perhaps  ancient,  paving. 
The  soil,  disintegrated  trap  rock,  is  rich,  and  generally  bears  two  crops  a 
year.  The  capital,  Sanaa  (7,600  feet),  has  a  population  of  about  35,000, 
including  5,000  Jews.  Its  port  is  Hodeida,  where  the  coffee  and  hides  of 
Yemen  are  shipped.  Yemen  was  the  seat  of  the  oldest  and  most  important 
of  the  Arab  monarchies,  and  its  merchants  traded  with  India  at  an  early 
date. 

Aden.1 — The  British  settlement  of  Aden  is  almost  the  most  southerly 
point  on  the  Arabian  coast,  being  situated  in  12^°  N.  latitude  and  45°  E. 
longitude.  It  is  a  peninsula  of  an  irregular  oval  form,  of  about  15  miles  in 
circumference,  connected  with  the  mainland  by  a  narrow,  sandy  isthmus. 
The  town  and  part  of  the  military  cantonments  lie  in  a  large  crater 
enclosed  by  precipitous  hills,  the  highest  peak  of  which  is  1,775  ^ee^  above 
the  sea.  The  whole  place  appears  utterly  sterile,  but  it  is  not  without  a 
flora  of  a  very  interesting  character,  containing  at  least  100  species  of  plants. 

1  By  the  late  Sir  R.  Lambert  Playfair. 


Arabia  4.55 


The  climate  during  the  north-east  monsoon,  from  October  to  April,  is 
cool  and  agreeable,  but  during  the  rest  of  the  year  the  heat  in  the  crater  is 
very  great,  although  at  Steamer  Point,  on  the  western  side,  the  sea  breezes 
are  refreshing. 

Aden  became  a  British  possession  in  1839,  when  the  town  was  a 
complete  ruin,  with  not  more  than  600  inhabitants.  Now  it  is  large  and 
flourishing,  with  about  30,000  inhabitants,  Arabs,  Somalis,  Jews  and 
Indians,  without  including  the  garrison  and  European  officials.  A  large 
part  of  its  supplies  comes  from  the  British  Somaliland  protectorate  on  the 
African  coast.  The  harbour  is  about  three  miles  wide  at  the  entrance,  and 
affords  shelter  in  all  weathers  for  vessels  drawing  less  than  20  feet.  It 
is  unsurpassed  by  any  on  the  Arabian  or  adjacent  African  coasts,  and  is 
one  of  the  most  important  coaling  stations  in  the  world.  Recent  defensive 
works  have  made  it  practically  impregnable.  Being  a  free  port,  like 
Gibraltar,  it  has  become  the  principal  entrepot  for  the  trade  of  all  the 
neighbouring  countries.  The  natural  water  supply  is  very  limited,  but 
condensers  have  been  erected  at  the 
harbour,  and  the  magnificent  ancient 
reservoirs,  capable  of  containing  twenty 
million  gallons  of  water,  have  been 
thoroughly  restored  to  catch  the  rare 
rainfall. 

Perim.1 — An  important  dependency 
of  Aden  is  the  island  of  Perim,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Red  Sea,  which  was  an- 
nexed during  the  war  between  Great  ^  ^.-Adcn  Harbour. 
Britain  and   France  in   1799,  when  it 

was  feared  that  Napoleon  contemplated  a  junction  with  Tipu  Sultan  in 
India.  Subsequently,  owing  to  the  increase  of  steam  communication 
through  the  Suez  Canal,  it  became  necessary  to  facilitate  the  dangerous 
navigation  of  the  Red  Sea,  and  Perim  was  again  occupied,  a  lighthouse 
being  built  upon  it.  It  is  not  fortified,  and  its  fine  harbour  is  leased  by  a 
private  company  as  a  coaling  station. 

For  administrative  purposes  Aden  and  Perim  are  placed  under  the 
government  of  Bombay. 

Hadramtit  (Hazarmaveth),  the  centre  of  the  ancient  trade  in  myrrh 
and  frankincense,  is  a  broad  valley  in  the  sandstone  district  which,  for  one 
hundred  miles,  runs  nearly  parallel  to  the  south  coast,  and  discharges  its 
waters  into  the  sea  east  of  Saihut.  The  capital,  Shibam,  is  in  the  valley  ; 
the  port  is  Makalla.  East  of  Hadramut  are  Dhofar,  the  old  frankincense 
country,  and  Mahra,  with  fertile  coast  plains,  and  mountains  clothed  with 
tropical  vegetation. 

Oman,  a  mountainous  district,  lies  between  Ras  el- H add  and  Cape 
Masandam.    The  principal  range,  Jebel  Akhdar  (10,000  feet),  is  partially 
1  By  the  late  Sir  R.  Lambert  Playfair. 


45 6       The   International  Geography 

covered  with  vegetation,  and  its  coast  plain  is  fertile  and  cultivated. 
There  is  a  small  trade  at  Muscat,  the  capital.  The  kingdom  of  Oman 
attained  its  greatest  splendour  early  in  this  century,  when  it  included  the 
islands  of  Sokotra  and  Zanzibar.  Its  proximity  to  India  has  often  involved 
it  in  relations  with  that  country.  West  of  Masandam,  and  north  along 
Hassa,  a  district  of  the  Turkish  province  of  Basra,  there  is  little  cultiva- 
tion except  near  Katif  and  Grane. 

Central  Arabia.— The  northern  portion  of  Central  Arabia  (1,000  to 
2,500  feet  in  elevation),  which  has  a  hard  gravel  surface  with  stunted  bush, 
and  sparse  grass,  is  intersected  by  two  wadis  that  terminate  in  the  oases 
of  Jowf  and  Teima  (Tema).  South  of  Jowf  lies  a  desert  of  sand,  drifted 
by  the  wind  into  high  ridges  called  Nefud,  and  sometimes  difficult  to 
cross  on  account  of  want  of  water,  and  the  simum — a  circular  storm 
of  heated,  sand-laden  air— that  moves  slowly  across  the  desert  like 
a  cyclone.  Further  south  are  Harrat  Khaibar  (5,400  feet),  with  broad, 
well- cultivated  valleys  ;  the  fertile  depression  of  Kasim  (2,000  feet),  and 
the  Towik  plateau,  or  Nejd.  The  plateau,  over  5,000  feet,  is  about 
one  hundred  miles  wide,  and  is  separated  from  the  coast  districts  of 
Hassa  and  Katif,  on  the  east,  by  a  desert  of  reddish  sand  from  fifty  to 
sixty  miles  wide.  On  the  west  it  is  connected  with  the  coast-range  by 
a  ridge  about  4,000  feet  high.  Politically  the  plateau  is  divided  into 
the  districts  of  Sedeir,  Woshin,  Ared,  and  Aflaj.  South  of  the  plateau  are 
the  hot,  fertile  district  of  Yemama,  the  peaks  of  Haruk  (2,000  feet),  and 
the  Dahna  desert  of  burning,  reddish  sand,  which  extends  from  Yemen  to 
Oman,  and  is  estimated  to  cover  50,000  square  miles. 


STATISTICS   OF  ASIATIC  TURKEY. 


Division. 
Anatolia 
Mesopotamia 

Syria 

Arabian  Provinces 

Total  Asiatic  Turkey 
Independent  Arabia 


(Estimates.) 
Area  in 
Square  Miles. 
270,200 
100,200 
109,500 
173,700 


Population. 

12,005,500 

1,350,300 

2,711,000 

1,050,000 


653,600 
i, 230,000' 


17,117,700 
8,500,000 


Smyrna 
Damascus 

SSff 


210,800 
180,000 
115,000 

110,000 

70,000 

Baghdad 
Jerusalem 
Kaisariyeh 
Trebizond 
Sivas  .. 

Density  of 

Population. 

44 

13 


1 


26 


POPULATION  OF  CHIEF  TOWNS. 

65,000       Erzerum 

58,000       Mosul 

48,800 

45.000 

43,100 

STANDARD  BOOKS. 

Vital  Cuinet.    "  La  Turquie  d'Asie."    4  vols.    Paris,  1890-95. 

--    "  Syrie,  Liban  et  Palestine."    Paris,  1901. 

W.  M.  Ramsay.    ••  Historical  Geography  of  Asia  -Minor."    London,  1890. 

G.  A.  Smith.    "  Historical  Geography  of  the  Holy  Land."    London,  1897. 

Sir  R.  L.  Playfair.    ••  History  of  Arabia  Felix,  including  an  account  of  Aden."    Bombay,  1859. 

James  Bryce.    "  Transcaucasia  and  Ararat.'     4th  edit     London,  1896. 

Sir  C.  W.  Wilson.    "  Handbook  (Murray's)  for  Asia-Minor,  Transcaucasia,  &c."    London,  1895. 

K.  Kannenberg.    "Kleinasiens  Naturschatze."    Berlin,  1897. 

H.  F.  B.  Lynch.    "Armenia."    2  vols.     London,  1901. 

D.  G.  Hogarth.    "  The  Nearer  East.      London,  1902. 


42,500 
40,000 
40,000 


CHAPTER  XXV.— THE  COUNTRIES  OF  IRAN 

I— PERSIA 

BY  MAJOR-GENERAL  SIR  FREDERIC  GOLDSMID,  K.C.S.I. 

Position  and  Boundaries. — Persia  is  the  Pars  or  Pars  of  Ezekiel, 
a  name  now  given  to  a  southern  province  of  the  Shah's  kingdom  only. 
The  native  name  Iran  applies  to  the  whole  upland  country  from  Kurdistan 
to  Afghanistan,  of  which  the  older  inhabitants  were  "Aryans."  Ancient 
Persia,  as  existing  some  centuries  before  the  Christian  era,  was  an  immense 
range  of  territory  extending  west  and  east  from  the  Mediterranean  to  the 
Indus,  and  north  and  south  from  the  Jaxartes  to  the  Arabian  Sea.  Modern 
Persia  is  said  to  comprehend  an  area  of  some  650,000  square  miles,  on  the 
western  and  larger  portion  of  the  great  Iranian  plateau.  Yet  its  extreme 
breadth  measured  along  the  parallel  of  34°  N.  from  the  Turkish  to  the 
Afghan  frontier,  is  scarcely  1,000  miles,  while  the  length  from  the  Daman- 
i-kuh,  the  mountain  range  on  the  Trans-Caspian  Russian  frontier,  to  the 
sea  coast  about  the  meridian  of  57°  E.,  may  be  reckoned  at  900.  The 
northern  frontier  is  formed  by  the  Aras  river,  the  southern  shore  of  the 
Caspian  and  the  Atrek  ;  the  southern  is  the  sea  coast,  and  on  the  west  the 
mountains  of  Kurdistan  divide  Persia  from  Turkey.  On  the  east  an 
irregular,  but  in  parts  well-defined,  frontier  commences  somewhat  west  of 
Herat  on  the  Hari-rud,  runs  southward  bordering  Afghanistan,  turns 
abruptly  to  the  Helmand  follows  the  foot  of  the  Baluchistan  hill-range, 
and  making  a  curve  to  the  west  crosses  Mekran  southerly  to  the  sea  in 
longitude  61°  53'  E. 

Configuration. — Persia  is  an  elevated  tableland  dropping  to  the 
Caspian  Sea  along  nearly  one-third  of  its  northern  frontier,  and  to  the 
Persian  Gulf  along  its  southern  limit.  In  the  central  highlands  there  are 
few  rivers,  and  the  country  is  either  composed  of  parallel  mountain  ranges 
and  broad  intervening  plains,  or  of  irregular  mountain  masses  with  fertile 
valleys,  basins  and  ravines.  About  one-third  of  the  area  is  occupied  by 
deserts  and  saline  wastes,  quite  irreclaimable  and  useless.  For  irrigation 
the  plains  and  valleys  depend  on  the  mountains  which  collect  rain  and 
snow.  The  valleys  are  more  fertile  than  the  plains,  often  affording  bright, 
picturesque,  and  grateful  prospects,  while  the  latter  are  usually  barren  and 
sandy  wastes,  scored,  or  streaked,  as  it  were,  rather  than  ornamented,  with 
patches  of  green  oases.  With  the  exception  of  those  dividing  the  coasts 
of  the  Caspian  from  the  inland  plateau,  and  those  bordering  the  Arabian 
Sea  and  Persian  Gulf,  the  parallel  mountain  ranges  generally  stretch  from 

457 


45  8       The  International  Geography 

north-west  to  south-east.  They  are  considered  to  present  the  same 
geological  features  as  the  Zagros  chain  which  consists  of  Cretaceous 
nummulitic  rocks.  The  Zagros  is  the  whole  mountain  range  from  Ararat 
to  Shiraz,  forming  the  gigantic  frontier  wall  between  Persia  and  Turkey. 
The  occurrence  of  metamorphic  rocks  has  also  been  noticed,  as  well  as  an 
extensive  area  of  volcanic  formations,  some  of  very  recent  origin.  Both 
the  northern  and  southern  slopes  of  the  lofty  Elbiirz  range  are  rich  in  coal 
and  iron.  The  highest  peak  of  this  range,  which  overlooks  the  southern 
shore  of  the  Caspian,  is  Demavend,  a  beautiful  mountain  not  less  than 
19,000  feet  in  height.  Of  the  southern  border-land  of  the  Persian  plateau, 
Blanford  remarks  that  the  part  traversed  by  him  appeared  to  consist  of 
low  ranges  running  east  and  west,  which,  except  near  the  sea,  were  almost 
entirely  composed  of  unfossiliferous  sandstones  and  shales  associated  with 
a  few  beds  of  nummulitic  limestone,  apparently  belonging  to  the  older 
Tertiary  epoch. 

Rivers. — Among  the  few  rivers  which  merit  special  mention  are  the 
Safid-rud  and  Karun.  The  former1  flows  into  the  Caspian  near  Enzeli,  the 
ordinary  port  of  embarkation  for  passenger  traffic  with  Russia  ;  the  latter, 
from  its  position  and  proximity  to  the  Persian  Gulf,  offers  immense 
advantages  to  Indian  traffic  and  is,  practically,  and  that  only  with 
reference  to  small  steamers,  the  one  navigable  river  in  the  kingdom. 
Many  of  the  rivers  of  the  interior  have  an  inland  drainage,  flowing  into 
lakes  or  losing  themselves  in  the  sand,  for  instance  the  Helmand,  of  which 
the  upper  part  is  wholly  in  Afghanistan.  This  lack  of  rivers  is  a  great  bar 
to  agricultural  development ;  and  the  uncertainty  of  rainfall  compels  the 
cultivator  to  trust  too  largely  to  the  primitive  kandts  or  underground 
galleries,  which  conduct  water,  so  long  as  procurable,  from  the  mountains 
to  the  centres  of  cultivation.  Famine  and  drought  are  unfortunately  no 
uncommon  visitations  in  the  "land  of  the  Lion  and  Sun,"  and  if  snow  fail 
as  well  as  rain,  and  springs  cease  to  issue,  the  result  is  truly  deplorable. 
When  there  is  irrigation,  the  productiveness  of  the  soil  is  remarkable. 

Climate. — The  climate  of  Persia  varies  much  according  to  locality. 
In  the  high  tablelands,  that  is  over  Persia  generally,  it  is  intensely  cold  in 
winter,  and  though  hot  in  summer,  the  dry  clear  heat  is  temperate 
compared  to  that  of  Sindh  and  the  Panjab.  In  the  north  the  lowlands  of 
the  Caspian  are  covered  with  forest,  and  the  atmosphere  is  damp,  feverish 
and  relaxing.  The  maritime  tracts  on  the  south  are  so  dry  and  barren 
that  even  the  hot  and  violent  winds  which  blow  over  them  afford  a  certain 
amount  of  relief  to  the  inhabitants  during  the  prevalence  of  a  scorching 
summer.  Spring  and  autumn  are  the  best  seasons  ;  October  is  perhaps,  in 
its  invigorating  freshness,  the  most  enjoyable  month  in  Tehran  and  the 
southern  lower  slopes  of  the  Elburz  ;  while  February,  owing  to  its  bitterly 
cold  winds,  is  to  be  avoided  by  the  traveller,  posting  or  otherwise  making 
his  way  to  the  capital  from  Tabriz. 

From  the  absence  of  statistics  of  the  rainfall  the  estimate  of  experienced 


Persia 


459 


residents  must  be  employed  to  supplement  the  returns.  Rain  is  fairly 
abundant  in  the  north-western  mountains,  and  on  the  shores  of  the  Cas- 
pian the  amount  probably  varies  from  about  20  to  over  40  inches.  At 
Tehran  the  annual  fall  is  about  12  inches ;  and  on  the  plateau  generally 
considerably  under  10  inches.  While  more  than  14  inches  fall  at  Bushire 
on  the  Persian  Gulf,  there  are  less  than  6  inches  at  Yask.  Summer  is  the 
driest  season.  Remains  of  water-channels,  used  for  irrigation,  show  how 
carefully  the  scanty  supply  was  husbanded  in  former  days. 

Flora  and  Fauna.— Forests  are  rare  and  not  dense.  No  part  of  the 
country  is  so  thickly  wooded  as  the  low  tract  south  of  the  Caspian. 
Among  the  trees  are  the  oak,  beech,  birch,  elm,  walnut,  plane,  sycamore, 
ash,  yew,  box  and  juniper.  Amongst  the  flowers  the  roses  are  particularly 
celebrated.  Numerous  gardens  and  some  beautiful  trees  are  commonly 
found  in  the  neighbourhood  of  large  towns,  not  cared  for  as  in  Europe, 
yet  pleasant  in  their  wildness. 

Among  the  wild  animals  are  the  lion,  tiger,  leopard,  lynx,  wolf,  jackal, 
wild  ass,  wild  sheep,  gazelle,  and  deer.  The  tiger  is  peculiar  to  the 
Caspian  provinces,  but  is  not  a  man-destroyer. 
Among  game  birds,  three  kinds  of  partridge  are  well 
known,  the  sand  grouse,  and  Hubdrd  or  common 
native  bustard.  Of  domestic  animals  the  horse,  mule 
and  camel  occupy  an  important  position ;  oxen  also 
are  used  for  tilling  purposes.  The  "  Persian  cats," 
so  celebrated  in  Europe,  are  confined  to  a  few 
localities. 


People  and  History.— Persia  of  to-day,  despite  FIG.  237.— Averagepopu- 
its  diminished  area,  may  be  said  to  comprise  quite  l^nof  °^a  square 
as  much  settled  and  consolidated  territory  as  at 
any  period  of  its  authentic  history.  The  several  invasions  by  neigh- 
bouring nations  on  its  land  frontiers,  have  naturally  affected  the 
character  of  its  population.  On  the  north,  Mongol,  Tatar  and  Arab- 
settlers  have  mixed  with  the  older  inhabitants  of  Khorasan,  and  the 
Iranian  element  has  lost  much  of  its  original  purity.  Again,  on  the  west 
and  south-west,  the  Turkish  Kashkai,  the  Arab  Kamisa,  and  many  like 
tribes  are  foreigners  amid  the  descendants  of  the  old  Persian  stWk  ;  and 
the  same  may  be  said  of  the  Afghans,  Baluchis  and  peoples  who  hail  from 
east  of  Kerman  and  Mekran,  and  even  from  the  Indian  peninsula.  The 
physique  of  the  Persians  is  intrinsically  fine,  but  seldom  fairly  developed. 
As  a  rule,  the  rich  and  middle  classes,  in  spite  of  high  abilities  and 
reasoning  power,  ruin  their  constitutions  by  sensuality  and  dissipation ; 
while  the  poorer  and  working  classes,  with  less  power  of  reasoning,  but 
healthier  tastes  and  habits,  have  barely  sufficient  sustenance  to  give  nature 
fair  play.  There  are  two  distinct  classes  of  inhabitants,  dwellers  in  towns 
or  villages  and  dwellers  in  tents.  The  former  class  remains  stationary 
during  the  greater  part  of  the  year,  only  the  richer  people  leaving  the 
31 


460       The  International  Geography 

towns  during  the  summer  heats.  The  nomads  move  from  place  to  place 
according  to  the  season.  They  include  Arabs,  Kurds,  Lurs,  Gipsies  and 
Turks  ;  but  are  generally  classed  as  Iliyats,  and  serve  their  own  particular 
leaders,  all  acknowledging  a  hereditary  chief  called  the  Ilkhdni.  The  close 
adherence  to  ceremony  and  etiquette,  ready  adaptation  to  foreign  habits, 
together  with  the  capacity  for  using  and  love  of  receiving  the  finest  forms 
of  flattery,  which  in  the  days  of  Herodotus  were  found  the  notable 
features  of  the  national  character,  are  still  to  be  observed  in  the  capital. 
For  an  Oriental,  the  Persian  is  a  bright  companion,  more  active  in  mind 
and  body,  and  more  intelligent  than  the  Turk,  and  not  so  much  a  slave 
to  custom.  He  is  obstinate  and  enduring,  but  without  perseverance; 
though  often  a  spiritual  dreamer,  he  refuses  to  think  steadily  on  common 

things. 

Ninety   per  cent,   of  the   people  are   Mohammedans  of  the  Shihite 
division,  who  maintain  that  the  legitimate   Khalifa  or   successor   of   the 
Prophet  was  Ali  his  son-in-law  ;  in  opposition  to  the  views  of  the  Sunnis 
to  which  sect  most  of  the  rest  of  the  population  belong.     This  distinction 
is  the  cause  of  constant  internal  conflict,  and  is 
fatal  to  that  political  unity  for  which  a  common 
faith  offers  the  surest  guarantee. 

Government. — The    Shah    is    regarded   as 
Vicegerent    of   the    Prophet ;    consequently   his 
acts  are  those  of  an  absolute  monarch,  and  his 
will    is    the    acknowledged    law    of    the    State. 
Oriental    despots,    especially     those    professing 
FIG.  238.— Persian  Royal       the    faith    of    Islam,    have    usually    the     same 
Standard.  besetting    proclivities,    and    are    educated    on 

one  pattern,  so  that  the  regeneration  of  a  kingdom  like  Persia  can 
only  be  looked  for  by  the  exercise  of  healthy  influence  from  without, 
If  truth  or  honesty  exists  in  Persia,  it  must  be  looked  for  in  the 
poorer  and  humbler  classes,  rather  than  among  those  who  adopt  the 
veneer  of  European  civilisation.  Provinces  and  districts  are  sold  to 
the  most  lavish  bidder,  who  if  not  wealthy  enough  to  pay  the  heavy 
price  himself  must  do  so  by  practical  robbery  in  the  name  of  taxation. 
It  is  not  uncommon,  however,  to  make  the  Hakim,  or  ruler  of  one  of  the 
larger  provinces,  perhaps  a  Shahzada  or  one  of  royal  birth,  only  a 
nominal  head,  and  to  associate  with  him  a  really  competent  and 
intelligent  Wazir  or  Minister,  who  does  the  whole  work  of  administration, 
and,  in  his  way,  does  it  well.  In  such  cases  there  is  a  kind  of  real  justice 
dispensed.  With  Turkey  on  one  flank,  Afghanistan  and  Baluchistan  on  the 
other,  and  the  Arabian  Sea  and  Persian  Gulf  on  the  south,  Persia  finds  her 
northern  frontier  wholly  occupied  by  Russia,  and  Russian  influence  in 
trade  and  in  the  development  of  the  country  is  predominant  all  over 
the  north.  The  profession  of  a  common  Mohammedanism  does  not 
necessarily  draw  the  Turk  or  Afghan  towards  his  Persian  brother,  and 


Persia  461 

there  is  comparatively  little  intercourse  with  west  and  east.  On  the  sea 
side,  or  southern  line  of  boundary,  the  United  Kingdom  has  more  direct 
relations  than  any  other  State  and  dominates  the  commerce  of  the  south. 
Not  only  is  Indo-Persian  traffic  facilitated  by  ready  communication  with 
Bombay  and  Karachi ;  but  the  existence  of  a  British  Protectorate  for  the 
waters  west  of  Ormuz  and  the  presence  of  a  British  Consul-General  at 
Bushire,  enable  the  Shah's  Government  to  maintain  its  authority  on  the 
northern  littoral  of  the  Persian  Gulf. 

Trade  and  Communications.— The  natural  products  of  Persia  are 
tobacco,  silk,  wool,  cotton,  grain  (mainly  wheat  and  barley),  wine  and 
opium.  In  a  more  restricted  sense/  may  be  added  rice,  jute  and  sugar ; 
but  the  cane  has  been  indifferently  cared  for,  and  beetroot  has  not  been 
made  freely  available  to  supply  its  place.  There  are  also  many  medicinal 
and  dye  yielding  plants  ;  gums  such  as  assafoetida,  rhubarb  and  liquorice 
for  the  most  parts  wild  and  abundant.  Fruit  of  many  kinds  esteemed  in 
Europe  and  Asia  is  good  as  well  as  cheap  and  plentiful. 

The  carpets  are  justly  celebrated  among  Persian  manufactures.  Those 
made  in  Kurdistan,* Khorasan,  Ferahan  (a^district  said  to  possess  5,000  looms), 
Kain  and  Kerman  have,  more  or  less,  distinctive 
features  of  their  own ;  the  first  named  being  the 
more  generally  appreciated.  Turkman  carpets, 
with  which  the  bazars  of  Mashad  abound,  are  in 
repute  from  their  texture  and  velvety  pile.  Ispahan 
and  Yezd  are  famed  for  their  namads,  or  woollen 
felts.  Another  branch  of  interesting  native  in- 
dustry is  the  manufacture  of  shawls,  for  which  FlG- 
Kerman  is  considered  almost  equal  to  Kashmir. 
They  are  woven  by  hand  out  of  kurk,  the  under  wool  of  the  goats.  Many 
native  Persian  industries,  such  as  the  fashioning  of  sword-blades,  brass  and 
copper  vessels  of  all  sorts,  carved  and  inlaid  metal  and  wood,  together 
with  exquisite  ornamental  tiles,  are  yet  in  full  vigour,  but  some  of  them  are 
only  faint  representatives  of  former  days. 

The  few  carriage-roads  in  Persia  are  limited  to  short  distances  of  a 
hundred  miles  or  so  from  the  capital,  the  chief  being  to  Kazvin  and  Resht, 
but  it  is  probable  that  they  will  be  extended  and  improved  at  an  early  date. 
There  are  many  tracks  and  rough  lines  of  traffic  which  could  easily  be 
rendered  practicable  not  only  for  chapar  (or  posting),  caravans  and  mule- 
drawn-litters,  but  for  wheeled  traffic.  The  physical  difficulties  in  the  way 
of  a  complete  system  of  roads  are  great,  but  the  results  of  such  innovation, 
if  once  admitted,  could  not  fail  to  bring  profit  both  to  the  rulers  and 
people.  The  most  important  lines  of  communication  for  Persia  are  those 
which  connect  the  capital  with  Tabriz,  Resht,  Astrabad,  Mashad,  Ispahan, 
Yezd,  Kerman,  Shiraz,  Bushire,  and  the  Turkish  frontier  at  Kham'kin. 
The  only  railway  in  the  country  which  was  ever  completed  is  in  the  close 
vicinity  of  Tehran,  and  is  only  six  miles  long. 


fftfrtfflWHWwwffiWtf 

iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnT 


462       The   International  Geography 


FIG.  240. — The  Telegraph  lines 
across  Persia. 


The  Indo-European  Telegraph  Company  works  and  controls  the  Julfa- 
Tehran  telegraph  line  (437  miles),  and  the  Indian  Government  controls  the 
Tehran-Bushire  line  (675  miles),  and  assists  in  maintaining  the  Tehran- 
Mashad  line  (568  miles)  and  the  overland  line  from  Kashan  by  Kerman 

and  Baluchistan  to  India.  A  line  along 
the  Mekran  coast  from  Karachi  to  Jashk 
(60  1  miles),  and  the  Persian  Gulf  cable 
from  Karachi  to  Fao,  are  also  worked  and 
maintained  by  the  Government  of  India  as 
part  of  the  connection  with  Europe. 

Towns.  —  No  street  in  all  the  cities 
of  Persia  'can  be  called  respectable  as 
Europeans  rate  structural  respectability. 
Blank  mud  walls  and  narrow  ill-paved 
thoroughfares  are  the  rule  ;  the  windowed 
or  terraced  front  of  a  Persian  house  is  for 
the  inner  court  or  inner  precincts  of  the 
abode,  and  not  for  the  world  without.  Some 
mosques  are  handsome,  some  caravanserais  solid,  some  bazars  highly 
creditable  to  the  designers  and  builders  ;  but  everything  is  irregular,  nothing 
is  permanent,  and  architectural  ruin  blends  with  architectural  revival  in 
the  midst  of  dirt,  discomfort,  and  a  total  disregard  of  municipal  method. 

Tehran,  made  the  capital  of  Persia  in  1788,  is  situated  on  a  riverless 
plain  at  the  southern  foot  of  the  Elburz  range.  In  1797,  Olivier  writes 
of  it  as  little  more  than  two  miles  in  circuit,  with  a  population  of  15,000, 
of  which  one  third  belonged  to  the  court  or  army  of  the  Shah.  That  it 
has  increased  to  thirteen  times  this  amount  in  a  century  gives  evidence 
that  its  site  was  judiciously  chosen.  But 
the  work  of  renovation  and  reconstruction 
did  not  begin  till  1870,  since  which  year  it 
has  been  rapidly  transformed  from  a  mean 
six-gated  polygon  with  a  frail  enclosing  wall, 
to  a  city  of  eleven  miles  circumference  with 
European  fortifications  and  twelve  gates. 
Whatever  the  estimate  of  its  architectural 
merits  or  deficiences  in  the  eyes  of  European 
critics,  its  claim  to  recently  achieved  pro- 
gress cannot  be  disallowed.  The  European 
Legations  are  situated  in  summer  at  and 
near  Gulhak,  700  feet  higher  than  Tehran, 
and  4,500  feet  above  the  sea-level,  a 


FiG.  241.— A  bit  of  old  Tehran. 


locality  providing  luxurious  retreats  with  grassy  and  well  watered 
gardens.  Tabriz  (or  Tauris),  the  commercial  capital  of  Persia,  situated 
close  to  the  Turko-  Persian  frontier,  was  sacked  by  Timur  in  1392, 
and  twice  before  that  period  levelled  to  the  ground  by  earthquakes, 


Persia  463 


a  calamity  five  times  repeated  within  the  last  two  centuries.  Large  and 
important  as  the  place  is,  there  is  little  to  note  in  it  at  the  present  day  save 
the  Blue  Mosque  with  its  handsome  tiles  and  inscriptions,  still  visible 
amid  its  ruins,  the  bazars,  and  the  citadel.  Ispahan,  near  the  centre 
of  the  country,  was  the  ancient  capital,  and  with  its  suburb  Julfa 
where  the  Europeans  live,  stands  in  a  fertile  plain.  Though  only  a 
wreck  of  its  former  splendour  it  is  still  the  second  city  in  Persia  judged 
by  its  commerce.  Mashad,  in  the  north-east  on  a  tributary  of  the  Hari-rud, 
is  the  capital  of  the  province  of  Khorasan  and  enjoys  a  high  reputation  as 
a  holy  city  and  place  of  pilgrimage  amongst  the  Shias.  Yezd,  almost  in 
the  geometrical  centre  of  Persia,  is  practically  the  only  residence  of  the 
religious  sect  known  as  Gabrs,  who  still  follow  the  teachings  of  Zoroaster 
like  the  Parsis  of  Bombay.  Kerman,  situated  far  in  the  interior  at  an 
elevation  of  5,000  feet,  is  an  important  meeting  place  of  trade  routes 
between  the  Persian  Gulf  and  Central  Asia.  Unlmiya  (locally  Urmt)  is 
situated  4,400  feet  above  the  sea,  in  the  fertile  plain  of  that  name,  twelve 
miles  west  of  the  great  Shahi  (or  Urumiya]  Lake,  of  which  the  length  is 
estimated  by  Lord  Curzon  at  84,  the  breadth  at  20  to  30,  and  the  circum- 
ference at  nearly  300  miles.  It  is  interesting  at  the  present  day  as  the 
headquarters  of  the  (Canterbury)  Archbishop's  Mission  to  the  Assyrian  or 
Nestorian  Christians.  Shiraz  in  the  south-west,  reached  by  a  steep  and 
rugged  road  from  the  ports  on  the  Persian  Gulf,  is  the  cradle  of  Persian 
nationality  and  the  capital  of  the  province  Pars  which  gave  its  name  to  the 
country.  Famed  for  its  roses,  wine  and  nightingales,  Shiraz  is  celebrated 
in  the  song  of  the  great  Persian  poets.  The  chief  seaport  is  Bushire  on  the 
Persian  Gulf  ;  Linga  and  Bandar  Abbas  also  do  a  considerable  trade  with 
India  and  Europe,  mainly  in  British  ships,  but  none  has  a  good  harbour. 


STATISTICS 

(All  statistics  are  estimates,  some  very  uncertain). 

Area  of  Persia  in  square  miles  650,000 

Population  8,000,000 

Density  of  Population  12 

POPULATION    OF    CHIEF    TOWNS. 

Tehran 200,000  I  Yezd  40,000 

Tabriz 170,000  |  Kerman 40,000 

Ispahan            60,000  I  Unimiya 40,000 

Mashad 50,000  |  Shiraz  30,000 

ANNUAL  TRADE  (in  ponnds  sterling). 
(Return  of  the  Ports  on  the  Persian  Gulf  only,  for  1896). 

Imports 1,720,000 

Exports 1,186,000 

STANDARD  BOOKS. 

Lord  Curzon  of  Kedleston.  "  Persia."  2  vols.  London,  1892. 
E.  G.  Browne.  "  A  Year  among  the  Persians."  London,  1893. 
C.  J.  Wills.  "  The  Land  of  the  Lion  and  Sun."  London,  1883. 
P.  M.  Sykes.  "Ten  Thousand  Miles  in  Persia."  London,  1902. 


464       The  International  Geography 

IL-AFGHANISTAN 

BY  SIR  GEORGE  SCOTT  ROBERTSON,  K. C.S.I.,  M.P., 

Formerly  British  Agent  at  Gilgit. 

Position  and  Characteristics. — Afghanistan,  literally  the  land  of 
the  Afghan,  but  actually  the  territory  ruled  over  by  Habibula  Khan,  the 
Amir  of  Kabul,  is  the  most  eastern  part  of  the  great  Iran  plateau  which 
spreads  south-westward  from  the  Pamirs.  It  may  be  described  generally  as 
a  drab-coloured  land,  one  of  the  waste  places  of  the  world.  Sand,  bare 
rocks,  sterile  hills  and  vast  snow-topped  mountain  ranges  are  the  main 
features  of  the  stern  inhospitable  country ;  tender  green  places,  fertile 
irrigated  fields,  vineyards  and  orchards  being  circumscribed  and  infre- 
quent. In  summer  it  is  hot  everywhere.  The  temperature  depends  upon 
elevation,  not  upon  latitude.  Stony,  treeless  slopes,  parched  soil  and 
whirling  sand  increase  the  heat  and  dryness  of  the  harsh,  scorching  air. 
Burnt  grey-brown,  the  naked  landscape  quivers  in  the  fierce  beams  of  the 
sun.  Winter  brings  frost,  snow  and  blustering  storms,  and  in  many 
places  dangerous  snow  hurricanes  occur ;  Ghazni  is  said  to  have  been 
depopulated  twice  by  blizzards.  The  winter  is  full  of  surprises.  One 
moment  a  traveller  may,  in  the  Sun's  glare,  be  miserably  overheated,  the 
next,  in  shadow,  he  is  pierced  to  the  heart  by  the  chill  of  an  icy  wind. 

Roads  are  mostly  rough  and  hilly  or  ankle-deep  in  yielding  sand  ;  they 
are  often  incredibly  tiring.  Food  is  scarce,  for  the  whole  country  is 
poor ;  it  yields  grudgingly  bread  for  man  and  herbage  for  animals. 

People  and  Government.— The  people,  products  of  this  unkindly 
soil,  are  hardy  (the  weaklings  die),  stubborn,  brave,  and  so  treacherous  that 
the  word  gains  an  intensive  meaning  when  applied  to  them.  Towards 
strangers  they  are  servile  or  hectoring,  the  probable  result  in  personal 
financial  profit  being  the  sole  rule  of  conduct.  Luxury,  even  comfort,  to 
them  is  often  what  we  call  vice.  Ingenious  in  sensuality,  they  are  intriguers 
by  instinct,  while  running  through  their  whole  character  there  is  a 
wonderful  arrogance,  vindictiveness  and  cruelty.  Born  and  bred  amidst 
an  unceasing  struggle  with  nature  for  the  means  of  life,  they  live  hard  and 
they  die  hard.  In  spite  of  the  rigid,  stern  and  narrow  ceremonialism  of 
their  Mohammedan  religion,  Afghans  are  not  fanatical ;  most  creeds  are 
tolerated,  the  chief  exception  being  Christianity.  Hatred  of  Christians 
springs  less  from  questions  of  dogma  and  faith  than  because  the  blood  of 
ancestors  and  tribesmen  cries  for  vengeance  ;  and  because  of  the  supposed 
determination  of  the  British  Christians  to  enslave  the  Afghan  people  and 
force  them  to  "  carry  loads."  Unlike  the  grasp  of  an  Amir,  which  now 
and  again  seizes  upon  an  individual  while  the  crowd  escapes,  British  rule 
is  feared  as  a  wrought-iron  system  regulated  by  an  inexorable  screw  called 
"law,"  which  squeezes  free  hill-men  into  the  pulp  of  which  slaves  are 
made.  The  government  of  the  country  is  an  extreme  Eastern  Absolutism 


Afghanistan 


wherever  or  whenever  the  different  tribes  are  cowed.  Regular  authority 
is  based  upon  the  dumb  terror  inspired  by  hideous  and  dramatic  punish- 
ments. Tribute  is  oftentimes  collected  by  armed  forces  after  much  blood- 
shed. An  Amir  of  Afghanistan  must  be  merciless,  and  his  people  must 
believe  him  to  be  the  implacable  enemy,  secret  or  declared,  of  the  govern- 
ment of  India. 

Boundaries.  —  The  peculiar  position  of  Afghanistan,  a  buffer  State 
lying  between  the  Russian  and  Indian  empires,  gives  special  importance  to 
its  boundaries,  which  have  been  settled  by  treaty  and  delimited  on  the 
ground  in  a  highly  technical  manner.  All  along  its  northern  border  from 
Zulfikar  on  the  Hari-rud  to  Wakhi-jui,  where  the  Sirikol,  the  Hindu  Kush 
and  the  Karakoram  mountains  meet  together,  the  Amir  of  Kabul's  territory 
marches  with  that  dominated  by  Russia  ;  while  on  the  west  the  Persian 
province  of  Khorasan  is  profoundly  influenced  by  the  officers  of  the  Tsar. 
Herat,  one  of  the  most  blood-drenched  places  in  the  East  (Jenghiz  Khan 
left  but  forty  alive  out  of  a  population  of  a  million  in  1232),  whose  history 
is  the  history  of  Central  Asia,  has  been  brought  within  95  miles  of  the 
Russian  terminus  by  the  completion  of  the  Kushk  river  railway./  On  the 
projected  East  Persian  railway  from  Ashabad  on  the  Russian  Trans-Caspian 
line  to  the  Persian  Gulf  two  stations  will  be  at  most  four  days'  journey  from 
Herat.  As  the  nearest  British  outpost,  at  New  Chaman,  is  hundreds  of 
miles  away,  this  "  Key  of  India,"  if  Herat  ever  deserved  that  title,  is  lost. 
But  in  any  case  it  is  an  ancient  and  corroded  key,  useless  for  the  modern 
steel  wards  placed  in  the  door-lock  at  Quetta. 

The  territory  east  of  Badakhshan  and  north  of  the  Hindu  Kush  was 
formerly  the  cause  of  bitter  controversy,  but  since  the  Russo-Afghan 
frontier  line  was  laid  down  in  ^894,  it  has  returned  to  its  natural  state  of 
drowsy  remoteness.  The  northern  border  of  Afghanistan  from  Persia  in 
61°  20'  E.  to  Chinese  Turkestan  in  74°  50',  runs  jaggedly  side  by  side  with 
Russian  territory  for  1,000  miles.  Zulfikar  is  in  35°  35'  N.,  and  from  that 
point  the  line  in  irregular  loops  gains  the  Oxus  at  Kamiab,  which  is  more 
than  300  miles  from  Herat.  The  frontier  then  runs  up  the  historic  river 
and  its  main  feeder,  the  Ab-i-Panja,  to  Lake  Victoria.  Its  farthest  north 
point  is  at  the  top  of  the  Oxus  curve  (38°  35'  N.)  caused  by  the  northward 
thrust  of  the  great  spurs  of  the  Hindu  Kush  ;  its  most  southerly  is  opposite 
Chitral  where  barely  ten  miles  of  mountain  land  divides  Russian  from 
British  authority.  Some  60  miles  eastward  of  Lake  Victoria  this  long- 
stretched  northern  boundary  ends  at  a  peak  in  the  Sirikol  range,  which 
divided  the  Chinese  from  the  Little  Pamir  and  not  far  from  Wakhi-jui,  the 
joining  place  of  mountains. 

The  south  of  Afghanistan  is  bordered  by  tracts  controlled  actually  or 
nominally  by  the  government  of  India.  The  boundary  should  be  drawn 
in  crimson,  for  blood  has  been  lavishly  shed  to  mark  it  out.  From  the 
Sirikol  mountains  the  wavy  line  keeps  a  south-westerly  course  for  900 
miles,  until  at  a  spot  south-west  of  Quetta  (29°  50'  N.)  it  alters  to  nearly  due 


466       The  International  Geography 

west,  being  carried  across  the  great  arid  desert  common  to  southern 
Afghanistan  and  western  Baluchistan.  At  first  this  boundary  follows  the 
crest  of  the  Hindu  Rush  as  far  as  the  lofty  Dorah  and  Mandal  Passes 
leading  to  Chitral  and  Kafiristan  respectively.  It  then  runs  along  the 
eastern  watershed  of  the  Bashgul  valley  of  Kafiristan  which  separates  that 
country  from  Chitral.  Passing  over  the  Chitral  river  just  below  the  village 
of  Arnawi,  and,  still  upon  a  mountain  range,  the  line  borders  the  Kunar 
valley  on  the  east,  and  crosses  the  main  road  between  India  and  Kabul 
west  of  the  Khaiber  Pass  nearly  40  miles  from  Peshawar.  Next,  by  the  aid 
of  the  Saf ed  Koh  mountains,  it  forms  a  western  triangular  out-thrust  bringing 
the  Kuram  valley  into  British  territory.  Thence  the  frontier  marks 
traverse  the  territory  of  wild  tribesmen  more  than  100  miles  west  of  the 
Indus,  and  at  the  latitude  of  the  British  frontier  outpost  of  New  Chaman, 

which  is  half-way  between  Quetta 
and  Kandahar,  that  distance  is 
doubled.  From  the  Quetta  district 
the  remainder  of  the  southern 
boundary  towards  Baluchistan  is 
over  desolate  wastes  of  sand,  for 
some  distance  parallel  to  the  Hel- 
majid,  the  only  considerable  river 
of  its  latitude  between  the  Tigris 
and  the  Indus.  The  western  or 
Persian  frontier,  about  450  miles 
long,  starts  in  60°  50'  E.,  and  after 
running  through  the  great  Seistan 
swamps,  where  the  Helmand  river 
ignominiously  terminates,  it  turns 
northward  again,  and  with  little 
further  variation  limits  Persian 
Khorasan  and  passes  with  the 
Hari-rud  river  to  Zulfikar. 
Surface  and  Communications. — The  lowest  elevations  to  be  shown 
in  an  orographical  map  of  Afghanistan  as  under  4,000  feet  would  be  the 
Kabul  valley  at  and  below  Jelalabad,  and  all  the  country  south  and  west 
of  a  line  drawn  between  New  Chaman  and  Herat ;  the  highest  parts  (over 
7,000  feet)  of  the  Afghan  plateau  are  great  tracts  just  west  of  Kabul  and 
south  of  Ghazni.  Far  from  the  sea,  Afghanistan  is  difficult  to  enter ; 
where  huge  mountain  chains  and  toilsome  passes  do  not  hinder  the 
traveller,  there  appears  heartbreaking  sand  which,  in  the  south-west  of 
the  country,  is  swept  during  summer  by  a  deadly  hot  wind.  Two  of  the 
chief  trade  roads  are  those  from  Mashad  and  from  Bokhara  to  Herat,  the 
centre  of  a  well  irrigated  and  richly  cultivated  district,  which  is  connected 
with  fanatical,  unruly  Kandahar  by  a  main  highway  of  commerce  touching 
at  Farra  and  crossing  the  Helmand  river  at  Girishk.  There  is  traffic 


600ft  CD  Under  1500ft.  E>3l500to  6000ft 

lH6000to  12000ft.  •  over  12000ft 

FlG.    242. — Configuration   of  Afghanistan 
and  the  Pamirs. 


Afghanistan  467 

between  Bokhara  and  Kabul  by  way  of  Balkh  (Bactria,  the  mother  of 
cities)  and  by  Khulm.  Chief  of  all  the  caravan  routes  is  the  grim  Khaiber 
Pass,  naked  and  savage,  two  marches  west  of  Peshawar,  the  terminus  of 
the  Indian  railway  system,  and  a  famous  bazar  for  Central  Asian  fabrics. 
This  historic  pass  has  resounded  to  the  clangour  of  every  great  invasion  of 
India,  except  that  of  Alexander,  who  passed  it  to  the  north,  until  the  West 
sent  its  stubborn  warriors  up  from  the  sea.  It  is  held  by  sections  of  the 
Afridis  who  have  blackmailed  every  Indian  dynasty  for  centuries.  They 
periodically  exact  a  tribute  of  slaughter  from  the  Indian  government  in 
addition  to  the  customary  tale  of  isolated  murders ;  but  the  passionless 
grasp  of  British  authority  is  closing  upon  them  inexorably.  Kabul,  a 
sorrowful  name  to  the  British,  190  miles  west  of  Peshawar,  stands  on  the 
Kabul  river  nearly  6,000  feet  above  the  sea.  There  lives  the  despotic 
Amir  ;  its  narrow  winding  streets  are  blocked  with  the  picturesque  kafilas 
of  Oriental  merchants.  It  has  modern  arsenals  and  a  gun  factory  ;  but  all 
Afghanistan  is  of  political  rather  than  of  commercial  interest.  The  Gomal 
Pass,  the  main  traffic  road  between  the  Panjab  and  Ghazni,  is  held  on  both 
sides  by  ruffianly  Waziris.  To  it  the  merchant  adventurers  from  /near 
Ghazni  fight  their  way  annually,  then  lay  down  their  arms  and  trade 
peaceably  in  India,  to  return  and  resume  their  weapons  and  fight  their  way 
home  again  before  the  end  of  the  year.  Still  further  south  is  the  Bolan 
Pass,  through  which  the  railway  runs  to  Quetta  and  New  Chaman.  New 
Chaman,  the  furthest  British  military  post,  is  about  the  same  distance  from 
Kandahar  (80  miles)  as  the  Russians  are  at  present  from  Herat.  A 
trader's  road  leads  down  the  Helmand  valley  to  Persia  from  Kandahar, 
a  square  walled  city  with  a  history  remarkable,  even  in  Afghanistan,  for 
hatred  and  strife.  Thither  all  western  roads  lead,  making  it  hardly  less 
important  as  a  guardian  of  commerce  than  it  is  as  a  strategic  fortress. 

Tribes.— The  Afghan  State  comprises  tribes  great  and  small,  mixed 
with  odd  fragments  of  peoples,  the  whole  loosely  held  together  as  a 
cementless  Afghan  field- wall  is  held  together,  wonderfully  but  precariously. 
First  comes  the  great  dominant  tribe  of  the  Duranis.  Next,  the  ferocious 
Ghilzais,  a  Turki  people  with  traditions  of  past  ascendancy,  who  exter- 
minated the  British  force  retreating  from  Kabul  in  1842.  Then  follow 
Aimaks  and  Hazaras  of  Tatar  blood,  Iranian  Tajiks,  Hindkis,  Jats  and  the 
mixed  folk  of  the  towns.  The  Usbeks  of  Afghan  Turkestan  were  not  one 
people,  but  a  confederation  of  numerous  Turk  and  Tatar  tribes.  Less 
numerous  are  Persians,  transplanted  from  their  native  land  in  the  eighteenth 
century,  Arabs,  Jews  and  derelicts.  Finally  come  the  Kafirs,  the  interest- 
ing non-Moslem  people  of  the  Hindu  Kush  who,  after  centuries  of  savage 
freedom,  were  subjugated  by  the  Amir  of  Kabul  in  1895.  They  are 
probably  the  descendants  of  tribal  fugitives  from  eastern  Afghanistan, 
hurled  forth,  like  sparks  from  the  anvil,  by  the  fervid  swordsmen  of  Islam 
eight  hundred  years  ago.  Descending,  no  doubt  calamitously,  upon  the 
feeble  folk  inhabiting  the  trackless  slopes  and  perilous  valleys  of  modern 
32 


468       The  International  Geography 

Kafiristan — themselves  possibly  prehistoric  refugees  before  a  stronger 
people — these  fugitive  pagans,  aided  by  the  terrible  difficulties  of  their 
country,  maintained  themselves  in  a  state  of  chaotic  independence  against 
all  the  fanatical  crusades  of  the  surrounding  Mohammedans,  until  Abdur 
Rahman,  the  great  king  of  the  Afghans,  brought  them  under  his  stern 
discipline. 

The  statistics  of  Afghanistan  are  mere  guesses,  as  no  accurate  survey 
has  been  made,  nor  any  attempt  at  a  census. 

STATISTICS. 

(Approximate  Estimates.) 

Area  of  Afghanistan  (in  square  miles)       250,000 

Population          4,000,000 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile 16 

Population  of  Kabul 140,000 

Kandahar        IS000  to  100,000 

Herat 12.000 

Ghazni  3,ooo  to  10,000 

STANDARD  BOOKS. 

H.  W.  Bellew.    "Afghanistan  and  the  Afghans."    London,  1879. 

A.  H.  MacMahon.    "  The  Southern  Borderlands  of  Afghanistan."    London,  1897. 

Sir  G.  S.  Robertson.    "The  Kafirs  of  the  Hindu- Kush."     London,  1896. 

C.  E.  Yate.    "  Northern  Afghanistan."    London,  1888. 

<  "  Khurasan  and  Sistan."    London,  1901. 

Sir  T.  H.  Holdich.    "  The  Indian  Borderland."    London,  1901. 


CHAPTER  XXVI.— INDIA   AND  CEYLON 

L— THE  EMPIRE  OF  INDIA 

BY  SIR  ATHELSTAN  BAINES,  C.S.I. 

Name. — The  earliest  people  of  whose  migration  into  the  country 
we  are  now  in  the  habit  of  calling  India  we  have  any  historical 
knowledge  entered  by  the  north-west,  and  gave  the  name  of  Sindhu,  the 
"  flood  "  or  "  ocean,"  to  the  first  great  river  which  obstructed  their  south- 
ward progress.  In  the  mouth  of  the  Iran,  or  Persians,  their  kinsmen  and 
rivals,  the  initial  S  was  softened  into  H,  and  the  Greeks,  who  became 
acquainted  with  the  country  through  the  Persians,  dropped,  in  their  turn, 
the  aspirate,  calling  the  frontier  river  the  Indus,  and  the  country  beyond 
it,  India.  Their  example  was  followed  by  the  early  geographers  and 
travellers  of  the  West,  and  from  them  the  name  has  descended  to  our  day. 
It  has  never  been  recognised,  however,  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  country 
itself,  who  continue  to  make  use  of  their  various  racial  and  topical  terms, 
restricting  the  modern  Persian  Hindustan  to  a  comparatively  small  tract 
in  the  north-west  of  what  Europeans  know  as  India.  The  later  and  more 
comprehensive  title,  accordingly,  may  be  taken  as  connecting  the  sphere 
of  British  rule,  by  which  a  mere  geographical  expression  has  been 
converted  into  a  definite  political  unit. 

Position  and  Extent. — India  extends  from  Mekran,  in  the  west,  to 
the  Mekong  in  the  east ;  from  Cape  Comorin,  in  the  south,  to  Kashmir 
and  the  foot  of  the  Pamirs  in  the  north.  By  latitude  it  would  stretch  from 
Algiers  to  the  Gold  Coast,  or  from  Venezuela  to  North  Carolina,  whilst 
from  west  to  east  it  extends  over  nearly  forty  degrees  of  longitude.  It 
may  be  roughly  described  as  a  triangular  peninsula,  lying  almost  wholly 
within  the  tropic  of  Cancer,  surmounted  by  a  larger  continental  region, 
with  considerable  extensions  east  and  west,  beyond  the  base  of  the 
peninsula.  The  coast-line  of  the  latter,  in  spite  of  its  length,  is  singularly 
devoid  of  indentations,  except  at  the  mouths  of  the  larger  rivers  and 
towards  the  northern  portion  of  the  west  coast.  The  only  harbours 
accordingly,  except  for  light-draft  vessels,  are  found  a  little  way  up  the 
deltas  of  the  chief  rivers,  or  where,  as  at  Bombay,  a  group  of  islands 
affords  adequate  shelter  from  the  open  sea.  The  eastern  coast,  in  par- 
ticular, is  provided  with  little  more  than  a  few  imperfectly  protected 
roadsteads.  The  southern  portion  of  the  west  coast  is  distinguished  by  a 
series  of  backwaters,  or  lagoons,  parallel  with  the  coast,  and  affording  a 
safe  and  convenient  waterway  for  small  vessels,  when  the  season  of  high 
winds  makes  the  ocean  unnavigable. 

460 


47°       The  International  Geography 


The  Himalaya. — Although  India  is  so  sparingly  provided  with 
natural  facilities  for  maritime  commerce,  it  is  remarkable  that  from  the 
earliest  times  of  which  we  have  records,  all  peaceful  intercourse  between 
that  country  and  the  rest  of  the  civilised  world  has  been  by  sea,  whilst, 
with  the  single  exception  of  the  British  occupation,  which  was  due  to 
naval  supremacy,  all  hostile  invasions  have  been  by  land  ;  and  this,  in 
spite  of  the  immense  mountain  barrier  on  the  north,  which  constitutes 
the  principal  feature  in  the  configuration  of  India.  This  mountain  system 
cannot  accurately  be  termed  a  chain,  consisting  as  it  does  of  several 
parallel  and  converging  ranges,  intersected  by  enormous  valleys  and 
extensive  tablelands.  The  nucleus  of  the  system  is  situated  just  beyond 
the  Indian  frontier,  in  the  region  known  as  the  Pamirs,  or  locally,  as  the 

"  roof  of  the  world."  From 
this  centre  to  the  high 
land  round  the  sources 
of  the  Irawadi,  in  the 
east,  an  unbroken  wall  of 
mountains  extends  along 
the  north  of  India,  pierced 
only  by  passes  from  17,000 

to    ic*60ox  feet  above  the 
-nf 

sea,  OTOrtowered  by  peaks 
reaching  an  elevation  of 
from  23,000  to  29,000  feet. 
The  latter  is  the  culmi- 
nating pojnt  of  the  Earth's 
surface  at  present  ascer- 
tained by  scientific  means. 
The  Himalaya  thus  con- 
stitutes a  continuous  wall, 
which,  if  transported  to 
Europe,  would  link  Cader 


FIG.  243. — Configuration  of  India. 


Idris  with  the  Caucasus.  Flanking  ranges  are  thrown  out  from  the  main 
mass  into  Burma  on  the  east,  and  Afghanistan  on  the  west  (Fig.  242).  They 
are  of  comparatively  small  elevation,  however,  and  are  traversed  by  many 
passes,  presenting  no  insuperable  obstacles  to  traffic.  It  is  through  these 
cracks  in  her  armour  that  India  has  been  from  time  immemorial  subject  to 
invasion  from  the  north-west,  and  Burma  from  the  north.  This  rampart 
is  also  of  physical  importance  to  India,  for  it  exercises  a  powerful  influence 
on  the  climate  and  rainfall. 

The  Plains. — Immediately  below  the  Himalaya  lie  the  plains  of  the 
great  rivers  of  India,  the  course  of  which  determined,  in  prehistoric  times, 
the  direction  of  the  earliest  civilisation  from  west-central  Asia,  as  to  which 
we  have  still  only  the  shadowy  and  mythological  traditions  of  Brahmanic 
writings  to  inform  us.  Of  these  rivers,  two  main  streams  and  two  affluents 


India  471 


take  their  rise  to  the  north  of  the  Himalaya,  and  all  four,  strangely  enough, 
from  within  a  comparatively  small  lacustrine  district  between  the  main 
range  of  the  Himalaya  and  the  tableland  of  Tibet.  The  Indus,  after  a 
north-western  course,  bursts  through  the  mountains  at  an  acute  angle, 
collects  in  a  deep  and  rapid  stream  the  tributaries  which  give  their  name 
to  the  Panjab,  or  "  land  of  the  five  rivers,"  and  ends  by  performing  for  the 
great  province  of  Sindh,  so  called  from  its  chief  feature,  the  office  which 
Egypt  owes  to  the  Nile.  The  Satlaj,  rising  south  of  the  Indus,  joins  the 
latter,  after  a  very  short  course  to  the  north  of  the  Himalaya,  and  a  long 
one  through  the  Panjab.  Starting  due  east  from  its  source,  the  Sanpu 
enters  Assam,  at  the  extreme  north-east  of  India  proper,  bends  sharply 
south  and  west  until  free  from  the  mountains,  and  finally,  under  the  name 
of  the  Brahmaputra,  mingles  its  turbid  waters  with  those  of  the  Ganges 
in  the  innumerable  channels  of  the  great  Bengal  delta.  The  third  great 
Driver  alone  rises  soutn  of  the  Himalaya,  and  though  popular  tradition  and 
practice  must  be  accepted,  and  the  stream  of  the  combined  Jamna  and 
Ganges  be  held  to  be  the  main  contributary  to  the  sacred  river  known  by 
the  latter  name,  it  appears  that  the  volume  of  the  tributary  which  rises  on 
the  north  of  the  range,  known  as  the  Ghogra,  entitles  it  to  that  honour. 
The  richness  of  the  two  great  rivers,  the  Ganges  and  the  Brahmaputra,  in 
fertilising  silt,  is  the  making  of  lower  Bengal,  and  the  amount  deposited 
every  year  is  estimated  at  not  less  than  40,000  million  cubic  feet,  enabling 
the  cultivator  to  dispense  with  manure  of  any  sort  over  the  inundated  area. 
Similarly,  Sindh  and  the  north-west  of  India  are  the  gift  of  the  Indus,  for, 
though  the  inundation  fertilises  only  the  lower  part  of  its  course,  the  canals 
which  take  off  from  the  upper,  render  cultivation  possible  where  rain  is 
too  sparse  to  be  of  material  aid  to  it. 

The  Vindhyas  and  the  Dekkan.— The  great  plains  are  separated 
from  the  rest  of  India  by  a  belt  of  hilly,  rather  than  mountainous,  country, 
running,  at  different  elevations,  from  coast  to  coast.  The  country  rises 
slowly  from  the  Gangetic  valley  to  the  plateaux  of  Central  India,  edged 
by  the  Vindhya  range,  below  which,  on  the  south,  the  Narbada  river  seeks 
the  Gulf  of  Cambay.  Parallel  to  that  range  runs  the  Satpura  range,  similarly 
bounded  by  the  valley  of  the  Tapti.  Eastwards  the  country  is  more 
broken,  the  plateaux  smaller,  and  the  wide  but  irregular  belt  of  hills  ends 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Bay  of  Bengal,  after  giving  birth  to  only  one 
river  of  considerable  size,  the  Mahanadi.  On  the  west,  the  large  plain 
of  almost  rainless  country  called  the  Indian  desert,  divides  the  tablelands 
of  Central  India  from  the  valley  of  the  Indus  and  the  small  peninsulas  of 
Kachh  and  Kathiawar. 

The  core  of  the  peninsula  proper  is  the  Dekkan  Plateau.  This  may 
be  said  to  begin  from  the  southern  edge  of  the  Tapti  valley.  Its  limits 
are  well  defined  on  the  west  by  the  range  called  the  Sahyadri,  or  Ghats 
(steps),  from  their  abrupt  rise  out  of  the  strip  of  coastal  plain,  which 
extends,  with  varying  breadth,  to  the  extreme  south  of  Malabar.  In  like 


472       The  International  Geography 

manner,  the  plateau  ends  abruptly  in  the  south  in  the  mass  of  the  Nilgiii, 
or  Blue  Mountains.  The  surface  slopes  gradually  from  the  top  of  the 
Ghats  to  the  eastward,  and  finally  subsides  into  the  flat  coast  of  the  Bay  of 
Bengal.  A  broken  line  of  hilly  country  runs  parallel  with  the  coast  from 
the  Central  Belt  southwards,  to  which  the  name  of  the  Eastern  Ghats  is 
sometimes  given,  though  it  possesses  none  of  the  special  features  of  the 
western  system  bearing  that  title.  The  Dekkan  is  traversed  by  two 
principal  rivers,  the  Godavari  and  the  Krishna,  rising  in  the  Ghats  and 
falling  into  the  Bay  of  Bengal.  To  the  southward  the  Kavari  seeks  the  sea 
after  a  short  passage  through  the  southern  portion  of  Mysore  and  south  of 
Madras.  No  stream  of  importance  enters  the  Indian  Ocean  south  of  the 
Tapti,  and  the  almost  unbroken  chain  of  the  Ghats  makes  the  uplands  of 
the  Dekkan  difficult  of  access  from  the  coast,  except  by  a  few  passes 
through  which  roads  have  been  made  by  the  British.  The  south- 
east of  the  peninsula,  on  the  other  hand,  is  a  comparatively  level 
plain,  of  great  fertility  everywhere  within  range  of  the  waters  of  the  river 
deltas 

Burma.— Finally,  the  province  of  Burma  consists,  first,  of  the  coast  line 
from  Arakan  to  Tenasserim,  broken  only  by  the  delta  of  the  Irawadi  and  the 
bay  formed  by  the  mouth  of  the  Salwin  river.  North  and  east  of  the 
Irawadi  the  country  is  "hilly  and  thickly  covered  with  forest  as  far  as  the 
borders  of  Assam  and  Bengal  on  the  west,  and  the  frontier  of  China  and 
Siam  on  the  north  and  east.  The  Irawadi  attracts  the  population  and 
commerce  of  central  and  upper  Burma,  leaving  a  fringe  of  semi-civilised 
tribes  on  each  side. 

Geology. — The  geology  of  India  determines  the  general  characteristics 
of  the  main  divisions  specified  above.  So  far, as  the  Himalaya  have  been 
explored,  they  appear  to  contain  three  systems,  chiefly  of  gneiss  mixed 
with  mica-schist  in  the  more  northern  portion,  and  with  syenite  and 
granite  in  two  bands  in  the  central  range.  In  the  lower  ranges  to  the 
south,  the  beds  are  often  found  inverted,  with  old  gneiss  overlying  sedi- 
mentary rock.  The  sub- Himalayan  system  of  later  Tertiary,  includes  the 
Siwalik  formations,  well  known  for  their  remarkable  deposits  of  fossil 
mammals.  In  the  Salt  range  of  the  western  Panjab,  which  is  in  some 
respects  a  continuation  of  this  region,  a  uniform  succession  of  formations 
from  Silurian  downwards  is  found.  The  two  great  river-systems  of  the 
Indus  and  the  Ganges  are  separated  by  no  marked  ranges,  and  the  rise 
from  the  sea-level  to  the  watershed  is  very  gradual,  a  slight  change  in 
elevation  would  suffice  to  turn  the  upper  waters  of  one  into  the  other. 
Such  changes  have  probably  occurred  in  times  past.  The  Plain,  as  a 
whole,  belongs  apparently  to  the  Eocene  period,  antecedent,  therefore,  to 
the  formation  of  the  Himalaya,  which  was  upheaved  in  later  Tertiary 
times.  The  close  resemblance,  however,  in  the  outline  of  these  two 
geographical  features,  seems  to  indicate  that  the  depression  of  the 
plain  is  related  to  the  upheaval  of  the  mountains.  The  Central  Belt  of 


India  473 


hilly  country  shows  three  systems  of  gneiss,  overlaid  with  transitional 
rock  succeeded  by  the  Palaeozoic,  possibly  pre-Silurian,  formation  of 
the  upper  and  lower  Vindhya,  from  which  the  older  rock  is  sharply 
demarcated  towards  the  east,  but  less  well  denned  westwards.  The 
sandstone  and  shale  of  this  formation  is  remarkable  for  its  entire  freedom 
from  fossils.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Gondwana  series  eastward  and 
southward  of  the  Vindhya,  contains  vegetable  remains  of  considerable 
interest  and  value,  while  the  portion  towards  Bengal  ends  in  the  coal- 
bearing  strata  known  as  the  Damodar  series.  The  series  is  interesting, 
too,  from  its  containing  marks  of  glacial  action,  which  one  would  not 
expect  to  find  at  comparatively  low  elevations  within  the  tropics.  The 
greater  part  of  the  Dekkan  is  occupied  by  the  basaltic  formation  of  the 
Cretaceous  period,  known  as  the  Dekkan  Trap,  some  of  which  is  more 
than  6,000  feet  thick.  The  denuded  edges  of  the  flows  form  some  of  the 
most  prominent  hill  ranges,  and  the  scarped  tops  have  been,  from  time 
immemorial,  utilised,  with  the  aid  of  a  few  wings  and  flanking  walls,  as 
forts  of  vast  extent,  and,  in  the  days  of  short-range  artillery,  of  no  incon- 
siderable strength.  The  disintegrated  basalt,  weathered  out,  forms  the 
fertile  black  soil  to  which  the  Dekkan  owes  its  repute,  in  parts,  as  a  cotton 
and  wheat-growing  tract.  From  the  point  where  the  Ghats  approach  the 
sea,  on  the  west,  the  basalt  is  fringed,  and  in  some  places  overlaid,  by 
laterite,  and  the  same  feature  is  found  also  along  the  greater  part  of  the 
east  coast,  south  of  the  Mahanadi  delta. 

In  Burma,  the  early  Tertiary  prevails  in  Arakan,  or  along  the  northern 
coast.  Between  the  Irawadi  and  the  Sittang  rivers  the  formation  changes 
to  Miocene,  with  fossil  vegetation  of  probably  the  Pliocene  or  newer 
Tertiary,  in  the  western  portion  of  that  tract.  Tenasserim  differs  from  the 
rest  of  Burma  in  its  formations.  In  the  north  is  the  lower  Carboniferous  ; 
in  the  centre,  Silurian ;  and  in  the  south,  probably  Tertiary,  and  also  coal- 
bearing. 

Minerals. — The  mineral  resources  of  India,  although  of  little  im- 
portance in  comparison  with  those  above  ground,  are  not  scanty.  Coal 
exists  in  large  fields  in  the  Damodar  valley  of  western  Bengal,  where 
it  is  in  good  demand  for  the  railway ;  in  the  Narbada  valley  it  is 
being  worked  for  local  use  ;  there  are  fields  too  in  the  hilly  country 
of  Chutia  Nagpur,  south  of  the  Ganges  valley,  which  have  not  yet 
been  fully  explored,  and  finally,  attention  has  been  directed  to  a  supply 
in  the  South  Godavari  valley.  Beyond  this,  the  peninsula  is  coalless. 
Small  fields  of  excellent  quality,  however,  have  been  lately  discovered  and 
worked  in  the  far  north-east  of  Assam.  Iron  is  found  in  considerable 
purity  in  the  coal-bearing  tracts  of  Bengal,  and  near  Salem  in  the  Madras 
Presidency,  but  it  is  little  worked  because  of  the  want  of  limestone  within 
easy  range  for  smelting.  Gold  exists  in  small  quantities  in  the  valleys 
of  the  Himalaya  and  the  Central  Belt,  where  it  is  washed  by  a  few  of  the 
lowest  classes.  In  Mysore  it  is  more  plentiful.  Tin  is  confined  to  the 


474       The   International  Geography 


south  of  Burma,  and  copper  and  lead  chiefly  to  the  Himalaya.     The  plains 
of  North  Bihar  yield  a  good  deal  of  saltpetre.     Salt  is  both  dug  from  the 

rock  in  the  western  Panjab,  and  obtained 
by  evaporation  along  the  coasts  and  from 
the  brine  lakes  in  Rajputana.  Rubies  are 
still  found  in  a  small  tract  in  Upper  Burma, 
but  the  diamond  of  India,  though  known  to 
legend,  is  now  scarcely  extant.  Petroleum, 
the  use  of  which  for  lighting  and  lubricating 
has  largely  increased,  in  India  during  the 
last  twenty  years,  is  found  chiefly  in  Burma, 
upper  Assam,  and  parts  of  the  Panjab,  but 
does  not  yet  compete  successfully  with  the 
imported  supply. 

Climate. — The  peninsula  lies  wholly 
south  of  the  tropic,  whilst  the  continental 
portion  of  India  stretches  nearly  14°  to  the 
north  of  it.  The  range  of  temperature  is 
accordingly  very  wide.  (See  isotherms  of 
Asia,  Figs.  228,  229,  230.)  Along  the  coasts 
it  is  high  but  equable  throughout  the  year, 
and  the  air  is  charged  with  moisture.  Inland, 
the  plateaux  show  a  wider  annual  range, 
and  are  dry  and  hot  during  one  part  of  the 
year,  dry  and  cold  during  another,  with  a 
comparatively  short  interval  of  warm  wet 
weather.  Except  along  the  coasts,  therefore, 
the  mean  annual  temperature  is  a  meteoro- 
logical figure  of  little  significance  in  the  life 


F- 

JAM. 

«, 

MAI  API.  MAY.  Ju«  Jji  .  AM.  SCP.  COT.  Nov.  OiS      •• 

00 
85 

^ 

q 

--•  ^ 

-> 

*-.. 

•*•*, 

29 

=^=28 

80 
75 
70 

^ 

!^27 

25 

23 

21 

19 

:j'         . 

_ 

•?:? 

1 

":"" 

"£•/! 

Jii.  o 

COCHIN  TRICHINOPOLI  

FIG.  244. — Temperature  and  Rain- 
fall of  Cochin  and  Trichinopoli. 


of  the  people,  and  the  extreme  range  between  the  mean  of  the  warmest 
and  of  the  coolest  month  is  a  factor  of 
importance.  This  range,  in  upper  Sindh,  is 
as  great  as  30°  F.  in  the  year ;  in  the  Panjab, 
27°,  and  in  the  Dekkan,  25° ;  whilst  in  Cal- 
cutta it  is  but  16°,  falling  along  the  west 
coast  to  12°.  The  variations  in  the  annual 
rainfall  are  still  more  remarkable.  Through- 
out India  the  fall  is  periodic,  and  the 
prevailing  influence  is  the  air-current,  or 
monsoon,  which  sets  in  from  the  Indian 
Ocean  about  May,  lasting  until  the  middle 
or  end  of  September.  The  direction  of  this 

air  -  current,  determined  by  the  updraught     FIG.  245. — Temperature  and  Rain- 
caused  by  the   heated  surface  of  the  con- 
tinent, is  from  the  south-west. 


r*  «w.Fti.  MAI  AM.MAT.JIM.JM.AW  Sir.teT.lov.Dfe.   1- 

— 

12 
11 
10 

0 

^ 

*> 

X, 

80 

80  '  r~ 

~T 

>'/ 

->, 

- 

2s 

Vt 

76 

/ 

/ 

\ 

\ 

65  / 

/ 

I 

"  — 

\ 

\ 

66// 

J 

\ 

45 

- 

— 

— 

iUti! 

~~ 

—' 

*°   MUUTAN  

CALCUTTA  

fall  ofMidtan  and  Calcutta. 

Its  strength  appears   to  depend  to  a 


India 


475 


considerable  extent  upon  the  snowfall  upon  the  immense  mountain  system 
of  the  north,  the  cooling  influence  of  the  heavy  fall  tending  to  weaken 
the  force  of  the  moisture-bearing 
wind  as  it  approaches  the  wall  of 
the  Himalaya,  which  bars  its  further 
progress.  Before  reaching  this, 
however,  it  has  to  encounter  the 
serious  resistance  of  the  Ghats, 
directly  across  its  main  direction, 
depriving  it  of  a  considerable  pro- 
portion of  its  moisture  in  favour  of 
the  coast  strip,  to  the  detriment  of 
the  highland  of  the  Dekkan  imme- 
diately to  the  east  of  the  impedi- 
ment. Access  to  the  plains  of  the 
southern  part  of  the  Gangetic  sys- 
tem is  afforded  by  the  wide  valleys 


of  the  Tapti  and  Narbada,  and  the 


FIG.  246. — Rainfall  of  India  during  South- 
West  Monsoon. 
main   air-current,  which  does  not 

reach  the  plains  of  north-western  India  direct,  is  deflected  and  condensed 
in  its  attempt  to  surmount  the  almost  vertical  expanse  of  from  5,000  to 
14,000  feet  of  perennial  snow  presented  by  the  Himalaya.  A  second 
branch  of  the  same  air-current,  however,  finds  its  way  up  the  Bay  of 
Bengal,  and,  after  bestowing  a  plentiful  watering  to  the  low-lying  fields 
of  the  great  Delta,  and  on  the  plains  of  Lower  Burma,  meets  the  Assam 
range  of  mountains  in  full  force,  resulting  in  an  annual  fall  of  little  less 

than  500  inches,  and  establishing 
on  one  occasion  the  "record"  fall 
of  805  inches.  Later  in  the  year, 
a  sort  of  reaction  sets  in,  and  this 
part  of  India  receives  the  downfall 
of  a  north-eastern  air-current,  which 
extends  along  the  east  coast  nearly 
to  Cape  Comorin,  supplying  the 
deficiency  left  by  the  exhaustion  of 
the  south-western  monsoon  in  its 
course  over  the  Dekkan  plateau.  In 
the  north-western  corner,  again,  the 
same  result  follows  in  the  winter 
months  over  the  Panjab  and  the 
upper  Jamna  and  Ganges  valleys, 

FIG.  247.— Rainfall   of  India   during  North-    but    the    air.current    is    slight   and 
Last  Monsoon.  P 

local.     Thus  the  central  plains  of 

both  continental  and  peninsular  India  lie  on  the  edge  of  the  air-currents, 
and  are  liable,  accordingly  to  receive  too  little  rain  whenever  any  of  the 


47 6       The  International  Geography 

winds  is  of  less  than  the  average  strength.  To  these  tracts  the  name 
of  Zones  of  Uncertain  Rainfall  is  given,  and  it  is  here  that  the  liability 
to  famine  is  most  marked.  In  contrast  to  the  meteorological  conditions 
prevailing  in  north-eastern  India,  the  western  portion  of  the  continental 
division  of  the  country  is  all  but  rainless,  and  cultivation  has  to  depend 
entirely  upon  artificial  irrigation  beyond  the  reach  of  the  annual  inundation 
of  the  Indus,  due  to  the  melting  of  the  snow  on  the  Himalayan  sources  of 
the  main  stream  and  its  large  tributaries.  Thus,  the  annual  range  of 
temperature  varies  inversely  as  the  rainfall,  and  the  two  together  exercise 
an  important  influence  on  the  general  social  and  economical  development 
of  the  population. 

Flora. — The  exceptional  power  of  this  climatic  influence  in  India 

depends  on  the  fact  that  the  natural  resources  are   principally  on   the 

surface  of  the  soil,  and  to  a  comparatively  small  degree  in  its  depths. 

From  the  earliest  ages,  agriculture  has  been  the  hereditary  and  traditional 

occupation  of  the  great  bulk  of  the  population,  and  at  the  present  day 

about  three-fourths  of  the  inhabitants  of  India  are  directly  dependent  upon 

it.    To  provide  for  the  subsistence  of  nearly  three  hundred  millions,  all  the 

more  fertile  plains  and  much  of  the  less  favoured  tracts  have  been  gradually 

pressed  into  the  service  of  man.     The  forest  wealth,  accordingly,  which  is 

considerable,  has  been  gradually  restricted  to  the  broken  and  hilly  ground 

in  Central  India,  along  the  chief  mountain  ranges,  and  in  the  river  valleys 

of  Burma.      There  the  more  valuable  timber-producing  tracts  have  been 

taken  under  the  protection  of  the  State  and  administered  as  profit-yielding 

estates.     Elsewhere,  with  due  regard  to  the  demands  of  the  population  for 

coarse  timber  and  firewood,  as  well  as  to  the  climatic  influence  attributed 

to  forests,  areas  under  vegetation    are    protected  against    the   reckless 

destruction  habitually  wrought  by  the  Indian  peasantry.     Of  the  timber  of 

India  the  most  widely  used  is  the  teak  (Tectona  grandis),  the  best  of  which 

is  found  in  the  forests  of  Lower  Burma  and  along  the  Ghats,  from  Kanara 

to  Travancore.     It  flourishes,  too,  though  on  a  smaller  scale,  throughout 

the  western  portion  of  the  Central  Belt  of  hills.     Along  with  the  teak  may 

be  mentioned  the  sandal  and  blackwood  (Sissu  Dalbergia),  more  useful  in 

ornamental  work  than  as  timber,  but  in  their  way,  of  equal  value.     The 

place  of  the  teak  is  taken  in  the  east  of  the  Central  Belt  and  along  the 

northern  parts  of  the  Gangetic  valley,  by  the  sal  (Shorea  robusta) ;  in  the 

Himalaya,  by  the  deodar  and  other  cedars  ;  and  in  the  western  ranges,  by 

conifers  of  larger  growth.     Various  kinds  of  oak  also  flourish  at  elevations 

over  5,000  feet  from  the  Panjab  to  Bhutan.      In  the  dry  tracts  of  the  west, 

little  but  a  few  varieties  of  hardy  acacia  and  tamarisk  can  withstand  the 

long  periods  of  drought.     The  marshy  region  of  the  Gangetic  delta,  on  the 

other  hand,  has  developed  its  own  growth   in   sufficient  luxuriance  to 

supply  the  markets  of  all  the  adjacent  country,  as  well  as  the  metropolis. 

Midway  between  the  extremes,  the  forests  of  Assam  and  Malabar  present 

typical  pictures  of  the  rich  and  varied  vegetation  generally  associated  with 


India  477 


the  tropics.  There  are  three  kinds  of  tree  which,  though  useless  as  timber, 
are  more  widely  distributed  than  any  of  the  above,  and  of  incalculable 
popular  utility.  First,  the  bamboo,  which  attains  its  largest  growth  in  the 
damp  forests  of  Assam,  Burma,  and  the  Ghats,  but  which  is  seen  to  some 
extent  even  in  the  upland  regions.  Secondly,  the  mango,  the  most  popular 
fruit  tree  of  the  country,  and  finally,  the  large  and  varied  class  of 
palms,  including  the  coco-nut,  which  fringes  the  western  coast  from 
Bombay  to  the  southern  point  of  Ceylon,  the  palmyra  of  the  more 
northerly  tracts  of  fairly  heavy  rainfall,  and  the  various  date  and  other 
palms  of  the  dry  tablelands  and  the  upper  Ganges  valley.  In  some  tracts 
the  house  and  nearly  every  domestic  utensil  is  made  of  bamboo.  In 
others  several  of  the  lower  labouring  classes  trust  largely  to  the  fruit 
of  the  mango  for  food  between  the  harvests.  The  palm  tribe  supplies 
matting  from  its  crown  of  branches,  fruit  from  the  coco-nut,  fibre  for 
mats  and  ropes  from  the  husk.  The  palmyra  provides  an  effective  thatch 
against  the  heavy  rain,  whilst  nearly  every  palm  supplies  a  plentiful  out- 
pouring of  juice,  used  fresh,  as  a  morning  stimulant,  or  fermented,  as  an 
evening  consolation. 

Animals. — Of  the  animals  of  India,  the  first  place  must  be  given  to 
horned  cattle.  Except  in  the  desert  and  Sindh,  where  the  camel  pre- 
dominates, and  in  the  damp  climate  of  the  deltas  and  parts  of  the  coast, 
where  the  buffalo  thrives,  all  field  operations  requiring  draught  labour, 
and  the  whole  of  the  transport  by  road  are  done  by  the  various  breeds  of 
humped  cattle  ;  and  milk  being  one  of  the  most  important  articles  in  the 
diet  of  an  otherwise  almost  vegetarian  peasantry,  the  cow  is  seldom  absent 
from  even  the  poorest  household,  and  is  well  entitled  to  rank  as  the  sacred 
animal  of  the  Brahmanic  religion.  The  horse  is  found  in  general  use,  though 
for  riding  only,  in  the  west  of  the  continental  part  of  India,  in  the  Dekkan, 
and  in  Burma  and  its  neighbourhood.  A  very  fine  breed  of  the  wild  ass  is  still 
extant  on  the  salt  plains  of  western  India,  though  in  very  small  numbers, 
and  the  domesticated  variety,  though  numerous  enough,  is  relegated  to  the 
humblest  duties,  and  shows  no  sign  of  rising  in  either  breed  or  estimation. 
The  sheep  is  kept  chiefly  for  its  wool,  and  the  most  prevalent  variety  is 
probably  of  foreign  origin.  In  the  Himalaya  alone  wild  species  of 
great  size  and  remarkable  spread  of  horn  are  found,  affording  much  labour 
and  interest  to  adventurous  sportsmen.  The  elephant  is  found  wild  in  the 
hills  of  the  north-east,  and  in  parts  of  the  forest  land  of  the  south-western 
Ghats.  It  can  now  only  be  caught  under  the  license  of  the  State,  and, 
except  for  purposes  of  pageant  at  the  courts  of  native  chiefs,  its  use  is 
principally  confined  to  draught  and  transport  in  military  operations.  In 
the  forest  tracts  of  Burma,  however,  and  in  Assam,  it  is  almost  a  domestic 
animal. 

Of  the  purely  wild  animals  of  India,  the  tiger  is  the  best  known,  and 
is  found  in  most  wooded  tracts,  though  in  greatest  abundance  in  the 
sub-Himalayan  forests,  the  marshes  of  the  Gangetic  delta,  and  the  hill 


478       The  International  Geography 

country  of  Central  India.  With  its  smaller  but  more  plentiful  relative, 
the  panther,  it  is  responsible  for  the  death  of  about  1,200  human  beings 
and  over  60,000  cattle  per  annum,  in  the  British  provinces  alone.  The 
various  kinds  of  snakes,  viperine  and  colubrine,  kill  about  20,000  persons 
and  4,000  cattle  every  year.  The  lion  is  now  extinct  except  for  the 
almost  maneless  variety  found  in  small  numbers  in  the  southern  hills  of 
the  peninsula  of  Kathiawar.  The  only  small  wild  animals  that  need  be 
mentioned  are  the  jackals,  because  by  them,  along  with  their  feathered 
compeers,  the  kites  and  vultures,  and  their  subterranean  allies,  the  termites, 
erroneously  called  white  ants,  the  work  of  the  scavenger,  which  would 
otherwise  be  left  mainly  to  atmospheric  chance,  is  rapidly  and  efficiently 
performed. 

Races  of  People. — In  no  equal  area  is  there  found  a  population  of 
nearly  300  millions  divided  to  such  an  extent  into  distinct  and  inde- 
pendent communities,  owning  no  brotherhood  of  religion,  language, 
race,  or  social  intercourse.  A  false  impression  of  homogeneity  is  some- 
times received  by  assuming  that  race  in  India  is  co-extensive  with  creed, 
and  that  the  titles  of  Hindu  and  Musalman,  accordingly,  denote  distinct 
races.  Thus,  the  three-fourths  of  the  population  called  "  Hindus,"  are 
held  to  be  a  solid  mass,  indigenous  to  India,  while  all  others  are 
foreign.  The  term  Hindu,  however,  is  not,  any  more  than  the  word 
India,  recognised  by  the  people  themselves ;  it  is  simply  a  comprehen- 
sive way  of  grouping  the  almost  innumerable  sects  and  communities 
which  do  not  profess  a  more  definite  creed,  but  which  have  adopted  a 
certain  system  of  social  organisation  based  upon  the  supremacy  of  a 
priestly  caste,  the  Brahmans,  and  it  includes  many  different  races  within 
the  fold. 

The  race  basis  of  Indian  society  is  to-day,  as  it  was  in  the  dawn  of 
history,  a  short,  swarthy,  and  stalwart  population,  the  origin  of  which  is 
unknown.  Its  direct  and  probably  pure-bred  descendants  live  in  the  hills 
and  forests  of  Central  India,  the  north-east  coast,  and  among  the  moun- 
tains of  southern  India,  under  numerous  tribal  designations,  but  similar  in 
life,  customs,  and  types  of  language.  Traces  of  their  blood  run  through  all 
the  population  of  the  open  country,  though  disguised  by  the  lapse  of  many 
generations  of  different  physical  and  economical  conditions.  The  first 
dispossession  of  these  dark  races  of  which  we  have  any  record,  was  by 
some  fair-skinned  tribe  calling  themselves  by  the  generic  title  of  Arya, 
from  the  west  of  Central  Asia.  They  occupied  the  great  plains,  enslaving 
the  dark  races  or  driving  them  to  the  hills.  The  northern  peninsulas  of 
Kachh  and  Kathiawar,  on  the  west  coast,  Berar  and  parts  of  the  Dekkan,  as 
well  as  Orissa,  on  the  east,  were  also  colonised  by  this  race,  but  it  does  not 
appear  that  they  established  themselves  in  force  further  to  the  south  or  east, 
and  in  the  present  day  it  is  only  in  the  upper  Ganges  valley,  in  Rajputana 
and  the  north-western  coast  of  the  peninsula,  that  a  comparatively  pure 
Aryan  stock  is  to  be  found.  Following  upon  the  immigration  of  the  Arya, 


India  479 


and  within  historic  times,  other  races  of  Central  Asia,  known  to  the  Greeks 
as  Scythians,  sweeping  down  from  the  north,  have  left  their  mark  on  the 
population  of  the  Panjab  and  its  vicinity.  Similarly,  the  valleys  of  the 
Brahmaputra  and  Irawadi  have  respectively  been  the  guiding  lines  of  im- 
migration from  eastern  Asia,  but  the  Mongoloid  tribes  of  the  north-east 
did  not  penetrate  as  settlers  far  beyond  the  outer  fringe  of  the  great 
plains,  and  found  a  congenial  resting-place  in  Burma  and  Siam.  The  yellow 
type,  with  the  obliquely-set  eye  and  high  cheekbone,  dominates  the  whole 
of  the  southern  slopes  of  the  Himalaya,  as  well  as  the  interior  of  the  great 
mountain  system,  and  has  left  traces  in  the  population  of  eastern  Bengal. 
In  Burma,  as  in  India  proper,  a  squat,  dark  race  has  been  displaced  and 
driven  from  the  plains  to  the  hills  and  forests  by  a  northern  invader  of 
superior  civilisation.  All  these  races  profess  religions  which,  whether 
Brahmanic,  Buddhistic,  or  of  more  primitive  type,  are  indigenous  to 
India.  Of  the  imported  forms  of  faith  only  the  smaller,  such  as  the 
Israelite  and  the  Parsi,  are  co-extensive  with  a  race  distinction,  the  rest, 
such  as  the  Christian  and  the  Musalman,  having  been  chiefly  recruited 
within  India  itself.  The  Parsi  community,  though  spread  in  small  numbers 
nearly  all  over  the  country,  is  mainly  domiciled  in  and  to  the  north  of 
Bombay,  and  numbers  but  90,000  souls  in  the  whole  empire.  Of  Jews 
there  are  three  small  communities,  two  of  which  have,  in  course  of  time, 
assimilated  much  native  stock.  All  of  these,  again,  are  denizens  of  the 
west  coast.  The  2|-  millions  of  Christians  comprise  over  two  millions  of 
Indian  converts,  of  whom  i£  million  are  the  descendants  of  those  baptized 
by  the  Portuguese  of  the  i6th  century ;  about  160,000  are  Europeans,  and 
the  rest  of  mixed  breed.  The  invasions  of  Upper  India  from  the  north- 
west have  left  behind  them  a  fair  sprinkling  of  Afghan  and  Moghal  blood, 
especially  on  the  frontier  and  round  the  former  capital  cities  of  Delhi, 
Lahore  and  Lucknow.  But  the  bulk  of  the  60  million  Musalmans  consists 
of  local  converts  from  the  system  loosely  known  as  Hinduism,  and  the 
titles  assumed  by  many,  implying  an  Arabic  or  Moghal  origin,  bear  no 
relation  to  actual  descent. 

Languages. — The  influences  which  merged  race  in  race  and  largely 
reduced  religious  systems  to  the  semblance  of  a  few  uniform  creeds  have 
not  availed  to  break  down  the  barrier  of  diversity  of  language,  which,  with 
the  system  of  caste,  keeps  apart  the  chief  communities  of  India.  Here, 
again,  comprehensive  classification  tends  to  leave  a  false  impression  of 
uniformity.  For  instance,  the  group  of  languages  which  from  their 
structure  and  vocabulary  are  included  under  the  general  title  of  the 
"inflectional"  or  Indo-Aryan  type,  comprises  more  than  three-fourths  of 
the  population,  but  the  sixteen  or  seventeen  main  items  into  which  the 
group  is  subdivided,  such  as  Hindi,  Bengali,  Marathi,  Gujarati,  Panjabi, 
&c.,  represent  tongues  so  different  that  the  communities  which  use  them 
are  unintelligible  to  each  other.  It  is  the  same,  in  a  less  degree,  with 
the  fifth  of  the  population  speaking  Tamil,  Telugu,  Kanarese,  and  other 


480      The  International  Geography 

languages  of  the  Southern,  or  Dravidian,  "  agglutinative "  type,  and  in 
a  still  greater  measure  with  the  comparatively  small  group  of  the  more 
markedly  agglutinative  tongues  known  as  the  Tibeto-Burman.  Speaking 
generally,  the  last  family  is  restricted  to  the  north-eastern  Himalaya 
and  Burma.  The  Indo-Aryan  family  holds  the  north-west,  the  great 
plains,  the  deltas,  and  the  west.  The  whole  of  the  south  is  Dravidian, 
whilst  between  this  group  and  the  Aryan  comes  the  small  agglutinative 
class  of  tribal  tongues  conveniently  known  as  Mundari.  Hindi  with  its 
dialects  is  the  mother  tongue  of  some  100  millions,  Bengali  of  45,  Telugu 
of  20,  Marathi  of  about  the  same  number.  Then  comes  Tamil  with  16, 
Panjabi  with  18,  Gujarat!  9,  Kanarese  10,  Uriya  9,  and  Burmese  with  7 
millions.  The  Mundari  family  is  dying  out  in  favour  of  Hindi,  and  now 
prevails  amongst  about  3  millions  only. 

Political  History.— Up  to  the  establishment  of  British  rule  the 
history  of  the  country  is  mainly  that  of  the  successive  domination  of  the 
different  races  or  sections  of  the  people  over  each  other,  tempered  with 
the  sometimes  short  and  sharp  experiences  of  foreign  invasion  from  the 
north-west,  entailing  a  reconstruction  of  the  political  map  with  almost 
kaleidoscopic  rapidity  and  completeness.  The  introduction  of  the  Aryan 
element  at  an  early  period  was  the  result  not  of  invasion,  but  of  gradual 
occupation  and  expansion,  covering  many  generations,  and  its  social  and 
religious  system  is  the  product  of  India  itself.  The  historic  acquisition  of 
the  Panjab,  about  500  B.C.,  by  Darius  I.  of  Persia,  and  the  subsequent 
overrunning  of  the  same  tract  by  Alexander  the  Great,  in  323  B.C.,  left  no 
trace  behind  them.  Shortly  after  the  departure  of  the  Macedonians,  a 
strong  man  arose,  by  name  Chandragupta,  who  laid  the  foundations,  after- 
wards largely  extended  by  Ashoka,  his  grandson,  of  an  Indian  Empire. 
The  personal  element,  as  in  all  Asiatic  monarchies,  was  the  keystone  of 
the  edifice,  and  in  a  short  time  the  outskirts  of  the  kingdom  fell  away.  The 
more  important  of  the  foreign  invaders  who  succeeded  were  evicted  after 
a  few  generations  of  power  by  Indo-Aryan  chiefs  from  the  Gangetic 
plain,  or  were  gradually  absorbed  into  the  Brahmanic  system.  The  south 
of  the  peninsula  never  fell  to  either  Aryan  or  Scythian  domination,  but  the 
dark  races  assimilated  the  teaching  and  religion  of  the  higher  race,  which 
approached  them  as  missionaries  and  advisers.  The  next  period  of  political 
importance  is  that  of  the  invasions  of  the  Musalmans  of  Afghanistan  from 
the  tenth  century  after  Christ.  At  first  little  attention  was  paid  to  per- 
manent occupation.  Then,  Jenghiz  Khan  passed,  ravaged,  and  retired. 
Timur  did  little  more,  but  left  a  claim  which  his  descendant,  Babar,  made 
good,  establishing  on  it  the  Moghal  Empire,  which,  at  its  height,  extended 
to  the  southern  limits  of  the  Dekkan.  The  great  administrative  ability  of 
Akbar,  the  contemporary  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  made  the  Moghal  control 
effective  throughout  his  domain,  but,  as  in  all  Oriental  rule,  the  limbs  were 
loosely  knit  to  the  trunk  ;  the  central  power  decreased  with  distance  from 
the  Court  at  Delhi,  and  the  Emperor's  deputies  one  by  one  asserted  inde- 


India  481 


pendence.  Continual  religious  persecution  welded  the  Sikhs,  originally  no- 
more  than  a  dissenting  sect  of  Hindus,  into  a  military  and  political  com- 
munity of  the  best  fighting  material  in  the  country,  and  when  a  suitable 
leader  was  found  in  Ranjit  Singh,  the  Panjab  beyond  the  Satlaj  was  detached 
altogether  from  the  throne  of  Delhi.  Long  before  this,  however,  the  rule 
of  the  Moghal  had  been  almost  destroyed  by  the  upheaval  of  the  Maratha 
race  in  the  western  Dekkan.  The  warlike  and  predatory  instincts  of  this 
people  were  directed  towards  a  common  object  by  the  strong  man  of  the 
moment,  Shiwaji,  to  whose  standard  the  men  of  the  Ghats  and  plains 
alike  rallied  to  overrun  India  from  Tanjore  to  Delhi,  and  to  establish  States 
under  their  own  chieftains  from  Kathiawar  in  the  west  to  Orissa  in  the 
east.  There  then  set  in  the  old  tendency  to  disintegration.  Chief  intrigued 
against  chief,  and  shifting  alliances  were  formed  and  broken,  reducing  the 
land  to  chaos.  Early  in  the  eighteenth  century,  the  rival  local  chiefs 
began  to  depend  less  on  combinations  amongst  themselves  than  upon 
the  co-operation  of  the  English,  or  French  settlements  on  the  coasts.  The 
departure  of  the  Europeans  from  a  policy  of  purely  commercial  develop- 
ment to  the  participation  in  Indian  dynastic  struggles  was  initiated  by 
the  French  ;  but  whilst  the  hold  of  that  nation  on  southern  India  waned, 
that  of  the  British  was  gradually  extended  from  the  coast  into  the  interior, 
as  the  Maratha  and  Moghal  authority  fell  to  pieces.  From  an  ally  to- 
be  made  use  of  in  local  disputes,  the  British  grew  to  be  the  arbiters  of 
the  differences  in  which  those  disputes  originated,  and  proceeded  to  the 
position  ©f  pacificator  general,  and,  finally,  of  paramount  ruler  throughout 
the  whole  of  the  peninsula  and  the  greater  part  of  the  Ganges  valley.  It 
is  a  remarkable  fact,  worth  noting  in  connection  with  this  aspect  of  the 
geography  of  the  country,  that  with  the  exception  of  the  chiefs  of  Rajputana, 
Kathiawar,  and  the  Malabar  coast,  not  one  of  the  principal  States  of  India 
is  ruled  by  a  dynasty  native  to  it.  It  must  also  be  borne  in  mind  that,  with 
the  same  exceptions,  most  of  these  States  are  only  the  mushroom  growth  of 
the  closing  years  of  the  eighteenth  century,  when  the  whole  of  India  was 
in  confusion  almost  amounting  to  anarchy.  Thus,  throughout  the  greater 
part  of  India,  the  political  history  of  the  last  century  and  a  half  has  been 
practically  that  of  the  replacement  of  a  precarious  and  recent  domination 
of  foreign  Asiatics  by  a  stronger  and  more  enduring  control  by  foreign 
Europeans.  Setting  aside  accretions  of  territory  within  the  confines  of  India 
proper,  the  British  Indian  Empire  comprises  important  acquisitions  by  con- 
quest during  the  latter  part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  such  as  the  Panjab, 
Sindh,  and  the  two  sections  of  Burma,  while  the  political,  as  distinguished 
from  the  administrative,  frontier  of  India  has  been  extended  by  negotia- 
tion, or  assertion  of  a  "  sphere  of  influence  "  over  parts  of  the  wild  country 
on  the  confines  of  Burma  and  China,  over  the  frontier  of  semi-independent 
territory  between  India  and  Afghanistan,  and  over  Baluchistan  and  the 
adjoining  Mekran  coast.  The  mutiny  of  1857  led  to  the  transfer  of  the 
administration  of  India  from  the  Honourable  East  India  Company  to 


482      The  International  Geography 

the  British  Crown  in  1858,  and  in  1877  India  was  declared  an  Empire. 
Government.—  The  link  between  the  authority  exercised  in  the 
Indian  Empire  and  that  vested  in  the  Sovereign  and  the  Government  of 
the  United  Kingdom  is  the  Secretary  of  State  for  India,  a  member  of  the 
British  Ministry,  aided  by  the  Council  of  India,  consisting  of  civil  and  military 
officers,  lawyers  and  merchants,  all  having  long  experience  of  India  in 
their  different  capacities.  Whilst  exercising  a  general  supervision  and 
control  over  the  administration,  the  Secretary  of  State  is  the  sole  respon- 
sible adviser  of  the  Government  of  the  day  on  all  questions  concerning 
India  with  which  that  Government  is  called  upon  to  deal.  The  actual 
government  of  the  Dependency  is  conducted  by  a  Governor-General, 
conventionally,  though  not  legally,  entitled  the  Viceroy,  who  is  aided  by  a 
Council  of  civil  and  military  officials,  in  Calcutta  or  Simla.  A  survival  of 
the  time  when  British  power  was  confined  to  the  peninsular  coasts,  and 
when  communication  between  distant  parts  was  difficult,  is  found  in 
Madras  and  Bombay,  the  heads  of  which,  with  their  Councils,  are  still 
appointed,  like  the  Governor-General,  directly  by  the 
British  Government.  The  more  recent  acquisitions, 
such  as  the  Panjab,  the  upper  Gangetic  valley,  known 
till  1901  as  the  North-West  Provinces  —  a  survival  of 
the  early  days  of  British  rule—  recently  changed  to  the 
more  appropriate  title  of  the  United  Provinces  (Agra 
and  Oudh),  the  newer  province  of  Upper  and  Lower 
FIG.  248^—  The  Star  of  Burma,  together  with  the  older  province  of  Lower 
India,  the  Badge  of  Bengal,  are  under  Lieutenant-Governors.  The  smaller 


^.  Divisions  o£  British  territory,  Assam,  the  Central  Pro- 
vinces, Coorg,  Ajmer  and  Berar,  and  the  North-  West  Frontier  Province, 
separated  from  the  Panjab  in  1901,  are  administered  by  a  Chief  Commis- 
sioner immediately  subordinate  to  the  Central  Government.  The  supreme 
legislative  authority  is  vested  in  the  Governor-General,  who,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  framing  laws,  appoints,  under  various  systems  of  nomination  and 
election,  a  number  of  local  advisers  from  the  provinces,  as  additional 
members  of  his  Council.  For  administrative  purposes  each  province  is 
subdivided  into  districts  of  unequal  area  under  a  single  officer.  In 
all  there  are  250,  with  a  mean  area  of  just  under  4,000  square  miles, 
and  an  average  population  of  nearly  900,000.  The  extremes,  however, 
range  from  Simla,  with  only  100  square  miles,  to  a  frontier  district  in 
Upper  Burma,  with  19,000,  and  from  a  population  of  19,000  on  the 
coast  of  Burma,  to  one  of  nearly  4  millions  in  Maimansingh,  near  the 
apex  of  the  great  Bengal  delta.  The  main  feature  in  the  administration 
is  the  insignificant  proportion  borne  by  the  European  element  to  the 
native  throughout  the  far-reaching  and  elaborate  system  under  which  a 
vast  and  illiterate  population  is  developing  its  own  civilisation,  protected, 
but  not  directed,  by  foreign  authority.  Taking  into  account  the  75,000 


India  483 


British  troops  and  all  the  professional  and  mercantile  population  of  that 
race,  the  proportion  is  one  Briton  to  3,000  Indians.  In  the  service  of  the 
State,  irrespective  of  the  800  British  officials  occupying  the  more  respon- 
sible posts,  and  the  whole  of  the  subordinate  staff,  which  is  Indian,  no  less 
than  97  per  cent,  are  natives  of  the  country.  Nearly  two-fifths  of  the 
territory  and  just  below  a  quarter  of  the  population  is  not  under  direct 
British  administration,  but  is  ruled  by  native  chiefs,  over  whom  the 
Government  exercises  the  authority  of  a  paramount  Power  only.  Speaking 
generally,  the  same  protection  against  usurpation  or  encroachment,  ^and 
the  same  obligation  of  loyalty  and  good  government  are  extended  to  the 
lord  of  a  dozen  villages,  who  happened  to  be  in  lawful  possession  when 
his  engagement  with  the  British  Government  was  concluded,  as  to  the 
ruler  of  the  twelve  millions  of  the  State  of  Haidrabad. 

Occupations  of  the  People. — The  conditions  that  make  this 
unprecedented  system  of  government  both  possible  and  suitable  to  the 
country  are  to  be  found  first  in  the  divergent  interests  and  aspirations  of 
sectional  rivals,  religious  and  racial,  which  are  repressed  by  strong  and 
impartial  administration,  and  then  in  the  economic 
distribution  of  the  population.  Not  merely  is  the 
overwhelming  majority  of  the  masses  of  India 
purely  agricultural,  but  by  the  character  of  the 
tenure  of  land  and  of  the  social  system  prevailing 
over  most  of  the  country,  it  is  also  attached  in  a 
remarkable  degree  to  its  birthplace.  The  bulk  of 
the  population  lives  in  villages,  a  term  which  in- 


cludes both  a  collection  of  dwellings  and  the  land  FIG.  249.— Average  popu- 
tilled  by  the  inhabitants,  each  forming  an  inde-  lation  of  a  square  mile 
pendent  community,  complete  in  itself,  even  to 

the  administration  of  its  own  affairs,  and  providing  subsistence  for 
both  its  cultivators  and  artisans.  Throughout  nearly  the  whole  country 
the  land  is  held,  either  nominally  or  in  practice,  by  peasant  proprietors, 
in  'small  holdings  with  security  of  tenure,  so  far  as  it  is  possible  for  the 
State  to  secure  it.  The  system  of  caste  restricts  in  most  cases  social  and 
industrial  ambition  within  very  narrow  limits,  and  this,  together  with  the 
diversity  of  language  and  climate,  tends  to  make  migration  to  more  favoured 
localities  a  matter  of  inconvenience  and  hardship,  rather  than  ot  advan- 
tage. Every  circumstance  in  the  village  life  is  discouraging  to  mobility, 
co-operation,  or  to  common  interests  of  a  public  character.  Stationary 
pursuits  accordingly  are  the  rule,  and  the  mass  of  the  people  is  engaged 
in  cultivation,  cattle  or  sheep  breeding,  fishing,  or  the  like  rural  occupations, 
and  no  more  than  5  per  cent,  is  attracted  into  aggregates  large  enough 
to  be  considered  as  towns.  Home  industries  are  largely  practised,  though 
the  custom  of  the  craftsman  does  not  usually  extend  beyond  the  village  to 
which  he  is  affiliated,  or  its  immediate  neighbourhood.  The  tradition  of  the 
delicate  work  to  which  Indian  art  owes  its  reputation,  still  survives,  but  these 


484  The  International  Geography- 
fine  products  never  entered  into  the  economic  life  of  the  masses,  and  throve 
only  upon  the  fitful  and  precarious  patronage  of  native  courts.  The  congre- 
gation of  the  workmen  into  factories  is  a  feature  of  the  present  generation, 
and  has  taken  strong  root  in  the  cotton  industry  of  the  west  coast  and  in  that 
of  jute  in  Calcutta  and  its  neighbourhood.  Cawnpore,  too,  in  the  upper 
Ganges  valley,  is  a  centre  of  both  cotton  and  leather  work.  Among  other 
modern  industries  which  have  attracted  a  fair  number  of  the  lower  classes 
are  the  tea  gardens  of  Assam,  the  Nilgiri  hills  and  the  sub- Himalayan 
region,  the  indigo  works  of  Behar  and  Oudh,  and  the  iron-smelting  and 
coal  mines  of  Bengal.  Agriculture,  however,  remains  the  mainstay  of 
the  country,  and  the  trading  classes,  spread  all  over  India,  rural  and 
urban,  are  chiefly  engaged  in  the  collection  and  distribution  of  field  pro- 
duce, accompanied,  in  nearly  every  case,  by  money-lending,  the  traditional 
function  of  their  class  in  the  east. 

Trade. — The  development  of  the  great  seaports  has  afforded  an  oppor- 
tunity to  the  upper  class  of  traders  of  which  they  have  been  quick  in 
availing  themselves.  Before  the  British  were  in  power,  the  foreign  export 
trade  of  India  consisted  chiefly  of  art  fabrics  or  luxuries,  valued  at  not 
more  than  a  million  sterling  per  annum.  It  has  since  expanded  amongst 
the  masses  in  place  of  the  comparatively  few,  and  the  peasant  profits,  not 
the  handicraftsman.  Its  annual' value,  excluding  treasure,  is  now  about 
1,200  millions  of  rupees,  or  over  80  millions  sterling.  The  items  vary  in 
proportion,  but  the  average  order  is  as  follows  :  Grain,  180  million  rupees 
(including  rice,  chiefly  from  Burma,  130  millions  ;  and  wheat,  from 
northern  India,  about  40  millions) ;  then,  raw  Cotton,  from  western 
India,  140  millions,  and  Oil  Seeds  about  170  millions ;  raw  Jute,  from 
Bengal,  no  millions;  Tea,  Opium,  hides  and  skins,  some  85  millions 
each.  Indigo  has  fallen  from  53  millions  in  1895  to  18  millions  in  1901, 
owing  to  the  successful  competition  of  artificial  products.  Lac  and  raw 
wool  follow  at  an  interval  which  varies  considerably  from  year  to  year. 
The  result  of  the  new  departure  in  manufacturing  industry  is  seen  in  an 
increasing  export  of  jute  goods  now  valued  at  about  80  million  rupees,  and 
of  cotton  yarn,  principally  to  China,  valued  at  about  50  millions,  with  half 
that  value  in  coarse  fabrics,  popular  in  East  Africa.  The  import  trade  has 
relatively  outstripped  the  export,  although,  owing  mainly  to  the  employ- 
ment of  British  capital  in  industrial  and  commercial  enterprise  and  the 
necessary  liquidation  in  England  of  part  of  the  cost  of  British  officials 
and  troops,  the  actual  value  of  the  imports  is  considerably  below  that  of 
the  exports.  Taking  the  sixty  years  ending  with  1896,  in  1836,  the  imports 
of  merchandise  were  30  per  cent,  of  the  total  and  39  per  cent,  at  the  end  of 
the  period,  the  rate  of  increase  having  been  930  per  cent,  in  the  exports,  and 
no  less  than  1419  in  the  imports.  The  latter  consist  largely  of  cotton  and 
woollen  piece  goods,  metal  and  hardware,  machinery,  railway  plant,  and 
luxuries  such  as  silk  and  sugar,  with  a  rapidly  increasing  demand  for 
mineral  oil,  European  clothing,  and  a  fairly  constant  market  for  British  coal. 


India 


485 


Communications. — In  former  days,  owing  to  the  want  of  protection 
and  the  heavy  and  frequent  transit  duties  levied  by  each  State  on  goods 
merely  passing  through  it,  but  little  use  was  made  of  the  seaports  by  the 
inland  countries.  The  improved  roads  are  now  freely  used,  and  the  great 
waterways  of  the  Ganges,  Brahmaputra  and  Irawadi,  and,  to  a  less 
extent,  the  lower  Indus,  are  crowded  at  certain  seasons  with  small  craft 
plying  between  the  coast  and  the  interior.  Trunk  roads  connect  all  the 
principal  towns,  and  in  the  Gangetic  valley,  Orissa,  and  further  south  on  the 
east  coast,  canals  have  been  opened  to  aid  local  traffic.  Thus,  for  short  dis- 
tances of  two  or  even  three  hundred  miles,  the  traditional  modes  of  transport, 
by  boat,  cart,  or  pack  animal,  still  hold  their  own.  The  most  important 
change  in  trade,  however,  has  been  wrought  by  the  development  of 
railways,  introduced  in  1854.  At  first  trunk  lines  were  constructed,  partly 
to  connect  the  four  or  five  chief 
cities,  partly,  also,  for  strategic 
purposes.  Branch  and  chord 
lines  followed,  first  for  trade 
purposes,  and  then,  again,  to 
bring  grain  within  reach  of  the 
tracts  liable  to  failure  of  harvest 
when  the  rainfall  was  unpro- 
pitious.  The  general  scheme 
has  now  been  nearly  com- 
pleted, except  in  Burma, 
Assam  and  Sindh,  where  links 
of  considerable  length  are 
still  under  construction.  The 
mileage  open  for  traffic  in 
March,  1901,  was  25,035. 
The  number  of  men  em- 
ployed in  1897  was  283,000, 
of  whom  4,660  were  British. 
It  was  once  held  that  for 
light  traffic  in  thinly  peopled 
districts,  or  where  the  ex- 
ports of  produce  are  not 
likely  to  be  heavy,  or  con- 
centrated into  a  few  months  of  the  year,  a  narrow  gauge,  lighter  and 
cheaper  than  the  standard,  would  be  sufficient ;  certain  spheres  or  tracts 
were  accordingly  assigned  to  be  served  by  the  narrow  gauge,  whilst  the 
main  arteries  of  foreign  commerce,  ending  at  the  principal  seaports,  are 
on  the  broader  gauge.  The  development  of  through  traffic,  however,  has 
led  to  the  linking  up  of  several  of  the  narrow-gauge  systems,  and  in  spite  of 
the  inconvenience  and  expense  of  transferring  goods,  at  the  junctions  with 
the  other  lines,  the  use  made  of  the  lighter  system  is  growing  with  the  rest. 


FIG.  250. — The  Railways  of  India  and  Ceylon. 


486       The  International  Geography 

Finally,  whilst  the  course  of  the  Ganges  and  Indus  is  closely  followed  by 
various  lines  of  rail,  the  same  rivalry  does  not  yet  exist  in  the  case  of  the 
Brahmaputra  and  Irawadi,  on  each  of  which,  accordingly,  passenger  and 
goods  steam-vessels  ply  throughout  the  year  for  many  hundred  miles.  Simi- 
larly, the  rugged  coast  between  Bombay  and  Goa  precludes  access  other- 
wise than  by  coasting  steamer.  Orissa,  till  recently  in  the  same  inconvenient 
position,  has  now  a  railway  approaching  completion  which  crosses  the 
swamps  which  formerly  interrupted  its  land  communication  with  Calcutta. 

Political  Divisions. — To  understand  the  political  subdivisions  of 
India,  one  must  remember  that  the  Empire  has  been  built  up  by  successive 
accretions,  and  that  in  all  territorial  demarcation  the  independent  exist- 
ence of  numerous  protected  States  scattered  over  the  country  had  to  be 
regarded.  The  boundaries,  therefore,  are  not  necessarily  in  accordance 
with  physical  or  linguistic  distinctions,  nor  are  they  always  such  as 
would  be  the  most  convenient  in  the  present  day.  Of  late  years,  how- 
ever, changes  have  been  made  for  administrative  purposes,  bringing  the 
various  charges  more  into  harmony  with  modern  conditions.  The  special 
features  of  urban  development  in  the  Indian  Empire  must  also  be  taken 
into  account.  The  natural  resources  of  the  country  not  being  such  as  to 
attract  people  into  large  aggregates  for  industrial  purposes,  and,  until 
within  the  last  century  or  so,  no  tendency  having  existed  towards  foreign 
trade,  the  towns  of  India  had  almost  all  a  political  origin  and  development. 
The  chief  gathered  together  his  forces  in  the  situation  most  convenient 
for  defence,  and  walled  them  in  with  the  same  object,  including  all 
the  civil  population  necessary  for  their  subsistence  and  comfort.  The 
position  was,  therefore,  usually  on  a  hill  or  river.  Occasionally,  at 
the  arbitrary  command  of  the  chief,  the  site  was  changed,  and  the 
whole  nucleus  of  the  town  transported  to  a  distance.  Under  the 
Moghal  rule,  the  main  conditions  were  the  same,  though  the  establish- 
ment was  somewhat  more  enduring.  The  life  of  the  place  waxed 
and  waned  with  the  fortunes  of  the  chief,  and  we  thus  find  in  different 
parts  of  the  country  vast  areas  covered  with  ruins,  and  large  cities  in  a 
state  of  decay,  due  to  the  supersession  or  fall  of  their  patron.  But  where 
the  chief  is  still  in  power,  the  old  conditions  are  maintained,  improved  by 
participation  in  the  modern  advantages  introduced  under  British  auspices. 
Irrespective  of  these  last,  the  most  progressive  cities  of  India  are,  first,  the 
seaports  established  under  British  rule,  then  the  smaller  towns  which  have 
profited  by  their  position  as  railway  centres,  and,  again,  those  which  have 
been  selected  for  military  stations.  The  present  tendency  seems  to  be  for 
a  town  to  decay  in  proportion  to  its  detachment  from  the  modern  or  com- 
mercial element  in  its  life,  and  to  rise  where  it  shows  a  spirit  of  adaptation. 

Bengal,  with  a  population  of  74,745,000  under  British  administration, 
and  3,7.00,000  under  petty  chiefs,  contains  four  well-defined  regions, 
(i)  Bengal  proper  consisting  of  the  Delta  and  the  low-lying  land  east  and 
north  of  it,  separated  by  hill  ranges  from  Burma  and  Assam.  (2)  the 


India — Bengal 


487 


FIG.  251. — Average  popu- 
lation of  a  square  mile 
of  Lower  Bengal. 


densely  peopled  plain  of  Bihar  to  the  north-west,  between  the  sub- 
Himalayan  forests  of  Nipal  and  the  Central  Belt  of  hills  which  divide  it 
from  the  valley  of  the  Mahanadi.  (3)  The  northern  section  of  that  belt, 
known  as  Chutia  Nagpur,  a  region  of  forest  and  tableland,  held  chiefly  by 
descendants  of  the  dark  races.  (4)  Orissa,  a  coun- 
try of  low  coast  backed  by  forest-clad  hills.  Politi- 
cally the  old  presidency  was  divided  in  1905  into 
Bengal  and  Eastern  Bengal  and  Assam. 

Nearly  the  whole  of  Bengal  may  be  said  to  be 
very  fertile ;  and,  though  parts  of  Bihar  lie  within 
the  zone  of  uncertain  rainfall,  the  density  of 
population  throughout  the  province  averages  nearly 
500  per  square  mile.  Except  in  the  dryer  tract 
of  northern  Bihar,  rice  is  by  far  the  predominant 
crop.  The  poppy  is  grown  for  the  preparation 
of  opium  in  the  same  tracts  as  wheat  and  indigo,  and  jute  is  a  favourite 
staple  in  the  north  and  east.  The  economic  position  of  the  province  of 
Bengal  differs  from  that  of  most  of  the  rest  of  India  in  the  existence  of 
a  large  class  of  landlords,  the  creation  of  the  early  British  administration, 
intervening  between  the  cultivator  and  the  State,  who  hold  their  estates 
at  a  quit-rent  fixed  at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century,  when  the  land 
lacked  both  labour  and  security  of  possession.  The  linguistic  distinc- 
tions of  Bengali,  Uriya,  and  Hindi,  together  with  the  large  Musalman 
element  in  Bihar  and  eastern  Bengal,  and  the  centralisation  of  business  and 
professional  employment  in  Calcutta, 
render  the  province  peculiarly  void  of 
cohesion. 

Towns  of  Bengal. — Calcutta,  the 
creation  of  an  early  generation  of 
British  "  adventurers,"  is  situated  some 
thirty  miles  up  the  Hugli  mouth  of 
the  Gangetic  system.  With  its  suburbs, 
it  contains  a  population  approaching  a 
million.  The  city  is  emphatically  mer- 
cantile, but  of  late  years  jute  and  paper 
manufactures  have  been  established  in 
the  neighbourhood,  whilst  the  residence 
of  the  Governor-General  and  the  large 
body  of  officials  surrounding  him 
materially  adds  to  the  population 
during  a  part  of  the  year.  The  other 
great  cities  of  Bengal  originated  in  the 
Musalman  occupation,  when  the  Deputy 
Governors  of  the  Moghal  became  practi- 
cally independent  chiefs.  Patna  rose  on  the  site  of  the  former  capital  of 


FIG.  252.— The  Site  of  Calcutta. 


488       The   International  Geography 

an  ancient  Buddhist  monarchy,  and  as  the  centre  of  a  large  and  Wealthy 
agricultural  tract  it  still  enjoys  a  certain  local  reputation.  In  this  it 
resembles  its  compeer  in  eastern  Bengal,  Dacca,  the  centre  of  a 
Musalman  population  almost  entirely  recruited  by  conversion  from  the 
dark  and  semi-Brahmanised  tribes  of  the  Delta.  Its  repute  for  the 
weaving  of  fine  muslins  has  died  out,  but  it  is  a  centre  of  collection 
and  distribution  for  Calcutta  and  the  nearer  port  of  Chittagong,  and 
thus  just  holds  its  own  against  decay.  The  next  large  town  is  Gayat 
in  South  Bihar,  a  centre  of  religion  for  the  Brahmans  in  the  present  day, 
as  it  was  for  the  Buddhists  in  times  of  yore.  Its  population  is  rising 
with  the  improved  railway  communication  with  the  trunk  lines.  Murshi- 
dabad,  the  later  Musalman  capital  of  the  province,  has  waned  to  a  small  local 
centre,  and  its  compeers,  Bhagalpur  and  Monghyr,  are  practically  stationary. 
Cuttack,  capital  of  the  Orissa  division,  maintains  the  rate  of  growth  pre- 
vailing in  the  rural  neighbourhood,  but  with  the  completion  of  the  new 
trunk  line  of  rail  from  the  east  coast  is  likely  to  take  a  higher  commercial 
position. 

The  United  Provinces  of  Agra  and  Oudh  include  the  upper 
valley  of  the  Ganges  and  a  small  portion  of  the  hill  region  of  the  Central 
Belt,  to  the  south,  and  of  the  Himalaya,  on  the  north.  The  population  of 
48^  millions,  including  800,000  under  petty  chiefs,  is  mostly  settled  on 
the  fertile  plains,  with  a  density  of  536  per  square  mile  in  Oudh,  and  an 
average  of  432  for  the  whole  province.  While  the  physical  conformation 
and  ethnographic  distribution  are  less  varied  than  those  of  Bengal,  there 
is  far  more  diversity  in  the  produce  of  the  soil.  Rice  gives  place  to  millets 
in  the  south  and  centre,  and  to  wheat  in  the  north  and  west,  varied  with 
pulse  and  cotton.  Towards  the  east  the  poppy  is  cultivated  to  a  con- 
siderable extent,  as  in  Bihar,  for  the  preparation  of  opium ;  indigo,  too, 
reappears,  and  rice  regains  a  part  of  its  importance.  The  western  and 
southern  tracts  of  the  province,  however,  are  within  the  zone  of  uncertain 
rainfall,  and  during  the  last  thirty  years  have  suffered  from  famine  severely 
on  four  occasions. 

Towns  of  the  North- West  Provinces. — The  number  of  small 
towns  is  above  the  average  of  India,  owing  mainly  to  the  number  of 
petty  chiefs  formerly,  and  in  later  years  to  the  assignment  of  large 
estates  for  colonisation  by  private  enterprise.  There  are  no  less  than 
six  large  cities.  Three  of  these  owe  their  situation  to  convenience 
of  access  to  the  sacred  river,  Mother  Ganges,  where  it  combines 
navigability  with  religious  merit.  Benares  heads  the  list,  and  main- 
tains its  rank  as  the  chief  religious  centre  of  the  Brahmans.  Cawn- 
pore,  though  in  the  midst  of  Hindu  traditions,  stands  now  in  the  van 
of  the  manufacturing  enterprise  of  upper  India.  The  Musalman  name 
of  Allahabad  has  been  adopted  for  the  Prayag,  or  Confluence,  of  the 
Hindus.  The  town  is  placed  at  the  junction  of  the  Ganges  and  her 
sacred  sister,  the  Jamna,  and  in  modern  times  has  been  popularised  as 


India — Panjab  489 

a  pilgrimage  centre  by  the  junction  of  the  trunk  railway  lines  from 
northern,  eastern  and  western  India.  In  the  same  way,  Agra,  one  of  the 
Moghal  capitals,  has  been  saved  from  decay  by  its  recent  connection  with 
the  western  railway  system  on  the  one  hand,  and  that  of  the  central 
Gangetic  valley  on  the  other.  A  second  town  originating  with  the  tem- 
porary dominion  of  a  local  Musalman  chief,  is  Bareli,  in  the  sub- Himalaya 
plain,  and  now,  like  Meerut,  both  a  railway  and  a  manufacturing  centre  of 
rising  importance,  not  unaided  by  the  addition  of  large  British  military 
settlements  in  the  suburbs.  Mirzapur,  on  the  other  hand,  which  once 
enjoyed,  from  its  position  on  the  Ganges,  a  large  through  trade  in  cotton 
and  a  considerable  local  weaving  industry,  is  decreasing  in  population. 
In  Oudh  the  caprice  of  a  local  chief  is  well  shown  in  the  establishment  of 
Lw&now,  a  city  with,  even  in  its  decadence,  over  a  quarter  of  a  million 
inhabitants,  in  supersession  of  its  neighbour,  Faizabad,  itself  an  adjunct 
of  the  Brahmanic  centre  of  Ajudhia,  on  the  Ghogra,  which  does  not  now 
contain  100,000  people.  The  industrial  arts  fostered  by  an  Oriental  court 
still  flourish  in  Lucknow,  owing  to  the  custom  of  the  surrounding  land- 
lords, and,  to  some  extent,  of  the  British  station,  which,  since  the  Mutiny, 
has  been  a  large  one.  In  the  north  of  the  province,  Moradabad  and 
Shahjehanpur  have  developed  a  considerable  industry  in  sugar. 

The  Panjab,  in  its  modern  extension,  comprises  not  merely  the 
valley  of  the  Indus  and  its  great  tributaries,  but  a  portion  of  the  Jamna 
system.  The  new  Frontier  Province  lies  to  the  west  of  the  Indus,  and 
contains  an  area  of  16,500  square  miles,  and  a  population  of  about 
2±  millions,  chiefly  Musalmans,  of  Pathan  or  Afghan  descent.  The  State 
of  Kashmir,  too,  has  been  confirmed  in  its  suzerainty  over  the  frontier 
chieftainships  of  the  Hindu  Kush  range  and  the  upper  Indus  valley. 
Thus  the  20  millions  directly  administered  by  the  British  Govern- 
ment is  increased  by  the  population  of  the  States  under  Sikh,  Musalman 
and  small  Hindu  chiefs  to  nearly  25  millions.  The  density  of  population 
is  greatest  in  the  plain  of  the  five  rivers.  The  Himalayan  valleys  and  the 
vast  plains  of  the  sparsely  watered  south-west  show  but  a  low  density,  and 
Kashmir  is  thickly  peopled  only  in  the  valley  of  that  name.  The  remarkable 
mixture  of  races  to  which  history  testifies,  has  been  to  all  practical  purposes 
eliminated  over  almost  the  whole  province  by  the  more  dominant  distinc- 
tion of  religion.  The  orthodox  Brahmanic  creed  flourishes  along  the 
Jamna  and  in  the  sub-Himalaya.  In  the  centre  of  the  plains  the  Sikh 
community  is  pre-eminent,  whilst  the  tendency  of  Islam  to  prevail  grows 
stronger  towards  the  west.  The  northern  origin  of  the  mass  of  the 
peasantry  is  apparent  in  their  superior  physique  to  the  men  of  other  pro- 
vinces, like  whom  they  are  mainly  cultivators,  with  a  special  system  of 
village  organisation.  Towards  the  south-west  the  absence  of  irrigation 
and  the  expanse  of  open  land  covered  with  coarse  grass  have  given 
importance  to  pasture  and  cattle-breeding  ;  but  elsewhere  the  autumn 
crop  supplies  the  millets  and  fodder  for  the  year,  whilst  the  spring  harvest 


490      The  International  Geography 

is  chiefly  composed  of  pulse  and,  above  all,  of  wheat  and  barley,  of  which 
the  frontier  province  is  one  of  the  principal  exporters. 

Towns  of  the  Panjab  and  Frontier.— Setting  on  one  side  the 
numerous  middle-class  towns  due  to  the  wheat  trade  and  to  the  extension 
of  railways  which  has  raised  it  to  importance,  the  larger  centres  of  the 
Panjab  are  of  peculiarly  modern  and  definite  origin.    Delhi,  no  doubt, 
stands  on  the  ruins  of  ten  cities,  one  over  the  other,  and  for  miles  round 
the  country  tells  the  tale  of  past  grandeur  and  decay ;  but  the  existing 
city,  the  only  one  associated  in  India  with  the  imperial  idea,  owes  its 
position  and  fame  to  the  Moghal  dynasties.    At  the  time  of  the  highest 
prosperity  of  that  line,  the  city  was  known  as  the  camp  of  the  Emperor, 
and,  when  he  moved  northwards  during  the  hot  season,  three-fourths  of 
the  population  migrated  with  him.     Delhi  has  now  begun  an  industrial 
career  on  European  lines,  which,  with  a  large  wheat  and  produce  market, 
and  direct  communication  with  all  parts  of  upper  India  by  rail,  ensures 
its  prosperity.    Multan  stands  exactly  where  a  city  always  has  stood  since 
history  began,  near  the  junction  of  the  five  rivers  with  the  Indus,  on  the 
edge  of  the  desert,  and  touching  the  border  land  between  upper  India  and 
Sindh.    Peshawar,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Khaibar  Pass,  has  in  like  manner 
been  selected  by  uncounted  generations  as  an  outpost  against  invasion. 
The  existing  town,  however,  now  the  capital  of  the  Frontier  Province,  is 
to  a  great  extent  the  creation  of  the  great  Sikh  chief,  Ranjit  Singh,  and, 
under  British  control,  contains  a  population  nearly  as  much  Central  Asiatic 
as  Indian  in  its  appearance  and  composition.    Lahore  is  still  what  Ranjit 
Singh  made  it,  the  political  capital  of  the  Panjab,  and  it  is  also  a  con- 
siderable railway  centre.    Amritsar  remains  the  head-quarters  of  the  Sikh 
religion,  and  is  a  place  of  industrial  note,  especially  in  textile  trades.     Its 
situation,  in  the  middle  of  a  fertile  plain,  as  well  as  its  sacred  reputation, 
probably  induced  the  Sikh  leaders,  when  they  had  established  a  military 
authority,  to  substitute,  as  their  centre,  a  more  defensible  position  on  the 
banks  of   the   Ravi.     The  modern  military  station  of  Ambala,  however, 
and  the  fortified  position  of  Rawalpindi,  stand  on  the  dry  plain.    The  Sikh 
States  lie  mostly  in  the  east  and  centre  of  the  province,  and  the  Musalman 
chief  of   Bhawalpur  rules  along  the  frontier  between  the  Panjab,  Raj- 
putana  and  Sindh. 

Sindh  was  placed,  on  its  acquisition  in  1844,  under  the  Government 
of  Bombay,  from  which,  however,  it  is  separated  geographically  by  a  band 
of  desert,  and  communication,  accordingly,  has  to  be  maintained  by  sea. 
It  is  bordered  on  the  west  by  a  line  of  barren  mountains,  and  on  the  east 
by  sand-hills  and  desert.  The  small  area  of  arable  land  in  the  latter 
tract  is  the  only  part  of  the  province  where  cultivation  is  dependent 
upon  the  rainfall,  which,  though  scanty,  suffices  for  the  light  crop  of 
millet  and  pulse  entrusted  to  it.  The  delta  receives  a  heavier  fall 
and  absorbs  a  considerable  amount  of  moisture  from  the  sea-vapour, 
but  the  rest  of  the  Indus  valley  and  its  neighbourhood  is  cultivated 


India — Bombay  491 

either  after  the  annual  inundation  or  by  means  of  artificial  irrigation  from 
the  great  river.  Rice  and  millets  are  the  main  crops,  but  wheat  is  now 
grown  to  an  increasing  extent  on  the  borders  of  the  Panjab.  In  this 
part  of  Sindh  the  climate  is  almost  rainless.  It  is  also  the  hottest  and  one 
of  the  coldest  in  the  country. 

Towns  of  Sindh. — The  opening  of  Karachi  harbour  has  attracted 
the  greater  part  of  the  produce  trade  of  north-western  India  with  foreign 
countries,  the  result  being  to  raise  the  population  more  than  58  per  cent,  in 
the  20  years  ending  with  1901.  Tatta,  the  old  capital  of  the  Indus  delta, 
has  fallen  into  decay.  Haidrabad,  at  the  apex,  hus  considerable  trade  and 
local  industries  are  active,  especially  since  road  and  rail  communication 
has  been  extended.  In  upper  Sindh,  the  old  commercial  capital,  Shikarpur, 
enjoys  a  reputation  far  beyond  what  its  size  would  imply,  since  it  contains 
a  relatively  large  population  of  merchants  who  for  generations  have  done 
business  as  far  as  the  Caspian,  Samarcand,  and  even  Moscow.  It  is  one 
of  the  comparatively  few  instances  in  India  of  a  town  being  established  and 
flourishing  upon  almost  entirely  commercial  considerations.  It  stands  in 
the  open  plain,  bordering  on  the  desert  which  has  to  be  crossed  before 
reaching  the  highways  leading  to  Kabul  and  Herat  respectively,  through 
Afghan  territory,  and  thus  constitutes  the  trade  complement  of  Kandahar. 
The  situation  of  Sakkar,  on  the  Indus  at  a  point  where  the  rocky  banks 
admit  of  its  being  bridged,  has  raised  the  town  to  a  new  position  ;  its 
business,  both  by  rail  and  river,  is  considerable,  and  its  strategic  import- 
ance in  excess  of  its  size.  The  population  of  Sindh,  over  3,200,000,  is 
otherwise  but  thinly  scattered  over  the  rural  tracts,  with  an  average  of 
no  more  than  68  to  the  square  mile. 

Bombay. — The  Province  of  Bombay  is  irregular  in  shape  and  distribu- 
tion, and  a  large  number  of  comparatively  small  protected  States  are 
scattered  throughout  British  districts,  especially  in  the  north  and  south. 
In  the  north  is  the  fertile  low-lying  tract  of  Gujarat,  rising  to  the  hill 
lands  of  the  central  plateaux.  Stretching  eastwards  from  this  lies  the 
productive  Tapti  valley,  as  far  as  the  confines  of  Berar  and  the  Central 
Provinces.  The  Konkan  forms  a  long  narrow  strip,  mostly  of  shallow  soil, 
along  the  coast,  as  far  as  the  nearest  approach  of  the  Ghats  to  the  sea,  in 
Kanara.  Above  this  lies  the  great  tableland  of  the  Dekkan,  of  which  the 
portion  within  this  province  is  about  200  miles  in  breadth,  with  a  soil 
fertile  in  the  lower,  or  depressed  situations,  light  and  shallow  in  the 
higher,  and  the  greater  part  exposed  to  an  unusual  extent  to  the  chance  of 
failure  of  rain.  As  the  rivers  derive  their  supply  entirely  from  the  south- 
western air-current,  the  same  cause  which  renders  irrigation  necessary  in  a 
bad  season  also  shortens  the  supply  of  water  in  the  reservoirs  formed  at 
the  heads  of  the  Ghat  valleys  to  feed  the  channels.  Hence  the  compara- 
tively frequent  occurrence  of  agricultural  distress.  The  linguistic  divisions 
of  the  province,  though  strongly  marked,  do  not  coincide  with  the 
geographical,  except  as  regards  Gujarat.  Marathi,  which  prevails  exclu- 
33 


492        The  International  Geography 

sively  over  the  Tapti  valley  and  the  Konkan,  and  also,  of  course,  in  its 
home,  the  northern  Dekkan,  fades  imperceptibly  into  Kanarese  towards  the 
south  and  south-east.  The  population,  especially  in  Gujarat,  is  remarkable 
for  its  relatively  high  proportion  of  the  trading  element,  and  merchants 
of  this  tract  are  found  plying  their  trade  all  over  the  west  and  south  of 
India,  and  even  venturing  to  Zanzibar,  Mauritius  and  Madagascar.  The 
mean  density  in  which  the  population  of  15  millions  is  distributed,  is 
just  over  201  per  square  mile.  The  people  subsist  on  the  cultivation  not 
only  of  millets,  rice,  wheat,  pulses,  and  other  food  crops,  as  in  most  Indian 
provinces,  but  also  of  cotton,  of  which  the  west  coast  and  Tapti  valley  have 
almost  a  monopoly  for  the  foreign  market.  The  commercial  character  of 

the  upper  classes  is  reflected 
in  the  unusually  high  pro- 
portion of  the  urban  popu- 
lation, which  reaches  20  per 
cent.,  or  more  than  double 
that  of  India  as  a  whole. 

Towns  of  Bombay. — 
Bombay,  the  business  capital 
of  the  province,  is  entirely  a 
British  creation.  Its  acqui- 
sition in  the  dowry  of  Cathe- 
rine of  Braganza  was  at  first 
hardly  appreciated  by  its 
new  owners,  Pepys  noting 
in  his  Diary  that  "  The  Portu- 
gals,  it  appears,  have  choused 
us  in  the  island  of  Bombaim." 
It  has  a  population  of  776,000, 
the  plague  having  killed  or 
scared  away  over  40,000  since 
1891.  Its  trade  goes  mostly 
by  the  Suez  Canal  to  the 
West,  or  by  Singapore  to  the  East,  with  a  rising  share  in  the  commerce  of 
southern  Arabia  and  east  Africa.  In  Gujarat  is  the  old  Musalman  capital, 
Ahmedabad,  now  a  military  station,  a  railway  centre  and  a  manufacturing 
town,  with  much  through  trade  in  cotton  and  wheat.  Surat,  the  first 
trading  centre  of  the  British  in  India,  has  ceased  to  be  a  seaport,  owing 
to  the  silting  up  of  the  mouth  of  the  Tapti.  Poona,  the  capital  of  the 
Maratha  power  under  the  Peshwa,  and  still  the  headquarters  during 
the  rainy  season  of  the  Provincial  Government,  retains  much  of  its  former 
character  in  the  absence  of  modern  trade-bustle  and  the  predominance  of 
the  Brahman  element.  Sholapur,  on  the  other  hand,  in  the  north-east  of 
the  Dekkan,  and  Hubli  in  the  south-west,  have  thrown  themselves  into  the 
stream  of  modern  progress,  and  set  up  large  cotton  factories  and  railway 


FIG.  253.— Site  of  Bombay. 


India — Central  Provinces          493 

works  respectively.  The  same  tendency  is  visible  in  several  of  the  smaller 
towns,  some  of  which  are  highly  progressive. 

Berar. — The  small  province  of  Berar  lies  between  the  Satpura  and  the 
Dekkan,  and,  with  the  exception  of  a  hilly  tract  to  the  south  and  a  smaller  one 
to  the  north,  consists  of  a  level  and  very  fertile  plain.  The  inhabitants, 
reduced  by  famine  from  nearly  3  millions  to  2,754,000,  are  almost  all 
Maratha  by  race,  with  a  sprinkling  in  the  north  of  the  dark  hill  tribes. 
The  agriculture  is  noteworthy,  because,  of  all  the  provinces,  Berar  alone 
produces  relatively  more  for  export  than  for  home  consumption.  It  has  a 
fair  staple  of  cotton,  and  excellent  oil  seeds  and  wheat.  This  advantage 
has  conduced  to  the  conversion  of  local  markets  into  the  resort  of  foreign 
traders,  Indian  and  European,  and  thus,  although  the  chief  towns,  Ellich- 
pur  and  Amraoti,  are  small,  they  are  busy  at  the  harvest  season  out  of 
proportion  to  their  permanent  population. 

Central  Provinces. — The  irregular  tract  known  as  the  Central 
Provinces  comprises,  first,  the  nucleus  of  the  hills  and  plains  round  Nagpur ; 
then,  the  Narbada  valley  with  the  broken  country  to  the  north,  forming 
part  of  the  Central  Belt  of  hills,  and,  thirdly,  the  plain  of  Chattisgarh  to  the 
Mahanadi,  with  the  wild  forest  tract  separating  it  from  Orissa  on  the  east, 
and  the  Telugu  country  of  Madras  and  Haidrabad  on  the  south.  In  the 
Nagpur  division  and  high  up  the  Narbada  valley,  the  Maratha  element 
predominates,  whilst  throughout  the  hill  tracts,  and  over  a  great  part  of  the 
eastern  plains,  the  dark  tribes,  either  in  their  primitive  purity  of  race  or 
largely  mixed  with  settlers  from  the  Gangetic  plain,  are  in  possession. 
The  valleys  and  the  Chattisgarh  plain  are  fertile.  The  north  and  west 
produces  most  wheat,  millets,  and  pulses ;  the  east  more  rice,  blending 
towards  the  west  with  the  dryer  crops.  The  hills  and  forest  tracts  pro- 
duce little  but  light  crops  of  the  smaller  millets.  The  population  of  10 
millions  in  the  area  under  British  administration  shows  a  density  of  1 14 
per  square  mile,  against  125  before  the  last  famine,  and  the  corresponding 
figure  for  the  2  millions  in  the  petty  native  States  is  only  67  against  73. 

Towns  of  the  Central  Provinces. — Nagpur,  the  centre  of  the 
Maratha  power  of  the  Bhonsle  family,  has  the  beginnings  of  a  con- 
siderable trade  in  produce  and  of  the  cotton  industry.  Jabalpur,  com- 
manding the  upper  Narbada  valley,  and  on  the  trunk  line  between  the 
coast  and  upper  India,  is  a  local  centre  of  the  wheat  trade.  Saugor, 
a  military  station  in  the  heart  of  the  central  hill  belt  adjoining  the 
Gangetic  valley,  has  merely  local  importance.  The  old  Musalman 
capital,  Burhanpur,  on  the  Tapti,  stands  still,  and  much  of  its  industrial 
and  commercial  repute  has  passed  to  modern  places.  On  the  other 
hand,  Raipur,  the  chief  town  of  the  fertile  Chattisgarh  plain,  has  reaped 
the  benefit  of  its  recent  connection  with  the  railway  system  joining 
Nagpur  with  Bengal,  not  in  permanent  residents  so  much  as  in  traffic  in 
wheat  and  rice,  attracting  a  well-to-do  floating  population  during  the 
season.  In  other  parts  of  the  province  the  pacification  of  the  country 
generally  has  tended  to  the  expansion  of  the  native  tendency  to  trade  at 


494       The  International  Geography 


movable  weekly  markets  supplied  from  the  larger  centres,  rather  than  to 
the  establishment  of  new  towns. 

Madras. — The  Province  of  Madras  comes  next  to  the  Gangetic 
provinces  in  population,  containing  38  millions  of  people,  with  a  mean 
density  of  269  per  square  mile.  In  addition,  there  are  States  politically  con- 
nected with  it,  with  a  population  of  over  4  millions  and  the  high  density  of 
420.  The  distribution,  however,  is  very  uneven.  The  fertile  strips  along  the 
north-east  and  the  south-west  coasts  differ  in  physical  character  from  the 
rest.  The  hilly  country  which  hems  in  the  former  is  of  the  same  descrip- 
tion as  that  to  the  south-east  of  the  adjacent  Central  Provinces.  The 
Malabar  coast  is  separated  from  the  tableland  by  more  rugged  country, 
especially  where  the  Ghats  widen  out  into  the  Nilgiri  on  one  side  and 
the  Anamalai  range  on  the  other.  The  more  or  less  flat  region  along  the 
east  coast  is  far  wider,  and  the  edge  of  the  tableland  in  that  direction  is 
but  faintly  denned  until  it  approaches  the  Nilgiri  in  the  south.  Thus, 

the  physical  divisions  of  the  province 
correspond  fairly  closely  with  the  cli- 
matic. First,  the  tract  dependent  upon 
the  north-east  air-current,  from  Orissa  to 
Cape  Comorin  ;  then,  the  sphere  of  the 
full  force  of  the  south-west  air-current, 
and  finally  the  tableland  between  the 
two,  subject,  like  the  rest  of  the  Dekkan, 
to  light  rain  and  occasional  drought. 
The  dense  population  along  the  coast  is 
supported  mainly  by  rice,  which  the  un- 
failing rainfall  on  the  west  and  the  great 
irrigation  works  from  the  three  chief 
rivers  on  the  east,  render  amply  sufficient. 

FM.  .S4.-S.-fe  of  Madras.  The    former   of    these   tracts  .is   ™h  in 

spices,  coco-nut,  and,  since  British  occu- 
pation, in  coffee  and  tea.  Millets  and  oil  seeds,  with  a  little  cotton,  are  the 
staple  crops  of  the  uplands.  These  differences,  with  those  of  language,  and 
the  wide  development  of  the  caste  spirit,  keep  the  people  apart  to  an 
unusual  extent. 

Towns  of  Madras.— Large  towns,  with  the  exception  of  the  sea- 
ports, are  little  more  than  local  trading  centres,  or,  like  Tanjore,  the 
former  residence  of  a  chief  and  his  court.  Madras,  with  a  population 
of  over  half  a  million,  is,  like  Calcutta  and  Bombay,  the  result  of 
British  occupation,  and  was,  in  fact,  the  first  permanent  territorial 
possession  of  the  Company.  It  has,  however,  few  manufactures,  and, 
owing  to  its  open  roadstead,  far  less  trade  than  its  fellows,  and  the  develop- 
ment of  the  smaller  ports  such  as  Negapatam,  Coconada,  Calicut,  Manga- 
lore  and  Tuticorin,  diverts  much  of  the  exports  which  would  otherwise 
have  been  obliged  to  seek  an  outlet  through  the  capita)  Madras,  accord- 


India — Assam  495 

ingly,  is  relatively  more  of  a  literary  and  professional  centre  than  either 
Calcutta  or  Bombay.  The  same  feature  is  to  be  found  in  Madura  and 
Combaconam;  Trichinopoly  has  considerable  local  business  to  keep  it 
up.  Tanjore,  with  about  the  same  population  as  its  neighbour  Com- 
baconam, is  both  the  centre  of  the  most  densely  peopled  tract  in 
southern  India,  along  the  lower  Kavari,  and  has  the  tradition  of  a 
native  Court,  which  only  ceased  to  exist  in  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  so  that  the  classes  attracted  by  its  favour  have  not  yet  died 
out.  Bellary,  like  Trichinopoly,  is  the  centre  of  a  large  agricultural 
tract,  though  by  no  means  to  be  compared  with  the  south  in  fertility 
and  population.  It  has,  however,  railway  communication  with  east 
and  west,  and  a  large  military  suburb.  Calicut,  the  principal  port  of 
Malabar,  is  a  town  of  ancient  fame  as  the  capital  of  the  Zamorin,  and 
has  revived  of  late  years  its  long-standing  trade  with  the  West.  On 
the  east  coast,  Negapatam,  has  opened  considerable  trade  with  Ceylon, 
Burma,  and  Singapore.  The  same  enterprise  is  found  in  the  smaller 
ports  to  the  northwards  on  that  coast,  Coconada  and  Masutipatam* 
Salem  is  an  important  local  centre,  and  used  to  have  a  good  reputation 
for  its  steel  and  iron,  now  declining,  partly  owing  to  foreign  competi- 
tion, partly  to  the  want  of  cheap  fuel  for  the  wasteful  method  of  smelting  in 
practice. 

Assam. — The  frontier  province  of  Assam,  in  its  correct  limitation  to 
the  Brahmaputra  valley  and  the  adjacent  hills  and  mountains,  is  not  con- 
sidered by  its  people  to  form  part  of  India,  and  some  discontent  was  caused 
in  1905  when  it  was  united  with  parts  of  Bengal  to  form  the  new  province  of 
Eastern  Bengal  and  Assam.  Before  this  political  regrouping  the  adminis- 
tration of  Assam,  including  the  outlying  hills  and  the  State  of  Manipur,  con- 
tained a  population  of  over  6  millions,  about  half  of  which  belonged  to  the 
southern  portion.  The  mean  density  of  population  in  the  province 
is  112  per  square  mile,  but  this  is  a  figure  of  no  practical  value,  since 
in  the  Surma  valley  the  density  is  319,  in  the  Assam  valley  117,  and 
in  the  hill  country  only  25.  There  are  no  towns  of  more  than  14,000 
inhabitants.  Sylhet,  the  chief  market  of  the  Surma  valley,  reaches  that 
number,  and  Gauliaii,  a  central  landing-stage  on  the  Brahmaputra,  has 
rattier  less.  The  political  headquarter  station  is  Shillong,  high  up  in  the 
Khasia  hills.  In  1897  it  was  almost  levelled  to  the  ground  by  an  earth- 
quake. About  two-thirds  of  the  crops  raised  consist  of  rice.  A  small  area 
is  under  jute  and  oil  seeds,  and  in  the  hills  small  patches  are  cleared  for 
coarse  grains.  The  great  feature  in  the  agriculture  of  the  province  is  the 
recent  development  of  the  tea-planting  industry,  originally  entirely  con- 
ducted by  British  capital  under  British  superintendence,  but  now  shared 
by  natives  of  the  country.  The  average  annual  tea  export  of  India 
between  1897  and  1902  exceeded  170,000,000  Ibs.,  to  which  Assam  is  the 
largest  contributory. 

Burma. — The  province  of  Burma  is  still  divided  for  administrative 
purposes  into  Upper  and  Lower,  and  these  titles  very  fairly  connote  the 


4.96       The  International  Geography 

climatic  difference  between  the  two.  The  further  subdivision  geographically 
suggested  is  that  into  plains  and  hill  tracts.  Lower  Burma,  whether  the 
Arakan  strip,  partly  colonised  from  Bengal,  the  Tenasserim  strip,  bordering 
upon  Malay  characteristics,  or  the  intervening  delta  of  Pegu,  is  emphati- 
cally a  damp  or  rice-producing  region.  The  riverain  tracts  of  Upper 
Burma,  on  the  other  hand,  lie  high  and  dry,  unswept  by  any  strong  vapour- 
laden  winds,  liable,  accordingly,  to  drought,  and  producing  millet,  oil  seeds, 
cotton,  and  a  little  wheat,  with  rice  wherever,  as  near  hills,  there  is  sufficient 
moisture.  The  population,  again,  is  well  demarcated,  not  according  to  the 
two  great  territorial  divisions,  but  into  those  of  the  Irawadi  valley,  whether 
in  the  Lower  or  the  Upper  division,  and  the  darker  and  uncivilised  tribes 
of  the  hills.  Throughout  the  rice  tracts  communication  is  difficult  and 
trade  confined  to  local  centres  on  rivers  or  creeks.  The  railway  now 
intersects  Burma  from  north  to  south,  with  branches  to  the  principal  out- 
lying markets.  Next  to  rice,  of  which  the  exports  amount  to  not  far 
below  half  the  estimated  produce,  the  chief  material  sent  abroad  is  teak 
timber  and  cutch,  or  catechu. 

Towns  of  Burma. — The  population  of  10$  millions,  scattered  over 
about  237,000  square  miles,  shows  a  very  low  density,  and,  with  the 
exception  of  Mandalay,  the  capital  of  the  late  King  of  Upper  Burma, 
and  the  comparatively  new  seaports,  the  towns  are  chiefly  little  more 
than  local  markets.  Mandalay,  well  situated  on  the  Irawadi,  attracted 
most  of  the  trade  from  the  north  and  east.  The  great  outlet,  however,  of 
the  produce  of  the  province,  is  Rangoon,  in  the  delta,  rapidly  increasing 
in  population.  The  former  local  capital,  grouped  round  a  celebrated 
Buddhist  temple,  has  become  a  busy  seaport,  with  a  considerable  number 
of  commercial  establishments  attracted  from  India  and  even  China,  in 
addition  to  the  strong  British  element  now  settled  there.  Maulmain,  the 
next  port  in  importance,  has  about  one-tenth  the  trade  of  Rangoon, 
and  exports  chiefly  timber  and  other  forest  produce.  The  centre  of  the 
trade  of  the  Arakan  coast  is  at  Akyab,  but  it  has  little  beyond  local 
influence.  In  the  north  of  Upper  Burma  the  town  of  Bhamo,  on  the 
Irawadi,  though  very  small  as  yet,  is  likely  to  increase  considerably,  both 
as  the  only  town  on  the  Chinese  frontier,  and,  also,  owing  to  its  connec- 
tion with  Mandalay  and  the  rest  of  Burma  by  rail  as  well  as  steamer. 

Protected  States  of  Rajputana,  &c. — States  not  directly  adminis- 
tered by  the  British  but  remaining  under  their  own  chiefs  are  scattered  all 
over  India.  The  greater  number  are  congregated  in  the  tract  known  as 
Rajputana,  with  its  extension  to  the  peninsula  of  Kathiawaron  the  west  and 
to  the  plateau  of  Central  India  in  the  south-east.  This  vast  region  is  parcelled 
out  into  States  varying  in  area  from  the  37,000  square  miles  of  Marwar  to  the 
four  or  five  miles  under  a  petty  chief  on  the  coast  or  embedded  among  more 
powerful  neighbours  in  Central  India.  The  subjects  of  Sindhia  in  Gwalior 
number  two  millions,  of  Jaipur,  over  2^  millions,  and  several  other  chiefs 
rule  more  than  a  million.  Whilst  the  south  and  east  of  Rajputana  are  fertile, 


India — Protected   States  497 

the  west  is  principally  desert,  with  from  7  to  60  people  to  the  square  mile. 
Central  India  comprises  the  Malwa  plateau,  the  Chambal  valley,  and  the 
hill  country  of  Rewah  and  Bundelkhand,  all  more  or  less  favoured  by  nature, 
and  far  more  densely  peopled  now  than  eighty  years  ago,  when  they  were 
the  cockpit  of  Indian  rivalries.  Acting  upon  the  principle  of  confirming 
the  possession  of  the  actual  chief  at  the  time  of  the  assumption  of 
suzerainty,  the  British  Government  sterotyped  the  conditions  of  the  first 
quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century,  so  we  find  in  power  not  only  the  ancient 
lines  of  Rajputs,  at  Udepur,  Jodhpur,  Rewah  and  Jaipur,  with  their  offshoots 
in  Kathiawar,  but  the  Maratha  military  dynasties  of  Sindhia  and  Holkar,  and 
the  Pindari  freebooters  who  had  carved  out  little  States  for  their  families 
in  those  troublous  times.  These  tracts  have  been  included  in  the  general 
system  of  Indian  railways,  and  several  of  the  chiefs  have  constructed 
feeder  lines  in  their  own  territories,  to  the  great  advantage  of  the  outlying 
parts  of  the  country.  Unfortunately,  the  eastern  portion  of  both  Rajpu- 
tana  and  Central  India  falls  within  the  zone  of  liability  to  famine,  and 
within  the  last  half-century  has  been  severely  visited  by  that  calamity  on 
three  or  four  occasions.  The  rest  of  the  country,  however,  where  not 
actually  in  the  desert,  is  fertile  and  well  watered,  either  naturally  or  by 
wells  or  channels.  In  every  State  the  chief's  headquarters  constitute  the 
principal  town,  and  in  addition  to  Jaipur  with  160,000  and  Gwalior  with 
89,000  inhabitants,  there  are  five  towns  of  more  than  50,000,  each  much 
resembling  the  other  in  general  features.  Much  of  the  territory  of  the 
Gaikwar  of  Baroda,  with  a  population  of  just  under  2  millions,  is  scattered 
in  detached  morsels  in  the  midst  of  British  districts  and  Kathiawar  chief- 
tainships. Like  the  rest  of  Gujarat,  the  soil  is  remarkably  fertile,,  and 
supports  the  heavy  density  of  nearly  three  hundred  people  to  the  square 
mile.  The  central  and  most  valuable  portion  of  the  State  lies  round 
Baroda,  the  capital.  The  city  has  considerable  trade  and  a  large  pro- 
fessional element.  There  is  no  other  town  of  importance  in  the  State. 

Haidrabad.— The  principal  State  in  the  Dekkan  is  that  of  Haidra- 
bad,  founded  by  a  Moghal  viceroy,  who  asserted  his  independence  on  the 
wane  of  the  empire  of  his  sovereign.  It  is  very  compact,  contains  over 
82,000  square  miles,  and  a  population  of  over  n  millions.  As  it  lies 
entirely  on  the  Dekkan  plateau,  its  subdivisions  are  mainly  linguistic. 
Marathi  prevails  in  the  north  and  west ;  Kanarese  in  the  s£uth-west, 
and  Telugu,  to  the  east.  All  but  a  portion  of  the  north  and  east 
lies  within  the  famine  zone.  The  soil  is  of  much  the  same  character  as 
that  of  the  Bombay  Dekkan,  but  improves  slightly  towards  the  north- 
east. Recently  there  has  been  a  successful  attempt  made  to  utilise 
the  large  coal  deposits  in  the  eastern  portion  of  the  State,  and  the 
supply  from  Singareni  is  now  in  demand  on  railways  for  a  considerable 
radius  from  the  mines.  As  in  the  other  States,  the  capital  town,  Haidrabad, 
absorbs  most  of  the  urban  population  of  the  Nizam's  territory.  Its  situa- 
tion seems  to  have  been  selected  of  vore  with  a  view  to  defence,  before  the 


498       The   International  Geography 

days  of  long  range  artillery,  as  it  lies  in  a  plain,  watered  by  a  small  river, 
but  with  low  hill  forts  at  a  short  distance.  The  next  town  in  size  is  an 
older  Musalman  foundation,  Aurangabad,  with  a  small  population,  also 
designed  for  strategic  purposes  in  the  early  days  of  Dekkan  expeditions. 

Mysore  completes  the  list  of  Dekkan  States.  It  lies,  like  Haidrabad, 
entirely  on  the  tableland,  bordering  on  the  Ghats  to  the  west,  the  Nilgiri 
on  the  south,  and  the  edge  of  the  plateau  on  the  south-east.  The  area 
is  about  28,000  square  miles,  and  the  population  nearly  five  millions. 
The  soil  is  more  fertile  on  the  whole  than  in  the  northern  Dekkan,  but  most 
of  the  State  lies  under  liability  to  drought.  For  fifty  years,  ending  in 
1880,  the  State  was  under  British  rule,  and  the  system  then  in  force  was 
continued  after  the  rendition  to  a  scion  of  the  former  reigning  family.  It 
is  thus  a  fair  example  of  foreign  initiative  under  Indian  administration. 
The  general  agricultural  character  of  the  State  has  been  to  a  small  extent 
relieved  by  the  opening  of  gold  mines  in  the  south-eastern  tract.  The 
enterprise  has  not  proved  remunerative,  from  a  financial  standpoint,  except 
to  a  few  of  the  companies  engaged,  though  the  metal  is  certainly  found 
in  fair  quantities.  The  long  period  of  British  administration,  together 
with  the  still  longer  term  of  Musalman  usurpation  which  preceded  it,  have 
obviated  the  usual  concentration  of  the  urban  population  round  the  palace 
of  the  chief.  Thus  Seringapatam,  the  Musalman  capital,  is  now  a  small 
town,  the  descendants  of  Tippoo  Sultan  having  been  deported  beyond  the 
frontier  of  their  late  father's  dominion.  Bangalore,  the  chief  seat  of  the 
British  in  Mysore,  is  much  larger.  Mysore,  the  chief's  capital,  doubtless 
suffers  at  present  from  the  superior  commercial  advantages  of  its  modern 
neighbour.  Both,  howe'ver,  are  now  connected  with  the  trunk  lines  of 
Madras  and  the  northern  Dekkan,  a  precaution  taken  after  the  great  famine 
of  1877.  The  forests  of  Mysore,  which  lie  along  the  Ghats  and  round  the 
Nilgiri  are,  with  Burma  and  the  Assam  lower  ranges,  the  only  haunt  of  the 
wild  elephant  left  in  India.  They  also  furnish  the  greater  part  of  the  sandal 
wood  used  for  carving  and  for  the  sacrificial  ceremonies  of  the  Brahmans, 
and  in  parts  have  been  cleared  for  the  growth  of  coffee  by  British  planters. 

Travancore  and  Cochin. — South  of  Mysore,  isolated  amidst  the 
mountains  and  lagoons  of  the  extreme  south-west  of  the  peninsula,  are 
the  two  little  States  of  Travancore  and  Cochin,  politically  connected 
with  the  Government  of  Madras.  Physically,  these  States  resemble  the 
neighbouring  Malabar  tract,  and  the  people  are  of  much  the  same  races 
and  habits  as  to  industry  and  occupations.  The  barrier  set  by  caste 
between  classes,  however,  is  maintained  inviolate,  and  society  is  altogether 
on  a  basis  which,  though  prescribed  by  Brahmanic  theory,  the  more 
accessible  part  of  India  has  long  abandoned. 

Kashmir. — In  Kashmir,  on  the  other  hand,  a  State  almost  equally 
isolated  from  India  by  the  Himalayan  ranges,  the  masses  have  long  been 
converted  to  Islam,  under  the  influence  of  the  Moghal  emperors  who 
made  the  valley  their  summer  quarters.  The  State  itself,  however,  has 


India — Protected  States  499 

been  extended  far  beyond  the  valley,  and  includes  a  portion  of  the  Upper 
Indus  as  well  as  the  sub- Himalayan  State  of  Jammu,  from  which  the 
chief  originally  came.  The  inhabitants  of  the  bleak  plateau  of  Ladakh 
and  of  the  gorges  of  Baltistan,  are  of  the  Tibetan  type  and  language, 
and  Buddhistic  in  faith.  The  people  of  the  southern  hills,  again,  differ 
in  race  and  language  from  those  of  the  valley.  The  civilisation  of  Kashmir 
is  practically  centred  in  Srinagar,  the  capital,  and  Jammu,  where  the  court 
spends  the  winter.  The  weaving  and  silver- working  industries  still  survive 
in  the  capital,  but  the  rest  of  the  country  is  as  purely  agricultural  as  the 
plains  of  India.  The  outlying  States  of  Hunza,  Nagar  and  Chitral,  which 
own  the  suzerainty  of  Kashmir,  have  only  been  brought  within  the  sphere 
of  British-Indian  influence  of  late  years.  Their  country  is  barren,  except 
along  the  streams  running  through  the  deep  valleys,  which  provide  food 
for  the  sparse  population. 

Baluchistan. — The  territory  known  as  Baluchistan  lies  altogether 
beyond  the  geographical  frontier  of  India,  though  included  in  its 
political  area,  the  whole  being  a  Protectorate  under  the  British  Govern- 
ment. It  is  bounded  on  the  east  by  Sindh  and  the  south-western 
Panjab ;  on  the  west  comes  Persia ;  on  the  north,  Afghanistan,  whilst 
the  south  touches  the  Indian  Ocean.  The  coast,  however,  possesses 
no  harbour,  though  there  are  two  fairly  convenient  roadsteads  at 
Gwadar  and  Sonmiani.  This  portion  of  Baluchistan  boasts  of  the  bad 
pre-eminence  of  being  the  hottest  place  in  Asia,  but  its  title  is  disputed 
by  Aden  and  upper  Sindh.  A  considerable  part  of  the  country  is  entirely 
desert,  and  none  but  a  comparatively  small  tract  along  the  Sindh  border 
and  a  few  valleys  in  the  north-east  is  sufficiently  well  watered  to  pro- 
duce more  than  a  scanty  crop  of  grain  or  a  little  fruit.  The  area  is  about 
132,000  square  miles,  with  a  population  of  about  812,000.  The  prevailing 
races  are  the  Brahui  and  the  Baluch.  The  former  predominate  in  the 
east,  the  latter  towards  the  mountains  and  the  Panjab.  They  are  divided 
into  eight  States,  one  large  and  seven  small ;  the  former,  Khalat,  exercis- 
ing a  sort  of  suzerainty  over  the  rest.  There  is  no  town  of  any  importance. 
Khalat,  the  largest,  contains  only  about  15,000  inhabitants.  In  the  north 
of  Baluchistan  lies  the  portion  ceded  to  the  British  on  lease,  with  the 
addition  of  the  valleys  annexed  from  Afghanistan  at  the  conclusion  of  the 
war  in  1880,  and  those  to  the  east,  through  the  Sulaiman  range,  occupied 
in  1887  and  1889.  The  population  of  this  tract  is  about  308,000.  The 
chief  town  is  the  military  station  of  Quelta,  with  a  population  of  about 
twenty-four  thousand,  including  troops.  The  Sindh-Pishin  railway  and  a 
line  through  the  Bolan  Pass  connect  Quetta  and  British  Baluchistan  with 
the  Indus  valley. 

The  Andaman  Islands. — The  group  of  the  Andaman  Islands  lies 

about  600  miles  south  of  the  mouth  of  the  Hugli  river,  and  some  160 

miles  from  the  coast  of   Burma.    The   main   portion  consists   of  three 

narrow  islands,  mountainous  and  thickly  clad  with  bamboo  and  valuable 

34 


500      The  International  Geography 

timber.  The  highest  peak  reaches  2,400  feet  above  sea  level.  The  rain- 
fall is  heavy,  as  the  islands  lie  in  the  direct  course  of  the  monsoon  currents. 
The  inhabitants,  about  1,900  in  number,  appear  to  be  of  Negrito  or  Malay 
descent.  They  are  very  timid  of  strangers,  and  though  attempts  have 
been  made  to  civilise  those  on  the  larger  islands,  only  a  few  have  settled 
down.  Since  1789  the  only  use  made  of  the  Andamans  by  the  Indian 
Government  has  been  as  a  convict  settlement.  The  present  station  at 
Port  Blair,  one  of  the  finest  harbours  in  the  East,  was  established  in 
1858,  and  contained,  in  1901,  16,000  convicts,  warders,  and  officers.  The 
islands  constitute  a  Chief  Commissionership  under  the  Government  of 
India.  The  heavy  and  malarious  climate  in  the  interior  of  the  islands  has 
prevented  European  exploration,  but  of  late  the  natural  resources  of  the 
country  immediately  round  the  settlement  have  been  utilised  and  new 
products  introduced. 

The  Nikobar  Islands.— This  group  is  less  than  a  third  of  the  size 
of  the  Andamans,  and  forms  a  similar  line  stretching  southward  towards 
Sumatra,  separated  from  the  Andamans  by  the  Ten  Degree  Channel  in 
10°  N.  They  were  occupied  by  the  British  in  1869,  after  a  formal  cession 
by  the  Dutch.  The  inhabitants,  numbering  about  6,300,  are  of  two  dis- 
tinct races,  one  of  a  Malay  type,  superior  to  the  Andamanese,  the  other  a 
Mongoloid,  of  lower  civilisation,  driven  from  the  coast  to  the  interior. 
The  coco-nut  palm,  which  is  not  found  wild  in  the  Andamans,  flourishes 
and  affords  a  plentiful  supply  of  copra  and  fibre,  to  procure  which  some 
fifty  or  sixty  vessels  regularly  visit  the  group.  Unlike  the  Andamans,  the 
Nikobar  group  contains  no  good  harbour,  and  but  a  fair  anchorage,  at 
Nancowrie.  Owing  to  the  rough  sea  and  strong  currents,  there  has  never, 
apparently,  been  any  intercourse  between  the  two  groups,  an  isolation 
which,  perhaps,  considering  the  nature  of  the  tribes,  has  conduced  to 
their  survival. 

The  Lakadiv  and  Maldiv. — The  island  group  of  the  Lakadiv 
consists  of  very  numerous  coral  atolls,  about  200  miles  from  the  coast 
of  Malabar.  The  Maldiv  Islands  form  a  long  chain  also  of  coral  forma- 
tion, stretching  to  the  south.  Div,  or  Dvipa,  means  island  in  the  languages 
derived  from  Sanskrit,  and  Laka  probably  means  a  hundred  thousand, 
and  Mala,  a  Dravidian  equivalent  of  one  thousand.  The  inhabitants  of 
both  are  Muslim,  probably  of  Arab  origin,  with  a  little  of  the  fishing 
blood  of  the  opposite  mainland  added,  in  the  Lakadiv.  They  live  sparsely 
upon  fish  and,  in  the  Maldiv,  on  the  produce  of  their  coco-nut  palms, 
which  they  sell  in  the  Malabar  or  Ceylon  markets.  For  administrative 
purposes,  the  Lakadiv,  with  a  population  of  just  over  10,000,  form  part  of 
the  two  districts  under  the  Madras  Government  which  lie  nearest  them, 
and  the  Maldiv  are  under  the  colonial  government  of  Ceylon.  The  two 
groups  speak  different  languages,  that  to  the  south  being  allied  to  the 
Singalese,  that  of  the  Lakadiv  to  Malayalam,  an  offshoot  of  Tamil. 


India — Statistics 


STATISTICS. 


Province  or  State. 

Population. 
Area  in  square                                                 r. 
miles.               1891.                   1901. 

Percentage 
Density     of  urban 
er  square  population, 
mile.          1901. 

(a)  Provinces  — 

Madras 

141  726              3S  670  AAf\              •afi  ?nn  /i^fi 

^ 

Bombay    

•  •             J-*l1-»/^1-1                  OD,U3*"'»44U                  o^'^^y^O0 

75,918              15.959,135              15,304,677 

2O2               2O'22 

Sindh     

47  066                  2  87^  IOO                  3  2IO  Q1O 

fS8                    T9*3*7 

Bengal      

151,185            71,346,961            74,744,866 

uo               iz  jy 

494             5'i8 

United  Provinces  j  ^J^ 

83,198           34,253,960            34.858,705 
23,966            12,650,831            12,833,077 

419            1243 

535             7-32 

Panjab      
N.W  Frontier  Provinces 
Central  Provinces 

97,209            19,009,343            20,330,339 
16,466              1,857,504             2,125,480 
86,459            10,784,294             9,876,646 

209            11-44 
129            1270 
114             8-31 

Berar         

17.710             2,897,491              2,754,016 

155            I5'23 

Assam  *     

56,243              5,477,302             6,126.3431 

109             2-95 

Burma  *    
Smaller  Provinces  (5)    .  . 

236,738             7,722,053            10,490,6241 
53,365                775,101              1,034,3881 

44             9'43 
19            2171 

Total,  Provinces 

..     1,087,249        221,239,515         231,899,507 

213             9-54 

(6)  States— 

Haidrabad 

82,698           11,537,040           11,141,142 

135           10-11 

Baroda 

8,099             2,415,396             1,952.692 

241           24-01 

Mysore      .  . 

29,444             4,943,604             5,539,399 

188            13-03 

Kashmir   .. 

80,000             2,543,952             2,905,578 

36             5-46 

Rajputana 
Central  India      .  . 

127,541            11,990,504             9,723,301 
78,772            10,318,812             8,628,781 

76            14-50 
109            11-37 

Other  Groups  (7) 

271,939            22,325,848            22,570,6561 

83             9-89 

Total,  States 

679,393          66,075,156          62,461,549 

92           11-37 

Indian  Empire    .. 

..     1,766,642        287,314,671         294.361,056 

Iff?             9-93 

ANNUAL  TRADE. 

Mean  of  1871-76.2             Mean  of  i88i-86.3 

Mean  of  1891-96.4 

Rupees.3                            Rupees3 

Rupees.3 

A.  IMPORTS. 

Merchandise 
Treasure       .  . 

345-791,500                        535,694,700 
70,729,400                         134,039,800 

718,369,700 
146,285,800 

Total 

416,520,900                         669,734,500 

864,655,500 

B.  EXPORTS. 

Merchandise 

575,813,600                        841,520,400 

1,089,041,900 

Treasure 

17,027,600                          12,462,000 

53,663,400 

Total 

592,841,200                        853,982.400 

1,142,705,300 

C.  TOTAL  TRADE, 

Merchandise 

..           921,605,100                      1,377,215,100 

1,807,411,600 

Treasure 

87,757,000                         146,501,800 

199-949,200 

Total 

1,009,362,100                      1,523,716,900 

2,007,360,800 

«  Including  areas  not  enumerated  in  1891. 

3  Excluding  tracts  not  enumerated  at  the  Imperial  Census. 

3  From  April  ist  to  March  3ist. 

4  The  approximate  mean  sterling  value  of  the  rupee  in  the  three  periods  respectively 
•was  22-4i8d.,  I9'303d.,  and  I4'6od.     If  these  equivalents    were  used  the  total  trade  as 
regards  India  would  be  seriously  misrepresented,  and  the  great  and  steady  growth  of  the 
exports  and  imports  completely  hidden,  thus  : — 


Imports,  Total 
Exports,  Total 


In  pounds  sterling  at  average  exchange. 
1871-76.  1881-86.  1891-96. 

52,600,000 


38,907,000 
55,377,000 


53,866,000 
68,685,000 


69,514,000 


502       The  International  Geography 


POPULATION  OF  CHIEF  TOWNS. 


i  SQL 

1901. 

1891. 

1901. 

Calcutta 

682,305 

847,796 

Jaipur  158,787 

160,167 

Bombay 

821,764 

776,006 

Bangalore       ..        ..        180,366 

159,046 

Madras.. 

452,518 

509,346 

Poona  161,390 

153,320 

Haidrabad  (De 

kan) 

415,039 

448,466 

Patna 

165,192 

134,785 

Lucknow 

273,028 

264,049 

Nagpur.  . 

117,014 

127,734 

Rangoon 

180,324 

234,881 

Srinagar 

118,960 

122,618 

Benares 

219,467 

209,331 

Surat     .. 

109.229 

119,306 

Delhi    .  . 

192,579 

208,575 

Karachi 

105,199 

116,663 

Lahore  .  . 

176,854 

202,964 

Trichinopoly  .. 

90,609 

104,721 

Cawnpore 

188,712 

197,170 

Baroda 

116,420 

103,790 

Ahmedabad 

168,662 
148,412 

188,022 
185,889 

Dacca   .. 
Gwalior 

82,321 
104,083 

90,542 
89,154 

Mandalay 

188,815 

183,816 

Multan.. 

74,562 

87.394 

Allahabad 

i75-246 

172,032 

Indore  ..        .. 

82,984 

86,686 

Amritsar 

162,429 

Ajmer  ..        ,. 

68,843 

73,839 

.STANDARD  BOOKS 

Sir  W.  W.  Hunter.     "  Imperial  Gazetteer  of  India,"  2nd  ed.  14  vols.     London,  1885-87. 

"  The  Indian  Empire  ;  its  History,  People,  and  Products."    Oxford,  1907. 

Sir  C.  R.  Markham.     "  Memoir  on  the  Indian  Surveys,"  2nd  ed.     London,  1878. 
C.  E.  D.  Black.     "Memoir  on  the  Indian  Surveys,"  1875-1890.     London,  1891. 
R.Wallace.     "  India  in  1887."     Edinburgh,  1888.     [On  the  agricultural  resources.] 
G.  Watt.     "  Dictionary  of  the  Economic  Products  of  India."     Calcutta,  1885-92. 
H.  F.  Blanford.     "  Climates  and  Weather  of  India."     London,  1889. 
H.  B.  Medlicott  (and  others).     "  A  Manual  of  the  Geology  of  India."    Calcutta,  1893. 
Sir  I.  Eliot.     "  Climatological  Atlas  of  India."     Edinburgh,  1006. 

The  very  numerous  official  reports  of  the  Indian  Government  and  of  the  various  provincial 
governments  contain  a  vast  amount  of  geographical  information  of  the  most  authoritative  kind. 

II.— NON-BRITISH  STATES  IN  INDIA 

Portuguese  India1  (Estado  da  India). — The  Portuguese  possessions 
in  India  are  under  a  provincial  Governor-General,  residing  in  Goa,  and  are 
divided  into  three  districts  :  Goa,  Damao,  and  Diu.  Goa  is  a  territory  of 
1,400  square  miles  on  the  strip  of  low  ground  on  the  Malabar  coast  and 
fringed  by  islands.  It  is  bounded  by  the  river  Tiracol  on  the  north,  the 
western  Ghats  on  the  east,  and  Canara  on  the  south.  It  is  watered  by 
many  rivers  navigable  by  small  craft,  and  is  consequently  adapted  for 
commerce  and  agriculture.  The  principal  port  is  Mormugao,  and  the 
capital  Nova  Goa,  or  Panjim,  is  the  seat  of  an  old  Roman  Catholic  Arch- 
bishopric. The  climate  is  dominated  by  the  monsoons,  which  give  a  dry 
season  from  October  to  March,  and  a  rainy  season  during  the  greatest  heat 
between  April  and  September.  The  population  of  Goa  is  almost  half  a 
million  ;  many  of  the  people  are  the  descendants  of  the  Portuguese  settlers 
of  the  sixteenth  century.  Salt  making  is  an  important  industry.  Damao, 
or  Daman,  consists  of  a  small  territory  between  the  rivers  Coileque  and 
Calem  near  the  coast  about  100  miles  north  of  Bombay,  and  of  two  enclaves 
in  the  British  territory.  It  is  irrigated  by  the  river  Damonganga  which 
has  its  outlet  near  Damao,  forming  its  port.  Diu  is  simply  a  fortress 
(Prafa  de  guerra}  situated  on  the  island  of  the  same  name  at  the  extreme 
south  of  Kathiawar  on  the  Gujarat  coast.  The  Gogola  territory  facing  Diu 
and  the  Panikotta  fort  in  the  Simbor  inlet  both  form  part  of  the  Diu 

»  By  Captain  Ernesto  de  Vasconcellos. 


Ceylon  503 


Governorship.  In  Portuguese  India,  inhabited  by  representatives  of  the 
different  castes  of  the  Hindu  race,  as  well  as  by  the  descendants  of  the 
early  Portuguese  colonists,  rice  is  largely  grown  and  is  the  staple  native 
food.  Salt  making  constitutes  one  of  the  riches  of  all  the  divisions  of 
Portuguese  India.  There  are  plantations  of  coco-nut  and  other  palm  trees. 
The  forests  are  valuable  for  their  timber  trees,  principally  teak  in  Nagar- 
Avely,  one  of  the  enclaves  attached  to  Damao. 

French  Possessions  in  India.1 — By  the  Treaty  of  Paris  in  1763 
France  lost  the  Indian  Empire  which  had  been  founded  by  the  genius  of 
Francois  Dupleix.  There  only  remained  five  factories  scattered  along  the 
Malabar  coast  and  the  Ganges  delta ;  these  are  Make,  Karikal  and  the 
capital  Pondicherry,  all  on  the  Malabar  coast,  Yanaon  and  the  station  of 
Masulipatam  at  the  mouth  of  the  Godavery,  and  Chandernagore 
on  the  Hugh,  not  far  from  Calcutta.  The  whole  area  amounts  to  200 
square  miles  and  the  population  scarcely  exceeds  a  quarter  of  a  million. 
The  imports  are  insignificant  and  the  exports  consist  mainly  of  oil  seeds 
and  blue  cotton  cloth,  the  weaving  of  which  is  the  chief  industry  of 
Pondicherry. 

Himalayan  States.2 — On  the  northern  frontier  of  India  the  wild 
country  of  the  southern  slopes  of  the  Himalaya  has  enabled  two  small 
native  kingdoms,  Nipal  and  Bhutan,  to  remain  independent.  They  keep 
up  relations  with  Tibet  and  China,  but,  although  the  territories  are  closed 
by  treaty  to  Europeans,  a  British  resident  appointed  by  the  Indian  Govern- 
ment is  maintained  at  each  native  court.  This  officer  does  not  in  any  way 
interfere  with  the  internal  affairs.  Nipal,  the  western  State,  is  inhabited 
by  the  Gurkhas,  a  race  of  Rajput  origin  who  dominate  the  remnants  of 
earlier  Mongolian  peoples.  The  Gurkhas  volunteer  in  considerable 
numbers  for  the  Indian  army,  and  under  British  officers  they  have  proved 
to  be  admirable  soldiers,  never  failing  in  courage  and  cheerfulness.  The 
countries  are  very  little  known,  their  chief  resources  are  cattle  and  forest- 
produce.  The  population  of  Nipal  is  estimated  at  from  two  to  five 
millions,  and  that  of  Bhutan  at  about  50,000. 


III.— CEYLON 

BY  THE  HON.  JOHN  FERGUSON,  C.M.G. 

Colombo. 

Position  and  Extent. — The  "  pearl-drop  on  the  brow  of  Ind,"  as 
Ceylon  is  poetically  called  from  its  outline  and  position,  is  believed  by 
many  to  have  been  part  of  the  Hebrew  Ophir  or  Tarshish.  It  was  called 
Taprobane  by  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  Serendib  by  the  Arab  voyagers,  and 
Lanka  "the  resplendent"  by  the  Hindus  and  eastern  peoples.  It  lies  to 

1  By  M.  Zimmermann.  2  By  the  Editor. 


504       The  International  Geography 


the  south  of  India  between  6°  and  10°  N.,  and  between  79^°  and  82°  E.,  the 
greatest  length.of  the  island  being  267  miles,  and  its  greatest  breadth  140. 
It  is  separated  from  India  on  the  north-west  by  the  Gulf  of  Manar,  but 
nearly  connected  with  it  by  the  Manar  and  Rameswaram  Islands  and  the 
coral  reef  known  as  Adam's  Bridge.  There  is  no  channel  across  the  reef 
deep  enough  for  large  steamers  to  pass,  and  surveys  have  been  made  for  a 
projected  railway  to  connect  India  with  Ceylon,  35  miles  of  which  would 
be  on  the  island,  22  miles  on  the  reef,  and  only  i  mile  across  the  shallow 
channels. 

Surface.  —  The  maritime  districts  form  a  low,  level  strip  round  the 
island,  widening  to  an  extensive  jungle-covered  plain  in  the  north  and 
north-east,  while  in  the  centre  of  the  southern  part  one-sixth  of  the  surface 
is  mountainous.  The  highest  summit  is  Pedrotalagalla  (8,296  feet),  the 
next  and  more  famous  is  Adam's  Peak  (7,353  feet).  Many  of  the  moun- 

tains are  wooded  to  the  summit, 
and  their  slopes  occupied  by  tea, 
coffee,  or  cinchona  plantations  ; 
but  there  are  also  great  expanses 
of  patina,  or  open  grass  land,  and 
the  scenery  throughout  the  moun- 
tain region  is  very  fine.  The 
longest  river,  the  Mahavillaganga 
("Ganges"  of  Ptolemy),  flows  from 
an  elevation  of  7,000  feet  in  the 
Horton  Plains,  for  150  miles,  to 
the  sea  at  Trincomali  ;  the  other 
rivers  are  numerous  but  short. 
There  are  no  true  lakes,  but  large 
artificial  sheets  of  water  brighten 
and  beautify  the  principal  towns, 
and  there  are  many  ancient  tanks, 
some  of  great  size,  a  few  of  which 
have  been  restored.  On  the  flat  coasts  there  are  several  backwaters, 
expanding  into  large  lagoons  at  Batticalao  and  other  places.  The  tides  are 
nearly  imperceptible,  but  powerful  ocean  currents  sweep  along  the  coasts. 
Climate  and  Resources.  —  The  climate  is  of  course  tropical,  but 
the  heat  is  moderated  by  the  surrounding  sea,  and  by  the  fact  that  the 
island  lies  in  the  path  of  the  two  monsoons,  that  from  the  south-west 
prevailing  from  June  to  September  and  the  north-east  from  October  to 
January.  The  hottest  season  is  during  the  interval  between  the  monsoons 
from  February  to  May.  The  highest  temperature  at  Colombo  is  95°  F., 
and  the  average  80°,  while  there  is  a  rainfall  of  88  inches,  well  distributed 
throughout  the  year.  At  the  sanatorium  of  Newara  Eliya,  situated  at  an 
elevation  of  over  6,000  feet,  the  mean  temperature  is  only  58°,  and  the 
rainfall  95  inches.  The  whole  of  the  hill  country  has  a  charming  climate 
from  December  to  May. 


FIG.  255. — Adam's  Bridge,  connecting  India 
and  Ceylon. 


Ceylon  505 

With  its  fertile  soil  Ceylon  is  one  vast  garden  full  of  fascination  for 
the  botanist  and  naturalist.  It  is  the  home  of  a  large  variety  of  palms 
and  flowering  trees,  innumerable  orchids,  and  other  tropical  plants.  The 
fauna  includes  the  elephant,  bear,  panther,  monkeys,  peacocks,  parrots,  and 
other  birds  of  fine  plumage,  as  well  as  numerous  snakes. 

The  gems  of  Ceylon  have  long  been  famous,  the  rubies  and  sapphires 
from  the  mines,  and  pearls  from  the  fisheries  in  the  north.  The  only  other 
mineral  of  value  is  plumbago  (graphite),  of  which  about  18,000  tons  are 
annually  exported. 

People  and  History. — In  B.C.  543  a  prince  from  northern  India 
conquered  Ceylon,  and  a  succession  of  160  Sinhalese  rulers  followed,  the 
last  of  whom  was  deposed  in  1815.  There  are  still  a  few  hundred 
aborigines  (Veddas)  in  the  island,  and  there  are  many  Tamils  from 
southern  India,  who  long  ago  conquered  the  north  and  east  of  Ceylon. 
The  Sinhalese  continue  to  form  70  per  cent,  of  the  population.  The 
Portuguese  reached  Ceylon  in  1505,  and  occupied  the  maritime  parts 
for  nearly  a  century  and  a  half,  until  they  were  driven  out  by  the  Dutch 
in  1640,  who  in  turn  yielded  to  the  British  in  1796, 
by  whom  at  the  request  of  the  native  population  the 
last  Kandyan  king  was  dethroned  in  1815,  and  the 
island  brought  under  one  government.  The  island 
abounds  in  magnificent  ruins  of  the  great  cities  and 
temples  of  the  ancient  Sinhalese  kings,  the  ruins 
being  second  in  extent  and  interest  only  to  those  of 
Egypt.  The  beauty  of  the  island  has  made  it  the 


theme  of  many  legends,  the  Arabs  looking  on  it  as  FIG.  256.— Average  popu- 
the  home  of  Adam  and  Eve  after  their  expulsion  l"/c" $na  square  mile 
from  the  Garden  of  Eden,  hence  the  name  of  Adam's 

Peak  and  Adam's  Bridge.  More  than  half  the  people  are  Buddhists  in 
religion,  and  about  one-fifth  are  Hindus.  Education  is  spreading  rapidly 
amongst  all  classes  of  natives,  who  are  quick  to  see  the  advantages  of 
learning1  the  English  language  and  Western  ways.  Missionary  effort  has 
been  very  successful  amongst  them. 

Industries  and  Trade.— Most  of  the  inhabitants  are  engaged  in 
agriculture,  growing  rice,  fruit,  palms,  or  cultivating  vegetable  gardens. 
Since  1840  British  capital  has  created  a  great  planting  industry,  Ceylon 
being  the  most  prosperous  of  tropical  plantation  colonies.  Nearly  half  a 
million  Tamils,  immigrants  from  southern  India,  are  employed  on  planta- 
tions of  coffee,  tea,  cacao,  cinchona,  spices  and  palms,  and  more  than  a 
million  people  are  directly  dependent  on  the  work  of  these  plantations. 
Tea  is  now  the  chief  staple,  Ceylon  ranking  third  amongst  the  tea- 
producing  countries  of  the  world.  There  are  1,600  tea-plantations,  cover- 
ing 425,000  acres,  and  yielding  130,000,000  Ibs.  of  tea  annually  for  export. 
Twice  as  much  ground  is  under  coco-nut  palms,  a  great  part  of  the 
produce  of  which  is  used  as  food  for  the  people  and  for  the  distillation  of 


506       The  International  Geography 

the  spirit  known  as  arrack.  A  certain  quantity  of  the  nuts,  oil,  and  fibre 
is  exported,  and  the  export  of  cinnamon  is  also  characteristic.  Sufficient 
rice  is  not  grown  for  home  consumption  and  there  is  a  large  import.  The 
limits  of  the  productive  capacity  of  the  island  are  still  far  from  being 
reached.  There  is  a  customs  tariff,  which,  as  regards  food  products,  is 
"  protective,"  generally  6£  per  cent  ad  valorem,  but  rising  to  10  per  cent, 
on  rice  from  India. 

The  trade  of  the  island  is  mainly  with  the  United  Kingdom  and  India  ; 
but  there  is  direct  trade  also  with  the  continents  of  Europe  and  Australia. 
Colombo,  the  chief  port,  is  6,500  miles  from  London  by  the  Suez  Canal, 
4,800  miles  from  Cape  Town,  3,300  miles  from  Albany,  Western  Australia, 
i, 600  miles  from  Singapore,  and  1,400  from  Calcutta. 

Government. — Ceylon  is  now  the  first  of  the  British  Crown  Colonies. 
It  is  ruled  by  a  Governor  appointed  by  the  Colonial  Office  in  London 
advised  by  a  Council  of  five  leading  officials,  and 
assisted  by  a  Legislative  Council,  consisting  of  nine 
official  and  eight  unofficial  nominated  members.  The 
island  is  divided  into  nine  provinces,  each  administered 
by  a  government  agent  and  assistants,  besides  judges, 
magistrates  and  police.  The  laws  are  based  on  the 
Roman-Dutch  system,  modified  by  a  century  of  British 
FIG.  257.^-  The  Co-  legislation. 

lonial  Badge  of  Railways  and  Towns. — There  are  300  miles  of 
State  railways  on  the  5^  feet  gauge,  connecting  the 
principal  towns  and  planting  districts,  and  about  half  as  much  narrow- 
gauge  mountain  railway.  Colombo,  the  political  and  commercial  capital  in 
the  south-west,  concentrates  almost  the  whole  external  trade  of  the  island, 
and  is  the  most  central  port  of  the  Indian  Ocean — "  the  Clapham  Junction 
of  the  Eastern  Seas,"  where  passengers  change  for  India,  China,  and 
Australia.  The  magnificent  artificial  harbour  is  safe  of  approach  and  easy 
of  entrance  at  all  times.  When  the  harbour  improvements  are  completed 
it  is  expected  that  the  headquarters  of  the  East  Indian  squadron  of  the 
British  Navy  will  be  removed  there  from  its  present  station  at  Trincomali 
on  the  north-east  coast,  a  fine  natural  harbour  but  without  trade  or  popu- 
lation. Galle,  though  still  a  considerable  town,  has  lost  its  trade  since  the 
rise  of  Colombo  as  a  steamer  port.  The  old  capital  of  Kandy  is  a  beauti- 
fully situated  highland  town,  with  the  extensive  and  attractive  botanic 
gardens  of  Peradeniya  in  the  neighbourhood.  Jaffna,  in  the  north,  is  a 
purely  native  town  inhabited  by  Tamils. 


Ceylon 


507 


STATISTICS. 


Area  of  Ceylon  in  square  miles 
Population  of  Ceylon 
Density  of  population  per  square  mil 
Population  of  Colombo 

Jaffna 

Galle 
„  Kandy      .. 


1881. 
25.365 
2,763,084 
e      IOQ 
110,502 

31-743 
22,026 

1801. 
25.365 
3,008,239 
119 
135,0001 

33,505 
20,2522   . 

1901. 

25.365 
3,567.990 
141 

158.093 
33.860 
37,326 
26,522 

APPROXIMATE    COMPOSITION    OF    POPULATION. 


RACE. 


Sinhalese  . . 
Tamil 
Moormen  (Arabs 
Eurasians 
Europeans 
Veddas     . . 
Others      . . 


&c) 


2,250,000 
750,000 

210,000 
25.000 

5,000 
1,300 

10,000 


RELIGION. 

Buddhists 

Hindu        

Mohammedans   . . 
Christians 


1,085,000 
680,000 
222,000 
350,000 


Imports 
Exports 


ANNUAL   TRADE   (in   Rupees). 


1871-75. 
52,480,000 
43,970,000 


1881-85.3 
53,664,000 
39,960,000 


1891-95- 
74466,000 
70,497,000 


Imports 
Exports 


ANNUAL   TRADE    (in    Pounds   Sterling). 


1871-75- 
5,248.000 
4,397,000 


1881-85.3 
4,472,000 
3,330,000 


1891-95- 
6,770,000 
6,174,000 


STANDARD  WORKS. 

Sir  J.  Emerson  Tennant.    "Ceylon."    2  vols.    London,  1860. 
J.Ferguson.    "  Ceylon  in  1893."     London,  1893. 

"  Ceylon  Handbook  and  Directory."     Colombo,  1898. 

H.  W.  Cave.    "The  Ruined  Cities  of  Ceylon."     London,  1897. 
Ernst  Haeckel.    "  A  visit  to  Ceylon  "  (translated).     London,  1883. 


»  Census  gave  127,978,  but  known  to  be  defective  as  regards  floating  population. 
estimate  in  1898  gave  close  on  150,000. 
a  Limits  of  municipality  altered. 
3  Failure  of  coffee  greatly  affected  trade. 


CHAPTER    XXVII.— INDO-CHINA 
I.— SIAM 

BY  H.  WARINGTON  SMYTH,  LL.B.,  F.G.S., 

Late  Director  of  the  Department  of  Mining,  Siam. 

Siam,  or  Muang-Tai,  a  native  kingdom  between  the  British  and  French 
Asiatic  dominions,  may  be  divided  into  two  parts,  Upper  and  Lower. 

Upper  Siam  constitutes  the  heart  of  the  Indo-Chinese  Peninsula.  It 
extends  north  and  east  to  the  Me  Kong  or  Cambodia  river,  which  since 
1893  has  formed  the  boundary  towards  the  French  possessions  of 
Tongking  and  Annam.  On  the  south-east  it  is  bounded  by  the  French 
Protectorate  of  Cambodia,  on  the  north-west  by  the  British  Shan  States, 
and  on  the  west  by  Burma.  The  largest  and  richest  part  of  the  country 
drains  into  the  Gulf  of  Siam.  On  the  west  the  Me  Klawng  flows  briskly 
down  from  high  jungle-covered  mountain  ranges,  the  home  of  the  elephant, 
the  rhinoceros,  and  the  sambur.  Farther  eastward  the  great  river  of  Siam, 
the  Me  Nam  Chao  Praya,  and  its  branch  the  Tachin  river,  wind  their 
tortuous  courses  through  "  attap  "  and  mangrove  swamps  to  salt  water  ;  and 
the  Bang  Pa  Kong  flows  into  the  north-eastern  corner  of  the  gulf  from  the 
south-eastern  ramparts  of  the  Korat  plateau,  through  the  gold  districts  of 
Kabin  and  Watana,  and  the  rich  rice  plains  of  Petriu. 

The  Me  Nam  Basin. — It  is  to  the  central  river  and  its  network  of 
creeks  that  Siam  owes  her  wealth.  Rising  in  the  Lao,  or  Siamese  Shan, 
State  of  Nan  in  about  19°  N.  and  101°  E.,  it  is  known  for  the  first  150 
miles  of  its  course  as  the  Nam  Nan,  and  flows  through  a  comparatively 
elevated  valley,  flanked  and  often  diverted  by  forested  ranges.  About 
17°  N.  the  river  emerges  from  the  Lao  district  into  the  great  plain  of 
Siam.  Three  important  tributaries  come  in  from  the  west,  and  form 
with  the  main  river  the  principal  thoroughfares  of  the  country  for  the 
essentially  aquatic  population  which  clusters  along  their  banks.  The 
upper  waters  of  these  rivers  are  diversified  by  high  forest-covered 
ranges  which  raise  their  massive  granite  shoulders  or  fantastic  limestone 
peaks  to  6,000  or  7,000  feet  above  sea-level. 

On  these  hills  the  teak  tree  (Tectona  grandis),  commercially  the  most 
important  of  the  woods  of  Siam,  and  several  varieties  of  Dipterocarpus  and 
other  huge  forest  trees  abound.  The  villages  can  generally  be  seen  afar 
by  the  bamboos,  and  the  areca  and  coco-nut  palms,  which  give  them 
shade  ;  rice,  tobacco  and  cotton  are  the  chief  crops. 

The  climate  of  the  mountain  valleys  is  practically  that  of  the  Shan  States 

508 


Siam 

generally.  After  the  rainy  season  comes  the  cool  dry  north-east  monsoon, 
with  the  thermometer  at  night  from  30°  to  40°  F.,  followed  by  the  heat 
haze  which  lasts,  with  the  thermometer  at  90°  to  105°  by  day,  from 
February  to  the  rains.  The  heat  of  the  great  alluvial  plain  is  tempered 
by  its  proximity  to  the  gulf,  and  while  the  rainfall  is  usually  not  great  (60  to 
80  inches),  the  thermometer  seldom  reaches  100°  at  the  hottest  season.  The 
amount  of  moisture  in  the  atmosphere,  however,  makes  the  climate  of  the 
lowlands  peculiarly  trying.  The  malarial  fever  of  the  plains  is  less  acute 
than  the  forest  fever  of  the  northern  valleys,  but  cholera  and  dysentery  are 
more  frequent. 

The  Me  Kong  Basin. — Only  five  streams  of  any  importance  flow  from 
Siamese  territory  eastward  to  the  Me  Kong ;  the  Nam  Kok  and  Nam  Ing 
in  the  extreme  north,  the  Nam  Loe  and  Nam  Mun  from  the  Korat  plateau, 
and  the  Sangke  or  Battambong  river,  draining  the  Cambodian  provinces  into 
the  great  lake.  Though  navigable  for  some  distance  for  the  native  dug-out 
canoe,  all  these  rivers  during  the  dry  season  are  much  impeded  by 
shallows,  tree  trunks  and  the  like,  and  in  the  rains  they  are  turbid  torrents 
of  great  depth  and  swiftness.  The  Korat  plateau  lying  between  the  great 
eastern  bend  of  the  Me  Kong  on  the  i8th  parallel,  and  the  Dawng  Phraya 
Yen  and  Dawng  Rek  ranges,  which  form  its  ramparts  on  the  south  and  west, 
has  a  mean  elevation  of  600  feet  above  the  sea.  Large  portions  of  it  con- 
sist of  unreclaimed  swamps  and  salt  wastes,  or  of  open  shadeless  jungles 
of  small  hard-wood  trees  subject  to  inundation  in  the  rains.  The  un- 
suitability  of  the  Me  Kong  for  navigation,  and  the  pestilential  tracts  of 
forest  surrounding  its  other  sides  have  effectually  cut  off  the  plateau  from 
the  outside  world,  and  excluded  all  incentives  to  trade. 

Lower  Siam. — Lower  Siam  occupies  part  of  the  Malay  Peninsula. 
As  far  south  as  Kra  in  about  10°  N.  the  main  axial  range  of  the  peninsula 
forms  the  frontier  towards  British  Tenasserim.  The  Siamese  territory 
is  but  a  narrow  strip,  and  the  granites  of  the  axial  range  have  so  con- 
torted and  upheaved  the  sandstones  and  shales  along  their  flanks  that  the 
country  is  very  rough,  and,  being  unsuitable  for  cultivation,  is  densely 
forested.  Outlying  masses  of  tilted  limestones  are  very  conspicuous, 
jagged  fragments  of  the  great  limestone  formation  which  has  left  its  traces 
•from  Perak  to  Tongking,  in  the  Mergui  archipelago,  and  on  the  upper 
Me  Kong.  From  the  Pakchan  estuary  southward  Siam  rules  from  coast  to 
coast,  till  the  British  Malay  territories  of  Province  Wellesley  and  Pahang 
are  reached  in  about  5°  N. 

People  and  Government. — The  influence  exercised  over  the  States 
of  Kedah,  Kelantan,  and  Tring  Kanu  in  the  south,  is  rather  of  the  nature  of 
a  protectorate.  In  race,  speech,  flora  and  fauna  they  are  essentially 
Malay.  But  north  of  the  old  State  of  Patani,  from  Singora  in  7°  N.,  the 
Siamese  are  the  most  numerous,  and  their  language  is  used  by  the  Malay 
as  well  as  by  the  Chinese  settlers. 

In  Upper  Siam,  besides  the  Siamese  proper,  the  plain-dwellers  include 


5 1  o       The  Internationa]   Geography 

the  Mons  (remains  of  the  Peguan  or  Talaing  invasions  of  the  eighteenth 
century),  Chinese,  who  largely  intermarry  with  the  Siamese,  and  smaller 
numbers  of  Annamites,  Cambodians  and  Laos  or  Siamese  Shans,  repre- 
sentatives of  the  old  Tai  race  from  which  the  Siamese  are  descended  and 
whose  language  they  speak.  These  races  (except  the  Chinese)  for  the  most 
part  profess  Buddhism,  but  generally  with  consider- 
able admixture  of  the  old  Indo-Chinese  nature 
worship,  and  many  traces  of  Brahmanism. 

The  races  inhabiting  the  hills,  whither  they  have 
been  thrust  by  the  incursion  of  the  Shans,  include 
some  very  primitive  and  interesting  types ;  notably 
the  Sakai  and  Samang,  the  aboriginal  people  of  the 
Malay  Peninsula,  the  Karens  inhabiting  the  Burma 


lation    of™™  square    frontier  range  north  of  lat.  13°,  the  Kas  of  the  northern 
mile  of  Siam.  highlands  and  the  Chongs  of  the  Krat  hills  on  the 

south-east.  Tribes  of  semi-Chinese  mountaineers  occupy  the  Me  Kong 
region,  all  hardy  nomads  living  in  small  communities  and  possessed  often 
of  no  small  taste  in  dress.  All  these  races  show  that  gentleness  of 
disposition,  and  the  childish  simplicity  and  cheeriness  which  are  the  chief 
characteristics  of  the  unspoiled  Indo-Chinese.  The  population  of  Siam, 
which  is  distributed  mainly  along  the  canal  and  river  banks,  may  be 
roughly  estimated  at  9,000,000,  of  whom  one-third  are  of  Chinese  origin. 

Towns  and  Trade. — Bangkok,  the  capital,  on  the  muddy  Me 
Nam,  contains  a  population  which  has  been  estimated  variously  from  a 
quarter  to  half  a  million.  Many  of  the  people  live  on  the  water  in  floating 
dwellings,  and  on  shore  in  narrow  and  ill-kept  streets,  but  European 
influence  begins  to  be  apparent  in  both  streets  and  buildings.  The  port 
is  accessible  to  vessels  of  12  feet  draft.  Of  the  other  towns  of  Siam, 
perhaps  fifteen  attain,  with  their  suburbs  and  neighbouring  villages,  a 
population  of  10,000.  Most  of  the  other  Muangs  in  the  country  fall 
short  of  5,000  inhabitants. 

The  Government  is  carried  on  by  the  King,  advised  by  a  Council  of 
twelve  Ministers  and  heads  of  the  various  govern-    Q 
ment  departments,  and  assisted  by  a  Legislative 
Council  composed  of  the  chief  nobles.     The  princi- 
pal Lao  and  Malay  States  are  still  ruled  by  their 
hereditary   chiefs  appointed    or    confirmed    from 
Bangkok,  under   the   supervision  of    Royal   Com- 
missioners appointed  from  the  capital.     Many  of 
the  public  departments  are   under  the  charge  of    FlG-259-— The  Siamese  Flag. 
European  officials  ;  but  Siam  is  independent  of  European  political  control. 

The  chief  export  is  rice,  amounting  to  over  450,000  tons  per  annum.  On 
the  quality  of  the  rice-crops  depends  the  prosperity  of  the  people  and  the 
whole  import  trade  of  the  year.  Teak  comes  next  in  value  with  about 
50,000  tons  annually.  Tin  mined  by  Chinese  labour  from  the  granites 


Straits  Settlements  511 

of  the  Malay  Peninsula  is  next  in  importance,  and  its  export  exceeds 
3,000  tons  annually.  Salt  and  dried  fish,  bullocks,  hides  and  horns,  pepper, 
teal-seed,  cardamoms,  edible  birds'  nests,  sapan,  rosewood  and  ironwood, 
agilla  and  gum  benjamin  are  the  other  principal  exports.  The  chief  trade 
of  the  country  is  done  between  Bangkok  and  Singapore  or  Hongkong, 
thence  indirectly  with  Europe  and  China. 

STATISTICS. 
(Estimates.) 

Area  of  Siam  (square  miles)        200,000 

Population  of  Siam           9,000,000 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile           45 

Population  of  Bangkok 300,000 

ANNUAL  TRADE  OF  SIAM  (in  dollars). 

1896. 

Imports        10,500,000 

Exports        15,100,000 

STANDARD  BOOKS. 

Sir  John  Bowring.    "  The   Kingdom  and  People  of  Siam."    2  vols.    London,  1857. 
Mrs.  Grindrod.    "  Siam,  a  Geographical  Summary/'    London,  1895. 
H.  Warington  Smyth.     "  Five  Years  in  Siam."    2  vols.    London,  1898. 


II.— STRAITS  SETTLEMENTS  AND  THE  PROTECTED  MALAY 

STATES 

BY  THE   EDITOR.4 

The  End  of  the  Malay  Peninsula. — The  Straits  Settlements 
with  the  Protected  Native  States  mainly  occupy  the  portion  of  the  Malay 
Peninsula  south  of  Siam,  between  i°  and  6°  N.  This  part  of  the 
peninsula  is  separated  from  Sumatra  by  the  Strait  of  Malacca.  In  the 
extreme  south,  Singapore  Strait  separates  it  from  the  smaller  Dutch 
islands  belonging  to  Sumatra,  and  serves  as  the  channel  of  communi- 
cation with  the  China  Sea.  The  peninsula  is  mountainous,  the  main 
range  rising  8,000  feet  or  more,  but  decreasing  southward,  trends  on  the 
whole  from  north-west  to  south-east,  and  a  second  series  of  ranges,  more 
to  the  west,  follows  a  direction  generally  parallel  to  it.  From  the  central 
watershed  rivers,  which  are  necessarily  short,  flow  to  the  coasts,  east, 
south,  and  west.  Much  of  the  surface  is  undulating  and  covered 
with  dense  forests,  varied  with  open  grassy  plains,  and,  in  the  lower 
parts,  swamps  and  marshes.  The  geological  structure  is  still  very  imper- 
fectly known,  but  in  the  central  chain  the  older  formations  associated 
with  plutonic  rocks  appear  to  predominate.  Tin  is  by  far  the  most  im- 
portant mineral  ;  rich  deposits  occur  in  various  parts  of  the  main  range 
and  its  vicinity,  constituting  the  richest  and  most  extensive  tin-field 
known,  and  yielding  about  one-half  of  the  world's  supply  of  this  metal. 

1  Assisted  by  E.  J.  Hastings. 


512       The   International  Geography 

Iron  is  widely  distributed,  and  there  is  some  gold.  The  forests  and 
jungles  yield  valuable  timber,  guttapercha,  gums,  bamboos  and  rattans  ; 
the  coco-nut,  areca  and  other  palms  flourish  ;  rice  is  extensively  cultivated 
in  the  swamps ;  gambier,  pepper  and  tapioca  are  important  plantation 
products  ;  spices  of  various  kinds  grow  freely ;  and  coffee  has  been  success- 
fully introduced.  The  large  wild  animals  include  the  elephant,  rhinoceros, 
tiger,  leopard,  tapir,  bison,  several  kinds  of  deer,  and  monkeys.  The 
cobra,  hamadryad,  python,  and  other  venomous  snakes  occur,  while 
crocodiles  haunt  the  rivers.  Peacocks,  birds  of  paradise,  parrots,  and 
pheasants  are  characteristic  of  the  avifauna,  and  the  edible  birds'  nest  is 
collected  in  the  cliffs  and  islands. 

The  climate  is  hot  and  humid,  but  owing  to  the  free  exposure  of  the 
country  to  the  sea-breezes,  the  heat  is  less  intense  than  in  other  countries  so 
near  the  equator.  The  temperature  varies  little  throughout  the  year.  The 
rainfall  is  abundant,  but  there  are  no  marked  wet  and  dry  seasons,  both 
the  north-east  and  the  south-west  monsoons  bringing  rain.  The  climate 
is,  in  general,  not  particularly  unhealthy,  though  in  some  of  the  low  parts 
malaria  prevails. 

People  and  History. — The  inhabitants  comprise  Malays,  Chinese, 
natives  of  India,  here  known  as  Klings ;  Sakeis  and 
Samangs,  remnants  of  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  in  the 
interior ;  Eurasians  and  Europeans.  The  Malays  are 
mainly  engaged  in  agriculture  and  fishing,  while  the 
Chinese,  who  now  probably  outnumber  them,  supply 
almost  all  the  mining  labour.  Europeans  (chiefly 
British)  form  a  small  minority  of  the  population,  and 
FIG.  260.— Badge  of  are  generally  engaged  in  the  Government  service 
kments.  ^  in  mercantile  concerns.  The  history  of  European 
influence  in  the  Malay  Peninsula  dates  from  the  capture  of  Malacca  in  1511 
by  Albuquerque,  who  made  it  the  centre  of  Portuguese  dominion  in  the 
peninsula.  Towards  the  end  of  that  century  the  Dutch  arrived  and,  after  a 
long  contest,  culminating  in  the  capture  of  Malacca  in  1642,  acquired  the 
supremacy.  It  was  not  till  near  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century 
that  a  British  settlement  was  effected.  The  East  India  Company 
occupied  Penang  in  1786  and  Province  Wellesley  in  1800.  In  1825,  after 
the  final  loss  of  Malacca,  the  Dutch  withdrew  from  the  peninsula.  In 
1819  Sir  Stamford  Raffles,  with  wise  foresight,  founded  Singapore  on 
land  granted  by  the  Sultan  of  Johor,  and  five  years  later  possession  was 
obtained  of  the  whole  island.  In  1826,  Singapore,  Malacca,  and  Penang 
were  constituted  the  Straits  Settlements,  and  in  1867  the  administration 
was  transferred  from  the  East  India  Company  to  the  Home  Government, 
and  the  Straits  Settlements  became  a  Crown  Colony.  The  Dindings 
were  annexed  in  1874 ;  and  as  remote  dependencies  the  Cocos  or 
Keeling  Islands  were  added  in  1886,  and  Christmas  Island  in  1889. 
In  1887  the  Sultan  of  Johor  agreed  to  place  his  foreign  relations  in 


Straits  Settlements  513 


the  hands  of  the  British  and  to  receive  a  Resident  Agent,  and  in  1896 
the  native  States  of  Perak,  Selangor,  Sungei  Ujong,  Pahang,  and  Negri 
Sembilan,  which  had  previously  been  under  British  control,  were  united 
into  a  Federation  under  the  administration  of  a  British  Resident-General. 

Resources. — Agriculture  and  mining  are  the  chief  industries.  Tin  is 
the  principal  export  (forming  more  than  one-sixth  of  the  total),  next  in 
importance  are  spices,  gambier,  and  gum.  Rice  is  the  chief  import ; 
others  are  cotton  goods,  opium,  fish  and  coal.  The  bulk  of  the  import 
trade  goes  to  the  United  Kingdom,  India,  Hongkong,  and  the  Dutch  East 
Indies,  while  the  United  Kingdom  and  Dutch  East  Indies  take  the  first 
place  for  exports.  Means  of  communication  are  still  deficient,  but  several 
railways  have  been  constructed  in  the  native  States,  others  are  in  pro- 
gress, and  good  roads  have  replaced  many  of  the  old  bridle  paths. 

The  British  Settlements.— Singapore  Island  lies  south  of  the 
peninsula,  separated  from  it  only  by  the  Old  Strait,  a  narrow  channel  in  parts 
less  than  a  mile  wide.  The  surface  is  undulating,  and  the  scenery  very 
picturesque  ;  dense,  and  almost  impenetrable,  jungles  cover  a  large  area, 
but  in  the  clearings,  pineapples,  gambier, 
and  pepper  are  cultivated.  Singapore,  the 
capital,  has  advanced  by  rapid  strides  to  a 
commercial  port  of  the  first  rank.  Singa- 
pore Roads  afford  good  anchorage  and 
shelter  for  vessels,  and  New  Harbour,  fur- 
ther west,  has  excellent  wharfage.  The 
port  is  protected  by  batteries  and  sub- 
marine mines.  Singapore,  like  Hongkong, 

t       i    ,    i       /•  ,       ,  ...  FlG.  261. — Singapore  Island. 

is  an   absolutely  free    harbour,   without  a 

Custom  House,  and  carries  on  an  enormous  trade  as  the  meeting-place 

of  about  fifty  regular  steamer  lines  from  west,  east  and  south. 

Malacca,  at  the  time  of  the  Portuguese  conquest,  was  a  large  and 
important  town,  and  a  great  centre  of  trade.  Under  the  monopolising 
policy  of  the  Portuguese  and  their  successors,  the  Dutch,  its  prosperity 
decreased,  and  still  more  after  the  establishment  of  Penang.  The  opening 
up  of  the  district  has,  however,  given  a  fresh  impetus  to  its  growth.  The 
district  of  Malacca  is  the  largest  of  the  settlements. 

Penang  (i.e.,  "betel-nut"),  formerly  called  Prince  of  Wales'  Island, 
lies  about  360  miles  north-west  of  Singapore,  and  with  Province  Wellesley 
on  the  adjacent  mainland  is  the  most  northerly  of  the  Straits  Settlements. 
The  channel  separating  the  island  from  the  mainland  is  about  two  miles 
wide  and  forms  a  very  good  harbour.  Penang,  which  succeeded  Malacca 
as  the  chief  centre  of  trade  in  the  Straits,  declined  with  the  growth  of 
Singapore.  Its  local  trade  is,  however,  large  and  increasing.  Province 
Wellesley  consists  chiefly  of  an  alluvial  plain  with  wooded  hills  in  the 
interior.  Besides  the  betel-nut,  spices  of  various  kinds  and  rice  are 
cultivated. 


514      The  International  Geography 

The  Bindings,  about  70  miles  south  of  Penang,  comprise  the 
Pangkar  or  Binding  Islands,  and  a  part  of  mainland  opposite,  lying  north 
and  south  of  the  Binding  river. 

The  Keeling  or  Cocos  Islands,  a  group  of  about  twenty  small 
forest-clothed  coral  islands,  discovered  in  1609  by  Captain  Keeling,  lie 
about  500  miles  south-south-west  of  Java.  Coco-nut  palms  abound  and 
yield  the  principal  export. 

Christmas  Island,  200  miles  south  of  Java,  is  an  upraised  coral  atoll 
the  coast  of  which  is  formed  by  the  hard  rocks  on  which  the  coral  grew 
while  they  were  beneath  the  surface  of  the  water.  A  valuable  product  is 
the  phosphate  of  lime  of  which  a  considerable  part  of  the  rocks  is  com- 
posed. The  island  is  covered  with  exceedingly  dense  forest  and  under- 
growth. Large  tree-climbing  land  crabs  and  great  red-brown  rats  are 
characteristic  elements  in  the  restricted  fauna. 

The  Protected  Native  States. — These  are  all  small  States  under 
native  rulers  who  are  advised  or  controlled  by  British  Residents. 

Perak,  the  most  northerly,  is  about  one-fourth  larger  than  Wales.  The 
coasts  are  low  and  bordered  with  mangroves.  In  the  interior  are  moun- 
tain ranges  and  isolated  groups  rising  in  the  main  range  on  the  eastern 
border  to  6,000  and  8,000  feet.  The  principal  river  is  the  Perak,  which  with 
its  tributaries  drains  the  greater  part  of  the  country,  and  is  navigable  by 
boats  for  165  miles.  Tin  is  the  most  important  mineral  and  the  chief 
source  of  wealth  ;  gold,  galena,  and  iron  also  occur,  besides  excellent 
china  clay.  Tea  cultivation  has  been  experimentally  introduced.  Kwala 
Kangsa,  on  the  Perak,  is  the  capital  and  seat  of  the  British  Resident.  It  is 
connected  by  road  with  Port  Weld,  whence  a  short  railway  runs  inland  to 
the  mining  centres  of  the  rich  Larut  tin-fields  via  Taiping,  and  a  branch 
joins  it  to  the  Selangor  lines.  The  Southern  port  of  Teluk  Anson  on  the 
Perak  is  connected  with  Ipoh  in  Kinta,  also  a  rich  tin  district. 

Selangor,  south  of  Perak,  has  inland  stretches  of  undulating  and  very 
fertile  country  traversed  by  rivers,  navigable  to  a  greater  or  less  distance, 
the  most  important  being  the  Bernam  on  the  Perak  frontier.  Tin-mining 
is  the  principal  industry,  but  agriculture  is  advancing.  Kwala  Lampur,  the 
large  and  flourishing  capital  and  residence  of  the  British  Agent,  is  situated 
on  the  Klang,  twenty-seven  miles  from  its  mouth,  at  the  point  of  convergence 
of  several  roads  leading  from  the  tin-fields.  A  railway  connects  it  with  the 
river  port  of  Klang,  and  still  lower  with  the  seaport  of  Kwala  Klang, 
and  other  lines  are  being  extended  north  and  south  from  the  capital. 

Sungei  Ujong  (with  which  is  included  Jelebu)  and  Negri  Sembilan 
(i.e.,  the  Nine  States),  lie  south-east  of  Selangor  and  north  of  Malacca.  The 
east  is  mountainous,  traversed  by  the  terminal  section  of  the  main  range, 
and  the  west,  hilly  in  parts.  Tin-mining  is  the  principal  industry,  but  agri- 
culture, for  which  the  country  seems  well  adapted,  is  advancing.  Cattle 
are  reared  in  the  west.  Seremban,  on  the  Linggi,  has  the  British  Residency 
for  Sungei  Ujong  ;  it  is  connected  by  railway  with  the  sheltered  harbour  of 


French  Indo-China  515 

Port  Dickson.  Kwala  Pilah  is  the  capital  of  Negri  Sembilan,  and  residence 
of  the  British  Agent. 

Pahang,  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  peninsula,  is  about  the  same  size 
as  Perak  ;  the  low  and  swampy  coasts  are  succeeded  inland  in  the  central 
part  by  more  elevated  land,  with  numerous  conical  hills.  The  main  range 
on  the  western  border  is  believed  to  contain  in  Gunong  Tahan  (probably 
over  10,000  feet),  the  highest  summit  in  the  peninsula.  The  Pahang  river, 
which,  with  its  tributaries,  drains  the  whole  central  region,  has  a  length  of 
350  miles,  but  is  shallow,  and  in  its  lower  course  spreads  out  into  lake-like 
expansions.  Tin,  gold  and  galena  are  the  chief  minerals.  Pekan,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Pahang,  is  the  capital. 

Johor  occupies  the  southern  portion  of  the  peninsula.  A  great  part  of 
the  interior  is  covered  with  dense  forest  and  uninhabited.  Iron  is  widely 
distributed,  but  not  worked,  and  some  tin  is  found.  Gambier,  sago  and 
pepper  are  the  principal  cultivated  exports,  besides  timber  and  other 
forest  products.  Johor  Bharu  (New  Johor},  in  the  south,  opposite  Singa- 
pore Island,  is  the  capital.  There  is  daily  communication  by  steam  ferry 
and  coach  with  Singapore.  Bandar  Maharani,  a  small  town  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Muar,  is  connected  by  a  short  railway  with  Parit  Jawa  to  the  south- 
east. 


STATISTICS. 

1881. 
Area  of  Straits  Settlements  (Colony),  square  miles            1,472 
Population  of  Straits  Settlements  (Colony)           .  .        423,384 
Density  of  population  per  square  mile        .  .        .  .              287 
Area  of  Federated  Native  States        — 
Population  of  Federated  States          — 

1891. 
1,472 
512,342 
348 
26,500 
418.527 
9,000  x 

1901. 
1,472 
572,249 

392 

26,500. 

.     676,138 

.              9,000  * 

2OO  OOO1 

.           2OO  OOO1 

Number  of  Asiatics  in  Straits  Settlement  (including 
Chinese,   227,889  ;    Malays,  213,073  ;   natives  of 
India,  53,927  in  1891)  
Population  of  Singapore  (town)        

.     498,696 

186,300 

554,141 

228,555 

ANNUAL  TRADE  OF  STRAITS  SETTLEMENTS  THROUGH  SINGAPORE 
(in  pounds  sterling). 

1871-75.  1881-85.  1891-95. 

Imports          11,493,000        ..    17,443,000        ..     20,960,000 

Exports          10,890,000        ..    15,690,000        ..     18,782,000 

STANDARD  BOOKS. 

C.  P.  Lucas.    "  Historical  Geography  of  the  British  Colonies,"  vol.  i.    Oxford,  1894. 
N.  R.  Dennys.    "  A  Descriptive  Dictionary  of  British  Malaya."    London,  1894. 
H.  Clifford.     "  In  Court  and  Kampong.     Native  Life  in  Malaya."     London,  1897. 
R.  Martin.     "Die  Inlandstamme  der  Malayischen  Halbinsel."    Jena,  1905. 

HI.— FRENCH  INDO-CHINA 

BY    M.    ZlMMERMANN,* 

Of  the  "  Annales  de  Geographic,"  Paris. 

History  and  Exploration.— France  obtained  a  footing  in  Indo- 
China  in  the  year  1862,  when  a  part  of  Cochin-China  with  Saigon  and  the 
Pulo  Condor  Islands  were  acquired  from  the  Emperor  of  Armam,  a  vassal 

1  Estimates.  2  Translated  from  the  French  by  the  Editor. 


516       The  International  Geography 

of  the  Emperor  of  China.  The  colony  of  French  Cochin-China,  to  which 
the  Protectorate  of  Cambodia  had  been  added  in  1863,  was  constituted  in 
1870.  After  a  war  from  1883  to  1885,  the  French  protectorate  over  Tongking 
and  Annam  was  recognised  by  China.  Towards  Siam,  France  obtained  in 
1893  the  left  bank  of  the  Me  Kong  (the  Lao  country)  together  with  rights 
over  a  zone  15  miles  wide  on  the  right  bank.  By  a  treaty  in  1902  France 
gave  up  the  right  bank  rights  in  return  for  territory  west  of  the  Me  Kong 
and  south  of  Pnom  Dong  Rek.  The  far  eastern  possessions  as  a  whole 
have  been  known  since  1888  as  the  General  Government  of  French  Indo- 
China  (Gourernement  General  de  flndo-Chine  Franfaise). 

The  era  of  scientific  geography  in  French  Indo-China  opened  in  1866 
by  the  fine  explorations  of  Doudart  de  Lagree  and  Francois  Gamier  on  the 
Me  Kong.  The  necessity  of  entering  into  direct  relations  with  China  and 
the  States  of  the  upper  Me  Kong,  which  were  reported  to  be  very  rich,  was 
the  motive  of  the  labours  of  Gamier  and  of  Jean  Dupuis  for  Tongking,  of 
Dr.  Harmand,  Neis,  and  particularly  the  Pavie  expedition  (1887-91)  through 
the  Lao  country  and  the  north  of  Indo-China.  The  Me  Kong  has  been  the 
special  object  of  energetic  exploration  on  account  of  the  great  importance 
of  the  question  of  its  navigability.  Since  1888  the  hydrographic  survey  of 
the  great  river  has  been  carried  out  with  precision  by  a  succession  of  naval 
officers,  and  its  volume  and  the  fluctuations  of  its  level  have  been  studied. 
Small  gun-boats  have  been  able  to  pass  all  the  rapids  with  the  exception  of 
those  of  Khone  immediately  above  Luang  Prabang. 

Extent,  Configuration  and  Climate. — French  Indo-China  extends 
for  14°  along  the  left  bank  of  the  Me  Kong  (9°  to  23°  N.),  and  its  total  area 
is  half  as  large  again  as  that  of  France,  so  that  its  different  parts  present 
many  varieties  in  every  respect. 

The  interior  of  Tongking  (French,  Tonkin}  is  a  highland  region  vary- 
ing in  elevation  from  2,000  to  4,000  feet ;  the  surface  modelled  in  gentle 
curves  where  the  Devonian  schists  prevail,  but  often  presenting  a  wild  and 
broken  appearance  where  the  hard  Palaeozoic  sandstones,  beneath  which 
lie  deposits  of  coal,  form  the  surface.  The  deep  bays  and  gorges  of  the 
limestone  region  are  now,  as  they  have  always  been,  haunts  of  pirates. 
These  ancient  rocks,  forming  a  continuation  of  Yunnan,  encircle  the  huge 
delta  of  the  Red  River  and  the  Thai  Binh,  which  has  an  area  of  5,800 
square  miles.  It  contains  almost  the  whole  population  of  the  country  ; 
and  its  uniform  clayey  surface,  hardly  broken  by  a  few  limestone  crags,  is 
covered  with  crops  mainly  of  rice.  The  climate  is  tropical,  deluges  of  rain 
falling  after  the  month  of  May,  flooding  the  Red  River  and  raising  its  level 
20  feet ;  but  with  a  clearly  marked  winter,  when  temperatures  from  43°  to 
45°  F.  occur  at  Hanoi,  and  frost  is  known  in  the  higher  land. 

The  skeleton  of  Annam  consists  of  a  granitic  mountain-chain  in  the 
form  of  an  arc  stretching  from  Tongking  to  Cochin-China  and  running  close 
to  the  coast  of  the  China  Sea.  This  barrier  cuts  off  the  interior  from  access 
to  the  coast ;  it  rises  to  heights  of  from  4,000  to  9,000  feet  and  is  notched 


French  Indo-China 


517 


by  few  passes,  the  most  important  being  that  of  Ailao  between  Kwang-tri 
and  the  Sebang-hien,  1,000  feet  above  the  sea.  The  range  is  covered 
with  forest  and  occasional  marshes,  which  make  it  still  more  difficult  to 
communicate  from  the  coast  with  the  Me  Kong,  the  interior  plateau  of  the 
Lao  country,  and  the  stretches  of  denuded  sandstones  and  open  forests  of 
the  plateau  of  Boloven  and  Attopeu.  The  seaward  slope  of  the  chain  is 
trenched  by  short  coast  rivers  forming  small  valleys  in  which  most  of  the 
population  is  concentrated.  The  coast,  bordered  by  dunes  and  lagoons, 
offers  scarcely  any  anchorage  unless  it  be  in  the  Bay  of  Turan.  The 
climate  is  intermediate  between  that  of  Tongking  and  of  Cochin-China ; 
the  rainy  season  corresponds  to  the  north-east  monsoon  occurring  not  in 
summer  but  from  September  to  December. 

Cochin-China  and  Cambodia  consist  mainly  of  low  alluvial  land 
formed  by  the  floods  of  the  Me  Kong  and 
the  Donnai,  above  which  only  a  few  masses 
of  granite  project.  The  climate  is  quite  tropi- 
cal, with  a  uniform  high  temperature  and  a 
rainy  season  in  summer.  The  ancient  centre 
of  the  Cambodian  kingdom  was  the  great 
Lake  Tonle  Sap,  a  sort  of  natural  regulator 
of  the  summer  floods  of  the  Me  Kong.  At  a 
very  remote  period  human  settlements  had 
been  formed  in  the  marshy  ground  subject 
to  periodical  floods  around  this  lake.  The 
discovery  of  prehistoric  remains  of  a  re- 
markable character  in  the  same  region 
shows  that  it  was  also  the  seat  of  the  early 
Khmer  civilisation.  In  the  same  way  as 
Egypt  is  a  gift  from  the  Nile  the  whole  of 
Lower  Cochin-China  is  a  present  from  the 
enormous  Me  Kong,  which  flows  down  *•" 
loaded  with  the  silt  that  has  been  worn  FIG  262.— The <.Dhtsions  of  French 

,  _.,  _      .  Indo-China. 

from  the  mountains  of  Tibet.     In  its  upper 

course  it  struggles  through  the  fissured  limestones  of  southern  China, 
spreads  out  on  the  sandstone  plateau  of  the  Lao  country,  and  at  the  end 
of  its  course  of  nearly  2,500  miles  it  forms  one  of  the  largest  deltas  of  Asia. 
The  transition  between  each  of  the  great  geological  divisions  which  it 
waters  is  marked  by  the  formation  of  rapids  or  waterfalls,  and  thus  it 
happens  that  the  Me  Kong  does  not  play  the  important  part  as  a  channel  of 
communication  which  its  great  length  and  vast  volume  seem  to  mark  out 
for  it. 

People. — The  principal  ethnic  group  in  French  Indo-China,  both  from 
the  political  and  social  point  of  view  and  from  its  number,  is  that  of  the 
Annamites.  They  principally  occupy  the  low  lands  of  the  east  of  the  penin- 
sula, including  the  deltas  of  Tongking  and  Cochin-China  and  the  coast 


518       The  International  Geography 

plain  of  Annam.  They  are  a  race  of  tillers  of  the  soil,  of  small  stature  and 
feeble  appearance,  but  are  hard-working  and  peaceable.  From  the  earliest 
centuries  of  our  era  they  have  been  under  the  influence  of  the  Chinese, 
whom  they  resemble  in  their  religious  beliefs  (ancestor-worship, 
Confucianism  and  a  modified  Buddhism),  and  in  their  written  language. 
The  spoken  language,  on  the  contrary,  is  entirely  different,  although,  as  in 
Chinese,  the  musical  value  of  the  tones  is  of  great  importance,  Annamite 
society  is  characterised  by  absolute  equality  ;  the  family  is  strongly 
organised  and  paternal  authority  has  preserved  all  its  strength.  The 
Cambodians  or  Khmers  were  a  powerful  nation  in  the  eighth  century  ; 
their  ancient  greatness  is  attested  by  many  magnificent  ruins,  including 
in  particular  those  of  Angkor-wat,  situated  not  far  from  the  great  lake 
Tonle  Sap.  Much  taller  and  stronger  than  the  people  of  Annam,  the 
Khmers  are  yet  an  apathetic  people,  and  were  probably  destined  before 
the  French  occupation  to  be  subject  to  the  yoke  of  their  more  energetic 
neighbours  the  Annamites  or  the  Siamese.  The  influence  of  India 
appears  very  clearly  in  their  social  organisation,  which  is  based  on  the 

^__ system    of  caste ;    in  their  religion,    a  mixture  of 

Brahmanism,  Buddhism  and  old  animistic  beliefs ; 
and  in  their  ancient  monuments.  Finally  the  Lao 
people  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  Shan  States  form 
a  branch  of  the  Thais,  the  same  race  as  the  Siamese 
and  the  Burmese.  A  puzzling  group  of  this  race, 
taller  and  less  yellow  than  the  Annamites  and  of  a 
much  less  marked  Mongolian  character,  also  in* 


FIG.  *>$.— Avera&  pop-      habits  the  high  valleys  of  Tongking  under  the  name 

ulation  of  a  square      of  Thos.    They  are  a  gentle  and  an  idle  people,  and 

Thina.  FrCnCH  Ind°'      aPPear  to  be  of  very  mixed  descent.     Besides  the 

three    great    groups,   some   very   primitive  tribes, 

who  seem  to  be  descended  from  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  Indo- 
China  driven  out  by  conquering  races,  are  found  scattered  through  the 
forests  and  on  the  barren  mountains.  These  tribes  are  called  Peunong 
amongst  the  Cambodians,  Moi  by  the  Annamites,  and  Khas  by  the  Laos, 
each  of  these  names  meaning  simply  savages.  Some  of  them  resemble  the 
Indonesians  of  the  Sunda  Islands,  and  especially  the  Dyaks  of  Borneo. 
There  is  also  a  Malay  tribe  known  as  the  Tsiam  and  the  Meos  in  the  high 
regions  of  the  north,  who  seem  to  have  come  recently  from  southern  China 
where  they  were  known  as  Man.  The  remnants  of  ancient  peoples  who 
have  been  driven  to  take  refuge  in  the  wooded  and  unhealthy  mountains 
have  best  preserved  their  original  character,  those  living  in  the  more 
open  ground  have  been  absorbed  by  Chinese  civilisation.  The  Chinese 
dominate  the  native  trade  of  the  whole  of  French  Indo-China. 

Productions.— Cochin-China  is  at  present  the  most  prosperous  part 
of  the  French  Asiatic  possessions,  as  it  has  been  colonised  for  the  longest 
time.  It  produces  scarcely  anything  but  rice,  more  than  three-quarters  of 


French  Indo-China  519 

the  cleared  land  being  devoted  to  that  crop,  which  is  favoured  by  the 
periodical  inundation  of  the  country  and  the  remarkable  uniformity  of  the 
seasons.  During  the  twenty  years  preceding  1895  the  production  has 
increased  six-fold,  and  since  1899  the  annual  export  has  exceeded  600,000 
tons,  forming  90  per  cent,  in  value  of  the  total  exports  of  the  country.  It 
is  sent  mainly  to  Hongkong,  Singapore  and  to  France.  The  other  parts  of 
French  Indo-China  are  still  only  to  be  viewed  as  lands  of  promise.  In 
Annam  there  are  untouched  forests  of  teak,  ironwood  and  lacquer  trees, 
covering  the  great  mountain  range  and  the  plateaux ;  the  valleys  on  the 
coast  only  produce  a  little  rice  on  account  of  the  want  of  suitable  low 
ground,  but  they  already  yield  a  certain  amount  of  cinnamon,  pepper, 
cotton  (at  Than  Hoa),  sugar-cane,  coffee  in  the  plantations  near  Turan, 
and  tea  ;  the  last  two  products  appear  to  have  some  future  before  them. 
Tongking  produces  rice  principally,  but  on  account  of  the  density  of 
population,  notwithstanding  a  very  large  production,  the  quantity  available 
for  export  is  much  less  than  from  Cochin-China.  Silk,  cotton,  oils  and 
lacquer  are  also  produced,  and  much  is  hoped  from  the  cultivation  of 
coffee,  tobacco  and  jute.  The  elevated  northern  districts  of  Luang  Pra- 
bang,  Tranh-Ninh  and  Sib-Song-Panna  are  on  the  border  of  the  tropical 
and  temperate  regions,  and  produce  some  of  the  products  of  each. 
They  promise  ultimately  good  returns  from  the  forests  of  teak  and 
other  valuable  woods,  from  gum-benjamin,  cardamoms,  cinnamon  and 
tea  plantations ;  while  there  are  great  undeveloped  mineral  deposits 
including  gold,  iron,  antimony,  copper  and  lead. 

The  thinly  peopled  Lao  country,  poorly  provided  with  means  of 
communication,  without  any  great  demand  for  trade  on  the  part  of  its 
inhabitants,  and  still  tributary  to  Siam  commercially,  is  in  the  very 
infancy  of  colonial  enterprise.  It  is  known,  however,  that  cotton  grows 
there  without  being  cultivated. 

All  along  the  coast  of  the  China  Sea  the  fisheries  are  actively  pro- 
secuted, whole  fleets  of  junks,  usually  manned  by  Chinamen,  carrying 
on  the  trade.  Coal  mining  has  already  made  some  progress  in  Tongking, 
the  coal  of  Hongay  being  exported  to  the  extent  of  276,000  tons  in 
1809,  and  going  to  Hongkong,  Canton,  Singapore,  and  even  San  Fran- 
cisco. The  Coal  Measures  of  the  Bay  of  Along  appear  again  on  the  Red 
River  at  Lao  Kay,  near  the  frontier. 

Trade  and  Towns. — As  in  many  of  the  French  Colonies,  the  trade 
of  Indo-China  is  mainly  carried  on  with  foreign  countries.  The  imports 
of  cotton  yarn,  textiles,  manufactured  articles,  machinery  and  petroleum 
are  of  Australian,  British,  American  and  even  Japanese  origin.  Energetic 
efforts  have  recently  been  made  to  open  up  internal  trade  in  two  directions. 
First  new  transverse  routes  are  being  opened  across  Annam  in  order 
to  reach  the  Lao  country  and  the  Shan  States  (Luang  Prabang),  starting 
from  Vinh,  Turan  and  Saigon.  A  railway  between  Saigon  and  Mytho 
is  being  extended  to  Tantinh.  Navigation  on  the  Me  Kong  has  been 


520      The  International  Geography 

facilitated  by  works  in  the  Island  of  Khone  and  by  laying  down  buoys.  The 
second  object  is  to  develop  trade  between  Tongking  and  Yunnan  by  the  Red 
River,  and  so  stimulate  commerce  with  southern  China.  For  this  purpose 
a  steamer  service  has  been  established  on  the  Red  River,  various  treaties 
have  been  made  with  China,  French  consulates  established  at  Mong-tse 
and  Long-cheou  and  a  port  has  been  acquired  in  the  peninsula  of  Lei-chu 
opposite  Hainan.  A  railway  runs  from  Haiphong  to  Hanoi  and  by  Phulang- 
thuong  and  Lang  Son,  to  the  frontier  of  the  Chinese  province  of  Kwang-si. 
Another  line  joins  Hanoi  to  Ninbinh,  and  will  be  prolonged  to  Vinh. 

In  Tongking  the  life  of  the  country  is  mainly  concentrated  in  the 
capital  Hanoi,  and  in  Haiphong,  the  port  which  monopolises  the  whole 
external  trade  in  spite  of  its  natural  disadvantages.  In  Annam  the  port 
of  Turan  (Tourane)  is  one  of  the  few  really  good  harbours  on  the  coast, 
and  is  near  coal-fields  which  assure  its  future.  Saigon  in  Cochin-China, 
where  there  is  a  French  population  of  2,000,  not  only  concentrates 
the  trade  of  Cambodia  and  southern  Indo-China,  but  is  one  of  the 
smartest  and  most  attractive  towns  in  the  Far  East. 

STATISTICS. 


ina 

Area,  sq.  miles. 
46,400 

22,000 

37,400 
52,100 
98,000 
255.900 

I 

Population. 
7,500,000 
2,300,000 
1,500,000 
6,400,000 
500,000 
18,200,000 

)ensity 

of  Population 
per  sq.  mile. 
162 
MS 
40 

121 

5 
71 

Tongking     . . 

Cochin-China 

Cambodia    . . 

Annam 

Laos  Country 

Total  of  French  Indo-China 

ANNUAL  TRADE  OF  FRENCH  INDO-CHINA  (in  pounds  sterling). 

1893-  1900. 

Imports 3,060,000        ..        7,440,000 

Exports 4,124,000        ..        6,240,000 

STANDARD  BOOKS. 

Doudart  de  Lagree  and  F.  Garnier.    "Vovage  d'exploration  en  Indo-Chine,  1866-1868." 

2  vols.  text  and  atlas.    Paris,  1872. 

C.  B.  Norman.    "  Tonkin  or  France  in  the  Far  East."     London,  1895. 
A.  Bouinais  and  H.  Paulus.     "  La  France  en  Indo-Chine."    Paris,  1890. 
Prince  Henri  d'Orleans.    "  Autour  du  Tonkin."    Paris,  1894. 
T.  de  Lanessan.    "  La  colonisation  francaise  en  Indo-Chine."    Paris,  1895. 
Cupet,  Friquegnon  and  Malglaive  (Members  of  the  Pavie  expedition).    "  Carte  de  1'Indo 

Chine,  i  :  2,000,000."     Paris,  and  edit.,  1899. 
P.  Pelet.    "  Atlas  des  Colonies  Francaises."    Paris. 
L.  Aymonier.    "  Le  Cambodge."    2  vols.    Paris,  1900-01. 
L.  de  Reinach.    "  Le  Laos."    2  vols.    Paris,  1901. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII.— THE  CHINESE  EMPIRE 

BY  GEORGE  G.  CHISHOLM,  M.A.,  B.Sc. 
I.— CHINA  PROPER 

Position  and  Extent. — The  Chinese  Empire  is  made  up  of  China 
Proper  and  the  bordering  provinces  of  Manchuria,  Mongolia,  Eastern 
Turkestan,  and  Tibet.  The  total  area  is  above  4,000,000  square  miles,  and 
the  empire  occupies  the  greater  part  of  central  and  eastern  Asia  ;  but  the 
importance  of  China  Proper  much  exceeds  that  of  the  vast  thinly-peopled 
provinces  which  lie  to  the  west  and  north. 

China  Proper  is  a  country  which,  in  spite  of  its  vast  extent  (above 
1,500,000  square  miles)  and  great  diversity  of  physical  features,  is  on  the 
whole  well  marked  off  by  natural  boundaries  (bounding  tracts,  however, 
rather  than  boundary  lines)  from  surrounding  countries.  And  although 
including  foreign  ethnical  elements  in  considerable  numbers,  it  is  yet 
inhabited  by  a  people  remarkably  homogeneous  in  race,  language,  customs 
and  ideas.  On  the  north,  the  boundary  runs  along  mountains  or  through 
sparsely  peopled  steppes,  separating  it  from  Mongolia  and  Manchuria. 
There  are  extensive  remains  of  a  great  wall  built  about  212  B.C.,  which 
long  formed  the  frontier  on  the  north,  and  still  does  so  exactly  or 
approximately  in  the  west,  though  now  China  Proper  extends  far  beyond 
it  east  of  the  middle  portion  of  the  Hwang-ho.  On  the  west,  China  is 
bordered  by  the  lofty  tableland  of  Tibet.  On  the  south-west  it  is  divided 
from  the  Indian  peninsula  and  Burma  by  a  succession  of  lofty  mountain 
ranges  and  profound  valleys.  On  the  south,  the  boundary  runs  in  part 
right  across  these  mountains  and  valleys,  and  partly  along  the  water- 
parting  between  the  basins  of  the  Si-kiang  (West  River)  and  the  Song-koi 
(Red  River). 

General  Configuration. — Broadly  speaking  China  is  composed  of 
two  extensive  low  plains  in  the  north-east,  and  of  mountainous  and  hilly 
country  in  the  west  and  south,  together  with  an  isolated  mountainous 
peninsula  between  the  Gulf  of  Pechili  and  the  Yellow  Sea.  The  two 
plains  differ  very  greatly  in  extent.  The  larger  extends  from  the  Gulf  of 
Hangchou  to  the  mountains  north  of  Peking,  a  total  length  of  about  700 
miles  ;  the  greatest  width,  near  the  parallel  of  32°  N.,  being  about  400 
miles.  A  large  part  of  this  plain  is  so  low  and  level  as  to  be  very  liable  to 
inundation,  the  rivers  being  only  with  difficulty  restrained  within  their 
banks.  The  most  destructive  of  such  inundations  have  been  caused  by  the 

521 


522       The  International  Geography 


changes  in  the  bed  of  the  Hwang-ho,  "  China's  sorrow,"  which  has  altered 
its  course,  or  had  its  course  altered,  at  least  eleven  times  within  the  last 
twenty-five  centuries,  flowing  now  north,  now  south  of  the  mountainous 
peninsula  of  Shantung.  The  minor  plain  is  that  of  the  middle  Yangtse  and 

the  lower  Han,  comprising  all  the 
lake  district  of  the  region  of  the 
great  zigzag  of  the  Yangtse  be- 
tween Ichang  and  Kiukiang.  It  is 
cut  off  from  the  larger  plain  by 
the  comparatively  low  hills  con- 
taining the  water-parting  between 
the  Yangtse  and  the  Hwai-ho. 
Both  in  length  and  breadth  it 
measures  about  140  miles. 

The  mountainous  country  in 
the  west  and  south  is  partly  com- 
posed of  an  intricate  system  of 
mountain  chains  and  spurs,  with 
narrow  intervening  valleys,  and 


FIG.  264. — The  changes  oj  the  Hwang-ho 


partly  of  more  undulating  country  with  broader  valleys,  the  latter  type 
predominating  in  the  south-east.  The  highland  regions  of  the  north  and 
south  present  another  contrast.  The  valleys  of  northern  China  are  all  to 
a  large  extent  filled  with  loess.  This  is  an  earthy  deposit  generally  of  a 
yellow  colour,  differing  from  clay  in  being  highly  calcareous  and  from 
marl  in  being  remarkably  porous,  and  that  in  a  peculiar  manner.  The 
pores  are  vertical,  and  are  believed  to  be  due  to  the  former  presence  of 
the  stems  of  plants  rich  in  lime.  This  characteristic  brings  about  a 
tendency  to  weather  into  vertical  precipices.  Equally  characteristic  of 
the  loess  are  horizontal  terraces,  a  structure  not  so  easy  to  explain.  The 
loess  of  China  is  believed  to  be  due  to  the  gradual  accumulation  of  dust 
blown  from  the  interior  tablelands  of  Asia.  In  some  places  this  fertile 
soil  is  cultivated  even  at  the  height  of  8,000  feet.  In  southern,  or  at 
least  south-eastern  China,  on  the  other  hand,  the  higher  slopes  are 
generally  too  steep  for  cultivation,  and,  notwithstanding  the  warmer 
climate,  cultivation  is  in  most  parts  confined  to  the  zone  below  2,000 
feet  ;  but  in  the  upper  part  of  the  basin  of  the  Yangtse-kiang,  in 
the  region  where  numerous  tributaries  converge  from  north  and  south 
before  the  great  bow-like  bend  to  the  north,  the  presence  of  a 
rich  red  soil,  filling  what  is  hence  known  as  the  Red  Basin,  has  caused 
most  of  the  hill  and  mountain  sides  to  be  terraced  for  cultivation  to 
their  tops. 

From  an  orographical  point  of  view  a  marked  dividing  line  between 
the  mountains  of  northern  and  southern  China  is  formed  by  the  easterly 
continuation  of  the  Kwen-lun  range.  In  China  Proper  this  runs  for  the 
most  part  nearly  due  east  and  west,  but  finally  turns  round  to  the  south-east. 


The  Chinese  Empire  523 

In  the  west  these  mountains  are  known  as  the  Tsinling-shan,  and  in  the 
east  as  the  Funiu-shan.  Their  importance  arises  chiefly  from  the  fact  that 
they  form  a  serious  barrier  to  communication  between  north  and  south, 
especially  in  their  middle  portion,  where  they  cut  off  a  fertile  populous 
plain,  the  valley  of  the  Wei,  on  the  north,  from  the  whole  of  southern 
China.  In  this  section  there  are  only  two  frequented  passes  separated  by 
an  interval  of  about  two  hundred  miles,  and  crossed  merely  by  difficult 
bridle  paths.  The  eastern  pass,  whose  summit  is  upwards  of  4,000  feet 
/above  sea-level,  is  reached  by  a  route  running  south-east  from  Singan,  the 
chief  town  in  the  valley  of  the  Wei,  which  is  thus  brought  into  connection 
with  the  plain  of  the  middle  Yangtse  by  way  of  the  valley  of  its  chief 
northern  tributary,  the  Han.  It  forms  the  division  between  the  Tsinling- 
shan  and  the  Funiu-shan.  The  western  pass  connects  the  valley  of  the 
Wei  with  the  Red  Basin,  but  the  road  across  it,  after  descending  into  a 
parallel  valley  (the  upper  part  of  the  Han),  has  to  cross  another  difficult 
bridle  path  before  that  basin  is  reached.  The  passes  further  west,  also 
crossed  by  mere  bridle  paths,  are  less  important,  as  they  connect  less 
populous  regions. 

Configuration  of  Northern  China. — North  of  the  line  of 
separation  formed  by  the  series  of  ranges,  the  mountainous  areas  of  China 
are  naturally  divided  into  two  great  sections,  respectively  west  and  east 
of  the  deep  and  narrow  gorge  in  which  the  middle  Hwang-ho  plunges  and 
rushes  from  north  to  south  till  it  turns  sharply  eastwards  on  receiving  the 
Wei.  The  western  section  is  a 'much  diversified  loess-covered  region, 
through  which  there  runs  only 'one  important  highway  leading  north-west- 
wards from  the  Wei  valley,  and  finally  running  along  the  northern  or  north- 
eastern base  of  the  Nanshan  range  to  Mongolia  and  Eastern  Turkestan. 
The  last  portion  of  this  route  is  through  a  narrow  neck,  where  the  lofty 
range  just  mentioned,  rising  to  about  20,000  feet  in  height,  forms  the 
boundary  between  China  Proper  and  Tibet  and  the  Great  Wall  forms 
that  between  China  and  Mongolia.  This  neck,  at  all  times  the  great 
avenue  from  central  and  western  Asia  to  the  north-west  of  China,  is 
known  to  the  Chinese  as  the  Yu-men  or  Jade  Gate,  from  the  fact  that 
it  is  by  this  route  that  that  much  prized  mineral  has  been  introduced 
into  the  country  for  ages. 

The  eastern  section  of  the  northern  highlands  of  China  is  as 
diversified  as  the  western.  It  is  composed,  first,  of  a  tract  between 
the  gorge  of  the  Hwang-ho  and  the  great  plain,  in  which  the  moun- 
tains have  a  more  or  less  southerly  trend,  and  are  divided  into  two 
minor  sections  by  the  important  valley  of  the  Fen-ho,  the  mouth  of 
which  communicates  with  that  of  the  Wei,  and,  second,  of  a  more 
northerly  tract  in  which  the  ranges  have  a  north-easterly  trend 
gradually  becoming  more  easterly  towards  the  east,  where  they  form  a 
series  of  terraces,  shutting  off  Mongolia  on  the  north  from  the  great 
plain  on  the  south. 
35 


524       The  International  Geography 


Configuration  of  Southern  China. — The  mountainous  part  of 
China  south  of  the  Tsinling-shan  and  Funiu-shan  may  be  conveniently 
divided  first  into  two  regions,  respectively  north  and  south  of  the 
Yangtse.  The  portion  on  the  west  adjoining  Tibet  and  extending  as 
far  east  as  the  bridle  path  leading  into  the  Red  Basin,  is  a  wild  and 
intricate  region  with  a  scanty  population.  East  of  this  bridle  path  there 
is  first  a  range  called  the  Tapa-shan  running  eastwards  and  sending 
off  numerous  spurs  northwards  to  meet  those  running  south  from  the 
parallel  range  of  the  Tsinling-shan,  so  that  the  intervening  valley  of  the 
upper  Han  is  in  most  parts  extremely  narrow,  and  the  course  of  the  river 
itself  is  interrupted  by  a  continuous  series  of  rapids.  Southwards  from 

this  a  series  of  more 
or  less  parallel  ranges 
runs  to  the  Yangtse 
partly  through  and 
partly  to  the  east 
of  the  Red  Basin, 
forming  a  great  hind- 
rance to  communica- 
tion between  that 
rich  region  and  the 
eastern  plains. 

South  of  the 
Yangtse  there  is  in 
the  west  an  elevated 
region  with  an  ex- 
tremely diversified 
surface,  which  may 
be  called  the  plateau 
of  Yunnan.  Almost 

FIG   265.— China,  showing  the  Chief  Routes  and  Mountains.      everywhere  even  the 

valley  bottoms,  all  of 

small  extent,  are  above  5,000,  some  even  above  7,000  feet  in  elevation, 
and  on  all  sides  there  is  a  sharp  descent  to  the  surrounding  regions. 
To  the  east  the  mountains  are  so  arranged  as  to  form  fairly  well- 
marked  isolated  river  basins  belonging  in  the  north,  mostly  to  the 
great  basin  of  the  Yangtse  (they  include  the  Kwei,  the  Tungting  lake, 
and  the  Poyang  lake),  in  the  south  to  that  of  the  Si-kiang,  and  in  the 
south-east  to  minor  independent  streams.  In  the  south-east  the  most 
important  independent  basin  is  that  of  the  Min.  The  general  name 
of  Nan-shan  ("  Southern  Mountains  ")  is  given  to  the  highlands  separating 
the  northern  from  the  southern  and  south-eastern  basins.  Just  east  of  the 
Red  Basin  the  spurs  of  these  mountains  advance  in  many  places  close  up 
to  the  banks  of  the  Yangtse,  thus  impeding  communication  eastwards  on 
this  side  also,  while  a  further  hindrance  is  presented  by  the  series  of  gorges 


The  Chinese  Empire  525 

obstructed  by  more  or  less  difficult  rapids  through  which  the  river  flows 
between  Chungking  and  Ichang. 

Geology  and  Minerals. — The  geology  of  China  is,  as  a  rule,  very 
imperfectly  known,  especially  in  the  south.  The  Tsinling-shan  and  Funiu- 
shan  systems  are  nearly  as  marked  a  dividing  line  from  the  geological  as 
from  the  orographical  point  of  view.  They  are  almost  entirely  composed  of 
ancient  granites,  gneisses,  and  other  crystalline  rocks,  along  with  various 
eruptive  rocks.  To  the  north,  underneath  the  loess,  the  prevailing  rocks 
belong  to  the  Carboniferous  system,  while  to  the  south  there  extends  a 
vast  area  of  Jurassic  strata  embracing  all  the  Red  Basin.  At  various 
places  on  both  flanks  of  the  dividing  ranges,  especially  in  the  east,  there 
are  extensive  deposits  of  what  have  been  designated  the  Sinic  (Chinese) 
formations,  which  lie  at  the  bottom  of  all  the  fossiliferous  strata  of 
China,  and  are  held  to  correspond  with  the  Cambrian  and  Huronian 
deposits  of  Europe  and  America.  These  reappear  largely  along  with 
ancient  non-fossiliferous  crystalline  rocks  in  other  mountainous  regions 
of  the  country. 

China  is  remarkably  rich  in  minerals,  above  all  in  coal.  In  the 
Carboniferous  area  of  the  north  the  Coal  Measures  crop  out  in  many 
places,  and  the  largest  known  coal-field  in  the  world  is  found  among  the 
highlands  in  the  south-east  of  the  province  of  Shansi,  where  thick  seams 
of  excellent  anthracite  extend  for  a  length  of  about  200  miles,  with  a 
varying  breadth.  This  region  also  abounds  in  fine  iron  ores,  in  limestone, 
and  in  potter's  clays.  The  only  drawback  is  the  difficulty  of  access.  The 
west  of  Shansi  is  almost  equally  rich  in  bituminous  coal,  and  many  detached 
coal-fields  are  known  to  exist  further  west  beyond  the  Hwang-ho.  Other 
small,  but  important  coal-fields  lie  among  the  mountains  both  east  and 
west  of  Peking,  and  in  the  west  of  Shantung.  In  the  south  of  Hunan,  on 
the  rivers  Siang  and  Lei,  the  deposits  are  much  more  important,  for 
although  the  coal  is  not  generally  of  very  good  quality,  it  is  more  largely 
worked  than  anywhere  else  in  China,  owing  to  the  ease  with  which  it  can 
be  conveyed  by  water  to  the  towns  on  the  Yangtse.  At  various  places  on 
or  near  the  Yangtse  there  are  other  small  coal-fields,  and  the  province  of 
Sechwan  is  very  rich  in  coal  of  post-Carboniferous  age,  which  is  largely 
mined  and  carried  by  river  to  different  parts  of  the  Red  Basin.  Among 
other  important  minerals  may  be  noticed  copper,  which  is  scattered  all 
over  Yunnan,  a  province  which  also  contains  silver,  lead,  tin  and  gold 
—the  tin  in  an  isolated  high  valley,  not  far  from  the  frontier  of  Tong- 
king  in  the  south-east,  the  gold  in  the  south  of  the  province.  Salt 
occurs  in  the  south-west  of  Shansi,  near  the  abrupt  angle  of  the 
Hwang-ho,  in  the  middle  of  the  Red  Basin,  and  in  the  south-west  of 
Yunnan. 

Climate. — The  main  characteristics  of  the  climate  of  China  depend, 
first,  upon  its  situation  on  the  east  side  of  the  greatest  land-mass  in  the  tem- 
perate zone  of  the  northern  hemisphere,  and  second,  upon  its  situation  within 


526       The  International  Geography 

the  region  subject  to  monsoon  winds.  The  first  of  these  circumstances 
explains  the  character  of  its  climate  as  regards  temperature.  Throughout 
it  is  a  country  of  extremes,  or  at  least  of  a  high  range  of  temperature,  hot 
summers  alternating  with  cold  winters,  though,  of  course,  the  extremes  are 
much  greater  in  the  north  than  in  the  south,  where  part  of  the  surface  lies 
within  the  torrid  zone.  The  temperature  in  January  averages  55°  at  Canton 
in  the  south,  and  only  23°  at  Peking  in  the  north,  while  in  July  the  average 
for  Canton  is  82°,  and  for  Peking  79° ;  the  average  for  the  whole  year  is 
17°  lower  at  the  northern  than  at  the  southern  station.  Throughout  China 

there  is  that  predominance  of  summer  rains 
which  is  one  of  the  distinguishing  features 
of  monsoon  areas,  but  the  contrast  be- 
tween winter  and  summer  rain  is  much 
more  marked  in  the  north  and  south  than 
it  is  in  middle  China.  This  alternation 
of  rainy  and  dry  seasons  necessarily 
brings  about  a  corresponding  alternation 
of  high  and  low  water  in  the  rivers,  and 
where  the  physical  configuration  leads  a 
multitude  of  streams  into  one  channel  the 
differences  between  the  summer  and  winter 
level  in  the  main  river  are  enormous.  At 
Ichang,  just  below  the  rapids  of  the 
Yangtse,  a  difference  of  nearly  48  feet 
has  been  observed  in  the  level  of 
the  river,  and  the  ordinary  annual 
difference  is  not  less  than  40  feet.  The 
period  of  high  water  lasts  from  the 

FIG    266.— Temperature   and    Ram-    ^l 

fall  Curves  for  Peking  and  Hong,   beginning  of    July   to  the   early   part   of 

*<"'&  October. 

Flora  and  Fauna.— Among  the  native  vegetable  products  the  first 
place  may  be  assigned  to  the  bamboo,  not,  of  course,  as  being  peculiar  to 
this  country,  but  on  account  of  its  universal  practical  importance,  espe- 
cially in  the  south.  More  peculiarly  Chinese  are  the  wax  tree,  the  tallow 
tree,  the  paper  mulberry,  the  camphor  and  varnish  trees,  cassia,  and  the 
sweet  orange,  which  was  introduced  from  China  into  Europe  only  after 
direct  trade  had  been  established  by  the  Portuguese.  One  of  the  most  note- 
worthy circumstances  regarding  cultivated  products  is  that  the  coincidence 
of  the  rains  with  summer  temperatures  enables  some  crops  that  are  in 
most  parts  of  the  world  confined  to  tropical  and  sub-tropical  latitudes  to 
be  grown  with  success  in  northern  China.  Hence  cotton  is  as  character- 
istic of  this  part  of  the  country  as  wheat  and  the  ordinary  European 
cereals,  together  with  beans  and  other  pulses.  Opium  also  is  now  largely  cul- 
tivated in  the  extreme  north.  In  southern  China  the  characteristic  products 
are  rice  (grown  even  in  the  high  valleys  of  Yunnan  at  6,000  feet  and 


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JPEKING  HONGKONG  

The  Chinese  Empire  527 

upwards),  tea,  silk,  sugar,  and  opium.  Besides  the  silk  obtained  from 
"  worms  "  fed  on  the  leaves  of  mulberries  cultivated  for  the  purpose,  large 
and  rapidly  increasing  quantities  of  silk  are  obtained  from  wild  cater- 
pillars which  feed  on  the  leaves  of  forest  trees ;  chiefly  in  the  north  where 
extensive  forests  are  still  found. 

In  the  greater  part  of  China  the  larger  wild  animals  have  been 
exterminated  by  the  progress  of  civilisation,  but  in  the  wilder  moun- 
tainous tracts  there  are  elephants,  rhinoceroses,  and  tapirs,  a  peculiar 
species  of  tiger,  several  kinds  of  leopards,  bears,  and  badgers,  and 
wolves  in  some  parts,  e.g.,  Yunnan,  are  still  numerous,  bold  and 
destructive. 

The  Chinese  fisheries  both  in  the  sea  and  inland  waters  are  very  pro- 
ductive ;  a  characteristic  mode  of  fishing  is  with  the  aid  of  cormorants, 
which  are  prevented  from  swallowing  the  large  fish  that  they  catch  by 
rings  or  pieces  of  string  round  their  necks.  In  the  inland  waters  the 
breeding  of  fish  for  food  is  largely  practised. 

People,  History  and  Language. — The  people,  of  Mongolian 
stock,  who  have  spread  their  language,  institutions, 
and  ideas,  with  remarkable  success  over  so  large 
and  diversified  a  country,  are  known  to  have  been 
originally  immigrants.  They  entered  the  country 
at  a  very  remote  period,  thousands  of  years  before 
the  Christian  era,  by  the  north,  and  almost  certainly 
by  the  avenue  known  as  the  Yu-men  (p.  523).  The 
place  of  their  original  seats  is  still  a  matter  of  dis- 
pute, but  it  is  generally  admitted  that  they  were  in 
western  Asia,  that  the  oases  of  Eastern  Turkestan  FIG.  267.— Average  popu- 
formed  prolonged  halting-places  on  their  progress  ^nTo/China  Proper. 
eastwards,  and  that  accordingly  they  were  skilled  in 
irrigation  work  before  they  entered  China.  The  first  areas  settled  by 
them  in  which  they  had  room  for  expansion,  and  the  first  seats  of  empire 
were  the  freely  intercommunicating^ valleys  of  the  Wei  and  the  Fen 
(Shensi  and  Shansi).  The  empire  was  frequently  divided,  but  whether  under 
one  or  several  rulers  the  Chinese  language  and  institutions  gradually 
spread  eastwards  and  southwards.  Not  till  after  the  building  of  the  Great 
Wall  (212  B.C.)  did  it  permanently  extend  beyond  the  Yangtse-kiang.  In 
later  times  the  extension  has  been  less  by  conquest  than  by  the  gradual 
process  of  ousting  by  superior  assiduity  the  non-Chinese  races  who  were 
not  assimilated  and  absorbed.  Among  the  mountains  in  the  south-west  and 
south  there  are  still  some  considerable  tracts  occupied  by  unabsorbed  and 
unsubdued  descendants  of  older  inhabitants,  generally  known  by  terms  of 
contempt  applied  by  the  Chinese  as  Miautse  or  Mantse. 

The  unity  of  the  Chinese  language  is  apparent  rather  in  its  written  than 
in  its  spoken  form.  The  writing  is  not  alphabetic  but  ideographic — that  is 
there  is  a  different  character  for  every  root  idea.  Hence  the  knowledge 


528      The  International  Geography 

of  about  ten  thousand  different  signs  is  required  for  the  complete  know- 
ledge of  the  Chinese  language.  These  signs  have  the  same  meaning  in  all 
parts  of  the  country,  and  even  in  Korea  and  Japan,  but  the  equivalent 
sounds  differ  greatly  in  different  dialects,  just  as  the  Arabic  numerals  have 
the  same  meaning  though  different  names  in  all  European  languages. 
The  confusion  of  the  spoken  language  is,  however,  to  some  extent 
reduced  by  the  fact  that  the  educated  classes  generally  speak  an  official 
dialect. 

Government. — The  government  combines  a  high  degree  of  centrali- 
sation with  the  universal  and  long-established  practice  of  popular  govern- 
ment as  regards  local  affairs.  The  central  government  is  imperial,  and  the 
dignity  of  Emperor  is  hereditary  in  the  reigning  family,  though  not  by  any 
fixed  rule  of  descent.  The  reigning  emperor  has  the  right  to  nominate  his 
successor.  The  present  dynasty,  dating  from  1644,  is  of  Manchu  origin. 
It  was  by  this  dynasty  that  the  Manchu  custom  now  universal  in  China,  of 
wearing  the  hair  hanging  down  behind  plaited  into  a  long  queue,  or  "  pig- 
tail," was  introduced.  All  government  officials,  known  to  Europeans  as 
Mandarins  (a  term  of  Portuguese  origin),  are  appointed  in  the  emperor's 
name,  but  must  be  selected  from  those  who  have 
passed  the  necessary  public  examinations,  which 
are  open  to  all,  and  are  more  or  less  severe  ac- 
cording to  the  rank  for  which  they  qualify.  All 
Chinese  institutions  concur  in  impressing  on  the 
people  respect  for  authority  and  the  established 
order.  None  is  more  influential  in  this  respect 


FlG'  26S'stondlrd  Imperial  than  the  system  °f  examination,  for  all  of  the 
examinations  test  merely  the  knowledge  of  the 

ancient  Chinese  classics  first  systematised  by  Confucius,  and  give  no 
encouragement  to  the  spirit  of  scientific  inquiry. 

What  may  be  called  the  universal  religion  of  China  is  a  form  of  ancestor 
worship  inculcated  in  these  classics,  and  no  religion  incompatible  with  this 
idea  has  obtained  a  wide  hold  on  the  Chinese.  The  Buddhism  of  India 
and  the  native  Taoism  have  both  proved  thus  adaptable,  and  have  many 
adherents.  But  this  is  not  so  with  Mohammedanism,  which  is  professed  by 
some  millions  in  the  north-west  and  south-west,  and  Christianity,  which 
counts  a  few  hundred  thousand  adherents,  chiefly  in  the  west ;  hence 
Christians  and  Moslems  are  looked  upon  as  foreign  elements  by  the  great 
body  of  the  Chinese. 

Industries  and  Trade. — The  prevailing  and  most  esteemed  occu- 
pation in  China  is  agriculture.  In  token  of  the  honour  in  which  this  in- 
dustry is  held,  every  year  at  the  vernal  equinox,  the  emperor  at  the  capital, 
and  his  representatives  in  other  parts  of  the  empire  with  their  own  hands 
hold  the  plough  and  sow  the  seeds  of  the  chief  cereals.  In  every  way  the 
climate  encourages  farm  work.  The  regular  winters  maintain  the  energy 
of  the  people.  The  coincidence  of  warmth  and  moisture  in  summer  invites 


The  Chinese  Empire  529 

and  rewards  the  labour  of  the  husbandman.  Nowhere  else  in  the  world, 
perhaps,  are  such  scenes  of  quiet  but  varied  and  charming  rural  industry 
presented  as  in  some  of  the  more  favoured  valleys  of  China.  Pleasant  farm- 
houses roofed  with  red  or  blue  tiles  are  scattered  about  the  valley  bottonij 
or  amidst  the  carefully  cut  terraces  on  the  hill  slopes.  From  the  river, 
on  which  there  is  a  ceaseless  coming  and  going  of  large  and  small  boats, 
water  is  raised  by  waterwheels,  driven  by  the  labour  of  men  or  buffaloes,  to  a 
canal  above,  from  that  to  a  second,  a  third,  a  fourth,  a  fifth,  until  it  reaches 
the  tops  of  the  hills,  and  it  is  made  to  impart  life  and  freshness  to  every 
rood  of  soil  in  its  descent.  Seen  from  above,  these  canals  seem  like  bands 
of  silver  encircling  an  infinite  variety  of  green.  In  the  most  abundantly 
irrigated  tracts  there  is  the  vivid  and  tender  green  of  the  rice-fields,  or 
the  darker  verdure  of  the  sugar-cane.  Elsewhere  are  tea-plantations, 
fields  of  cotton  decorated  with  their  large  yellow  blossoms,  rows  of  orange 
trees,  clumps  of  palms  yielding  fibres  and  other  useful  products,  oil  trees 
and  tallow  trees,  and  many  a  thicket  of  bamboos  with  panicles  waving  in 
the  wind  at  the  height  of  twenty  to  thirty  feet  above  the  ground. 

Chinese  manufactures  are  for  the  most  part  domestic,  and  the  few  that 
have  long  been  localised  and  carried  on  on  a  large 
scale  are  mainly  those  dependent  on  supplies  of 
mineral  products  such  as  potter's  clay  (including 
china-clay)  and  iron  ore.      The  principal  textiles 
of    the   country — silk,  cotton,  and  rhea  fibre  or 
China  grass,  the  last  being  largely  used  for  summer 
clothing — are  mainly  worked  up  by  the  women  at 
home  or  in  small  establishments.     Quite  recently    FIG.   269. — Chinese    Mer- 
European  influence  has  led  to  the  introduction  of 

steam  machinery ;  silk  filatures  worked  by  steam  have  been  set  up  in  the 
silk-producing  provinces,  and  cotton  mills  have  been  erected  round 
Shanghai  and  elsewhere  with  such  success  as  to  give  great  promise  of 
rapid  progress. 

The  only  important  articles  of  export  from  China  are  such  as  have  a 
high  value  in  proportion  to  their  bulk,  or  such  as  can  be  produced  in  con- 
siderable quantity  within  no  great  distance  of  the  seaboard  or  the  great 
waterway  of  the  Yangtse.  For  thousands  of  years  silk  and  silk  fabrics 
have  held  the  first  place  of  importance.  Almost  equally  long,  porcelain,  a 
Chinese  invention,  has  been  an  important  export  to  the  west,  though  now 
that  the  industry  has  been  introduced  elsewhere  it  takes  a  subordinate 
place.  During  the  nineteenth  century  the  second  (occasionally  the  first) 
place  has  belonged  to  tea,  which  still  holds  that  rank  among  the  exports, 
though  latterly  the  amount  exported  has  diminished  in  consequence  of  the 
severe  competition  of  India  and  Ceylon.  Much  of  the  tea  js  exported  by 
land,  large  quantities  of  it  being  compressed  into  "  bricks  "  or  "  tablets." 
Brick-tea  is  usually  of  inferior  quality,  and  is  chiefly  consumed  in  Tibet 
and  Mongolia  ;  but  tablet-tea  is  of  high  quality  and  finds  its  chief  market 


530      The  International  Geography 

in  Russia.  Among  other  noteworthy  exports  are  raw  cotton  (chiefly  sent 
to  Japan),  beans  and  bean  cake,  straw  braid,  mats  and  matting,  skins,  hides 
and  furs.  The  chief  imports  are  cotton  yarn  and  tissues,  opium,  rice, 
metals,  and  a  variety  of  manufactured  articles,  including  in  recent  years 
rapidly  increasing  quantities  of  machinery.  Foreigners  are  allowed  to 
settle  for  trade  and  introduce  goods  directly  only  at  certain  ports,  mostly 
fixed  by  successive  treaties  since  1842,  and  hence  known  as  treaty-ports ; 
these  are  now  thirty-four  in  number.  The  collection  of  the  customs  at 
these  ports  is  entrusted  to  a  foreign  board,  called  the  Imperial  Maritime 
Customs,  the  head  of  which  is  an  Englishman. 

Means  of  Communication. — The  cause  of  the  limitation  of  the 
exports  of  China  is  the  remarkable  defectiveness  of  the  means  of  internal 
communication,  except  where  there  are  convenient  waterways.  In  northern 
China  such  waterways  are  the  exception,  though  during  the  summer  several 
rivers,  ultimately  uniting  in  the  Pei-ho  above  Tientsin,  are  available  for 
transport.  The  great  northern  river,  the  Hwang-ho,  is  too  rapid  and  too 
shallow  to  be  a  convenient  waterway,  and  is  navigated  only  by  small  boats 
in  sections  of  its  course.  An  important  artificial  waterway,  the  Grand  or 
Imperial  Canal,  runs  from  Hangchou  in  the  south  to  Tientsin  in  the  north. 
It  was  constructed  early  in  the  seventh  century,  chiefly  for  the  conveyance 
of  rice  from  the  southern  provinces  as  an  imperial  tribute,  and  it  still  forms 
a  fine  waterway  navigable  by  boats  of  at  least  five  feet  draught  in  its 
southern  section  as  far  as  the  old  bed  of  the  Hwang-ho.  In  southern 
China,  including  all  the  basin  of  the  Yangtse,  the  rivers  are  the  principal 
means  of  communication,  but  many  of  them  have  their  courses  so  impeded 
by  rapids  that  the  cost  of  transport  is  greatly  raised,  and  navigation  is 
rendered  so  difficult  that  hardly  anywhere  out  of  China  would  it  continue 
to  be  practised  at  all.  The  one  great  inland  waterway  is  the  Yangtse,  which 
is  without  a  parallel  in  the  world  in  respect  of  the  length  of  navigation  it 
offers  for  ocean  steamers  through  a  densely  peopled  country.  Vessels  of 
over  1,000  tons  burden  can  reach  Hankow,  680  miles,  or  three  days'  steam 
from  the  sea.  Steamers  of  about  600  tons  can  ascend  to  Ichang,  just  below 
the  rapids,  while  i5o-ton  boats  are  the  largest  that  can  pass  the  rapids. 
The  ascent  of  the  last  stretch,  about  400  miles,  takes  nearly  three  weeks. 
A  further  difficulty  is  created  by  the  fact  that  the  stretch  between  Hankow 
and  Ichang  is  easiest  at  high  water,  while  the  rapids  can  scarcely  be 
ascended  at  all  during  that  period.  The  Han,  a  great  left  bank  tributary 
of  the  Yangtse,  is  comparatively  easy  of  navigation  in  its  lower  course, 
where  it  flows  in  a  southerly  or  south-easterly  direction,  but  not  higher  up. 
Of  the  southern  tributaries  the  best  waterway  is  the  Siang-kiang,  the  chief 
feeder  of  the  Tungting  Lake.  It  is  said  to  offer  a  course  ten  feet  in  depth 
as  high  as  Hengchou,  about  140  miles  due  south  of  the  lake,  but  above 
that  rapids  are  numerous,  as  they  are  also  in  the  Kan-kiang,  the  corre- 
sponding southerly  feeder  of  the  Poyang  Lake.  The  navigation  of  the 
Si-kiang  is  much  impeded  by  rapids  above  Wuchou. 


The  Chinese  Empire 


Roads  fit  for  cart  traffic  are  very  rare  in  the  south,  the  principal  wheeled 
vehicles  being  wheelbarrows.  In  northern  China  roads  for  cart  traffic  are 
more  common,  except  among  the  mountains,  where  the  few  roads  of  this 
kind  run  in  many  places  through  long  defiles  so  narrow  that  two  carts 
cannot  pass.  In  all  parts  of  China  accordingly  the  chief  means  of  trans- 
port, where  boats  cannot  be  used,  are  pack  animals  (including  camels  in 
the  north)  and  human  porters.  Hence,  in  spite  of  the  extremely  low  cost  of 
living,  and  the  very  small  wages  of  labour,  the  cost  of  transport,  where 
there  is  not  good  water  carriage,  is  high,  generally  at  least  two  or  three 
times  as  high  as  in  countries  provided  with  railways. 

The  introduction  of  railways  was  long  opposed  by  the  official  classes 
and  regarded  with  dislike  by  the  people.  The  first  railway  laid  in  China, 
that  from  Wusung  to  Shanghai,  opened  in  1876,  was  bought  up  and 
destroyed  by  the  authorities  in  the  year  following.  But  this  opposition  has 
at  last  given  way.  Railways  now  run  from  Taku  at  the  mouth  of  the  Pei-ho 
to  the  Kaiping  collieries,  which  have  for  many  years  been  worked  under 
European  management,  and  thence  through  Shanhaikwan  to  Sinmin-tung 
and  Niuchwang,  and  from  Taku  to  Tientsin  and  Peking.  The  railway  from 
Wusung  to  Shanghai  has  been  relaid  and  was  reopened  in  1898.  Great 
railway  schemes  have  received  official  sanction.  Among  these  are  a  line 
from  Peking  to  Hankow,  already  partly  completed,  from  which  there  is  to 
be  a  connection  by  rail  with  the  great  anthracite  field  of  Shansi,  another 
from  Peking  southwards  to  Shanghai  and  Ningpo,  one  from  Hankow  to 
Canton,  and  one  from  Kaulun  (opposite  the  island  of  Hongkong)  to  the 
same  port.  Telegraphs  have  for  some  years  extended  to  the  remotest 
parts  of  the  empire. 

THE  PROVINCES  OF  CHINA  PROPER 

Pechili  or  Chili  is  the  north-eastern  province  of  China.  It  is  naturally 
divided  into  two  parts,  that  within  and  that  beyond  the  Great  Wall.  The 
former  portion  is  made  up  of  the  northern  part  of  the  great  plain,  and 
belongs  mostly  to  the  basin  of  the  Pei-ho.  Its  western  frontier  lies 
beyond  the  plain,  and  is  marked  by 
another  great  wall  running  south  along 
the  mountains.  It  contains  Peking,  the 
capital  of  a  kingdom  as  far  back  as  noo 
B.C.,  and  of  the  Chinese  Empire  as  early 
as  1151  A.D.,  but  not  without  intermission. 
It  is  entirely  rectangular  in  shape,  and  is 
composed  of  two  parts,  a  square  to  the 
north  forming  the  Manchu  city  and  en- 
closing the  imperial  quarters,  and  a  more 
extensive  oblong  quadrangle  to  the  south  forming  the  Chinese  city.  It 
lies  on  a  somewhat  dreary  alluvial  sandy  plain,  swept  in  winter  by  cold 
dust-laden  winds  ;  but  it  has  the  advantage  of  a  good  site  strategically,  as 
36 


FIG.  270.— Peking. 


532       The  International  Geography 

it  commands  the  roads  leading  north-west  through  the  Nankow  Pass,  too 
narrow  for  carts,  and  thence  into  Mongolia  through  Kalgan  or  Changkiakou, 
north-east  through  the  Kupei-kou  Gate  in  the  Great  Wall  to  Chengte  or 
Jehol  which  contains  the  summer-palace  of  the  emperor,  and  eastwards 
along  the  base  of  the  mountains  to  the  narrow  pass  between  sea  and 
mountains  at  Shanhaikwan  ("  Mountain-sea-gate  ")  which  forms  the  entrance 
to  Manchuria.  Even  more  populous  than  Peking  is  Tientsin(-fu) l  on  the 
Pei-ho,  the  port  of  Peking,  a  treaty-port,  and  the  northern  terminus  of  the 
Grand  Canal. 

Shansi  ("  Western  Mountains  ")  is  the  province  to  the  west  of  Pechili, 
and,  like  it,  is  divided  into  two  portions  by  the  Great  Wall,  but  in  this  case 
both  portions  are  alike  mountainous,  and  for  the  most  part  sparsely 
peopled,  the  chief  natural  resources  consisting  in  the  mineral  wealth 
above  described.  In  the  west  this  province  has  an  unmistakable  natural 
boundary  in  the  profound  gorge  of  the  Hwang-ho,  and  the  same  river 
forms  part  of  the  boundary  on  the  south-west.  An  important  feature  of 
the  province  is  a  line  of  narrow  valleys  running  from  north  to  south 
through  the  middle,  in  the  central  and  largest  expansion  of  which  stands 
Taiyuen(-fu),  the  capital  of  the  province. 

The  province  of  Shensi  adjoins  Shansi  on  the  west.  Its  most  populous 
area  is  the  valley  of  the  Wei,  but  though  this  valley  has  such  a  marked 
physical  barrier  on  the  south,  the  province  includes  also  the  valley  of  the 
upper  Han  beyond  that  barrier,  extending  as  far  as  the  mountains  border- 
ing the  Red  Basin.  In  the  Wei  valley  stands  the  capital  of  the  province, 
Singan(-fu\  the  site  of  which  makes  it  of  necessity  a  great  centre  on 
account  of  commanding  the  main  through  routes  from  north-west  to  the 
east  and  south-east.  When  the  main  lines  of  railway  are  all  made  in  China 
they  must  include  lines  along  all  the  existing  routes,  the  north-western  line 
forming  the  only  possible  connection  between  central  China  and  western 
Siberia,  so  that  Singan  is  bound  to  be  reinvigorated.  The  inhabitants 
show  a  business  capacity  and  enterprise  answering  to  the  advantages  of 
the  situation,  and  own  many  of  the  most  important  industrial  establish- 
ments in  distant  parts  of  China. 

Kansu  is  a  mountainous  province  with  deep  valleys  and  loess  gorges 
reaching  in  the  north-west  just  to  the  end  of  the  Great  Wall.  Its  capital, 
Lanchou(-fu\  stands  on  the  great  north-western  road,  on  the  right  or  south 
bank  of  the  Hwang-ho,  close  to  the  point  where  that  river  begins  its  great 
northern  bend.  It  is  noted  for  its  tobacco  factories,  most  of  which  belong 
to  the  capitalists  of  Singan. 

Shantung  ("Eastern  Mountains ")  includes,  beside  the  mountainous 
peninsula  to  which  it  owes  its  name,  a  belt  of  populous  plain  swathing  the 
mountains  round  on  the  west.  The  capital  is  Tsinan(-fu)  at  the  north- 
western margin  of  the  hill  country,  a  short  distance  from  the  Hwang-ho. 

1  The  termination  in  parenthesis  (-fu,  -hien)  merely  indicates  the  status  of  the  town, 
and  is  often  omitted. 


The  Chinese  Empire  533 

The  mountainous  part  has  a  much  indented  coast-line.  On  one  of  the 
northern  bays  is  the  small  treaty-port  of  Chifu(-hien),  another  further  east 
now  forms  the  British  naval  station  of  Weihaiwei  (acquired  in  1898).  On 
the  south  the  chief  inlet,  Kiau-chou  Bay,  was  leased  to  Germany  in  1897. 

Honan  in  the  east  occupies  all  of  the  great  plain  south  of  Pechili,  and 
in  the  west  it  consists  of  mainly  mountainous  country.  It  is  traversed  in 
the  north  by  the  Hwang-ho,  and  south  of  that  river  by  the  numerous  head- 
streams  of  the  Hwai  and  its  tributaries.  The  capital  is  Kaifeng(-fu)  in  the 
plain,  on  the  great  road  from  Peking  to  Hankow,  about  eight  miles  south  of 
the  Hwang-ho.  In  the  west  Honan(-fu)  stands  in  a  fertile  valley  amidst 
the  mountains  just  south  of  the  Hwang-ho. 

Kiangsu  includes  all  the  low  flat  seaboard  studded  with  large  and 
small  lakes  extending  from  the  north-eastern  shore  of  Hangchou  Bay  to 
Shantung.  It  is  thus  divided  into  two  parts  by  the  wide  estuary  of  the 
Yangtse,  the  smaller  southern  portion,  which  includes  the  last  spurs  of  the 
Nan-shan,  being  by  much  the  richer  and  more  populous.  In  this  portion 
is  the  busiest  of  all  the  treaty-ports,  Shanghai-Men),  the  great  entrepot  for 
all  northern  China.  It  is,  in  fact,  the  outlet  of  the  whole  Yangtse  valley, 
though  not  situated  on  the  river  itself,  whose  low  and  silted  shores  afford 
no  site  for  a  great  port,  but  twelve  miles  up  the  Wusung  river,  the  one 
drawback  to  which  is  a  bar  at  the  mouth  with  a  depth  at  high  water  of 
ordinary  spring  tides  of  only  23^  feet  and  20  feet  at  neap  tides.  Here 
is  the  chief  Chinese  arsenal.  In  the  same  part  are  the  great  silk-manufac- 
turing towns  of  Suchou  (-fu)  on  the  Grand  Canal,  and  Nanking(-fu],  the  latter 
on  the  Yangtse,  at  the  west  end  of  a  chain  of  hills  stretching  from  the 
Grand  Canal,  the  capital  of  the  province,  and  for  about  a  century  before  1421 
the  capital  of  the  empire.  It  was  once  a  magnificent  city  celebrated  for 
its  porcelain  tower,  which  was  destroyed  by  the  Taiping  rebels  who  held 
the  town  from  1853  to  1864.  It  contains  another  Chinese  arsenal. 

Nganhwei  is  the  province  to  the  west  on  both  banks  of  the  Yangtse, 
traversed  in  the  north  also  by  the  navigable  portion  of  the  Hwai.  Its 
capital  is  Nganking(-fu),  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Yangtse,  100  miles  directly 
south-west  of  Nanking ;  its  treaty-port  is  Wuhu(-hien),  on  the  right  bank  of 
the  river,  about  forty  miles  from  the  same  city. 

Kiangsi,  south-west  of  the  previous  province,  is  almost  identical  with 
the  drainage  area  of  the  Poyang  Lake.  It  is  a  great  tea-producing  district. 
Its  capital  is  Nanchang(-fu)  on  the  Kan-kiang,  not  far  from  the  south  shore 
of  the  lake  at  its  summer  level.  North-east  of  the  lake  is  Kingtechen(-hien), 
the  principal  place  of  manufacture  of  earthenware  in  China,  and  the  seat 
of  the  imperial  porcelain  factory.  Its  treaty-port  is  Kiukiang(-fu)  on  the 
Yangtse. 

Hunan  is  a  similar  province  to  the  west,  corresponding  (SJJply  with 
the  drainage  area  of  the  Tungting  Lake.  Its  capital  is  Changsha(-fu)  omthe 
Siang,  thirty  miles  south  of  the  lake.  Siangtan,  on  the  same  river,  is  reported 
to  be  one  of  the  largest  cities  in  China,  and  is  a  great  centre  of  the  drug 


534      The  International   Geography 

trade.  Yochou(-fu}  at  the  outlet  of  the  Tungting  Lake,  not  far  from  the 
Yangtse,  is  a  treaty-port  opened  in  1898. 

Hupe,  to  the  north  of  both  the  last  mentioned  provinces,  comprises 
the  whole  of  the  plain  of  the  middle  Yangtse,  except  what  belongs  to  the 
basin  of  the  Tungting  Lake,  along  with  a  mountainous  region  to  the  west. 
The  capital  is  Wuchang(-fu),  a  treaty  port  at  the  north  end  of  a  range  of 
hills  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Yangtse  near  the  north  end  of  one  of  the 
chief  bends  of  that  river,  directly  opposite  the  confluence  of  the  Han.  It 
is  one  of  three  towns  enjoying  the  advantages  of  the  same  commercial 
situation,  the  other  two  being  Hanyang(-fu),  at  the  mouth  of  the  Han  on 
the  right  bank,  and  the  treaty-port  Hankow(-hien)  opposite  the  latter  on  the 
left  bank,  all  of  which  are  at  the  meeting-place  of  great  waterways  from 
the  south-east  (up  the  Yangtse),  south-west  (down  the  Yangtse),  west,  and 
north-west.  This  situation  gives  these  towns,  whose  aggregate  population 
is  not  less  than  1,200,000  (according  to  some  estimates  more  than  twice  as 
much),  commercial  importance  not  only  for  the  adjacent  country  but  also 
for  more  distant  provinces,  and  they  have  the  greatest  river  traffic  of  any 
place  in  China,  probably  in  the  world.  Shasi  or  Shashi(-hien),  a  treaty- 
port  on  the  Yangtse,  higher  up,  at  the  west  end  of  a  waterway  connecting 
that  river  with  the  Han,  is  the  chief  market  for  cottons  in  central  China, 
and  Ichang(-fu)  is  a  treaty  port  at  the  lower  end  of  the  Yangtse  gorges. 

Seen  wan  extends  westward  from  Hupe  to  the  frontier  of  China,  and 
includes  nearly  all  the  Red  Basin,  together  with  a  mountainous  region  to 
the  west  extending  beyond  the  Yangtse  (here  called  the  Kinsha-kiang  or 
River  of  Golden  Sand),  the  borders  being  sparsely  peopled  and  inhabited  by 
a  non-Chinese  (Tibetan)  population.  Its  capital  is  Chengtu(-fu)  situated 
near  the  margin  of  the  Red  Basin  in  a  rich  alluvial  plain  about  2,400  square 
miles  in  extent,  irrigated  in  every  part  by  works  constructed  about  200 
B.C.,  and  ever  since  carefully  maintained.  The  chief  river  port  of  the 
province  is  Chungking(-fu)  now  a  treaty-port,  situated  at  the  confluence  of 
the  Kialing-kiang  or  Siao-ho  (Little  River)  with  the  Yangtse,  the  one  out- 
let eastwards  of  the  trade  of  the  province.  It  was  reached  by  a  British 
steamer,  the  first  to  ascend  the  rapids  of  the  Yangtse,  in  March,  1898.  To 
the  south-west  of  the  alluvial  plain  of  Chengtu(-fu)  is  Yachou(-fu)  a  great 
centre  of  the  trade  in  brick-tea  with  Tibet  and  central  Asia,  but  most  of 
the  factories  belong  to  capitalists  of  Singan.  The  province  of  Sechwan 
includes  the  chief  towns  of  the  elevate/!,  and  in  its  first  stages  very  difficult, 
trade  route  leading  westwards  to  Lhasa. 

Kweichou  is  the  mountainous  province  to  the  south-east  of  Sechwan, 
containing  headstreams  of  rivers  draining  to  the  Yangtse  and  to  the  Si- 
kiang.  Its  capital  is  Kweiyang(-fu)  on  a  small  central  plain. 

Yunnan  comprises  nearly  all  the  rugged  elevated  region,  rich  only  in 
minerals,  in  the  south-west  of  China,  together  with  marginal  portions  of 
the  surrounding  valleys.  Its  two  chief  towns  lie  on  the  shores  of  its  two 
chief  lakes ;  its  capital  Yunnan(-fu),  at  the  north  end  of  a  lake  near  the 


The  Chinese  Empire  535 

middle,  centralises  the  trade  of  the  province  with  Tongking  ;  the  second 
town,  Tali(-fu),  is  important  for  the  trade  with  Burma,  and  stands  on  the 
west  side  of  the  lake  called  Erh-hai,  in  the  west  of  the  province.  In  the 
south  is  Sumao,  the  centre  of  trade  in  Puerh  tea,  which  enjoys  the  highest 
reputation  throughout  China. 

East  of  Yunnan  are  two  provinces  comprising  most  of  the  basin  of 
the  Si-kiang,  Kwangsi  and  Kwangtung  ("  the  western "  and  "  the 
eastern  Kwang").  Kwangsi  is  mainly  a  rugged,  poor  and  sparsely  peopled 
province,  whereas  Kwangtung  has  always  been  one  of  the  richest  parts  of 
the  empire,  containing  as  it  does  the  largest  and  most  densely  peopled 
tropical  delta  east  of  the  Ganges.  It  is  this  delta  which  has  always  given 
importance  to  Canton,  the  great  southern  seaport  of  China,  for  the  sake  of 
the  trade  with  which  the  Portuguese  sought  and  obtained  possession  of 
Macao  in  1586  and  the  British  of  Hongkong  in  1842.  Canton,  in  Chinese 
Kwangchou(-fu\  Canton  being  a  Portuguese  corruption,  is  a  town  most 
happily  situated  at  the  west  end  of  a  series  of  hills,  where  the  Canton 
or  Pearl  river  affords  a  channel  to  the  south  for  ocean  vessels,  the  Si-kiang 
forms  a  waterway  to  the  west  for  steamers  drawing  seven  or  eight  feet  as 
high  as  the  treaty-port  of  Wuchou(-fu}  in  the  adjoining  province,  the 
Tung-kiang,  or  East  River,  forms  a  navigable  channel  to  the  east,  and  the 
Pei-ho,  or  North  River,  leads  to  the  northern  confines  of  the  province,  and 
there  by  a  fortunate  arrangement  of  the  physical  features  forks  into  two 
waterways,  one  leading  north-west  so  as  to  communicate  by  a  low  water- 
parting  and  short  portage  with  the  main  waterway  of  Hunan,  the  other 
north-east  so  as  to  communicate  similarly  with  that  of  Kiangsi.  About 
300,000  of  the  inhabitants  of  Canton  live  in  boats  moored  in  the 
river. 

Fokien,  or  Fukien,  is  a  rich  tea-growing  maritime  province  with  a  much 
indented  coast  line  to  the  north-east  of  Kwantung,  having  as  its  capital  the 
ancient  city  of  Fuchou(-fu\  a  treaty-port  at  the  mouth  of  the  Min.  There 
is  another  treaty-port,  Amoy,  in  the  south-east,  and  a  third,  Funing(-fu\ 
opened  in  1898,  in  the  north-east. 

Chekiang  is  a  similar  province  further  to  the  north-east,  extending  to 
Hangchou  Bay,  of  which  it  embraces  both  sides  at  the  northern  end.  Its 
northern  part  is  drained  by  the  Tsientang-kiang,  remarkable  for  the 
violence  of  its  tidal  bore.  It  has  three  treaty-ports,  Hangchou(-fu],  the 
capital  of  the  province,  at  the  head  of  the  bay,  Ningpo(-fu)  on  a  creek 
on  the  south  side  of  the  bay,  and  Wenchou(-fu]  in  the  south-east  of  the 
province. 

Statistics  of  China.— The  censuses  that  have  been  taken  of  China 
are  too  untrustworthy,  and  the  estimates  of  population  too  uncertain  for 
any  comparison  of  estimates  at  different  dates  to  serve  any  useful  purpose. 
The  utmost  that  can  be  said  is  that  it  is  not  improbable  that  the  total 
population  of  China  Proper  may  amount  to  as  much  as  350  million  or  even 
more.  Neither  can  statistical  returns  of  the  value  of  the  external  commerce 


536       The  International  Geography 

be  drawn  up  so  as  to  allow  of  a  comparison  of  different  periods,  for  the 
returns  collected  by  the  Imperial  Maritime  Customs  now  always  include 
those  for  native  junks,  but  these  are  not  obtainable  before  1887. 

STATISTICS    OF    CHINA    PROPER. 

(Approximate  for  1891-95.) 

Area  in  square  miles 1,300,000 

Population          ..        ..     350,000,000 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile 270 

PROBABLE  POPULATIONS  OF  SOME  IMPORTANT  TOWNS. 


Canton 

1,600,000 

Peking 

500,000 

Kaifeng 

200,000 

Hankow 

1,500,000 

Shasi 

500,000 

Tsinan 

200,000 

Tientsin 

1,000,000 

Suchou 

500,000 

Wuchou 

2OO,OOO 

Siangtan 
Chengtu 

1,000,000 

800,000 

Wuchang 
Shanghai 

450,000 
350,000 

Chinkiang 
Nanking 

140,000 
130,000 

Singan 

700,000 

Changsha 

300,000 

Chifu 

I2O.OOO 

Fuchou 

650,000 

Chungking 

250,000 

Amoy 

IOO.OOO 

Hangchou 

500,000 

Ningpo 

250,003 

Wenchou 

80,000 

Lanchou 

500,000 

Taiyuen 

250,000 

ANNUAL  TRADE  (in  dollars,  for  1891-95). 

Imports 146,000,000 

Exports 149,000,000 

II,— EUROPEAN  POSSESSIONS  IN  CHINA 

Hongkong.1 — Hongkong   (Hang-kiang,    "fragrant    streams")  is  one 

of  the   small  islands  off  the   Chinese  coast,   east  of  the  mouth  of  the 

Canton  River,  nearly  in   the  position  of   22°   N.  and  114°  E.,  and  only 

separated  from  the  mainland  by  a  channel  half  a  mile  wide.     The  island 

was  acquired  as  a  British 
colony  in  1841,  and  in 
1861  the  southern  portion 
of  the  Kaulun  (Kowloon) 
Peninsula,  on  the  opposite 
mainland,  was  added.  In 
1898,  the  whole  of  the 
large  peninsula  forming 
the  southern  part  of 
Kwangtung  province 
was  leased  from  China 
so  as  to  secure  the  de- 
fences. 

Surface    and    Re- 


FlG.  271. — Hongkong  and  Kaulun.     (The  map  includes 
48  miles  by  37.) 


sources  of  Hong- 
kong. —  The  northern 
coast  with  the  opposite 


mainland  encloses  one  of  the  finest  harbours  in  the  world,  covering 
an  area  of  about  10  square  miles,  and  on  this  the  prosperity  of  the 
colony  entirely  depends.  The  island  is  composed  of  igneous  rocks,  granite 
and  basalts.  It  is  traversed  east  and  west  by  hill  ridges,  intersected  by 


1  By  the  Editor,  assisted  by  E.  J  Hastings. 


Hongkong 


537 


depressions  or  "gaps,"  and  rising  in  Victoria  Peak,  the  highest  point,  to 
1,825  feet.  The  only  product  of  importance  is  granite,  which  is  extensively 
quarried.  Forests  which  formerly  covered  the  island  have  been  completely 
destroyed,  but  a  system  of  reafforesting  is  being  successfully  carried  out. 
The  climate  is  hot,  but  subject  to  great  variations,  the  mean  monthly 
temperature  ranging  between  40°  and  90°  F.  During  the  winter  months, 
November  to  March,  the  air  is  pleasant  and  bracing.  The  average  rainfall 
is  about  90  inches.  Hongkong  has  outlived  its  old,  evil  reputation  as  an 
exceedingly  unhealthy  place. 

People  and  Government  of  Hongkong.— The  native  population 
consists  chiefly  of  Chinese,  about  one-third  of  whom  are  British  subjects 
by  birth.  Natives  of  India  form  a  small  proportion.  Besides  the  members 
of  the  British  naval  and  military  establishments,  there  are  representatives 
of  various  nationalities,  as  Hongkong  is  the  greatest  traffic  centre  on 
the  Chinese  coast.  The  government  is  that  of  a  Crown  Colony,  the 
Governor  being  assisted  by  a  nominated  Legislative  Council.  The  city 
of  Kaulun  in  the  leased  territory  is  exempt  from  direct 
British  jurisdiction.  Hongkong  is  a  very  important 
strategic  point,  commanding  the  approach  to  Canton, 
90  miles  distant  It  is  strongly  fortified,  and  is  the 
headquarters  of  the  British  naval  squadron  in  Chinese 
waters.  It  is  also  a  great  commercial  emporium,  an 
absolutely  free  port  without  any  Custom  House,  and 
is  the  principal  distributing  centre  for  European  pro- 
ducts in  the  Far  East.  The  United  Kingdom  has  the 
largest  share  in  the  trade,  which  is  really  part  of  the 
trade  of  China.  The  chief  imports  from  Europe  are  cotton  goods,  and  the 
chief  exports  tea,  silk,  and  hemp  from  China. 

Victoria,  the  capital,  stretches  along  the  north  shore  of  the  island  for 
about  four  miles,  and  rises  in  terraces  up  the  sides  of  Victoria  Peak,  some 
of  the  garden-enclosed  residences  being  as  high  as  600  feet.  The  town 
contains  several  fine  public  buildings.  The  Praya,  or  main  street,  runs 
along  the  shore,  and  for  about  two  miles  of  its  central  part  is  protected 
by  the  Praya  sea-wall,  specially  constructed  to  withstand  the  force  of  the 
typhoons  which  sometimes  sweep  along  the  coast,  and  provided  with 
wharfage  for  the  ocean  liners  and  other  vessels  calling  at  the  port.  Six 
docks  and  large  workshops  afford  every  requirement  for  the  repair  of 
large  naval  and  mercantile  ships.  The  movement  of  the  port,  excluding 
native  junks,  is  over  14,000,000  tons  of  shipping  entered  and  cleared 
annually,  a  figure  only  equalled  by  two  or  three  seaports  in  the  world. 


FIG.  272.  —  Badge 
of  the  Colony  of 
Hongkong. 


STATISTICS. 

1881. 

Area  of  Hongkong  (square  miles)  . .  30 

Population  of  Hongkong     . .         . .  160,402 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile  5346 

Area  of  leased  territory  in  Kwangtung 
Population  of  leased  territory 


1891. 
30 

221,441 


1901. 
30 

138 

376 

1 00,000 


538       The  International  Geography 

Macao.1 — Macao,  the  only  Portuguese  possession  in  China,  practically 
consists  of  the  city  of  that  name,  on  an  island  at  the  mouth  of  the  Canton 
river.  It  may  be  called  a  commercial  colony  of  average  prosperity.  The 
islands  of  Taipa  and  Coloane,  important  fishing  centres,  are  under  the 
same  administration.  Macao  is  a  healthy  town  with  fine  streets  and  build- 
ings. The  mean  temperature  is  73°  F.  It  has  belonged  to  Portugal  since 
1586,  and  is  by  far  the  oldest  of  the  European  possessions  in  China.  The 
population  of  the  town,  which  is  a  centre  of  the  opium  trade,  is  78,000. 

Kiau-chou.2 — Kiau-chou,  in  lat.  36°  S.,  120°  E.  long.,  is  a  large  bay  of 
180  square  miles  area  on  the  southern  coast  of  the  peninsula  of  Shantung. 
It  takes  its  name  from  the  "  Glue  city,"  22  miles  north  of  it.  The  Kiau  river 
coming  from  the  mountains  in  the  eastern  portion  of  Shantung  brings  down 
much  sand,  which  causes  the  bay  to  silt  up.  The  entrance  of  the  bay,  be- 
tween two  narrow  spits  of  land,  is  about  two  miles  wide  and  20  fathoms  deep. 
The  landspits,  together  with  the  islands  in  the  bay,  are  leased  by  Germany 
from  China,  while  the  German  sphere  of  interest  extends  all  round  the  bay 
for  a  distance  of  31  miles  (50  kilometres).  The  climate  is  excellent,  and 
quite  that  of  the  temperate  zone;  ice  occurs  in 
winter,  but  as  it  hardly  ever  covers  the  bay  it  does 
not  form  such  an  impediment  to  navigation  as  the 
fogs  which  are  frequent  on  the  coast  further  south, 
from  which  Kiau-chou  is*perf ectly  free.  The  greatest 
rainfall  occurs  in  July  and  August.  The  inhabitants 
are  agriculturists  who  have  carried  a  system  of 
irrigation  to  great  perfection.  The  tidiness  of  their 

FIG.  273.— Kiau-chou  Bay.          & 

settlements  is  a  mark  of  their  prosperity.  Kiau- 
chou  is  expected  to  prove  valuable  as  an  outlet  for  the  great  mineral 
wealth  of  Shantung,  and  the  railway  intended  to  run  round  the  base  of 
the  western  mountains  of  Shantung  is  now  completed  from  Tsingtau  to 
beyond  Wei(-hieii). 

III.— REMOTE  PROVINCES  OF  THE  CHINESE  EMPIRE 

Manchuria. — Manchuria  lies  to  the  north-east  of  China  Proper,  and 
is  made  up  of  three  provinces,  Shengking  in  the  south,  Kirin  in  the  middle, 
and  Helungkiang  in  the  north.  Shengking  consists  of  the  broad  valley 
of  the  lower  Liau  stretching  upwards  of  200  miles  north-eastwards  between 
bare  mountains  in  the  west  and  forest-clad  mountains  with  fertile  alluvial 
valleys  in  the  east.  The  southern  portion  of  the  main  valley  is  a  dreary  saline 
tract,  but  there  is  more  fertile  country  further  north.  Mukden,  situated  at 
the  base  of  the  hills,  on  a  tributary  of  the  Liau-ho,  is  the  capital  of  the  pro- 
vince and  country.  At  the  mouth  of  the  Liau  is  the  so-called  treaty-port 
of  Niuchwang  (Newchwang),  the  town  of  Niuchwang  being  situated  some- 
what inland.  The  extremity  of  the  mountainous  peninsula  of  Liautung 
1  By  Captain  Ernesto  de  Vasconcellos.  a  By  Graf  von  Pfeil. 


The   Chinese   Empire  539 

("  East  of  the  Liau  "),  called  Kwantung,  was  leased  to  Russia ;  here  are  the 
naval  station  and  arsenal  of  Port  Arthur,  together  with  Taltemvan  and  the 
free-port  Dalnt,  all  three  being  termini  of  the  trans-Manchurian  railway  (see 
Fig.  222),  and  now  in  the  occupation  of  Japan. 

The  northern  provinces  lying  to  the  east  of  the  Khingan  mountains  are 
composed  of  the  rich  valleys  of  the  Sungari,  Nonni  (a  left  bank  tributary 
of  the  Sungari)  and  Usuri,  all  navigable  streams.  The  chief  towns  are  Kirin 
(or  more  properly  Girin1)  at  the  head  of  navigation  on  the  Sungari,  and 
Tsitsihar  at  that  of  the  Nonni.  The  population  of  Manchuria  is  variously 
estimated  at  from  15  to  23  millions,  the  great  bulk  being  in  the  southern 
province.  For  many  years  there  has  been  a  steady  stream  of  immigration 
from  China  Proper,  and  Chinese  now  form  the  great  mass  of  the  popu- 
lation of  the  provinces.  In  recent  years  the  flow  of  immigrants  into  the 
northern  provinces  has  been  peculiarly  rapid.  Russian  influence  is  now 
paramount,  and  is  being  made  permanent  by  the  railways  (p.  419). 

Mongolia. — Mongolia  is  the  vast  region  surrounding  the  desert  of 
Gobi  or  Shamo,  the  latter  term  being  Chinese,  and  signifying  Sea  of  Sand, 
though  the  region  is  for  the  most  part  sufficiently  moistened  by  summer 
rains  to  produce  a  fair  amount  of  pasture  and  fodder-shrubs  for  sheep,  horses 
and  camels.  The  altitude  of  the  Gobi  is  from  3,000  to  3,300  feet.  The 
fixed  settlements  of  Mongolia  are  chiefly  in  the  north,  where  it  is  traversed 
by  extensive  spurs  from  the  Altai,  Tian  Shan,  Sayan,  and  Yablonovyi 
mountains.  The  chief  trade  routes  are  from  Kalgan  in  Pechili  and  Kwei- 
hwacheng  in  northern  Shansi,  northwards  by  Urga  to  Maimachin  on  the 
right  bank  of  the  Amur  opposite  Kyakhta,  and  north-westwards  by  Uliasutai 
and  Kobdo  to  western  Siberia.  The  inhabitants,  from  whom  the  region 
takes  its  name,  are  mainly  Buddhists  in  religion,  and  are  now  a  peaceable 
race  engaged  chiefly  in  the  rearing  of  sheep,  camels,  horses  and  other 
animals,  and  having  none  of  the  qualities  which  rendered  their  ancestors  so 
formidable  throughout  Asia  and  Europe  in  the  thirteenth  century  under 
Jenghiz  Khan  and  his  successors. 

Eastern  Turkestan. — Sinkiang,  or  Sintsiang,  is  the  name  now  given 
to  the  province  comprising  all  the  rest  of  Chinese  Central  Asia  north  of 
Tibet.  It  is  naturally  divided  into  two  sections  by  the  Tian  Shan  range, 
Kashgaria,  by  much  the  larger,  to  the  south,  and  Dzungaria  to  the  north. 
In  Kashgaria  the  population  is  for  the  most  part  settled  in  irrigated  oases 
on  the  banks  of  rivers  at  the  base  of  the  Kwen-lun  and  Altyn  Tagh,  the 
Pamirs  and  the  Tian  Shan  ;  but  in  the  east  there  is  another  series  of  oases 
between  94°  and  96°  E.  due  to  the  existence  of  wells  stretching  from 
Ngansichou,  or  Ansifan,  in  the  south  to  Hami  in  the  north.  This  chain  of 
watering  places  forms  the  shortest  route  across  the  dreary  waste  of  sand, 
and  is  the  direct  continuation  of  the  great  north-western  highroad  of  China. 
Westward  the  route  is  continued  either  south  of  the  Tian  Shan  by  the  oases 

1  Manchurian,  Girin  ;  Chinese,  Kilin  ;  Kirin  is  neither. 


54°      The  International  Geography 

of  Turf  an,  Karashahr,  and  Kuchar  to  Kashgar  (the  Tien-shan-nan-lu  or  Tian 
Shan  south  road),  or  north  of  the  Tian-shan  by  Barkul  and  Urumtsi  (or 
Urumchi)  to  Kulja  in  the  fertile  valley  of  the  Hi.  There  is  now  no  regular 
trade  route  south  of  the  desert  in  Kashgaria,  but  among  the  important 
oases  here  are  Yarkand,  Khotan,  Keria  and  Cherchen  in  the  order  given 
from  west  to  east. 

The  greater  part  of  Kashgaria  may  be  described  as  belonging  to  the 
basin  of  the  Tarim,  though  many  of  the  streams  which  give  life  to  the 
oases  dry  up  before  reaching  the  main  river.  The  Tarim  flows  along  the 
north  of  the  desert,  and  then  curving  south  finally  makes  an  abrupt  turn  to 
the  east  and  terminates  in  the  lake  known  as  Lob  (or  Lop)  Nor,  at  an 
altitude  of  about  2,200  feet.  Although  without  outlet  this  lake  contains 
fresh  water,  a  circumstance  which  can  only  be  explained,  as  Dr.  Sven 
Hedin  points  out,  by  the  fact  of  its  very  recent  formation,  the  lake  beds 
being  frequently  filled  up  by  desert-sand,  and  forming  afresh  in  a  new 
place.  In  its  neighbourhood  the  wild  horse  and  wild  camel  were  found  by 
the  great  Russian  explorer  Przhevalski,  but  it  is  questionable  whether 
these  may  not  be  descended  from  domestic  animals  escaped  long  ago  from 
servitude.  The  wild  ass  which  roams  in  great  herds  on  the  bordering 
mountains  to  the  south  is  undoubtedly  native  ;  it  is  a  fleet  and  graceful 
creature,  larger  than  the  common  donkey.  The  interior  of  the  Tarim  basin 
is  a  continuous  succession  of  sand  dunes  slowly  moving  westwards.  In 
their  progress  they  have  in  the  course  of  ages  overwhelmed  ancient  cities, 
the  ruins  of  which  yield  interesting  relics  of  a  long-forgotten  civilisation. 
Two  of  these  cities  were  recently  found  by  Dr.  Sven  Hedin  between  the 
rivers  Khotan  and  Keria  ;  and  the  latter  stream  was  found  to  reach  at  high 
water  much  further  north  than  is  represented  on  maps. 

Kashgar,  on  the  Kashgar  river,  one  of  the  two  chief  headstreams  of  the 
Tarim,  is  the  administrative  capital  and  the  chief  centre  of  trade  with 
Russian  Turkestan  (across  the  Terek-davan  and  Terekti  passes).  Yarkand, 
on  the  Yarkand-daria  or  Zerafshan,  the  second  of  the  two  chief  headstreams 
of  the  Tarim,  is  the  chief  centre  of  trade  with  Kashmir  (across  the  Karakoram 
Pass),  and  is  the  rival  of  Kashgar  in  wealth  and  population.  In  the  gorge 
of  the  Pamirs  through  which  the  upper  waters  of  this  river  flow  is  the 
place  from  which  all  the  jade  (nephrite)  introduced  into  China  was  formerly 
obtained.  Khotan  is  another  populous  oasis,  and  in  the  sixth  and  seventh 
centuries  was  the  seat  of  a  powerful  kingdom.  The  total  population  of 
Sinkiang,  consisting  mainly  of  Mohammedans  of  Turki  race  and  speech,  is 
about  1,000,000  or  1,500,000.  Both  in  Mongolia  and  Sinkiang  the  govern- 
ment is  mainly  carried  on  through  native  rulers  (Ambans)  under  the 
control  of  Chinese  mandarins,  and  the  principal  centres  are  garrisoned  by 
Chinese  troops  to  guard  against  the  revival  of  a  native  kingdom  like  that  of 
Yakub-beg,  who  ruled  Turkestan  from  1869  to  1876. 

Tibet. — The  great  plateau  of  Tibet,  the  most  elevated  region  in  the 
world,  stretches  through  about  12°  of  latitude  (28°  to  40°)  between  the 


The  Chinese  Empire  541 

Himalayas  and  the  Kwen-lun,  Altyn  Tagh,  and  Nan-shan,  and  through  24° 
of  longitude  (79°  to  103°  E.).  It  consists  of  extensive  mountain-traversed  high 
plains  with  an  elevation  of  14,000  to  17,000  feet  in  the  west,  and  from  9,000 
to  14,000  feet  in  the  north-east;  while  in  the  east  and  south-east  the 
intricate  system  of  ranges  and  gorges  containing  the  headstreams  of  the 
Me  Kong,  the  Yangtse,  and  the  Hwang-ho  form  the  border  towards  China. 
Numerous  large  lakes  are  scattered  over  the  surface.  Among  them  are 
Kuku-nor  in  the  extreme  north-east,  Charing  and  Oring-nor  on  the  head- 
stream  of  the  Hwang-ho,  Tengri-nor  to  the  north  and  Palti  or  Yamdok-tso 
to  the  south  of  Lhasa,  and  the  two  Manasarowar  lakes  in  the  extreme 
south-west,  the  western  of  which  is  the  source  of  the  Indus.  The  climate 
is  necessarily  bleak  and  inclement  on  account  of  the  great  altitude. 
Frightful  snow-storms  occur  in  winter,  and  agriculture  of  any  kind  is  only 
possible  in  the  most  sheltered  valleys.  The  great  bulk  of  the  inhabitants 
live  in  the  valley  of  the  Tsanpo  or  Brahmaputra  on  the  south,  and  in  the 
valleys  immediately  adjoining,  where  barley,  wheat  and  peas  are  grown, 
although  pastoral  pursuits  are  the  chief  occupation  of  the  country.  The 
yak  (a  peculiar  kind  of  ox),  the  sheep,  and  the  goat  all  occur  both  wild  and 
domesticated,  and  all  three,  besides  horses  and  mules,  are  made  use  of  as 
beasts  of  burden.  The  people  are  of  Mongolic  stock,  speak  a  peculiar 
language,  are  Buddhists  (Lamaists)  in  religion,  and  are  extremely  exclusive. 
The  idea  of  "  making  merit "  by  repeating  prayers,  or  offering  them 
mechanically  by  prayer-wheels  turned  in  the  hand  or  actuated  by  wind  or 
water-power,  possesses  the  Tibetan  mind  to  the  exclusion  of  all  enterprise 
or  independent  thought. 

Even  the  Chinese  control  appears  to  be  slight.  The  governing  classes 
live  in  monasteries,  which  are  said  to  contain  a  third  of  the  population, 
and  thus  form  a  terrible  burden  on  the  rest  of  the  inhabitants.  Though 
there  are  Chinese  resident  officials,  the  government  appears  to  be 
practically  exercised  wholly  in  the  name  of  the  Dalai-Lama,  who  resides  at 
Lhasa,  in  one  of  the  northern  valleys  tributary  to  the  Brahmaputra,  and 
that  of  the  Teshu-Lama  who  lives  further  west  just  south  of  the  Brahma- 
putra. Lhasa,  which  is  considered  the  capital  of  the  whole  country,  had 
been  entered  by  only  three  Europeans, — Mr.  Manning  in  1811-12,  and  MM. 
Hue  and  Gabet  in  1845-46,— until  it  was  temporarily  occupied  by  a  British 
force  coming  from  India  in  1904.  It  is  a  holy  city,  and  a  great  centre 
of  Buddhist  pilgrims.  A  large  trade  with  India  might  probably  be  main- 
tained across  the  Himalayan  passes  by  exporting  wool,  borax,  perhaps 
gold  and  other  mineral  products,  in  exchange  for  tea  and  manufactured 
goods,  but  this  trade  is  greatly  restricted  by  customs  duties  and  other 
obstacles,  in  consequence  of  which  brick-tea  of  wretched  quality  is 
imported  by  a  most  difficult  route  from  China.  Not  till  1894  were 
British  subjects  allowed  to  reside  in  any  part  of  Thibet,  but  in  that 
year  residence  was  allowed  at  Yatong  or  Yatung,  near  the  frontier  of 
Sikkim. 


542       The  International  Geography 

TABLE  OF  PROVINCES  OF  THE  CHINESE  EMPIRE. 


Pechili  (withii 
Pechili  (witho 
Shansi  (within 
Shansi  (wither 
Shensi  .  . 
Kansu 
Shantung 
Honan 
Kiang-su 
Nganhwei 
Hupe   .. 
Kiangsi 
Hunan 
Chekiang 
Fokien 

Abbe"  E.  R.  ? 
P.  Landon. 

ithe  \ 
utthe 
the  w 
it  the 

Area 
vail) 
wall) 
all) 
wall) 

n  squ« 

ire  miles. 
57,9i6 
57,9i6 
66,410 
15-444 
75,29i 
125,483 
55,985 
67,955 

Area  in  square  miles. 
Kwangtung  .  .-        86,873 
Hainan          13,166 
Kwangsi        77.22O 
Kweichou      67,182 
Yunnan                                ..         ••  146,719 

Sechwan        .  .         .  .         .  .         .  .  154,440 

Total    (China    Proper,     round 
numbers)       ..         ..            1,533,000 
Manchuria    364.000 
Mongolia       1,093,000 
Sinkiang        550.000 
Tibet    738,000 

tuc.    ' 
dur 
'Lhas 

Reco 
ing  18 

a."    i 

SI 

llectio 

44-46  ' 
vols. 

38,610 
54-826 
7i,430 
69,499 
83-398 
36,681 
46,332 

BANDAR 

ns  of  a  Jo 
'  (from  the 
London,  ] 

Grand  Total,  Chinese  Empire 
(round  numbers)     .  .            4,278,000 

D   BOOKS. 

urney  through  Tartary,  Thibet,  and  China 
French).     London,  1852. 

905. 

Rev  Justus  Doolittle.     "  Social  Life  of  the  Chinese."    2  vols.    London,  1866. 

R.  Shaw.    "  Visits  to  High  Tartary,  Yarkand  and  Kashgar."    London,  1871. 

Baron  Ferd.  von  Richthofen.    "  China  "  (German).   3  vols.  4to.    Berlin,  1877,  &c. 

R.  K.  Douglas.    "  China."    London,  1882. 

S.  Wells  Williams.    "The  Middle  Kingdom."    Revised  edition.    2  vols.    London,  1883. 

Rev.  James  Gilmour.     "  Among  the  Mongols."     London,  1884 

E.  C.  Baber.    "Travels  and  Researches  in  Western  China."    London.  1886. 

Emile  Rocher     "  La  Province  Chinoise  du  Yiin-nan."    2  vols.    Paris,  1879-80. 

W.  W.  Rockhill.    "  The  Land  of  the  Lamas."    London,  1891.  • 

Bela  Szechenyi.     "  Die   Wissenschaftlichen    Ergebnisse  der  Reise  des  Grafen  B.b.,  m 

Ostasien.     1877-80."    Vienna,  1893. 

A.  Hosie.    "  Three  Years  in  Western  China."    2nd  edit.    London,  1897. 
A.  T.  Little.    "  Through  the  Yanfitse  Gorges."     Revised  edit.    London,  1898. 
Sven  Hedin.    "Through  Asia."    2  vols.    London,  1898. 
A  H  Smith.    "  Chinese  Characteristics."    New  York  and  London,  1894 

»  Village  Life  in  China."    New  York  and  London,  1899. 

E.  and  O.  Reclus.    "  L'Empire  du  Milieu."    Paris,  1902. 

K.  Futterer.    "  Durch  Asien."    Berlin,  1901. 

E.  Tiessen.    "  China"  (in  Kirchhorf's  series).    Berlin,  1902. 

KOREA 

BY  MRS.  BISHOP,  F.R.G.S. 

Name.— Korea,  or  Korai,  is  known  locally  as  Ch'ao-sien  (Fresh  morn- 
ing), but  the  name  was  changed  officially  in  1897  to  Dai  Han  (Great  Han). 

Position  and  Extent.— Korea  is  a  definite  peninsula  of  north- 
eastern Asia,  lying  between  34°  and  43°  N.,  and  between  124°  and 
131°  E.  Its  coast-line  is  roughly  estimated  at  1,740  miles,  its  length 
at  600,  and  its  extreme  breadth  at  135.  Its  eastern  coast  is  steep  and 
rocky,  with  deep  water,  few  but  excellent  harbours,  never  ice-locked,  and 
an  insignificant  tidal  rise  and  fall.  The  western  shores  are  mostly  shelving 
and  oft-times  low,  cut  up  by  muddy  estuaries,  and  fringing  off  into  a 
remarkable  archipelago  with  dangerous  tideways,  and  the  tidal  rise  and 
fall  is  from  20  to  38  feet.  There  is  no  lighthouse  system.  Many  of  the 
adjacent  islands  are  fertile  and  inhabited,  and  Quelpart,  on  which  is  the 
volcanic  cone  of  Hal-la-san  (6,000  feet),  has  a  large  population,  and  breeds 
ponies  to  a  considerable  extent.  The  Tumen  and  Yalu  rivers  form  the 
natural  boundaries  between  Korea  and  Russia  and  Manchuria. 


Korea  543 


Surface. — The  general  aspect  of  Korea  is  hilly.  In  the  north  there  are 
several  mountain  groups  with  definite  centres,  Paik-u-san  (8,000  feet),  .in 
which  both  the  boundary  rivers  rise,  being  the  most  important.  A  range 
running  southwards  from  this  centre  divides  Korea  into  two  unequal 
sections,  the  eastern  being  a  narrow  and  fertile  strip  between  the  moun- 
tains and  the  Sea  of  Japan,  while  the  western  consists  of  innumerable 
rich  and  well  watered  valleys  and  slopes,  lying  among  the  lateral  spurs 
which  the  range  throws  off.  The  Korean  mountains  present  striking 
examples  of  denudation.  The  great  axial  range,  forest-covered  in  the 
north  and  for  40  miles  of  its  passage  through  the  Kang-won  province, 
is  usually  bare  like  the  coasts,  or  is  covered  with  oak  and  chestnut 
scrub.  Towards  the  southern  coast  it  falls  away  into  rocky  hills  and 
frequently  into  infertile  plains.  The  lakes  are  few  and  insignificant,  and 
the  plains  are  of  very  limited  extent.  Mesozoic  rocks  occur,  but  granite 
and  metamorphic  rocks  predominate.  North-east  of  Seoul  are  very 
extensive  lava  beds,  and  lava  and  volcanic  rock  occur  frequently  in  the 
north.  The  Han  and  Tai-dong  flow  frequently  through  limestone 
formation.  The  rivers  are  numerous,  shallow,  and  impetuous,  and  navi- 
gable only  for  a  short  distance  from  the  sea.  The  exceptions  are  the 
Yalu,  Nak-tong,  Mok-po,  Tai-dong,  and  Han,  which  last,  rising  thirty 
miles  from  the  Sea  of  Japan,  after  cutting  Korea  nearly  in  half  reaches 
the  sea  on  the  west  coast  near  Chemulpo,  the  port  of  Seoul  and  the 
terminus  of  the  Seoul  railroad,  and  in  spite  of  many  and  severe  rapids 
is  an  important  highway  of  trade  for  about  160  miles. 

Resources  and  Climate. — The  soil  is  rich,  eminently  fitted  for 
successful  agriculture,  and  yields  from  two  to  four  crops  annually.  The 
rainfall  is  ample  and  reliable,  and  irrigation  is  only  necessary  for  the  rice 
crop.  All  cereals  and  root  crops,  as  well  as  tobacco,  cotton  and  hemp, 
flourish.  The  mineral  wealth  consists  in  rich  but  undeveloped  iron  and  coal 
mines,  silver,  galena,  copper,  and  gold,  which  though  exported  in  consider- 
able quantities  is  obtained  only  by  a  rude  form  of  washing.  For  more  than 
nine  months  of  the  year  the  climate  is  superb.  The  rainy  season  is  hot 
and  damp,  but  the  heat  is  tempered  by  the  sea  breezes,  and  Europeans 
and  their  children  are  exempt  from  diseases  of  locality.  The  average 
rainfall  at  the  capital  is  about  36  inches.  The  summers  are  hotter  and 
the  winters  colder  than  those  of  central  Japan. 

People  and  History. — The  Koreans  are  undoubtedly  of  the  Tun- 
gusic  stock.  Their  features  are  decidedly  Mongolian.  Their  language 
differs  widely  from  Chinese  and  Japanese.  It  is  polysyllabic  and  possesses 
an  alphabet.  The  Koreans  are  physically  a  fine  people,  and  mentally  are 
liberally  endowed.  The  earliest  notice  of  the  country  is  in  a  book,  "  Roads 
and  Bridges,"  by  an  Arab  geographer,  Khordadbeh,  in  the  ninth  century  A.D. 
Oral  tradition,  fairly  worthy  of  credit,  asserts  that  Korea  was  inhabited  by 
the  same  race  as  at  present  when  the  Chinese  General  Kit-ze,  after  con- 
siderable conquests,  introduced  Chinese  civilisation  in  the  twelfth  century 


544       The  International  Geography 

B.C.  After  many  subsequent  vicissitudes,  the  kingdoms  of  which  Korea 
is  composed  were  united  under  one  monarch,  and  became  tributary  to 
China  until  the  war  of  1894;  after  the  Russo-Japanese  war  in  1905  Korea 
came  under  the  protection  of  Japan.  The  government  is  a  hereditary 
and  absolute  monarchy  of  a  strictly  Oriental  type,  the  Imperial  Edicts 
constituting  law.  There  is  a  standing  army  of  6,000  men,  clothed,  drilled, 
and  armed  in  European  fashion.  The  chief  sources  of  revenue  are  the 
land  tax  and  Customs  duties.  Korea  is  solvent.  The  Empire  contains  14 
provinces  and  340  prefectural  districts.  Goods  are  carried  by  land  on  the 
backs  of  men,  ponies  and  bulls.  The  roads  are  everywhere  bad.  A  rail- 
road from  Chemulpo  to  Seoul  is  being  extended  to  Songdo  and  to  Suwon. 
Korea  has  regular  communication  with  Japan, 
Russia,  and  China,  chiefly  by  Japanese  steamers. 
Industries,  Trade,  Religion,  Education. 
— Apart  from  agriculture,  which  claims  three- 
fourths  of  the  population,  the  chief  industries  are 
the  manufacture  of  cotton  and  grass  cloth,  thin 

silks,  horse-hair  gauze,  salt,  and  iron  and  brass 
FIG.  274.-7T*  Korean  Flag.    utensils>  all  f  or  nativc  use<    RicCj  beans>  hideS)  and 

ginseng  are  exported.  Cotton  piece  goods  and  cotton  yarn  are  the  chief 
imports.  Buddhism,  introduced  from  China  at  an  early  period,  has  been 
discredited  for  three  centuries.  The  officials  observe  the  Confucian  rites. 
The  real  cult  of  the  people  is  Dagmonism.  Christianity  is  making  rapid  pro- 
gress. Education,  though  with  some  recent  modifications,  is  on  the  Chinese 
system,  and  consists  in  acquiring  the  Chinese  ideographs  and  classics. 
The  pure  Korean  language  and  script  are  used  almost  solely  by  the  lower 
classes.  The  arts  are  nil.  Korea  has  an  efficient  postal  and  telegraph 
system.  The  country  was  closed  to  Europeans  until  1882  ;  but  there  are  now 
ten  open  ports  and  a  resident  foreign  population  of  about  22,000,  over 
16,000  being  Japanese.  Korean  history  since  the  war  with  China  of  1894  has 
been  made  up  of  reforms  and  retrograde  movements.  Trade  has  increased 
rapidly.  The  east  and  south  coast  fisheries  are  prolific,  but  are  worked 
chiefly  by  Japanese.  The  fauna  of  Korea  is  headed  by  tigers  and  leopards. 
The  country  is  rich  in  native  and  migratory  birds.  The  economic  plants  are 
few,  ginseng  being  the  most  important.  Seoul,  the  capital,  is  the  centre  of 
government  and  of  all  public  interests.  It  is  nearly  without  antiquities. 

STATISTICS  (Estimates). 

Estimated  area  of  Korea  (square  miles) 82.000 

Population  of  Korea  by  first  census,  1897 17,000,000 

Christian  population  in  1898 39,000 

Population  of  Seoul,  1897        219,815 

Total  Exports  from  Korean  open  ports  (1896-1900)        £700,000 

Total  Foreign  Imports  at  Korean  open  ports  (1896-1900)        £1,000,000 

STANDARD   BOOKS. 

Mrs.  Bishop.    "  Korea  and  Her  Neighbours"    2  vols.    London,  1897. 

W.  E.  Griffis.    "  Corea,  the  Hermit  Nation."     New  York  and  London,  1882. 


CHAPTER    XXIX.— JAPAN 

BY  W.  B.  MASON, 

Tokyo. 

Position  and  Extent.— The  Japanese  call  their  country  Nihon  (in 
another  form,  Nippon)  or  Dai  Nippon,  which  means  "  Great  Japan,"  the 
Land  of  the  Rising  Sun.  The  chief  islands  which  constitute  Japan  proper 
are  Honshu,  the  central  and  largest  (often  erroneously  called  Nippon),. 
Shikoku,  Kyushu,  and  Yezo,  separated  from  each  other  by  narrow  straits. 
The  most  important  islands  in  close  proximity  to  them  are  Sado,  Tsushima 
Oki,  and  Iki,  in  the  Sea  of  Japan  ;  the  Goto  group,  and  Amakusa,  in  the 
Tunghai,  Awaji,  in  the  Inland  Sea  ;  Tanegashima,  and  Yakunoshima,  in  the 
Pacific.  The  Japanese  possessions  also  include  the  Luchu  group  (Ryukyu), 
lying  to  the  south-west  of  Kyushu  ;  Formosa  (Taiwan),  and  the  Pescadores 
(Ho-ko-to),  ceded  to  Japan  after  the  war  with  China  in  1894-5  ;  the  southern 
half  of  Sakhalin  acquired  as  a  result  of  the  war  with  Russia  in  1905 ;  the 
Kuriles  (Chishima),  extending  in  a  north-westerly  direction  from  Yezo  to 
Kamchatka,  and  a  vast  number  of  small  islands,  no  less  than  487  in  all 
being  considered  worthy  of  administrative  recognition.  The  Bonin  Islands 
(Ogasawara-jimd),  a  small  and  unimportant  group,  lying  far  off  in  the 
southern  seas  in  about  24°  N.  and  140°  E.  ,•  are  also  ruled  by  the  Japa- 
nese. The  main  islands  stretch  along  the  east  coast  of  the  continent  of 
Asia  in  the  form  of  a  crescent,  the  northern  horn  of  which  turns  in  towards 
Siberia,  and  the  southern  towards  Korea.  Between  the  two  flows  the  Sea 
of  Japan. 

Surface.— The  eastern  shores  of  the  archipelago  are  washed  by  the 
waters  of  the  North  Pacific  Ocean,  from  whose  immense  depths  rise  range 
upon  range  of  imposing  mountain  heights,  often  crowned  by  still  more 
imposing  volcanic  cones.  But  the  islands  are  not  solely  of  volcanic  origin. 
Many  of  the  higher  formations  are  giant  masses  of  granite  overlaid  with 
igneous  rocks.  Earthquakes,  seismic-waves,  and  an  excessively  humid 
climate  have  contributed,  in  no  small  degree,  towards  giving  Japan  its  cha- 
racteristic physical  features.  In  the  Main  Island  the  central  mountain 
range  follows  the  trend  of  the  land  itself  from  north-east  to  south-west, 
while  various  smaller  ranges  run  parallel  with  or  branch  out  from  it, 
often  descending  precipitously  to  the  sea  and  forming  bays  and  harbours 
capable  of  sheltering  the  largest  ships.  Almost  all  are  luxuriantly 
wooded,  and  the  numberless  valleys  winding  amongst  them  are  culti- 
vated to  the  utmost  limit.  Solfataras  and  thermal  springs  of  various  kinds 

545 


546       The  International  Geography 


155° 


140 


135 


abound  in  every  part  of  the 
country.  The  chief  mountain 
peaks  comprise  the  famous  and 
beautiful  Fuji-san  (12,400  feet), 
a  perfect  cone  rising  from  the 
,.  plain,  the  Hida-Echu  range, 
with  Tateyama,  Yari-ga-take, 
Ontake,  and  others,  all  about 
10,000  feet  above  sea-level,  and 
another  similar  lofty  range 
running  from  north  to  south 
between  the  rivers  Fujikawa 
and  Tenryu-gawa.  The  active 
•  volcano  of  Asama-yama,  in  the 
province  of  Shinshu,  attains  a 
height  of  8,280  feet.  In  Shikoku 
the  main  system  slopes  towards 
the  Pacific  on  one  side  and  to- 
wards the  Inland  Sea  on  the 
other.  Kyushu  is  likewise  very 

55*  mountainous.  It  possesses  two 
notable  active  volcanoes,  Aso- 
san  (5,630  feet),  rising  from  the 
bed  of  an  ancient  crater,  said 
to  have  the  largest  circum- 
ference of  any  in  the  world, 
and  Kirishima-yama  (5,530 
feet).  There  are  also  some 
conspicuous  volcanic  cones  in 
the  island  of  Yezo.  Fully 
three-fourths  of  the  area  of 
Japan  are  mountainous,  and 
less  than  16  per  cent,  under 
cultivation. 

Rivers. — The  rivers  mostly 
partake  of  the  character  of 
torrents.  They  cut  their  way 
impetuously  through  deep 
rocky  gorges  and  wooded 
ravines  until  they  reach  the 

20.  lower  land,  where,  owing  to 
the  detritus  carried  down  from 
the  heights,  their  beds  often 
attain  a  width  of  several  miles. 
They  are  rarely  navigable  for 


FIG.  275. — Japan, 


Japan 


547 


any  but  the  shallowest  craft,  being  for  the  greater  part  of  the  year  little 
more  than  fordable  streams.  It  is  only  in  late  summer,  after  the  close  of  a 
period  of  drought,  that  they  assume  dangerous  proportions,  the  torrential 
rains  causing  them  to  rise  from  ten  to  fifteen  feet  above  their  normal  height, 
and  spread  destruction  for  many  miles  around.  Of  the  few  rivers  of  any 
length,  the  most  noteworthy  are  the  Tone-gawa  which,  rising  in  the  province 
of  Kotsuke  flows  into  the  Pacific  Ocean  at  Choshi,  and  has  a  remarkable 
system  of  lagoons  near  its  mouth ;  the  Shinano-gawa  and  the  Kiso-gawa 
both  rise  in  the  province  of  Shinshu,  the  former  reaching  the  Sea  of  Japan 
at  Niigata,  the  latter  the  Pacific  Ocean,  near  Nagoya ;  the  Kitakami- 
gawa,  after  traversing  the  provinces  of  Rikuchu  and  Rikuzen  from 
north  to  south,  falls  into  the  Bay  of  Sendai.  The  longest  river  in  Yezo 
is  the  Ishikari-gawa,  noted  for  its  salmon.  Lake  Biwa,  in  the  province 
of  Omi,  is  the  only  large  sheet  of  fresh  water  worthy  of  special  mention. 
It  is  36  miles  long  by  12  miles  in  width,  its  greatest  depth  about  300  feet ; 
and  its  shores,  which  are  classic  ground  to 
the  Japanese,  famous  throughout  the  land 
for  their  beauty. 

Climate.— Japan,  at  one  extreme,  lies 
within  the  tropics,  and  at  the  other,  though 
just  touching  the  latitude  of  the  south  of 
England,  experiences  the  rigours  of  arctic 
cold.  The  climate  of  the  chief  islands  is 
considerably  influenced  by  their  proximity 
to  the  mainland  of  Asia  and  to  the  Kuroshiwo, 
an  ocean  current  like  the  Gulf  Stream, 
which  carries  the  heated  waters  of  the 
equatorial  seas  along  the  east  coast  of  the 
archipelago,  while  a  branch  of  the  same, 
entering  the  Sea  of  Japan  through  the  Strait 
of  Korea,  strikes  the  north-west  coast  of  the  main  island.  The  prevailing 
winds  being  southerly  in  summer  and  northerly  in  winter,  the  effect  of 
these  ocean  currents  is  consequently  greater  upon  the  amount  and  distri- 
bution of  precipitation  than  upon  the  temperature.  Snow  falls  in  every 
portion  of  the  main  islands,  but,  except  on  the  west  coast  and  the  moun- 
tains, does  not  lie  for  any  length  of  time.  Yezo  alone  remains  snow-bound 
for  several  months,  and  even  the  sea  freezes  on  a  part  of  its  coast.  The 
hottest  period  is  usually  from  the  middle  of  July  to  the  middle  of  Septem- 
ber. Japan  has  an  abundant  rainfall.  The  wet  weather  sets  in  early  in 
April,  and  with  occasional  intermissions,  lasts  until  the  beginning  of 
August.  Again,  in  September,  at  the  end  of  the  summer  heat,  heavy  rains, 
sometimes  accompanied  by  typhoons,  or  revolving  storms,  cause  immense 
damage  to  property.  Thunderstorms  are  not  frequent  except  in  the 
mountainous  districts.  The  driest  months  are  November,  December,  and 
January,  when  a  clear  sky  with  high  barometer  prevails  on  the  Pacific  side 


jp 

75 
70 

f 

^\ 

\ 

14 

13 

06 

/ 

'/ 

^ 

\ 

13 

'/ 

\ 

f 

.~d 

/  / 

LJ 

0 

46 

/( 

/ 

... 

m 

—  -   e 
ft 

36  ^ 

•'' 
-X 

J 

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"W- 

NS 

25    -^ 

rr 

.*.. 

r» 

:'-S» 

1 

V 

16  ^ 

"-* 

NIIGATA  TOKYO  

FlG.  276.- — Temperature  and  Rain- 
fall Curves  for  Tokyo  and  Niigata* 


548       The  International  Geography 

and  dull,  dense  masses  of  cloud  lie  over  the  Sea  of  Japan.  A  cold,  arctic 
current  which  sweeps  past  the  Kuriles  causes  the  east  coast  of  Yezo  and  the 
north-east  of  the  main  island  to  be  enveloped  in  fog  for  a  large  portion  of 
the  summer  months.  At  Tokyo  the  mean  temperature  for  twenty  years 
(1876-95)  shows  an  average  of  57°  F.  ;  the  absolute  maximum  tempera- 
ture during  the  same  period  was  98°  F.,  and  the  absolute  minimum 
temperature  15°  F.  The  mean  yearly  rainfall  amounted  to  58  inches. 

Mineral  Resources. — The  chief  mineral  productions  of  Japan 
are  gold,  silver,  copper,  iron,  antimony,  and  coal.  The  more  precious 
metals  occur  in  small  quantities,  and  the  ore  is  generally  poor.  Copper 
has  always  been,  and  still  continues  to  be,  the  most  abundant  as  well  as 
the  purest  of  Japanese  metals,  the  mines  of  Ashio,  near  Nikko,  being  the 
largest  in  Asia.  The  output  of  antimony  from  the  island  of  Shikoku  reaches 
a  high  figure.  The  richest  coal-fields  are  found  in  Kyushu  and  in  Yezo. 
Very  little  stone  is  employed  for  building  purposes. 

Flora.— A  climate  ranging  from  the  temperate  to  the  tropical  gives  an 
•extraordinary  luxuriance  to  the  Japanese  flora.  The  bamboo  and  the  sago- 
palm  flourish  even  in  the  latitude  of  Tokyo.  The  pine,  elm,  chestnut,  and 
oak  are  common,  while  the  beech  is  found  in  the  north  and  on  the  higher 
•elevations.  Amongst  Japan's  most  picturesque  trees  is  the  Cryptomeria 
japonica  (a  kind  of  cedar)  which  borders  the  ancient  highways  and  the 
approaches  to  celebrated  shrines.  It  often  attains  gigantic  dimensions,  as 
does  also  the  camphor  laurel.  The  wax-tree  (Rhus  succedaned)  supports  an 
important  branch  of  industry  in  Kyushu  and  the  southern  half  of  the  main 
island.  Other  valuable  trees  are  the  paper-mulberry  and  the  lacquer-tree. 
The  cherry  and  plum  are  cultivated  chiefly  for  their  blossoms.  Persimmons 
and  oranges  rank  amongst  the  most  characteristic  of  Japanese  fruits,  the 
apples,  pears,  peaches  and  figs  which  are  grown  being  mostly  of  an 
inferior  description.  The  tea-plant  flourishes  best  in  central  Japan.  A 
profusion  of  wild  flowers  carpets  the  moors  in  summer,  while  the  maple 
and  other  deciduous  trees  make  the  hillsides  glow  with  their  changing 
colour  in  autumn.  Rice,  barley  and  millet  are  the  staple  cereals. 

Fauna. — The  fauna  of  Japan  furnishes  numerous  types  to  prove  the 
connection  of  the  islands  with  the  continents  of  Asia  and  America  in  remote 
geological  times.  Bears  still  roam  in  the  wilds  of  Yezo,  and  with  the  wild 
boar,  wild  deer,  and  the  monkey,  are  occasionally  to  be  met  with  in  the 
mountain  fastnesses  of  the  main  island.  The  fox  and  the  badger  play  an 
important  part  in  folk-lore  ;  but  wild  animals  are  far  from  numerous.  Among 
the  rodents  may  be  named  the  squirrel  and  the  hare,  while  the  rat  is  every- 
where a  common  plague.  Domestic  animals  include  the  horse,  cow,  pig,  dog 
and  cat.  Sheep  have  been  imported,  but  do  not  thrive.  Of  the  numerous 
species  of  birds  only  the  lark  and  the  uguisu  (a  species  of  nightingale)  break 
the  silence  of  the  moors  and  valleys  with  song.  Snakes,  large  and  small, 
abound,  but  are  mostly  harmless.  The  Japanese  seas  teem  with  fish,  the 
tai  (a  kind  of  bream),  and  the  maguro,  a  large  red-fleshed  fish,  calling  for 


Japan 


549 


special  mention,  as  both  are  highly  esteemed  for  food,  and  often  eaten  raw. 
Among  fresh-water  fish  the  salmon  and  the  masu  (Salmo  japonicus)  swarm 
in  some  of  the  northern  rivers.  The  ai,  a  kind  of  trout,  is  common 
to  all  Japanese  rivers.  Insect  life  is  abundant  and  varied  ;  particularly 
beautiful  in  colour  are  the  moths  and  butterflies.  Mosquitoes  and  fleas 
infest  all  parts  of  the  country. 

People  and  Language.—  The  origin  of  the  Japanese  people  is 
unknown,  but  learned  opinion  generally  agrees  in  regarding  them  as  the 
fusion  of  two  or  three  different  tides  of  Tataro-Mongolian  immigration 
which  flowed  to  Japan  by  way  of  the  Korean  peninsula.  Before  the  advent 
of  these  settlers  the  land  was  inhabited  by  the  Ainu  aborigines,  a  hairy  race, 
who,  in  their  turn,  must  have  come  from  the  neighbouring  continent.  At 
the  present  day,  having  been  gradually  driven  northwards  by  the  more 
energetic  race,  and  unable,  like  other  aboriginal  tribes,  to  exist  under 
civilised  conditions,  they  are  only  to  be  found,  in  ever-decreasing  numbers, 
in  the  island  of  Yezo  and  the  adjacent  Kurile  Islands.  That  much  inter- 
marriage ever  took  place  between  them  and  the  smooth-faced  invaders  does 
not  seem  probable,  although  undoubted  traces  of  the  _  _ 
Ainu  type  exist,  especially  in  the  northern  provinces. 
There  may  be  also  an  admixture  of  the  Malay,  but 
the  Mongol  type  largely  predominates  in  the  straight 
hair,  pallid  complexion,  and  the  more  delicate  oval 
features  which  distinguish  the  better  classes.  Small- 
ness  of  stature  characterises  the  whole  race.  The 
Japanese  are  distinguished  from  other  Oriental 


peoples  by  their  love  of  cleanliness,  their  politeness,    FIG.  277.—  Average  popu- 
and  the  possession  of  a  certain  artistic  instinct,  and       la  tion  of  a  square  mite 

,  of  Japan. 

appreciation  of  natural  beauty. 

The  Japanese  language  has  certain  structural  affinities  with  the  Altaic 
family,  but  no  close  resemblance  to  any  known  member  of  the  stock.  It 
is  polysyllabic  and  has  the  verb  after  its  object,  features  radically  separating 
it  from  Chinese,  which  is  a  monosyllabic  tongue,  .and  which  has  the  verb 
before  its  object.  Other  marked  peculiarities  of  Japanese  are  that  the 
tenses  of  the  verb  have  no  distinction  of  number  or  person  ;  the  nouns  no 
inflexions  to  distinguish  gender,  number,  or  case,  and  that  the  prepositions 
follow  the  nouns  they  govern.  The  pronouns  differ  to  mark  the  rank  or 
grade  of  the  person  addressed  or  speaking,  an  "  honorific  "  system  which 
also  modifies  the  verbal  forms.  A  wide  divergence  exists  between  the 
spoken  and  written  languages.  Japanese  may  be  written  in  two  ways, 
either  in  the  Chinese  ideographs  or  in  the  native  kana  (of  which  there  are 
two  forms),  a  phonetic  syllabary  composed  of  forty-  seven  simplified  cha- 
racters, the  former  being  chiefly  used  by  the  educated,  the  latter  by  the 
lower  classes. 

History.  —  Japanese  official  history  dates  from  660  B.C.,  but  no  records 
prior  to  the  fifth  century  of  our  era  are  considered  trustworthy.  Claiming 


550       The  International  Geography 

descent  from  the  gods  who  created  the  islands  of  Japan,  the  Mikados  or 
Emperors  held  absolute  and  undisputed  sway  until  the  middle  of  the 
eleventh  century,  when  their  authority,  passing  into  the  hands  of  the 
dominant  military  families,  became  merely  nominal — a  state  of  affairs 
which  inaugurated  a  dual  system  of  government,  and,  only  slightly  changed 
in  form,  lasted  down  to  our  own  day.  The  power  thus  attained  by  the 
sword  had  to  be  maintained  by  the  sword.  Continual  internecine  strife 
waged  by  the  Daimyo,  or  feudal  lords,  characterised  the  Middle  Ages.  Not 
until  the  appearance  in  1603  of  the  greatest  of  these  military  rulers,  or 
Shoguns,  as  they  were  called,  in  the  person  of  Tokugawa  Jeyasu,  did 
the  country  enjoy  the  blessings  of  peace.  By  his  able  administration 
and  judicious  distribution  of  political  favours,  he  succeeded  in  firmly 
establishing  the  supremacy  of  his  own  house,  who  continued  to  rule 
the  land  in  profound  tranquillity  for  two  hundred  and  fifty  years. 
During  this  long  period  a  restricted  intercourse  with  Dutch  merchants 
at  Nagasaki,  in  the  south-west  corner  of  the  empire,  was  Japan's  only 
point  of  contact  with  the  outer  world ;  and  it  was  the  attempt  of 
the  United  States  in  1853  to  break  down  this  policy  of  isolation  which 
led  to  the  collapse  of  the  Shogunate  and  the  feudal 
system  with  it,  the  opening  of  the  country  to 
foreign  commerce  in  1868,  and  the  restoration  of 
the  Mikado  to  that  absolute  sovereignty  of  which 
he  had  so  long  been  deprived.  The  chief  sub- 
sidiary events  of  Japanese  history  include  the 
introduction  of  Buddhism  from  Korea  in  A.D.  552, 
FIG.  278.— The  Japanese  soon  followed  by  the  Chinese  system  of  adminis- 
tration, the  invention  of  the  native  syllabary  at 

the  beginning  of  the  ninth  century,  the  repulse  of  the  Mongol  invaders 
under  Kublai  Khan  (1274-1281),  the  arrival  of  the  Portuguese  and 
Spanish  missionaries  and  subsequent  persecution  of  the  Christians  in 
the  sixteenth  century,  and  the  closing  of  the  country  against  the  outer 
world  in  A.D.  1624.  The  most  important  events  since  the  signing  of 
the  treaties  with  foreign  powers  in  1859,  have  been  the  introduction  of 
posts,  telegraphs,  and  railways  in  1871-72,  the  Satsuma  Rebellion  in  1874, 
under  General  Saigo — a  futile  effort  to  restore  the  old  order  of  things — the 
proclamation  of  the  Constitution  on  Western  lines  in  1889,  and  the 
successful  war  with  China  in  1894-95.  New  treaties  have  since  been  con- 
cluded with  all  the  Great  Powers,  which  enable  Japan  to  enter  the  comity 
of  nations  on  a  footing  of  perfect  equality — the  first  Asiatic  State  to  receive 
that  high  privilege. 

Government.— The  authority  of  the  Emperor  remains  paramount 
and  unquestioned  in  all  matters  of  government.  The  Diet,  established 
under  the  Constitution  of  1889,  is  composed  of  two  Houses,  an  Upper  and 
a  Lower.  The  members  of  the  former  are  selected  from  among  the  here- 
ditary nobility,  and  others  are  chosen  by  the  Emperor  for  conspicuous 


Japan 


merit  in  civil  or  military  life  ;  the  members  of  the  latter  are  elected  by  the 
suffrages  of  a  limited  portion  of  the  people.  The  Cabinet  consists  of  nine 
Ministers  of  State  appointed  by  the  Emperor,  to  whom  they  are  alone 
responsible  ;  but  all  laws  must  receive  the  sanction  of  both  Houses  before 
passing.  The  departments  over  which  they  preside  comprise  Foreign 
Affairs,  the  Army,  the  Navy,  Home  Affairs,  Finance,  Justice,  Education, 
Agriculture  and  Commerce,  and  Communications.  There  is  also  a  depart- 
ment of  the  Imperial  Household,  but  its  chief  has  no  seat  in  the  Cabinet. 
Provincial  assemblies  were  established  in  1889. 

Trade  and  Communications. — Japan  is  no  longer  a  State  depend- 
ing solely,  as  she  did  for  centuries,  on  her  agricultural  resources  ;  but  in 
manufactures  and  industries  has  already  taken  a  considerable  place  amongst 
the  nations  of  the  world.  The  remarkable  expansion  of  her  commerce  may 
be  seen  in  the  figures  of  the  appended  tables.  Silk  is  the  chief  staple  of 
export,  the  best  qualities  coming  from  the  provinces  of  Shinshu,  Kotsuke, 
and  Koshu.  Numerous  filatures  are  now  worked  by  imported  machinery. 
Tea  ranks  next  in  importance.  It  finds  its  principal  markets  in  Canada  and 
the  United  States,  where  it  is  used  for  mixing  with  other  varieties.  In  the 
cotton  spinning  industry  the  development  has  been  extraordinarily  rapid. 
During  1896,  raw  cotton  to  the  extent  of  206,000,000  Ibs.  was  consumed,  of 
which  quantity  only  1,350,000  Ibs.  were  of  Japanese  production.  Other 
important  articles  of  export  include  rice,  coal,  straw-braid,  matting,  matches, 
fish-oil,  and  copper.  Japan  has  long  enjoyed  a  high  reputation  for  her 
achievements  in  the  mechanical  arts,  notably  in  metallurgy  and  the  manufac- 
e  of  porcelain  and  lacquer- ware.  The  United  Kingdom  and  dependencies 
share  to  the  extent  of  nearly  one  half  in  the  total  foreign  trade.  Numerous 
steamship  companies  provide  for  an  extensive  coasting  trade.  The  largest 
of  these  also  runs  vessels  regularly  to  China,  India,  Europe,  and  America. 
The  native  junk  with  its  huge  square  sail  still  forms  a  picturesque  feature, 
both  on  the  coast  and  larger  rivers.  The  first  line  of  railway,  18  miles 
in  length,  connecting  Yokohama  with  the  capital,  was  opened  in  1872  ;  and 
in  1900  a  well-equipped  system  existed  of  over  3,700  miles,  with  many  new 
lines  in  course  of  construction.  The  trunk  line  of  railway  joins  Aomori, 
in  the  extreme  north  of  the  main  island,  with  Kagoshima,  in  the  south  of 
Kyushu.  Two  branches  cross  the  country  from  east  to  west,  one  from 
Tokyo  to  Niigata,  the  other  from  Kyoto  to  Kanazawa,  while  a  network  of 
lesser  lines  is  rapidly  spreading  over  the  large  plain  in  which  the  capital 
lies.  In  districts  still  unprovided  with  railway  communication,  the 
jinnkisha  remains  the  chief  mode  of  conveyance.  An  admirable  post  and 
telegraph  system,  together  with  telephone  exchanges  in  all  the  larger 
towns,  adds  to  the  convenience  of  internal  communications. 

Political  Divisions  and  Towns.— Before  the  revolution  of  1868 
Japan  was  divided  into  nine  Circuits  (Do)  which  were  subdivided  into 
seventy-one  provinces  (Kuni).  These  ancient  divisions  still  remain  in 
popular  parlance,  but  for  administrative  convenience  and  political  con- 


552       The  International  Geography 


siderations,  they  have  been  replaced,  without  regard  to  physical  or 
historical  frontiers,  by  a  classification  into  three  City  Governments  (Fu\ 
which  comprise  Tokyo,  Kyoto  and  Osaka,  and  forty-three  Prefectures  (Ken). 
Yezo,  under  the  denomination  of  Hokkaido  and  Formosa,  possess  separate 
administrations.  All  the  larger  towns,  with  the  exception  of  Kyoto,  may  be 
said  to  derive  their  prosperity  from  the  comparatively  wide  and  fertile  plains 
in  which  they  are  situated. 

Tokyo,  formerly  known  as  Yedo,  only  became  the  capital  when  the 
Emperor  removed  from  Kyoto  to  take  up  his  residence  there  on  the  fall 
of  the  Shogunate  in  1868.  It  lies  on  the  Sumida-gawa,  one  of  the  rivers 
which  drain  the  largest  plain  in  the  empire,  and,  with  its  suburbs, 
covers  an  area  of  190  square  miles.  The  government  offices,  banks, 
public  offices,  and  the  various  barracks  are  now  the  most  conspicuous 
buildings.  Besides  much  artistic  work  in  lacquer,  bronze,  and  ivory,  Tokyo 
now  possesses  numerous  industries  for  such  purely  Western  commodities 
as  blankets,  matches,  glass  and  hats.  There  are 
also  many  chemical  works,  ship-building  and 
engine  works.  A  suburban  line  of  railway  con- 
nects the  termini  of  the  trunk  lines  running  north 
and  south,  these  being  fed  by  various  branches 
which  traverse  the  plain.  Tokyo  has  no  harbour. 
Only  vessels  of  light  draught  can  enter  the  river. 
Kyoto,  also  called  Saikyo,  was  the  capital  of  Japan 
from  A.D.  794  until  1868.  Though  the  city  has, 
in  modern  times,  greatly  diminished  in  extent 
and  population,  its  historic  associations,  together 
with  its  palaces  and  temples,  its  art  products 
in  bronze,  cloisonne,  porcelain,  brocade  and 


FIG.  279. — Tokyo  or  Yedo  Bay. 


embroidery,     and    its     picturesque    native    life 


make  it  the  most  interesting  city  in  the  empire.  Kyoto  is  supplied 
with  water  from  Lake  Biwa,  about  ten  miles  distant,  both  by  river  and 
canal.  Osaka,  lying  on  the  Yodo-gawa,  the  river  which  drains  Lake  Biwa, 
and  only  twenty-six  miles  distant  from  Kyoto,  was  already  a  flourishing 
commercial  centre  at  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century.  It  was  also 
then  noted  for  its  castle  and  the  magnificence  of  the  palace  built  within 
its  walls.  At  the  present  day  the  city  covers  an  area  of  nearly  sixty-four 
square  miles,  and  is  intersected  by  numerous  canals  to  facilitate  the  trans- 
port of  commerce.  Osaka  is  the  chief  centre  of  the  cotton-spinning 
industry.  A  considerable  development  in  ship-building,  on  European 
lines,  has  likewise  to  be  noted.  The  foreign  import  trade  of  Osaka  is  largely 
merged  into  that  of  Kobe.  Nagoya,  the  capital  of  the  province  of  Owari, 
is  the  largest  commercial  city  on  the  Tokaido  Railway  which  connects  the 
modern  with  the  ancient  capital.  Its  political  importance  dates  from  feudal 
days,  the  founder  of  the  House  of  Owari  having  been  a  son  of  the  great 
Shogun  leyasu.  The  plain  in  which  Nagoya  stands  is  one  of  the  most 


Japan 


553 


extensive  to  the  east  of  the  central  range  of  mountains,  and  is  devoted  to 
the  cultivation  of  rice.  The  chief  manufactory  of  porcelain  in  Japan  is 
at  Seto,  a  village  thirteen  miles  distant.  Several  other  villages  in  the 
neighbourhood  produce  porcelain  and  pottery,  largely  for  the  foreign 
market.  The  cloisonne  of  Nagoya  is  highly  esteemed.  Yokohama,  the 
leading  "  open  port "  of  Japan,  stands  near  the  entrance  to  Tokyo  Bay, 
eighteen  miles  by  rail  from  the  capital,  for  which  it  is,  practically,  the 
port.  From  being  a  mere  fishing  hamlet  when  first  opened  to  foreign 
residence  in  1859,  Yokohama  has  now  a  population  of  over  170,000,  and 
transacts  more  than  half  of  the  external  trade  of  the  empire.  Kobe  ranks 
next  in  importance,  both  in  regard  to  population  and  to  volume  of  trade. 
Its  situation  at  the  eastern  end  of  the  Inland  Sea  and  close  to  Osaka  and 
Kyoto  makes  it  the  principal  outlet  for  the  rich  products  of  central  Japan. 
The  other  open  ports  are  Nagasaki  in  the  south-west  of  the  island  of 
Kyushu,  Hakodate  in  Yezo,  and  Niigata  on  the  north-west  coast  of  the  Main 
Island.  Nagasaki  owes  its  prosperity  to  the  coal-fields  in  its  immediate 
vicinity  and  to  the  large  docks  within  its  magnificent  land-locked  harbour. 
Ship-building  has  lately  been  undertaken  with  considerable  success.  Hako- 
date is  the  emporium  for  the  vast  resources  of  the  northern  island  in 
agriculture,  fishing,  and  coal.  Niigata,  being  unfavourably  situated,  has 
never  had  any  appreciable  share  in  the  external  trade.  Its  chief  exports 
are  rice  and  petroleum.  Hiroshima,  the  capital  of  the  province  of  Aki, 
stands  on  the  northern  shore  of  the  Inland  Sea.  It  suddenly  rose  into 
prominence  during  the  war  with  China  in  1894-95,  when  the  Emperor,  as 
commander-in-chief  of  the  army,  made  it  his  headquarters.  Its  produc- 
tions in  bronze,  lacquer,  and  other  artistic  work  claim  attention.  Other 
important  towns  are  Kanazawa,  in  Kaga,  and  Sendai,  in  Rikuzen,  each  with 
a  population  exceeding  80,000.  Kumamoto  and  Fukuoka,  in  Kyushu,  and 
Tokushima,  in  Shikoku,  have  over  60,000  inhabitants. 

Japanese  Possessions. — The  Luchu  Islands,  which  extend  in  a 
south-westerly  direction  from  Kyushu,  were  formally  claimed  by  the 
Japanese  in  1879,  and  incorporated  into  the  prefectural  system  under  the 
name  of  Okinawa-ken.  Previous  to  that  date  the  Luchuan  king  had  paid 
yearly  tribute  to  China  as  well  as  to  the  old  feudal  lords  of  Satsuma  in 
Japan  ;  but  both  in  race  and  language  the  people  are  closely  allied  to  the 
Japanese.  The  largest  islands  are  Oshima  and  Okinawa  (Great  Luchu),  in 
the  latter  of  which  is  situated  Shuri,  the  capital.  The  port  of  Nafa  lies 
some  three  miles  distant.  The  area  of  the  islands  is  estimated  at  about 
1,500  square  miles,  witu  a  population  of  170,000.  Rice  and  sugar  constitute 
the  chief  products. 

Formosa,  called  by  the  Japanese  Taiwan,  which,  with  the  small  Pesca- 
dores group,  was  annexed  after  the  war  with  China  in  1894-95,  may  be  said 
to  be  Japan's  only  foreign  possession.  It  has  an  area  of  about  14,000 
square  miles,  with  a  population  (excluding  the  savages)  estimated  at 
2,700,000.  The  area  of  the  Pescadores  is  only  some  47  square  miles,  with 


554       The   International  Geography 

a  population  of  50,000.  The  centre  and  east  of  Formosa  consist  of  mountains 
covered  with  virgin  forests  of  camphor-laurel  and  other  trees,  and  inhabited 
by  aborigines  of  Malay  race,  some  having  a  tincture  of  civilisation,  others  still 
head-hunting  savages.  The  western  side  is  a  rich  alluvial  plain  cultivated 
by  Chinese  settlers,  who  produce  large  quantities  of  rice,  sugar,  tea  and 
hemp.  Coal,  sulphur  and  other  minerals  are  worked  on  a  small  scale. 
The  principal  ports  are  Kelung  and  Tamsui  in  the  north  ;  Anping  and 
Takao  in  the  south-west.  The  external  trade  is  chiefly  in  British  hands. 

The  Kuriles  (Chishima)  form  a  chain  of  barren,  inhospitable  islands, 
several  of  them  containing  active  volcanoes.  The  most  southerly  islands 
are  inhabited  by  Japanese  and  Ainu,  while  the  more  northerly  are  annually 
frequented  by  seal-hunters.  The  islands  were  ceded  to  Japan  by  Russia 
in  1875  in  exchange  for  the  southern  portion  of  Sakhalin. 


STATISTICS. 


Area  of  Japan  (square  miles) 

Population  of  Japan 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile 


148,742 

38,151,217 

256 


1898.1 

161,198 

46,453,249 

288 


Tokyo 
Osaka 
Kyoto 
Nagoya 


POPULATION  OF  LARGE  TOWNS   (1898). 

Kobe(Hyogo)  .. 
Yokohama  . , 
Hiroshima 


1,440,000 
821,000 
353,000 
244,000 


Nagasaki 


216,000 
194,000 
122,000 
107,000 


Imports 
Exports 


ANNUAL  TRADE  OF  JAPAN  (in  yen). 

i87i-75-  1881-85. 

28,400,000 


26,000,000 
19,000,000 


34,300,000 


1891-95- 
94,000,000 

102,000,000 


Imports 
Exports 


ANNUAL  TRADE  OF  JAPAN  (in  pounds  sterling).* 
1871-75-  1881-85. 


5,200,000 

3,800,000 


4,300,000 

5,200,000 


1891-95. 
9,400,000 
10,200,000 


STANDARD  BOOKS. 

J.  Batchelor.    "  The  Ainus  of  Japan."    London,  1892. 

B.  H.  Chamberlain  and  W.  B.  Mason.  "  Murray's  Handbook  to  Japan,"  5th  ed.   London, 

1899. 

W.  E.  Griffis.    "  The  Mikado's  Empire."    New  York,  1876. 
J.  J.  Rein.    "  Japan  nach  Reisen  und  Studien."    2  vols.    Leipzig,  1880,  1886.    (Vol.  I. 

translation.    London,  1884.) 


1  The  figures  for  1898  include  Formosa  and  the  Pescadores. 

2  Owing  to  the  fall  in  the  value  of  silver  the  exchange  value  of  the  yen,  which  was 
45.  2d.  in  1871,  was  2s.  in  1895.     In  the  table  the  value  for  the  period  1871-75  has 
been  taken  as  43.,  that  for  1881-85  at  35.,  and  that  for  1891-95  at  zs. 


CHAPTER  XXX.— THE  MALAY  ARCHIPELAGO 

BY  HENRY  O.  FORBES,  LL.D. 
I,— GENERAL  CHARACTERISTICS 

Position  and  Physical  Divisions.  —  The  Malay  Archipelago 
occupies  that  immense  island-strewn  region  lying  on  both  sides  of  the 
equator,  between  the  95th  meridian  east  of  Greenwich  and  the  western 
coast  of  New  Guinea,  an  area  embracing  40  degrees  of  longitude,  and 
extending  30  degrees  south  of  the  2oth  parallel  of  north  latitude.  The 
region,  though  invariably  spoken  of  as  a  geographical  whole  (as  politically 
it  almost  entirely  is),  is  far  from  being  homogeneous,  so  that  its  usual 
appellation  is  not  altogether  appropriate.  Its  physical  and  biological 
characters  clearly  divide  it  into  two  distinct  parts.  From  the  Strait  of 
Sunda  east  to  about  118  degrees  east  there  lies  a  submarine  plateau 
hardly  50  fathoms  deep,  while  be- 
yond that  line  all  the  way  to  a 
bank  close  to  the  coast  of  New 
Guinea,  extends  a  deep  sea  with 
deeper  basins. 

The  boundary  line  between  this 
plateau  and  the  deeper  sea,  known 
as  Wallace's  Line  (after  the  dis- 
tinguished naturalist  who  first  in- 
dicated its  existence),  lies  close  to 
the  east  of  Borneo,  and  may  be  pro- 
longed through  the  outer  margin  of 
the  Philippines  and  Formosa  to  the 
Asiatic  mainland.  The  biological  features  of  the  region  show  that,  in  all 
the  islands  to  the  west  of  Wallace's  Line,  the  forms  of  life  are  the  same 
as,  or  closely  related  to,  those  of  the  Asiatic  continent,  while  on  most  of 
the  islands  to  the  east  they  as  unmistakably  point  to  Australia  as  the 
centre  whence  they  have  spread.  This  line,  therefore,  clearly  follows  what, 
in  very  recent  geological  times,  was  the  shore  of  the  continent  of  Asia. 
With  the  exception  of  Celebes  the  islands  to  the  east,  rising  out  of  deeper 
water — the  result  of  longer  continued  subsidence — have  also  at  various 
times  formed  part  of  a  greater  Australasian  continent  than  the  present. 
From  the  Asiatic  plateau  rise  the  Philippines,  and  the  Greater  Sunda 
Islands  (Java,  Sumatra,  Borneo).  Over  the  deeper  eastern  seas  are  spread 
37  555 


FIG.  280. — The  Malay  Archipelago  showing 
Wallace's  Line. 


556       The  International  Geography 

the  Celebes;  the  Moluccas  (Halmaheira  and  the  intervening  islands  to  Ke) 
and  the  Lesser  Sunda  Islands,  a  chain  1,200  miles  in  length,  from  Lombok 
to  Timor-laut. 

The  remarkable  specialisation  of  the  fauna  and  flora  in  the  Philippines, 
demanding  a  long  period  for  its  accomplishment,  indicates  that  this  group 
was  earlier  separated  from  the  continent  than  any  of  the  Sondaic  Islands, 
as  the  deep  water  in  its  neighbourhood  would  also  imply.  Indeed,  but 
for  the  Palawan  and  Sulu  banks  it  would  be  isolated  from  the  plateau. 
The  results  of  a  comparison  of  the  forms  of  life  in  Java  with  those  in 
Sumatra  or  Borneo  are  held  to  warrant  the  belief  that  the  latter  were 
connected  with  the  mainland  after  the  separation  of  the  former,  which 
must  have  occurred  during  the  great  climatic  changes  of  the  Pleistocene 
period.  Later  subsidences  severed  Sumatra  from  Borneo,  and  finally 
separated  the  latter  from  the  Malay  Peninsula.  Of  the  islands  east  of 
Wallace's  Line,  Celebes  is  surrounded  by  very  deep  seas,  and  in  pre- 
senting a  fauna  (whose  affinities  are  Asiatic),  with  a  degree  of  speciali- 
sation exceeding  any  in  the  Archipelago,  it  proclaims  the  still  greater 
antiquity  of  its  separation  from  that  continent,  and  its  entire  isolation 
ever  since,  by  the  absence  of  forms  that  ought  otherwise  to  have  been 
present.  Of  the  island-groups  with  characteristically  Australian  affini- 
ties the  Lesser  Sunda  Islands  were  probably  detached  from  the  Australian 
mainland  before  the  Moluccas,  which  appear  to  have  been  separated  subse- 
quently to  the  submersion  of  the  Asiatic  plateau. 

The  most  notable  physical  feature  of  the  Archipelago  is  its  vulcanicity. 
A  chain  of  cones,  some  extinct,  some  dormant,  and  others  active,  sweeps 
in  a  semicircle  round  its  border  from  Sumatra  eastward  to  the  Philip- 
pines. The  geological  structure  of  many  of  the  islands  is  still  unknown. 
In  Sumatra,  Borneo,  the  Philippines,  Celebes,  and  Timor,  ancient  rocks 
occur ;  but  most  of  the  others  are  composed  mainly  of  Tertiary  strata, 
over  which  the  ejecta  of  the  volcanoes  are  piled  to  an  enormous 
depth,  and  form  the  bulk  of  the  high  land  in  the  Archipelago 
(see  Fig.  19). 

Climate. — The  climate  is  tropical  and  humid,  and  with  the  exception 
of  the  Philippines,  part  of  which  lie  within  the  region  of  typhoons,  the 
Malay  Archipelago  is  not  subject  to  violent  extremes.  Along  the  equa- 
torial belt,  about  four  degrees  wide,  the  wet  and  dry  seasons,  which 
occur  with  great  regularity  beyond  those  latitudes  on  both  sides,  are 
ill-defined.  In  this  region  rain  falls  more  or  less  throughout  the  year. 
South  of  the  equator  the  wet  season  lasts  from  November  till  March, 
the  period  which  north  of  the  line  is  the  dry  season  (see  Fig.  323). 

Flora  and  Fauna. — On  the  west  side  of  Wallace's  Line,  vegetation 
carpets  the  ground  from  the  water's  edge  to  an  altitude  of  7,000  feet,  with 
palms,  bamboos,  Euphorbias,  Papilionaceae,  and  Artocarpeae ;  with  giant 
Altingias,  laurels,  oaks,  and  Dipterocarpeae.  Monkeys,  tigers,  rhinoceros, 
tapirs,  elephants,  and  ruminants  roam  the  islands  ;  woodpeckers,  trogons, 


The  Malay  Archipelago  557 

barbets  and  pheasants  people  the  forests.  On  the  east  side,  Eucalyptus, 
Casuarinas,  phyllode-bearing  Acacias,  Podocarpeae,  and  Cycads,  unknown 
in  the  west,  mark  the  Australian  character  of  the  flora.  The  terrestrial 
mammals  just  named  are  absent.  The  Cuscus  and  other  marsupials  take 
their  place.  Cockatoos,  megapodes,  cassowaries,  and  Birds  of  Paradise 
meet  the  eye,  while  woodpeckers,  barbets,  and  pheasants  are  conspicuously 
absent. 

Native  Peoples. — Viewed  generally  the  archipelago  is  peopled  by 
Malays,  who  are  mostly  Mohammedans,  and  Melanesians,  who  are  nearly 
all  pagans.  Although  predominant  to  the  west  of  Wallace's  Line,  the  Malay 
has  spread  to  the  nearer  Sunda  Islands,  and  many  of  the  Moluccas.  The 
Melanesians  occupy  the  more  eastern  islands.  The  Malay  is  typically  a 
short  olive-brown  Mongolian,  with  a  round  head,  straight  hair,  bare  face, 
wide  cheeks,  and  slightly  oblique  eyes.  In  temperament  he  is  sedate, 
morose,  ceremonious,  yet  revengeful  and  cruel.  The  Melanesian  is  a 
sooty-brown  Ethiopian,  tall,  with  a  long  head,  covered  with  a  mop  of 
frizzly  hair,  a  narrow  face,  often  well  bearded,  and  with  a  prominent  nose  ; 
in  temperament  he  is  lively  and  boisterous.  The  origin  of  these  races  is  a 
complex  problem.  The  Malays,  as  known  to  us  in  purer  Atjinese  and 
Sundanese — a  race  developed  through  the  commingling  of  Caucasian  and 
predominating  Mongol  blood  in  Indo-China — were  the  last  incursionists 
into  the  region.  They  followed  an  earlier  pure-Caucasian  migration — 
known  as  Polynesians,  whose  last  remnants  in  the  Archipelago  linger 
in  the  Mentavi  islands  on  the  west  coast  of  Sumatra — who  drove 
the  Negrito  autochthones  of  the  Archipelago  out  into  the  remote  in- 
terior of  the  Philippines  and  other  islands,  and  were  themselves  over- 
whelmed by  half-breeds  of  Mongol  and  predominating  Caucasian  blood, 
now  known  as  Indonesians,  of  \vnom  the  Battaks  and  Dyaks  are 
survivors. 

In  like  manner  the  Melanesians  of  the  Solomon  and  New  Hebrides 
Islands,  migrating  westward  into  the  eastern  part  of  the  Archipelago,  partly 
supplanted,  partly  commingled  with  the  Negrito  autochthones;  and  then 
Caucasioid  (Polynesian)  pre-incursionists,  whose  strain  appears  still  in 
many  of  the  people,  as  well  in  their  language  as  in  their  customs. 
Throughout  the  Archipelago  low  Malay  is  the  lingua  franca  on  the  coasts  ; 
but  each  island  has  its  own  dialect,  or  language,  and  sometimes  many 
languages  are  spoken  in  one  island. 

Political  Divisions.— Politically  the  Archipelago  was  long  divided 
between  the  two  European  Powers,  Spain  and  Holland.  The  Philippines 
have  passed  from  the  possession  of  Spain  to  that  of  the  United  States ; 
and  except  for  the  eastern  moiety  of  Timor,  which  is  Portuguese,  and 
a  considerable  area  of  the  north-west  of  Borneo,  which  is  a  British 
Protectorate,  the  remainder  of  the  Malay  Archipelago  forms  the  magnifi- 
cent possession  of  Netherlands-India. 


558       The   International  Geography 


PIG.  281.— Philippine  Islands.    The  map 
includes  700  miles  by  500. 


H.— THE  PHILIPPINE  ISLANDS 

Extent,  History,  People  and  Trade.— The  Philippine  Islands, 
numbering  some  1,200,  separated  by  narrow  channels,  covering  an  area 
not  quite  so  large  as  the  British  Islands,  with  a  population  of  7^ 

millions,  lie  between  21°  and  4°  N.  and 
from  116°  to  128°  E.  Most  of  the 
islands  are  extremely  irregular,  high 
and  intensely  volcanic.  The  loftiest 
mountain  in  the  group  attains  10,000 
feet  of  elevation.  The  rainfall  is  heavy, 
the  vegetation  luxuriant,  and  there  are 
innumerable  lakes  and  rivers.  The 
mean  temperature  is  about  84°  F.,  and 
the  annual  range  under  40°.  Though 
fever  and  many  zymotic  diseases,  pre- 
ventable by  better  sanitary  supervision, 
prevail,  the  Philippines  are  fairly 
healthy.  The  inhabitants  are  Malays, 
much  crossed  with  Chinese  blood, 
Negritoes,  and  a  few  Indonesians. 

Discovered  in  1521  by  a  Spanish 
squadron,  under  Magellan — who  lost 
his  life  on  the  occasion,  fighting  with  the  people  of  Zebu — the  Philip- 
pines were  called  St.  Lazarus  Islands,  which  twenty  years  afterwards 
was  changed  to  their  present  name,  in  honour  of  Philip  II.  Only  in 
1565,  however,  forty  years  after  their  discovery,  first  Zebu,  then  Panay, 
and  finally  Luzon,  were  taken  effective  possession  of  by  a  force  under 
Miguel  de  Legaspi.  After  that  date  Spain  held  the  whole  group,  though 
several  of  the  southern  islands  hardly  acknowledged  her  authority.  By 
the  capture  of  Manila  in  1898  the  United  States  of  America  undertook 
the  control  of  the  islands  and  the  Spanish  forces  were  withdrawn. 

The  chief  products  of  the  group  are  tobacco  leaf, 
cigars,  hemp  and  sugar,  which  make  up  nine-tenths 
of  the  value  of  the  exports  ;  and  also  coffee,  indigo, 
copra,  rice,  and  pine-apple  fibre.  The  Philippines, 
under  the  Spaniards,  were  administered  by  a  Captain- 
General,  under  whom  were  the  four  Governors  of 
Luzon,  Bisaya,  Mindanao,  and  the  Adjacent  Isles. 
Every  religion  was  forbidden  except  the  Roman 

FlG.282.— Average  popu- 

Catholic,  whose   priests   consequently  became  very      lation  of  a  square  mile 
influential.  of  the  Philippines. 

Since  occupied  by  the  United  States  the  group  has  been  organised  into 
39  provinces,  each  under  a  Governor,  while  municipalities  have  been 
formed  and  schools  established.  There  is  also  a  Governor  for  the  whole 
group,  assisted  by  a  legislative  body  of  seven. 


British  Borneo 


559 


Principal  Islands  and  Towns.— Luzon  Island  is  the  largest  and 
most  fertile  of  the  group.  Sugar  and  tobacco  are  largely  cultivated. 
There  are  a  few  miles  of  railway  and  telegraph  lines,  and  it  is  proposed 
to  extend  the  railway  system  by  the  construction  of  a  trunk  line  600  miles 
long ;  a  transverse  line  from  Manila  to  the  east  coast ;  and  various  branch 
lines.  Manila,  the  capital  of  the  Philippines,  was  captured  and  founded 
in  1571.  It  is  protected  by  Cavite,  nearer  the  sea,  on  the  Bay  of  Manila, 
a  fortified  harbour  with  an  arsenal  and  dockyard,  which  was  taken  by 
Admiral  Dewey  for  the  United  States  in  June,  1898.  The  Manila  Obser- 
vatory, founded  by  the  Jesuit,  P.  Federico  Faura,  in  1865,  has  a  world-wide 
celebrity.  The  volcano,  Mount  Mayon,  9,000  feet  in  height,  is  noted  for 
its  disastrous  eruptions.  Iloilo,  in  the  Island  of  Panay,  with  an  excellent 
harbour,  is  the  second  city  in  the  Philippines  in  commercial  importance. 
It  largely  exports  sugar,  tobacco,  Manila-hemp,  and  perfume.  Coal  beds 
are  found  in  Samar  and  in  Zebu,  whose  chief  town  of  the  same  name  is 
the  oldest  settlement  of  the  colony.  On  the  island  of  Mactan,  in  its 
harbour,  Magellan,  the  navigator,  was 
killed  before  he  had  completed  the  first 
circumnavigation  of  the  globe. 

Mindanao  island,  the  next  in  size  to 
Luzon,  is  very  fertile.  It  contains  gold, 
quicksilver,  and  coal  in  considerable 
abundance,  and  there  are  valuable  forests 
of  ebony  and  teak.  Zamboango  is  its  chief 
town.  The  Sulu  islands,  which  form  part 
of  the  government  of  the  Philippines,  are 
ruled  by  a  tributary  but  very  powerful 
sultan.  Palawan  and  Balabac  islands  are 
geographically  and  biologically  part  of 


FIG.  2&3_— Manila  Bay. 


Borneo.  Puerto  Princessa  is  the  chief  town  and  port.  Burial  caves  of 
vast  antiquity,  containing  bones,  vases,  and  ornaments  of  Chino-Japanese 
origin,  indicate  an  early  Mongolian  occupation,  of  which  all  tradition 
is  lost. 

III.— BRITISH  BORNEO 

British  North  Borneo.— Although  most  of  the  Malay  Archipelago 
fell  into  the  possession  of  the  United  Kingdom  in  1811,  it  was  returned 
to  its  former  rulers  in  1817,  and  now  only  a  part  of  Borneo,  about 
the  area  of  Great  Britain,  is  under  British  protection.  British  North 
Borneo  occupies  the  northernmost  part  of  the  island.  Ceded  to  a 
company  under  grants  from  the  Sultans  of  Brunei  and  Sulu,  which 
were  confirmed  to  it  by  Royal  Charter  in  1881,  it  was  in  1888  pro- 
claimed a  British  Protectorate,  to  which  Labuan  Island  was  annexed  in 
the  following  year.  Tobacco,  coffee  and  pepper  are  largely  cultivated 


560       The  International  Geography 

These,  with  forest  products  of  the  same  kind  as  those  described  under 
Dutch  Borneo,  form  its  export  trade.  The  revenue  is  derived  from  the 
opium  and  spirit  ren^s,  import  duties,  licenses,  and  royalties.  Sandakan, 
on  the  north-east  coast,  is  its  chief  town,  and  a  telegraph  cable  connects 
the  Protectorate  with  Singapore. 

Brunei  is  a  small  native  State  lying  between  British  North  Borneo  and 
Sarawak,  and  is  ruled  by  a  Sultan,  who  came  under  British  Protection  in 
1888.  The  name  of  this  State  has  come,  in  a  slightly  modified  form,  to  be 
applied  to  the  whole  great  island. 

Sarawak,  considerably  larger  than  British  North  Borneo  and  Brunei 
combined,  has  a  coast  line  of  400  miles  on  the  north-west  side  of  the 
island.  It  was  in  1842  made  over  to  an  Englishman,  Sir  James  Brooke,  by 
the  then  Sultan  of  Brunei,  and  administered  for  nearly  fifty  years  by  that 
gentleman  and  his  successor.  In  1890  it  was  proclaimed  under  British 
Protection.  Sir  Charles  Brooke  is  the  present  Rajah. 
His  capital  is  Kuching,  on  the  Sarawak  river,  a  little 
over  20  miles  from  its  mouth.  The  exports  are  the 
same,  and  the  revenue  is  raised  on  the  same  subjects  as 
in  British  North  Borneo.  Gold,  and  other  precious 
metals,  diamonds,  and  coal  beds,  are  amongst  the 
^~^fj^b  d  natural  products  of  the  territory. 

of  British    North        The  natural  features  of   British   Borneo,  which,  as 
Boreno.  a  wnole,  includes  practically  the  entire  north-western 

drainage  area  of  the  island  (see  Fig.  287),  are  described  along  with  those 
of  the  Dutch  possessions. 


IV.— THE  DUTCH  EAST  INDIES 

Government  and  Administration. — With  the  exception  of  the 
Philippine  Islands,  British  Borneo,  and  half  of  the  island  of  Timor  the 
whole  Archipelago  is  a  Dutch  possession,  Netherlands-India  (Nederlandsch 
Oost  Indie)  or  the  Dutch  East  Indies.  The  area  of  these  colonies  is  sixty- 
two  times  as  great  as  that  of  the  mother  country ;  they  are  all  ruled  by  a 
Governor-General  appointed  by  the  States-General  in  Amsterdam,  assisted 
by  a  Council  (Raad  van  Indie).  Under  the  central  authority  the  whole 
of  the  islands  is  divided  into  Governments  and  Residencies  according 
to  the  importance  of  the  provinces.  Each  governor  or  resident  has 
under  him  assistant  residents,  subordinate  to  whom  are  controllers,  one 
for  each  district.  These  officers  exercise  almost  unlimited  administrative 
and  judicial  powers.  In  the  tributary  States  the  resident  advises  the 
native  potentate  to  whom  he  is  accredited,  who  carries  out  these  instruc- 
tions by  his  own  subordinates.  In  the  provinces  which  are  directly 
governed,  the  controllers  assume  the  same  attitude  to  the  native  chiefs, 
who  are  held  responsible  for  the  due  execution  of  the  government 


'- 


utch  East  Indies  561 

behests.  The  army,  composed  partly  of  natives  and  partly  of  European 
mercenaries,  under  Dutch  officers,  numbers  about  40,000  men.  The 
navy  consists  of  about  80  vessels,  of  which  the  majority  are  colonial  and 
the  remainder  of  the  Dutch  Royal  Navy. 

Since  1830  the  Dutch  have  farmed  all  the  more  valuable  cultures  in 
Java,  and  also  in  West  Sumatra  and  the  Minahassa,  in  Celebes,  as 
monopolies,  which  the  natives  have  been  forced — as  the  tax  they  were 
best  able  to  pay — to  plant  and  crop  gratuitously,  and  to  deliver  the 
produce  at  the  government  stores  at  a  fixed  price.  The  result  was  a  large 
yearly  revenue  to  the  government,  and  to  the  native,  remuneration 
abundantly  sufficient  for  all  his  needs.  The  general  prosperity  of  the 
people  under  this  regime  is  evidenced  by  the  continued  (and  in  some 
places  extraordinary)  increase  in  the  population  of  the  islands.  The 
monopolies,  except  coffee,  have  now  been  abandoned,  and  forced  labour, 
except  for  one  day  a  week  on  the  roads,  has  been  commuted  for  a  small 
yearly  money  tax. 

Under  the  Dutch  there  live  in  the  Archipelago  about  35,000,000  people, 
of  whom  only  63,000  are  Europeans  and  half  a  million  Chinese.  In  the 
Courts  of  Justice,  Europeans  are  tried  according  to  the  laws  in  force  in 
Holland,  and  the  natives  by  the  same  modified  according  to  Malayan 
customs  and  institutions. 

The  revenue  of  the  Possession  is  mainly  derived  from  the  Government 
monopolies — the  railways,  the  farming  of  salt  and  opium — and  the  sale  of 
coffee  grown  under  forced  labour,  with  duties  (import  and  export),  and 
taxes.  Coffee  and  sugar  are  by  far  the  most  important  exports  ;  tobacco, 
tea  and  indigo  following.  There  is  a  small  inter-insular  trade  done  in 
krises,  for  which  the  native  blacksmiths  are  famed,  and  in  articles  of  dress, 
particularly  sarongs,  peculiarly  dyed  (or  batek-ed)  in  Java. 

GREATER    SUNDA    ISLANDS 

Java. — Java,  although  not  the  largest  of  the  Greater  Sunda  Islands,  is 
the  most  important  of  the   Dutch  possessions.     It  is  the  most  fertile, 
the  most  highly  cultivated,  and  the 
most  densely  populated  island  in 
the    Archipelago.    It   lies   entirely 
between  6°  and  8°  S.,  and  is  590 
miles  in  length,  from  west  to  east. 
The  south  coast  is  bold  and  rocky, 

the  northern  low  and  fringed  with  ^  FlG.  28s._The  Volcanoes  of  Java 
mangrove  swamps.  The  whole 
surface  of  the  island  is  mountainous,  with  only  a  few  elevated  plateaus, 
the  highest  summit  reaching  12,000  feet,  and  there  are  a  score  over  9,000 
feet.  No  equal  area  of  the  globe  contains  so  many  volcanoes  ;  the  whole 
island  is  practically  covered  with  the  mud — they  rarely  discharge  lava— 


562       The  International  Geography 

which  they  have  thrown  out.  The  few  sedimentary  rocks  which  occur, 
are  entirely  of  Tertiary  age.  The  rivers  are  numerous  and  fairly 
large,  but  none  are  navigable,  and  there  are  practically  no  lakes.  Luxuri- 
antly clothed  with  vegetation,  Java  is  a  paradise  to  the  botanist.  Monkeys 
(Semnopitheci),  apes  (Hylobates),  tigers,  leopards,  rhinoceros  and  wild 
cattle  (Bos  banteng)  are  its  more  conspicuous  mammals.  Over  200  species 
of  birds,  including  pea-fowl,  are  found  in  its  jungles  and  mountains. 
A  fossil  (Pithecanthropus  ercctus),  remarkable  for  its  combined  human 
and  simian  characters,  has  been  discovered  in  Tertiary  strata  in  the 
Bengawan  valley. 

People  and  History  of  Java. — The  west  of  Java  is  peopled  by  the 
Sundanese,  the  east  by  Javanese,  and  the  island  of  Madura  at  its  eastern 
extremity,  which  is  always  included  with  Java,  by  a  distinct  race,  the. 
Madurese.  All  of  them  are  Malays,  but  in  the  Javanese  there  is  a  strain  of 
Hindu  blood.  In  addition  there  is  a  large  population  of  Chinese,  Arabs  and 
other  nationalities.  In  some  districts  the  density  of  the  population  is  as 
high  as  900  to  the  square  mile.  The  three  chief  languages  differ  from  each 
other  widely.  Javanese,  however,  is  the  most  elabo- 
rate and  highly  developed.  It  possesses  both  a  court 
and  a  vulgar  dialect,  and  has  a  script,  peculiar  to  itself, 
which  had  its  origin  in  India.  All  three  peoples  are 
Mohammedans,  tinctured  in  the  west  with  Paganism, 
and  in  the  east  with  Brahmanism.  They  are  all 
very  skilled  agriculturists,  and  employ  a  most  elabo- 
rate system  of  irrigation. 


FIG.  286.— Average  popu-  Tne  nrst  immigration  into  Java,  so  far  as  known, 
lation  of  a  square  mile  by  races  subsequent  to  the  Malay  occupation,  was 
by  Hindus,  probably  about  800  years  before  their 
power  was  broken  by  Arab  Mohammedans  in  1478.  They  introduced 
their  religion  and  a  high  civilisation  into  eastern  Java  and  the  island  of  Bali, 
which  is  attested  by  the  ruins  in  those  regions  of  great  cities,  and  vast  and 
finely  sculptured  temples.  Between  1511  and  1550  the  Portuguese  reached 
the  island  and  did  some  trading  with  the  people  of  Bantam,  where  the  first 
Dutch  post  was  established  in  1595.  In  1602  the  Dutch  East  India  Com- 
pany was  formed,  and  in  1609  a  fort  was  erected  at  Batavia,  but  it  was  not 
till  sixty  years  later  that  the  first  territorial  acquisitions  were  made,  which 
have  extended  into  the  splendid  possessions  of  to-day.  In  1685  the  English, 
who  had  also  been  attracted  to  Bantam,  but  had  been  forced  to  give  way 
to  the  Dutch,  moved  to  Benkoolen,  in  Sumatra,  leaving  Java  free  to  their 
rivals.  In  1798  "The  Company,"  as  the  ruling  power  still  continues  to  be 
called  by  the  natives,  was  dissolved,  and  the  mother  country  assumed  the 
direct  government  of  Netherlands-India. 

Divisions  and  Towns  of  Java.— For  administrative  purposes, 
Java  with  Madura  is  divided  into  22  residencies.  Batavia,  the  capital,  is  a 
large  town  situated  on  a  low  plain,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tji-liwong.  It  con- 


x 
s 


Dutch  >vEast  Indies— Java  563 

sists  of  the  original  Batavia,  and  the  new  town,  a  couple  of  miles  to  the 
south.  The  former  contains  the  native  quarter,  the  Stadt-house,  and  the 
business  offices  and  godowns ;  the  latter  the  hotels,  the  European  residences, 
the  official  palace  of  the  Governor-General,  and  the  government  offices, 
surrounding  a  large  park — the  King's  Plain.  Canals  everywhere  traverse 
both  towns,  lined  by  trees  which  shade  the  streets  that  run  beside  them. 
Nearly  every  dwelling — native  and  European — is  embowered  in  vegetation. 
A  few  miles  east  of  the  Tji-liwong  mouth,  a  fine  harbour  has  been  built  at 
T and jong  Priok,  whose  stone  piers  are  capable  of  accommodating  the 
largest  vessels.  It  is  connected  with  Batavia  by  canal,  road  and  railway. 
On  the  hills,  35  miles  south,  is  the  town  of  Buitenzorg,  at  an  elevation  of  750 
feet,  a  delightful  sanatorium,  surrounded  by  high  mountains  and  amid  most 
beautiful  scenery.  It  is  the  usual  residence  of  the  Governor-General,  whose 
palace  stands  in  the  richest  and  most  beautiful  botanical  garden  in  the 
world.  Bantam,  on  the  north-west  coast,  one  of  the  most  important  cities 
of  the  East  in  the  sixteenth  century,  was  the  site  occupied  by  the  Portuguese, 
Dutch  and  English,  on  their  first  reaching  Java.  Samarang,  a  seaport 
situated  about  the  middle  of  the  north  coast,  is  commercially  important, 
but  its  open  roadstead  is  often  a  rough  and  unsafe  anchorage  in  the  west 
monsoon.  It  is  connected  by  railway  with  the  main  line  through  the 
middle  of  the  island.  Some  30  miles  south  is  Soerakarta,  the  most  populous 
town  in  Java.  It  is  the  capital  of  the  independent  territory  of  the  Susu- 
hunan,  or  emperor,  who  resides  there ;  but  while  retaining  his  court  and 
state,  he  is  guided  and  "advised"  by  a  Resident.  Still  further  south,  Djokdjo- 
karta,  also  the  capital  of  a  dependent  sultanate,  was  long  the  rival  of 
Soerakarta.  Both  are  now  stations  on  the  Central  Railway. 

Ruins  of  the  temples  of  the  Hindu  period  are  widely  spread  over  the 
whole  of  this  region  ;  those  of  Boeroboedur  are  celebrated  for  their  extent 
and  magnificence.  Tjilatjap,  a  free  port,  and  the  only  good  harbour  on  the 
south  coast,  is  connected  with  Samarang  and  Soerabaya  by  railway.  Soera- 
baya,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Solo  river,  at  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  island,  is 
one  of  the  largest  towns  in  Java,  and  the  most  important  commercially.  It 
has  grown  up  on  a  natural  harbour  that  cannot  be  excelled.  A  short  dis- 
tance from  the  town  are  the  ruins  of  Madjopait,  the  ancient  Hindu  capital, 
which  the  Arabs  destroyed  in  1478. 

Neighbouring  Islands. — Large  clusters  of  small  islands  are  scattered 
along  the  northern  coast  of  Java.  The  traveller  entering  the  Strait  of  Sunda 
is  face  to  face  with  his  first  evidences  of  the  volcanic  nature  of  the  region 
in  a  series  of  symmetrical  cones,  of  which  Krakatao,  shattered  by  the 
memorable  outburst  of  1884,  is  the  most  remarkable.  On  emerging  from  the 
strait  into  the  Java  Sea,  he  has  to  thread  his  way  amid  clumps  of  verdure, 
set  in  the  alabaster  basins  of  their  coral  beaches,  known  as  The  Thousand 
Islands,  as  far  as  the  Roads  of  Batavia,  which  for  centuries  was  the  great 
anchorage  of  the  East,  till  the  harbour  of  Tandjong  Priok  was  built 
Karimon  Java,  Bawean  and  Kangeang  are  the  remaining  more  important 
38 


564      The  International  Geography- 
clusters.    Two  or  three  small  islands  off  the  south  coast  are  so  close  to  the 
mainland  that  they  may  be  reckoned  as  part  of  Java  itself. 

Bali. — This  island  lies  near  the  eastern  edge  of  the  submerged  Asiatic 
plateau,  separated  by  a  shallow  and  narrow  strait  from  Java.  It  is  usual  to 
reckon  Bali  as  the  most  westerly  of  the  Lesser  Sunda  Islands ;  but,  con- 
nected as  it  is  with  the  Asiatic  plateau,  it  is  geographically,  as  it  certainly  is 
biologically,  a  part  of  Java,  and  ought  never  to  be  disassociated  from  the 
Greater  Sunda  Islands.  It  is  very  mountainous  and  volcanic  ;  the  highest 
peak,  Gunong  Agong,  rising  to  10,000  feet,  is  a  dormant  volcano.  The 
streams  are  numerous  but  small,  and  there  are  few  lakes.  The  Balinese 
are  Malays  with  a  strain  of  Hindu  blood,  who  still  retain  the  Brahmanical 
religion,  which  elsewhere  in  the  Archipelago  is  lost.  They  possess  an 
extensive  literature  in  a  language  of  their  own,  written  in  slightly  modified 
Javanese  characters.  In  the  working  of  iron  and  gold  their  artificers  have 
a  high  reputation.  As  agriculturists  they  are  very  successful  owing  to 
their  skill  in  the  irrigation  of  the  soil.  Bali  produces  coffee,  rice,  and 
tobacco ;  these,  with  copra  and  cattle,  are  the  chief  exports.  Various  small 
rajahs  divide  the  ownership  of  the  island  among  them.  Buleleng,  the  chief 
town  and  port,  is  the  seat  of  the  Residency,  which  includes  Lombok. 

Sumatra.— The  second  island  of  the  Archipelago  in  size  is  Sumatra, 
which  forms  the  western  boundary.  It  extends  in  a  north-west  and  south- 
east direction  for  six  degrees  on  each  side  of  the  equator  ;  it  is  over  1,000 
miles  in  length,  and  in  greatest  breadth  about  300.  Including  the  sur- 
rounding islands,  it  is  more  than  three  times  larger  than  Java,  although  its 
population  is  only  one-seventh  of  that  of  the  more  favoured  island.  It  is 
separated  from  the  Malay  Peninsula  by  the  Strait  of  Malacca,  and  from 
Java  by  the  Sunda  Strait.  The  main  physical  feature  of  Sumatra  is  a 
high  narrow  mountain  chain — the  Barisan — buttressed  by  plateaux  in  some 
parts  and  studded  with  dead,  dormant  and  active  volcanoes  along  its  west 
coast,  and  a  wide  alluvial  plain  on  the  east  side,  from  north  to  south, 
formed  by  the  deposits  resulting  from  the  long  denudation  of  the  Barisan. 
In  the  mountains,  Palaeozoic  slates,  schists,  and  limestones  have  been 
found  ;  but  Secondary  rocks  appear  to  be  entirely  unrepresented  in  the 
island,  which  is  chiefly  composed  of  Tertiary  strata,  containing  extensive 
deposits  of  coal.  The  rivers  on  the  west  side  are  numerous,  but  short, 
rapid,  and  unimportant ;  those  flowing  to  the  east  are  also  numerous,  but 
large,  placid,  and  navigable,  many  of  them  for  several  hundred  miles 
across  the  alluvial  plains.  The  more  important  from  north  to  south  are 
the  Rakan,  the  Kampar,  the  Indrigiri,  the  Batang-hari,  and  the  Palembang, 
of  which  the  last  two  carry  to  the  sea  the  waters  of  four  degrees  of  lati- 
tude. There  are  numerous  lakes — Toba,  high  up  among  the  mountains  in 
the  north,  Korintji,  and  Ranau  being  the  largest.  Since  Sumatra  is  crossed 
by  the  equator  the  seasons  in  the  north  are  the  opposite  of  those  in  the 
south.  Along  the  equatorial  belt  there  are  no  definite  monsoons,  and  rain 
squalls  occur  throughout  the  year.  The  plains,  from  their  humidity  and 


Dutch  East  Indies — Sumatra        565 

high  temperature,  are  very  unhealthy  ;  but  on  the  mountains,  at  elevations 
over  3,000  feet,  no  better  climate  can  be  desired. 

The  flora  of  Sumatra  is  exceedingly  rich  ;  the  whole  surface  of  the  island 
is  forest  clad.  Gutta-percha  trees — from  whose  abundance  Sumatra  derived 
its  name  of  Pulo  Perija — are  among  the  most  valuable  denizens  of  its 
forests.  Camphor  trees,  Dipterocarpeae,  many  of  the  species  attaining  to  a 
great  altitude,  and  Pinus  Merkusii  are  also  notable.  Among  its  mammals 
the  tapir,  the  mountain  goat(Antilocapra  sumatrana),  the  elephant,  and  the 
orang-utan  are  characteristic,  while  among  its  birds  the  Argus  pheasant  and 
the  Bronze-tailed  peacock-pheasant  may  be  specially  named. 

People  and  History  of  Sumatra. — The  people  are  pure-blooded 
Malays,  but  among  them  are  interspersed  colonies  of  Melanesians  (e.g.,  the 
Battaks),  a  Malayo-Caucasian  race.  High  Malay,  or  dialects  of  it,  is  the 
language  spoken  throughout  Sumatra.  In  the  Lampong,  Palembang,  and 
Battak  regions  it  is  written  in  a  character  whose  origin  has  been  traced  to 
the  Indian  mainland  and  to  Phoenicia.  In  the  eastern  plains  the  people 
are  mostly  Mohammedans  ;  in  the  mountains  they  are  mainly  Pagans. 

At  an  early  but  unknown  date  Sumatra  received  a  large  incursion  of 
Hindus,  whose  traces  are  left  over  a  wide  area  in  numerous  stone  sculp- 
tures, which,  however,  are  far  ruder  in  execution  than  those  in  Java.  The 
first  European  to  visit  the  island  appears  to  have  been  Marco  Polo  who 
remained  for  some  months  in  1291.  Varthema,  the  Italian,  is  doubtfully 
credited  with  touching  at  Atjeh  in  1505.  In  1598  the  Dutch  formed  their 
first  settlement  there.  During  the  reigns  of  Queen  Elizabeth  and  of  James  I. 
English  ambassadors  were  sent  to  reside  at  the  Court  of  the  Sultan  of 
Atjeh  (Achin),  who  appears  to  have  been  then  a  great  potentate.  In  1685 
the  British  traders,  on  being  ousted  from  Bantam  by  the  Dutch,  established 
themselves  at  Fort  Marlborough,  in  Benkoolen,  which  they  occupied  till 
1824,  when  it  was  exchanged  for  Malacca.  Since  that  date  the  whole  of 
Sumatra — except  Atjeh,  with  which  there  has  been  a  chronic  state  of  war 
now  it  is  said  successfully  concluded — has  been  effectively  occupied  by  the 
Dutch. 

The  trade  and  industries  of  Sumatra  are  similar  to  those  of  Java,  but 
more  tobacco  is  cultivated.  Black  pepper,  largely  grown  in  the  Lampongs, 
forms  an  important  article  of  export.  The  forest  products  are  extremely 
valuable.  These  are  principally  gutta-percha,  camphor,  dammar,  beeswax, 
and  gambier.  Gold  occurs  abundantly  in  Jambi  and  northern  Palembang. 
In  the  Padang  highlands  there  are  valuable  beds  of  coal.  The  native 
manufactures  are  few,  krises,  sarongs,  gold  and  silver  filigree  work  being 
the  chief,  but  made  only  for  sale  or  barter  among  the  natives  themselves. 
Only  a  few  miles  of  railway  have  yet  been  laid  down  ;  all  the  chief  towns 
are,  however,  connected  by  telegraph  with  Batavia. 

Divisions  and  Towns  of  Sumatra.— Including  the  Riow  Archi- 
pelago, and  Banka  on  its  east  coast,  Sumatra  is  divided,  for  administrative 
purposes,  into  nine  Residencies. 


566       The  International  Geography 

Telok-betong,  the  chief  town  of  the  Lampongs,  situated  at  the  head  of 
a  long  gulf  of  the  same  name,  is  the  principal  port  for  the  shipment  of 
black  pepper.  It  suffered  severely  by  the  sea- wave  following  the  final 
outburst  of  Krakatao  in  1884.  Padang,  a  large  and  important  seaport 
about  the  middle  of  the  west  coast,  is  the  seat  of  the  Residency,  and  has  a 
large  export  trade  from  the  Padang  highlands,  and  the  island  groups  to 
the  westward.  The  Peak  of  Korintji,  in  the  south  of  the  Residency,  the 
highest  mountain  in  Sumatra,  attains  12,000  feet  in  height.  The  large 
lake  of  the  same  name  on  the  east  of  the  Barisan,  drains  into  the  Jambi 
river.  Oleleh,  on  the  north  coast,  is  the  port  for  Kota-raja,  the  capital  of 
Atjeh.  From  Deli,  on  the  east  coast,  tobacco,  grown  on  the  numerous  large 
plantations,  which  extend  inland,  forms  the  chief  export.  The  leaves, 
which  are  used  to  form  the  outside  wrappings  of  the  best  cigars,  fetch  a 
high  price  in  the  European  market.  Hence  is  reached  the  country  round 
Lake  Toba,  which  has  an  area  of  500  square  miles,  and  is  inhabited  by  the 
Battaks,  an  Indonesian  pagan  race,  who  practice  cannibalism  on  their 
enemies,  but  who  nevertheless  possess  an  alphabet,  invented  by  and 
peculiar  to  themselves.  Jambi,  the  capital  of  the  Sultan  of  that  territory, 
is  situated  on  the  Batang-hari  river,  which  is  navigable  by  steamers  for 
nearly  500  miles.  In  the  south-east  Palembang,  on  the  river  of  the  same  name, 
is  separated  from  the  sea  by  40  miles  of  half-submerged  alluvium.  It  is  the 
capital  of  the  Residency,  and  has  a  mixed  population  of  Malays,  Chinese 
and  Arabs,  making  it  the  largest  and  busiest  mart  of  the  island,  and  the 
"  receiving  house  "  for  the  produce  of  a  vast  and  rich  area,  brought  by  raft 
and  boat  from  the  base  of  the  Barisan.  The  city,  a  great  part  of  which  is 
built  on  floating  platforms,  is  quaint  and  picturesque,  and  altogether  one  of 
the  most  interesting  towns  of  the  Archipelago.  Mount  Dempo,  one  of  the 
peaks  of  the  Barisan,  is  its  highest  mountain.  In  the  south-east  corner  of  the 
Residency  is  Ranau,  a  district  surrounding  a  lake  of  the  same  name,  noted 
for  the  excellence  of  its  tobacco. 

Islands  of  Sumatra. — Of  the  satellite  islands  lying  off  the  east 
coast — the  Riow  Group,  Banka  and  Bileton — the  two  last  are  the  most 
important  in  containing  the  famous  tin  mines  (discovered  in  1709),  which 
yield  annually  an  average  of  nearly  10,000  tons  of  ingots.  Off  the  west 
coast,  and  some  70  or  80  miles  off,  lie  the  Nias,  the  Nassau,  and  the 
Mentawi  Islands,  the  last  named  forming  the  largest  and  most  important 
group.  Its  islanders  are  noteworthy  as  being  the  only  remnants  now 
inhabiting  the  Archipelago  of  the  Caucasioid  stock  from  south-eastern 
Asia,  who  ousted  the  Negrito  autochthones,  and  for  a  time  occupied 
probably  all  the  islands  east  to  the  Pacific,  where  they  are  now  found. 

Borneo.— The  largest  island  of  the  Archipelago,  and  the  third  on  the 
globe  not  ranking  as  a  continent,  lies  across  the  equator  between  7°  N. 
and  4°  S.  The  Balabac  Strait  and  the  Sulu  Sea  separate  it  from  the 
Philippines,  and  the  Macassar  Strait  from  Celebes.  The  island  is  irregularly 
triangular,  and  its  northern  and  southern  coasts  are  more  irregular  than 


Dutch  East  Indies— Borneo         567 


those  on  the  east  and  west.  Its  geological  structure  proves  it  to  be  a 
fragment  of  a  continental  land.  The  central  mass  of  Tabang,  with  its 
radiating  range  of  mountains,  contains  strata  of  all  ages  from  Primary  to 
Quaternary.  Between  its  mountain  arms,  low  level  alluvial  valleys  extend 
far  back  into  the  country,  which  would  by  a  small  amount  of  subsidence 
in  the  south  and  east  be  overflowed  by  the  sea  to  the  centre  of  the  island. 
Few  of  the  mountains,  except  Kinabalu  in  the  north,  are  high,  and  none 
are  volcanic.  There  are  no  lakes  of  any  magnitude  ;  but  of  its  rivers, 
which  are  numerous  and  tortuous,  a  few  are  large.  The  Barito,  flowing  due 
south,  the  Kapuas,  running  west  almost  on  the  equator,  the  Bulangan, 
flowing  due  east,  the  Redjang,  flowing  due  west  to  a  great  delta  on  the 
Sarawak  coast  are  the  chief.  Most  of  them  can  be  navigated  by  boats  far 
into  the  interior. 

The  meteorological  conditions  and  climate  of  Borneo  are  very  similar 
to  those  prevailing  in  Sumatra — an  equatorial  belt  of  variable  weather 
divides  the  northern  from  the  southern 
regions,  which  are  regular,  but  opposite 
in  season.  The  fauna  and  flora  also  agree 
very  closely  indeed  with  those  of  Sumatra, 
but  the  tiger  and  the  tapir  are  absent. 
Borneo  has,  however,  a  peculiar  anthro- 
poid— the  Nosed  Monkey  (Nasalis  larvatus) 
— and  is  rich  in  birds,  over  500  species 
inhabiting  its  forests  and  mountains. 

People,  History  and  Trade  of 
Borneo. — The  inhabitants— Dyaks  and 
Kayans,  by  name — now  much  mixed  with 
Chinese  blood,  are  largely  Indonesian 
pagans  who  occupy  the  interior  of  the 
island.  The  coasts  are  tenanted  by 
Chinese,  Arabs,  and  chiefly  Malays  from  western  Malaysia,  of  whom 
the  tribes  known  as  Bajans  still  live  by  piracy.  Some  of  the  southern 
districts  seem  at  one  time  to  have  been  occupied  by  Hindus.  In 
the  north-west  of  Borneo,  the  Sulus  predominate.  The  Dyaks  are  less 
civilised  than  the  Sumatrans ;  they  have  no  literature,  and  no  script.  They 
live  in  large  communal  pile  dwellings,  and  are  spoken  of  as  likeable 
savages  by  those  who  have  lived  among  them.  Their  head-hunting — the 
sign  amongst  them  of  manhood — is  practised,  not  from  bloodthirstiness, 
so  much  as  from  conformity  to  inexorable  custom  which  demands  it  as  an 
essential  to  matrimonial  success.  They  have  no  manufactures  beyond  the 
fabrication  of  a  few  krises,  ornaments  of  gold,  or  silk  sarongs — all  of  high 
repute — for  their  own  use  or  barter.  Rice,  sugar,  and  a  little  tobacco  are 
all  the  products  the  people  cultivate,  and  those  mainly  for  their  own  use. 

The  export  trade  of  Dutch  Borneo  consists  of  Chinese  or  European 
cultivated  tobacco,  sugar  and  pepper,  and  the  native-collected  forest  produce 


FlG.  287. — Borneo. 


5 68       The  International  Geography 

of  edible  birds'  nests,  bees- wax,  dammar,  and  gutta-percha,  with  some 
beche-de-mer  and  tortoise-shell.  The  natural  resources  of  the  island  are, 
however,  still  almost  entirely  undeveloped.  Vast  fields  of  coal  of  Tertiary 
age,  composed  mainly  of  large  dicotyledonous  trees,  occur  in  the  south, 
near  Martapura ;  and  though  there  are  abundant  deposits  of  the  more 
valuable  minerals  and  metals,  gold  and  diamonds  are  alone  extensively 
worked. 

Ludovic  Varthema  was  the  first  European  to  visit  Borneo,  early  in  the 
sixteenth  century ;  the  Spanish  squadron  which  put  into  Brunei  on  its 
way  from  the  Philippines  in  1521  next  reached  the  island.  Then  some  ten 
years  later  the  Portuguese,  who  had  touched  in  1526  on  their  way  to  the 
Moluccas,  established  a  few  ports  from  which  they  carried  on  trade  for 
over  150  years.  It  was  not  till  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century,  however, 
that  the  Dutch  reached  Borneo,  where  they  also  settled  and  traded  for 
70  years.  Close  on  their  heels  came  the  rivals  of  both,  the  English,  who 
fixed  their  stations  at  Bandjermassin,  where  they  remained  till  the  beginning 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  when,  owing  to  the  hostility  of  the  natives,  they 
left  the  island.  Onwards  from  1733,  when  the  Dutch  returned,  and 
especially  since  1825,  Holland  has  slowly  increased  her  territory,  till  now 
the  whole  of  Borneo,  except  the  region  on  the  north-west  coast  under 
British  protection  (p.  559),  is  under  her  dominion. 

Towns  of  Borneo. — Dutch  Borneo  is  administered  under  two 
Residencies — those  of  South  and  East  Borneo  combined,  and  of  West 
Borneo.  The  former  province  has  an  area  thirteen  times  as  large  as 
Holland,  though  its  population  is  less  than  a  million.  Its  chief  town 
is  Bandjermassin,  on  the  Riam-kina,  a  tributary  of  the  Barito  ;  most  of 
the  inhabitants  live  in  floating  raft-houses,  and  pile  dwellings.  It  is  a 
large  port,  keeping  up  frequent  communication  with  Batavia,  the  rest 
of  the  Archipelago,  and  Singapore.  Pasir  and  Tangarong,  on  the  north- 
east coast,  are  the  chief  towns  of  small  semi-independent  sultanates, 
inhabited  chiefly  by  Kayans.  The  Western  Residency  is  about  one-third 
the  size  of  the  Eastern.  Its  chief  town  is  the  large  port  of  Pontianak, 
on  the  delta  of  the  Kapuas  river,  fifteen  miles  from  the  sea,  and  situated 
on  the  equator.  It  does  a  large  export  trade,  of  which  gutta-percha  is 
the  most  valuable  commodity; 

CELEBES 

Celebes,  which  lies  east  of  Borneo,  west  of  the  Moluccas,  and  south 
of  the  Philippines,  between  2°  N.  and  6°  S.,  is  remarkable  for  its  singular 
configuration.  Four  long,  mountainous  peninsulas  radiate  from  a  high 
central  mass,  and  there  are  no  alluvial  lowlands  of  any  extent.  Orographi- 
cally,  it  seems  to  be  composed  of  parallel  ranges,  separated  by  valleys,  in 
part  occupied  by  lakes.  Near  the  centre  a  high  peak,  Mount  Koruvi,  is 
thought  to  be  over  10,000  feet  high.  The  rivers  are  mostly  short  and 
unnavigable,  but  the  Koro,  in  the  west,  is  a  large  stream.  The  oldest 


Dutch  East  Indies — Celebes       569 

strata  are  sandstones,  crystalline  schists,  and  limestones  of  pre-Cretaceous 
age,  possibly  in  part  Palaeozoic,  as  biological  evidence  indicates  for  the 
island  a  great  antiquity  and  early  continental  character.  A  deep  sea  pro- 
bably existed  in  Cretaceous  times,  while  a  movement  of  elevation  began  at 
the  close  of  the  Eocene. 

Its  northern  part  has  an  equatorial  climate,  and  the  southern  the  definite 
dry  and  wet  seasons  of  its  latitude.  Celebes  is  considered  to  be  one 
of  the  healthiest  islands  in  the  Archipelago. 

The  people  are  Malays,  partly  pagan,  partly  Mohammedan,  except  in 
the  Minahassa  district  in  the  northern  peninsula,  where  they  are  Chris- 
tianised. The  southern  Mohammedan  races,  of  whom  the  Bugis  are  the 
best  known  on  account  of  their  wide  wading  voyages  over  all  the  Archi- 
pelago, use  a  script  resembling  but  not  identical  with  that  used  in  Sumatra. 

The  Makassar  and  Minahassa  districts  are  alone  effectively  occupied  by 
the  Dutch  ;  the  rest  of  the  island  being 4ruled  by  rajahs,  who  can  hardly  be 
said  to  acknowledge  the  sovereignty  of  Holland.  The  first  Dutch  establish- 
ment in  the  island  was  effected  at  Makassar  in  1618.  In  the  middle  of  the 
seventeenth  century  they  ousted  the  Portuguese,  and  have  since  then 
remained  the  nominal  masters,  except  for 
the  short  period  when  (during  the  Penin- 
sular War)  the  Dutch  possession!  were 
held  by  the  United  Kingdom.  Mqkassar, 
in  the  southern  peninsula,  is  the  areatest 
native  mart  in  the  Archipelago  ;  through 
it  passes  the  whole  of  the  trade  of  the 
islands  to  the  east  up  to  and  including 
New  Guinea — beche-de-mer,  tortoise  shell, 
pearl  shell,  Birds  of  Paradise  skins,  and 
spices.  From  Dongala  on  the  weslt  coast, 
the  seat  of  an  independent  rajah,  excellent 
horses  are  exported.  Menado  is  the 
chief  town  of  the  Minahassa,  one  of  the 
richest  and  best  cultivated  provinces  in 
the  Dutch  possessions,  long  famed  for  the  excellence  of  its  coffee.  The 
people,  who  are  Christians,  cultivate  these  government  coffee  gardens 
under  the  forced-labour  system  ;  but,  exercised  as  it  is  under  a  kindly 
paternal  government,  the  people  are  prosperous,  happy,  and  contented, 
as,  indeed,  they  are  almost  nowhere  else  in  the  Archipelago.  The 
Minahassa  plateau,  rising  to  2,000  feet  above  the  sea,  is  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  and  fertile  in  the  world.  Kema,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
peninsula,  twenty-three  miles  from  Menado,  is  the  port  of  the  province 
during  the  west  monsoon,  during  which  a  dangerous  surf  prevails  at 
Menado. 

Numerous  island  groups  surround  Celebes,  the  chief  are  the  Sanghir 
Islands  in  the  north ;  Butung,  Tukang  Bessi  and  Salaier,  off  its  southern 
peninsulas. 


FIG.  288.— Celebes. 


570      The  International  Geography 

THE    MOLUCCAS 

Moluccas. — Under  the  general  name  of  the  Moluccas  or  Spice 
Islands  are  included  three  groups  of  small  islands  clustered  respectively 
round  one  or  more  larger  islands,  the  principal  being  Halmaheira,  Buru, 
Ceram  (or  Serang)  and  Ke.  The  Moluccas  are  traversed  by  the  great 
volcanic  chain  of  the  Archipelago.  Milny  of  its  islands  are  volcanic  cones  j 
some  are  raised  coral  reefs  and  othecf  are  composed  of  crystalline  rocks 


of   Palaeozoic    age.    The  majority 


clove,  and  cardamom  trees  are  the 
famous  as  the  Spice  Islands.    In  i 


ire  as  yet  but  little  explored.    The 


vegetation  is  luxuriant  and  of  Papij  o-Australian  affinities.     The  nutmeg, 


species  which  first  made  the  region 
'  fauna  marsupials  take  the  place  of 


mammals.  Kangaroos,  cassowaries,  and  Birds  of  Paradise  appear  for  the 
first  time  in  our  journey  east.  Butterflies  are,  like  the  birds,  remarkable 
for  their  abundance  and  beauty.  The  climate  of  the  Moluccas  presents 
the  variety  and  the  differences,  already  noted,  of  a  region  extending  on 
both  sides  of  the  equator.  Here,  liowever,  the  seasons  are  somewhat 
modified  by  the  proximity  of  the  islands  to  New  Guinea. 

Three  races  commingle  in  the  Moluccas.  A  few  remnants  of  the 
Mongolo-Caucasian  forerunners  of  thfc  Malays  still  linger,  Malays  and  a 
larger  proportion  of  frizzly-haired  M^lanesians  of  Papuan  stock,  with 
hordes  of  mixed  Chinese,  Arab  and  Evfcopean  blood.  Most  of  the  islands 
have  a  language  of  their  own,  but  withfiut  a  script.  The  discovery  of  the 
Spice  Islands  is  lost  in  antiquity  ;  tbjsir  fame  however  long  antedated 
their  geographical  localisation  by  the  Western  world.  This  was  at  last 
accomplished  by  the  Portuguese  officers  D'Abreu  and  Serrano  in  1511. 
The  islands  were  annexed  to  Portugal  in  1522,  but  in  1583  the  natives 
expelled  their  masters.  In  1613  the  Dutch  came  on  the  scene  and,  partly 
by  treaty,  partly  by  force,  acquired  the  whole  of  the  possessions  of  the 
Sultans  of  Ternate  and  Tidore,  which  embraced  Mindanao,  the  Moluccas, 
and  the  whole  of  north-western  New  Guinea,  all  of  which,  except 
Mindanao,  still  belong  to  the  Netherlands. 

Halmaheira  (or  Gilolo)  and  its  surrounding  islets  form  a  very 
mountainous  and  volcanic  group.  They  are  inhabited  by  Melanesians,  of 
Papuan  stock  somewhat  mixed  with  Malayan  blood,  and  it  is  curious  that 
they  are  Mohammedan  in  religion,  though  the  Melanesian  strain  is  in  the 
ascendancy.  Ternate,  consisting  of  the  peak  of  that  name,  6,000  feet  in 
height,  is  famed  throughout  the  Archipelago  for  its  beautiful  harbour. 
The  Sultan  has  his  residence  there.  Tidore  is  a  minute  islet,  but  the  seat 
of  the  great  rival  sultanate  to  Ternate,  through  which  it  became  a  name 
famous  in  the  Archipelago.  Batjian,  a  considerable  island,  but  sparsely 
populated,  is  zoologically  interesting  from  containing  a  genus  of  Birds 
of  Paradise  peculiar  to  itself. 

Buru,  a  large  island  to  the  west  of  Ceram,  is  in  its  western  half  high 
and  mountainous,  and  has  on  its  eastern  side  a  wide  alluvial  plain.  In  the 


Dutch   East  Indies  571 

centre  of  the  island,  at  an  elevation  of  2,000  feet  above  the  sea,  is  the  lake 
of  Waikolo.  The  inhabitants  are  Malayo- Papuan,  and  their  chief  industry 
is  the  manufacture  of  kajuput  oil  from  the  leaves  of  Melaleuca  kajuputi. 
Kajeli  is  the  only  town  of  consequence. 

Southern  Moluccas.— The  largest  island  of  the  southern  Moluccas 
is  Ceram,  which  as  yet  is  very  little  explored.  The  people  on  the  coast  are 
Malays,  and  in  the  interior  more  or  less  pure  Melanesians.  Sago  is  the  sole 
export.  Amboyna  (with  Saparna,  Haruku,  and  Nusa-laut),  though  small  in 
area,  is  the  most  celebrated  and  one  of  the  most  interesting  of  the  Spice 
Islands.  To  Amboyna  it  was  that  the  lucrative  and  coveted  clove-monopoly 
was  restricted  by  the  Dutch,  and  secured  by  exterminating  the  tree  in  every 
other  island.  The  monopoly  has  now  been  abandoned  in  favour  of  a  tax 
levied  on  the  adult  male  population.  This  island  group  is  mountainous, 
volcanic,  and  richly  clad  with  vegetation.  Amboyna  itself  is  one  of  the 
healthiest  islands  in  the  Archipelago.  The  people  are  Mohammedan  Malays, 
Melanesians  (Ceramese)  and  Christian  descendants  of  Europeans  by  native 
mothers.  Amboyna,  the  chief  town  and  capital  of  the  Residency,  is  a  large 
military  station.  Banda,  140  miles  south-east  of  Amboyna,  is  a  small  cluster 
of  volcanic  islands  rising  from  the  depths  of  the  Banda  Sea.  On  Banda-neira 
stand  the  town  and  fort,  facing  west  to  the  smouldering  island-cone  of 
Gunung  Api.  On  Lontar,  the  largest  of  the  group,  are  laid  out  the  principal 
nutmeg  gardens,  for  which  the  islands  are  famous,  and  from  which  the 
world's  supply  is  almost  entirely  drawn.  The  value  of  the  spice  is 
estimated  at  about  $450,000  annually. 

The  Ke  Islands,  consisting  of  between  thirty  and  forty  narrow 
mountainous  islets,  separated  by  small  channels,  extend  for  sixty  miles 
north  of  the  6th  parallel  of  south  latitude.  Numerous  rajahs  divide 
between  them  the  ownership  of  the  group,  whose  inhabitants  are,  with  the 
exception  of  a  few  Malays,  mainly  Melanesians  of  Papuan  origin.  Their 
fame  as  boat-builders  and  as  artistic  wood-carvers  has  spread  throughout 
the  Archipelago. 

THE    LESSER   SUNDA    ISLANDS 

The  Lesser  Sunda  Islands  form  the  long  chain  stretching  from 
Lombok  eastward  to  Timor-laut.  Many  of  the  links  of  this  chain  rise  from 
the  same  submarine  bank  and  thus  combine  into  island-clusters,  which  must 
at  a  former  time  have  been  more  closely  connected  together  than  they  are 
now.  Of  these  the  islands  from  Lombok  to  Ombay  comprise  one  cluster  ; 
Sumba  and  Timor,  with  Wetta  and  the  Serwatty  islands  are  independent 
links,  each  rising  out  of  deep  water,  while  the  Timor-laut  bank  gives  origin 
to  another  closely  inter-related  constellation.  As  a  whole  the  group  is  arid, 
and  less  verdure-clad  than  the  islands  farther  west,  and  both  biologically 
as  well  as  in  appearance  it  is  Australian.  This  greater  dryness  of  these 
islands,  especially  those  further  to  the  east,  is  due  to  their  proximity  to  the 
heated  interior  of  the  continent  to  their  south  and  east.  With  few  excep- 


572       The  International  Geography 

tions  they  are  mountainous  and  very  volcanic ;  many  of  them,  however, 
are  still  but  slightly  known. 

Lombok-Ombay  Group. — The  most  westerly  member  of  the  chain 
is  Lombok,  separated  from  Bali  by  the  Lombok  Strait,  only  a  few  miles  in 
width.  The  island  is  only  twenty-five  miles  long,  and  its  rivers  are  necessarily 
small,  while  the  lakes  it  contain  are  only  old  craters.  Rinjani,  the  highest 
summit,  which  rises  to  12,000  feet,  has  an  ever-smoking  top,  and  is  often  a 
clear  landmark  far  at  sea,  when  the  rest  of  the  island  is  hidden  from  view. 
With  the  exception  of  a  few  Hindu  Balinese,  the  inhabitants  of  Lombok, 
known  as  Sassaks,  are  Mohammedan  Malays,  with  a  slight  infusion  of 
Hindu  blood.  They  have  a  language  of  their  own  written  in  the  Balinese 
character.  For  half  a  century  they  lived  under  the  tyrannous  yoke  of  the 
Balinese,  by  whom  they  had  been  subjugated,  but  in  1894,  unable  to  bear 
their  oppression  longer,  they  successfully  appealed  to  the  Dutch  to  take  up 
their  cause.  The  Sassaks  are  skilled  irrigators  of  their  fields,  which  yield 
large  crops  of  rice  and  maize.  They  export  the  same  products  as  the 
Balinese.  Ampanam  is  the  port  of  the  island,  and  Mataram,  a  few  miles 
inland,  was  the  residence  of  the  Balinese  Rajahs.  The  next  island,  Sumbawa, 
a  larger  island,  is  nearly  cut  in  two  by  an  immense  bay,  on  the  east  end  of 
which  rises  the  famous  volcano  Tamboro,  9,100  feet  high,  whose  eruption  in 
1815  was  only  less  disastrous  and  far  reaching  in  its  effects  than  that  of  Kraka- 
tao  in  1884.  Bima  and  Sumbawa  are  the  capitals  of  the  two  sultanates  into 
which  the  island  is  divided.  It  is  celebrated  throughout  the  Archipelago  for 
its  fine  breed  of  horses.  The  island  of  Flores,  separated  by  a  small  islet 
and  two  straits  from  Sumbawa,  is  220  miles  in  length,  and  although  very 
narrow,  the  interior  is  hardly  known.  Its  inhabitants  are  mainly  frizzly- 
haired  Melanesians  of  Papuan  origin,  occupying  the  interior,  and  Malay 
traders  on  the  coast.  Larantuka,  the  administrative  capital,  is  its  best 
known  town  and  its  most  frequented  port.  The  islets  of  Adenara,  Solor, 
Lomblen,  Pantar  and  Ombay,  standing  on  the  eastern  end  of  the  Lombok- 
Flores  bank,  are  very  sparsely  inhabited. 

Sumba,  which  diverges  in  a  north-west  and  south-east  direction  from 
the  general  trend  of  the  chain,  is  almost  surrounded  by  deep  water.  The 
inhabitants,  who  are  pagan  Malays,  are  excellent  agriculturists,  and  large 
exporters  of  cattle  and  horses,  which  are  shipped  from  Nangamessi  by 
Makassar  traders. 

Timor. — The  little  islet  of  Savu,  having  a  Hindu  population,  forms  a 
stepping-stone  to  Timor  of  which  Rotti,  which  lies  under  its  west  corner, 
is  but  a  separated  fragment.  Timor,  the1  largest  of  the  Lesser  Sunda 
Islands,  300  miles  long,  diverges  from  the  line  of  the  Sunda  island  chain. 
On  both  sides  the  depths  exceed  1,000  fathoms.  Its  rocks  are  largely  of 
Palaeozoic  age.  Few  of  its  rivers  are  large,  none  are  navigable,  and 
many  of  them  meander  through  deep  and  wide  valleys  full  of  shingle, 
in  which  gold  occurs  in  apparently  considerable  quantity.  The  people 
are  of  very  mixed  pedigree.  They  appear  to  be  Melanesians  (with 


Dutch  East  Indies— Timor         573 

indications  of  Indonesian  or  Polynesian  intermixture),  Malays,  and 
mongrels  form  the  intermixture  of  these.  At  the  coast  there  are  Chinese, 
Arabs,  Bugis  and  Solorese.  Their  agriculture  is  very  poor ;  maize  being 
the  main  staple  of  their  food.  Numerous  pigs  are  reared  by  them. 
Their  religion  is  paganism,  tinctured  here  and  there  with  Christianity. 
The  country  has  been  all  parcelled  out  into  "kingdoms,"  each  ruled 
by  a  Rajah  or  Dato  ;  nearly  every  one  of  which  has  its  own  language 
or  dialect,  though  only  a  few  miles  may  separate  their  capital  villages. 
The  Portuguese,  who  occupied  the  whole  island  prior  to  1613,  were 
driven  from  the  western  moiety  by  the  Dutch,  who  have  since  retained 
possession  of  it  with  Cupang  as  the  capital. 

Portuguese  Timor.1— The  greater  part  of  the  island  of  Timor 
belongs  to  Portugal.  The  Portuguese  portion  includes  the  north-eastern 
end  of  the  island,  with  Dilli,  the  best  seaport,  as  the  capital  of  the  colony, 
which  is  an  autonomous  district  for  which  a  special  administrative 
organisation  is  being  introduced.  The  geological  structure  of  Timor  is  in 
part  coral  formation  and  in  part  schistose.  The  reported  existence  of 
active  volcanoes  has  not  been  confirmed.  There  are  only  small  streams, 
the  most  important  of  them  being  the  Lois.  The  climate  is  healthy  in  the 
mountainous  districts  ;  but  has  a  bad  reputation  on  account  of  the  fact 
that  Dilli  is  built  on  low  and  marshy  ground.  Timor  coffee  is  of 
superb  quality,  and  the  plantations  are  progressing  greatly.  Cocoa, 
nutmeg,  pepper,  and  sandal-wood  grow  well.  Petroleum  occurs  and, 
when  regularly  worked,  will  become  a  source  of  wealth  to  the  island. 
There  are  traces  of  gold,  but  no  veins  have  been  found.  The  area  of 
Portuguese  Timor  is  about  7,000  square  miles,  and  the  population  amounts 
to  about  300,000. 

Eastern  Sunda  Islands.— Wetta  and  the  Serwatty  Islands  are 
inhabited  partly  by  Christianised  Malays  and  partly  by  Papuan  Melane- 
sians.  The  Timor-laut  group,  terminating  the  Lesser  Sunda  chain,  con- 
tains three  larger  islands  —  Larat,  Yamdena,  and  Selaru  — and  about 
thirty  smaller.  They  are  mainly  upraised  coral-reefs,  peopled  by  Papuan 
Melanesians,  and  Malays  with  Polynesian  and  Papuan  blood  in  their  veins. 
Very  little  is  known  of  even  the  larger  members  of  the  group,  and  all 
the  smaller  are  perfectly  virgin  ground  to  the  geographer  and  the  bio- 
logist. 

«  By  Captain  Ernesto  de  Vasconcellos. 


574       The  International  Geography 


STATISTICS   OF   MALAY  ARCHIPELAGO. 


Province. 
Philippine  Islands 
Luzon 
Bisaya 
Mindanao 
Adjacent  Islands   . . 

British  Borneo 

British  North  Borneo 

Brunei 

Sarawak 

Netherlands-India  *      . . 
Java  and  Madura  . . 
Sumatra  and  Islands 
Dutch  Borneo 
Celebes 
Moluccas 
Lesser  Sunda  Islands  2 

Malay  Archipelago 


(Mainly  estimates  about  1895.) 


Area  in  sq.  miles. 
115,000 


84,000 

31-000 

3,000 

50,000 

584,000 
50,500 
184,000 
212,700 
71-400 
43,800 
65,600 

783,000 


Density  of  Population 
Population.                    per  sq.  mile. 

7,500,000 

65 

3,057,000 

2,213,000 

— 

750,000 

— 

22,000 

— 

403,000 

6 

175,000 
18,000 

I 

300,000 

6 

34,000,000 

58 

25,700,000 

509 

3,450,000 

19 

1,180,000 
1,998,000 

J 

400,000 

9 

1,164,000 

17 

42,000,000 


54 


Manila  (Philippines) 
Soerakarta  (Java) 
Soerabaya       „ 
Batavia 


POPULATION 

150,000 
150,000 
130,000 

100,000 


OF  TOWNS. 

Djokdjokarta  (Java)    . .        . .  90,000 

Samarang  80,000 

Palembang  (Sumatra)  ..  50,000 

Bandjermassan  (Dutch  Borneo)  45,000 


Imports  .. 
Exports  .. 


ANNUAL  TRADE  (in  pounds  sterling). 

(Estimates  about  1895.) 

Philippines.  British  Borneo.  Netherlands-India. 

2,100,000        ..        ..          900,000        ..        ..        13,500,000 
4,100,000       ..        ..        1,200,000       ..        ..        18,700,000 


STANDARD  BOOKS. 

A.  R.  Wallace.    "  The  Malay  Archipelago.  A  Narrative  of  Travel  [in  1854-62]."  London. 

New  edition,  1890. 

F.  H.  H.  Guillemard.     "Malaysia  and  the  Pacific  Archipelagoes"  in  Stanford's  Com- 
pendium.   London,  1804. 
H.  O.  Forbes.    "  A  Naturalist's  Wanderings  in  the  Eastern  Archipelago  from  1878  to 

1883."     London,  1895. 

A.  H.  Keane.    "  Eastern  Geography."    2nd  edit.    London,  1892. 
D.  C.  Worcester.    "The  Philippine  Islands."    New  York  and  London.  1808. 
Jesuits  El  Archipielago  Filipino.  2  vols.  and  Atlas.    Washington,  1900  ;  and  Translation. 

in  "  Report  of  the  Philippine  Commission."    2  vols.    Washington, 

1900-01. 

P.  A.  van  der  Lith.    "  Encyclopedic  van  Nederl.  Indie."    Leiden,  1895. 
P.  J.  Veth.    "  Java,  Geographisch,  Ethnologisch,  Historisch."   3  vols.    Haarlem,  1875-84. 
T.  Posewitz.   "  Borneo ;  Entdeckungsreisen  und  Geologischen  Untersuchungen."   Berlin, 

1889.    Translation,  London,  1892. 
Molengraaff.    Geologische  Verkehningstochten  in  Central  Borneo.    2  vols.  and  Atlas. 

Leiden,   1900.    Translation,   Leiden,  1903. 
Nieuwenhuis.     "  In  Central  Borneo."    2  vols.     Leiden,  1900. 

"Quer  durch  Borneo."     2  vols.     Leiden,  1904,  1907. 

K.  Marten.     "  Reisen  in  der  Molukken."     2  vols.     Leiden,  1804. 

"  Report  of  the  Philippine  Commission  to  the  President."    4  vols.    Washington,  1900—01. 
F.  H.  Sawyer.     "  The  Inhabitants  of  the  Philippines."     1900. 

P.  and  F.  Sarasin.     "  Entwurf  einer  geographisch-geologischen  Beschreibung  des  Insel 
Celebes."    Wiesbaden,  1901. 

"Reisen  in  Celebes."    2  vols.     Wiesbaden,  1905. 


*  Not  including  Dutch  New  Guinea. 


a  Including  Bali. 


BOOK    III. 
AUSTRALASIA    AND     POLYNESIA 


CHAPTER    XXXI.— THE    CONTINENT    OF 
AUSTRALIA 

BY  C.  H.  BARTON,  B.A., 

Maryborough,   Queensland. 

Australia. — Australia,  the  least  of  the  five  continents,  with  its 
southern  satellite,  Tasmania,  stands  aloof,  both  in  character  and  situation, 
from  the  world  at  large.  Unlike  any  of  the  other  great  land  masses,  it  lies 
wholly  within  the  southern  hemisphere,  without  either  encroaching  on  the 
equatorial  region  or  approaching,  even  remotely,  the  antarctic  circle.  No 
other  continent  is  so  evenly  parcelled  out  among  the  torrid,  subtropical, 
and  temperate  zones  ;  none  so  deeply  lapped  in  great  ocean  expanses  as 
to  form  the  one  prominent  land  area  in  what  is  known  as  the  "  water  hemi- 
sphere." Severed  from  Africa  by  an  average  interval  of  4,500,  and  from 
South  America  by  8,500  miles,  it  differs  from  both  not  merely  in  outline, 
but  in  the  proportion  that  its  longitudinal  extent — 41°,  or  about  2,360  miles, 
bears  to  the  average  width  from  north  to  south — 17^°,  or  1,050  miles.  In 
neither  of  the  zones  most  exposed  to  prolonged  solstitial 'heat  is  there  to  be 
found  another  example  of  a  land  so  proportioned,  and  at  the  same  time  so 
entirely  withdrawn  from  equatorial  or  polar  influence.  Long  ages  of 
seclusion  from  the  rest  of  the  world  have  impressed  on  this  outlying  region 
a  marked  singularity  in  aspect,  climate,  and  natural  products.  Isolation  is 
the  predominant  characteristic ;  indications  of  affinity  with  other  regions 
are  few  and  obscure.  Only  on  the  north-west,  where  the  myriad  isles  of 
Malaysia  suggest  a  former  connection  with  Asia,  does  Australia  make  any 
advance  towards  the  clustered  continents  of  the  "  land  hemisphere."  Even 
in  this  direction  the  nearest  opposite  points — North  Cape  in  West  Australia, 
and  Cape  Romania,  at  the  extremity  of  the  long-drawn  Malay  peninsula — 
are  still  1,800  miles  apart ;  while  the  average  interval  between  the  Asiatic 
and  Australian  continents  exceeds  the  breadth  of  the  North  Atlantic  between 
the  British  Islands  and  Newfoundland.  Of  neighbouring  islands,  New 
Guinea,  separated  from  the  north  coast  of  Australia  by  the  Arafura  Sea, 
Torres  Strait,  and  the  Coral  Sea  ;  and  the  New  Zealand  group,  some  1,200 
miles  distant  on  the  south-east,  are  the  most  important.  The  south-eastern 

575 


576      The  International  Geography 

peninsula  of  New  Guinea,  together  with  New  Caledonia  and  Norfolk 
Island,  form  stations  in  a  vast  curve  running  approximately  parallel  to  the 
east  coast  of  Australia,  while  a  second  and  larger  curve  can  be  traced 
through  New  Ireland,  the  Solomon  Islands,  the  New  Hebrides,  and  the 
Kermadecs,  to  Cape  Runaway  in  northern  New  Zealand.  The  outer  or 
more  easterly  of  these  two  curves  is  studded  with  volcanic  vents,  the  inner 
one  only  at  the  southern  extremity,  where  both  are  merged  in  a  series  of 
active  volcanoes,  Tongariro,  Ruapehu,  and  Ngauruhoe,  the  culminating; 
points  of  the  New  Zealand  plateau. 

Coasts. — The  continent  of  Australia  is  reniform  in  outline ;  the  western 
lobe  imperfectly  rectangular,  while  the  curvature  of  the  eastern  describes 
about  two-thirds  of  an  irregular  ellipse.  Simple  and  compact,  th£  continent 
presents  only  two  important  deviations  from  the  general  outline — Arnhem 
Land  and  Cape  York  Peninsula,  both  projecting  northward  towards  New 
Guinea,  and  enclosing  the  spacious,  almost  land-locked,  Gulf  of  Carpentaria. 
The  only  other  striking  indentations  of  the  coast  are  the  Great  Australian 
Bight,  extending  from  Cape  Pasley  to  Cape  Catastrophe  ;  and  the  twin 
gulfs  Spencer  and  St.  Vincent,  between  Cape  Catastrophe,  Yorke  Penin- 
sula, and  Cape  Jervis.  The  Bight  and  Carpentaria  jointly  determine  the 
division  of  the  continent  into  a  western  and  an  eastern  half,  differing  not  a 
little  from  each  other  in  aspect  and  physical  conditions.  Thus  the  western 
half  has  a  more  angular  contour,  studded  with  bold  prominences; 
more  and  larger  estuaries,  but  fewer  rivers,  and  not  half  a  dozen  that  are 
navigable  above  tidal  influence.  Long  tracts  of  coast  show  no  sign  of 
drainage  to  seaward,  and  there  is  but  one  solitary  example  (Sturt  Creek) 
of  a  watercourse  of  any  length  flowing  towards  the  interior.  There  is 
much  uniformity  of  surface,  and  except  in  the  far  north-west  and  north, 
barrenness  and  poverty  of  organic  life  are  the  prevalent  characteristics. 
The  eastern  half  possesses,  on  a  less  accentuated  outline,  more  available 
harbours,  roadsteads,  and  rivers,  together  with  some  1,500  miles  of  inland 
navigation.  The  mountain  systems  are  higher,  more  intricate  and  con- 
tinuous ;  they  play  a  greater  part  in  attracting  and  distributing  moisture, 
in  diversifying  the  surface,  and  so  favouring  the  development  of  a  richer 
fauna  and  flora. 

Islands. — Of  the  islands  belonging  to  Australia,  the  great  majority  are 
mere  rocks,  others  are  practically  unexplored,  or  are  uninhabited,  or  have 
only  local  importance.  Tasmania,  the  largest,  alone  claims  special 
mention.  Cut  off  by  Bass  Strait  from  the  south-eastern  portion  of  the 
mainland,  a  former  connection  with  which  is  still  attested  by  chains  of 
intervening  islets,  the  offshoot  differs  greatly  in  outline  from  the  parent 
mass.  The  heart-shaped  contour  presents  a  concave  northern  front  to  the 
prominent  convexity  of  the  opposite  main  ;  the  broken  coast  is  studded 
with  projections  and  indentations  ;  and  the  southerly  position  of  the  island 
— between  lats.  40!°  and  43^° — exempts  it  from  the  peculiar  climatic  con- 
ditions that  affect  Australia  proper. 


Australia 


577 


Configuration  and  Hydrography.— Superficially,  Australia  re- 
presents the  exposed  portion  of  an  irregular,  partly  submarine  plateau, 
with  an  average  submersion  of  600  feet,  the  remains  of  an  older 
lozenge-shaped  continent,  reaching  from  lat.  50°  S.  to  the  equator, 
and  including  Tasmania,  New  Guinea,  Timor,  and  the  Moluccas.  Proof 
of  a  subsidence  sufficient  to  break  up  the  continuity  of  the  mass  is 
found  in  the  extreme  shallowness  of  the  Arafura  Sea  and  Carpentaria 
Gulf ;  the  swampy  shores  of  the  latter  ;  the  concentric  trend  of  the 
rivers  that  empty  into  it  from  the  south  ;  and  above  all  in  the  Great 
Barrier  Reef,  extending  nearly  i,ooo  miles  along  the  north-east  coast  at  an 
average  distance  from  land  of  about  30  miles  (Fig.  294).  Of  the  inland 
area,  nearly  two- thirds  is  occupied  by  the  Great  Austral  Plain.  Flanked  on 
every  side  by  mountains  or  tablelands,  and  sloping  more  or  less  gradually 
towards  a  central  depressed  lake-region,  the  outfall  of  a  vast  system  of 
inland  drainage,  this  en- 
grossing feature  is  by  no 
means  the  unbroken  level 
that  its  name  implies. 
Heights  of  land  or  un- 
dulating downs  indicate 
the  water-partings  ;  flat- 
topped  hills,  the  ruins  of 
a  once  continuous  rock- 
cap,  with,  here  and  there, 
some  scattered  mountain 
groups  of  bolder  aspect, 
subdivide  it  into  lesser 
concavities  of  varying  ex- 
tent. Of  the  subdivisions 
thus  created,  the  basin 

...          .  _,  FlG.  289.— Hydrography  of  Australia. 

of   the   river   Murray,  in 

the  eastern  half  of  the  continent,  alone  has  an  outlet  to  the  sea.  All 
the  other  subdivisions  constitute  systems  of  inland  drainage  ending  in 
saline  lake  basins,  where  not  absorbed  by  the  soil  or  lost  through  evapo- 
ration. The  outer  portions  of  the  great  plain  merge  into  tablelands 
buttressed  to  seaward  by  mountain  chains,  whose  trend  follows,  ap- 
proximately, that  of  the  coast.  Chief  among  them  is  the  Great  Divide, 
reaching  from  long.  142°  E.  on  the  south  coast  to  Cape  York,  parting  the 
Pacific  waters  from  those  that  flow  westward,  throwing  out  secondary 
ranges  on  both  sides  of  the  main  axis,  and  giving  rise  to  the  not 
very  numerous  class  of  Australian  watercourses  that  deserve  the  name  of 
rivers.  The  courses  of  those  on  the  Pacific  slope  are  of  no  great  length, 
but  they  carry  ample  volumes  of  water,  and  are  liable,  in  rainy  seasons,  to 
frequent  but  brief  overflows.  Those  on  the  landward  slope  have  courses 
of  great  length,  carry  but  little  water,  and  are  flooded  only  at  long  intervals. 


578       The   International  Geography 

The  Murray,  the  main  artery  of  the  Murray-Darling  system,  is  an  excep- 
tion, being  regularly  fed  during  the  dry  season  by  the  melting  snows  of  the 
Australian  Alps. 

The  south-western  coast,  between  Cape  Leeuwin  and  Shark  Bay,  is 
flanked  by  another  but  shorter  mountain  chain,  the  scarp  of  a  huge  granite 
plateau  extending  inland,  whose  scanty  drainage  is  discharged  through  a 
series  of  denies  into  the  Indian  Ocean.  On  the  semi-peninsular  projections 
that  diversify  the  coast  north  and  north-east  from  Shark  Bay,  other  less 
regular  mountain  masses  are  planted  whose  radiating  trend  roughly  corre- 
sponds with  the  prominences  of  the  shore  line.  The  south  coast,  as  far  as 
the  head  of  the  Great  Australian  Bight,  for  more  than  700  miles  con- 
sists of  a  line  of  cliffs  over  500  feet  in  height,  merging  further  eastward 
into  extensive  sand-dunes.  This  side  of  the  continent  presents  the 
phenomenon  of  a  coast  line  nearly  1,000  miles  in  length,  unbroken  by  the 
discharge  of  even  the  smallest  watercourse  into  the  ocean. 

The  drainage  area  of  Carpentaria  Gulf  is  bounded  on  the  south  by  high 
downs,  in  which  the  coastal  rivers  discharging  into  it  take  their  rise. 
Nearly  equidistant  from  the  east  and  west  coasts  a  system  of  parallel 
chains,  with  a  general  west-north-west  and  east-south-east  strike,  occupies, 
with  some  intervening  tablelands  and  valleys,  the  centre  of  the  continent. 
Lastly,  the  wedge-shaped  bulk  of  Flinders  Range  striking  north  from  gulfs 
Spencer  and  St.  Vincent,  and  finally  bifurcating  to  the  east  and  west, 
indirectly  connects  the  central  system  with  the  more  distant  outlying  spurs 
of  the  Great  Divide. 

The  rivers  of  Tasmania  all  drain  into  the  sea.  The  two  principal,  the 
Derwent,  flowing  south,  and  the  Tamar,  north,  both  rise  in  the  central 
lake-studded  tableland  round  which  the  mountains  cluster  in  detached 
masses  up  to  5,000  feet  in  height.  A  smaller  plateau  of  similar  character 
occupies  the  south-western  angle  of  the  island,  and  from  one  or  other  of 
these  elevated  regions  the  larger  rivers  derive  their  chief  supply. 

Geological  Structure. — Geologically,  Australia  ranks  among  the 
oldest  existing  lands.  Two-thirds  of  the  surface  is  overlaid  with  the  debris 
of  Mesozoic  and  Tertiary  sandstones,  which  must  once  have  covered  the 
interior  with  an  unbroken  sheet.  In  the  south-west  denudation  has 
exposed  the  underlying  granite  over  an  area  of  from  25,000  to  30,000 
square  miles,  while  the  central  ranges,  and  those  of  the  western  part  of 
Arnhem  Land,  afford  strong  evidences  of  metamorphic  agency.  On  the 
west  and  south-west  of  the  Gulf  of  Carpentaria  is  a  large  irregular  area  of 
Jurassic  age,  and  strata  belonging  to  the  same  system  reappear  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  Gulf,  in  association  with  crystalline  and  trap  rocks,  in 
the  south  and  middle  of  Cape  York  Peninsula.  In  the  Great  Divide,  the 
granite  combines  with  Silurian,  crystalline,  and  Carboniferous  rocks  to  form 
a  solid,  terraced  axis,  on  whose  slopes  the  sandstones  rest.  Coal  seams  of 
good  strength  and  high  quality  are  worked  at  various  spots  along  the 
Pacific  coast.  There  is  apparently  some  reason  to  believe  that  the  Blue 


Australia  579 


Mountain  sandstone  was  formed  by  the  action,  not  of  water,  but  of  wind  ; 
the  process  of  the  consolidation  of  wind-drifted  sand  into  sandstone  being 
visible  at  Eraser  Island  (Hervey  Bay),  at  Warrnambool  on  the  south  coast, 
and  elsewhere.  Flinders  Range  is  mainly  of  Silurian  origin,  as  is  also  the 
greater  portion  of  Eyre  Peninsula,  on  the  west  of  Spencer  Gulf.  While 
there  is  no  active  volcano  known  to  exist  in  Australia  at  present,  evidences 
of  recent  volcanic  action  are  found  in  "  Australia  Felix,"  a  district  between 
Port  Phillip  and  Cape  Jaffa,  within  which  no  less  than  eighty-three  distinctly 
marked  volcanic  cones,  from  700  to  over  2,000  feet  high,  have  been  counted,, 
besides  numerous  lesser  vents  and  crater-lakes  (Fig.  301).  Other  volcanic 
indications  are  found  in  north-eastern  Australia,  where  they  are  dispersed 
over  an  area  of  some  30,000  square  miles.  Such  are  the  basaltic  flows 
about  the  Cape  River,  the  Upper  Burdekin,  and  the  Lower  Burnett  ; 
such  the  congeries  of  dome-shaped  craters  and  cones  found,  at  intervals, 
about  the  2oth  parallel. 

Tasmania  is,  in  the  main,  of  Silurian  age.  Much  of  the  interior,  how- 
ever, and  part  of  the  east  coast  is  Carboniferous  or  Jurassic,  the  two 
systems  being  separated  by  an  intervening  belt  of  crystalline  formation,, 
along  which,  as  in  most  places  on  the  mainland,  the  richest  and  most 
profitably  worked  mineral  deposits  are  found.  Both  continent  and  island 
are  remarkable  for  their  immunity  from  severe  earthquakes.  There  is, 
however,  an  ironstone  region  about  450  miles  due  north  from  the  head  of 
the  Great  Australian  Bight,  in  the  Central  Ranges,  where,  about  the 
summer  solstice,  earthquakes  of  considerable  force  are  stated  to  recur 
almost  daily  during  the  hotter  hours  of  the  afternoon.  Apart  from  this 
isolated  phenomenon,  due,  no  doubt,  to  local  causes,  the  seismic  energy 
displayed  elsewhere  is  but  feeble,  a  fact  attributable,  perhaps,  to  the 
numerous  volcanic  safety  valves,  which,  at  a  safe  distance  of  from  1,000  to 
2,000  miles,  protect  the  continent  on  the  east,  north-east,  and  north-west. 

Climate. — The  climate,  though  in  the  main  healthy,  is  subject  to 
strange  vicissitudes.  The  summer  solstice  of  the  hemisphere  coinciding 
with  the  Earth's  position  in  perihelion,  the  heat  at  that  season  is  intense, 
even  in  latitudes  far  south  of  the  tropic  line.  The  enormous  longitudinal 
extent  of  the  continent,  over  which  the  Sun,  when  nearest,  is  vertical  for 
nearly  three  hours  out  of  the  twenty-four,  combines  with  a  generally  shade- 
less  surface  to  favour  so  continuous  an  absorption  of  heat  as  is  only 
paralleled  in  the  African  Sahara,  where  the  summer  Sun  is  more  than  a 
million  and  a  half  miles  farther  away.  The  absence  of  lofty  cloud-con- 
densing peaks  in  the  central  region,  and  the  tendency  of  coastal  chains  to 
rob  the  sea-winds  of  their  moisture,  and  deflect  them  from  a  horizontal  to 
an  ascending  course,  combine  with  the  radiation  of  the  Sun-parched 
interior  to  produce  severe  and  protracted  droughts.  On  the  approach  of 
winter,  when  the  Earth  is  tending  towards  aphelion,  the  obliquity  and  the 
distance  of  the  Sun  increase  together  ;  the  column  of  light,  superheated 
air  that  rises  from  the  inland  region  rapidly  cools  down  into  a  dense 


FIG.  290.— Mean  Annual  Rainfall  of  Australia 
(after  Supan). 


•^ 

580       The  International  Geography 

cushion  of  heavy  cold  air,  exercising  a  strong  lateral  pressure  on  all  sides, 
and  manifesting  itself  to  the  warmer  coast  regions  as  a  nipping,  bitterly 
cold  land-wind,  lowering  the  temperature  many  degrees  below  the  lati- 
tudinal average  for  the  season. 

Rainfall.— The  rainfall  is  so  unevenly  distributed,  that  whole  districts 

may  be  suffering  from  drought, 
while  others,  not  far  distant,  are 
the  scene  of  great  and  destructive 
inundations.  At  irregular  intervals, 
sometimes  extending  over  several 
years,  the  most  arid  parts  of  the 
interior  will  thus  for  a  few  days 
assume  the  appearance  of  a  bound- 
less, though  shallow,  inland  sea. 
While  the  north-west  and  north 
coasts  derive  their  rainfall  from  the 
monsoons ;  while  the  east  coast  is 
bathed  in  showers  condensed  from 
the  south-east  trade  wind  by  the 
Great  Divide,  varied  with  the  ampler 
discharge  from  an  occasional  tropical  disturbance ;  and  while  the  southern 
parts  of  the  continent,  north  to  some  30°  of  latitude,  owe  their  rainfall  to  a 
series  of  progressive  cyclonic  movements  travelling  eastward  from  their 
source  in  the  higher  latitudes  of  the  Indian  Ocean — a  very  dry  zone,  from 
5°  to  7°  wide,  stretches  across  the  interior  from  the  west  coast  to  about 
141°  E.,  over  which  the  annual  rainfall  hardly  averages  5  inches. 

Temperature. — While  subject  to  sudden  diurnal  changes,  mean 
temperatures  vary  but  slightly  with  the  latitude ;  height  and  dis- 
tance from  the  sea  being  the  principal  modifying  factors.  Within 
the  marine  influence  frost  seldom  occurs 
and  insular  conditions,  as  a  rule,  prevail ; 
whereas  inland,  even  at  slight  altitudes, 
strong  contrasts  of  heat  and  cold  will  be 
felt  even  in  the  torrid  zone.  Coincidently 
with  the  setting  in  of  the  tropical  rains,  the 
south  and  centre  are  liable  to  hot  winds 
and  dust  storms,  which,  however,  serve  to 
dispel  miasma  and  purify  the  atmosphere. 
The  climate  of  Tasmania  has  little  in  com- 
mon with  that  of  the  mainland,  -esembling 
rather  that  of  South  Devon  or  the  Channel 
Islands.  The  west  coast,  however,  is  at  all  times  liable  to  severe  gales ; 
the  summer  is  short,  and  the  winter  wet  and  boisterous. 

Flora.— Organic  life  in  Australia  is  in  keeping  with  the  singular  natural 
conditions  that  mark  the  region.    The  native  flora,  where  not  obscured  by 


F°  tut.  Fil.  Itol  Kn.  MAT.  fen.  Alt.  Avc.  8».  Mr.  tot  Oil    U. 

SO 

KTTT 

76  """" 
70  ^= 

"N 

S: 

^ 

;rs 

Is 

ua 

1 

X, 

«M 
r-t-* 

80  r*- 
56  «? 

il'l  J.  -^  ^^-.^W-l^'-r.V^- 

ilili  1  1 

°"  PERTH  SYDNEY  

FIG  291  — Temperature  and  Rainfall 
at  Perth,  W.A.,  and  Sydney.  N.S.W. 


Australia 


the  intrusion  of  East  Indian  types,  bears  a  decidedly  archaic  impress. 
The  numerous  genera  of  arborescent  myrtles,  the  proteads,  casuarineae, 
araucarias,  cycads,  ferns,  lycopods,  and  other  orders,  whose  maximum 
development  reaches  back  to  Oolitic,  Triassic,  and  even  Carboniferous 
times,  recall  conditions  of  plant  development  once  universal,  though  at 
present  centred  in,  if  not  absolutely  limited  to,  the  southern  continent.1 
The  survival  of  these  old-world  forms  was  no  doubt  rendered  possible  by 
a  long-continued  process  of  slow  adaptation  to  the  increasing  aridity  of 
the  climate,  as  the  ancient  watercourses  became  obliterated  through  the 
weathering  of  the  former  sandstone  crust.  Thus,  in  the  more  typical 
genera,  the  foliage  has  acquired  a  tough,  leathery  texture  that  enables 
it  to  resist  the  wilting  effect  of  excessive  evaporation  ;  or  its  functions  are 
assumed  by  other  organs,  like  the  phyllodia  or  modified  leaf-stalks  of 
certain  acacias,  and  the  branches  of  the 
casuarina  ;  or  again,  in  virtue  of  a  slight 
twist  of  the  stalk,  it  presents  no  reflecting 
surfaces,  but  only  narrow  edges  to  the 
vertical  sunlight.  Throughout  the  great 
myrtaceous  order,  which  far  outnumbers 
all  other  Australian  types,  the  power  of 
resistance  is  increased  by  abundant  se- 
cretion of  volatile  oils,  which  renders  the 
cellular  tissue  impervious  to  the  heat  rays, 
and  diffuses  the  delightful  aroma  peculiar 
to  the  Australian  "  bush."  Some  of  the 
eucalypts  or  "  gum-trees "  rival  in  dimen- 
sions the  Californian  Sequoia  gigantea.  The 
tallest  authenticated  specimen  of  Euca- 
lyptus amygdalina,  felled  on  the  Black 
Spur,  near  Melbourne,  in  Victoria,  measured  FlG-  2^2.— Temperature  and  Rainfall 

,      ,    ,  .    .  at  Port  Datwin  and  Alice  Springs. 

420  feet  from  the  butt  to  a  point  where 

the  top  had  been  broken  off,  and  at  300  feet  from  the  ground  still  had 
a  diameter  of  6  feet.  In  the  glens  of  the  river  Warren,  Western 
Australia,  Eucalyptus  colossea  attains  a  height  of  400  feet,  and  the 
Tasmanian  blue  gum,  Eucalyptus  globulus,  is  but  little  inferior.  Leguminous 
plants,  chiefly  represented  by  the  genus  Acacia,  of  which  there  are  300 
species,  whereof  some  250  are  peculiar  to  Australia,  rank  next  to  the  myrtles 
in  number  and  extent  of  range.  In  company  with  the  strange  order  of 
proteads  (Banksia,  Grevillca,  Hakea,  Helicia,  &c.),  with  the  desert-loving 
conifers  (Frenela  and  Callitris),  and  with  certain  beef-woods  (Casuarina}, 
they  flourish  where  the  hardiest  eucalypts  refuse  to  grow.  The  heaths, 
so  abundant  in  northern  Europe  and  South  Africa,  are  here  represented 

i  South  Africa  and  South  America,  for  instance,  both  have  proteads,  and  South  America 
an  araucaria,  while  a  species  of  casuarina  is  common  to  the  greater  part  of  Polynesia. 
But  the  three  orders  are  nowhere  found  in  association,  except  in  Australia. 


K* 

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V. 

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J 

i? 

W: 

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If-. 

PORT 

3ARWIN—  ALICE  SPRINGS  

582       The  International  Geography 

by  the  allied  genus  Epacris,  of  which  some  300  species  are  enumerated. 
In  addition  to  the  orders  already  mentioned,  Australia  is  rich  in  composites, 
figs,  mallows,  capparids,  night-shades,  spurges,  rue-worts,  sterculiads,  grape- 
vines, madder-worts,  asclepiads,  succulents,  labiates,  chenopods,  vervains, 
water-peppers,  sandal- woods,  orchids,  lily- worts,  palms,  and  sedges.  Among 
the  more  striking  forms  may  be  mentioned  the  baobab  or  "  gouty-stem  " 
tree  (Adansonia  Gregorii*),  the  only  other  existing  species  of  which  (A. 
digitatd)  belongs  to  the  African  continent ;  the  various  s'pecies  of  grass- 
tree  (Xanthorrhcea),  arborescent  rushes  of  strange  aspect ;  the  equally 
uncouth  bottle-trees  (Sterculia) ;  the  parasitic  mistletoes  (Loranthus)  with 
their  variable  foliage  and  brilliantly-coloured  flowers ;  the  "  giant  lily " 
(Doryanthes  excelsa)  with  a  flower-stalk  thirty  feet  high  ;  the  stinging  tree 
(Laported)  ;  and  the  gorgeous  "  waratah  "  (Telopea),  with  crimson  flower- 
heads  visible  half  a  mile  away.  Most  of  the  coast  region  and  much  of  the 
interior  is  mantled  with  valuable  grasses,  of  which  seventy  genera,  com- 
prising some  300  species,  are  indigenous. 

Fauna. — The  animal  kingdom,  so  far  as  typically  Australian,  is  as 
quaint  in  aspect  as  the  vegetation.  Excluding  sundry  bats,  a  few  rodents, 
a  feral  dog,  and  certain  marine  forms,  the  native  mammalia  all  belong 
to  the  primitive  marsupial  sub-class,  and  thus  confirm  the  geological  record 
of  the  antiquity  of  this  zoological  region.  They  comprise  some  forty-five 
species  of  Macropodidce  (kangaroo  tribe) ;  about  twenty  species  of  phalangers 
— variously  misnamed  "  opossums,"  "  flying  squirrels,"  "  native  bears,"  &c. ; 
four  Phascolomydce  or  wombats  ;  ten  of  the  Peramelidce  or  bandicoot  tribe  ; 
and  twenty  dasyures  or  marsupial  carnivores,  including  the  "  striped  wolf  " 
and  "devil,"  both  confined  to  Tasmania,  and  now  nearly  extinct.  The 
recently  discovered  pouched-mole,  constituting  by  itself  a  distinct  family, 
Notoryctidce,  seems  to  be  confined  to  a  patch  of  sandy  desert  north  of  Lake 
Eyre.  Of  still  lower  development  than  the  marsupials  are  the  monotremes 
or  egg-laymg  mammals,  of  which  there  are  two  genera,  the  duck-bill 
(Ornithorynchus)  and  spiny  echidna.  Their  semi- reptilian  anatomy  deter- 
mines for  these  strange  creatures  a  still  higher  antiquity  than  for  the 
marsupials  proper. 

The  numerous  avifauna  includes,  besides  those  common  to  other  regions, 
many  characteristic  forms.  Such  are  the  emu,  cassowary,  laughing-king- 
fisher, lyre-bird,  black  swan,  bower-bird,  and  the  mound-building  mega- 
podes.  Among  the  reptiles  are  to  be  noted  two  species  of  crocodile  ; 
frilled,  thorny,  and  basking  lizards  ;  many  venomous  and  harmless  snakes, 
and  sundry  long-necked  tortoises .  The  fishes,  a  more  cosmopolitan  race, 
yet  comprise  several  peculiar  types,  such  as  the  lung-fish  (Ceratodus), 
freshwater  herring  (Diplomystus),  and  cod-perch  (Oligorus),  barramundi 
(Osteoglossum),  and  others  ;  most  of  them  belonging  to  genera  unrepresented 
elsewhere.  Insects  differ  little  from  those  of  other  continents.  Some 
curiosities  of  the  arthropoda  are  a  "  whistling  spider  "  from  the  western 
interior,  two  species  of  Peripatus,  and  a  burrowing  crayfish,  which  builds 


Australia  583 

and  fills  for  itself  an  underground  tank,  wherein  to  spend  the  dry  season. 
Among  annelids,  it  will  suffice  to  mention  the  giant  earthworm  of  Gipps- 
land,  which  in  favourable  situations  attains  a  length  of  six  feet. 

Aboriginal  People. — Although  there  is  little  doubt  that  the  north-west 
coast  of  Australia  has  from  time  immemorial  been  frequented  by  Malayan 
trepang  fishers,  the  first  reference  to  the  aborigines  occurs  only  in  1644, 
when  Abel  Tasman,  the  Dutch  navigator,  found  himself  seriously  hampered 
in  his  attempted  examination  of  the  west  coast,  by  the  hostility  of  the 
"  Indians,"  as  they  were  then  called.  And  it  was  nearly  half  a  century 
later  when  the  first  details  of  their  personal  peculiarities  and  habits  were 
recorded  by  the  explorer  Dampier.  What  their  numbers  may  have  been 
at  that  time  it  is  impossible  to  conjecture,  but  calculations  based  on  the 
rate  of  their  diminution  during  the  last  half  century,  give  warrant  for 
assuming  that  when  settlement  by  Europeans  first  began,  the  aboriginal 
population  was  at  least  three  times  more  numerous  than  at  present. 

Of  black,  or  more  precisely,  dark  brown  hue,  the  Australian  has  few 
other  negroid  characteristics.  In  his  high  facial  angle,  straight  or  wavy 
hair,  lustrous  eye,  ample  beard,  well-shaped  limbs,  and  spare,  muscular 
build,  he  approximates  more  to  the  Caucasian  than  to  either  the  Ethiopian 
or  the  Mongolian  variety  of  mankind.  Except  for  some  slight  resemblance 
in  physical  appearance,  language,  and  habits  to  the  jungle  Veddas  of 
Ceylon,  the  affinities  of  the  aborigines  of  Australia  with  the  outside  world 
are  so  obscure  as  to  baffle  inquiry.  That  they  are  virtually  a  survival 
from  the  long  dim  past  that  dragged  on  unrecorded  for  centuries  before 
the  earliest  dawn  of  civilisation,  there  is  no  room  to  doubt.  Nor  is  there 
any  valid  reason  for  regarding  them  as  otherwise  than  truly  indigenous, 
i.e.,  coeval  with  the  existing  condition  of  the  continent  they  inhabit.  After 
a  full  century  of  contact  with  this  rapidly  vanishing  people,  all  that  we  yet 
know  about  them  amounts  to  very  little.  As  to  their  social  development, 
it  is  still  that  of  the  earlier  phases  of  the  Stone  Age,  with  which  their 
weapons  and  implements,  the  practice  of  infanticide,  ritual  mutilation  and 
cannibalism,  the  modes  of  sepulture,  and  the  absence  of  chieftainship  or 
any  other  authority  exactly  correspond.  That  they  have  occupied  the 
continent  from  remote  antiquity  is  inferred  not  only  from  the  occurrence 
of  enormous  shell-mounds,  the  accumulation  of  many  centuries,  but  from  the 
discovery  of  innumerable  human  tracks  and  other  impressions,  together  with 
ancient  cooking  places  and  ash-heaps,  within  the  substance  of  a  laminated 
sandstone  found  on  the  south-west  coast  of  Victoria.  Amid  much  diversity 
of  speech,  customs,  and  traditions  there  is  yet  such  a  general  likeness  as 
amounts  to  proof  of  a  common  origin.  A  complex  code  of  social  observ- 
ances, especially  in  relation  to  marriage,  prevails,  with  little  variation, 
throughout  the  numerous  tribes  into  which  the  nation  is  split  up.  Boys, 
on  reaching  puberty,  are  subjected  to  more  or  less  cruel  tests  of  endurance, 
and  for  every  condition  of  life  vexatious  and  trying  prohibitions  of  certain 
kinds  of  food  remained  in  force  ;  the  apparent  aim  of  the  system  being  to 


584       The  International  Geography 

weed  out  all  the  weaklings,  to  check  the  natural  increase  of  population, 
and  to  guard  against  any  tendency  on  the  part  of  neighbouring  tribes 
towards  mutual  fusion. 

The  languages,  although  constructed  on  one  general  plan  and  scarcely 
more  than  dialectically  distinct,  yet  show  much  diversity  in  the  degree  of 
elaboration  or  development ;  some  varieties  being  almost  devoid  of  internal 
mechanism,  and  correspondingly  obscure,  whilst  others,  such  as  the 
Kamilaroi  and  the  Parnkalla,  have  evolved  a  whole  series  of  fairly  regular 
grammatical  inflections,  and  thereby  gained  vastly  in  precision. 

The  present  number  of  the  race  is  variously  estimated  at  from  60,000  to 
80,000,  of  whom,  perhaps,  two-thirds  frequent  the  settled  districts,  while  a 
dwindling  balance  still  roam  their  native  wilds  unsubdued. 

The  Tasmanian  aborigines,  now  extinct,  had  no  kinship  with  the 
Australians ;  their  physical  characteristics  pointing  to  a  Papuan  or  Mela- 
nesian  origin.  Their  number  probably  never  exceeded  3,000. 

These  "  provisional  "  types  of  mankind  are  now  being  superseded  by  a 
civilised  population  of  European,  and  predominantly  British  lineage,  with 
a  slight  and  jealously  watched  infusion  of  Asiatic  and  Oceanic  elements. 

Discovery  and  History. — Although  Australian  history  turns  mainly 
on  discoveries,  it  is  doubtful  when  its  shores  were  first  sighted  from  a 
European  ship.  Traces  of  a  belief  in  the  existence  of  an  Austral  continent 
are  found  more  than  two  centuries  before  our  era,  due  perhaps  to  vague 
rumours  spread  by  the  Malayan  trepang  fishers.  The  geographer  Ptolemy, 
in  A.D.  150,  regarded  it  as  an  extension  of  the  antarctic  land  region  which 
modern  research  has  restricted  to  the  polar  circle,  and  this  notion  con- 
tinued to  sway  the  earliest  known  account — by  Wytfliet  in  1598 — in  which 
"  Terra  Australis "  is  recognisable  as  the  Australia  of  modern  maps. 
Wytfliet  describes  it  as  "  separated  from  New  Guinea  by  a  narrow  strait," 
as  beginning  at  "  one  or  two  degrees  from  the  Equator,"  and  as  deserving 
to  rank  as  "  a  fifth  part  of  the  world."  The  discoveries  of  De  Torres,  who, 
eight  years  afterwards,  navigated  the  strait  which  now  bears  his  name,  and 
of  De  Quiros,  who  designated  the  New  Hebrides  as  "la  Austrialia  del 
Espiritu  Santo,"  did  not  tend  to  clear  up  the  confusion  of  ideas  expressed 
in  Le  Testu's  map  of  "Jave  la  Grande"  (1542)  and  Descelliers'  "Terre 
Australle"  (1550).  The  Dutch  explorations  of  the  north,  west,  and  south 
coasts  during  the  seventeenth  century,  and  Tasman's  discovery  of  Van 
Dieman's  Land  and  New  Zealand  (1642)  gradually  fixed  the  position  and 
dimensions  of  the  continent,  thenceforth  known  as  New  Holland.  Yet 
the  most  important  and  fertile  region,  that  of  the  east  coast,  remained 
wholly  unknown  until  examined  by  Captain  Cook  in  1770. 

With  the  arrival  of  the  "  First  Fleet "  at  Botany  Bay  under  Governor 
Phillip  in  1788,  the  history  of  Australia  as  a  civilised  land  begins.  Its 
earliest  chapter  deals  with  the  struggles  of  the  young  settlement  against 
difficulty  and  privation  until  1813,  when  a  track  was  found  across  the  Blue 
Mountains,  which  had  hitherto  barred  access  to  the  interior.  This  event 


Australia 


585 


gave  the  first  impulse  to  inland  exploration,  while  the  circumnavigation  of 
Tasmania  (then  called  Van  Diemen's  Land)  by  Bass  and  Flinders  in  1799 
led,  four  years  later,  to  the  official  occupation  of  that  island  and  its 
subsequent  separation  (1825)  from  New  South  Wales.  The  examination 
of  the  coasts  of  the  mainland,  too,  was  proceeding  apace.  Flinders,  in 
1801-2,  had  surveyed  the  southern  coast-line,  and  during  the  next  year 
circumnavigated  Australia  for  the  first  time.  Oxley's  exploration  of  the 
marshy  tracts  towards  the  west  and  north-west  gave  rise  to  the  long  and 
stubbornly  maintained  theory  of  an  inland  sea,  while  his  discovery  of  the 
river  Brisbane  in  1823  was  followed  within  two  years  by  the  formation  of 
a  branch  settlement  at  Moreton  Bay.  In  1824  the  upper  course  of  the 
river  Murray  and  the  central  parts  of  the  present  colony  of  Victoria  were 
traversed  by  Hovell  and  Hume.  Persistent  rumours  of  an  intended  occu- 
pation of  Australia  by  the  French  now  led  to  the  planting  of  military 
posts  (since  abandoned) 
at  Western  Port,  at  King 
George  Sound,  Melville 
Island,  Raffles  Bay,  and 
Port  Essington.  The 
years  1827-30  were 
memorable  for  Cunning- 
ham's exploration  of  the 
Darling  Downs,  for  Sturt's 
discovery  of  the  river 
Darling,  his  boat  voyage 
on  the  Murray  to  and 
from  Encounter  Bay,  and 
the  founding  of  the  Swan 
River  settlement.  In 


FIG.  203. — Political  Divisions  and  Railways  of  Australia. 
1834  stations  were  formed 

at  Portland  Bay,  in  the  subordinate  province  of  Port  Phillip,  and  on  the 
lower  Yarra,  where  Melbourne  now  stands.  In  1836  explorations  thence 
to  the  west  and  north  revealed  the  rich  volcanic  district  of  Australia 
Felix — as  it  was  then  called. 

Adelaide,  the  capital  of  the  independent  colony  of  South  Australia,  was 
founded  in  1836,  and  thenceforth  exploration  in  the  centre  and  the  west 
proceeded  rapidly.  A  further  impulse  to  occupation  and  settlement  was 
given  by  the  influx  of  population  that  resulted  from  the  discovery  of  gold, 
in  1851-52.  Grey's  explorations  on  the  west  coast ;  Eyre's  journey  round 
the  Bight  to  King  George  Sound ;  Leichhardt's  overland  route  from 
Darling  Downs  to  Port  Essington  ;  Sturt's  expedition  to  the  Barrier  Range 
and  the  Stony  Desert ;  Mitchell's  discoveries  in  north-eastern  Australia  ; 
Stuart's  crossing  of  the  continent  from  Adelaide  to  Van  Diemen  Gulf  ;  and 
the  wanderings  of  the  brothers  Forrest  and  Gregory  in  the  west  and 
north ;  with  the  relief  parties  sent  out  after  Burke  and  Wills,  and  the  still 


586       The   International '  Geography 

more  numerous  expeditions  dispatched  in  search  of  Leichhardt  after  his 
disappearance  in  1847 — soon  shed  so  much  light  on  Australian  geography 
as  to  leave  little  for  future  explorers  to  fill  in.  The  distant  dependency  of 
New  Zealand  had  in  1840  been  withdrawn  from  the  control  of  New  South 
Wales,  and  in  1851  the  Port  Phillip  district  likewise  attained  its  majority 
as  the  colony  of  Victoria.  Shortly  after  (1855)  responsible  government 
was  conferred  on  all  the  eastern  colonies ;  Western  Australia  alone 
continuing  under  Crown  control,  until  the  rapid  increase  of  population 
consequent  on  the  gold  finds  of  1890  paved  the  way  for  its  autonomy. 
The  contemporary  history  of  Australia,  as  a  whole,  closes  with  the  pro- 
clamation of  a  sixth  colony  in  1859,  when  the  Moreton  Bay  District,  after 
a  protracted  struggle  for  separation  from  New  South  Wales,  became  a 
self-governed  State  under  the  name  of  Queensland. 

In  1901  the  six  colonies  of  New  South  Wales,  Victoria,  Queensland, 
Tasmania,  South  Australia,  and  Western  Australia,  were  federated  into  the 
Commonwealth  of  Australia,  of  which  they  became  the  original  States. 
The  King  is  represented  by  a  Governor-General,  and  the  legislative 
authority  is  vested  in  a  Senate  and  a  House  of  Representatives. 

STATISTICS   OF  AUSTRALIA. 

1901. 
Area  of  Australia,  including  Tasmania  and  lesser  islands  (square  miles)     . .        2,972,906 

Population,  excluding  aborigines 3>77i,7i5 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile       ••  1*27 

LAND  IN  CULTIVATION. 

1880.  1890.  1901. 

Acres        5.837,oi3        ..        7,679.525        ••      10,279,090 

LIVE  STOCK. 

1880.  1890.                          iooi. 

Horses 1,068,402  ..        1,509,669  ..        1.625,042 

Cattle        7,527,142  ..        9,903,599  ••        8,464,724 

Sheep        59,175,024  ..      97,878,619  ..      72,126,626 

EXTERNAL  TRADE  (in  pounds  sterling). 

Average  1871-75.  1881-85.  1891-95- 

Imports 36,945-000        ..      46,316,000  ..      52,542,000 

Exports 37,344,000        ..      45,316,000  ..      55,879,000 

STANDARD  BOOKS. 

C.  H.  Barton.    "  Outlines  of  Australian  Physiography."    Maryborough,  1895. 

T.  A.  Coghlan.    "  A  Statistical  Account  of  the  Seven  Colonies  of  Australasia."     Sydney. 

G.  Collingridge.    "  Discovery  of  Australia."    Sydney,  1895. 

E.  Curr.    "  The  Australian  Race."    4  vols.     Melbourne,  1886-87. 

E.  Favenc.    "  History  of  Australian  Exploration."    Sydney,  1888. 

Gordon  and  Gotch.    "Australian  Handbook."     London,  Ant  ual. 

G.  Ranken.    "  Federal  Geography  of  British  Australasia."     Sydney,  1891. 

W.  Saville-Kent.    "  The  Naturalist  in  Australia."     London,  1897. 

Baldwin  Spencer  and  F.  J.  Gillen.    "  The  Native  Tribes  of  Central  Australia."    London, 

1899. 

J.  E.  T.  Woods.     "Discovery  and  Explorations  in  Australia."    2  vols.     London,  1865. 
J.  W.  Gregory.     "  The  Dead  Heart  of  Australia."     London,  1906. 


CHAPTER  XXXII.— THE    EASTERN    STATES   OF 
THE   COMMONWEALTH   OF  AUSTRALIA 

I.— QUEENSLAND 
BY  C.  H.  BARTON,  B.A., 

Maryborough.  'Queensland. 

Position  and  Coasts. — The  colony  of  Queensland  occupies  the 
north-eastern  portion  of  the  Australian  continent  for  an  extent  of  1,200 
miles  from  north  to  south,  and  900  from  east  to  west.  The  Gulf  of 
Carpentaria  and  South  Australia  bound  it  on  the  west ;  the  Pacific 
Ocean  on  the  east ;  and  New  South  Wales-  and  South  Australia  on  the 

south.      It  contains   an   area  of    ^ 

about  688,000  square  miles, 
being  more  than  twice  as  large 
as  New  South  Wales.  The  sea- 
board extends  north  and  west 
from  Point  Danger  in  lat.  28°  S. 
to  Cape  York  in  11°  S.,  and  on 
to  long.  138°  E.  on  the  south 
coast  of  Carpentaria  Gulf,  thus 
including  the  great  Cape  York 
Peninsula,  a  tract  larger  than 
Ireland,  and  the  boldest  promi- 
nence on  the  Australian  conti- 
nent. The  Pacific  coast,  over  15° 
of  latitude,  is  protected  from  the 
swell  of  the  outer  ocean  by  the 
vast  natural  breakwater  of  the 
Great  Barrier  Reef,  thus  ad- 
mitting of  coastal  navigation 
along  a  smooth-water  channel 
i  ,000  miles  long  and  fro/n  ten 
to  thirty  miles  wide.  Other 


FIG.  294.— The  Great  Barrier  Reef. 


noteworthy  features  of  the  coast  are  the  Wellesley  Islands  opposite 
Point  Parker  in  the  Gulf  of  Carpentaria,  enclosing  a  roadstead  capable 
of  developing  into  a  first  class  port ;  Endeavour  Strait,  between  Cape 
York  and  Prince  of  Wales  Island  at  the  extreme  north  ;  and  a  series 
of  prominent  headlands  separating  bays  along  the  east  coast.  Amongst 
these  are  Edgecumbe  and  Repulse  Bays,  creating,  with  Gloucester  and 
39  587 


588       The  International   Geography 

Cumberland  Islands,  the  beautiful  scenery  of  Whitsunday  Passage ; 
Capes  Palmerston  and  Townsend,  enclosing  two  spacious  estuaries, 
Broadsound  and  Shoalwater  Bay  ;  Keppel  Bay,  with  Cape  Capricorn  on 
Curtis  Island,  almost  on  the  tropic  ;  Port  Curtis,  one  of  the  best  harbours 
on  the  Pacific  coast ;  and  Moreton  Bay,  partly  sheltered  by  Moreton  and 
Stradbroke  Islands. 

Configuration  and  Rivers— The  "  Great  Divide,"  receding  from 
the  Pacific  shore  and  striking  north-west  to  the  i8th  parallel  as  it  passes 
into  Queensland  from  the  south,  secures  for  that  province  a  more  diversified 
surface  and  ampler  distribution  of  water  channels  than  Australia,  as  a 
whole,  enjoys.  The  main  axis  of  the  water-parting  throws  off  to  right 
and  left  numerous  spurs  of  considerable  length,  trending  north-east 
towards  the  coast  and  south-west  inland.  Most  of  these  branch  into 
secondary  spurs  of  equal  or  greater  height,  which  on  the  seaward  slope, 
averaging  some  300  miles  in  width,  give  rise  to  a  number  of  well-defined 
river  systems,  of  which  the  Brisbane,  Burnett,  Fitzroy,  Burdekin,  Herbert, 
Normanby,  and  Kennedy  are  the  chief.  On  the  landward,  or  south- 
western slope,  the  great  tributaries  of  the  Murray- Darling  basin,  together 
with  numerous  feeders  of  inland  drainage  systems,  flow  south-west  or 
south  to  their  respective  points  of  absorption.  The  Carpentarian  Plain, 
with  the  western  slope  of  the  Cape  York  Peninsula,  forms  a  distinct 
system  draining  into  the  gulf  ;  the  principal  effluents  being  the  Leich- 
ardt,  Flinders,  Gilbert,  and  Mitchell. 

Geology.  —  Geologically,  Queensland  presents  three  parallel  belts, 
traversing  the  territory  from  south-east  to  north-west,  in  accordance  with 
the  general  strike  of  the  Pacific  coast.  The  most  westerly,  of  Cretaceous 
origin,  but  surrounding  a  large  wedge-shaped  enclave  of  metamorphic 
rocks,  covers  about  two-fifths  of  the  territory.  It  includes  the  Blythes- 
dale  Braystones,  an  older  stratum  of  the  same  series,  and  a  prolific  source 
of  artesian  water.  The  second  belt,  on  ihe  western  slopes  of  the  Great 
Divide  and  extending  to  Cape  York,  consists  of  sandstones  of  later,  mostly 
Tertiary,  age,  with  patches  of  intrusive  crystalline  and  volcanic  rocks. 
The  third  belt,  comprising  the  rest  of  the  province,  exhibits  the  Primary 
rocks  (granitic,  Silurian,  Devonian,  Permian,  and  crystalline)  characteristic 
of  the  Australian  Cordillera,  with  extensive  Jurassic  and  Carboniferous 
areas,  where  coal-seams  of  excellent  quality  are  worked.  Gold-bearing 
quartz  reefs  and  other  mineral  lodes  are  widely  disseminated. 

Climate.— Although  Queensland  is  not  exempt  from  the  climatic 
vicissitudes  to  which  all  Australia  is  liable,  their  effects  are  less  marked 
than  elsewhere.  The  extreme  heat,  fiery  winds,  rapid  thermal  changes, 
and  bitter  frosts  common  in  the  south  and  centre  of  the  continent  are 
almost  unknown.  Even  in  the  hot  and  dry  south-western  region,  the 
temperature  rarely  rises  higher  than  95°  F.,  while  the  Cape  York  Peninsula 
— within  only  10°  to  15°  from  the  equator,  enjoys,  by  reason  of  its  sea- 
board and  towering  highlands,  a  more  equable  climate  than  many  countries 


Queensland  589 

classed  as  "  temperate."  The  rainfall  is  very  unequal.  Over  the  Pacific 
slope  it  ranges  from  about  50  inches  near  the  southern  border  to  as  much 
as  100,  and  even  150  inches  about  lat.  17°,  where  the  ocean  vapours  are 
arrested  and  condensed  by  the  twin  peaks  of  the  Bellenden  Ker  Mountains, 
5,000  feet  high.  The  rainfall  of  the  Carpentarian  plain  and  littoral, 
depending  on  the  partly  spent  north-west  monsoon,  is  much  less,  seldom 
exceeding  40,  and  often  as  low  as  20  inches.  In  the  west  and,  south- 
west it  is  even  more  uncertain,  some  localities  getting  only  10  to  12 
inches  per  annum,  while  others,  not  far  off,  receive  30  to  40.  In  all  parts 
of  the  colony  droughts  of  greater  or  less  duration  occur  at  times,  and  again, 
the  balance  may  be  suddenly  restored  by  widespread  and  destructive 
floods. 

Flora  and  Fauna. — The  flora,  while  conforming  generally  to  the 
Australian  type,  is  enriched  by  the  intrusion  of  eastern  and  oceanic  forms, 
giving  to  the  denser  forests,  or  "  scrubs,"  a  distinct  Indo-Malayan  character. 
Here  are  found  the  red  cedar,  flindersia,  alphitonia,  hoop  pine,  and  other 
excellent  timbers,  intermingled  with  a  dense  growth  of  palms,  bamboo  and 
lawyer  canes,  caper  shrubs,  tree-ferns,  orchids,  and  countless  climbing  or 
parasitic  plants.  Several  of  the  most  striking  and  valuable  trees,  such  as  the 
Bidwill  pine,  "  turpentine,"  "  silky  oak,"  bottle  tree,  kauri  pine,  Leichardt 
tree,  calophyllum  and  "Queensland  nut"  are  strangely  limited  in  their 
habitat ;  hence,  some  are  on  the  verge  of  extinction  as  members  of  the 
wild  flora.  There  are  at  least  two  indigenous  species  of  banana,  two  of  the 
citrus  tribe,  many  edible  figs,  well-flavoured  wild  grapes,  a  mangosteen, 
cashew  and  other  nuts,  the  "Herbert-cherry"  (antidesma),  the  "sour 
plum"  (owenia),  nonda  (parinarium),  jujubes,  raspberries,  and  other  fruits. 
Hundreds  of  square  miles  are  covered  with  wild  rice,  tobacco,  indigo, 
"  salt-bush,"  "  Mitchell  grass,"  and  similar  valuable  herbs  ;  screw-pines  and 
mangroves  fringe  the  coast,  while  the  inland  pools  are  gay  with  the 
fragrant  red  chalices  of  the  "  sacred  lotus,"  or  the  blue,  white,  or  purple 
petals  of  various  nymphaeas. 

The  native  fauna  comprises  most  of  the  common  Australian  species, 
besides  some  peculiar  to  the  region.  Such  are  the  tree-kangaroo  (dendro- 
lagus],  the  five-toed  kangaroo-rat  (hypsiprymnodon),  and  several  phalangers. 
The  dugong  (halicore),  a  marine  Sirenian,  frequents  the  weedy  estuaries 
and  bays  on  the  coast.  Fruit-bats  (ptcropus;  harpyia;  carponycteris)  are  a 
great  plague,  and,  like  that  greater  plague,  the  imported  rabbit,  seem  to  be 
on  the  increase.  Among  the  birds  typical  of  this  region  are  the  pelican, 
jacana,  regent-bird,  bronze-winged  and  nutmeg  pigeon,  jabiru,  and 
cassowary.  There  are  two  species  of  crocodile,  and  snakes  (venomous 
and  otherwise)  abound.  The  lung-fish  (ceratodus)  is  confined  to  the  rivers 
Mary  and  Burnett ;  the  highly-prized  barramundi  (osteoglossum)  to  the 
Burnett,  Dawson,  and  Carpentarian  river-system.  Turtles  of  fine  quality  are 
caught  off  the  coast,  where  the  shallows  swarm  with  edible  and  pearl  oysters, 
sea-slugs  (holoihuria),  sponges,  corals,  and  other  forms  of  marine  life. 


5  go       The  International  Geography 

Aborigines. — The  aborigines  of  north-eastern  Australia  differ  but 
slightly  from  their  brethren  in  other  regions,  save  in  being  taller  and  more 
muscular  ;  an  advantage  attributable  to  the  ampler  food  supplies  and  other 
more  favourable  natural  conditions.  They  show  some  skill  in  the  con- 
struction of  their  winter  huts,  canoes,  weapons,  implements  for  gathering 
and  dressing  food,  woven  bags  and  baskets  (frequently  watertight),  neck- 
laces and  other  personal  ornaments ;  and,  when  first  met  with,  had 
evidently  taken  a  step  or  two  on  the  ascending  plane,  which,  in  the  course 
of  ages,  might  have  led  them  on  to  civilisation.  Many  of  the  strongest 
and  fiercest  tribes  are  now  extinct,  or  represented  only  by  a  surviving 
handful,  the  whole  number  probably  not  exceeding  20,000  (1898). 

History  and  Government. — The  territory  now  known  as  Queens- 
land was  discovered  by  Captain  Cook  in  1770.  For  fifty  years  it  remained 
unvisited,  save  by  runaway  convicts,  until  in  1825-6,  a  branch  penal 
establishment,  subordinate  to  Sydney,  was  founded  at  Brisbane,  Moreton 
Bay.  The  dependency  was  first  thrown  open  to  free  settlement  in  1842, 
between  which  date  and  1861,  when  the  first  census  was  taken,  the 
population,  originally  insignificant,  increased  to  30,000.  Separation  from 
New  South  Wales  was  effected,  after  years  of  agi- 
tation, in  1859.  For  a  long  time  afterwards,  the  cost 
of  immigration  from  England,  Germany,  and  other 
European  countries  was  defrayed  by  the  State.  At 
present  Asiatic  and  Pacific  sources  are  being  tapped 
in  order  to  meet  the  demand  for  low-priced  labour. 
As  a  result,  the  population  is  more  mixed  than  in  any 
FIG  295.— The  Badge  other  Australian  province. 

The  government  is  of  the  "responsible"  pattern,  and 

differs  from  that  of  the  United  Kingdom  chiefly  in  the  wider  suffrage,  in 
payment  of  an  annual  allowance  of  $1,500  to  each  elected  member  of  the 
legislature,  and  in  the  functions  of  Grand  Jury  devolving  on  the  Attorney- 
General.  There  is  a  Governor  appointed  by  the  Crown,  a  nominee 
Legislative  Council  of  indeterminate  number— usually  about  35 — and  a 
Legislative  Assembly  of  72  members,  elected  by  61  constituencies. 
Primary  education,  free,  secular,  and  (nominally)  compulsory,  is  under 
the  care  of  the  State.  Higher  education  is  imparted  in  ten  grammar 
schools,  governed  by  elective  trusts,  and  liberally  subsidised  by  Govern- 
ment. There  are  also  ten  "  orphanages "  under  Government  inspection, 
and  maintained  chiefly  from  State  funds. 

Resources,  Industries  and  Trade.— Amongst  the  resources  of 
Queensland,  pastoral  wealth — such  as  wool,  hides,  meat  and  tallow — stands 
first,  closely  followed  by  the  yield  from  the  many  rich  gold,  coal  and  tin- 
fields  ;  silver,  copper  and  other  mines.  The  chief  agricultural  products 
are  sugar  and  rum  ;  maize,  wheat,  rice ;  sorghum,  guinea-grass  ;  wine, 
arrowroot,  bananas,  sweet  potatoes,  tobacco,  coffee,  cotton  ;  oranges,  pine- 
apples and  other  tropical  and  European  fruits.  The  forests  abound  in 


Queensland  591 

cedar,  pine  and  other  useful  timbers,  and  a  large  fleet  of  vessels  find  em- 
ployment in  the  pearl-shell,  trepang,  oyster,  turtle  and  dugong  fisheries. 

In  1896-7  pastoral  leases  covered  nearly  two-thirds  of  the  whole  sur- 
face, whence  live  stock,  hides,  horns  and  bone-dust ;  frozen,  preserved 
and  salted  meat ;  tallow,  and  wool  were  exported  to  the  value  of  three- 
fifths  of  the  total  exports.  The  mining  industry,  pursued  on  twenty-two 
proclaimed  gold,  silver,  copper  and  tin-fields,  was  accountable  for  nearly 
two-thirds  of  the  balance.  The  value  of  agricultural  exports — sugar,  fruit, 
molasses,  maize,  arrowroot,  rum,  hay,  wine,  was  about  one-tenth  of  the 
whole.  Manufactures,  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  term,  are  limited  to 
the  supply  of  home  requirements.  Sugar  factories,  saw-mills,  flour-mills, 
breweries,  and  co-operative  cheese  and  butter  factories  are  the  most  im- 
portant. All  the  towns  above  the  status  of  mere  villages  are  lighted  either 
by  gas  or  electricity,  and  supplied  with  water  by  pressure  through  service 
pipes.  Boring  artesian  wells,  to  supplement  the  scanty  rainfall  of  the  far 
west,  is  being  carried  on  with  satisfactory  results ;  341  water-yielding  bores 
in  1898  sufficed  by  their  surplus  supply  to  convert 
many  water-courses  formerly  dry  into  permanent 
streams.  This  yield,  which  is  steadily  increasing, 
already  equals  in  irrigating  effect  a  yearly  rainfall  of 
12  inches  over  108,500  square  miles. 

Communications. — In  addition  to  steamers 
that  ply  regularly  along  the  coast,  internal  traffic  is 
promoted  by  more  than  2,500  miles  of  State  railways 


(Fig.  293).    Of  the  four  main  lines,  the  Southern  and    FlG  2g6.—The  average 

,_.  °  .  population  of  a  square 

Western  connects  Brisbane  with  Sydney  on  the  one  ^^  Of  Queensland. 
hand  and  with  Charleville  and  Cunnamulla  on  the 
other ;  the  North  Coast  Line  connects  Brisbane  with  Gladstone,  by 
way  of  Gympie,  Maryborough  and  Bundaberg ;  the  Central  extends  from 
Rockhampton  to  the  river  Thompson  ;  and  the  Northern,  from  Townsville 
to  Hughenden  and  Winton.  Numerous  branches  assist  the  traffic  along 
these  routes,  while  shorter  detached  lines  connect  Mackay  with  the  sur- 
rounding villages  ;  Bowen  with  the  Burdekin  delta ;  Croydon  (gold-field) 
with  Normanton,  on  the  Gulf  of  Carpentaria  ;  Cairns  with  the  table- 
land of  Cape  York  Peninsula,  and  Cooktown  with  the  Palmer  gold-field. 
Numerous  coaches  ply  to  and  from  all  terminal  stations,  connecting 
with  places  outside  the  railway  system.  The  postal  and  telegraph  arrange- 
ments are  very  complete. 

Divisions  and  Towns.— For  administrative  purposes  Queensland  is 
divided  into  twelve  districts  ;  numerous  counties  (which  are  added  to  from 
time  to  time)  ;  about  120  divisional  boards  and  six  shires  for  local  taxation 
and  improvement ;  together  with  a  still  larger  number  of  parishes,  which 
ill-chosen  term  refers  solely  to  land  survey  and  not  to  any  scheme  of 
ecclesiastical  rule.  Thirty-one  of  the  centres  of  population,  mostly  mere 
villages,  are  under  municipal  government. 


592       The  International  Geography 

The  coast-line  is  dotted  with  harbours,  most  of  which  are  becoming 
active  industrial  and  commercial  centres.  Brisbane,  on  a  river  of  the 
same  name,  and  the  seat  of  government,  owes  its  growth  chiefly  to 
that  circumstance,  to  the  proximity  of  the  rich  pastoral  and  agricul- 
tural lands  of  Darling  Downs,  and  to  lavish  expenditure  on  the  legisla- 
ture and  civil  service.  The  site  of  the  city  is  low  and  exposed  to 
floods,  and  the  twenty  miles  of  river  that  form  its  port  are  kept  open 
for  over-sea  vessels  only  by  incessant  dredging.  Ambitious  public  build- 
ings, planned  on  a  scale  out  of  proportion  to  present  needs  or  means, 
overlook  the  leading  thoroughfares.  Well-kept  botanic  gardens,  acclima- 
tisation grounds,  museums,  libraries,  schools  of  arts,  an  art  gallery,  a 
technical  college,  and  numerous  scientific  and  other  societies  make  for 
the  "  gentle  life  "  ;  while  the  infirm  and  aged  poor  find  a  comfortable 
retreat  in  the  asylum  at  Dunwich,  a  beautifully-wooded  island  in  Moreton 
Bay.  St.  Helena,  another  of  the  same  group,  is  the  enforced  abode  of 
Queensland's  felonry. 

Northward  along  the  coast  follow  in  succession  :  Maryborough,  on  a 
bend  of  the  river  Mary,  twenty  miles  from  Hervey  Bay,  with  large 
foundries,  saw-mills,  cane  and  orange  cultivation,  and  the  shipping  port  for 
the  Wide  Bay  district  and  Gympie  goldfield  ;  Bundaberg,  near  the  mouth 
of  the  Burnett,  on  the  edge  of  a  large  area  of  rich  volcanic  soil,  a  com- 
munity wholly  given  over  to  the  manufacture  of  sugar  ;  Gladstone,  with  its 
splendid  deep  sea  harbour,  Port  Curtis— in  1847  the  scene  of  an  abortive 
attempt  to  found  a  colony  provisionally  named  North  Australia — the 
outlet  of  a  large  mineral  district,  and  one  of  the  few  places  on  the  coast 
adapted  for  embarking  horned  cattle  ;  Rockhampton,  the  destined  capital 
of  central  Queensland,  the  main  outlet  for  wool  and  other  pastoral 
produce,  and  the  gate  leading  to  Mount  Morgan,  the  richest  gold  mine 
in  the  world.  Then,  longo  intervallo,  come  Mackay,  another  sugar  town  ; 
Bowen,  renowned  for  its  harbour  and  the  length  of  its  jetty,  but  unfavour- 
ably placed  for  inland  traffic ;  Townsville,  the  principal  shipping  port 
of  northern  Queensland,  and  connected  by  rail  with  the  gold-fields  of 
Ravenswood,  Charters  Towers,  and  Cape  River ;  Cairns,  where  the 
teeming  jungle  soil  yields  rice,  coffee,  sugar,  cacao,  and  other  tropical 
crops  in  perfection,  while  a  railway,  that  ranks  as  the  boldest  engineering 
feat  ever  attempted  in  Australia,  leads  towards  the  rich  mineral  fields  of 
Merberton,  Chillagoe  and  Etheridge.  The  most  northern  settlement 
on  the  Pacific  coast  is  Cooktown,  on  the  Endeavour  River,  where  Captain 
Cook  careened  and  repaired  his  ship.  It  is  connected  with  the  Palmer 
gold-field  by  a  railway  3 1  miles  in  length. 

Thursday  Island,  about  30  miles  north-west  from  Cape  York,  is  a 
fortified  imperial  coaling-station,  the  headquarters  of  the  pearl-shell 
fishery,  and  a  place  of  call  for  the  Indo-European  mail  steamers. 

The  most  northerly  inland  town  is  Charters  Towers,  the  leading  gold- 
field  ;  others  are  :  Gympie,  on  the  site  of  an  earlier  gold  discovery,  and 


New  South  Wales  593 

rivalling  the  former  in  importance  ;  Ipswich,  at  the  confluence  of  the 
rivers  Bremer  and  Brisbane,  the  oldest  inland  settlement,  with  woollen 
and  cotton  factories  and  adjacent  coal  mines  ;  Toowoomba  and  Warwick, 
much  frequented  sanatoria,  2,000  and  1,500  feet  above  sea-level,  and 
prosperous  seats  of  that  agricultural  industry  (principally  concerned  with 
wheat  cultivation)  which  flourishes  on  the  rich,  black  loam  of  Darling 
Downs  ;  Mount  Morgan,  with  its  "  mountain  of  gold,"  which  has  paid  four 
and  a  half  million  sterling  in  dividends  since  its  discovery  in  1885  ;  and 
numerous  other  centres  of  less  note. 

STATISTICS. 

1881.  1891.  1901. 

Area  of  Queensland  (square  miles)           668,497  . .  668,497  . .  668,497 

Population  of  Queensland  (excluding  aborigines)        ..        213.525  ..  393,7i8  ..  503,266 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile 0-34  . .             071  . .  075 

POPULATION  OF  CHIEF  TOWNS. 

1881.  1891.  1901.    I                                            *  1881.  1891.  1901. 

Brisbane  (io-mile radius)  36,169*  101,554  119,428     Ipswich     ..        ..        ..  7,576  7,625  15,246 

Charters  Towers           ..    4,385  4.597  20,976  |  Gympie 7,659  8,450  14431 

RoclthamptoQ    . .        . .  12,412  13,380  19,691     Toowoomba        . .        . .  6,270  7,007  14,087 

Townsville          ..        ..    7,860  8,564  15.506  |  Maryborough      ..        ..  8.700  ^  9.281  12,900 

ANNUAL  TRADE  OF  QUEENSLAND  (in  pounds  sterling). 

Average  1871-75.  1881-85.  1891-95. 

Imports 2,596,000        ..        5,888,000        ..  4,875,000 

Exports 3.583,000        ..        4,056,000        ..  9,028,000 

STANDARD  BOOKS. 

"Queensland,  Past  and  Present."     Brisbane,  Annual. 

A.  Meston.     "  Geographic  History  of  Queensland."     Brisbane,  1895. 

R.  Semon.   "  Im  Australischem  Busch  und  an  den  Kusten  des  Korallenmeeres."  Leipzig, 

1896.    (Translation,  London,  1899.) 
W.  Saville-Kent.    "  The  Great  Barrier  Reef  of  Australia."    London,  1893. 


H— NEW  SOUTH  WALES 

BY  EDWARD  A.  PETHERICK. 

Position  and  Extent. — New  South  Wales,  the  oldest  of  the  Austra- 
lian colonies,  originally  comprehended  the  eastern  half  of  the  continent, 
and  the  jurisdiction  of  the  earlier  governors  extended  also  over  Tasmania, 
New  Zealand,  and  other  islands  of  the  Pacific.  Since  the  foundation  of 
the  province  of  South  Australia  in  1836,  and  the  erection  into  separate 
colonies  of  Victoria  in  1851  and  Queensland  in  1859,  the  boundaries  of 
New  South  Wales  have  been  roughly  within  28°  and  37^°  S.,  and  141°  and 
153°  E.,  and  its  area  a  little  over  310,000  square  miles.  The  frontage  to 
the  Pacific  Ocean,  including  the  inlets  of  Port  Jackson,  Botany  Bay,  Port 
Hunter  (or  Newcastle),  Port  Stephens  and  Twofold  Bay,  is  over  800  miles. 

Configuration  of  Coastal  District. — The  Great  Dividing  Range 
or  Cordillera  of  Australia,  which  extends  from  Cape  York  to  Wilson's 
Promontory,  passes  through  New  South  Wales  in  broken  ranges  at  a 

*  Without  suburbs. 


594      The  International  Geography 

distance  of  30  to  120  miles  from  the  sea,  and  with  an  elevation  of  4,000 
to  7,000  feet.  West  of  Sydney,  where  they  present  a  precipitous  barrier, 
and  are  composed  of  horizontally  stratified  sandstone,  broken  by  canyons, 
deep  gullies,  and  chasms  due  to  aqueous  erosion,  they  are  called,  from, 
their  appearance,  the  Blue  Mountains.  The  more  northerly  are  known  as 
the  New  England  and  Liverpool  Ranges,  and  those  to  the  south  as  the 
Cullarin,  Gourock,  Manaro,  and  Muniong  Ranges,  the  last-named  forming 
part  of  the  Australian  Alps,  their  highest  point  being  Mount  Kosciusko 
(7,336),  700  feet  above  the  limit  of  perpetual  snow,  and  the  loftiest  peak  on 
the  continent.  The  coastal  district  on  the  eastern  slope  of  these  ranges 
is  about  50,000  square  miles  in  area  and  very  fertile,  being  watered  by  a 
number  of  rivers,  nearly  all  of  which  are  navigable  for  a  considerable 
distance  from  the  sea.  From  the  valleys  of  the  Alps  the  Snowy  river 
makes  a  circuitous  course  and  passes  southward  to  the  ocean,  through 
the  Gippsland  district  of  Victoria. 

Configuration  of  the  Interior.— Behind  the  Cordillera,  which 
presents  its  abrupt  front  to  the  ocean,  broad,  elevated  tablelands  and 
undulating  plains  form  the  chief  pastoral  districts  of  the  colony.  The 
northern  plateau  is  drained  by  tributaries  of  the  Darling  or  Barwan,  which 
also  receives  streams  from  the  south  of  Queensland.  With  these  waters 
the  Darling  is  navigable  in  rainy  seasons  for  1,700  miles.  The  southern 
plateau  is  drained  by  the  Murrumbidgee,  which  rises  in  the  Australian 
Alps  and  is  navigable  for  500  miles,  the  Lachlan,  its  tributary,  and  a 
number  of  smaller  streams  traversing  the  Riverina  District.  These,  as 
well  as  the  waters  of  the  Darling,  flow  to  the  Murray,  which  is  the 
only  outlet  for  a  drainage-area  of  over  300,000  square  miles.  It  is  a  land 
of  drought  and  flood,  for  all  the  rivers  mentioned,  except  the  Murray, 
which  is  fed  by  the  snows  of  the  Alps,  stop  running  in  dry  seasons  ;  and 
in  very  wet  seasons  the  lower  lands  of  the  far  interior  are  inundated  for 
weeks.  West  of  the  Darling,  and  on  the  South  Australian  border,  the 
Grey  and  Stanley  or  Barrier  Ranges  rise  from  1,000  to  2,000  feet.  The 
streams  flowing  from  them  are  soon  lost  in  the  desert.  The  only  lake 
of  importance  in  New  South  Wales  is  Lake  George,  25  miles  long  and  8 
miles  broad,  situated  in  the  southern  ranges,  2,100  feet  above  sea-level.  It 
is  salt,  and  for  a  long  period  before  1852  its  bed  was  quite  dry. 

Climate. — The  climate  naturally  varies  according  to  locality.  The 
northern  part  of  the  coastal  district  is  dry  and  sub-tropical,  the  central  and 
southern  parts  more  temperate.  The  air  is  clear  and  the  sky  generally  cloud- 
less. At  Sydney,  though  occasionally  rising  above  100°  in  the  shade,  the 
mean  temperature  is  63°;  snow  is  unknown  and  frost  never  severe  (Fig.  291). 
At  Albury  on  the  upper  Murray,  at  Deniliquin  in  the  Riverina  District,  and 
at  Bourke  on  the  Darling,  the  range  is  greater,  winter  being  much  colder  and 
summer  much  hotter.  The  extreme  of  heat  is  felt  inland,  where  tempera- 
tures of  130°  in  the  shade  have  been  reported.  Hot  winds  accompanied 
by  dust  blow  during  the  height  of  summer,  but  they  are  not  unhealthy. 


New  South   Wales 


595 


In  the  coastal  district  the  rainfall  varies  from  30  inches  in  the  south  to  73 
in  the  north,  the  average  at  Sydney  being  50  inches.  In  the  highlands  on 
the  Queensland  border  it  is  35,  at  Deniliquin  17,  at  Wentworth,  the  junc- 
tion of  the  Darling  and  the  Murray,  the  lowest  part  of  the  interior  of  the 
colony,  it  is  12,  and  in  the  Barrier  ranges  on  the  west  only  9. 

Flora. — Open  forests  cover  nearly  the  whole  of  the  tablelands  and 
interior  plains,  the  characteristic  tree  being  the  eucalyptus  in  its  many 
varieties.  The  plains  west  of  the  Darling  and  on  the  lower  Murray  are 
covered  with  stunted  bushes  or  malice  scrub.  A  considerable  portion  of 
the  coastal  district  is  covered  with  brush  forests,  the  valleys  being  filled 
with  tree-ferns,  a  red  and  white  cedar,  silky  oak,  tulip-wood,  a  lofty  ash, 
colonial  pine,  and  other  timber  trees.  Economic  plants  are  very  numerous  ; 
their  productions  include  oils,  perfumes,  drugs,  dyes,  tans,  fibres,  gums, 
and  resins.  There  are  many  useful  and  some  noxious  grasses.  European 
trees  and  the  beautiful  Norfolk  Island  pine  have  been  acclimatised, 
while  European  plants  and  flowers 
bloom  all  the  year  round.  Un- 
fortunately, imported  briars,  burrs, 
and  thistles  have  spread  all  over 
the  country. 

Fauna. — The  indigenous  ani- 
mals of  New  South  Wales  are 
the  egg-laying  monotremes — the 
platypus  and  native  porcupines 
(echidna) ;  marsupials  —  including 
several  varieties  of  kangaroo, 
"  opossums,"  native  bear,  wombats, 
bandicoots,  native  cat,  several 
species  of  rodents,  insectivorous 
bats,  and  the  flying  fox.  Sperm  and  whalebone  whales,  other  cetacea, 
"and  seals  are  found  off  the  coast.  Snakes,  harmless  and  venomous,  are 
numerous,  and  so  are  lizards  (including  iguanas  six  feet  in  length), 
tortoises,  tree  and  swamp  frogs.  Birds  exist  in  •  extraordinary  variety 
and  are  notable  for  plumage,  song  and  powers  of  mimicry.  They  include 
birds  of  prey,  cockatoos,  parrots,  parroquets,  and  lories  ;  the  "  laughing 
jackass,"  and  other  kingfishers  ;  the  beautiful  lyre  and  bower  birds, 
ground-thrushes,  doves,  wood-pigeons,  numerous  game  birds,  and  one 
of  the  largest  of  running  birds,  the  emu,  which  being  treated  as  a 
noxious  animal,  like  the  kangaroo,  native  dog,  "  opossum,"  and  rabbit, 
is  rapidly  becoming  extinct.  The  multiplication  of  the  common  rabbit 
has  seriously  affected  pastoral  pursuits  in  many  districts,  and  17,000  miles 
of  rabbit-proof  fencing  have  been  erected  in  the  effort  to  subdue  the  pest. 
The  whole  western  frontier  is  fenced  in  this  way.  The  camel  has  been 
acclimatised  in  the  Darling  districts.  Over  300  species  of  fish  (of  which 
more  than  100  are  edible)  are  found  in  the  rivers  and  on  the  coast. 
40 


FIG.  297. — The  rabbit-proof  fences  of  New 
South  Wales. 


The  International  Geography 

Aborigines. — Although  the  aborigines  were  estimated  at  one  million 
when  the  colony  was  founded,  probably  their  number  never  exceeded  five 
hundred  thousand  on  the  whole  continent,  and  in  New  South  Wales  they 
now  number  about  7,000,  of  whom  3,000  are  half-castes.  Low  in  the 
present  scale  of  humanity,  some  of  their  usages  and  customs  seem  to 
imply  a  higher  origin  or  the  adoption  at  some  distant  period  of  usages  and 
customs  of  a  superior  race,  perhaps  castaways  or  shipwrecked  survivors 
from  another  continent.  Internal  quarrels,  the  loss  of  their  natural  food 
and  their  destruction  by  firearms  or  adoption  of  the  vices  of  the  European, 
have  been  the  chief  causes  of  their  rapidly  diminishing  numbers,  and  the 
race  is  now  fast  fading  away. 

Resources. — Though  New  South  Wales  is  very  rich  and  varied  in  its 
mineral  wealth,  the  chief  resources  are  wool  and  other  animal  products. 
Of  wool,  over  200,000,000  Ibs.  are  annually  exported,  but  owing  to  drought 
this  is  less  than  in  the  early  nineties ;  some  flocks  number  over  100,000 
sheep,  chiefly  merinos.  Silver  and  gold,  tin,  copper,  iron,  and  many 
precious  stones  are  found.  Coal  is  abundant  in  the  coastal  districts, 
especially  at  Newcastle,  Illawarra,  and  Lithgow,  the  annual  output  being 
5,500,000  tons ;  that  from  Newcastle  alone  exceeding  3,000,000,  and  the 
seams  now  being  worked  are  calculated  to  be  sufficient  to  keep  up  the 
present  rate  of  production  for  500  years.  Manufactures  are  numerous,  but 
not  at  present  sufficient  for  home  supply.  Breweries,  meat-preserving 
factories,  boiling-down  and  wool-washing  establishments  employ  over 
50,000  hands.  Most  of  the  trade  is  with  the  United  Kingdom  and  British 
possessions. 

Discovery  and  Exploration. — The  coast  of  New  South  Wales  may 
have  been  seen  by  Spanish  vessels  as  early  as  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  but  from  the  time  of  Mendana's  discovery  of  the  Solomon  Islands 
in  1568,  the  voyage  of  Torres  in  1606,  and  that  of  Tasman  in  1642,  no 
European  vessel  is  known  to  have  been  in  the  sea  between  New  Zealand 
and  Australia  until  Cook  crossed  it  and  came  upon  the  Australian  coast  in 
1770.  He  surveyed  the  whole  of  the  eastern  coast,  took  possession,  and 
'named  it  New  South  Wales.  Several  attempts  to  scale  the  perpen- 
dicular cliffs  of  the  Blue  Mountains  were  made,  but  no  one  effected 
their  passage  until  1813,  when  they  were  crossed  by  Wentworth,  Blax- 
land,  and  Lawson,  who  discovered  the  extensive  tablelands  at  their 
summit.  Evans  and  Oxley  continued  the  exploration,  discovering  the 
Macquarie  in  1815,  the  Lachlan  and  Castlereagh,  Liverpool  Plains,  and 
another  passage  to  the  north  near  Port  Macquarie  during  1817  and 
1818.  Several  expeditions  were  undertaken  into  new  country  to  the  south 
during  the  following  five  years.  Hume  and  Hovell  crossed  the  Murray  and 
some  of  its  upper  tributaries  and  reached  the  sea  at  Port  Phillip  in  1824  and 
1825.  The  northern  tablelands,  including  the  Darling  Downs,  the  rivers 
Dumaresq,  Gwydir,  and  Condamine,  were  discovered  by  Allan  Cunning- 
ham in  1827.  Sturt  traced  the  Lachlan  and  the  Murrumbidgee  to  the 


New  South  Wales  597 

Murray,  and  the  Murray  to  the  sea  in  1829  and  1830,  and  Mitchell 
completed  the  solution  of  the  problem  of  the  river  system  west  of  the 
Great  Dividing  Range  by  tracing  the  courses  of  the  rivers  discovered  by 
Oxley  and  Cunningham  to  the  Darling,  and  the  waters  of  the  Darling  to 
the  Murray,  between  the  years  1831  and  1836.  The  country  and  ranges  to 
the  west  of  the  Darling,  Cooper  Creek,  and  the  desert  beyond  in  the 
heart  of  the  continent,  were  explored  by  Sturt  in  1844  and  1845,  himself 
and  party  suffering  terribly  from  heat  and  thirst. 

Settlement  and  History. — New  South  Wales  was  founded  as  a 
penal  colony  for  the  relief  of  English  prisons  and  hulks  as  far  from 
civilising  influences  as  it  was  possible  to  go,  and  the  first  twenty  years  of 
its  history  is  a  record  of  hardship,  famine  and  deprivation.  The  first 
fleet  under  Governor  Phillip  arrived  in  Botany  Bay  January  20,  1788, 
but  finding  a  more  suitable  position  for  a  settlement  at  Port  Jackson, 
landed  there  on  the  26th  of  January.  The  transported  people  were  for 
many  years  utterly  dependent  for  food  and  other  necessaries  upon 
supplies  sent  intermittently  and  irregularly  from  the  other  side  of  the 
world,  at  a  time  when  voyages  each  way  averaged  seven  months  in 
duration.  Disheartening  calamities  also  came  upon  the  few  free  settlers 
farming  the  banks  of  the  Hawkesbury ;  several  times  their  homesteads 
and  produce  were  swept  away  by  floods. 

Under  the  early  governors  who,  as  a  rule,  were  naval  officers  absolute 
and  arbitrary  in  the  exercise  of  their  power,  the  military  officers  secured 
the  monopoly  of  all  trade,  including  that  in  spirits.  Governor  Bligh, 
already  noted  in  the  eventful  history  of  the  Bounty,  having  stopped 
this  trade,  and  quarrelled  with  Macarthur  (who  was  engaged  in  laying 
the  foundation  of  Australia's  future  industry  by  importing  the  finest 
breeds  of  merino  sheep),  the  military  party  arrested  and  shipped  him 
out  of  the  country.  This  ended  the  quarter-deck  government  and 
brought  about  a  change  in  the  policy  as  well  as  in  the  character  of 
the  governors.  After  an  interregnum  of  two  years  General  Lachlan 
Macquarie,  the  next  governor,  laid  out  Sydney  and  other  towns,  made 
roads  across  the  mountains,  erected  public  buildings,  encouraged  ex- 
ploration, and  took  a  paternal  interest  in  the  settlers.  At  the  end  of 
his  twelve  years'  administration  the  colony  was  prosperous  and  flourish- 
ing. The  population  then  numbered  40,000,  more  than  half  being  free 
or  emancipated  persons.  A  measure  of  representative  government  was 
conceded  about  1825  in  the  shape  of  a  legislative  council  of  nominated 
members.  After  ten  years'  fierce  agitation  transportation  to  this  colony 
ceased  in  1839.  The  next  twelve  years  is  a  record  of  the  extension  of 
legislative  privileges — representative  and  municipal  government  having 
been  introduced  in  1842 — of  considerable  progress  in  pastoral,  grazing, 
and  agricultural  pursuits,  unfortunately  .marked  by  much  speculation  in 
land  and  live  stock ;  this,  and  the  cessation  of  imperial  expenditure 
for  transportation,  and  the  cost  of  free  labour,  caused  a  financial 


598       The  International  Geography 

collapse,  the  country  being  saved  from  ruin  by  the   introduction   of  a 
new  industry,  tallow  production  by  the  "  boiling-down  "  process. 

The  districts  south  of  the  Murray  were  separated  as  the  colony  of 
Victoria  at  the  beginning  of  1851,  and  a  few  weeks  later  by  the  gold 
discoveries  in  the  Bathurst  District,  New  South  Wales  emerged  from  the 
purely  pastoral  state  into  a  vigorous  national  existence,  stimulating  industrial 
enterprise,  claiming  constitutional  rights,  and  receiving  responsible  govern- 
ment in  1855.  From  the  time  of  the  arbitrary  governors  the  public  affairs  of 
the  colony  had  been  administered  nominally  under  successive  Ministers  of 
the  Crown  (in  reality  under  the  control  and  direction  of  irresponsible 
officials)  in  London.  The  Moreton  Bay  district  and  territory  to  the  north 
was  constituted  a  separate  colony  under  the  name  of  Queensland  at  the 
end  of  1859,  leaving  the  older  colony  her  present  territory  and  a  population 
of  300,000.  Thenceforward  the  material  progress  of  New  South  Wales, 
though  for  a  time  out-distanced  by  that  of  Victoria,  has  been  steady  and 
continuous,  and  she  stands  once  more  at  the  head  of  her  sister  States  in 
population  as  well  as  in  material  wealth  and  its  attendant  advantages. 

Government. — There  are  two  Houses  of  Parliament  and  an  executive 
chosen  and  presided  over  by  the  Governor,  who  is  appointed  by  the  Queen, 
the  depository  of  the  prerogative  of  mercy  within  the 
colony,  and  who  also  nominates  the  members  of  the 
Upper  House  or  Legislative  Council,  assents  to  or 
vetoes  Bills  or  reserves  them  for  consideration  of  the 
sovereign,  as  he  may  be  advised  by  the  law  officers  of 
the  Crown.  The  Governor  of  New  South  Wales  is 
Commander-in-chief  of  the  armed  forces  of  the  colony, 

and  was'  pri°r  t0  l855'  "  Governor-in-chief,"  or 
"Governor-General"  of  all  the  Australian  colonies. 
The  members  of  the  Upper  House  hold  their  seats  for  life  ;  members  of 
the  Lower  House  or  Legislative  Assembly  are  elected  by  manhood 
suffrage,  and  by  ballot;  parliaments  are  triennial  and  the  members  are 
paid.  For  political  and  territorial  purposes  the  colony  is  at  present  divided 
into  141  counties.  Three-fifths  of  the  population  is  under  municipal 
government.  The  administration  of  justice,  as  in  the  other  Australian 
colonies,  is  similar  to  that  of  England,  local  enactments  being  founded 
upon  the  laws  of  the  mother  country.  There  is  no  established  church ; 
primary  education  is  compulsory,  and  free  to  children  of  parents  unable 
to  pay  school  fees.  There  are  numerous  technical  schools  and  work- 
shops, libraries  and  schools  of  art,  agriculture  and  engineering,  grammar 
and  high  schools,  and  a  university  in  Sydney  founded  upon  the  model  of 
University  College,  London. 

Railways  and  Communications. — A  network  of  good  coach- 
roads  covers  the  settled  districts  •  the  telegraph  penetrates  to  all  occupied 
territory,  and  four  trunk  lines  of  railway  with  their  branches,  bring  the 
most  important,  and  some  of  the  more  distant  towns,  into  daily  communi- 


New  South  Wales 


599 


illation  ofasqnaretnilc 
of  New  South  Wales. 


cation  with  the  capital,  which  is  also  connected  by  direct  lines  with 
Brisbane,  Melbourne,  and  Adelaide  (Fig.  293).  Several  great  engineering 
efforts  have  been  necessary  in  the  accomplishment  of  these  public  works, 
notably  the  bridges  over  the  Hawkesbury  and  Murrumbidgee,  and  most 
important  of  all,  the  zigzag  line  over  the  summit  of 
the  Blue  Mountains. 

Towns. — There  are  188  boroughs  and  municipal 
districts  outside  the  metropolis,  but  most  of  these  are 
small  towns ;  the  only  one  at  the  census  of  1901  which 
could  boast  of  a  .population  exceeding  20,000  being 
Broken  Hill. 

Sydney,  the  capital  and  the  oldest  city  in  Australia, 

founded  in  1788,  on  one  of  the  coves  of  Port  Jackson,  FIG.  299.— Average  pofr 
now  spreads  over  both  the  northern  and  southern  shores 
of  that  capacious,  land-locked,  and  sheltered  harbour, 
which  with  its  bays  and  coves  possesses  a  deep-water  frontage  of  over 
one  hundred  miles.  There  is  ample  anchorage  for  fleets,  and  large  vessels 
are  accommodated  at  the  wharves  and  quays  of  the  city  proper,  which  is 
four  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  harbour.  Sydney  is  the  present  terminus 
for  all  mail  steamers  between  Europe  and  Australia ;  excursion  steamers 
and  ferry-boats  ply  to  all  the  marine  suburbs,  and  the  port  is  generally 
crowded  with  coasting  vessels  and  steamers  trading  to  other  Australasian 
ports  and  to  the  Pacific  Islands.  From  the  fact  that  Sydney  is  circum- 
scribed by  bays  and  promontories,  the  streets  present  an  old-world  aspect ; 
it  possesses  noble  public  buildings,  cathedrals,  and  churches,  colossal 

warehouses,  and  very  fine 
shops,  and  the  residential 
suburbs  are  as  a  rule  well 
built,  the  older  buildings 
giving  place  to  new  and 
substantial  edifices,  while 
the  shores  of  the  harbour 
become  more  and  more 
picturesque  with  the  ad- 
dition of  villas  and  man- 
sions and  private  and 
public  gardens.  Govern- 
ment House  is  situated  in 
a  princely  domain  over- 
looking Farm  Cove,  in 
which  a  man-of-war 


FIG.  300. — The  Site  of  Sydney. 


usually  lies  at  anchor,  and  adjoining  the  oldest  botanical  garden  in 
Australia.  Centennial  Park  lies  on  the  south  side  of  the  city.  The 
National  Park,  a  few  miles  further  south,  contains  35,000  acres  of  the 
loveliest  woodland,  forest,  mountain,  and  river  scenery,  and  has  a  frontage 


6oo      The  International  Geography 

of  eight  miles  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.  One  hundred  miles  west  of  Sydney, 
in  a  deep  valley  of  the  Blue  Mountains,  are  the  marvellous  limestone 
Jenolan  caves,  as  yet  but  partially  explored. 

Parramatta,  literally  "head  of  the  waters,"  is  at  the  head  of  the  harbour, 
fourteen  miles  from  the  capital.  It  is  the  next  oldest  town  in  the  colony, 
and,  being  extensively  planted  with  oaks  and  other  English  trees,  it  is 
essentially  English  in  its  appearance.  It  possesses  orchards  and  orangeries, 
which  have  a  world-wide  reputation,  public  buildings,  residences  of  Sydney 
merchants,  and  the  homes  of  many  old  colonial  families.  A  few  miles  to 
the  south,  connected  by  a  tramway  with  the  main  Southern  line,  are  the 
small  towns  of  Camden,  Campbelltown,  and  Narellan,  on  the  Nepean  river, 
important  only  from  their  situation  in  the  midst  of  the  estates  of  the  Mac- 
arthurs,  Macleays,  Cowpers,  and  other  founders  of  Australian  wealth  and 
prosperity.  Goulburn,  134  miles  south-west  of  Sydney,  on  the  main  Southern 
line,  and  2,070  feet  above  sea-level,  is  the  centre  of  the  southern  inland  trade. 
Wagga-Wagga,  on  the  same  line,  and  on  the  Murrumbidgee  river,  is  the 
most  important  town  of  the  Upper  Riverina  District.  Albury,  sometimes 
styled  "  the  Federal  City,"  is  on  the  north  bank  of  the  upper  Murray,  and 
the  station  where  trains  are  changed  for  Melbourne.  Newcastle,  the 
principal  seaport  town  north  of  Sydney,  distant  therefrom  62  miles  by 
water  and  102  miles  by  rail,  is  the  greatest  coal-mining  centre  of  the 
southern  hemisphere,  and  the  outlet  for  the  agricultural  produce  of  the 
Hunter  river  district.  In  addition  to  its  coal  industry,  which  employs 
nearly  10,000  men,  the  town  contains  several  factories  and  smelting  works. 
Twenty  miles  up  the  river,  which  is  so  far  navigable,  lies  Maitland,  a  town 
of  enterprising  citizens,  possessing  fine  public  buildings,  churches,  schools, 
and  factories.  The  town,  known  as  East  and  West  Maitland,  suffered 
formerly  from  disastrous  floods,  but  is  now  protected  by  stone  embank- 
ments. There  are  coal  mines  in  the  vicinity.  Grafton,  chief  town  of  the 
Clarence  river  district,  45  miles  from  the  sea,  has  a  large  shipping  trade, 
is  the  centre  of  a  rich  agricultural  district,  and  near  mines  of  copper  and 
antimony.  Tamworih,  on  the  Peel  river,  160  miles  from  Maitland  and  280 
from  Sydney;  Armidale,  the  centre  of  a  gold-mining,  pastoral,  and  agri- 
cultural district,  over  3,300  feet  above  sea-level ;  and  Tenterfield,  are  rising 
and  important  towns  on  the  Great  Northern  line,  the  last-named  close  to 
the  Queensland  border.  On  the  Western  and  North- Western  line  Bathurst 
stands  144  miles  west  of  Sydney.  It  was  founded  in  1815,  well  laid  out  with 
broad  streets,  and  now  has  fine  buildings,  factories,  railway  workshops. 
It  is  the  centre  of  an  agricultural,  pastoral,  and  gold-mining  district. 
Orange,  190  miles  west  of  Sydney,  and  nearly  3,000  feet  above  sea-level, 
has  a  bracing  climate,  produces  late  fruit  and  the  finest  wheat.  The 
railway  terminates  at  Bourke,  on  the  Darling,  503  miles  from  Sydney. 
Lower  down  the  Darling  are  Wilcannia  and  Wentworih ;  the  latter,  at 
the  junction  of  the  Murray,  has  a  large  river  trade.  Hay,  on  the  lower 
Murrumbidgee,  and  Deniliquin,  on  the  Edward  river,  are  the  chief  towns 


New  South  Wales 


601 


in  the  Western  Riverina  District ;  the  latter  is  connected  by  railway  with 
Echuca  and  Melbourne,  and  most  of  the  trade  with  the  Riverina  District, 
therefore,  passes  through  Victoria.  Silverton  and  Broken  Hill,  towns  in 
the  Barrier  Ranges  silver-mining  district,  800  miles  west  of  Sydney  and 
close  to  the  South  Australian  border,  are  more  easily  reached  by  rail  from 
Adelaide. 

Dependencies  of  New  South  Wales. — Norfolk  Island,  situated 
about  29°  S.  and  168°  E.,  1,100  miles  distant  from  Sydney,  discovered  by 
Captain  Cook  in  1774,  was  occasionally  used  as  a  penal  settlement  for 
reconvicted  criminals.  The  island  was  annexed  to  Tasmania  in  1844  and 
again  used  as  a  reformatory  prison,  but  in  1855  the  establishment  was 
withdrawn,  and  most  of  the  descendants  of  the  mutineers  of  the  Bounty 
removed  thither  in  1856,  though  many  returned  later  to  Pitcairn.  Since 
1865  Norfolk  Island  has  been  the  headquarters  of  the  Melanesian  Mission. 
The  inhabitants,  who  are  lodged  in  well-built  houses,  occupy  themselves 
with  planting,  herding,  and  whaling,  and  the  island  is  once  more  a  depen- 
dency of  New  South  Wales,  with  separate  laws  and  regulations.  It  has  a 
fertile  soil,  but  no  good  harbour. 

Lord  Howe  Island,  a  small  island  situated  between  Norfolk  Island 
and  Sydney  in  31^°  S.  and  159°  E.,  discovered  in  1788,  and  used  as  a  place 
of  call,  is  at  present  occupied  by  a  few  settlers,  who  supply  vessels,  chiefly 
whalers,  with  vegetables.  A  magistrate  has  been  resident  on  the  island 
since  1879. 


STATISTICS. 


Area  of  New  South  Wales  (square  miles) 

Population  

Uensity  of  population  (per  square  mile) 


1881. 
310,700 
751.468 

2 


POPULATION  OF  CHIEF  TOWNS. 


1886. 

1896. 

Sydney  and  suburbs 
Newcastle  and  suburbs  .  . 

308,270 
19,027 

410,000 
27,000 

Grafton 
Orange 

Broken  Hill 

18,580 

Albury 

Parramatta  

10,287 

12.500 

Tamworth 

Goulburn     
Maitland  (East  and  West) 

8,343 
8,910 

12,300 
10,600 

Wagga-Ws 
Armidale 

Bathurst     

8,810 

9,200 

1891.  1901. 

310,700  310,700 

1,132,234  1,359,537 

4  4 


1886. 
4,000 
3,795 
5,000 
4,400 
4,000 
2,668 


1896. 
6,000 
5,850 
5,65o 
5,400 
4,600 
4,700 


RESOURCES  OF  THE  COLONY  IN   1896. 

Value  of 

No.  of  No.  of         No.  of         Value  of          Value  of         Silver  and         Value  of 

Sheep.          Cattle.        Horses.          Wool.  Gold.  Silver-lead.  CoaL 

48,319,000       2,226,000       510,600       £8,776,000       £1,073,000       £1,785,000  £1,125,000 

AVERAGE  ANNUAL  TRADE  (in  pounds  sterling). 

I873-75-  1881-85.  1891-95. 

Imports 11,957,000    ..     21,168,000    ..  19,212,000 

Exports 12,611,000    ..     17489,000    ..  22,670,000 


STANDARD  BOOKS. 

T.  A.  Coghlan.    "  The  Wealth  and  Progress  of  New  South  Wales."    Sydney,  Annual. 
Annual  Reports  published  by  the  Government  of  New  South  Wales  on  the  Lands,  Rail- 
ways and  Mines. 
F.  Hutchinson.    "  New  South  Wales."    Sydney,  1896. 


602       The  International  Geography 

III.— VICTORIA 

By  EDWARD  A.  PETHERICK. 

Position  and  Extent.— Victoria,  the  most  southerly  of  the  colonies 
on  the  Australian  mainland,  and  the  latest  settled,  lies  between  34°  and  39°  S. 
and  141°  and  150°  E.,  having  New  South  Wales  on  the  north,  the  Province 
of  South  Australia  on  the  west,  the  Southern  Ocean,  Bass  Strait,  and  the 
Pacific  Ocean  on  the  south.  Its  greatest  length  from  east  to  west  is  420 
miles,  its  greatest  breadth  250  miles,  and  its  area  nearly  88,000  square  miles, 
about  one-third  that  of  New  South  Wales,  of  which  it  formed  part  until 
1851,  or  one  thirty-fourth  part  of  the  whole  continent. 

Coastal  Features. — Two  lofty  capes,  Otway  and  Wilson  Promon- 
tory, the  latter  a  granitic  mountain  peninsula,  forming  the  southernmost 
point  of  Australia,  project  far  into  Bass  Strait,  and,  with  King,  Flinders, 
and  other  islands,  geologically  link  Tasmania  with  the  continent.  The 
principal  inlets  on  the  Victorian  side  of  the  Strait  are  Port  Albert,  Western 
Port,  and  Port  Phillip — an  almost  land-locked  bay,  800  square  miles  in  area, 
off  which  open  Hobson's  Bay,  the  port  of  Melbourne,  and  Corio  Bay,  the 
port  of  Geelong  (Fig.  304). 

Surface  and  Natural  Divisions. — Mountain  chains  and  hilly  ranges, 
forming  part  of  the  Great  Dividing  Range,  traverse  the  country  east  and 
west,  at  a  distance  of  50  to  70  miles  from  the  sea,  throwing  out  spurs  which 
divide  their  northern  and  southern  slopes  into  several  basins,  known  as  the 
Murray  (or  North-eastern),  Gippsland  (or  Eastern),  Loddon  (or  Northern), 
Port  Phillip  (or  Central),  Wimmera  (or  North-western),  and  Portland  (or 
Western)  districts.  The  eastern  chains,  or  Australian  Alps,  rise  to  an 
elevation  of  over  6,000  feet,  amid  magnificent  scenery.  There  are 
evidences  of  past  glaciation,  but  snow  now  remains  in  summer  only  in 
sheltered  spots  on  the  loftier  summits.  The  highest  peaks  measured  in 
Victoria  are  Bogong  (6,508  feet),  and  Feathertop  (6,303  feet).  Westward 
the  ranges  are  lower,  descending  from  4,000  to  2,000  feet.  The  Murray 
District,  on  the  northern  slopes  of  the  Alps,  is  drained  by  the  Mitta  Mitta, 
the  Ovens,  the  Goulburn,  and  other  tributaries  of  the  Murray.  The 
southern  slopes  of  the  Alps  form  the  Gippsland  District,  watered  by  the 
Margalong  or  Snowy  river,  which  rises  in  New  South  Wales  and  flows  to 
the  sea  direct,  and  a  number  of  smaller  streams,  which-  mostly  unite  and 
pass  to  the  sea  through  a  chain  of  tidal  lakes.  Count  Strzelecki,  who 
explored  Gippsland  in  1840,  called  it  a  noble  province  of  arcadian  beauty, 
possessing  lofty  mountains,  magnificent  streams,  and  fertile  plains.  The 
Loddon  District  is  so  called  from  the  river  of  that  name,  which,  with  the 
Campaspe  and  their  affluents  flow  to  the  Murray  from  the  northern  slopes 
of  the  Dividing  Range  and  the  Pyrenees.  The  southern  slopes  of  these 
mountains  form  the  Port  Phillip  District,  drained  chiefly  by  streams 
which  find  their  way  to  Port  Phillip  Bay,  the  principal  river  being  the 


Victoria 


603 


Yarra  Yarra.  The  Wimmera  District  occupies  the  north-western  part  of 
the  colony,  mostly  flat  country  covered  with  stunted  bushes  or  scrub, 
known  as  malice.  Several  streams  take  their  rise  on  the  northern  and 
western  slopes  of  the  hills  known  as  the  Grampians,  the  Victoria  and 
Black  ranges,  but  these  dry  up  without  reaching  the  Murray,  or  lose  them- 
selves in  salt  lakes.  The  Portland  District  lying  south  and  west  of  the  last- 
mentioned  ranges  is  well  watered  by  numerous  streams  which  unite  with 
the  Glenelg  and  other  rivers  flowing  to  the  sea.  This  region  is  volcanic, 
characterised  by  numerous  detached  and  isolated  hills,  from  1,000  to  2,000 
feet  in  height,  some  showing  extinct  craters,  and  there  are  many  salt  and 
fresh  lakes.  Hills,  plains  and  valleys  are  well  grassed,  and  are,  for 
sheep  pasturage,  perhaps  the  best  in  the  world.  Only  two  of  the  rivers, 
the  Murray  and  the  Goulburn,  are  navigable  for  any  distance. 

The  geological  structure  of  the  colony  has  been  indicated  in  the  general 
chapter  on  Australia.  Palaeozoic  strata  prevail  with  intrusions  of  granite 
and  large  masses  of  volcanic  rock  abounding  in  minerals.  The  weathering 
of  these  rocks  gives  rise  to  a 
variety  of  soils  adapted  for 
the  growth  of  a  wide  range 
of  products. 

Climate.— The  climate 
is  more  temperate  than  that 
of  any  other  part  of  Australia. 
The  thermometer  rises  oc- 
casionally above  100°  in  the 
shade — a  dry  heat — and  may, 
for  a  few  nights  in  the  year, 
fall  below  freezing  point, 
the  mean  annual  tempera- 
ture over  a  long  series  of  years  being  57°.  Spring  is  marked  by  sudden 
changes.  In  the  summer  months — December,  January  and  February — 
hot  winds  laden  with  fine  dust  occasionally  blow  from  the  north,  but 
intense  heat  is  succeeded  by  thunderstorms  and  refreshing  showers.  The 
winter  months  are  June,  July  and  August,  but  sunshine  is  rarely  absent, 
the  atmosphere  usually  being  as  clear  as  that  of  Italy.  The  rainfall  varies 
from  25  to  40  inches  in  the  east  and  south,  and  from  14  to  20  in  the 
north-west. 

Flora. — Vegetation  is  sparse  in  the  plains,  giving  the  country  a  park- 
like  appearance.  In  the  ranges  it  is  more  dense  and  subtropical  in  its 
forms,  but  the  predominating  feature  is  the  eucalyptus  or  gum-tree,  hard 
and  durable,  valuable  for  making  piles,  railway  sleepers  and  girders,  yet 
capable  of  a  high  polish  for  cabinet  work.  In  the  Gippsland  District 
specimens  of  immense  girth  have  been  measured,  50  to  80  feet  in  circum- 
ference, and  also  of  extraordinary  height — considerably  over  300  feet — one 
fallen  tree  has  been  estimated  at  480  feet.  The  blue  gum,  famous  for  its 


FIG.  301. — The  extinct  volcanoes  of  south-western 
Victoria. 


604       The  International  Geography 

medicinal  properties,  has  been  acclimatised  in  malarial  districts  of  the 
south  of  Europe,  in  India,  and  in  California.  The  consumption  of  timber 
for  mining  purposes  has  been  enormous,  yet  it  is  estimated  that  over  six 
million  acres  of  hardwood  trees  are  yet  untouched.  Several  species  of 
acacia,  or  wattle,  supply  bark  for  tanning  purposes.  The  gullies  also 
abound  with  a  species  of  fan-palm,  and  with  fern  trees  of  gigantic  growth  ; 
there  are  multitudes  of  smaller  ferns,  altogether  not  less  than  160  species. 
The  desert  tracts  and  mallee  country  of  the  Wimmera  District  are  more  or 
less  interspersed  with  pasture  grass  and  a  great  variety  of  salt  bushes.  Fire, 
in  time  of  drought,  has  been  a  very  destructive  agent.  The  ravages  in  the 
forests  are,  however,  soon  repaired,  for  Australian  vegetation  is  as  remark- 
able for  celerity  of  growth  as  for  abundance  and  variety,  the  eucalyptic 
species  surpassing  all  other  trees  in  this  respect. 

Fauna. — The  animals  of  Victoria  are  similar  to  those  of  the  adjacent 
colonies  ;  the  dingo  and  native  cat,  the  only  carnivora,  are  practically 
exterminated  ;  the  kangaroo  driven  out  of  the  settled  districts,  and  the 
"opossum,"  owing  to  ruthless  pursuit  for  its  skin,  largely  reduced  in 
numbers  ;  the  wombat  and  platypus  are  now  rare.  There  are  many 
species  of  lizards  ;  snakes  are  numerous,  but  only  two  or  three  species  are 
venomous  enough  to  cause  death.  Of  birds,  the  emu  and  native  com- 
panion are  also  rare,  the  lyre  bird  extremely  so,  but  the  smaller  birds — 
cockatoos,  parrots,  parroquets,  laughing  jackass,  snipe  and  quail  are 
plentiful.  Cattle,  deer,  and  sheep,  and  the  Angora  goat  have  been 
acclimatised  ;  rabbits  and  sparrows  have  become  pests. 

Aborigines. — When  the  colony  was  first  settled,  the  aborigines  were 
still  in  the  hunter  and  fisher  state,  nomadic,  and  without  habitations.  Their 
numbers  were  then  estimated  at  from  6,000  to  15,000.  Although  protected 
and  cared  for  in  villages  and  reserves,  they  have  dwindled  to  less  than  600. 
Being  very  agile,  intelligent,  and  acute  in  their  sense  of  sight,  they  were 
of  some  service  to  the  early  settlers  as  shepherds,  and  in  the  police  force. 

Resources.— The  chief  products  are  wool,  the  finest  brands  obtainable 
in  the  world  being  those  of  Victorian  growth,  meat,  hides,  and  other  pro- 
ducts of  cattle,  grain  and  breadstuffs,  potatoes,  timber,  bark  (for  tanning 
purposes),  tobacco,  hops,  fruit  and  wine,  all  of  which  are  exported,  as  well 
as  live  stock,  especially  horses.  Next  to  wool,  gold  (after  an  aggregate 
yield  of  the  value  of  ^260,000,000)  is  still  the  principal  product,  although 
the  number  of  miners  employed  is  now  under  30,000.  Nearly  all  gold  is 
now  passed  through  the  Melbourne  mint  and  the  total  value  exported  in 
sovereigns  and  half-sovereigns  is  over  £3,000,000  annually.  Extensive  beds 
of  brown  and  black  coal  are  now  worked  in  Gippsland ;  building  stone, 
limestone,  and  marble  exist  in  large  quantities,  as  well  as  kaolin  and  other 
clays.  Fisheries  are  also  an  important  industry,  the  principal  supplies  of 
fish  coming  from  the  Gippsland  lakes,  Port  Albert  and  Western  Port. 
Fruit  of  all  kinds  is  largely  grown  and  exported.  The  manufactures  are 
of  importance  for  home  supply  in  almost  all  departments,  but  are  not  yet 


Victoria  605 


exported  to  any  appreciable  extent.  The  principal  imports  are  gold  from 
the  other  States  (for  minting),  cottons,  woollens  and  clothing,  sugar,  tea, 
coal,  iron,  and  steel.  Over  80  per  cent,  of  the  total  imports  come  from 
Great  Britain  and  British  possessions,  of  which  in  some  years  more  and  in 
some  years  less  than  half  is  from  the  United  Kingdom,  India  and  Hong- 
kong. The  remainder  comes  from  the  other  Australian  States  and  foreign 
countries,  chiefly  the  United  States  and  Germany. 

Discovery  and  Exploration. — Part  of  the  south-eastern  coast  was 
sighted  by  Captain  Cook  in  1770,  and  Wilson  Promontory  was  probably 
seen  during  Cook's  second  voyage,  by  his  lieutenant,  Captain  Furneaux,  in 
March,  1773.  Ten  years  after  the  settlement  of  Port  Jackson,  George 
Bass,  exploring  the  coast  southward  in  a  whale  boat,  rounded  Wilson 
Promontory  and  entered  Western  Port,  5th  January,  1798.  A  few  months 
later  Flinders  and  Bass  demonstrated  the  existence  of  the  Strait  by  circum- 
navigating Tasmania.  The  coast  west  of  Cape  Otway  was  discovered  by 
Lieut.  Grant  in  the  Lady  Nelson  in  1800,  and  Lieut.  Murray,  continuing 
these  explorations  in  the  same  vessel,  discovered  Port  Phillip  Bay  in  1802, 
entered  and  took  formal  possession  of  it  on  March  9th.  This  port  was  again 
explored  by  Flinders  in  the  following  month,  and  a  French  expedition 
being  then  on  the  coast,  the  importance  of  a  settlement  in  the  strait  was 
urged  upon  the  Home  Government  who  sent  out  two  transports  with 
convicts,  their  wives  and  children,  a  number  of  free  settlers,  and  a  military 
detachment  under  Colonel  Collins,  in  1803.  Collins  landed  his  people  on 
an  arid  ridge,  inside  Port  Phillip  Heads,  and  finding  it  unsuitable  for  a 
settlement  soon  removed  to  the  Derwent  near  the  present  site  of  Hobart, 
Tasmania.  For  twenty  years  the  shores  of  Victoria  were  visited  only  by 
whalers  and  sealers.  Again,  there  were  rumours  of  an  intended  French 
occupation,  and  a  military  detachment  was  sent  from  Sydney  to  Western 
Port  by  sea,  and  Hume  and  Hovell  undertook  an  overland  journey  in 
1-824-25,  but  being  forced  westward  by  the  mountains  they  came  out  on 
the  western  shores  of  Port  Phillip  Bay  near  Geelong.  The  Western  Port 
party  was  soon  withdrawn.  Ten  years  later,  Mitchell,  continuing  Sturt's 
exploration  of  the  river  system  of  eastern  Australia,  ascertained  that  the 
Darling  joined  the  Murray,  and  crossed  the  latter  into  Victoria.  The 
country,  which  he  traversed  in.  two  directions,  appearing  to  be  more 
temperate,  richer,  and  more  beautiiul  than  any  he  had  seen  before,  he 
named  it — the  better  to  distinguish  it  from  the  parched  deserts  of  the 
interior — Australia  Felix. 

Settlement  and  Growth. — Pasture  land  being  mostly  taken  up  in 
Tasmania,  applications  were  made  as  early  as  1827  to  the  Sydney  Govern- 
ment for  the  use  of  lands  at  Western  Port,  but  were  not  granted.  Pioneer 
settlers  removed  their  stock  to  Portland  Bay  in  1834,  and  others  crossed  to 
Port  Phillip  in  1835  and  purchased  from  a  number  of  wandering  aborigines 
a  tract  of  land  600,000  acres  in  extent,  the  consideration  being  an  immediate 
present  and  a  yearly  tribute  of  goods.  These  proceedings  were  disallowed, 


606        The  International  Geography 

and  the  settlers  warned  that  they  were  trespassers.  At  the  same  time 
their  services  to  the  colonisation  of  the  country  were  recognised,  and  they, 
or  their  heirs,  were  afterwards  compensated.  During  the  year  following 
Mitchell's  explorations,  a  number  of  squatters  on  the  Sydney  side  drove 
their  flocks  and  herds  over  the  Murray,  more  followed  from  Tasmania, 
and  the  news  reaching  the  mother  country,  the  tide  of  emigration  began 
to  flow  towards  Port  Phillip  in  1839. 

An  arbitrator  was  chosen  from  among  themselves  by  the  first  settlers 
until  a  police  magistrate  was  sent  to  them  from  Sydney.  Governor  Bourke 
visited  the  settlement  in  March,  1837,  and  approved  of  plans  for  a  town  on 
the  Yarra,  to  be  called  Melbourne,  a  second  at  Geelong,  and  a  third, 
Williamstown  on  the  harbour,  which,  having  been  surveyed  by  Captain 
Hobson  of  H.M.S.  Rattlesnake,  was  named  Hobson  Bay.  As  incon- 
venience was  caused  by  the  necessity  of  referring  matters  to  Sydney,  a 
Superintendent  was  sent  out  from  England  in  1839,  and  provision  made  for  the 
local  administration  of  justice.  Melbourne  was  declared  a  free  port  in  1840 
and  incorporated  a  town  in  1842.  Representative  government  being  con- 
ferred on  New  South  Wales  in  the  same  year,  six 
members  were  allotted  to  the  districts  south  of  the 
Murray,  the  population  of  which  was  23,000,  but  the 
inhabitants  desiring  the  control  of  their  own  local  affairs 
petitioned  for  separation.  This,  after  several  years' 
agitation  and  a  long  period  of  financial  trouble,  was 
granted  at  the  beginning  of  1851,  with  a  Governor  and 
FIG.  302.— The  Badge  Legislative  Council,  composed  of  elective  and  nomi- 

of  Victoria  showing 

the  constellation  of  nated  members.  The  discovery  of  gold  in  California 
the  Southern  Cross,  having  drawn  away  some  of  the  population,  and 
the  more  recent  discovery  of  gold  in  New  South  Wales  (February, 
1851),  threatening  to  draw  away  more,  a  substantial  reward  was  offered 
for  the  discovery  of  a  gold-field  within  the  colony.  In  a  few  days 
former  "  finds "  were  verified,  gold  was  unearthed  in  the  nearest  ranges, 
and  in  a  short  time  richer  fields  were  revealed  than  any  previously 
known.  Melbourne  was  soon  emptied  of  its  male  inhabitants,  and  in  a 
few  weeks  Tasmania  and  South  Australia  were  largely  depleted.  By  the 
end  of  the  year  immigrants  came  flocking  in  from  all  parts  of  the  world. 
This  influx  continued  for  four  years,  the  arrivals  being  from  one  to  five 
thousand  weekly,  the  population  increasing  (in  spite  of  departures)  from 
78,000  in  1851  to  400,000  in  1856.  A  Commission  assisted  the  Governor  in 
Council  in  controlling  the  operations  on  the  gold-fields,  which  soon 
extended  over  the  greater  part  of  the  colony. 

Government. — Responsible  government  was  conferred  upon  the 
colony  in  1855  in  the  form  of  two  Houses  of  Parliament,  the  lower  house, 
whose  members  are  paid,  being  elected  by  ballot  and  manhood  suffrage, 
and  a  Cabinet  of  Ministers,  responsible  to  Parliament,  presided  over  by  a 
Governor  appointed  by  the  Crown.  The  population  as  in  New  South 


Victoria  607 


Wales,  is  largely  concentrated  in  the  capital.  From  the  beginning  of 
the  influx  of  population  the  government  was  beset  by  the  difficulty  of 
settling  the  people  upon  the  unoccupied  lands.  Acts  and  regulations 
more  and  more  favourable  to  that  end  continued  to  be  passed  ;  lands  were 
surveyed  expeditiously,  and  all  possible  facilities  granted.  Public  works 
also  were  undertaken  upon  an  extensive  scale — main  roads  and  bridges, 
railways  and  telegraphs,  waterworks  and  reservoirs  for  towns  and  mining 
operations  as  well  as  harbours  and  lighthouses — with  the  result  that  more 
than  half  of  the  present  largely-increased  population  is  now  settled  in 
rural  districts,  15  per  cent,  in  country  towns  and  not  more  than  one-third 
in  the  metropolitan  area,  which  is  a  very  large  one.  As  a  further  induce- 
ment, in  recent  years,  over  150,000  acres  have  been  set  aside  in  eighty-five 
different  localities  for  homestead  and  village  communities  financially 
assisted  by  government,  and  labour  colonies  are  also  in  operation  to  fit 
men  ior  the  duties  of  country  life.  Irrigation  settlements  at  Mildura,  on 
the  lower  Murray,  have,  despite  financial  difficulties,  met  with  a  large 
measure  of  success,  and  shown  to  what  use  the  waste  lands  of  the 
"Mallee"  country  may  be  turned.  National  irri- 
gation works  in  the  valleys  of  the  Goulburn  and 
lower  Loddon,  and  storage  works  at  H  or  sham  in 
the  Wimmera  District,  are  entirely  under  State 
control,  and,  like  the  railways,  are  the  property  of 
the  State. 

Primary  education  is  free,  unsectarian,  and  com- 
pulsory, free  passes  on  the  railways  being  granted 


to  the  children  of  the  scattered  settlers.    There  are       lation   of   a   square 
many  public  and  private  schools  of  a  higher  grade,       miu  °f  Victoria- 
technical  colleges,  and  a  university  in  Melbourne.     There  is  no  Estab- 
lished Church. 

Towns. — Municipal  government  having  been  granted  early  in  the 
history  of  the  colony  local  improvements  have  been  carried  on  simultaneously 
with  national  works,  with  the  result  that  the  annual  death  rate  is  much 
below  that  of  any  European  country,  being  under  fifteen  per  thousand. 
Ninety-nine  per  cent,  of  the  territory  is  locally  governed  in  60  urban 
districts  and  150  shires.  Besides  the  capital,  eight  cities  or  towns  have 
a  population  exceeding  25,000  each  ;  but  most  of  the  country  towns 
are  small.  In  addition  to  public  offices,  churches,  schools,  mechanics' 
institutes,  and  libraries,  a  special  feature  of  the  principal  towns  is  their 
parks  and  recreation  grounds.  Scattered  over  the  country  also  are  the 
homesteads  and  mansions  of  the  squatters  and  other  magnates.  A 
considerable  part  of  the  population,  as  in  all  young  countries,  is 
migratory  in  its  habits;  for  instance,  nearly  100,000  migrated  from 
Victoria  to  Western  Australia  and  the  adjacent  colonies  during  the 
financial  troubles  in  1893  and  1894 — over  50,000  left  Melbourne  alone. 
Some  of  these  have  since  returned. 


608       The  International  Geography 


Melbourne,  the  capital,  the  most  populous  city  in  Australasia  and  the 
seventh  city  in  order  of  size  in  the  British  Empire,  with  its  suburbs, 
including  Port  Melbourne  and  Williamstown,  occupies  over  200  square 
miles.  It  is  situated  on  the  Yarra  Yarra  and  Saltwater  rivers,  which  are 
crossed  by  fine  bridges.  Steamers  of  8,000  tons  now  pass  through  a 
new  channel  from  the  port  to  wharves  (eight  miles  in  length)  in  the  heart 
of  the  city,  and  a  dry  dock  at  Williamstown  can  accommodate  the  largest 
vessels.  Ninety  per  cent,  of  the  imports  and  exports  of  the  colony  passes 
through  Melbourne.  The  city  possesses  all  the  public  buildings  and  com- 
mercial facilities  of  a  first-rate  European  capital  and  seaport ;  the  houses 
of  parliament,  vice-regal  residence,  university  and  affiliated  colleges,  as 
well  as  the  parks,  botanic  and  zoological  gardens,  may  be  particularly 

mentioned.  In  pictu- 
resqueness  of  situation 
and  in  beauty  of  archi- 
tecture— civil,  ecclesiasti- 
cal, and  domestic — Mel- 
bourne and  its  suburbs 
rank  with  the  finest  cities 
of  the  old  world.  It  has 
ample  water-supply  for 
all  purposes,  railways  and 
cable-tramways,  and  a 
comprehensive  scheme  of 
sewerage  is  approaching 
completion.  There  are 
many  favourite  resorts 
of  excursionists  in  the 
vicinity  on  the  shores  of 
the  bay  as  well  as  in  the 
FIG.  w-Port  Phillip  and  Melbourne.  nearer  mountain  ranges, 

while  the  "Alps"  can  be  reached  by  rail  in  a  few  hours. 

Ballarat,  the  second  city  in  Victoria  and  fifth  in  Australia,  75  miles 
north-west  of  Melbourne,  stands  at  an  elevation  of  1,400  feet  above 
sea-level,  and  has  been  for  half  a  century  the  centre  of  the  richest  gold- 
yielding  district  in  the  world.  The  "Welcome"  nugget,  weighing  2,217 
ounces,  was  found  at  Ballarat  and  sold  for  ;£  10,500.  The  city,  which 
is  in  the  midst  of  agricultural  and  pastoral  districts  producing  the  finest 
wool,  is  well  laid  out,  has  fine  streets  and  public  buildings,  and  an 
artificial  lake.  Six  lines  of  railway  branch  off  to  other  mining  towns 
in  the  neighbourhood  and  all  parts  of  the  colony.  Bendigo,  formerly 
Sandhurst,  100  miles  north  of  Melbourne,  is  the  headquarters  of  another 
rich  auriferous  district,  occupying  22  square  miles,  and  containing  700 
distinct  quartz  reefs.  This  city  possesses  many  fine  buildings,  a  botanic 
garden,  a  park,  and  various  factories.  Eaghhawk,  four  miles  from 


Victoria  609 


Bendigo,  contains  many  rich  quartz  mines,  and  is  an  important  town  in 
itself.  Geelong,  situated  on  the  Barwon  and  Corio  Bay,  45  miles  south-west 
of  Melbourne,  is  reached  by  steamer  and  rail.  It  possesses  a  fine  harbour 
and  all  the  public  buildings  of  a  prosperous  commercial  and  manufacturing 
town.  It  is  the  chief  seat  of  the  woollen  industry  in  Victoria,  and  the 
railway  connects  it  with  Colac,  Camperdown,  Warrnambool,  and  Port 
Fairy,  passing  through  the  richest  pastoral  and  agricultural  districts. 
Warrnambool  is  a  seaport  town,  having  a  fine  jetty  and  breakwater.  Its 
chief  export  is  dairy  produce,  and  it  possesses  many  fine  buildings  and 
factories,  sea-baths,  colleges,  museums,  gardens,  and  the  coolest  summer 
climate  in  Australia.  At  Framlingham,  18  miles  from  Warrnambool,  the 
remnant  of  the  Western  District  aborigines  is  sheltered.  Between  Geelong 
and  Queensdiff,  the  pilot-station  and  the  fortified  entrance  of  Port  Phillip — 
also  a  favourite  watering-place — lies  the  most  highly  cultivated  district  in 
the  colony,  the  formation  being  sand  over  clay. 

Railways. — The  above-mentioned  towns  are  all  connected  by  rail, 
the  lines  radiating  from  Melbourne  (Fig.  293).  The  North-Eastern  and 
Northern  Railways  tap  the  Riverina  District  of  New  South  Wales  at  seven 
points  on  the  Murray,  the  navigable  frontage  of  that  river  being  nearly 
eight  hundred  miles.  The  North-Eastern  line  for  Sydney  crosses  the  river 
at  Wodonga  for  Albury,  but  change  of  carriage  is  necessary  owing  to 
a  difference  of  gauge.  The  Northern  Railway  crosses  the  river,  by  an  iron 
bridge  2,000  feet  long,  at  Echuca,  the  principal  town  on  the  Murray,  the 
entrepot  for  intercolonial  trade,  and  junction  for  Deniliquin,  the  chief 
town  of  the  Riverina  District.  Echuca  is  also  the  centre  of  an  agricultural 
and  wine-growing  district,  and  possesses  immense  wool  stores  and  factories. 
Branches  of  the  same  lines  touch  the  river  at  Yarrawonga  (where  there  is 
another  fine  bridge),  and  at  other  points.  There  are  other  important 
towns  in  the  northern  and  north-eastern  districts  rich  in  cattle,  agricultural, 
and  mining  products,  including  Mooroopna  and  Rutherglen,  centres  of  the 
largest  wine-producing  districts  in  Australia,  and  Beechworth,  a  mining  centre 
and  picturesque  holiday  resort,  situated  1,770  feet  above  sea-level.  From 
Bright,  a  small  town  in  the  same  district,  there  is  an  easy  ascent  to  some 
of  the  highest  peaks  of  the  "Alps."  From  Ballarat  the  North- Western 
trunk  line  passes  through  thickly-timbered  country  to  Ararat,  the  centre  of 
a  pastoral,  agricultural,  and  wine-making  district,  and  sends  branches  to 
the  mining  town  Stawell  and  to  Portland,  the  oldest  settlement  in  the 
colony,  situated  on  the  bay  of  that  name,  which  affords  anchorage  for  the 
largest  vessels,  and  is  the  natural  outlet  for  the  Western  District.  From 
Ararat  the  main  line  proceeds  to  Horsham,  the  chief  town  of  the  Wimmera 
District  and  a  market  for  live  stock,  grain  and  fruit,  and  thence  to  Adelaide, 
crossing  the  South  Australian  border  at  Serviceton,  no  change  of  carriage 
being  necessary.  The  South-Eastern  main  line  from  Melbourne  passes 
through  the  Dandenong  State  forest  and  the  recently  discovered  coal 
districts  to  Sale,  the  chief  town  in  Gippsland,  and  to  the  Gippsland  lakes. 


6 io       The  International  Geography 


STATISTICS. 

1881. 

Area  of  Victoria  (square  miles) 87,884 

Population 862,346 

Density  of  population  (per  square  mile)        . .  io 

POPULATION  OF  CHIEF  TOWNS. 


1891- 
87,884 
1,140.405 
13 


Melbourne  and  suburbs 
Ballarat 
Bendigo 
Geelong 
Eaglehawk.  . 

1885. 
345380 
41,110 
36,570 
20,890 
7.650 

1895. 
460,371 
46,276 
42,000 
25,000 
8,476 

Warrnambool 
Maryborough 
Stawell 
Castlemaine 
Echuca 

RESOURCES  OF  VICTORIA   IN   1806. 
No.  of  Sheep.         No.  of  Cattle.      No.  of  Horses.      Value  of  Gold  raised. 


14,000,000 


Imports 
Exports 


1,900,000 


435,000 


£3,220,000 


IQOI. 

87,884 

1,200,914 

14 


1885. 
5.398 
3,800 
4-900 
6,OOO 
4,065 


1895. 
6,6oc 
5-460 

5,200 

5,100 
5,000 


Value  of  Wool. 
£5,250,000 


ANNUAL  TRADE  OF  VICTORIA  (in  pounds  sterling). 
1871-75.  1881-85. 

15,241,000       ..        18,091,000 

, 14,787,000       ..        16,089,000 

STANDARD  BOOKS. 

Fenton.    "  Victorian  Year  Book."    Melbourne,  Annual. 
ick.    "  Port  Phillip  Settlements."    London,  1883. 


1891-95. 
15,422,000 
14,420,000 


IV.— TASMANIA 

BY  THE  EDITOR.1 

Position  and  Coasts.— Tasmania,  the  fourth  and  most  southerly 
Australian  colony  of  the  eastern  tier,  is  an  island  separated  from  Victoria' 
by  Bass  Strait  (about  140  miles  wide),  and  lying  between  the  parallels  of 

4of°  and  43^°  S.  Its  area  is  scarcely  less 
than  that  of  Scotland,  and  it  is  the  smallest 
as  well  as  the  most  temperate  of  the 
Australian  colonies.  The  north  coast  of 
Tasmania  faces  the  continent  in  a  concave 
curve  from  the  two  ends  of  which  lines  of 
islands,  the  Furneaux  group  on  the  east 
and  Hunter  and  King  Islands  on  the  west, 
stretch  northward  across  Bass  Strait,  like 
chains  suspending  a  heart-shaped  pendant. 
The  indentations  on  the  north  and  west 
coasts.,  although  affording  a  few  natural 
harbours — notably  the  narrow  estuary  of  the 
FIG  3o5.-ThcSouth.Eastern  corner  Tamar  on  the  north,  and  Macquarie  Harbour 

of  Tasmania. 

on    the   west — are    neither    numerous   nor 

important.  The  east  coast  is  a  little  more  broken  ;  but  in  the  south-eastern 
corner  the  edge  of  the  island  is  wrought  into  a  singular  complex  of 
fantastic  peninsulas,  amongst  which  the  form  of  a  recurved  hook  is  re- 


Assisted  by  E.  J.  Hastings. 


Tasmania  6 1 1 

peated  again  and  again  on  different  scales  of  magnitude.  In  the  heart  of 
this  rocky  maze  the  estuary  of  the  Derwent  opens,  access  to  it  being 
hampered  by  many  serious  dangers  before  the  days  of  lighthouses. 

Configuration  and  Rivers. — Tasmania  is  essentially  a  highland 
region  built  up  mainly  of  ancient  Palaeozoic  strata  through  which  harder 
igneous  masses  have  been  intruded.  The  result  of  the  initial  form  and  the 
diverse  materials  is  that  the  full  rivers  fed  by  the  rain  of  the  "roaring 
forties ''  have  carved  the  surface  into  picturesque  gullies  and  bold  moun- 
tainous slopes.  An  irregular  range,  or  series  of  ranges,  runs  close  along 
the  east  coast,  rising  in  Ben  Lomond  to  over  5,000  feet.  It  consists  largely 
of  trap  which  has  broken  through  the  overlying  sandstone,  limestone,  and 
other  strata  now  found  in  the  valleys  and  lowlands.  Volcanic  forces  have 
been  active  in  recent  geological  time,  covering  large  tracts  of  the  east  and 
centre  with  lava,  which,  in  decomposing,  formed  a  very  fertile  soil.  West 
of  this  mountainous  belt,  the  valleys  of  the  Tamar,  Macquarie,  and  Coal 
rivers,  and  connecting  lowlands  form  a  line  of  depression  affording  means 
of  direct  communication  between  north  and  south,  utilised  by  the  main 
trunk  railway  of  the  island.  Farther  west,  the  whole  centre  is  occupied  by 
a  plateau  much  of  which  exceeds  3,000  feet  in  elevation,  dominated  by 
short  mountain  ranges  and  isolated  summits,  including  Mount  Cradle 
(5,070  feet),  the  culminating  point  of  the  island.  Bordering  the  plateau  on 
the  south  and  west  there  are  several  ranges  of  metamorphic  rocks  rising 
to  a  considerable  height.  The  highest  part  of  the  plateau  in  the  north- 
east, not  far  from  the  centre  of  the  island,  is  occupied  by  a  remarkable 
group  of  fresh-water  lakes,  situated  in  picturesque  scenery,  and  likely  to 
prove  one  of  the  most  valuable  resources  of  Tasmania  by  attracting  visitors 
from  the  mainland  colonies  in  the  summer  months.  Great  Lake,  the 
largest,  is  about  twelve  miles  long  and  four  wide,  and  is  situated  at  an 
elevation  of  3,800  feet  above  the  sea.  The  principal  rivers  are  the  Der- 
went, which  rises  in  Lake  St.  Clair  and  flows  south-eastwards  for  about 
130  miles  to  Storm  Bay ;  the  Huon,  about  100  miles  in  length,  flowing 
through  a  rich  forest  region  to  D'Entrecasteaux  Channel;  the  Tamar  in  the 
north,  properly  an  estuary  formed  by  the  union  of  the  rivers  Esk  and 
Macquarie  which  drain  the  great  eastern  depression,  coming  from  the 
Eastern  Ranges,  and  receiving  tributaries  from  the  central  lakes. 

Mineral  Resources. — Tasmania  is  rich  in  minerals.  Tin  has  been 
the  most  extensively  worked  hitherto,  the  principal  mining  centres  being 
at  Mount  Bischoff  on  the  north-west,  and  at  Branxholme  in  the  north-east. 
Valuable  deposits  of  copper  and  antimony  are  being  opened  up  at  Mount 
Lyell,  and  silver  in  the  vicinity  of  Mounts  Zeehan  and  Dundas,  in  the  west 
Iron  is  widely  distributed,  and  large  beds  of  coal,  some  of  good  quality, 
are  found  in  different  parts  ;  the  mines  of  the  Fingal  basin  in  the  east 
supply  the  Tasmanian  railways.  Other  useful  minerals  are  bismuth  ore, 
slates,  marble,  and  excellent  building  stone. 

Climate,  Flora  and  Fauna.— The  climate,  on  account  of  the  pre- 


612       The  International   Geography 

vailing  westerly  winds,  which  moderate  the  heat,  is  the  mildest  and  most 
equable  of  any  part  of  Australasia  and  shows  well-marked  seasons.  It 
resembles  that  of  the  south  of  England  ;  and,  as  in  the  British  Islands,  it 
gives  a  definite  character  to  the  land  and  its  productions.  The  mean 
temperature  in  winter  on  the  coast  is  47°,  and  in  summer  62°  F.  ;  but 
in  the  highlands  the  winters  are  more  extreme.  The  rainfall  is  moderate, 
but,  compared  with  that  of  the  continent  of  Australia,  ample  and  uniformly 
distributed.  At  Hobart  the  average  is  a  little  less  than  that  of  London. 
The  vegetation  is  mainly  of  the  Australian  type,  eucalypti  being  the  most 
widely  distributed.  One  species,  known  as  the  Tolasa  Blue  Gum,  is  said 
to  attain  a  height  of  350  feet.  The  Huon  Pine  is  abundant  in  the  south. 
The  island  was  once  almost  entirely  forest-clad,  and  large  woodlands  still 
remain  yielding  much  valuable  timber.  The  fauna  also  is,  in  general,  similar 
to  that  of  the  Australian  continent,  but  a  few  forms  are  peculiar  to  the 
island,  the  most  noteworthy  being  two  species  of  carnivorous  marsupials, 
the  famous  Tasmanian  devil  and  the  native  tiger,  or  striped  wolf,  both  of 
which  have  been  hunted  almost  to  extinction  by  the  settlers  on  account  of 
the  destruction  they  caused  to  sheep.  Of  170  species  of  Australian  birds 
about  15  are  common  to  Tasmania,  including  a  "  reed 
warbler  "  and  one  species  of  quail  as  large  as  a  partridge. 
The  platypus  is  more  common  in  Tasmania  than  in  the 
Australian  continent.  Fish  of  various  kinds  are  abun- 
dant, and  a  very  large  and  much  esteemed  crayfish  is 
an  article  of  export  to  the  neighbouring  colonies. 

History  and  Government.— Tasmania,  or  as  it 
FIG.  306. — The  Badge  was  first  named  Van  Diemen's  Land,  was  discovered 
by  Tasman  in  1642.  Towards  the  end  of  the  follow- 
ing century  it  was  visited  by  several  navigators,  amongst  whom  was 
Captain  Cook,  who  landed  at  Adventure  Bay  on  the  south-east  coast 
in  1777,  but  did  not  recognise  the  insularity  of  Van  Diemen's  Land, 
which  was  not  proved  until  Bass  and  Flinders  circumnavigated  it  in  1798. 
In  1803  it  was  formally  taken  possession  of  on  behalf  of  the  British  Crown, 
as  a  dependency  of  New  South  Wales,  and  a  small  convict  settlement  was 
formed  at  Risdon  on  the  Derwent.  This  was  transferred  in  the  following 
year  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  the  site  of  the  present  capital.  The 
island  continued  to  be  a  dependency  of  New  South  Wales  till  1825,  when 
it  was  constituted  a  separate  colony,  but  transportation  of  convicts  to  Van 
Diemen's  Land  continued  until  1853.  In  1856  the  colony  was  granted 
responsible  government,  and  the  name  changed  to  Tasmania.  The 
Governor  represents  the  Queen  ;  the  Parliament  consists  of  a  Legislative 
Council  and  a  House  of  Assembly,  the  members  of  both  being  elected. 

Aborigines. — The  Aborigines,  who  at  the  time  of  the  British  annexa- 
tion numbered  perhaps  4,000  or  5,000,  are  now  quite  extinct.  A  few  half- 
breeds  only  remain  on  the  Furneaux  Islands.  The  history  of  the  dealings 
of  the  British  settlers  with  the  aborigines  is  deplorable.  From  1804,  soon 


Tasmania  613 

after  the  planting  of  the  first  convict  settlement,  until  1832,  when  the 
natives  were  almost  exterminated,  a  "  Black  War  "  was  waged,  marked  on 
both  sides  by  cruelty  and  treachery.  In  1830  an 
attempt  was  made  to  drive  the  surviving  inhabitants 
into  a  corner  of  the  island,  but  it  utterly  failed.  Sub- 
sequently after  five  years  of  effort,  marked  by  countless 
dangers  and  hardships,  some  philanthropic  individuals 
succeeded  in  gathering  the  remnant  of  the  race  to- 
gether in  Bruni  Island,  whence  they  were  afterwards 
removed  to  other  stations,  but  it  was  too  late,  and  _ 

although  considerable  attention  was  paid  to  the  last      niation  of  a  square 
of  the  Tasmanians  they  had  dwindled  to  sixteen  in      mtle  °J  Tasmania. 
1850,  and  the  last  survivor,  an  old  woman  of  seventy-three,  died  in  1876. 

Industries  and  Trade. — Sheep-rearing  and  agriculture  are  the 
principal  occupations.  Besides  the  crops  grown  for  domestic  supply,  the 
most  important  are  fruit  and  hops.  Much  attention  is  devoted  to  the 
former,  and  fruit,  both  fresh  and  preserved,  constitutes  the  chief  agri- 
cultural export.  The  leading  exports  are  wool,  gold,  silver  and  tin,  and 
the  imports  textiles,  various  manufactured  goods  and  provisions.  The 
bulk  of  the  trade  is  carried  on  with  the  neighbouring  colonies  of  Victoria 
and  New  South  Wales,  and  with  the  United  Kingdom.  The  main  line  of 
railway  runs  from  north  to  south  between  Hobart  and  Launceston,  and 
there  are  several  secondary  lines.  Coaches  connect  the  principal  town- 
ships, but  facilities  for  internal  communication  are,  as  yet,  very  limited. 

Towns.— Hobart  (formerly  called  Hobart  Town),  is  pleasantly  situated 
on  the  Derwent,  on  rising  ground  at  the  base  of  Mount  Wellington  (4,160 
feet).  The  city  is  well  laid  out  and  has  various  handsome  churches  and 
other  public  buildings.  Local  industries  include  flour  mills,  jam  factories, 
woollen  mills,  tanneries,  and  important  iron  works,  where  materials  for 
railway  and  bridge  construction  and  steam  machinery  are  produced.  The 
harbour  is  spacious,  deep  and  well  sheltered.  Launceston,  on  the  Tamar,  is 
the  second  town  in  the  colony,  and  the  chief  port  of  the  north.  It  stands 
in  a  valley  at  the  head  of  the  estuary,  between  the  Cataract  and  Windmill 
Hills ;  the  former  takes  its  name  from  picturesque  falls  in  Cataract  Gorge 
on  the  South  Esk. 

STATISTICS. 

1881.  1891.  1901. 

Area  of  Tasmania  (square  miles)         . .        . .        26,215  . .        26,215  . .        26,215 

Population  of  Tasmania Ii5.7<>5  ••      146,667  ..      I7M75 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile          . .                4  . .                6  . .                7 

Population  of  Hobart 21,118  ..        24,005  ..        24,654 

Launceston         12,752  ..        17,108  ..        18,022 

AVERAGE  ANNUAL  TRADE  OF  TASMANIA  (in  pounds  sterling). 

1871-75.  1881-85.  1891-95. 

Imports 1,027,000        ..  1,669,000  ..        1,336.000 

Exports 911,000        ..  1,533,000  ..        1,400,000 

STANDARD  BOOKS. 

T.  Bonwick.    "The  Last  of  the  Tasmanians."    London,  1870. 

T.  Fenton.    "  History  of  Tasmania."     Launceston,  1884. 

T.  C.  Just.    "  Official  Handbook  of  Tasmania."    London,  1892. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII.— CENTRAL   AND   WESTERN 

STATES  OF  THE  COMMONWEALTH 

OF  AUSTRALIA 

I.  — SOUTH    AUSTRALIA 

BY  EDWARD  A.  PETHERICK. 

Position  and  Extent. — The  Province  of  South  Australia  lies  between 
26°  and  38°  S.  latitude,  and  129°  and  141°  E.  longitude,  having  Western 
Australia  on  the  west,  New  South  Wales  and  Victoria  on  the  east,  the 
Southern  Ocean  on  the  south,  and  an  area  of  380,000  square  miles.  The 
territory  extending  north  of  the  twenty-sixth  parallel  to  the  shores  of  the 
Indian  Ocean,  Arafura  Sea,  and  the  Gulf  of  Carpentaria,  lying  between 
129°  and  138°  E.,  the  boundaries  respectively  of  Western  Australia  and 
Queensland,  and  containing  523,000  square  miles,  has  also  been  under  the 
administrative  control  of  the  South  Australian  Government  since  1863. 
The  "  Province"  and  the  "  Northern  Territory"  together  are  1,800  miles 
in  length  from  sea  to  sea,  and  in  area  are  three  times  as  large  as  New 
South  Wales,  comprising  indeed  nearly  one-third  of  the  continent. 

Coast. — The  southern  coast  is  deeply  indented  by  Spencer  Gulfr 
which  penetrates  nearly  200  miles  and  includes  Ports  Lincoln  and 
Augusta,  and  by  St.  Vincent  Gulf  penetrating  100  miles,  Yorke  Peninsula 
lying  between.  Spencer  Gulf  is  bordered  on  the  west  by  Eyre  Peninsula, 
beyond  which  comes  the  Great  Australian  Bight.  To  the  east  of  St. 
Vincent  Gulf,  Lake  Alexandrina  forms  the  outlet  of  the  river  Murray,  and 
a  remarkable  sand-spit  runs  south-eastward  along  the  coast  for  nearly 
90  miles,  locking  in  a  long  narrow  lagoon — the  Coorong — against  the 
land.  South  of  the  gulfs  is  Kangaroo  Island,  85  miles  long,  separated  from 
the  mainland  by  Investigator  Strait  and  Backstairs  Passage. 

The  northern  coast  comprises  the  western  side  of  the  Gulf  of  Car- 
pentaria bordered  by  several  islands,  and  the  much-indented  north  and 
east  coasts  of  Arnhem  Land.  Coburg  Peninsula  and  the  two  islands  of 
Melville  and  Bathurst  enclose  a  considerable  area  of  water  in  Van 
Diemen  Gulf,  the  south  coast  of  which  contains  the  inlet  of  Port  Darwin. 
Queen's  Channel,  the  estuary  of  the  Victoria  river,  forms  the  south-westerly 
corner  of  Arnhem  Land. 

The  Interior. — Ranges  of  hills  running  northward  from  Cape  Jervis 
parallel  with  St.  Vincent  Gulf — the  highest  points,  Mount  Lofty  (2,330 
feet)  and  Razorback  (2,830  feet)— divide  the  waters  flowing  eastward  to 
the  Murray  and  a  few  streams  flowing  to  the  Gulf.  This  part  of  the 

614 


South  Australia  615 

country  is  almost  wholly  arable  land.  The  south-eastern  district  is  largely 
composed  of  the  same  eruptive  rocks  which  occur  in  the  adjoining 
part  of  Victoria ;  the  most  conspicuous  of  several  ancient  volcanoes  is 
Mount  Gambier.  The  Flinders  Range  runs  east  and  north  of  Spencer 
Gulf,  and  Gawler  Range  westward,  crossing  Eyre  Peninsula.  Beyond  are 
low-lying  lands,  and  Eyre,  Gairdner,  Torrens,  and  other  salt  lakes  which 
in  wet  seasons  receive  the  waters  of  a  vast  extent  of  back  country,  in- 
cluding streams  from  western  Queensland.  The  waters  thus  received  are 
absorbed  or  evaporated  during  seasons  of  drought,  when  the  interior 
plains  become  an  arid  and  burning  desert.  The  surface  of  Lake  Eyre 
is  a  few  feet  below  sea-level.  Further  north,  in  the  centre  of  the  con- 
tinent, is  an  elevated  tract  of  country,  Larapinta  Land,  formed  by  the 
Macdonnell  and  James  Ranges,  composed  of  rugged  and  barren  rocks 
nearly  5,000  feet  above  sea-level.  From  these  ranges  occasional  heavy 
rains  rush  down  numerous  channels  to  the  Finke  (native  name,  Larapinta) 
river,  flooding  and  fertilising  the  hot  moving  sands  of  the  surrounding 
country,  and  rapidly  producing  a  luxuriant  growth  of  vegetation.  Lake 
Amadeus  lies  west  of  this  region  and  partly  within  Western  Australia. 
The  coastal  districts  of  the  Northern  Territory  are  fairly  well  watered 
with  streams  from  ranges  at  no  great  distance  inland,  the  chief  rivers 
being  the  Roper,  which  flows  into  the  Gulf  of  Carpentaria,  the  East, 
North,  and  South  Alligators,  the  Adelaide,  Daly,  and  the  North-Western 
Victoria  flowing  into  the  Indian  Ocean. 

Climate. — The  temperature  of  the  Province  varies  considerably.  At 
Adelaide,  during  a  long  period  of  years  the  maximum  observed  for  the 
month  of  January  (midsummer)  was  112°,  and  the  mean  day  temperature 
86°;  the  maximum  for  July  (midwinter  or  rainy  season)  was  69°,  and 
the  mean  during  the  day  58° ;  the  minimum  observed  was  34°.  In  the 
Mount  Lofty  ranges,  within  an  hour's  journey  of  the  capital,  the  tempera- 
ture is  from  10°  to  15°  lower  in  summer,  and  in  winter  snow  sometimes 
falls.  The  prevailing  winds,  except  in  midsummer,  are  south-east ;  in 
summer  they  blow  from  the  north,  are  hot  and  enervating,  especially  to 
those  in  feeble  health,  and  severe  upon  tender  or  unprotected  plants.  In 
proof  of  its  general  healthfulness  it  may  be  noted  that  the  colony  has 
never  been  visited  by  any  epidemic.  South  Australia  suffers  more  from 
drought  than  the  other  colonies — serious  visitations  occurring  at  intervals 
of  about  eleven  years  ;  the  last  was  in  1896-97.  In  Larapinta  Land  the 
climate  is  milder  on  account  of  altitude,  with  warm  clear  days  and  bright 
cold  nights  with  light  breezes,  hot  winds  being  rare — conditions  which 
have  a  marked  influence  on  the  indigenous  life  of  that  region.  The 
average  rainfall  varies  from  13  to  30  inches  at  Adelaide — mean  for  52 
years,  21  inches — and  from  n  to  5  inches  further  north  and  west.  In  the 
Northern  Territory  upon  and  near  the  coast  which  is  affected  by  the 
monsoons,  the  mean  rainfall  is  over  50  inches ;  at  Port  Darwin  it  is  63 
inches,  and  the  mean  annual  temperature  82°.  At  Alice  Springs,  the  central 
telegraph  station,  the  rainfall  is  1 1  inches  and  the  mean  temperature  70° 


616       The  International  Geography 

(Fig.  292) ;  at  Port  Augusta,  head  of  Spencer  Gulf,  9  inches  and  66° ;  at 
Eucla,  on  the  Australian  Bight,  10  inches  and  63°. 

Flora  and  Fauna. — South  Australia  and  the  Northern  Territory, 
between  the  northern  and  southern  gulfs,  occupy  the  depressed  area  once 
covered  by  the  sea  between  eastern  and  western  Australia,  which  were 
geologically  two  islands,  and  its  sparse  vegetation  partakes  of  the  character 
of  both  regions.  The  eucalyptus  predominates,  though  the  trees  do  not 
grow  to  the  size  they  reach  in  the  other  colonies.  Grass  trees,  with 
edible  roots,  and  shea  oak  abound  in  the  south-eastern  district ;  the 
sandalwood  tree  on  Yorke  Peninsula  ;  saltbush  in  the  northern  districts, 
and  "scrub"  or  mallee  more  or  less  over  the  whole  Province.  The 
vegetation  of  the  Northern  Territory  is  Australian,  though  with  tropical 
grasses  and  sedges,  mangroves  on  the  coast,  and  the  paper  bark  tree, 
which  forms  impenetrable  thickets  for  hundreds  of  miles  on  the  banks  of 
the  rivers. 

The  animals  of  the  Province  and  the  Northern  Territory  are  generally 
the  same  as  in  other  parts  of  Australia  except  that  alligators  abound  in 
the  northern  rivers,  and  the  wombat  is  found  only  in  the  south.  Animal 
life  is  abundant  in  Larapinta  Land  on  account  of  the  favourable  climatic 
conditions,  and  includes  a  remarkable  mole-like  marsupial.  Among 
insects,  the  white  ant  in  the  north  is  very  destructive,  necessitating  the 
use  of  iron  and  steel  for  telegraph  poles  and  railway  sleepers.  Seals, 
once  found  in  great  abundance  on  the  shores  of  Kangaroo  Island,  are 
now  rare  ;  and  the  marsupial,  which  was  so  numerous  when  Flinders 
named  the  island,  has  there  been  long  extinct. 

Aborigines. — In  1876  the  number  of  aborigines  in  the  Province 
was  under  4,000,  in  1891  they  had  dwindled  to  about  3,000  ;  the  number 
in  the  Northern  Territory  is  about  20,000.  Those  of  the  extreme  north 
were  reported  by  early  explorers  to  be  cannibals,  but  there  is  no  evidence 
of  this  since  the  settlement  of  Port  Darwin.  In  Melville  Island  they  are 
fierce  and  intractable.  The  aboriginal  of  Larapinta  Land  is  described  as 
the  living  representative  of  the  Stone  Age,  performing  the  most  daring 
surgical  operations  with  his  flint  knives  ;  naked,  hairy,  merry,  a  mimic, 
wonderfully  agile,  possessing  an  unerring  hand  that  works  in  perfect 
unison  with  an  eye  keen  as  that  of  an  eagle  ;  without  habitation,  living 
entirely  upon  the  spoils  of  the  chase  ;  untameable  ;  with  no  belief  except 
in  an  evil  spirit,  or  in  traditions,  he  yet  practises  with  scrupulous  exact- 
ness the  most  painful  and  hideous  customs,  of  the  origin  or  reason  of 
which  he  knows  nothing.  Adopting  the  debasing  habits  of  the  white  man 
he  will  soon  have  passed  away. 

Discovery  and  Exploration. — The  northern  coasts  were  regularly 
visited  by  Malays  in  search  of  trepang  before  the  advent  of  Europeans  to 
the  Malay  Archipelago  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century.  The 
first  comers  were  Portuguese,  from  whose  observations  early  accounts  of 
the  country  and  the  inhabitants  are  no  doubt  derived.  The  Dutch 


South  Australia  617 


surveyed  the  same  shores  during  the  following  century.  Ships  of  the 
British  navy  finally  took  up  the  work,  Flinders  in  1803,  King  in  1820, 
and  Stokes  in  1839,  when  Port  Darwin  was  discovered  and  named.  The 
Great  Australian  Bight  was  sailed  along  in  January,  1627,  by  a  vessel 
named  the  Golden  Seahorse,  which  carried  the  Dutch  ambassador,  Pieter 
Nuyts,  to  Japan,  hence  the  name  "  Nuyts  Land."  This  country  being 
situated  in  the  most  favourable  degree  of  south  latitude,  the  Swiss  pro- 
jector, J.  P.  Purry,  proposed  to  settle  it  as  a  vine-growing  colony  in  1717 
and  1718.  It  does  not,  however,  appear  to  have  been  seen  again  until 
January,  1793,  when  D'Entrecasteaux  visited  the  coast  in  search  of  La 
Perouse.  Lieut.  Grant,  making  the  first  outward  voyage  through  Bass 
Strait  in  the  Lady  Nelson  in  1800,  came  upon  the  coast  further  east. 
Flinders  discovered  Kangaroo  Island  and  completed  the  survey  of  the 
southern  coasts  in  1802.  At  Encounter  Bay  he  met  and  gave  copies  of  his 
charts  to  Admiral  Baudin,  who  brought  them  to  Europe  where  they  were 
published  with  French  nomenclature,  Spencer  and  St.  Vincent  Gulfs 
appearing  as  "  Buonaparte "  and  "  Josephine,"  and  the  whole  country 
between  Nuyts  Land  and  New  South  Wales  as  "Terre  Napoleon." 

Nothing  was  known  of  the  interior  until  Sturt  sailed  down  the  Murray  in 
1830,  and  Adelaide  was  founded  in  1837,  when  Eyre  and  others  made  overland 
journeys  from  New  South  Wales  and  Port  Phillip.  In  1841  Eyre,  who  had, 
meantime,  discovered  Lake  Torrens,  accomplished  his  more  extraordinary 
journey  round  the  Great  Bight  to  King  George  Sound.  Sturt  made  his 
last  expedition  (in  1844-45)  to  Cooper  Creek  (the  Victoria  of  Mitchell)  and 
the  great  stony  desert,  whence  he  was  driven  back  after  terrible  privation 
and  partial  loss  of  sight.  Although  exploring  journeys  were  kept  up,  it 
was  not  until  1862  that  M'Douall  Stuart,  in  a  third  attempt,  succeeded  in 
crossing  the  continent  to  Port  Darwin.  Burke  and  Wills' s  successful  ex- 
ploration, partly  through  the  same  territory,  to  the  shores  of  the  Gulf  of 
Carpentaria  was  accomplished  the  year  before,  but  they  perished  at  Cooper 
Creek  on  their  return  journey.  Exploration  in  the  interior  has  been  con- 
tinued in  private  and  government  expeditions  conducted  by  Warburton, 
Forrest,  Gosse,  Giles,  Lindsay,  Favenc,  Tietkins,  Carnegie,  and  others, 
who  have  left  little  of  the  interior  that  is  quite  unknown.  Conducted  by 
Winnecke,  the  Horn  Scientific  Expedition  explored  Larapinta  Land  in 
1894. 

History  and  Government. — South  Australia  was  founded  by  Act 
of  Parliament  upon  principles  advocated  by  Gibbon  Wakefield,  whereby 
revenue  from  sales  of  land  was  to  be  devoted  to  the  promotion  of  immi- 
gration. The  first  colonists  were  sent  out  in  1836,  preceded  by  a  survey 
party  to  examine  Kangaroo  Island,  Port  Lincoln,  and  other  parts.  A  site 
for  a  town  was  chosen  where  Adelaide  now  stands  early  in  1837,  and 
town  and  country  lands  soon  allotted.  Divided  authority,  disputes 
between  the  officials  and  the  colonists,  and  experiments  in  finance 
which  destroyed  the  self-supporting  character  of  the  colony,  led  to  the 


618       The   International  Geography 

recall  of  the  first  two  governors,  and  to  the  constitution  of  South 
Australia  as  a  Crown  Colony.  The  new  governor,  Sir  George  Grey, 
brought  the  affairs  of  the  colony  into  shape,  though  for  a  time  the 
necessary  retrenchments  pressed  sorely  upon  the  community.  The 
discovery  of  copper  ore  in  1843  advanced  South 
Australia  upon  a  career  of  prosperity  and  enterprise, 
interrupted,  however,  by  the  gold  discoveries  in  New 
South  Wales  and  Victoria  in  1851,  which  drew  away 
nearly  fifty  thousand  men  and  for  a  time  stopped  all 
local  trade.  Many  returned  in  the  following  years, 
and  land  being  cheap,  the  colony  was  saved  from 
FIG.  308.— The  Badge  ruin  by  the  energetic  development  of  its  agricultural 

of  South  Australia.  ,    ,,        .,  f     . 

resources,   and  the   "farinaceous  colony,     as    it  was 
facetiously  called,  became  for  a  long  period  the  granary  of  Australia. 

Responsible  government  was  conferred  upon  the  colony  in  1856.  The 
members  of  the  Upper  House  or  Legislative  Council  are  elected  upon  a 
property  qualification,  those  of  the  Lower  House  or  Assembly  by  man- 
hood suffrage.  South  Australian  statesmen  have  led  the  way  in  many 
progressive  measures  of  policy  with  good  effect  on  the  prosperity  of  the 
people.  Public  works  and  unleased  lands  are  controlled  by  local  author- 
ities. Hydraulic  works  have  made  many  districts 
independent  of  an  uncertain  rainfall,  and  artesian 
wells,  sunk  in  various  places,  chiefly  along  the  over- 
land line  of  railway,  have  conclusively  proved  the 
existence  of  enormous  subterranean  supplies  of  water. 
An  irrigation  colony,  Renmark,  similar  to  that  of 
Mildura,  is  in  operation  on  the  lower  Murray. 
Afforestation  is  under  the  direction  of  an  Agricultural 
Department,  and  7,000,000  trees  have  been  planted 
in  the  Province  since  1876.  The  chief  products  are 
wheat,  which  is  largely  exported,  and  copper,  of  which 
over  ^20,000,000  worth  has  been  raised  in  the  State 
since  1845  ;  wine  is  an  increasing  industry.  The 
total  value  of  exports  per  head  of  population  is  far 
in  excess  of  that  of  any  other  of  the  Australian 
States,  and  the  acreage  under  cultivation  exceeds 
all  these  colonies  with  the  exception  of  Victoria. 
The  imports  consist  chiefly  of  British  manufactured 
goods.  The  most  important  public  works  yet  under- 
taken have  been  the  transcontinental  telegraph,  and 
telegraph  lines  to  the  borders  (connecting  the  FIG.  309.— The  Trans- 
Australian  systems,  as  well  as  those  of  Tasmania  and  continental  Telegraph 
New  Zealand,  with  other  parts  of  the  world),  and  and  Railway- 
trunk  lines  of  railway  to  the  Murray  and  Victorian  border,  to  Broken  Hill 
in  New  South  Wales,  to  Spencer  Gulf,  and  nearly  half  way  across  the 


South  Australia  619 

continent  towards  Port  Darwin.  Primary  education  is  compulsory,  secular 
and  free  ;  secondary  education  is  afforded  in  private  establishments,  and 
there  are  government  schools  of  mines  and  industry,  of  painting  and 
design,  agricultural  colleges  and  schools,  a  museum  of  natural  products, 
botanic  garden,  libraries,  observatory,  and  university. 

Towns. — Essentially  an  agricultural  and  pastoral  country,  the 
Province  of  South  Australia  possesses  few  towns  containing  more  than 
five  hundred  inhabitants,  and  with  the  exception  of  the  capital  and  its 
suburbs  there  are  only  ten  with  upwards  of  a  thousand.  Adelaide,  the 
capital,  sometimes  called  the  "  model  Australian  city,"  is  well  situated  on 
a  plateau,  on  the  river  Torrens  ;  it  has  fine  avenues  and  buildings,  is 
surrounded  by  a  belt  of  park-land,  several  suburbs,  including  Glenelg  and 
Port  Adelaide,  and  is  within  eleven  miles  of  the  summit  of  Mount  Lofty, 
the  ascent  to  which  is  easy.  The  other  important  towns  are  Mount 
Gambier,  at  the  foot  of  the  extinct  volcano  in  the 
south-eastern  district,  centre  of  the  "garden  of  the 
colony" ;  north  of  the  capital  are  Gawler,  on  a  river 
of  the  same  name,  situated  in  an  extensive  wheat- 
growing  district;  Kapunda,  noted  for  its  copper 
mines,  worked  from  1843  to  1879  ;  Kooringa,  con- 
taining the  famous  Burra  mine.  Moonta  and 


Wallaroo,  possessing  rich  copper  mines  and  the  FlG,^_Averagepopu 
largest  smelting  works  in  Australia,  are  on  Yorke  lation  of  a  square  mile 
Peninsula ;  and  Port  Pirie  and  Port  Augusta  on  Spencer  °f  South  Australia- 
Gulf.  All  these  towns  are  connected  by  rail  with  Adelaide.  Port  Lincoln 
has  a  commodious  harbour,  and  is  the  chief  town  on  Eyre  Peninsula, 
which  is  occupied  mostly  by  sheep  farmers. 

Northern  Territory. — Settlements  were  formed  on  Melville  Island 
in  1824  and  at  Raffles  Bay  in  1827,  but  both  were  abandoned  in  1829. 
Another  settlement  was  formed  at  Port  Essington  on  Coburg  Peninsula  in 
1838,  as  a  military  post  and  harbour  of  refuge,  but  this  also  was  abandoned 
in  1849.  Palmerston,  the  capital  (founded  in  1869),  occupies  an  elevated 
site  overlooking  Port  Darwin,  one  of  the  finest  harbours  in  Australia,  and 
contains  the  offices  of  the  government  Resident,  the  officials  of  the  territory, 
and  of  the  telegraph  departments.  The  transcontinental  railway,  which 
has  its  terminus  here,  now  extends  to  Pine  Creek,  146  miles  inland.  The 
country  is  well  adapted  for  tropical  and  semi-tropical  products,  and  is 
believed  to  be  rich  in  minerals.  A  large  extent  of  the  territory  is  at 
present  leased  for  pastoral  pursuits.  Pearl  fishing  is  carried  on  chiefly 
at  Melville  Island.  This  island,  about  fourteen  miles  from  the  main- 
land, is  75  miles  long  by  37  broad,  covered  with  mangrove  swamps 
and  dense  forests,  and  inhabited  by  Australian  animals  and  intractable 
aborigines. 

41 


620       The  International  Geography 


STATISTICS. 


Area  of  So 
„ 
Populatior 

Density  of 
Populatior 

uth  Australia  Province  (square  miles) 
Northern  Territory  (square  miles)  .  . 
i  of  South  Australia    . 

• 

igine 

*j 

1886. 
380,070 
523,620 
304-336 

i 
128,377 

1896. 
380,070 
523,620 
355,286 
4.934 
i 
140,406 
5,000 
3,800 
3,000 

1901. 
380,070 
523,620 
362,004 
4,096 

163,430 

Northern  Territory  (exclusive  of 
population,  South  Australia  Province 
i  of  Adelaide  and  suburbs 

abo 

Kapunda               .  . 

Mount  Gambler   

.. 

RESOURCES  OF  SOUTH  AUSTRALIA  AND  NORTHERN  TERRITORY,  1897. 

Mo.  of  Sheep.       No.  of  Cattle.       No.  of  Horses.       Value  of  Wool.       Value  of  Copper. 

5,092,000  540,000  180,000  £i,790<7oo  £238,000 


1883-84. 
14,649,000. 


Imports 
Exports 


&D.  Woods. 
Hodder. 


ANNUAL  PRODUCE  OF  WHEAT  IN  BUSHELS. 

1891-92.  1893-94-  1896-97.1  1897-98.1 

6,436,000  13,618,000  2,804,000  4,014,800 

ANNUAL  TRADE  (in  pounds  sterling). 

1871-75.  1881-85.  1891-95. 

3,397.000  5,856,000  7,420,000 

4.223,000  5,338,000  8,255,000 

STANDARD  BOOKS. 

"  Province  of  South  Australia,  and  Northern  Territory."    Adelaide,  1894, 
The  History  of  South  Australia."    2  vols.    London,  1893. 


H.— WESTERN  AITSTEALIA 

BY  THE  HON.  DAVID  W.  CARNEGIE. 

Position  and  Extent. — Western  Australia  includes  all  that  portion 
of  the  Australian  continent  extending  to  the  west  of  the  meridian  of 
I2>°  E.,  and  is  situated  between  the  parallels  of  13^°  S.  and  35°  S.  Its 
most  westerly  point,  Dirk  Hartog  Island,  is  in  longitude  112°  52'  E.  The 
State  includes  all  the  islands  adjacent  to  the  coast  of  the  mainland  in  the 
Indian  and  Southern  Oceans.  The  greatest  length  is  1,480  miles,  and  the 
greatest  breadth  about  1,000  miles,  with  an  area  of  975,920  square  miles, 
or  nearly  one-third  of  the  whole  continent  of  Australia,  or  equal  in  extent 
to  one-fourth  of  Europe. 

Surface  and  Agricultural  Resources.— The  coast-line  is  short 
compared  with  the  large  extent  of  the  territory,  being  little  broken  by  bays, 
gulfs,  or  river  mouths.  Consequently,  natural  harbours  are  wanting.  The 
principal  anchorages  used  are  open  roadsteads,  only  partially  protected, 
the  most  noticeable  exception  being  Princess  Royal  Harbour,  the  inner 
bay  of  King  George  Sound.  At  Fremantle,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Swan 
river  on  the  west  coast,  harbour  works  of  large  extent  are  nearing  com- 
pletion. King  Sound  and  Cambridge  Gulf  in  the  northern  portion  of  the 
colony  are  inlets  of  considerable  size,  and  would  appear  to  be  fine  natural 
harbours ;  but  their  value  must  be  discounted  by  the  great  tidal  range. 

1  Droughty  seasons. 


Western  Australia  621 

The  rise  and  fall  of  ordinary  tides  in  Cambridge  Gulf  is  20  feet,  in 
King  Sound  46  feet.  Further  south  the  difference  decreases,  until  on 
the  south  and  south-west  coasts  there  is  no  tidal  rise  worth  mentioning. 
A  striking  feature  on  the  south  coast  is  the  entire  absence  of  rivers  or 
even  streams  of  any  size  until  the  extreme  south-western  corner  of  the 
territory  is  reached.  High  cliffs  along  the  south  coast  form  the  abrupt 
termination  of  an  elevated  limestone  tableland,  which  extends  some  200 
miles  inland  between  the  meridians  of  121°  and  129°  E.  This  tableland 
in  winter  has  the  appearance  of  magnificent  pasture  land,  there  being 
probably  a  fair  rainfall.  No  surface  water  occurs,  with  the  exception  of 
small  rock-holes,  and  consequently  the  land  has  not  been  settled.  In 
this  district  cylindrical  cavities  in  the  rock  are  frequently  found,  reaching 
to  unknown  depths,  and  known  as  "blow-holes"  from  the  sound  of  rushing 
wind  that  they  emit.  Along  the  south  coast,  west  of  121°  E.,  eucalyptus 
forest  land  begins,  and  extends  over  the  whole  south-western  corner  of  the 
colony,  forming  one  of  its  richest  resources.  Here  the  immense  Karri 
and  Jarrah  trees  attain  a  height  of  between  200  and  300  feet.  Jarrah 
timber  is  extraordinarily  durable,  resisting  the  white  ant  and  the  Teredo 
navalis,  and  consequently  admirably  adapted  for  railway  sleepers,  and 
piles  for  bridges  or  sea  jetties.  Karri  timber  is  largely  exported,  being 
used  chiefly  for  wood  paving.  The  forest  land  when  cleared  is  eminently 
suited  for  agriculture. 

Along  the  west  coast  there  are  numerous  rivers ;  of  these  the  Swan 
river  is  the  most  important,  those  further  to  the  north  being  for  the  most 
part  mere  storm  channels  filled  only  during  the  rainy  season.  The 
occupied  portion  of  the  colony  extends  along  the  west  coast  for  about 
1,200  miles,  the  most  thickly  peopled  part  being  that  lying  roughly 
between  Geraldton  and  Albany  (King  George  Sound).  Here  farming  and 
viticulture  is  carried  on,  the  area  for  the  cultivation  of  cereals  lying  south 
of  28°  S.  The  total  area  under  crop  is  about  202,000  acres,  the  principal 
crops  being  wheat,  barley,  oats,  maize,  potatoes,  hay  of  all  kinds,  green 
forage,  onions,  and  other  root  crops,  and  vines.  As  well  as  the  grape  a 
great  variety  of  fruit  is  grown,  particularly  oranges,  lemons,  apples,  and 
peaches  ;  and  these  are  capable  of  being  produced  in  large  quantities. 
Between  28°  S.  and  20°  S.  the  occupied  portion  of  the  colony  follows  the 
western  coast-line  with  a  breadth  of  some  250  miles.  In  the  valleys  of 
the  numerous  rivers,  cattle  and  sheep  stations  have  been  established. 
North  of  the  De  Grey  river  an  unbroken  stretch  of  coast-line  known  as 
Eighty-mile  Beach,  a  flat  sand  plain,  the  western  extension  of  the  great 
inland  desert,  intervenes  between  the  pasture  lands  of  the  north-west  and 
the  rich  Kimberley  country,  where,  in  the  valleys  of  the  Ord,  Margaret, 
Fitzroy,  and  Lennard  rivers,  cattle,  sheep,  and  horses  are  reared  with 
success.  The  total  number  of  live  stock  at  the  end  of  1900  included  68,000 
horses,  340,000  cattle,  over  2,400,000  sheep,  and  nearly  4,000  camels, 
imported  from  India  and  South  Australia.  The  pearl  fisheries  on  the 


622       The  International  Geography 

north-west  coast  are  important.  Coal  is  found  in  the  south-west  of  the 
colony  ;  copper,  lead,  tin>  iron,  antimony,  zinc,  manganese,  and  asbestos 
form  the  chief  mineral  resources,  other  than  gold,  as  yet  undeveloped,  but 
likely  in  the  future  to  afford  valuable  returns. 

Mountains  and  Deserts. — The  mountains  of  the  state  are  not  of 
great  height  nor  of  frequent  occurrence.  The  most  important  range  is  the 
Darling,  which  extents  from  the  extreme  south-western  corner,  running 
parallel  to  the  coast-line  at  a  distance  of  20  miles,  for  300  miles  to  the 
northward.  Its  highest  point,  however,  is  only  1,500  feet.  The  Stirling 
Range,  40  miles  inland  from  Albany,  attains  a  height  of  3,500  feet,  and 
from  its  isolated  position  on  the  low  coastal  plain  is  visible  for  an  immense 
distance.  Mountainous  country  follows  the  western  coast-line  at  a  distance 
of  200  or  300  miles  inland,  giving  rise  to  the  rivers  of  that  coast.  High 
country  is  found  in  the  north,  in  Kimberley  Division,  where  the  Leopold 
and  Mu'ller  Ranges  attain  a  height  of  2,300  feet.  No  mountainous  country 
of  any  extent  occurs  in  the  far  interior,  though  numerous  isolated  hills  and 
ranges  of  sandstone  are  met  with.  South  of  19°  S.  and  east  of  122^°  E.  an 
•  elevated  sandy  tableland,  roughly  estimated  at  1,000  to  2,000  feet  above  sea- 
level,  cuts  off  the  settled  portions  of  the  colony  from  the  populated 
districts  of  South  Australia.  Between  26°  S.  and  31°  S.  the  Queen  Victoria 
Desert  lies,  uninhabited  except  by  a  few  scattered  tribes  of  aborigines. 
Undulating  sand-hills,  or  sandy  plains  covered  with  dense  acacia  scrub, 
almost  devoid  of  surface  water,  met  the  eyes  of  the  few  that  have  pene- 
trated far  inland.  Low  ranges  and  cliffs  occur  at  intervals  along  the 
parallel  of  26°  S.  latitude.  North  of  this  lies  Gibson  Desert,  a  barren 
expanse  of  stones  and  gravel,  reaching  to  the  Tropic  of  Capricorn.  Beyond 
this  the  great  sandy  desert  rolls  away  to  the  northward,  ridge  succeeds 
ridge  of  drifted  sand,  parallel  one  to  another,  and  stretching  nearly  due  east 
and  west.  These  sand  ridges,  doubtless  formed  by  the  winds,  vary  in 
height  from  a  few  feet  to  one  hundred,  the  average  distance  between  them 
being  about  300  yards.  It  is  an  uninhabitable  desert,  waterless,  and  barren 
of  all  vegetation  excepting  that  plant  of  spines  and  prickles  commonly 
known  as  Spinifex  (Triodia). 

!  The  so-called  lakes  of  the  interior  are  merely  vast  sheets  of  stiff  mud, 
sparkling  with  salt  in  the  dry  seasons,  and  covered  after  the  rain  to  a  depth 
varying  from  a  few  inches  to  four  or  five  feet  with  water  which  rapidly 
becomes  salt.  To  the  west  of  the  Darling  Range  numerous  salt  and 
fresh-water  lakes  occur,  but  many  of  them  also  dry  up  in  the  summer 
months. 

Geology  and  Mineral  Resources.— Geologically,  Western  Aus- 
tralia is  built  up  of  crystalline  and  schistose  rocks ;  including  a  great  de- 
velopment of  granite  with  auriferous  quartz,  quartzite  and  ironstone,  in  the 
southern  portion.  On  the  west  coast  is  a  long  strip  of  Tertiary  formation, 
and  older  deposits  extending  from  the  Carboniferous  to  the  close  of  the 
Cretaceous  run  in  a  comparatively  narrow  band  along  the  north-west  coast. 


Western  Australia  623 

The  strip  of  Tertiary  strata  is  separated  from  the  Secondary  formations  by 
a  narrow  transverse  band  of  volcanic  rocks. 

Settlement  has  now  penetrated  over  500  miles  inland,  owing  to  the 
discoveries  of  rich  gold  deposits.  The  gold-fields  may  be  said  to  form  a 
belt,  unbroken  save  by  the  Eighty-mile  beach,  running  parallel  with  the 
coast-line  from  Kimberley  in  the  north  to  Dundas  in  the  south,  including 
Pilbarra,  Ashburton,  Gascoyne,  Murchison,  East  Murchison,  Yilgarn, 
Mount  Margaret  and  Coolgardie.  The  Kalgurli  and  Coolgardie  gold-fields, 
extending  to  the  I2$th  meridian,  as  well  as  other  fields,  are  being  rapidly 
developed.  The  export  of  gold  was  1,880,000  ounces  for  the  year  1901, 
and  the  total  amount  exported  from  the  State  from  1895  to  1901  inclusive 
was  about  5,700,000  ounces.  Gold,  therefore,  forms  one  of  the  State's 
richest  sources  of  wealth,  and  the  excitement  caused  by  its  discovery  has 
attracted  a  great  increase  of  population.  The  imports  chiefly  consist  of 
provisions,  machinery,  ironware  and  clothing,  while  the  exports  are 
mainly  wool,  gold  and  timber,  but  also  include  some  tin,  copper,  guano, 
sandal-wood,  pearls,  pearl-shells,  and  kangaroo  hides. 

Climate.— The  climate  generally  is  good  and  healthy,  naturally 
varying  considerably  owing  to  the  extent  of  the  State.  In  the  north  it  is 
tropical,  with  a  wet  season  between  December  and  March,  that  is  during 
the  hottest  months.  The  heat  is  extreme,  but  away  from  the  coast  the  air 
is  dry.  On  the  north-west  the  same  conditions  hold  ;  but  during  the  rainy 
months  tremendous  cyclonic  disturbances  occur,  causing  great  damage  to 
live  stock  and  property.  In  the  south  and  south-west  the  climate  is 
temperate  for  the  greater  part  of  the  year,  December,  January,  and 
February  being  the  hottest  months.  In  the  interior  the  heat  is  extreme, 
but  not  enervating,  on  account  of  the  dryness  of  the  air.  During  the 
winter  months,  June  and  July,  the  weather  is  often  cold,  and  slight  frost 
is  experienced  at  nights ;  in  the  far  interior  the  thermometer  has  recorded 
as  low  a  temperature  as  17°  F.  in  the  very  early  morning.  The  annual 
rainfall  varies  from  33  inches  at  Perth  to  21  inches  in  Kimberley,  10 
inches  in  the  north-west,  and  9  inches  in  the  Coolgardie  district,  and  from 
37  inches  at  Augusta  in  the  south-west,  to  practically  nothing  in  parts  of 
the  far  interior. 

Aborigines. — The  aborigines  of  Western  Australia  differ  in  no  great 
degree  from  those  of  the  other  parts  of  Australia.  Their  origin  is 
unknown,  and  since  they  possess  few  traditions  and  no  written  language, 
it  is  likely  to  remain  so  for  all  time.  Their  dialects,  habits,  weapons  and 
characteristics  vary  considerably.  Those  of  finest  physique  are  found  in 
the  north,  and  it  is  thought  by  some  that  a  strain  of  Malay  blood  may 
account  for  this.  Wallace's  description  of  the  natives  of  Australia  applies 
fully  to  those  of  the  western  state.  In  height  they  fall  but  little  short  of 
the  European,  though  inferior  in  muscular  development,  the  limbs  often 
being  little  more  than  bone.  The  cranial  formation  is  narrow  and  long, 
with  high  cheekbones,  the  lower  portion  of  the  forehead  about  the  brows 


624       The  International  Geography 

projecting,  the  upper  receding ;  the  nose,  narrow  above,  becomes  broad 
and  squat  further  down  ;  the  ears  are  inclined  forward,  the  mouth  is  large 
and  unshapely,  with  white,  well-formed  teeth  ;  the  jawbone  is  contracted, 
and  the  chin  small.  The  complexion  is  dark  brown,  almost  black,  while 
the  hair  is  pitch  black,  and  sometimes  inclined  to  curliness.  Their  intelli- 
gence is  not  of  a  high  order,  though  they  show  a  certain  quickness  of 
apprehension,  and  great  imitative  powers.  The  tribes  are  nomadic 
though  confined  to  certain  bounds.  In  no  part  are  villages  or  kraals  built, 
and  amongst  the  inland  tribes  even  houses  or  huts  of  grass  or  branches 
are  unknown.  They  are  seen  now  in  greatest  numbers  in  the  Kimberley 
district,  and  in  the  ranges  from  which  the  rivers  of  the  west  coast  take 
their  rise.  In  the  south  and  south-west  they  are  rapidly  decreasing  in 
number,  and  will  soon  be  extinct.  Small  tribes  are  found  in  the  interior, 
living  from  hand  to  mouth  on  lizards,  iguanas,  and  other  reptiles,  depend- 
ing for  their  water  supply  on  wretchedly  supplied  rock-holes  and  native 
wells,  naked  and  houseless,  always  forced  by  the  stern  nature  of  the 
country  to  be  moving  on.  Kangaroo,  emu,  pelicans,  ducks,  fish,  and  edible 
plants  form  the  food  of  the  coastal  tribes ;  their  weapons,  well  suited  to 
their  purposes,  include  the  boomerang,  spear,  throwing 
stick,  club  or  waddy,  and  the  wommera,  mero,  or 
wanner,  the  flat  board  with  which  their  spears  are 
thrown.  The  spears  vary  in  size  and  manufacture. 
In  the  north  they  are  formed  of  cane  and  bamboo, 
and  tipped  with  delicately-chipped  heads  of  quartz, 
opaline,  or  since  the  advent  of  the  white  man,  of 

FIG.  311.— The  Badge   glass,  or  the  material  of  telegraph  insulators.     Spears 
of  Western  Australia.    &  .  .  s  .  F 

with  sharp  and  cunningly  devised  wooden  and  bone 

barbs  are  used  further  to  the  south,  whilst  in  the  interior  spears  with 
sharpened  wooden  points  are  found.  Though  to  all  appearances  little 
above  the  beasts  of  the  field  in  their  mode  of  life,  they  have  laws  and 
ceremonies  of  great  mystery  and  import.  Several  missions  have  been 
established  amongst  them,  and  in  some  cases  with  good  results.  A  good 
many  aborigines  are  employed  on  cattle  and  sheep  stations,  where  they 
soon  learn  to  become  useful  and  clever  servants.  Habitual  cannibalism 
does  not  seem  to  be  practised,  though  some  authenticated  cases  have  been 
reported  in  the  north-west  and  in  the  north. 

Colonial  History. — With  the  landing  of  the  emigrants  from  the  Par- 
melia,  the  history  of  Western  Australia  as  a  British  colony  begins,  on  the 
2nd  of  June,  1829.  The  first  camp  of  settlers  was  known  as  the  Swan  River 
Settlement.  Closely  following  the  Parmelia  and  Sulphur  a  number  of 
vessels  arrived,  rapidly  adding  to  the  band  of  pioneers,  and  bringing  the 
necessary  live  stock  for  colonisation.  Since  the  time  of  its  foundation 
the  authorities  and  people  of  the  colony  have  never  given  up  the  work  of 
exploration,  and  from  1829  to  1899  no  year  has  passed  in  which  new 
districts  have  not  been  opened  up,  new  pastures  or  minerals  found, 


Western   Australia  625 

whether  by  government  or  private  enterprise.  From  the  seventy  pas- 
sengers of  the  Parmelia  the  population  had  grown  in  1901  to  the  number 
of  184,000,  exclusive  of  coloured  people.  At  first  a  Crown  Colony,  under 
a  Lieutenant-Governor,  Western  Australia  received  Responsible  Govern- 
ment in  1890,  and  became  an  Original  State  of  the  Commonwealth.  The 
railway  system  of  Western  Australia  has  made  great  strides.  There  were 
more  than  2,000  miles  of  railway  open  in  1902.  The  Great  Southern  line 
connects  the  capital,  Perth,  with  Albany,  on  King  George  Sound,  and  the 
Eastern  connects  the  capital  with  Fremantle,  and  Kalgurli,  Coolgardie, 
and  other  mining  towns  in  the  interior.  The  Midland  and  Northern  lines 
join  Perth  to  Cue.  There  is  direct  telegraphic  communication  with  the 
outer  world  through  Java  by  a  cable  from  Roebuck  Bay  in  the  north- 
west, and  also  by  a  land  line  in  the  south,  through  Eucla  to  Adelaide. 
The  Chief  Towns.— Perth,  the  capital,  is  prettily  situated  on  the 
Swan  river,  some  ten  miles  from  its  mouth.  It  is  the  seat  of  Government, 
the  residence  of  the  Governor,  and  contains  the  Houses  of  Parliament, 
a  museum,  mint,  botanical  gardens,  obser- 
vatory, cathedral,  and  public  parks.  A 
causeway  bridge,  connecting  it  with  South 
Perth,  crosses  the  Swan  river,  at  the  mouth 
of  which  Fremantle,  the  chief  port  of  the 
colony,  is  situated.  It  has  railway,  road, 
and  river  communication  with  the  capital. 
Extensive  harbour  works  are  being  carried 
out,  which  will  enable  the  mail  steamers  to 
make  this  their  port  of  call,  and  so  shorten  FlG  3I2.__£?W£  George  Sound 
the  time  of  transit  for  mails  from  England.  and  Albany. 

While  of  advantage  to  the  general  com- 
munity, the  completion  of  this  harbour  will  deal  a  blow  to  Albany,  on 
Princess  Royal  Harbour,  in  King  George  Sound,  the  present  port  for  mail 
steamers,  the  terminus  of  the  Great  Southern  Railway,  and  a  coaling  station 
for  the  British  navy.  The  entrance*to  the  harbour  is  defended  by  forts  in 
which  a  permanent  force  of  artillery  is  kept,  under  the  command  of  an 
imperial  officer.  The  junction  of  the  railway  systems  at  Perth  makes 
possible  a  through  journey  of  over  500  miles  from  Albany  to  Geraldton,on 
Champion  Bay  on  the  west  coast  (Fig.  293).  This  is  the  port  for  the 
Murchison  district,  which  is  rich  in  minerals,  and  for  agricultural  and 
pastoral  purposes.  Seven  thousand  bales  of  wool  are  annually  exported. 
A  railway  connects  Geraldton  with  Cue,  the  chief  town  of  the  Murchison 
gold-fields,  nearly  300  miles  inland,  and  in  the  not  distant  future  it  will  be 
possible  to  travel  by  rail  from  Geraldton,  through  Cue,  to  Menzies  and 
Coolgardie,  the  capital  of  the  gold-fields  of  that  name.  In  1892  a  mere 
camp  of  tents,  in  1891  a  part  of  the  silent  bush,  by  1898  Coolgardie  could 
boast  its  stone  and  brick  buildings,  hotels,  stock  exchange,  churches,  and 
electric  light,  railway  and  telegraph.  It  is  surrounded  by  gold  mines  in 


626      The   International   Geography 

active  operation,  saw-mills,  brick  and  tile  works,  and  other  progressive 
industries.  The  water  supply  is  brought  in  pipes  from  the  Coast  moun- 
tains, not  far  from  Perth,  a  distance  of  more  than  300  miles.  The  railway 
from  Perth  passes  through  Southern  Cross,  for  long  the  last  outpost  of 
civilisation,  and  Kalgurli,  some  twenty  miles  beyond  Coolgardie  and 
nearly  400  miles  east  of  Perth,  as  far  as  Menzies.  Kalgurli  has  eclipsed 
Coolgardie,  and  has  become  the  scene  of  the  most  active  gold-mining 
operations  in  the  colony.  The  most  important  centre  for  pearl  fisheries  is 
at  Broome,  on  Roebuck  Bay,  on  the  north-west  coast ;  the  landing-place 
of  the  submarine  cable  from  Java.  The  centres  of  farming  and  agriculture 
are  York  and  Northam,  about  forty  miles  east  of  Perth.  Coal  is  obtained 
at  Collie  in  the  south-west 

STATISTICS. 


Area  of  Western  Australia  in  square  r 
Population  (excluding  Aborigines) 

„     •      Fremantle 
„           Coolgardie 
Kalgurli   .. 

niles 

1881. 

975-920 
29,708 
5,044 
3,641 

1891. 
975,920 
49.782 
9,617 
7,077 

1901. 
957,920 
184,124 

36,274 
20,444 

ANNUAL  TRADE  OF  WESTERN  AUSTRALIA  (in  pounds  sterling). 

1871-75.  1881-85.  1891-95.  1901. 

Imports         ..        ..        288,000        ..        520,000        ..        2,011,000        ..        6,454,000 
Exports         ..        ..        353,000        ..        469,000        ..        1,036,000        ..       8,515,000 

STANDARD  BOOKS. 

M.  Fraser.     "  Western  Australian  Yearbook."    Perth,  Annual. 
Sir  John  Fotrest.    "  Explorations  in  Australia."    London,  1875, 
E.Giles.    "Australia  Twice  Traversed."    London,  1889. 
D.  W.  Carnegie.    "  Spinif  ex  and  Sand."    London,  1899. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV.— NEW  ZEALAND 

BY  THE  HON.  W.  P.  REEVES, 

High.  Commissioner  for  New  Zealand. 

Position  and  Extent.— The  Colony  of  New  Zealand  is  an  archi- 
pelago, with  a  total  land  area  of  104,471  square  miles,  lying  in  the  South 
Pacific,  about  1,200  miles  east-south-east  of  Australia,  and  almost  entirely 
between  the  parallels  of  34°  and  47°  S.  Its  two  main  islands,  called  North 
and  South  respectively,  and  a  third  and  much  smaller  island,  named 
Stewart,  lie  close  to  each  other.  Of  the  other  and  smaller  groups  the 
Kermadecs,  about  500  miles  to  the  north  of  the  main  islands,  the  Chathams 
about  the  same  distance  to  the  east,  and  the  Aucklands  about  200  miles  to 
the  south  are  the  chief.  Others  are  the  Campbell,  Antipodes,  and  Bounty 
groups,  all  of  which  are  uninhabited,  and,  from  their  isolated  position  and 
cold,  bleak  climate,  likely  to  remain  so.  The  long,  narrow,  irregular  chain 
formed  by  the  main  islands  is  distinguished  by  height  and  variety,  by  an 
extensive  coast-line — 4,330  miles — and  a  climate  passing  by  degrees  from 
subtropical  to  the  cooler  temperate.  The  extreme  length  of  North  Island 
is  515  miles,  and  its  breadth  varies  from  6  to  300 ;  of  South  Island  the 
length  is  525  miles,  the  greatest  breadth  180. 

Coasts. — On  the  whole  the  coasts  are  high,  sometimes  grandly  pre- 
cipitous. Deep  water  is  nearly  always  found  close  to  the  shore.  The 
inlets  are  numerous,  but  the  harbour  accommodation  not  very  conveniently 
distributed.  In  the  south-west  of  South  Island  many  sounds  or  fjords 
penetrate,  and  are  overhung  by  the  towering  ranges  of  the  Southern 
Alps.  Their  combination  of  mountainous  grandeur  and  lavish  vegetation 
makes  them  at  least  rivals  of  Norway  or  Alaska,  and  as  anchorages  they  are 
not  easy  to  surpass.  But  they  give  access  to  nothing  better  than  storm- 
beaten  and  well-nigh  uninhabitable  mountains.  When,  north  of  these 
fjords,  a  more  practicable  country  is  reached  there  are  no  harbours  but  the 
mouths  of  bar-bound  rivers.  This  is  true  also  of  the  whole  western  coast 
of  North  Island,  though  some  of  its  bar-harbours  are  very  commodious 
when  once  they  are  entered.  The  eastern  side  is,  on  the  contrary,  well 
provided  with  harbours  in  its  more  northern  portion.  Among  them 
Waitemata,  the  port  of  Auckland  city,  is  one  of  the  best  in  the  southern 
hemisphere.  South  of  the  Bay  of  Plenty,  however,  there  is  no  such  thing 
as  a  good  natural  harbour  found  right  down  to  Cook  Strait.  Fortunately 
this  channel,  which  divides  North  and  South  Islands,  and  is  but  sixteen 
miles  across  in  its  narrowest  part,  is  well  furnished  with  havens,  on  one  of 
which,  Port  Nicholson,  Wellington  (the  political  capital  of  the  colony)  holds 
42  627 


628       The  International  Geography 

an  unrivalled  commercial  position  with  easy  access  by  steam  to  both  coasts 
of  both  islands.  On  the  southern  side  of  the  strait  is  another  series  of 
sounds,  beautiful,  though  not  equal  in  magnificence  to  the  fjords  of  the 
south-west. 

Little  natural  shelter  is  afforded  by  the  eastern  coast-line  of  South  Island. 
But  about  half-way  along  the  coast  a  large  volcanic  peninsula,  named  by 
Captain  Cook  after  his  friend,  the  distinguished  naturalist,  Sir  Joseph  Banks, 
juts  out  in  picturesque  hills,  the  highest  of  which  is  slightly  over  3,000  feet 
in  height.  Several  of  its  inlets  provide  excellent  refuge  for  shipping  ;  one  of 
them,  Akaroa,  is  an  admirable  natural  harbour,  and  another,  Lyttelton,  has 
been  artificially  made  one  of  the  most  commodious  in  New  Zealand.  Further 
south  Port  Chalmers,  a  large  bar-harbour  of  the  less  impracticable  class, 
has  also  been  greatly  improved  by  dredging  and  other  works.  On 
Foveaux  Strait,  by  which  Stewart  Island  is  separated  from  South  Island, 
The  Bluff  is  the  port  of  the  large  district  of  Southland.  Twenty-nine 
coastal  lights  have  been  erected  by  the  colonial  government,  eight  of  the 
first  class,  fifteen  of  the  second,  three  of  the  third,  and  three  yet  smaller. 
This  is  exclusive  of  harbour  lights.  The  coast  is  stormy,  but  fogs  are  rare. 

Mountains.— The  most  striking  physical  characteristic  of  New 
Zealand  is  the  parallel  system  of  mountain  ranges  which  form  its  back- 
bone. Starting  in  the  extreme  south-west,  they  run  north-eastward,  are 
interrupted  by  Cook's  Strait,  but  end  only  near  East  Cape,  at  the  point 
of  the  shoulder  which  forms  the  south-eastern  corner  of  the  Bay  of  Plenty. 
They  reach  their  greatest  height  near  40°  S.,  where  they  are  known  as  the 
Southern  Alps,  and  there  Mount  Cook  or  Aorangi  attains  to  12,349  feet,  the 
noblest  of  many  fine  peaks.  In  this  part  of  the  Alps  there  are  glaciers 
exceeding  those  of  Switzerland  in  size.  On  the  west  side  some  of  them 
descend  to  within  a  thousand  feet  of  sea-level,  and  penetrate  the  forest 
zone.  Further  north  the  Alps  fork,  so  as  to  reach  and  overlook  both  the 
east  and  west  shores  of  South  Island  under  the  names  of  the  Kaikoura 
and  Tasman  Ranges.  In  the  former  Tapuae-nuku  is  9,462  feet  high. 

The  continuation  of  the  chain  in  North  Island  is  at  a  lower  elevation. 
Near  its  north-eastern  end  Hikurangi,  5,606  feet,  is  at  once  its  highest  and 
most  picturesque  summit.  Westward  of  and  quite  apart  from  the  main 
range  three  remarkable  volcanoes  present  a  striking  appearance.  Two 
of  them,  Ruapehu,  9,008  feet,  and  Tongariro  are  still  active,  and  from  the 
three  craters  of  the  latter,  of  which  the  highest  is  Ngauruhoe,  7,515  feet, 
steam  and  noxious  vapours  constantly  issue.  The  fine  cone  of  the  third, 
Egmont,  8,260  feet,  slopes  in  solitary  beauty  to  the  western  sea-shore,  and 
in  the  symmetry  of  its  form  is  considered  to  equal  its  famous  Japanese 
congener,  Fujiyama.  Ruapehu  and  Tongariro  are  at  the  south-eastern 
end  of  an  interesting  volcanic  line  which  is  prolonged  to  White  Island, 
an  insular  cone  in  the  Bay  of  Plenty,  incessantly  active  and  noted  for 
its  sulphur  deposits.  On  either  side  of  the  line  lies  the  Hot  Lakes  District, 
abounding  in  hot  and  warm  springs  and  pools,  geysers,  solfataras,  and 


New  Zealand  629 

fumaroles.  The  chemical  properties  of  many  of  the  thermal  waters, 
some  sulphur-acid,  some  sulphur-alkaline,  are  potent  for  the  cure  of 
illness,  especially  gout,  rheumatism,  skin-diseases^  and  disorders  of  the 
throat,  liver,  digestion  and  nerves.  A  number  of  bathing  establishments 
and  a  government  sanatorium  are  already  the  resort  of  invalids  and 
tourists. 

The  lakes  of  the  islands  are  many  :  the  largest,  Taupo,  about  twenty 
miles  long,  and  as  many  broad,  lies  in  the  very  centre  of  North  Island,  but 
on  the  whole  the  most  picturesque  sheets  of  water  are  the  deep,  ribbon- 
like  Wakatipu  (54  miles  long),  Te  Anau  (132  square  miles),  and  the 
strangely  irregular  Manapouri,  all  found  amongst  the  Southern  Alps. 

Surface  of  South  Island. — The  western  half  of  South  Island  may 
be  summed  up  as  a  mountainous  country,  fit  chiefly  for  miners,  shepherds, 
and  timber  cutters,  and  in  places  not  even  for  these.  West  of  the  water- 
shed the  mountains  are,  as  a  rule,  clothed  with  forest  and  drenched  with  a 
copious  rainfall,  which  in  the  fjord  region  is  as  heavy  as  170  inches  per 
annum.  Here  and  there  in  river  valleys  or  coastal  strips  are  patches  of 
arable  land,  fertile,  but  usually  troublesome  to  drain  and  clear.  East  of 
the  watershed  the  ranges  are  for  the  most  part  bare  of  timber,  and  below 
the  snow  line  carry  sparse  but  nourishing  native  grasses.  Here  and  there 
an  elevated  plain  is  found,  such  as  the  Mackenzie  or  Maniototo,  useful,  but 
bleak  in  winter.  Towards  the  east  coast,  however,  there  are  considerable 
tracts  of  level  or  undulating  country.  The  largest  of  these,  the  Canter- 
bury plains,  which  is  about  160  miles  long  and  30  miles  broad  in  its 
widest  part,  is  almost  a  dead  level.  At  the  south  end  of  the  island 
wide  expanses  of  arable  land  occur  in  the  district  of  Southland. 

Stewart  Island,  on  the  other  hand,  is  broken  and  forest-clad 
throughout,  has  beautiful  inlets  on  its  eastern  side,  and  presents  a 
bleak,  bold  western  coast  to  the  fierce  south-westerly  gales  from  the 
Antarctic.  From  the  Kaikouras  to  Foveaux  Strait  the  treeless  and,  on 
the  whole,  fertile  character  of  the  country  rendered  it  easy  of  occupation 
by  graziers  and.  farmers,  and  a  belt  of  almost  unbroken  settlement  of  an 
average  breadth  of  25  miles  from  the  coast  may  now  be  found  there. 
In  certain  localities  agriculture  has  ceased  to  be  rough  and  primitive, 
and  is  now  carried  on  with  no  small  outlay  of  skill  and  capital. 

Surface  of  North  Island. — In  North  Island  the  two  most  valuable 
tracts  of  country  are  those  on  the  middle  parts  of  the  east  and  west  coasts. 
On  the  east  coast  the  district  round  Hawke  Bay  is  rolling  and  in  part  a 
dead  level  of  great  fertility,  though  rather  exposed  to  floods.  On  the  west 
coast  the  country  is  more  undulating,  swelling  in  places,  and  in  others 
made  up  of  low,  steep  hills  of  a  blue  calcareous  clay  called  "  Papa,"  the 
soil  of  which  is  exceedingly  well  fitted  for  pasture.  From  about  thirty 
miles  to  the  north  of  the  city  of  Wellington  as  far  as  the  harbour  of 
Kawhia,  a  fertile  territory  extends  which  was  formerly  covered  with  forest, 
now  to  a  large  extent  cleared  away,  and  is  without  a  superior  in  the 


630       The   International   Geography 


colony  for  dairy  farming  and  for  some  kinds  of  sheep.  Another  useful 
piece  of  country  is  the  central  plain  of  the  Wairarapa  lying  between 
mountains  in  the  southern  part  of  the  island.  The  Hot  Lakes  District  is, 
however,  for  the  most  part  covered  with  pumice-sand  too  porous  to  carry 
grass  well.  The  Onetapu  and  Waingaroa  Plains  there,  at  a  mean  elevation 
of  about  2,000  feet  above  sea-level,  seem  empty  and  desolate.  Further 
north  the  soil  of  a  large  portion  of  the  province  of  Auckland  is  made  up 
of  stiff  white  or  yellow  clay,  fertile  only  after  assiduous  tilling.  Here  and 
there,  however,  this  is  relieved  by  strips  and  patches  of  alluvium  of  great 
fertility,  and  some  of  considerable  extent. 

Rivers. — Throughout  the  islands  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  travel  more 
than  two  or  three  miles  anywhere  without  encountering  a  river  or  stream 
of  greater  or  less  size.  Nearly  all  are  perennial,  and  the  volume  of  water 
discharged  into  the  sea  by  some  of  them  is  surprisingly  great  in  proportion 

to  their  length.  But  the  narrow,  elevated 
nature  of  the  country  gives  most  of  the 
rivers  the  character  of  mountain  torrents — 
swift,  cold,  liable  to  sudden  floods,  and  of 
but  little  use  for  navigation.  Among  the 
exceptions  to  this,  however,  is  the  longest 
river  in  the  colony,  the  Waikato,  which 
flows  northward  from  Lake  Taupo.  It  is 
traversed  by  river  steamers  for  a  great 
part  of  its  course.  Several  of  the  western 
rivers  of  North  Island,  notably  the  Wan- 
ganui,  flow  between  high  cliffs  thickly 
clothed  with  vegetation  of  remarkable 
richness  and  beauty.  Many  of  the  rivers 
of  South  Island  wander  about  beds  of 


HjM.Fn.Ntt  AM.MAY.  Jj«.  JUL.  Auc  Scr  Cci.lov  Ote.in 


II 
USTCHURCH— 


FIG  313.— Temperature  and  Rainfall  shingle,  sometimes  miles  in  breadth,  and 

of  Hokitika  and  Christchurch.  ,11  ,«     •  •/•*          •    «    <« 

constantly  change  their  swift  and  shallow 

courses  in  a  fashion   costly  and  puzzling  to  road-makers  and  bridge- 
builders. 

Climate.— Though  singularly  healthy  and  on  the  whole  agreeable,  the 
climate  of  New  Zealand  is  distinctly  warmer  than  even  the  southern  part 
of  Great  Britain.  The  average  temperature  of  the  air  in  South  Island  is  4° 
and  in  North  Island  7°  higher  than  that  of  London.  It  is,  however,  more 
equable.  The  variation  between  the  extremes  of  daily  temperature  is  20° 
only,  and  the  average  difference  between  the  mean  of  the  warmest  and  the 
coldest  month  is  5°  less  than  in  Jersey.  Except  on  the  saturated  and  almost 
uninhabited  south-west  coast,  almost  the  only  serious  climatic  drawback  is 
wind.  The  narrow  mountainous  islands  lie  in  the  "roaring  forties,"  and 
the  gales  in  Cook  and  Foveaux  Straits,  and  in  the  neighbourhood  of  some 
of  the  alpine  gorges  are  frequent  and  severe.  The  average  annual  rainfall 
in  the  more  important  centres  of  settlement  is,  at  Auckland  42  inches,  at 


New  Zealand  631 


Wellington  50,  at  Christchurch  26,  at  Dunedin  36.  At  Hokitika  on  the 
west  coast  of  South  Island  it  is  120  (Fig.  313). 

Flora. — The  flora  of  New  Zealand  is  striking,  varied  and  beautiful. 
Nearly  half  the  colony,  including  almost  the  whole  west  coast,  was  until 
recently  clothed  with  dense  forest.  The  eastern  half  of  the  islands  except  in 
the  far  north  and  the  extreme  south-east  corner,  is  usually  open  and  covered 
with  wiry  indigenous  grasses,  or  in  the  swamps  with  the  tall  Phormium 
tenax,  or  native  flax.  The  forest  trees  are  evergreens,  and  the  larger, 
mostly  pines  (which,  however,  bear  little  resemblance  to  the  pines  of  Europe) 
or  small-leaved  beeches.  In  the  northern  half  of  North  Island,  the  huge 
kauri  pine,  often  from  eight  to  twelve  feet  in  diameter,  yields  a  fine  timber, 
as  well  as  the  resin  or  kauri  gum  of  commerce.  Lianas,  flowering  creepers, 
one  palm  (the  nikau],  and  a  palm-like  lily,  add  to  the  beauty  of  the  forest, 
but  to  botanists  the  most  engrossing  division  of  the  New  Zealand  flora  is 
the  ferns  of  which  there  are  scores  of  species,  mostly  peculiar  to  the  islands. 
Tree  ferns  as  high  as  sixty  feet  are  met  with.  In  the  more  closely  settled 
districts,  imported  willows,  poplars,  Australian  eucalpytus,  and  Californian 
pines  make  up  the  plantations.  All  English  flowers  and  fruits,  and,  in 
North  Island,  oranges  and  lemons,  are  cultivated.  Some  ten  million  acres 
are  sown  with  English  grasses. 

Fauna. — Animal  life  in  New  Zealand,  before  colonisation,  was  remark- 
able for  the  paucity  of  land  mammals  and  reptiles.  A  rat  with  round  ears 
like  a  mouse,  a  smallish  dog,  and  two  kinds  of  bats  alone  represented  the 
mammals,  and  of  these  the  dog  is  now  extinct,  and  the  rat  rarely  seen. 
Lizards  were  the  only  reptiles,  and  a  small  and  not  widely  distributed  frog 
the  sole  amphibian.  The  native  birds  are  numerous  and  interesting, 
especially  in  the  forests.  Several,  notably  the  tut  and  the  mako  mako,  sing 
very  sweetly.  The  islands  were  formerly  the  home  of  the  gigantic  wing- 
less moa,  whose  skeletons  are  now  prominent  in  museums.  Wingless  birds 
still  live  in  the  shape  of  the  kiwi  and  takehe,  the  latter  extremely  rare. 
The  weka,  called  wood-hen  from  its  likeness  to  the  domestic  fowl,  has 
rudimentary  tufts  of  feathers  in  place  of  wings,  and  the  kakapo,  or 
ground-parrot,  has  wings  but  cannot  fly.  No  large  fresh-water  fish  are 
indigenous  though  eels  were  common  and  sometimes  grew  to  a  great  size. 

All  English  domestic  animals  have  been  introduced  by  the  colonists, 
and  have  thriven ;  this  is  true  also  of  such  English  birds  as  the 
skylark,  blackbird,  starling,  house-sparrow,  and  goldfinch,  and  certain 
game-birds,  notably  the  pheasant.  Pigs  introduced  by  Captain  Cook  have 
run  wild,  and  afford  sport,  as  do  red  and  fallow  deer,  hares  and  rabbits. 
Rabbits  are  now  a  serious  plague,  though  stoats,  weasels  and  ferrets  have 
been  imported  to  prey  upon  them.  Trout  have  been  acclimatised,  but 
not  salmon,  despite  many  attempts.  Sea  fish  are  fairly  plentiful;  the 
schnapper,  flounders,  and  a  kind  of  whitebait  are  especially  good  eating. 

People  and  History. — When  discovered  by  Europeans  the  islands 
were  sparsely  peopled  by  the  Maori,  a  brown  Polynesian  race  which  had 


632       The  International  Geography 

colonised  them  some  five  or  six  hundred  years  before.  They  were  intelli- 
gent and  physically  active,  tall,  and  well-built,  good  canoemen,  fishermen, 
and  tillers  of  the  soil.  They  showed  considerable  skill  in  wood-carving, 
but  had  no  knowledge  of  writing,  metals,  or  pottery.  They  were  ferocious 
cannibals,  constantly  engaged  in  tribal  wars.  Their  religion  was  a  vague 
polytheism,  and  their  government  a  rule  of  priests  and  chiefs  enforced 
largely  by  the  famous  tapu  (taboo).  The  first  European  to  encounter  them 
was  the  Dutch  sea-captain,  Tasman,  who  lighted  upon  the  islands  in 
December,  1642,  but  did  not  land.  Not  recognising  their  insular  character, 
he  gave  them  the  name  of  Staaten  Land,  which  was  afterwards  changed  to 
New  Zealand.  Not  until  1769  were  they  again  visited,  but  then  Captain  Cook 
circumnavigated  them  in  successive  voyages,  and  mapped  out  their  coasts 
with  great  care  and  accuracy.  He  took  possession  of  them,  but  the  British 
government  repudiated  his  action,  and  for  seventy  years  the  country  re- 
mained a  No  Man's  Land.  Early  in  the  nineteenth  century  it  became  the 
haunt  of  whalers,  sealers,  and  traders  in  timber,  flax,  native  weapons  and 
mantles,  and  tattooed  heads.  Samuel  Marsden,  Anglican  chaplain  in  New 
South  Wales,  established  a  mission  there  in  1814. 
Some  years  later  the  Maori  began  to  obtain  muskets 
and  powder,  and  in  twenty  years  a  fourth  of  their  race 
perished  in  war.  After  about  1825  the  missionaries 
began  to  make  numerous  converts,  and  by  1838  the 
wars  died  away.  The  growing  number  of  white  ad- 
venturers, however,  domiciled  in  the  country,  and  their 
FIG.  314.— Badge  of  enormous  land  claims  made  some  sort  of  settled  govern- 
ment necessary.  The  French  decided  to  annex  the 
islands,  but  they  were  anticipated  by  the  New  Zealand  Company,  an 
English  colonising  association,  founded  by  Edward  Gibbon  Wakefield. 
This  Company  forced  the  Colonial  Office  to  take  possession  of  New 
Zealand  by  despatching  emigrants  thither,  who  reached  Wellington  on 
January  29,  1840.  A  week  earlier,  however,  Captain  Hobson  had 
landed  in  the  Bay  of  Islands,  with  a  dormant  commission  in  his  pocket 
authorising  him  to  annex  the  country.  This  he  did  after  entering 
into  a  treaty  with  the  principal  native  chiefs,  512  of  whom  signed  it. 
The  British  flag  was  hoisted  in  South  Island  in  July  of  the  same  year, 
only  a  few  days  before  the  arrival  there  of  a  French  frigate  sent  to  take 
it.  Until  1853  the  colony  was  personally  ruled  by  Governors.  Parliamentary 
government  was  not  fully  established  until  1856.  After  various  modifica- 
tions it  has  taken  the  form  of  a  bicameral  system,  under  which  members 
of  the  Upper  House  are  nominated  for  seven  years,  and  those  of  the  Lower 
elected  for  three  under  a  universal  franchise  possessed  and  freely  used  by 
women  as  well  as  men.  The  British  Viceroy  has  the  right  of  dissolution, 
and  may — and  occasionally  does — reserve  laws  for  the  consideration  of 
the  Imperial  government.  Foreign  affairs  are  expressly  and  currency  law 
virtually  excluded  from  the  purview  of  the  parliament. 


New  Zealand 


633 


FIG.  315.— Average  pop- 
ulation of  a  square 
mile  of  New  Zealand. 


The  settlement  of  the  colony  was  pushed  not  from  one  centre  but 
from  nine  or  ten  different  points  on  the  coasts.  Hence  arose  a 
strong  local  feeling  which  still  exists.  The  colonists 
are  almost  entirely  British — English,  Scots  and  Irish 
in  order  of  strength.  A  small  German  and  Scandi- 
navian element  is  now  almost  absorbed.  Chinese 
immigration  is  checked  by  a  ^50  landing-tax,  and  the 
Chinese  have  diminished  from  eight  thousand  to  three 
thousand.  The  Maoris,  who,  after  more  than  one 
obstinate  war  with  the  settlers  have  been  at  peace 
for  nearly  a  generation,  are  still  slowly  declining, 
though  half-castes  increase.  The  birth-rate  amongst 
the  whites  falls  steadily  but  the  death-rate  is  the  lowest  in  the  world.  As 
to  numerical  strength  the  religious  bodies  rank  thus  :  the  Church  of 
England,  Presbyterian,  Wesleyan  and  Methodist,  Roman  Catholic.  Edu- 
cation is  free,  secular  and  compulsory.  There  are  good  secondary  schools, 
and  a  university  with  five  colleges. 

Industry  and  Trade. — The  chief  occupation  of  the  people  is  the 
grazing  of  sheep  and  cattle,  and  certain  industries  cognate  thereto, 
such  as  cheese  and  butter  making,  the  freezing  of  mutton  and  beef  for 
export,  wool-scouring,  bone-crushing,  tanning,  and  the  manufacture  of 
boots  and  shoes,  and  woollen  stuffs.  The  best  frozen  mutton  imported 

into  Great  Britain  comes  from 
New  Zealand.  Agriculture  comes 
next  to  grazing,  and  gold  and 
coal  mining  follow  agriculture. 
Timber-cutting  and  kauri  gum 
digging  are  of  importance.  Brick 
and  tile  making,  furniture  making, 
iron  founding  and  machine  making, 
flax-dressing,  printing,  jam  making 
and  brewing  are  other  industries. 
Distilling  is  prohibited  by  law. 
Most  manufactures  are  more  or 
less  protected  by  customs  duties, 
often  as  high  as  20  and  25  per 
cent,  ad  valorem.  Butter  and 
cheese  are  of  excellent  quality, 
and  are  made  in  factories  on  the 
Danish  system  for  export  to  Great 
Britain.  Three-fourths  of  the  trade 


of  the  colonv  is  with  the  mother 
country,   and  nearly  all  the  rest 

within  the  British  Empire—  with  Australia,  India  and  Fiji.     The  colony  is 
well  provided  with  State-owned  railways,  telegraphs  and  telephones. 


634       The  International  Geography 


The  four  chief  ports  are  fortified  with  batteries  and  torpedoes.  In 
case  of  war  about  eight  thousand  fairly  efficient  volunteers  could  be  imme- 
diately mustered.  A  British  warship,  towards  the  cost  of  which  the  colony 
contributes,  is  stationed  in  New  Zealand  waters. 

Towns. — For  many  years  New  Zealand  was  divided  into  provinces. 
Though  these  were  legally  abolished  in  1876,  the  names  of  the  Provincial 
Districts  are  still  used  for  the  sake  of  convenience,  and  the  colonists 
commonly  speak  of  them.  They  are  Auckland,  Taranaki,  Hawkes  Bay, 

Wellington,  Nelson,  Marlborough,  Canter- 
bury, Westland,  Otago,  Southland.  The 
four  principal  towns  are  Auckland,  Christ- 
church,  Dunedinand  Wellington.  Auckland 
is  the  most  attractive  to  the  eye,  and  its  fine 
harbour  is  important  for  trade.  Wellington, 
though  still  the  smallest,  is  the  capital,  and 
is  overtaking  the  others  in  population.  Un- 
like the  others,  which  are  by  the  sea,  Christ- 
church  stands  inland  on  the  Canterbury 
FIG.  317.— Auckland  Harbour.  plain  A11  the  towns  are  railway  termini. 

Dunedin  is  the  centre  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  Christchurch  of  the 
Anglican.  All  are  fairly  well  paved,  and  lighted  with  gas  or  by  electricity, 
and  are  provided  with  churches,  theatres,  halls,  and  recreation  grounds. 
Most  of  the  buildings  are  of  wood.  The  rather  mean  architecture  is 
pleasantly  redeemed  by  the  trees  and  gardens  in  which  most  of  the 
residences  stand.  The  towns  are  well  drained  and  healthy.  The  hours 
of  labour  seldom  exceed  eight  and  a  half  a  day,  with  a  weekly  half-holiday. 
Football  is  the  favourite  athletic  sport,  and  horse-racing  very  popular. 

STATISTICS. 

Area  of  New  Zealand  (square  miles) 104,471 

North  Island 44,468 

South  Island 58,525 

Stewart  Island 665 

Chatham  Islands         375 

Other  Islands 438 


Number  of  acres  under  cultivation  (1898) 

Population 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile  . . 


1881. 

530,000 

5 


1891. 

688,651 
6 


11,483,127 

1901. 
815,862 


POPULATION  OF  TOWNS. 

1891.        1901.  1891.        1901. 

Auckland  (with  suburbs)  51,297  . .  67,226  I  Christchurch  (with  suburbs)  47,846  . .  57,041 
Wellington    „         „         34,190 ..  49,344  |  Dunedin  „  „        45,869  ..  52,390 

ANNUAL  TRADE  OF  NEW  ZEALAND  (in  founds  sterling). 

1871-75-  1881-85.  1891-95. 

Imports 6,323,000        ..        ..        7,837,000        ..        ..  6,579,000 

Exports 5,324,000        ..        ..        6,745,000        ..        ..  9,229,000 

STANDARD  BOOKS. 

W.  P.  Reeves.    "  The  Long  White  Cloud."    London,  1899. 

F.  von  Hochstetter.    "New  Zealand,  its  Physical  Geography,"  etc.    London,  1867. 
W.  Gisborne.     "  The  Colony  of  New  Zealand."    London,  1888. 

G.  E.  Mannering.    "With  Axe  and  Rope  in  the  New  Zealand  Alps."    London,  1891. 


CHAPTER    XXXV.— MELANESIA 


Position. — The  great  island  of  New  Guinea,  or  Papua,  occupies  an 
intermediate  position  between  the  continent  of  Australia  and  the  Malay 
Archipelago  ;  but  the  character  of  its  fauna  and  flora  shows  clearly  that  it 
belongs  to  Australasia.  The  aboriginal  people,  on  the  other  hand,  are  dis- 
tinct from  those  of  both  the  great  regions  to  north  and  south,  but  show 
affinities  with  the  Melanesians  who  inhabit  the  chain  of  oceanic  islands 
immediately  to  the  east.  New  Caledonia,  coming  half-way  between  New 
Guinea  and  New  Zealand,  may  also  be  considered  as  a  Melanesian  island. 

I.— BRITISH  NEW  GUINEA 

BY  SIR  WILLIAM  MACGREGOR,  G.C.M.G.,  C.B.,  M.D., 

Formerly  Lieutenant-Governor  of  British  New  Guinea. 

Position  and  Surface. — The  colony  of  British  New  Guinea,  formally 
annexed  in  1888,  occupies  the  south-east  of  New  Guinea  and  a  number  of 
small  islands.  The  total  area  of 
the  colony  is  about  90,500  square 
miles,  of  which  2,700  square  miles 
represent  the  small  islands.  With 
the  exception  of  the  low  coral 
islands  of  Kiriwina,  Nada,  part 
of  Murua,  and  a  few  others  of 
small  dimensions,  the  islands  are 
mountainous  and  principally  of 
schistose  formation  ;  the  highest, 
Goodenough,  rises  to  8,000  feet. 
The  eastern  end  of  the  main- 
land part  of  the  colony  is  also  mountainous,  and  as  the  mountains 
extend  westward  they  rise  and  coalesce  to  form  a  massive  central  chain, 
which  attains  its  greatest  altitudes  in  the  Owen  Stanley  Range,  the 
highest  point  of  which  is  Mount  Victoria,  13,200  feet,  and  in  Mount 
Scratchley,  the  Wharton  Range,  and  Mount  Albert  Edward  (about 
13,000  feet).  Further  west  the  range  becomes  more  broken  and  lower, 
while  pursuing  nearly  the  same  general  trend  towards  the  north-west. 
The  western  end  of  the  colony  is  for  nearly  300  miles  generally  low  and 
swampy  for  a  long  distance  inland.  The  mountains  near  the  east  end,  on 
the  mainland,  are  of  igneous  origin  ;  the  great  masses  of  the  central  part  of 
the  main  range  are  all  schistose,  while  in  the  west  sandstone  predominates, 
but  there  are  outcrops  of  igneous  rocks  such  as  Mount  Yule  (about  10,000 
feet).  On  the  Fly  river  near  the  point  of  junction  of  British,  Dutch,  and 

635 


FIG.  318. — New  Guinea. 


636       The  International  Geography 

German  territory,  and  in  other  low  grounds  in  the  west,  there  are  limestones 
with  fossil  corals.  The  whole  possession  is  remarkably  well  watered ; 
the  mountains  and  most  of  the  lower  country  are  covered  by  forest. 

Rivers. — Most  of  the  principal  rivers  converge  upon  and  enter  the  Gulf 
of  Papua.  The  head  streams  of  the  Fly,  the  largest  river  in  the  island, 
spread  over  a  large  area  in  the  centre  of  the  island,  its  basin  being 
shared  by  the  three  different  territories.  Its  course  is  about  620  miles 
from  the  sea  to  the  British-German  boundary.  The  influence  of  the  tide 
is  felt  over  a  hundred  miles  up  the  Fly ;  and  it  is  navigable  by  a  steam 
launch  for  over  500  miles.  The  Purari  river  is  navigable  by  steamer  for 
120  miles.  The  Mambare,  the  chief  river  of  the  north-east  coast,  is 
navigable  for  about  fifty  miles. 

Climate  and  Natural  Resources.— As  the  colony  lies  between 
5°  S.  and  ii£°  S.  lat.,  the  climate  of  the  lower  part  of  the  country  is  warm. 
It  is  outside  the  range  of  the  hurricanes  that  pervade  the  southern  part  of 
the  western  Pacific.  At  Port  Moresby,  near  the  middle  of  the  colony,  the 
average  temperature  at  9  a.m.  for  three  years  ending  1897  was  81°  F.  The 
extreme  range  of  temperature  was  from  94°  to  74°  F.  at  9  a.m.  The  hot 
season  is  from  November  to  May,  hottest  in  January  and  February  ;  the  cold 
season  is  from  June  to  October,  coolest  in  August.  During  the  hot  season 
unsteady  north  and  north-west  winds  blow  on  the  south  coast ;  during  the 
cold  season  they  are  from  the  south-east  and  are  much  more  regular.  At 
Port  Moresby  the  rainfall  of  three  years  averaged  37  inches,  at  Daru  in  the 
western  division  82-5  inches,  while  at  Samarai  near  the  south-east  end  of 
the  mainland  it  was  126-5  inches  in  one  year.  It  is  much  greater,  but 
undetermined,  on  the  central  mountain  ranges.  The  climate  is  generally 
agreeable  at  an  altitude  of  3,000  feet,  a  height  that  can  be  reached  in  one 
day  from  Port  Moresby.  At  5,000  to  6,000  feet  it  becomes  distinctly  cold 
at  night,  the  thermometer  sometimes  reading  55°  F.,  and  at  10,000  feet  ice 
is  met  with  in  the  early  morning.  Malarial  fever,  of  a  type  that  is  as  a 
rule  comparatively  mild,  is  not  rare  on  the  low  grounds.  The  obstinate 
scaly  ring-worm  common  in  many  parts  of  the  Pacific  exists,  and  rheuma- 
tism is  not  unknown  ;  but  many  of  the  infectious  diseases  of  Europe  have 
never  been  introduced.  The  climate  is  favourable  to  the  cultivation  of  all 
tropical  products,  including  rice  and  maize. 

Flora  and  Fauna.— The  flora  is  as  varied  as  the  climate.  On  the 
tops  of  the  highest  mountain  chains  there  are  many  species  of  grasses, 
buttercups,  forget-me-nots,  daisies,  rhododendrons  and  heaths.  The  forest 
there  is  principally  cypress ;  from  7,000  to  10,000  feet  it  is  chiefly  myrta- 
ceous,  often  covered  by  trailing  bamboo  or  mixed  with  pandanus ;  and 
from  2,000  to  5,000  feet  evergreen  oaks  are  common.  Native  cloth  is 
made  by  beating  out  the  bark  of  the  paper  mulberry  and  other  trees. 
Fibre  is  obtained  from  the  banana,  the  coco-nut  and  the  aerial  roots  of 
certain  species  of  pandanus.  There  are  no  dangerous  carnivora  in  the 
colony,  although  wild  swine  are  common.  There  are  several  varieties  of 


British  New  Guinea  637 

wallaby,  phalanger  and  echidna;  and  no  deer,  hares  or  rabbits.  The 
most  dangerous  creature  is  the  crocodile,  which  causes  considerable  loss 
of  life,  and  there  are  poisonous  snakes  nearly  related  to  those  of  Australia. 
The  birds  include  the  cassowary,  many  Birds  of  Paradise,  pigeons,  the 
hornbill,  cockatoos,  geese,  ducks,  quail,  and  on  the  mountain  tops,  snipe 
and  woodcock. 

People.— All  the  native  tribes  of  the  colony  that  have  up  to  now  been 
met  with  seem  to  belong  to  the  same  race ;  they  present,  however,  well 
marked  differences  in  physical  appearance,  disposition,  language  and 
customs.  No  clear  trace  of  an  old  or  earlier  race  than  the  existing  one  has 
been  discovered.  The  present  inhabitants  doubtless  arrived  in  the  country 
when  it  was  already  covered  by  dense  forest,  which  had  its  effect  in 
separating  them  into  secluded,  shy  and  suspicious  communities.  Differ- 
ences in  the  nature  of  the  food  and  of  the  water  also  help  to  differentiate 
the  people.  Some  live  almost  exclusively  on  sago,  others  on  yams  and 
taro,  some  on  bananas,  others  principally  on  sweet  potatoes.  Many  tribes 
live  continuously  in  a  heavy,  moist,  warm  atmosphere  near  the  coast  line  ; 
others  in  the  light  and  bracing  climate  of  the  mountains.  The  average 
size  of  a  Papuan  is  less  than  that  of  an  average  European.  The  race  affini- 
ties with  the  Pacific  are  strong ;  and  on  the  coast  line  there  is  a  smooth- 
haired  Malay-like  element  that  is  absent  in  the  interior.  There  is  a  well 
marked  relationship  to  the  languages  of  Polynesia,  but  the  isolation  of  the 
different  communities  has  led  to  such  diversities  of  dialect  that  people 
living  only  a  few  miles  apart  cannot  understand  each  other.  The  dialects 
are  easy  to  acquire,  containing  few  or  no  sounds  that  cannot  be  represented 
by  the  English  alphabet,  or  be  easily  pronounced  by  an  English-speaking 
person.  English  is  now  making  considerable  progress.  The  European 
population  is  about  500  ;  the  native  population  is  estimated  at  about  350,000. 
There  has  been,  however,  no  native  census. 

Government.— The  possession  has  the  constitution  of  a  Crown  Colony, 
but  the  cost  of  administration  is  chiefly  defrayed  by 
the  Commonwealth  of  Australia,  the  exact  relation  of 
which  to  the  Government  of  New  Guinea  was  not  de- 
fined up  to  1903.  There  was  no  form  of  government 
among  the  native  population.  A  certain  measure  of 
chiefly  influence  is  being  created  now  by  a  few  men 
under  government  authority,  but  control  over  the 

natives  is  best  acquired  by  the  gradual  creation  of  a 

,  '  British  New  Guinea. 

force  of  village  policemen.     The  administration  has  at 

its  disposal  an  armed  constabulary  consisting  of  over  a  hundred  natives 
enrolled  from  many  different  districts.  There  is  a  local  Legislature  nomi- 
nated by  the  Crown,  and  consisting,  with  one  exception,  of  officers  of  the 
government. 

Trade.— The  chief  industry  worked  by  Europeans  is  alluvial  gold 
mining ;  the  number  of  miners  has  varied  at  different  times  from  100  to 


638       The  International  Geography 

800  men.  The  gold-bearing  country  is  extensive,  but  very  difficult  to 
prospect.  There  are  indications  of  auriferous  reefs.  The  valuable  mineral 
osmiridium  has  been  found  from  the  Gira  river  to  the  Owen  Stanley  Range, 
and  coal  exists  in  the  Purari  sandstone  district.  The  pearl  and  pearl-shell 
fishery  is  of  considerable  importance,  the  shell  being  widely  distributed 
over  the  eastern  seas  of  the  colony.  Beche-de-mer  is  found  on  most  of  the 
reefs,  and  turtle  shell  is  common.  Sandal-wood  is  sometimes  found  in  the 
form  of  large  trees,  so  far  only  in  the  central  district  on  the  mainland,  and 
is  exported.  The  rubber  industry  is  important  and  promising  ;  the  indi- 
genous trees  alone  yield  this  article  at  present,  but  both  soil  and  climate 
should  be  favourable  to  the  better  sorts  of  foreign  rubber  trees.  There 
are  some  good  varieties  of  timber,  including  cedar  and  ebony.  There  can 
be  no  reasonable  doubt  that  the  sugar-cane,  which  is  native  and  present 
in  a  great  many  varieties,  sago,  cotton  probably  also  indigenous,  coffee, 
tea,  vanilla  and  tobacco,  which  is  domesticated  if  not  actually  indigenous 
and  of  exceptionally  fine  quality,  will  eventually  be  very  valuable.  The  ex- 
ternal trade  of  the  colony  is  chiefly  with  Queensland  and  New  South  Wales ; 
it  amounts  to  about  £130,000  annually.  The  tariff  is  comparatively  light. 

A  steamer  runs  regularly  to  the  possession,  starting  from  Sydney  and 
calling  at  Port  Moresby  and  Samarai,  and  proceeding  to  the  Solomon 
Islands  and  thence  back  to  Sydney.  Much  of  the  internal  communica- 
tion will  be  carried  on  by  the  rivers.  Tracks  have  been  cut  right  across 
the  colony  from  north  to  south  and  in  many  other  directions,  and  the 
natives  are  becoming  accustomed  to  travel  alone  or  with  Europeans  for 
great  distances ;  but  there  are  few  roads. 

Political  Divisions  and  Towns. — The  colony  is  divided  into  four 
magisterial  divisions,  in  each  of  which  there  is  a  Resident  Magistrate. 
The  Central  Court,  which  possesses  the  jurisdiction  of  an  ordinary  Supreme 
Court,  sits  wherever  there  is  occasion.  The  principal  seat  of  Government 
is  at  Port  Moresby,  which  is  centrally  and  picturesquely  situated  on  a 
large  and  sheltered  harbour,  easy  of  approach  and  provided  with  sub- 
stantial wharves.  The  population  consists  of  about  1,000  natives  and 
some  40  Europeans.  The  immediate  neighbourhood  is  not  suited  for 
ordinary  cultivation  on  account  of  the  rather  scanty  rainfall.  Samarai, 
the  most  important  place,  is  situated  on  an  islet  lying  about  a  mile 
from  the  mainland  in  the  east.  It  is  the  headquarters  of  the 
Resident  Magistrate  of  the  district,  and  the  European  population  is 
generally  greater  than  at  Port  Moresby ;  there  is  no  native  village.  The 
third  port  of  entry  for  the  colony  is  the  island  of  Daru,  the  headquarters 
of  the  Resident  Magistrate  for  the  western  division.  It  has  a  good  and 
safe  harbour,  the  only  one  the  colony  possesses  in  the  west,  and  is  visited 
by  many  boats  engaged  in  the  pearl-shell  fishery  of  Torres  Straits. . 

STANDARD  BOOKS. 
Rev.  J.  Chalmers.    "  Pioneer  Life  and  Work  in  New  Guinea."    London,  1895. ' 


"Annual  Reports."    Brisbane,  1888-1898. 


J.  P.  Thomson.    "  British  New  Guinea."    London,  1892. 


German  New  Guinea  639 

n. — GERMAN  NEW  GUINEA 
BY  GRAF  VON  PFEIL. 

Position  and  Surface.— The  coast  of  Kaiser  Wilhelmsland,  or 
German  New  Guinea,  on  the  north-east  of  the  island,  runs  nearly  in  a 
straight  line  from  north-west  to  south-east  for  600  miles.  Two  inden- 
tations, Astrolabe  Bay  and  Huon  Gulf,  flank  a  peninsula  on  which  rise  the 
Finisterre  and  Rawlinson  mountain  ranges.  Beyond  this  promontory  no 
morphological  development  is  noticeable  along  the  coast,  which  yet  has 
a  number  of  good  harbours  formed  by  coral  reefs  bordering  it.  There 
are  besides  some  good  roadsteads  sheltered  by  small  coral  islands  and 
a  few  bays  cut  into  marshy  lowlands.  So  far  no  mouth  of  the  numerous 
rivers  of  New  Guinea  has  been  found  available  as  a  harbour.  The  navi- 
gable rivers  offer  no  building  sites  near  their  outlets,  the  banks  of  their 
lower  course  being  mostly  marshy  plains  suitable  for  rice-growing  ;  those 
rivers  which  are  not  navigable  have  mostly  too  small  an  entrance  from  the 
sea  to  render  them  suitable.  The  Ramu  has  been  found  to  be  navigable, 
and  when  the  Margaret  river  is  explored,  it  is  justly  surmised  that  it  also 
will  prove  navigable.  The  Kaiserin  Augusta  river  has  been  ascended  with 
a  sea-going  steamer  for  180  miles.  All  the  rivers  carry  a  surprisingly  large 
quantity  of  water,  a  circumstance  no  doubt  due  to  the  great  elevation  of 
the  mountains  which  crowd  this  huge  island,  the  interior  of  which  is  as 
yet  almost  unknown.  The  few  expeditions  that  have  ventured  to  open 
up  the  country  found  progress  exceedingly  difficult.  There  are  no  paths, 
the  territory  is  terribly  rugged,  and  covered  with  so  dense  an  undergrowth 
of  shrub  that  a  road  must  be  cleared  with  hatchets ;  a  day's  toilsome 
march  may  result  in  the  advance  of  one  mile.  On  the  steep  hillsides 
water  is  not  always  met  with,  so  that  expeditions  suffer  from  thirst  From 
the  sea,  chains  of  tall  mountains  may  be  discerned  far  inland.  Above  all 
tower  the  two  loftiest  peaks  of  the  Bismarck  Range,  Mounts  Wilhelm 
and  Herbert,  exceeding  13,000  feet.  It  seems  probable  that  these  mountains 
form  a  continuation  of  those  in  Dutch  New  Guinea,  on  which,  it  is  re- 
ported, snow  has  been  observed,  and  that  they  lead  on  to  the  Owen 
Stanley  Range,  thus  forming  a  central  backbone.  Of  the  geological 
character  of  these  mountains  absolutely  nothing  is  known.  In  Huon 
Gulf  the  rivers  bring  down  pebbles  derived  from  ancient  volcanic 
rocks,  while  north-west  of  the  peninsula  mentioned  above  more  recent 
formations  seems  to  prevail.  A  zone  of  coral  rock  forms  the  coast  for 
some  distance  north-west  of  the  peninsula  and  rises  in  a  number  of  peculiar 
and  very  striking  terraces  to  a  great  height.  As  far  as  can  be  ascertained 
this  coral  zone  does  not  extend  more  than  a  few  miles  inland. 

Climate,  Flora  and  Fauna. — The  climate  is  hot  and  moist,  the 
yearly  rainfall  being  very  considerable,  though  subject  to  great  variations; 
a  difference  of  79  inches  has  been  observed.  The  seasons  are  not  clearly 


640      The  International  Geography 

defined  and  there  is  no  strictly  rainy  or  dry  season,  but  rain  falls  in 
nearly  every  month  of  the  year.  A  very  remarkable  local  influence  on 
the  distribution  of  the  seasons  seems  to  be  exercised  by  the  Finisterre 
Mountains ;  when  the  greater  rainfall  takes  place  east  of  them,  their 
western  part  enjoys  a  dry  season,  and  vice  versa.  Heat,  moisture  and  a  rich 
soil  combine  to  produce  a  most  luxuriant  vegetation.  The  whole  country 
is  covered  with  dense  dank  forest,  the  upper  boundary  of  which  has  not 
yet  been  ascertained.  Timber  and  a  great  variety  of  wood,  valuable  for 
cabinet  makers'  purposes,  is  plentiful,  but  difficult  to  obtain  on  account  of 
the  rugged  character  of  the  country.  Banyan  trees  of  gigantic  size,  with 
labyrinths  of  aerial  roots,  are  frequently  met  with,  the  mango  is  found 
wild,  huge  tree-ferns  delight  the  eye,  and  tangled  lianas  render  progress 
next  to  impossible.  Orchids  of  rare  colour  and  shape  are  often  found, 
and  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  nutmeg  also  exists.  The  few  plains  known 
in  New  Guinea  near  Hatzfeldhafen  and  on  the  banks  of  the  Kaiserin 
Augusta  river,  and  also  the  coral  terraces,  are  covered  with  tall  grass 
instead  of  the  customary  forest.  The  fauna,  very  poor  in  quadrupeds, 
has  only  a  few  marsupials— among  them  the  wallaby — and  rodents,  but 
the  many  varieties  of  the  Bird  of  Paradise  which  are  found  are  the 
most  beautiful  birds  in  the  world,  and  only  the  large  specimens  of  butter- 
flies the  country  produces  can  vie  with  them  in  the  splendour  of  their 
colouring.  The  cassowary  has  been  met  with,  and  the  tufted  pigeon  as 
large  as  a  goose  is  well  known.  Snakes  are  not  very  numerous,  though 
mostly  venomous.  Large  crocodiles  are  sometimes  found  in  the  rivers. 

The  Bismarck  Archipelago,  containing  New  Britain  and  New 
Ireland,  forms  a  part  of  this  South  Sea  colony,  and  is  a  name  given 
to  several  groups  of  islands,  of  which  the  Solomons  are  one.  Of  these 
only  the  three  largest  belong  to  the  archipelago.  The  only  well-explored 
districts  are  the  Gazelle  Peninsula,  which  forms  the  northern  part  of  New 
Britain  (Neu  Pommern),  and  the  small  islets  of  the  Duke  of  York 
(Lauenburg)  group.  On  the  small  coral  islands  some  of  the  trading 
firms  have  their  establishments  ;  on  the  Gazelle  Peninsula  several  planta- 
tions are  carried  on  successfully.  The  soil  is  a  rich  loam  formed  of 
volcanic  ashes,  which  spread  over  a  large  area  after  they  had  been 
ejected  by  the  three  now  extinct  volcanoes,  which  are  the  distinguishing 
features  of  this  peninsula.  New  Britain  offers  greater  facilities  to 
European  settlers  than  any  of  the  other  islands  of  the  archipelago.  Its 
coast-line  is  well  indented  with  numerous  bays,  the  mountains  which 
fill  the  interior  seem  to  be  less  precipitous,  the  valleys  between  them 
wider  and  easier  of  access  than  those  of  New  Guinea.  The  other 
islands,  though  all  of  considerable  size,  are  almost  unapproachable,  their 
coasts  are  steep  and  unbroken,  and  man  is  almost  wilder  than  nature. 
Confirmed  cannibals,  the  natives  are  nearly  all  very  warlike,  and  offer 
strenuous  opposition  to  all  attempts  at  European  ingress.  Some  islands 
have  suffered  from  the  Australian  labour  traffic.  The  natives  in  the 


German   New   Guinea  641 

archipelago  differ  considerably  from  each  other,  according  to  the  island 
which  they  inhabit.  Three  types  can  clearly  be  distinguished.  The 
people  of  New  Britain,  of  New  Ireland  (Neu  Mecklenburg),  and  those 
of  the  Solomon  Islands,  who  again  divide  into  a  darker  and  a  lighter  type. 
All  again  differ  from  the  inhabitants  of  New  Guinea,  who  are  physically 
inferior.  It  seems  probable  that  we  have  to  deal  with  two  races,  a  darker 
and  a  lighter  one.  In  every  small  district  a  separate  dialect  is  spoken,  and 
so  far  as  we  know  the  people  have  no  traditions  which  might  point  out 
their  history.  The  islands  of  the  archipelago  are  covered  with  primeval 
forest  of  a  different  character  from  that  in  New  Guinea.  The  bread-fruit 
tree  is  found  on  the  coral  islands,  almost  all  of  which  are  fringed  with  a 
broad  belt  of  coco-nut  palms.  The  sago  palm  is  common,  timber  less 
plentiful,  the  mango  apparently  wanting.  Birds  of  Paradise  are  not  found ; 
cockatoos  and  several  species  of  parrots  are  plentiful.  Pigeons  are  found 
in  immense  flights,  but  certain  kinds  only  inhabit  certain  islands.  The 
bats,  called  flying-foxes,  occur  in  thousands,  and  are  eaten  by  the  natives. 
The  interior  of  these  islands  is  probably  the  least  known  corner  of  the 
whole  world. 

Government.  —  The  colony  is  directly  administered 
Imperial  German  Government ;  but  the  develop- 
ment of  its  resources  remains  in  the  hands  of  the 
German  New  Guinea  Company.  Friedrich  Wil- 
helmshafen,  the  best  natural  harbour  in  New 
Guinea,  has  developed  into  a  permanent  settle- 
ment. As  this  bay  gives  access  to  wide  fertile 
plains  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  settlement  on  its 
border  has  a  future.  Other  ports  of  some  promise 
are  Bcrlinhafen,  Konstantinhafen  and  Finschhafen. 

In  the  Bismarck  Archipelago  the  chief  settlements  are  Matupi,  a  small 
island  in  Blanche  Bay,  entirely  occupied  by  the  establishment  of  a 
successful  trading  firm.  Ralum  is  a  flourishing  and  steadily  growing 
plantation,  and  Herbertshohe  is  the  seat  of  administration.  All  those 
localities  are  situated  on  the  Gazelle  peninsula,  which  is  the  centre  of 
traffic.  All  other  settlements  are  trading  or  missionary  stations  at  which 
a  few  Europeans  live  in  comparative  solitude.  Gold  occurs  in  the 
Bismarck  Range  of  New  Guinea,  but  plantation  products  and  mother-of- 
pearl  are  the  chief  exports. 

STANDARD    BOOKS. 

"  Nachrichten  iiber  Kaiser  Wilhelmsland."    Berlin  (published  periodically  by  the  German 

New  Guinea  Company). 
Krieger,  M.    "  Neu-Guinea"  [in  Kirchhoffs  series].   Berlin,  1899. 


64.2       The    International  Geography 

in.— DUTCH  NEW  GUINEA 

BY  DR.  C.  M.  KAN/ 

Professor  of  Geography  in  the  University  of  Amsterdam. 

Position  and  Exploration.— The  western  or  Dutch  half  of  New 
Guinea  extends  from  about  twenty  miles  south  of  the  equator  to  9°  S.,  and 
from  longitudes  131°  to  141°  E.  It  is  larger  than  British  and  German  New 
Guinea  taken  together.  The  voyages  of  the  Dutch  to  New  Guinea  in  the 
early  days  of  the  Dutch  East  India  Company,  undertaken  by  Willem 
Yansz,  Carstensz,  Pool,  Tasman,  Vink,  and  others,  were  limited  to  par- 
ticular parts  of  the  coast,  such  as  Telokh  Berau,  and  Onin.  Torres  Strait 
was  long  unknown,  and  the  north  coast  of  New  Guinea  was  sought  for  north 
of  the  equator,  the  whole  being  looked  upon  as  part  of  the  great  hypothetical 
southern  continent.  The  explorers  of  the  nineteenth  century  have  outlined 
the  coast  and  made  preliminary  surveys  which  allow  it  to  be  represented 
on  maps  with  some  approach  to  accuracy.  Subsequently  mission  stations 
were  established  in  Dorei  and  Geelvink  Bay,  and  traders  came  from 
Banda,  Ternate,  and  Celebes,  while  occasional  visits  of  men-of-war  ex- 
tended the  knowledge  of  the  coast.  Since  1858,  several  scientific  travellers 
have  visited  the  island,  chief  amongst  them  being  Wallace,  Bernstein,  Meyer, 
Van  Rosenberg,  D'Albertis,  Maklukho  Maklay,  Braam  Morris,  De  Clercq 
and  Horst.  The  interior  still  remains  entirely  unknown. 

Surface. — The  south  coast  may  be  divided  into  two  parts,  lying  res- 
pectively west  and  east  of  Cape  Buru,  opposite  Geelvink  Bay.  The  western 
half  is  best  known  on  account  of  the  repeated  surveys  and  thorough  studies 
of  Versteeg  and  De  Clercq,  and  is  characterised  by  off-lying  islands,  and 
three  deep  bays  named  MacCluer  Gulf,  Arguni  and  Etna  Bays.  A  few 
small  rivers,  including  the  almost  unknown  Karuf a,  enter  on  this  part  of  the 
coast,  and  a  steep  line  of  cliffs  about  fifty  feet  high,  composed  of  coral  lime- 
stone, sandstone  and  flints,  commences  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  flat 
Sebekar  Bay,  and  is  repeated  further  east  between  Arguni  Bay  and  Cape 
Buru.  The  other  half  of  the  south  coast  is  still  very  little  known  ;  for  the 
most  part  it  seems  to  be  low  with  no  deep  bays,  and  is  dangerous  for  navi- 
gation, and  very  difficult  of  approach  even  off  the  mouths  of  the  rivers. 
On  the  north  coast  the  eastern  half  from  Humboldt  Bay  to  Geelvink  Bay  is 
characterised  by  numerous  small  inlets,  while  the  rivers,  on  account  of  the 
proximity  of  the  coast  mountains,  are  but  little  developed.  The  only 
important  stream  is  the  Amberno  river,  which  flows  from  the  Van  Rees 
mountains  in  the  far  interior.  In  the  western  half  the  great  incurve  of 
Geelvink  Bay  contains  a  number  of  large  and  small  islands,  the  largest, 
including  Japen  Island,  extending  in  a  double  chain  across  the  mouth  of  the 
bay,  and  further  west  the  land  has  the  form  of  a  flat  coastal  plain  backed 
by  mountains  which  give  rise  to  numerous  small  rivers.  The  only  part  of 

1  Translated  from  the  German  by  the  Editor. 


Dutch  New  Guinea  643 

this  coast  that  is  fairly  well  known  is  that  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Dorei 
and  Andai  and  where  Meyer  crossed  the  island  opposite  MacCluer  Gulf. 

The  mountains  and  rivers  are  very  imperfectly  known.  East  of  Arguni 
Bay,  a  range  with  an  elevation  of  about  3,000  feet  runs  from  Mount  Genoffa 
(about  5,000  feet)  in  a  north-easterly  direction.  Further  east,  in  the  interior, 
the  long  range  of  the  Charles  Louis  mountains  has  been  seen  from  the 
coast  running  west  and  east  between  the  meridians  of  135°  and  138°  E.  They 
rise  into  plateau-like  summits  much  higher  than  the  coast  range,  and  are 
often  covered  with  clouds.  The  height,  as  measured  from  passing  ships, 
appears  to  reach  12,000  and  even  16,000  feet,  but  it  is  still  uncertain 
whether  they  rise  above  the  snow-line  as  has  been  reported.  The  coast 
mountains  appear  to  be  formed  of  a  Tertiary  limestone,  and  from  the 
evidence  of  the  pebbles  in  the  river  beds,  the  great  mountains  of  the 
interior  consist  mainly  of  slates  and  sandstone  with  some  volcanic  rocks. 
On  the  north  coast  the  Cyclops  mountains  (about  7,000  feet),  near  the 
newly  discovered  Santani  Lake,  are  perhaps  of  volcanic  origin.  On 
account  of  the  insuperable  difficulties  of  the  cataracts  of  the  Amberno  river 
the  Van  Rees  mountains  remain  entirely  unknown.  Further  west  the  edge 
of  the  central  plateau  approaches  the  coast.  Along  Geelvink  Bay  and  in  the 
Arfak  mountains  (about  10,000  feet),  some  great  heights  and  isolated  peaks 
occur,  but  they  are  scarcely  known.  Only  the  mouths  of  the  rivers  can  be 
laid  down  on  the  maps  ;  the  breadth  and  depth  of  the  mouth  of  the  Oetanata 
appears  to  indicate  that  it  is  a  river  of  some  length.  We  are  absolutely 
ignorant  as  to  the  connection,  if  any  exists,  between  the  mountains  of 
Dutch  New  Guinea  and  the  east  of  the  island. 

Climate,  Flora  and  Fauna. — The  central  mountain  chain  acts  not 
only  as  a  watershed,  but  as  a  climatic  boundary.  The  north  coast,  with  a 
rainfall  of  about  seventy  inches  per  annum,  receives  most  rain  during  the 
north-west  monsoon,  from  November  to  April,  the  dry  season  lasting  from 
June  to  September  at  the  utmost.  The  seasons  on  the  south  coast  are 
reversed,  the  rainy  season  occurring  between  July  and  September,  during 
the  south-east  monsoon.  The  climate  of  the  south  coast  is  influenced  by 
the  proximity  of  the  Australian  continent,  the  direction  of  the  coast  line, 
and  the  latitude.  The  temperature  is  high  at  all  times  of  the  year,  the 
average  being  79°  F.,  and  the  range  is  small.  The  natural  vegetation  of 
primeval  forest,  palms,  lianas,  acacias,  &c.,  is  transitional  between  the  flora 
of  the  Malay  Archipelago  and  that  of  Australia.  The  cultivated  plants  are 
rice,  sugar-cane,  maize,  yams,  bananas,  bread-fruit,  and  the  Massoi  tree 
which  supplies  spices,  medicine,  and  dyes.  Amongst  the  land  animals  the 
most  characteristic  are  the  marsupials,  including  a  tree-kangaroo,  and 
amongst  birds  the  Bird  of  Paradise  is  pre-eminent ;  indeed,  out  of  eighteen 
species  recognised  by  Wallace,  no  less  than  fourteen,  including  the  most 
magnificent  in  plumage,  belong  to  New  Guinea  and  the  neighbouring 
islands.  The  green  pigeon  and  emu  are  also  found.  The  trepang  or 
beche-de-mer  occurs  in  about  twenty  varieties  in  the  water  off  the  coast 


644       The  International  Geography 

People  and  Government.— The  population  is  small.  The  aborigines 
are  Papuans  mixed  with  Malays,  as  they  are  mixed  with  Polynesians  in 
the  east.  The  Mountain-Papuans,  sometimes  called  Alfurs,  are  distinct 
'from  the  coast-dwellers,  and  from  the  inhabitants  of  the  more  eastern  part 
of  the  possession,  who  are  well  known  for  their  savagery  and  cruelty. 

On  August  24,  1828,  the  western  half  of  New  Guinea,  over  which  the 
Sultan  of  Tidore  claimed  a  certain  jurisdiction,  was  placed  under  Dutch  pro- 
tection by  proclamation,  and  the  post  of  Merkusoord  was  established  along 
with  Fort  Dubus  (which  was  given  up  in  1838),  and  in  1848  the  boundaries 
and  the  relations  with  the  Sultan  were  revised.  The  occupation  is  practi- 
cally limited  to  the  occasional  visits  of  Dutch  war-vessels  to  the  coast  for 
the  prevention  of  intertribal  war,  and  the  protection  of  the  few  trading 
and  missionary  stations.  Quite  recently  a  post  has  been  established  under 
a  Dutch  official  (Controleur).  There  are  trading  and  mission  stations  at 
Sorong  on  the  west  coast  opposite  Salawati,  Sekar,  Skroe  on  or  near 
MacCluer  Gulf,  and  Sileraki  near  the  eastern  boundary.  On  the  north 
coast  Dorei,  and  Manstnam  in  the  north-west  of  Geelvink  Bay  are  mission 
stations,  while  Roon  and  Ansoes  on  the  island  of  Japen  are  trading  posts. 
All  these  stations  are  regular  calling  places  of  the  trading  vessels  which  ply 
along  the  coast  as  far  as  Humboldt  Bay. 

STATISTICS  (Estimates). 

Area  of  Dutch  New  Guinea  in  square  miles 151.800 

Population         „  „         (rough  estimate) 200,000 

STANDARD  BOOKS. 

Robide  van  der  Aa.    "  Reizen  naar  Nederlandsch  Nieuw  Guinea."    The  Hague,  1879. 

Haga.    "  Nederlandsch  Nieuw-Guinea."    Batavia  and  The  Hague,  1884. 

For  the  more  recent  literature  cf.  C.  M.  Kan.  "  Geographische  Untersuchungen  in  der 
Westhalfte  von  Neu-Guinea,"  in  Report  of  VI.  International  Geo- 
graphical Congress,  London,  1895. 

IV.— NEW  CALEDONIA 

BY  PROFESSOR  AUGUSTIN  BERNARD/ 

Algiers. 

Position  and  Configuration.— New  Caledonia  (Nouvelle  Cale- 
donie)  is  almost  equally  distant  from  Australia 
(900  miles  east)  and  from  New  Zealand  (970 
miles  north-west),  and  New  Guinea  (1,100  miles 
south-east).  Its  form  is  that  of  an  elongated 
ellipse,  lying  north-west  and  south-east,  with  a 
length  of  about  250  miles  and  a  breadth  of  only 

25  to  30.     It  is  prolonged  on  the  north  by  the 
FIG.  32i.-New  Caledonia.       Belep  Islands  and  on  the  south  by  the  Isle  of 

Pines.    Archaean  rocks  occupy  the  north-east;  Triassic  and  Cretaceous 
strata  form  a  narrow  band  along  the  west  coast,  and  eruptive  rocks, 

1  Translated  from  the  French  by  the  Editor. 


New  Caledonia  645 


principally  Serpentine,  are  greatly  developed,  covering  two-thirds  of 
the  island.  The  surface  is  essentially  mountainous,  as,  although  of  no 
great  height  (Mont  Panic,  5,400  feet,  and  Mont  Humboldt,  5,360  feet,  are 
the  highest  summits),  the  slopes  are  steep  and  the  country  very  broken, 
particularly  in  the  north  where  two  mountain  ridges  frame  the  valley  of 
the  Diahot,  the  only  important  river.  Every  variety  of  coral  reef  is  found 
along  the  coast ;  the  great  barrier  reef,  which  is  second  only  to  that  of 
Australia,  surrounds  the  east  and  west  coasts  and  is  continued  to  the  north 
for  more  than  150  miles  from  the  land.  The  chain  of  the  Loyalty  Islands 
(Uvea,  Lifu  and  Mare)  is  formed  entirely  of  masses  of  dead  coral,  and  lies 
parallel  to  New  Caledonia,  separated  by  a  channel  50  miles  wide. 

Climate  and  Vegetation. — The  climate  of  New  Caledonia  is 
characterised  by  a  rainy  season  in  summer  (December  to  May),  and  a 
comparatively  dry  and  cool  season  for  the  rest  of  the  year ;  but  the  seasons 
are  not  very  sharply  separated,  and  no  month  is  absolutely  rainless.  The 
average  rainfall  at  Noumea,  in  the  south,  is  45  inches  per  annum,  which  is 
less  than  that  of  most  of  the  Pacific  islands.  The  vegetation,  like  the 
climate,  resembles  in  part  that  of  Australia  and  in  part  that  of  the  New 
Hebrides.  Bush,  analogous  to  the  Australian  scrub,  covers  at  least  half  of 
the  island  ;  the  rest  is  occupied  by  grassy  pastures  and  by  the  niaouli 
(Melaleuca  leucadendron),  the  most  characteristic  tree  of  New  Caledonia, 
which  takes  the  same  place  in  its  vegetation  as  the  eucalyptus  in  that  of 
Australia.  Although  the  island  lies  wholly  in  the  tropics,  tropical  forests 
in  the  strict  sense  of  the  word  occupy  only  a  small  area. 

People. — The  basis  of  the  population  of  the  archipelago  is  a  woolly- 
haired  dolichocephalic  Melanesian  race,  to  which  a  small  proportion  of 
mesocephalic  light-complexioned  Polynesians  with  almost  straight  hair  has 
been  recently  added.  As  in  all  the  Pacific  Islands  these  natives,  called 
kanakas,  are  rapidly  diminishing  in  number. 

New  Caledonia  was  discovered  by  Cook  in  1774,  and  was  annexed  by 
the  French  in  1853.  Although  acclimatisation  is  easy  for  Europeans  there 
are  as  yet  scarcely  8,000  free  colonists,  leaving  the  military  guards  and  the 
officials  out  of  account,  of  which  the  half  live  in  Noumea  and  its  neigh- 
bourhood. The  slow  rate  of  progress  is  due  to  the  transportation  system, 
which  has  produced  only  bad  results  ;  the  public  works  carried  out  by  the 
convicts  are  insignificant,  the  concessions  of  land  which  have  been  made 
to  them  have  scarcely  succeeded,  and  the  liberated  prisoners  infest  the 
country.  Now,  however,  the  situation  tends  to  improve ;  successful  efforts 
have  been  made  to  attract  free  cultivators  and  to  reduce  the  number  of 
convicts,  from  whose  presence  there  is  reason  to  hope  the  island  may  soon 
be  entirely  relieved. 

Resources  and  Trade.— The  principal  vegetable  produce  of  the 
island  is  coffee,  which  succeeds  well,  and  the  area  of  the  plantations  is 
being  extended.  Sugar-cane,  tobacco,  vanilla,  pine-apples,  bananas,  maize, 
and  manioc,  are  also  cultivated.  Stock-rearing,  not  however  carried  on 


646       The  International  Geography 

in  the  Australian  manner  on  account  of  the  limited  area  of  the  pastures, 
forest  produce,  and  fisheries  all  have  a  certain  importance. 

The  mineral  resources  of  New  Caledonia  are  particularly  rich  ;  gold  and 
copper  occur  amongst  the  primitive  rocks,  mines  of  iron,  chromium, 
cobalt  and  nickel  are  worked  in  the  serpentines,  and  coal  occurs  in  the 
Cretaceous  strata.  Hitherto  nickel-ore  only  has  been  largely  worked,  and 
this  industry  has  undergone  frequent  crises  on  account  of  the  lowering  of 
the  price  by  the  competition  of  other  producing  countries,  especially  of 
Canada.  The  condition  of  the  industry  will  be  improved  by  the  erection 
on  the  spot  of  reducing  furnaces  which  will  diminish  the  weight  of  the 
cargoes  by  about  92  per  cent,  and  increase  their  value.  As  yet  there  are 
few  roads,  but  the  means  of  transport  are  improving.  A  service  of  local 
steamers  connects  the  capital  with  various  points  on  the  east  and  west 
coasts.  Monthly  steamers  of  the  Messageries  Maritimes  run  between 
Noumea  and  Marseilles,  calling  at  Sydney  and  Melbourne,  and  make  the 
passage  in  38  days.  A  submarine  cable  also  unites  New  Caledonia  with 
Australia  and  the  rest  of  the  world.  Noumea,  the  capital,  has  an  excellent 
harbour  sheltered  by  the  island  of  Nou  and  the  peninsula  of  Ducos.  The 
future  prospects  of  New  Caledonia  are  good  on  account  of  its  wealth  in 
coffee  and  nickel,  and  the  prospect  of  free  colonisation  taking  the  place  of 
the  present  convict  system. 


STATISTICS. 

Area  of  New  Caledonia  and  Loyalty  Islands  (square  miles)          7,150 

Population            „           „           „           „          52,000 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile 7 

Population  of  Noumea         4,600 

ANNUAL  TRADE  (in  pounds  sterling). 

Average  1871-75.  1881-85.  1891-95. 

Exports 32,000        . .        200  ooo     . .         280,000 

Imports 360,000       ..        320,000     ..        480,000 

STANDARD    BOOKS. 

A.  Bernard.    "  L'Archipel  de  la  Nouvelle-Caledonie."    Paris,  1895. 
M.  Petit.    "  Les  colonies  fran^aises."    Paris,  1901-2. 


V.— SMALLER  MELANESIAN  ISLANDS 

BY  THE   EDITOR.1 

New  Hebrides.— The  New  Hebrides,  including  the  Banks  and 
Torres  groups,  stretch  north-west  and  south-east  for  about  480  miles 
between  13°  and  2o£°  S.  Some  of  the  islands  are  of  coral,  and  others  of 
volcanic  formation,  mountainous  and  extremely  fertile.  The  bread-fruit, 
coco-nut,  banana,  sago-palm,  sugar-cane,  nutmeg  and  other  tropical  pro- 

1  Assisted  by  E,  J.  Hastings. 


Smaller  Melanesian  Islands          647 

ductions  flourish.  Fish,  pearl-shells,  beche-de-mer,  and  tortoise-shell  are 
obtained  on  the  coasts.  The  natives  are  mainly  of  the  Papuan  or  Mela- 
nesian race,  but  Polynesians  are  found  on  some  of  the  islands,  and  many 
different  languages  are  spoken  in  the  group.  Most  of  the  people  are 
still  heathen,  and  cannibalism  is  not  yet  extinct.  The  islands  were  dis- 
covered in  1606  by  Quiros,  and  explored  in  1774  bv  Captain  Cook. 
Espiritu  Santo,  the  largest  island,  rises  to  about  5,500  feet,  is  densely 
wooded  and  intersected  by  deep  ravines.  Antumey  (Annatom)  is  the 
most  southerly  of  the  group,  and  the  one  in  which  missionary  effort 
has  been  most  successful.  Ambrym  and  Tanna  have  active  volcanoes, 
the  eruptions  of  which  are  sometimes  very  destructive.  The  New 
Hebrides  have  long  been  a  favourite  recruiting-ground  for  the  labour- 
traffic,  the  natives  (kanakas)  contracting  to  work  on  the  Queensland 
plantations  for  a  term  of  years. 

Santa  Cruz.— This  group,  crossed  by  the  parallel  of  10°  S.,  lying 
north  of  the  New  Hebrides  and  east  of  the  Solomon  Islands,  was  dis- 
covered in  1595  by  Mendana,  who  named  it  Santa  Cruz.  Forgotten  for 
nearly  two  centuries,  the  islands  were  rediscovered  by  Carteret,  who 
named  them  after  Queen  Charlotte.  They  are  of  volcanic  and  coral 
formation,  and  surrounded  by  coral  reefs.  The  inhabitants  belong  to  the 
Polynesian  race  intermixed  with  the  Melanesian;  they  are  of  good 
physique,  dwell  in  large  villages,  and  surround  their  houses  with  stone 
fences.  Agriculture  and  fishing  are  their  chief  occupations,  and  the  men 
are  hardy  sailors.  The  climate  is  humid ;  both  the  north-west  and  the 
south-east  monsoons  bring  rain.  Santa  Cruz,  the  largest  island,  occupies 
more  than  half  of  the  total  area.  Vanikoro,  the  most  southerly,  is  the  best 
known. 

Solomon  Islands. — The  Solomon  Islands,  forming  an  archipelago 
comprising  twelve  larger  islands  or  groups,  and  numerous  smaller  ones, 
extend  north-west  for  about  600  miles,  between  the  parallels  of  5°  and 
11°  S.  from  near  Santa  Cruz  to  the  Bismarck  Archipelago.  They  contain 
examples  of  the  typical  low  coral  and  lofty  volcanic  islands,  the  latter 
rising  in  several  points  to  4,000  feet  and  over,  and  in  the  island  of 
Bougainville  to  10,000  feet.  The  islands  are  in  general  surrounded  by 
coral  reefs,  and  there  are  several  good  harbours.  Much  of  the  surface  is 
covered  with  dense  forest,  and,  in  many  instances,  belts  of  mangrove 
border  the  coast.  The  soil  is  fertile,  the  yam,  bread-fruit,  banana,  taro, 
betel-nut,  pepper  and  coco-nut  are  widely  cultivated.  The  fauna  combines 
Melanesian  and  Polynesian  types.  Anthropoid  apes  are  said  by  the  natives 
to  inhabit  the  woods,  but  this  statement  lacks  confirmation  ;  crocodiles  are 
numerous,  and  this  is  the  most  easterly  group  in  which  they  are  found. 
The  inhabitants  belong  mainly  to  the  Melanesian  race,  with  an  admixture 
of  Polynesian  elements  ;  they  are  skilled  in  carving  and  in  the  construction 
of  canoes  ;  but  are  still  mostly  in  a  savage  condition,  and  cannibalism  is 
practised.  In  the  interior  other  inhabitants,  probably  a  Negrito  people, 


648       The   International   Geography 

known  to  the  English  traders  as  Bushmen,  are  in  course  of  being  exter- 
minated by  the  Melanesians.  The  climate  is  rather  unhealthy ;  temperature 
ranges  between  about  75°  and  90°  F.,  and  the  prevailing  winds  are  the 
north-west  and  south-east  monsoons ;  the  rainfall  considerably  exceeds 
100  inches.  The  islands  were  discovered  by  Mendana  in  1567,  but  they 
remained  almost  unknown  for  two  centuries,  when  they  were  visited 
successively  by  Carteret  and  Bougainville.  The  people  are  ruled  by  native 
chiefs,  but  the  most  northerly  and  largest  island  in  the  group,  Bougainville 
Island,  is  a  German  possession,  and  the  remaining  islands  are  all  British. 
The  principal  islands  of  the  British  group  are  Choiseul,  and  Isabel.  The 
others  are  Rennell,  San  Christoval  (Bauro),  with  one  of  the  best  harbours 
in  the  group,  Ugi,  with  a  British  coaling  station,  Guadalcanar,  which  rises 
in  Mount  Lammas  to  8,000  feet,  New  Georgia  (Kausagi),  and  Malaita  or 
Mala  Island. 

STATISTICS  AND  STANDARD  BOOKS. 
See  end  of  Chapter  XXXVI. 


CHAPTER    XXXVI.— THE   ISLANDS   OF   THE 
PACIFIC   OCEAN 

BY  THE   EDITOR.1 

I.  — GENERAL 

General  Description.— The  islands  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  or  South 
Sea,  are  sometimes  grouped  together  with  Australia,  sometimes  without 
that  continent  under  the  name  Oceania.  They  are  divided  by  different 
geographers  into  various  subdivisions,  that  most  widely  adopted  being  into 
Micronesia,  or  the  Small  Islands  in  the  west,  north  of  the  latitude  of  New 
Guinea,  Melanesia,  or  the  Islands  of  the  Blacks  between  New  Guinea  and 
Fiji,  and  Polynesia  or  the  Many  Islands  scattered  over  the  rest  of  the  ocean, 
and  inhabited  by  a  race  of  men  wonderfully  homogeneous  when  one  con- 
siders the  vastness  of  the  area  of  dispersal  and  the  smallness  and  isolation 
of  the  scattered  island-homes.  The  whole  land  area  of  all  these  islands — 
New  Zealand  excepted — is  only  about  60,000  square  miles.  Except  for  a 
mistake  as  to  the  extent  of  scientific  knowledge  regarding  the  coral  polyp, 
the  description  of  this  region  by  Robert  Louis  Stevenson  in  his  book 
"  In  the  South  Seas,"  is  true  as  well  as  graphic  : — 

"  That  wide  field  of  ocean,  called  loosely  the  South  Seas,  extends  from 
tropic  to  tropic,  and  from  perhaps  120°  W.  to  150°  E.,  a  parallelogram  of 
one  hundred  degrees  by  forty-seven,  -where  degrees  are  the  most  spacious. 
Much  of  it  lies  vacant ;  much  is  closely  sown  with  isles,  and  the  isles  are 
of  two  sorts.  No  distinction  is  so  continually  dwelt  upon  in  South  Sea  talk 
as  that  between  the  '  low '  and  the  '  high '  island,  and  there  is  none  more 
broadly  marked  in  nature.  The  Himalayas  are  not  more  different  from 
the  Sahara.  On  the  one  hand,  and  chiefly  in  groups  of  from  eight  to  a 
dozen,  volcanic  islands  rise  above  the  sea ;  few  reach  an  altitude  of  less 
than  4,000  feet ;  one  exceeds  13,000 ;  their  tops  are  often  obscured  in 
cloud ;  they  are  all  clothed  with  various  forests,  all  abound  in  food,  and 
are  all  remarkable  for  picturesque  and  solemn  scenery.  On  the  other 
hand,  we  have  the  atoll  ;  a  thing  of  problematic  origin  and  history,  the 
reputed  creature  of  an  insect  apparently  unidentified ;  rudely  annular  in 
shape  ;  enclosing  a  lagoon  ;  rarely  extending  beyond  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
at  its  chief  width  ;  often  rising  at  its  highest  point  to  less  than  the  stature 
of  a  man — man  himself,  the  rat  and  the  land-crab,  its  chief  inhabitants ; 
not  more  variously  supplied  with  plants  ;  and  offering  to  the  eye,  even 
when  perfect,  only  a  rim  of  glittering  beach  and  verdant  foliage,  enclosing 
and  enclosed  by  the  blue  sea."  The  ring  of  the  atoll  may  be  of  any 

Assisted  by  E.  J.  Hastings. 
649 


650       The   International  Geography 


diameter  from  a  few  hundred  yards  to  many  miles  ;  it  is  always  narrow, 
composed  of  broken  blocks  of  coral  and  without  a  blade  of  grass.  Mono- 
tony of  surface  is  broken  by  groves  of  the  coco-nut  palm,  "  that  giraffe 
of  vegetables,  so  graceful,  so  ungainly."  The  narrow  rim  is  often  partially 
submerged,  so  that  instead  of  an  annular  strip  the  atoll  becomes  a  ring  of 
islets  surrounding  a  lagoon  with  several  entrances.  But  the  grand  contrast 
in  all  low  coral  islands  is  that  of  the  two  beaches,  the  inner  beach  facing 
the  lagoon,  which  is  the  harbour  and  the  site  of  all  houses,  and  the  outer 
beach  on  which  the  ocean  surf  always  thunders,  filling  the  whole  island 
with  its  unceasing  noise,  and  this  beach  is  deserted,  shunned  by  the 
natives  as  the  haunt  of  the  spirits  of  the  dead. 

The  Island  Groups. — Although  the  Pacific  appears  on  the  map  to  be 
thickly  sprinkled   with  islands,   these  are  really  grouped  along  certain 

lines,  with  vast 
vacant  breadths  of 
sea  between,  and 
it  is  to  be  remem- 
bered that  Magel- 
lan, when  he  left 
the  Strait  which 
bears  his  name 
and  ventured  for 
the  first  time  on 
the  unknown 
waters  of  the  Pa- 
cific, crossed  the 
whole  breadth  of 
the  ocean,  and  in 
three  months  of 


Lancia  Sea  more  than  2000  fms  deep  •§ 

Sea  less  than  2000fmsdeepO    Island  Chain-—* 

FIG.  322. — The  Island  Chains  of  the  Pacific. 


voyaging  saw  no  land  except  one  barren  and  waterless  rock.  Speaking 
generally,  the  depth  of  the  Pacific  appears  to  exceed  2,000  fathoms 
from  80°  W.,  close  to  the  coast  of  South  America,  to  180°  W.  Across 
the  western  half  of  this  vast  abyss  a  narrow  rise  runs  in  the  latitude 
of  the  northern  tropic  roughly  from  east-south-east  to  west-north-west, 
and  upon  it  the  volcanic  islands  of  Hawaii  appear.  A  broader  and 
much  longer  rise,  edged  by  smaller  parallel  ridges,  stretches  east  and 
west  along  the  southern  tropic,  bearing  the  innumerable,  atolls  of  the 
Paumotu,  or  Low  Archipelago,  the  Society  Islands  and  Cook  Islands. 
Smaller  scattered  elevations  of  the  sea-bed  occur  to  the  north  and 
north-west,  each  bearing  a  cluster  of  islets — including  the  Marquesas, 
and  some  smaller  groups.  The  less  deep  water  east  of  Australia  and  of 
the  Malay  Archipelago  is  traversed  by  two  great  rises,  curved  nearly 
parallel  to  the  coast,  and  each  studded  by  a  chain  of  island  groups.  The 
outer  line  taking  a  bold  sweep  at  first  north-eastward  from  New  Zealand 
forms  the»foundation  whence  spring  the  Fiji  and  Friendly  Islands- and  the 


Fiji 


Samoa  group  (in  12°  S.);  thence  wheeling  north-westward,  it  bears  in 
succession  the  Ellice  Islands,  and  the  Micronesian  archipelagoes  consisting 
of  the  Gilbert  group  (on  the  equator),  the  Marshall  Islands  and  the 
Carolines,  and  the  rise  finally  curves  inwards  towards  Jilolo.  In  145°  E. 
another  rise  branches  off  northward  towards  Japan,  bearing  the  Marianne 
or  Ladrone  Islands,  also  included  in  Micronesia.  The  inner  rise,  which 
also  starts  from  New  Zealand,  forms  a  sharper  north-westerly  curve,  and 
its  course  may  be  traced  on  a  map  by  New  Caledonia,  the  New  Hebrides, 
the  Solomon  Islands,  and  the  Bismarck  Archipelago,  for  all  of  which  it 
forms  the  foundation.  It  terminates  in  New  Guinea.  The  more  important 
islands  of  the  Pacific  (Fig.  322)  may  thus  be  treated  as  belonging  to  (i.) 
the  Inner  or  Melanesian  Chain,  (ii.)  the  Outer  or  Micronesian  Chain,  (iii.) 
the  South  Tropical  or  Paumotu  Chain,  and  (iv.)  the  North  Tropical  or 
Hawaiian  Chain.  As  a  matter  of  con- 
venience the  islands  of  the  Melanesian 
chain  were  considered  with  New  Guinea. 

Political  Divisions. — Amongst  the 
scattered  groups  and  islands  in  the  Pacific 
forming  British  possessions  are  Fiji,  the 
Solomon  Islands  (southern),  Santa  Cruz, 
Gilbert  Islands,  Ellice  Islands,  Phoenix 
Islands,  Union  Islands,  Tonga  or  Friendly 
Islands,  Cook  Islands,  Manihiki  group, 
Pitcairn  Island,  besides  many  others,  some 
mere  rocks,  and  uninhabited.  These  are 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  High  Commis- 
sioner of  the  Western  Pacific,  whose  autho- 
rity extends  over  all  lands  in  the  western 
Pacific,  not  being  dependencies  of  any  of 
the  British  Colonies  or  of  any  other  civilised  Power.  The  only  important 
unattached  group  is  that  of  the  New  Hebrides,  controlled  by  a  joint 
British  and  French  commission.  The  French  possessions  come  next  in 
number  and  importance,  including  New  Caledonia,  the  Loyalty  Islands, 
the  Marquesas  group,  the  Society  Islands,  with  Tahiti,  and  most  of  the 
islands  of  the  South  Tropical  Chain.  The  total  area  does  not  exceed  that 
of  a  small  French  department,  and  their  total  population  is  under  29,000. 
The  islands  administered  by  Germany  include  the  Bismarck  Archipelago 
and  Bougainville  Island  in  the  Melanesian  Chain,  the  Marshall,  Caroline, 
and  Marianne  Islands  in  the  Micronesian  Chain,  and  part  of  Samoa.  The 
United  States  are  responsible  for  Guam  in  the  Marianne  Islands,  part 
of  Samoa  and  Hawaii.  A  few  of  the  islands  in  the  Eastern  Pacific  belong 
to  South  American  countries. 

II.— FIJI 

Position  and  Extent.— The  Fiji  Islands,  a  scattered  group  about 
2,000  miles  east  of  Queensland,  consist  of  two  large  and  a  great  number 
43 


P*  JAN  Fit.  MAI  An.  MAT.  Jun.  Jut.  «uc  Str.  Mr  lov  Die 

In 

90 
85 
SO 
75 
70 
65 

15 
14 

1 

-~ 

— 

•*• 

*^— 

*—•• 

t  . 

55 
60 
45 
40 
35 
30 
25 
30 

i 

•»-^ 

ii 

- 

•:* 

KZ 

— 

i 

i 

BATAVIA  fiMtETL(T»h,;,i  

FIG.  324.— The  Fiji  Islands. 


652       The   International  Geography 

of  small  islands,  islets,  and  rocks,  lying  between  15°  and  22®  S.,  and 
traversed  by  the  iSoth  meridian.  The  island  of  Rotuma,  in  12°  S.  and 
177°  E.,  is  a  dependency  of  Fiji. 

General    Description.— The  two   largest   islands,  Viti   Levu  and 
Vanua  Levu,  lie  on  the  west  and  north-west  of  the  group,  separated  from 

the  cluster  of  small  islands  called 
the  Lakemba  group,  on  the  east,  by 
the  islet-starred  water  of  the  Goro 
or  Karo  Sea.  Most  of  the  islands 
are  surrounded  by  barrier  reefs, 
which  form  admirable  natural  break- 
waters, crossed  by  deep  channels, 
giving  access  to  the  enclosed  har- 
bours and  roadsteads.  The  larger 
islands,  all  composed  of  volcanic 
rock,  are  mountainous,  with  summits 
rising  to  or  even  exceeding  4,000 
feet.  Numerous  streams  descend  from  the  mountains  and  are  utilised  by  the 
natives  for  irrigation.  Earthquakes  are  not  uncommon,  and  the  great  sea- 
waves  which  often  follow  them  sometimes  cause  great  destruction  on  the 
low  shores.  The  scenery  is  in  many  parts  grand  and  picturesque.  There  are 
no  large  native  animals.  Cattle  have  been  introduced,  and  many  now  run 
wild.  Turtle  and  pearl-shell  are  obtained  on  the  reefs,  and  fish  off  the 
coasts.  Dense  forests  clothe  the  windward  side  of  the  islands,  where  the 
south-east  trade-winds  bring  a  copious  rainfall.  The  coco-nut,  banana, 
pineapple,  and  many  tropical  fruits  flourish.  Sugar-cane  is  the  chief 
plantation  product,  but  rice  and  maize  are  widely  grown,  and  the  taro  and 
yam  form  the  principal  native  foods. 

People,  History,  Government  and  Trade.— The  Fijians  belong 
to  the  Polynesian  race,  are  of  a  dark  copper  colour,  well-built  and  hand- 
some. Their  numbers  have  greatly  decreased  since  the 
advent  of  Europeans,  and  in  1875  about  one-third  of  the 
population  was  carried  off  by  a  terrible  epidemic  of 
measles.  The  islands  were  discovered  by  Tasman  in 
1643.  In  1835  the  Wesleyan  missionaries  commenced 
their  labours  amongst  the  islanders,  many*  of  whom  were 
then  cannibals ;  and  now  Christianity  is  professed  by 
all  the  inhabitants.  The  first  British  consul  was  ap- 
pointed in  1859  >  in  l864  the  leading  chiefs  offered  to 
cede  the  sovereignty,  but  it  was  not  until  1874  tnat  the 
islands,"  were  taken  over  by  the  British  Government,  and  shortly  after- 
wards constituted  a  Crown  colony.  The  Governor  is  assisted  by  an 
Executive  and  a  Legislative  Council,  and  the  local  administration  is  carried 
out  by  native  chiefs.  Native  labour  is  insufficient  for  the  increasing 
plantations,  and  labourers  have  to  be  imported  from  other  islands.  The 


FIG.  325.— The  Badge 
of  the  Crown  Colony 
of  Fiji. 


Micronesia  653 

leading  exports  are  sugar,  copra  and  fruit,  especially  bananas.  The  prin- 
cipal imports  are  cotton  goods,  machinery  and  hardware,  and  food-stuffs. 
Trade  is  carried  on  chiefly  with  the  United  Kingdom  and  the  Australian 
Commonwealth. 

Suva,  the  capital,  situated  on  the  south  of  Viti  Levu,  is  a  small  town 
with  a  good  harbour.  Levuka,  on  the  small  island  of  Ovalu,  east  of  Viti 
Levu,  the  former  capital  and  a  port,  occupies  a  narrow  coast-strip  backed 
by  mountains  rising  almost  perpendicularly  to  over  2,000  feet. 

STATISTICS   OF   FIJI. 

1881.  1891.  1901. 

Area  of  Fiji  (square  miles) 7,74O  ..  7,740  ..  7, 74° 

Total  Population  of  Fiji       127,095  ..  121,180  ..  117,870 

Number  of  Native  Fijians 114,748  ..  100,321  ..  94,397 

Density  of  Population  per  square  mile   . .             16*4  . .  15*7  . .  i5'2 

ANNUAL  TRADE  OF  FIJI  (in  pounds  sterling 

1875-79.  1881-85.  1891-95. 

Imports 125,000  ..  365,000  ..  279,000 

Exports 140,000  ..  278,000  ..  436,000 

III,— THE  MICRONESIAN   CHAIN 

Friendly  Islands.— To  the  east  of  Fiji,  and  clustered  round  the 
parallel  of  20°  S.,  several  small  clusters  of  high  and  low  islands,  some 
atolls,  and  one  an  active  volcano,  were  discovered  by  Tasman  in  1643. 
Their  present  English  name  is  due  to  Cook,  who  wished  to  preserve  the 
memory  of  his  kindly  reception  by  the  natives.  The  native  name  is  Tonga, 
or,  in  the  new  spelling,  Toga,  for  the  local  chiefs  are  all  subject  to  the 
King  of  Tonga,  who  resides  in  Tonga-tabu,  the  largest  island  of  the  group. 
The  climate  is  hot,  oppressive  and  humid,  and  hurricanes  frequently  occur 
in  February  and  March.  Yams,  bananas,  coffee,  coco-nuts  and  arrowroot 
are  amongst  the  chief  productions  ;  but  copra — dried  coco-nut — is  practi- 
cally the  only  export.  New  South  Wales  and  New  Zealand  send  most  ot 
the  imports.  The  people  are  Polynesians,  and  most  of  them  now  profess 
Christianity.  The  islands  are  under  British  protection. 

Samoa. — The  Navigator  or  Samoan  Islands,  lying  near  14°  S.  and 
172°  W.,  have  become  more  known  than  most  of  the  neighbouring  groups 
because  they  lie  in  the  direct  line  of  the  mail  steamers  between  Australia 
or  New  Zealand  and  Hawaii  on  the  way  to  the  western  ports  of 
North  America.  The  islands  are  of  the  usual  high  or  low  type,  and 
usually  surrounded  by  a  barrier  reef.  The  lofty  slopes  facing  the  south- 
east trades  are  well  watered  and  luxuriantly  fertile ;  and  the  climate, 
although  hot,  is  not  of  the  worst.  Disastrous  hurricanes  occur,  and  none 
of  the  harbours,  otherwise  good,  are  safe  from  their  fury.  The  productions 
resemble  those  of  other  tropical  Pacific  islands,  copra  being  the  chief. 
The  trade  is  in  the  hands  of  British,  American  and  German  firms ;  but  the 
islands,  which  were  for  a  time  under  the  control  of  the  consuls  of  the  United 


654      The  International  Geography 

Kingdom,  the  United  States,  and  Germany,  are  now  divided.  Upolu  and 
Savaii  form  a  German  possession  ;  the  capital  is  at  Apia,  which  has  a  fair 
harbour  on  Upolu.  Tutuila,  with  its  adjacent  small  islands,  is  a  possession 
of  the  United  States,  and  contains  the  best  harbour  in  the  group  at  Pago- 
pago.  The  people  are  amongst  the  least  spoiled  of  the  Pacific  folk  in  spite 
of  the  measure  of  civilisation  they  have  assimilated  ;  they  are  feelingly 
described  by  Robert  Louis  Stevenson,  who  spent  his  last  years  in  Samoa. 

Ellice  and  Gilbert  Groups. — The  Ellice  or  Lagoon  Islands  to  the 
north-west  of  Samoa  stretch  for  360  miles  between  n°  and  5°  S.  They 
consist  of  nine  large  atolls  or  ring-like  clusters  of  low  coral  islands,  and  on 
account  of  the  typical  forms  assumed  by  the  atoll  of  Funafuti  it  has  been 
made  the  subject  of  an  interesting  experiment  in  physical  geography. 
The  Royal  Society  of  London  and  the  Government  of  New  South  Wales 
sent  out  an  expedition  in  several  successive  years  to  put  down  a  deep 
bore-hole  through  the  coral  in  order  to  discover  the  nature  of  the  under- 
lying rocks  and  so  to  test  the  rival  theories  as  to  the  origin  of  coral 
islands.  Although  the  bore  was  carried  down  1,200  feet  no  rock  but  coral 
was  found.  The  people  of  the  Ellice  group  are  for  the  most  part  Christian 
Polynesians,  governed  by  their  own  chiefs,  under  British  protection. 

The  Ellice  group  is  followed  on  the  Outer  Australasian  Curve  by  the 
Gilbert  or  Kingsmill  Islands,  a  line  of  atolls  and  low  coral  islets  which 
follows  the  same  trend  and  crosses  the  equator.  The  chief  trees  on 
these  islands  are  the  coco-nut  and  pandanus,  but  the  soil  is  less  fertile 
than  in  most  of  the  Polynesian  groups.  The  inhabitants  are  active  and 
intelligent ;  and  they  retain  practical  independence  under  the  rule  of  their 
own  chiefs,  supported  by  British  protection. 

The  Marshall  Islands.1 — This  group  is  formed  by  a  number  of 
coral  reefs,  or  atolls,  with  a  total  area  of  160  square  miles,  which  run  in 
two  nearly  parallel  rows  from  north-west  to  south-east,  and  extend  over  9 
degrees  of  latitude,  with  their  centre  about  7^°  N.  The  eastern  line  of  15 
atolls  is  called  the  Radak,  the  western  containing  18,  the  Ralik  group.  The 
islands,  pure  coral  formations,  are  of  very  small  size  ;  they  rise  only  a  few 
feet  above  the  surface  of  the  sea,  and  only  on  one  has  the  wind  heaped  up 
so  much  sand  that  it  forms  an  elevation  which  might  be  called  a  hill.  Each 
atoll,  though  of  most  irregular  shape,  encloses  a  deep  lagoon,  into  which 
ships  can  enter  through  passages  between  the  islands.  On  none  of  them  is 
there  any  deep  soil ;  a  thin  layer  of  earth  has  been  formed  by  the  decay  of 
vegetation,  in  which  the  coco-nut  palm  stands  most  prominent.  Bread-fruit 
trees,  various  kinds  of  pandanus,  bananas,  and  a  fibrous  plant  which  is 
used  for  mat  making,  nearly  complete  the  flora.  Taro  is  grown  for  food. 
The  fauna  is  very  poor.  Fish  and  Crustacea  abound  in  the  lagoons  and 
on  the  reefs,  where  the  natives  catch  them  in  large  quantities  as  the  only 
animal  component  of  their  chiefly  vegetable  diet.  The  climate  is  hot  and 

1  By  Graf  von  Pfeil. 


Micronesia  655 


very  moist,  the  rainfall  being  nearly  the  same  in  all  months  of  the  year, 
with  the  exception  of  perhaps  January  and  February,  which  are  drier. 
It  is  remarkable  that,  although  these  islands  are  in  the  northern  hemi' 
sphere,  the  warmest  month  in  the  year  is  January  and  the  coolest  July. 
The  inhabitants  are  Micronesians,  their  colour  varies  between  lighter  and 
darker  shades  of  coffee-colour  ;  they  are  well  grown,  and  their  features  are 
pleasant.  Great  navigators,  they  construct  curious  charts  with  little  sticks, 
but  these  are  not  intelligible  to  Europeans.  The  population  is  increasing. 
The  islands  form  a  German  colony,  and  the  Landeshauptmann  stands  at 
the  head  of  the  administration,  the  expense  of  which  is  defrayed  by  the 
Jaluit  trading  company. 

Caroline  Archipelago.— The  Caroline  Archipelago,  including  the 
Pelew  Islands,  stretches  from  east  to  west  between  the  equator  and  io°N., 
and  consists  of  about  thirty-five  groups.  Some  of  the  islands  are  volcanic, 
but  most  of  coral  origin,  and  all  surrounded  by  reefs.  They  are  generally 
well- wooded  and  fertile  ;  their  products  being  the  usual  wealth  of  coco- 
nuts, bread-fruit,  bananas,  pine-apples,  taro,  and  yams.  The  inhabitants, 
who  are  called  Micronesian,  are  of  a  very  mixed  descent.  They  are 
governed  by  their  own  kings  or  chiefs.  The  Caroline  Islands  were  dis- 
covered by  the  Portuguese  in  1526,  and  in  1686  taken  by  the  Spaniards  and 
named  after  Charles  II.  of  Spain  ;  but  they  were  little  known  to  Europeans 
before  the  nineteenth  century.  The  Pelew  group  had,  however,  previously 
acquired  an  honourable  name  through  the  kindness  shown  by  the  inhabi- 
tants to  the  crew  of  the  Antelope  wrecked  in  1783.  In  1899  the  Caroline 
Archipelago  and  the  Ladrones  were  sold  by  the  Spanish  government  to 
Germany.  Although  so  near  the  equator,  the  climate  is  pleasant,  the 
heat  being  tempered  by  sea-breezes.  The  volcanic  island  of  Ponape  in 
the  east  is  the  largest  of  the  archipelago,  with  a  good  harbour  at  Kiti. 
The  central  Truk,  or  Hogolu  Islands,  form  the  largest  group.  Yap,  or  Guap, 
is  the  most  important  island  in  the  west.  These  islands  contain  a 
number  of  remains  of  an  ancient  people  skilled  in  the  building  of  Cyclopean 
masonry,  but  as  yet  presenting  an  unsolved  problem  as  to  their  origin,  the 
period  when  their  great  works  were  carried  out,  and  their  ultimate  fate. 

Ladrones. — The  Marianne  or  Ladrone  Islands  run  north  between 
13°  and  21°  N.  along  the  meridian  of  145°  E.  They  include  two  distinct 
groups  :  a  northern,  containing  ten  high  volcanic  islands,  with  still  active 
volcanoes ;  and  a  southern,  with  five  low  coral  islands.  The  flora  has 
been  modified  by  the  introduction  of  plants  from  the  Philippines.  Maize 
is  the  principal  cereal ;  but  potatoes,  yams,  sugar-cane,  and  various  fruits 
are  also  cultivated.  The  aboriginal  inhabitants — Chamorros  of  Indonesian 
origin — scarcely  exist  now  as  a  distinct  race,  owing  to  admixture  with 
Talages  from  the  Philippines,  and  Spanish.  The  climate  is  healthy,  and, 
although  two  seasons  are  recognised,  the  rainfall  is  distributed  throughout 
the  year.  Destructive  hurricanes  sometimes  occur,  and  slight  earthquakes 
are  frequent.  The  islands  were  the  first  discovered  by  Magellan  in  1521, 


656      The  International  Geography 

and  called,  from  the  habits  of  the  people,  Ladrones  or  Robbers.  In  1688 
they  were  taken  possession  of  by  the  Spaniards,  and  re-named  after  the 
Empress  Marie  Anne  of  Austria.  Guam  is  the  largest  island  of  the 
archipelago,  occupying  more  than  half  of  the  total  area  and  containing 
most  of  the  population.  The  coasts  are  mostly  rock-bound  ;  but  the  port 
of  San  Luis  de  Apra,  or  Caldera,  is  the  best  in  the  archipelago,  and  on 
the  island  is  Agaua,  the  principal  town.  The  name  of  Guam  has  acquired 
a  curious  significance  for  Pacific  traders  wishing  to  keep  their  destination 
secret,  often  clear  from  Australian  ports  for  Guam,  the  most  distant 
harbour  among  the  islands,  and  one  to  which  there  are  many  routes.  It 
belongs  to  the  United  States ;  the  rest  of  the  Mariannes  are  German. 

IV.— SOUTHERN  POLYNESIA 

Cook  and  Tubuai  Islands. — A  narrow  line  of  small  rises  running 
from  1 8°  to  28°  S.,  parallel  to  the  wider  elevation  of  the  ocean-bed  which 
bears  the  Low  Archipelago,  is  crowned  by  the  volcanic  groups  of  the 
Cook  Islands  in  the  north-west  and  the  Tubuai  Islands  in  the  south- 
east. The  people,  who  exhibit  Malay  affinities,  are  darker  in  complexion 
than  the  Tahitians.  The  mountainous  islands  are  fertile,  producing  the 
plantation  products  common  to  the  latitude  and  the  soil.  Government 
is  administered  through  native  chiefs,  though  under  the  superintendence 
of  European  Powers.  The  Cook  or  Hervey  Islands  are  now  annexed  to 
the  colony  of  New  Zealand.  Raratonga  is  the  largest  (thirty  square 
miles)  and  most  picturesque  of  the  islands,  a  volcanic  mountain  richly 
wooded  and  surrounded  by  a  coral  reef.  The  Tubuai  or  Austral  Islands, 
five  in  number,  are  French  possessions. 

The  Society  Islands. — The  broad  band  of  island  groups,  which 
stretches  between  10°  S.,  and  the  tropic  of  Capricorn,  from  155°  W.  to 
130°  W.,  forms  several  groups,  some  of  which  have  been  under  French 
protection  since  1842,  and  almost  all  are  now  administered  by  the  French. 
The  Society  Islands,  lying  between  16°  and  18°  S.,  form  the  most 
important  groups  in  the  South  Pacific.  They  comprise  Tahiti  and  many 
smaller  islands  arranged  in  two  groups,  the  Windward,  and  the  Leeward. 
They  are  all  volcanic  and  mountainous,  well  watered  by  numerous 
streams,  densely  wooded,  and  surrounded  by  coral  reefs.  Copra  and 
mother-of-pearl  are  the  chief  commercial  products ;  but  coco-nut-oil, 
cotton,  vanilla,  oranges,  and  an  edible  fungus  much  appreciated  by  the 
Chinese,  are  exported.  The  inhabitants  belong  to  the  Polynesian  race. 

Tahiti  was  discovered  by  Quiros  in  1606  and  named  La  Sagittaria  ; 
in  1767  it  was  re-discovered  by  Captain  Wallis,  who  gave  it  the  name  of 
King  George  Island,  but  its  native  name,  formerly  spelled  Otaheite,  is  now 
alone  used.  Tahiti  was  Captain  Cook's  favourite  centre  when  exploring 
the  Pacific,  and  here  he  observed  the  Transit  of  Venus  on  his  first  great 
voyage  of  circumnavigation  in  1769.  On  this  occasion  he  gave  the  name 


Southern  Polynesia 


657 


FIG.  326. — Tahiti,   a   typical 
high  island*. 


of  Society  Islands  in  honour  of  the  Royal  Society  of  London.  English 
missionaries  settled  in  the  island  in  1797  and  met  with  some  success  for 
a  time.  A  French  protectorate  was  declared  in  1842,  and  subsequently  in 
1880  the  two  groups  were  formally  annexed  by  France.  Tahiti  con- 
sists of  two  mountainous  peninsulas  united  by 
an  isthmus.  The  coasts  are  low,  but  the  central 
parts  of  the  islands  are  traversed  by  a  ridge 
of  mountains  whose  highest  summit  ap- 
proaches 7,500  feet.  From  this  ridge  wooded 
spurs  extend  on  each  side,  enclosing  fertile 
plains  and  valleys.  Matavai  Bay,  in  the  north 
of  the  island,  is  the  best  harbour,  but  there  are 
several  others.  Papeete,  the  capital  and  seat  of 
government  of  French  Oceania,  is  a  modern 
town  picturesquely  situated  at  the  foot  of 
mountains  on  the  north-west,  and  surrounded 
by  groves  of  coco-nut,  orange  and  guava  trees.  Point  Venus,  the  most 
northerly  point  in  the  island,  was  the  station  for  observing  the  Transit  of 
Venus  in  1769.  Owing  to  the  many  observations  which  have  been  made, 
its  longitude,  149°  28'  21"  E.,  is  said  to  be  the  most  certainly  determined 
in  the  Pacific. 

Low  Archipelago. — The  Tuamotu,  Panmotu,  or  Low  Archipelago, 
contains  about  eighty  low  coral  islands  and  numerous  islets  lying  between 
14°  and  24°  S.  to  the  east  of  the  Society  Islands.  The  inhabitants,  who 
are  under  French  administration,  belong  to  different  branches  of  the 
Polynesian  race  ;  some  resemble  the  Fijians,  others  the  Tahitians.  They 
are  honest,  industrious  and  thrifty,  qualities  which  often  distinguish 
the  dwellers  on  coral  islands  where  hard  work  is  necessary  for  a  liveli- 
hood from  the  lazy  and  careless  inhabitants  of 
the  fertile  volcanic  islands,  where  life  is  easy. 
There  is  considerable  trade  in  copra,  pearl-shell, 
and  pearls.  Anaa,  discovered  by  Cook  in  1769, 
is  one  of  the  smallest  but  most  populous  of 

\%  the  group,  well   cultivated   and   yielding  about 

^  one-fourth  of  the  exports.     Huo  Island  was  dis- 

jj          covered  by  Bougainville  in  1768,  and  it  is  inte- 
-jF*-^          resting  as  having  been  the  scene  of  some  early 
investigations  on  the  structure  of  coral  islands 


l>     -^^ 

•"*•"    ^v 


FIG  ^.—Fakarava,  a  typical    carried  on  by  Sir  Edward  Belcher. 

ttt3S?3S!5*    Fakarava> the  atou  on  which  Roioa™' the 

reef  dotted.    The  atoll  mea~    capital  of  the  archipelago,  is  situated,  owes  this 

sures  40  miles  by  15.  distinction  to  the  fact  that  its  lagoon  has  two 

good  channels — one  to  windward,  the  other  to  leeward — so  that  the  small 

sailing-vessels  which  carry  on  the  trade  of  these  islands  can  enter  and  leave 

with  a  fair  wind. 


658       The  International  Geography 

The  Manga  Reva  or  Gambler  Islands  are  a  small  group  of  French 
islands  lying  south-east  of  the  Low  Archipelago,  with  which  they  are 
sometimes  included. 

V. — SCATTERED  GROUPS 

Marquesas. — The  two  groups  forming  the  Marquesas  or  Mendana 
Islands  lie  between  8°  and  io£°  S.  The  islands  are  of  volcanic  formation, 
mountainous  and  rugged,  intersected  by  ravines  and  valleys  of  exquisite 
beauty,  and  generally  fertile.  The  soil  is  well  adapted  for  the  growth  of 
cotton,  which,  with  a  fungus  for  the  Chinese  market,  forms  the  principal 
export.  The  natives  keep  a  good  many  cattle.  The  climate  is  sultry,  the 
temperature  seldom  falling  below  73°,  but  the  islands  are  nevertheless 
healthy.  The  inhabitants  are  of  the  Polynesian  race  and  nearly  allied  to 
the  Tahitians  ;  their  moral  standard  is  very  low,  worse  than  in  the  old 
days  of  heathenism,  and  the  European  vices  and  diseases,  which  are 
rapidly  killing  them  off,  have  become  subordinate  to  the  Chinese  vice  of 
opium-eating.  Formerly  the  natives  of  the  Marquesas  were  celebrated 
above  all  Polynesians  for  the  beauty  of  the  tattooing  with  which  they 
ornamented  their  whole  bodies.  Some  of  the  islands  were  discovered  by 
Mendana  in  1595  >  *ne  others  by  Cook  in  1774.  They  were  taken  posses- 
sion of  by  France  in  1842.  Nuka-Hiva  is  the  largest  island  of  the  archi- 
pelago ;  it  affords  the  best  anchorage  in  the  bay  where  Tai-o-hae,  the  seat 
of  the  French  Resident,  is  situated. 

Central  Groups. — Between  the  Society  Islands  and  Hawaii  the  bed 
of  the  ocean  rises  in  a  series  of  isolated  elevations  forming  a  line  directed 
towards  the  north,  and  each  is  crowned  by  one  or  several  islands  of  the 
familiar  Polynesian  type.  The  scattered  coral  Manihiki  islands  lie  about 
10°  S.,  and  of  them  Penrhyn  Island,  the  largest  of  the  group,  is  the  only 
one  regularly  inhabited,  the  people  living  by  pearl-shell  fishing  ;  the  others 
are  only  visited  occasionally  by  collectors  of  coco-nut  produce  and  guano. 
Maiden,  Jervis,  Christmas,  Fanning,  and  Palmyra  Islands  carry  on  the 
chain,  the  last  named  being  situated  in  about  6°  N.  The  whole  are  now 
under  British  protection. 

Juan  Fernandez  Islands,  situated  near  34°  S.,  between  400  and  500  miles 
from  Valparaiso,  were  discovered  by  Juan  Fernandez  about  1563.  The 
largest  island,  Mas  a  Tierra,  is  famous  for  the  five  years'  residence  of  Alex- 
ander Selkirk,  the  possible  original  of  Robinson  Crusoe.  The  islands  now 
form  a  Chilean  possession. 

Galapagos  Islands. — On  the  equator,  in  90°  W.,  the  volcanic  group  of 
the  Galapagos  (i.e.  Tortoise)  Islands  lies  at  a  distance  of  750  miles  from 
the  coast  of  Ecuador,  to  which  country  they  were  annexed  in  1832. 
Albemarle,  the  largest  island,  is  sixty  miles  in  length,  and  there  are 
four  other  islands  of  fair  size,  and  eight  smaller.  The  climate  is  cooler 
than  that  of  any  other  equatorial  land  at  sea-level,  on  account  of  the 


Pacific  Islands  659 

reduction  of  temperature  by  the  Humboldt  current.  The  lower  ground  of 
the  islands  suffers  from  want  of  rain,  which,  however,  falls  in  sufficient 
quantity  on  the  higher  slopes,  and  some  plantations  are  worked.  The 
flora  and  fauna  of  the  islands  are  peculiar.  No  palms  of  any  kind  grow 
on  them,  and  out  of  about  400  species  of  plants  which  have  been  found, 
nearly  200  are  absolutely  confined  to  this  group.  All  the  reptiles  are 
without  representatives  elsewhere  ;  but  the  giant  tortoise,  from  which 
the  islands  took  their  Spanish  name,  is  likely  to  become  extinct  if  not 
protected ;  it  has  already  vanished  from  some  of  the  islands.  Very 
large  turtles  frequent  the  coasts.  Amongst  the  birds  there  are  some 
sea-fowl  of  antarctic  species,  another  result  of  the  cool  current  from  the 
south. 

Pitcairn  Island. — Pitcairn  Island  in  25°  S.  and  east  of  the  Low 
Archipelago,  is  a  small  mountainous  and  rock-bound  but  fertile  island. 
Bounty  Bay,  one  of  the  two  possible  landing-places  for  boats,  is  the 
place  where  vessels  communicate  with  the  inhabitants  by  means  of  their 
canoes.  Yams  and  potatoes  form  the  staple  food  of  the  islanders. 
There  are  no  springs  on  the  island,  and  the  water  supply  is  derived 
from  rain.  The  island  was  discovered  by  Carteret  in  1767.  In  1789 
some  of  the  Bounty  mutineers  with  Tahitian  wives  reached  it,  and 
remained  absolutely  unknown  to  the  outside  world  for  twenty  years. 
Owing  to  the  resources  of  the  island  becoming  inadequate  for  the  growing 
population,  then  numbering  nearly  two  hundred,  they  were,  by  agree- 
ment, removed  in  1856  to  Norfolk  Island.  Some  of  these,  however, 
returned  to  Pitcairn  Island,  in  1859  and  1864,  where  they  and  their 
descendants  remain,  now  numbering  140  persons. 

Easter  Island. — The  remotest  islet  of  Polynesia,  far  to  the  east 
of  every  other  group,  is  Easter  Island,  or  Rapa  Nui,  in  about  27°  S. 
and  109^°  W.  It  lies  2,030  miles  west  of  the  coast  of  Chile,  to  which 
it  belongs.  It  is  of  volcanic  origin,  triangular  in  form,  highest  in 
the  north,  where  it  reaches  1,970  feet,  and  contains  several  distinct 
craters.  Cook's  Bay  or  Hanga  river  on  the  west  is  the  principal 
anchorage,  and  round  it  the  inhabitants  chiefly  dwell.  The  vegetation  is 
scanty,  and  there  are  no  trees,  though  the  soil  appears  to  be  not  infertile. 
The  climate  is  temperate  and  healthy.  The  island  is  remarkable,  for  in 
spite  of  its  overpowering  isolation,  it  harbours  a  clue  to  the  migrations 
of  an  earlier  and  vanished  race  of  men,  whose  colossal  works  are  also 
found  in  the  Carolines,  7,500  miles  away  at  the  opposite  corner  of  the 
island  world.  These  take  the  form  of  sculptures,  including  numerous 
gigantic  stone  busts  carved  out  of  trachyte,  sculptured  stones  and  a 
number  of  well-preserved  stone  houses  of  unguessed  antiquity.  No 
existing  Polynesian  race  is  competent  to  produce  such  work.  According 
to  native  tradition,  their  ancestors  came  from  Rapa,  1,900  miles  to  the 
west,  in  two  large  canoes. .  Easter  Island  was  discovered  by  Roggewein 
on  Easter  Sunday,  1721 — hence  its  European  name.  During  the  first 
44 


660       The  International  Geography 

half  of  the  nineteenth  century,  the  population  numbered  about  3,000 
divided  into  tribes,  and  ruled  by  an  elected  king.  In  1863  a  party  of 
Peruvians  carried  off  nearly  half  the  population  to  work  the  guano  in  the 
Chincha  Islands.  There  many  died,  and  of  those  who  were  sent  back  the 
few  survivors  brought  with  them  diseases  which  have  since  caused  great 
ravages.  Hence  the  population  has  rapidly  decreased  and  is  now  small. 
A  Tahitian  firm  has  formed  a  station  on  the  island,  and  large  numbers  of 
cattle  and  sheep  are  being  raised. 


VI,— HAWAII 


m 


ds 


i$o 


Northern  Tropical  Chain.—  Hawaii,  formerly  called  the  Sandwich 
Islands,  stands  on  the  long  narrow  rise  which  runs  across  the  centre  of  the 
North  Pacific  Ocean.  The  actual  island  chain  (Fig.  328)  extends  for  340 
miles  from  west-north-west  to  east-south-east  between  the  parallels  of  19° 

and  22°  N.  and  the 
meridans  of  155°  and 
1  60°  W.  North  of  the 
main  group,  a  slender 
chain  of  uninhabited 
islets  and  rocks  stretches 
west  by  north  for  about 
1,350  miles. 

Character  of  the 
Land.  —  The    islands 


Mitts, 


;''\\     OAHU 


MAU, 


HAWAII.  ' 


FIG.  328.— The  Hawaiian  Islands. 


rise  abruptly  from  deep 
water,  for  the  oceanic 
rise  whence  they  spring 
is  an  elevation  only 
when  compared  with 
the  enormously  deep 


abysses  surrounding  it.  The  coasts  are  usually  steep  and  uniform,  with 
occasional  narrow  strips  of  beach,  but  having  few  openings  where  ships 
may  find  shelter.  The  whole  group  is  purely  volcanic,  and  contains  the 
loftiest  summits  of  any  oceanic  islands,  the  cones  of  Mauna  Loa  and 
Mauna  Kea,  in  Hawaii,  soaring  to  the  majestic  height  of  close  on  14,000 
feet.  Valleys  and  deep  gorges,  eroded  by  the  ample  rainfall,  intersect  the 
slopes,  and  wide  areas  even  of  the  more  level  ground  are  covered  with  the 
lava  outpoured  in  successive  eruptions.  The  subterranean  forces  are 
extinct  in  the  western  section  of  the  islands,  but  in  the  eastern  they 
are  still  fiercely  active  and  present  the  most  colossal  workings  of  volcanic 
energy  known  on  the  surface  of  the  Earth.  Much  of  the  surface 
water  sinks  through  the  porous  soil,  forming  springs  at  lower  levels ; 
and  small  streams  vivify  the  surface  in  every  island.  The  scenery  is 


Hawaii  66 1 

varied  ;  in  parts  wild,  rugged  and  bare  ;  elsewhere  softened  by  rich 
forests,  the  picturesque  valleys  adorned  with  a  rich  variety  of  ferns; 
and  the  low  slopes  and  coast-lands  set  with  groves  of  coco-nut  palms, 
bread-fruit  trees,  and  screw  pines.  The  flora  is  extensive,  and  about 
half  the  species  are  peculiar  to  the  islands.  Amongst  characteristic 
trees  are  the  koa,  the  candle-nut  tree,  and  the  ohia  (mountain  or  wild 
apple) ;  the  latter  forms,  especially  in  Maui,  large  natural  orchards, 
yielding  refreshing  fruit.  There  are  no  indigenous  mammals  larger  than 
the  rat,  unless,  indeed,  the  dog  and  pig  may  be  so  considered,  no  snakes, 
and  few  insects ;  birds  are  better  represented,  and  fish  abound.  Horses, 
cattle,  sheep,  and  other  domestic  animals  have  been  introduced,  and  are 
now  numerous. 

Climate. — The  climate  is  remarkably  moderate  ;  owing  partly  to  the 
influence  of  the  oceanic  currents  the  temperature  is  about  10°  lower 
than  that  of  other  countries  in  the  same  latitude.  The  mean  tempera- 
ture ranges  between  52°  in  winter  and  91°  in  summer,  the  mean  for 
the  year  being  about  74°  F.  Only  two  seasons  are  recognised,  and 
the  greatest  rainfall  takes  place  in  winter.  In  the  higher  parts  the  air  is 
bracing.  The  climate  is,  on  the  whole,  healthy.  Leprosy  is,  however, 
endemic. 

People,  History  and  Government.— The  people  are  fair  for 
Polynesians,  well  built,  good-tempered,  and  fairly  industrious.  The  race, 
however,  appears  to  be  slowly  dying  out  here  as  in  the  other  Pacific 
islands.  Captain  Cook  visited  Hawaii  (which  he  described  by  the  name  of 
Owhyhee)  in  1778,  but  there  is  evidence  that  the  islands  were  previously 
known  to  the  Spaniards.  On  Cook's  return  to  the  islands  in  1779  he  was 
murdered  by  the  natives  on  account  of  a  misunderstanding.  During  the 
latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  Kamehameha  I.  brought  all  the  islands 
under  his  personal  sway.  The  familiar  Polynesian  system  of  Tabu,  by 
which  persons,  places,  or  things  were  interdicted  or  declared  sacred,  was 
the  great  lever  for  the  exercise  of  authority.  The  son  and  successor  of  the 
founder  of  the  monarchy  broke  the  Tabu,  disavowed  the  old  idols,  and 
encouraged  the  American  missionaries  who  settled  in  the  islands  in  1820. 
In  1840  a  constitutional  government  was  established  under  Kamehameha 
III.  and  recognised  by  European  Powers.  In  1893  a  dispute  occurred 
between  Queen  Liliuokalani  and  her  ministers  which  led  to  the  establish- 
ment of  a  republic ;  and  in  1898  the  islands  were  annexed  by  the  United 
States  as  a  territory.  A  telegraph  cable  unites  the  islands  with  America. 

The  position  of  Hawaii  "  at  the  cross-roads  of  the  North  Pacific  "  on 
the  line  of  vessels  trading  between  the  ports  of  western  North  America, 
on  the  one  side,  and  those  of  Japan,  China  and  Australia  on  the  other, 
has  greatly  promoted  its  commercial  development.  Regular  lines  of 
steamers  touch  at  Honolulu  from  San  Francisco,  Vancouver,  Yokohama, 
Hongkong,  Sydney  and  Auckland.  Good  roads  have  been  constructed, 
and  more  than  100  miles  of  railway.  The  soil  is  in  great  part  fertile,  and 


The   International  Geography 

'almost  all  tropical  and  subtropical  products  flourish.  Agriculture  is  the 
principal  industry.  Sugar  is  the  staple  product,  and  accounts  for  all  but 
a  small  proportion  of  the  exports.  Coffee,  rice,  hides  and  bananas  are 
next  in  importance.  The  chief  imports  are  provisions  and  manufactured 
goods,  and  practically  the  whole  of  the  trade  is  with  the  United  States. 

Honolulu,  the  capital,  is  situated  on  the  south  coast  of  Oahu  Island,  and 
contains  an  extraordinarily  cosmopolitan  population.  It  has  several 
handsome  public  buildings.  South-west  of  the  town  is  the  picturesque 
promontory  of  Diamond  Head,  and  at  its  base  Kapiolani  Park. 

Islands. — Hawaii,  the  largest  and  most  southerly  of  the  group,  is 
occupied  in  the  central  part  by  a  plateau  from  which  rise  the  extinct 
volcano  of  Mauna  Kea  (13,800  feet),  the  active  crater  of  Mauna  Loa 
(13,650  feet),  from  the  rim  of  which  fields  of  bare  lava  slope  outwards  and 
downwards  for  about  4,000  feet,  and  Hualalai  (8,300  feet),  which  was  last 
active  in  1811.  The  chief  crater  is,  however,  not  at  the  summit,  but  at 
Kilauea,  about  eighteen  miles  distant  on  the  eastern  slope,  at  an  altitude  of 
about  4,000  feet.  This  is  about  nine  miles  in  circumference,  the  depth 
varying  from  700  to  1,100  feet,  with  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  molten  mass. 
The  greater  part  of  the  surface  is  covered  with  lava  solidified  in  rugged 
masses,  but  openings  occur  in  the  crust  in  which  the  intensely  heated 
liquid  lava  rises  and  falls,  sometimes  thrown  high  up  into  the  air,  where  it 
is  caught  by  the  wind  and  drawn  out  into  long  threads,  like  spun  glass, 
called  by  the  natives  "  Pele's  hair,"  from  one  of  their  old  goddesses.  The 
island  contains  many  interesting  buildings  connected  with  the  ancient 
worship  and  the  former  kings. 

Maui  is  an  island  formed  of  two  lofty  peninsulas  connected  by  a  low 
isthmus.  In  East  Maui  is  the  extinct  volcano  of  Mauna  Haleakla, 
"  Temple,"  or  "  House  of  the  Sun,"  about  10,000  feet  high,  with  the  largest 
crater  in  the  world,  about  twenty  miles  in  circumference.  Molokai  is  a 
small  mountainous  island ;  on  its  northern  coast  the  leper  asylum  of 
Hawaii  is  situated.  Oahu,  on  which  the  capital  stands,  is  picturesque  with 
the  fertile  plain  of  Ewa  in  the  centre.  Kauai,  sometimes  called  the 
garden  island,  is  the  most  northerly  of  the  main  group,  and  in  parts  well 
adapted  for  agriculture. 


STATISTICS  OF  HAWAII. 

1884.  1896.  IQOO. 

Area  of  Hawaii  (square  miles) 6,640  . .  6,640  . .  6,640 

Population  of  Hawaii 80,578  . .  109,020  . .  154,001 

Density  of  Population,  per  square  mile        ..  12  16  24 

Population  of  Honolulu 20,487  ..  29,920  ..  39,305 

Population  (1900)  :  Hawaiians,  29,834  ;  Japanese,  58,500  ;  Chinese,  25,742  ;  White,  28,533. 

ANNUAL  TRADE  OF   HAWAII   (in  pounds  sterling). 

1891-95- 

Imports        "        1,156,500 

Exports        1,852,400 


Pacific  Islands 


663 


THE   PRINCIPAL  ISLAND  GROUPS   OF  THE   PACIFIC. 


Area 

(square  miles). 
I.— MELANESIAN  CHAIN  : 

New  Caledonia  and  Loyalty  Islands  7,630 

New  Hebrides           ..         ..  5300 

Santa  Cruz '360 

Solomon  Islands       12,000 

Bougainville  Island 5,000 

II.— MICRONESIAN  CHAIN  : 

Fiji        7,754 

Tonga  Islands           37} 

Samoa 1,700 

Ellice  Group 14 

Gilbert  Group 166 

Marshall  Islands 158 

Caroline  Islands       370 

Pelew  Islands 190 

Marianne  Islands 420 

III.— SOUTH  TROPICAL  CHAIN  : 

Cook  Islands 142 

Tubuai  Islands         no 

Society  Islands         630 

Low  Archipelago  and  Gambier    . .  390 

IV.— SCATTERED  GROUPS  : 

Marquesas  Group 480 

Pitcairn  Island          2 

Easter  Island 55 

Juan  Fernandez  Group      . .        . .  150 

Phoenix  Islands        16 

Manihiki  Group        12 

Tokelau          12 

Galapagos 2,950 

V.— NORTH  TROPICAL  CHAIN  : 

Hawaii            6,700 


Approximate 
Population. 

60,000 
75,000 
5,000 
70,000 
20,000 

118,000 

19,250 

39,ooo 

2,400 

35,200 

15,000 

40,000 

3,000 

10,200 

8,400 

880 

16,300 

5,470 


4,450 
130 
150 

60 

1,000 

520 

200 


154,000 


Protectorate. 

French 
Brit.  &  Fr. 
Native 
British 
German 


British 

Gerl  &  U.S. 
British 

German 


British 
French 


British 

Chilean 

British 

Ecuadorian 
United  States 


STANDARD  BOOKS. 

A.  Agassiz.     "The  Coral  Reefs  of  the  Tropical  Pacific."    4  vols.    Cambridge,  Mass.,  1903. 

A.  Kramer.    "  Die  Samoa-Inseln."    Vol.  I.    Stuttgart,  1902. 

F.  H.  H.  Guillemard.    "  Malaysia  and  Pacific  Archipelagoes  "  in  Stanford's  Compendium. 

London,  1894. 
A.  G.  Findlay.    "  Directory  for  the  Navigation  of  the  South  Pacific  Ocean."    5th  edit 

London,  1884. 

H.  B.  Guppy.     "The  Solomon  Islands.  '     2  vols.     London,  1887. 
"  Observations  of  a  Naturalist  in  the  Pacific."    2  vols.     London,  1903, 

1906. 

R.  L.  Stevenson.     "  Letters  from  the  Pacific."    London,  1897. 
"  Handbook  to  Fiji  "  (official).     Suva,  1802. 

C.  F.  Gordon  dimming.     "  The  Kingdom  of  Hawaii."     2  vols.     London,  1883. 
A.  Marcuse.     "  Die  Hawaiischen  Inseln."    Berlin,  1894. 


BOOK  IV.  :    NORTH    AMERICA 


CHAPTER   XXXVII.— THE    CONTINENT   OF 
NORTH   AMERICA. 

BY  WILLIAM  MORRIS  DAVIS, 

Professor  of  Physical  Geography  in  Harvard  University. 

Resemblances    between    North  and    South  America.— The 

number  of  continents  interrupting  the  great  ocean  is  so  small  that  it  is 
difficult  to  determine  what  are  essential  and  what  are  unessential  con- 
tinental features.  The  overgrown  land  area  of  Eurasia  and  the  small 
continent  of  Australia  are  so  unlike  in  structure  and  form  that  no  just 
comparison  can  be  drawn  between  them  without  straining  the  slight 
resemblance  of  parts  that  are  imagined  to  correspond  with  one  another. 
If  all  the  continents  were  as  much  alike  as  North  and  South  America,  the 
problem  would  be  much  simpler.  Here  distinct  resemblances  with  an 
assured  basis  in  geological  history  may  be  discovered  ;  and  perhaps  for 
this  reason  the  repeated  featupfes  of  these  two  land  masses  are  often  taken 
as  the  essential  features  of  continental  form. 

In  a  very  general  way,  the  two  Americas  each  have  a  greater  belt  of 
mountainous  highlands  along  their  western  side  ;  and  two  lesser  highlands 
on  the  north-east  and  south-east.  The  greater  highlands  include  many 
volcanic  cones  and  lava  sheets,  and  intermont  basins  ;  and  the  drainage 
of  the  latter  frequently  fails  to  reach  the  sea.  Eruptive  and  mountain- 
making  disturbances  have  here  been  in  operation  in  relatively  recent 
geological  periods.  The  lesser  highlands  owe  their  deformed  structures 
to  ancient  disturbances,  although  their  present  altitude  above  sea-level 
may  have  been  gained  by  uplift  at  a  .comparatively  modern  date  in  the 
Earth's  history.  North-east  of  each  of  the  north-eastern  highlands  lies  an 
archipelago  ;  but  the  islands  of  the  two  archipelagoes  are  very  unlike  in 
size  and  origin.  Between  the  western  and  eastern  highlands  lies  an 
extensive  belt  of  plains  at  a  moderate  altitude  above  the  sea-level,  and 
with  ill-defined  divides  between  the  chief  river  systems.  The  Mackenzie 
and  Orinoco  flow  northward,  the  St.  Lawrence  and  Amazon  flow  eastward, 
and  the  Mississippi  and  La  Plata  flow  southward. 

Contrasts  between  North  and  South  America. — Although 
differing  in  a  host  of  minor  details,  these  large  resemblances  serve  to 
establish  true  continental  homologies  ;  but  their  value  would  be  lost  if 
the  comparison  were  pressed  too  far.  The  most  important  points  of  con- 

664 


North  America  665 

trast  result  from  the  situation  of  North  America  chiefly  in  the  north  tem- 
perate zone,  while  South  America  has  its  greatest  width  in  the  torrid  zone. 
The  Arctic  archipelago  includes  one  of  the  two  great  glacial  sheets  now 
existing ;  and  its  shores  are  bound  by  the  ice  foot  every  winter.  The 
West  Indies  rise  through  warm  ocean  currents  into  the  warm  trade  winds; 
their  largest  island  bears  elevated  coral  reefs,  and  living  coral  reefs  border 
many  of  their  shores.  The  freezing  waters  of  Baffin  and  Hudson  bays 
and  the  cold  Labrador  current  that  they  give  forth  have  no  likeness  in  the 
"  caldrons  "  of  the  Carribean  Sea  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  or  in  the  warm 
current  that  flows  from  them.  Under  the  severe  climate  of  the  far  north 
the  lichens  and  mosses  of  the  "  barren  lands  "  west  of  Hudson  Bay,  and 
the  coniferous  forests  of  the  inhospitable  uplands  of  Labrador  have  little 
likeness  to  the  grassy  llanos  of  the  Orinoco  and  luxuriant  tropical  forests 
of  Guiana.  The  direct  and  indirect  results  of  glaciation,  so  pronounced  in 
North  America,  include  features  so  important  as  the  Great  Lakes  of  the  St. 
Lawrence  system,  for  which  the  Amazon,  under  the  equatorial  rain  belt, 
has  no  parallel.  Tropical  North  America,  with  mangroves  and  coral  reefs 
along  its  shores,  malaria  on  its  coastal  lowlands,  and  an  agreeable  climate 
on  its  plateaux,  forms  a  striking  contrast  to  the  narrowing  southern  ex- 
tremity of  South  America,  whose  inclement  climate  illustrates  the  real 
character  of  the  misnamed  "  south  temperate  zone." 

Resemblances  between  North  America  and  Eurasia.— A  com- 
parison may  be  drawn  between  North  America  and  Eurasia  in  which 
climatic  as  well  as  structural  and  topographical  features  have  certain 
striking  resemblances ;  but  here  the  repetition  is  like  that  of  the  two 
hands,  Eurasia  being  on  the  right  and  North  America  on  the  left  of  the 
axis  of  symmetry.  The  correspondence  extends  to  so  many  structural 
features  that  it  has  been  an  embarrassment  to  the  science  of  geology,  by 
giving  some  basis  for  the  belief  that  all  the  world  was  made  on  the  pattern 
which  north-eastern  North  America  so  largely  duplicates  from  Europe. 
The  Laurentian  highlands  correspond  to  Scandinavia  and  Finland  ;  com- 
posed of  very  ancient  and  greatly  denuded  rocks,  highest  and  deeply 
fjorded  on  the  Atlantic  side,  decreasing  in  altitude  inland,  and  lately  (as 
the  Earth  views  time)  depressed  and  submerged  in  Hudson  Bay  and  the 
Gulf  of  Bothnia.  Newfoundland  and  the  Maritime  Provinces,  with  the 
adjacent  shallow  ocean  waters  on  the  fishing  grounds  of  the  Banks,  may  be 
paired  with  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  and  the  shallow  waters  of  the  con- 
tinental shelf  there  adjoining.  The  St.  Lawrence  system,  from  its  broad 
gulf  to  the  great  lakes  is  represented  by  a  more  submerged  belt  from  the 
North  Sea  through  the  Baltic  to  the  Gulf  of  Finland  ;  while  the  extensive 
lakes  further  north  in  Canada  are  represented  by  the  larger  lakes  of  north- 
western Russia.  The  Appalachians,  with  their  basins  of  deformed  coal 
measures  stretching  from  Nova  Scotia  to  Alabama,  may  be  likened  to  an 
ancient  coal-bearing  mountain  system  of  similar  date,  which  extends  from 
Wales  across  Belgium  and  far  eastward  into  Germany.  From  the 


666       The  International  Geography 

Laurentian  and  Scandinavian  highlands,  extensive  ice  sheets  have  spread 
over  the  adjacent  lands  in  geologically  recent  times  ;  advancing  chiefly 
south  and  south-westward  in  North  America,  and  south  and  south-eastward 
in  Europe  ;  leaving  the  land  dotted  with  lakes,  and  creating  new  landscapes 
in  the  heavy  drift  deposits  left  on  the  peripheral  areas  (Figs.  52  and  329). 
The  fertile  prairies  of  the  Ohio  and  upper  Mississippi  basin  and  further  north 
to  Winnipeg,  underlain  by  widespread  Palaeozoic  formations,  correspond 
to  the  Russian  plains  of  horizontal  Palaeozoic  strata.  The  treeless  plains 
formed  largely  by  Cretaceous  and  Tertiary  sediments,  slowly  ascending 
towards  the  base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  match  the  Asiatic  steppes  of 
Tertiary  deposits,  slowly  ascending  towards  the  great  mountain  chains  of 
central  Asia.  In  both  these  regions  of  great  horizontal  extent  and  small 
vertical  relief,  the  rainfall  decreases  with  distance  from  the  Atlantic,  and 
the  innermost  districts  are  sub-arid  or  desert.  Not  until  the  massive 
mountain  chains  of  central  Asia  are  reached  can  we  find  the  homologue  of 
the  western  mountainous  highlands  of  North  America. 

East  Coast. — The  coast  lines  of  North  America  offer  many  illus- 
trations of  the  manner  in  which  relatively  slight  movements  of  elevation 
or  depression  of  a  continental  mass  cause  important  changes  in  its 
boundary,  and  introduce  peculiar  controls  over  the  occupations  of 
its  inhabitants.  From  New  England  north  and  west  nearly  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Mackenzie  river,  the  land  now  stands  somewhat  lower 
than  its  average  position  during  a  considerable  part  of  Tertiary 
time ;  hence  the  coast  is  generally  bold  and  rocky,  many  deep  bays 
indent  the  land,  outlying  islands  stand  off  shore,  and  the  submerged 
lowlands  broaden  the  continental  shelf.  The  Gulf  of  Maine  with  its 
branch  into  the  Bay  of  Fundy,  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  heading  in  a 
great  estuary  that  leads  tide  water  seven  hundred  miles  inland,  Hudson 
Bay  and  the  many  channels  between  the  Arctic  islands  must  all  be 
regarded  as  occupying  "drowned  lowlands."  It  is  true  that  in  geologically 
recent  times  a  movement  of  uplift  has  carried  wave-cut  cliffs,  wave-built 
beaches,  and  bay-floor  sediments  above  the  present  sea-level  around  a 
great  part  of  this  continental  border,  thus  partly  restoring  to  the  lands 
what  they  had  previously  lost ;  but  as  the  shore  line  is  still  fringed  with 
bays,  inlets,  and  fjords,  the  uplift  cannot  have  been  so  great  as  the  depres- 
sion that  preceded  it.  The  outlying  area  of  Greenland  is  a  great  plateau 
of  ice  and  snow,  burying  a  rugged  land,  whose  shore  line  is  f  jorded  like 
that  of  its  neighbours. 

From  New  York  city  southward,  the  dominating  continental  movement 
of  recent  times  has  been  upward ;  for  the  coastal  plain  of  the  Atlantic 
States  and  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  (see  Figs.  353  and  360),  demonstrates 
elevation  as  clearly  as  the  bays  and  fjords  further  north  demonstrate 
depression.  Here  the  coast  is  low  and  flat,  fringed  with  sand  reefs  built 
by  wave  action  on  the  shallow  sea  bottom.  The  elevation  is  complicated 
with  recent  depressions  of  slight  amount,  by  which  certain  open  valleys 


North  America  667 


along  the  coast  from  New  Jersey  to  North  Carolina  have  been  transformed 
into  shallow  arms  of  the  sea ;  but  this  depression  is  evidently  of  less 
extent  than  the  general  uplift  that  preceded  it,  for  the  arms  of  the  sea 
seldom  reach  to  the  inner  border  of  the  coastal  plain.  In  spite  of  the 
depression,  the  continent  retains  some  of  the  breadth  gained  by  elevation, 
a  welcome  addition  to  the  land  surface  in  a  latitude  of  mild  climate,  fully 
compensating  for  the  submergence  of  certain  lowlands  further  north, 
where  the  sea  water  is  probably  as  valuable  in  providing  fishing  grounds 
and  harbours  as  the  lost  lowlands  would  be  for  farming  under  the  colder 
air  of  those  higher  latitudes. 

West  Indies. — Although  the  West  Indies  were  in  an  earlier  para- 
graph associated  with  South  America,  they  may  here  be  briefly  described 
with  the  northern  continent.  They  offer  three  distinct  types  of  land  forms. 
The  larger  islands,  trending  east  and  west,  are  the  crest  of  great  ridges 
that  divide  the  adjoining  seas  into  well  separated  compartments,  and  these 
ridges  are  best  regarded  as  the  submarine  beginnings  of  an  Antillean 
mountain  system.  Many  of  the  Lesser  Antilles,  arranged  in  a  curved  line 
that  recalls  the  island  loops  bordering  eastern  Asia,  are  of  volcanic  origin. 
The  Bahamas  are  low  islands  of  organic  growth,  formed  in  large  part 
of  wind-blown  coral  sand,  of  flat  surface,  and  now  partly  submerged  by 
recent  depression.  They  have  steep  submarine  slopes  to  the  north-east, 
where  the  land  rapidly  descends  to  great  depths  beneath  the  Atlantic. 

West  Coast. — The  western  coast  of  North  America  repeats  certain 
features  of  the  eastern  coast,  but  with  diminished  breadth.  North  of 
latitude  48°,  there  is  the  ragged  outline  that  results  from  recent  sub- 
mergence ;  but  the  measure  of  submergence  appears  to  lessen  along  the 
western  side  of  Alaska,  where  the  great  delta  of  the  Yukon  would  imply 
that  the  land  has  been  more  stable  than  further  south-east.  The  Aleutian 
Island  chain,  chiefly  volcanic,  is  the  first  of  the  series  of  loops  fringing 
the  eastern  border  of  Asia.  For  this  reason,  as  well  as  for  certain  other 
features  of  resemblance,  the  frozen  lowlands  of  north-west  Alaska  may  be 
rather  closely  associated  with  those  of  north-eastern  Asia,  the  two  being 
separated  only  by  the  narrow  and  shallow  waters  of  Bering  Strait.  Along 
the  coast  of  southern  Alaska  and  British  Columbia,  submergence  has  led 
the  sea  far  into  the  valleys  of  the  mountainous  highlands.  Some  of  the 
inner  longitudinal  valleys,  beyond  the  outer  ranges,  are  now  under  water, 
forming  "  canals "  of  great  value  for  coastwise  navigation;  the  enclosing 
range  stands  forth  in  a  chain  of  hilly  and  mountainous  islands.  The  land 
hereabout  commonly  plunges  at  so  steep  an  angle  into  the  sea  that  level 
ground  is  wanting  along  the  shore,  except  where  rivers  have  built  their 
deltas  forward  in  protected  bay  heads. 

Further  south,  the  western  coast  of  the  United  States  and  of  Mexico 
exhibits  signs  of  comparatively  recent  elevation,  of  increasing  distinctness 
southward.  Elevated  beaches  are  described  in  Washington  and  California. 
Strips  of  coastal  plains  occur  along  the  Mexican  coast,  but  they  nowhere 


668       The  International  Geography 

attain  the  breadth  of  those  bordering  the  Atlantic,  and  moreover,  dis- 
orderly movements  have  disturbed  many  of  the  littoral  structures  of 
California  in  comparatively  recent  times  ;  these  movements  being  associ- 
ated with  the  modern  periods  of  growth  of  the  western  mountain  system, 
and  having  no  analogy  along  the  Atlantic  coast.  Notable  among  illus- 
trations of  these  littoral  disturbances  are  the  islands  that  lie  off  the  coast 
of  southern  California,  separated  by  deep-water  channels  from  the  main- 
land, and  having  the  appearance  of  disordered  and  dissected  blocks  of  the 
Earth's  crust,  here  rising  above  the  level  Of  the  sea.  Appropriate  to  a 
region  of  recent  disturbance,  the  continental  shelf  is  of  very  moderate 
development,  averaging  not  more  than  ten  miles  in  breadth  along  the 
coast  of  California.  It  is  trenched  at  numerous  points  by  "  submerged 
valleys,"  which  are  taken  to  indicate  that  for  a  relatively  brief  period  the 
continental  border  stood  higher  than  at  present,  but  the  submergence  by 
which  the  present  relative  attitude  of  land  and  sea  were  gained  did  not 
suffice  to  produce  a  coast  of  very  irregular  outline,  and  this  downward 
movement  may  be  regarded  as  only  an  episode  in  a  more  general  move- 
ment of  irregular  elevation. 

On  the  coast  thus  fashioned,  the  attack  of  the  sea  has  cut  cliffs  on  the 
headlands,  and  has  formed  concave  shores  of  sweeping  curvature  in  the 
re-entrants ;  well  protected  harbours  are  therefore  relatively  rare.  The  chief 
re-entrant  of  the  southern  coast  is  the  Gulf  of  California ;  this  seems  to  be 
a  trough  of  local  depression,  while  the  enclosing  peninsula  of  Lower 
California  is  a  mountain  range  of  local  and  irregular  elevation.  The 
Valley  of  California  between  the  Sierra  Nevada  and  the  Coast  Range  is 
another  trough  of  local  depression  ;  but  here  the  trough  is  filled  with  land 
waste  washed  from  the  adjoining  mountains,  and  forming  a  fluviatile  plain. 
The  sea  enters  a  short  distance  inland  from  San  Francisco,  here  making 
the  only  strong  re-entrant  for  a  long  distance  along  the  Pacific  border  ;  it 
has  naturally  become  the  site  of  the  metropolis  of  western  North  America. 

Laurentian  Highlands. — The  chief  subdivisions  of  North  America 
may  now  be  reviewed  in  a  general  way.  The  Laurentian  Highlands,  with 
outliers  in  the  Adirondack  Mountains  of  New  York  and  in  the  rugged 
uplands  of  northern  Wisconsin  and  north-eastern  Minnesota,  consist  of  very 
ancient  rocks.  Their  coarsely  crystalline  texture  shows  that  the  rocks  now 
visible  once  lay  far  under  ground  ;  for  only  deep  within  the  crust  can  such 
rock  texture  be  produced.  Their  greatly  deformed  structure  indicates 
that  the  rock  masses  which  formerly  rose  above  the  present  surface  once 
possessed  a  vigorous  mountain  form ;  for  mountains  are  the  only  form 
appropriate  to  such  structures  at  the  period  of  their  deformation.  The 
comparatively  even  surface  of  the  highlands  of  to-day  must  therefore  be 
regarded  as  the  denuded  platform  of  an  ancient  mountain  system  ;  for  only 
by  great  denudation  can  the  former  mountain  cover  of  the  existing  textures 
and  structures  have  been  removed.  But  all  this  must  have  happened  in  the 
dawn  of  geological  time,  for  the  ancient  mountains  were  worn  low  early 


North  America 


669 


enough  for  some  of  the  oldest  fossilif erous  strata  to  be  laid  upon  their  flanks 
when  their  borders  were  submerged  beneath  an  ancient  sea.  The  Laurentian 
Highlands  may  therefore  be  viewed  as  part  of  a  very  ancient  land  ;  one  of 
the  earliest  and  most  extensive  lands  of  the  globe. 

Since  the  time  when  all  this  happened  the  geological  history  of  the 
region  has  been  uneventful.  It  has  probably  suffered  repeated  move- 
ments of  elevation  and  depression,  with  corresponding  alternations  of  denu- 
dation and  deposition ;  but  as  all  the  flanking  Palaeozoic  strata  are  still 
essentially  horizontal,  no  disorderly  crushing  and  no  great  uplifts  and  disloca- 
tions can  have  taken  place  since  their  deposition.  During  certain  periods 
of  moderate  elevation,  valleys  were  eroded  in  the  borders  of  the  highlands  ; 
and  these,  now  partly  drowned,  determine  the  bays  and  fjords  of  the  coast. 

Glacial  Action. — Most  notable  of  all  events  since  the  great  denudation 
of  early  time  is  the  glaciation  of  the  Laurentian  region  in  a  very  modern  stage 
of  the  Earth's  history ;  a  time 
when  these  highlands  resem- 
bled the  Greenland  of  to-day. 
The  ice  sheets  crept  far  south 
and  west  overland,  and  the 
results  of  their  invasions  on 
the  bordering  regions  are  of 
great  geographical  import- 
ance. The  highlands  them- 
selves, scoured  under  the  ice 
sheets,  present  a  succession  of 
rocky  mounds  and  irregular 
hollows,  drained  by  disorderly 
and  undeveloped  streams. 
Here  we  find  ragged  lakes, 
often  having  more  than  one 
outlet ;  forested  swamps  and 
grassy  marshes  traversed  by  sluggish  streams  ;  split  rivers  including  large 
"  islands  "  tens  of  miles  in  length,  between  the  divided  channels  ;  stretches 
of  smooth  streams  in  open  valleys  alternating  with  falls  and  rapids  in  rocky 
gorges.  This  great  region,  barren  in  the  north-west,  forested  in  the  south- 
east, is  an  irredeemable  wilderness. 

A  short  distance  outside  the  highland  border,  where  the  Palaeozoic 
strata  lie  upon  the  floor  of  the  older  rocks,  broad  plains  alternate  with  large 
lakes  that  occupy  depressions  in  the  weaker  layers ;  ten  or  more  important 
water  bodies  lie  in  a  curve  from  Lake  Ontario  to  Great  Bear  Lake.  The 
history  of  these  lakes  has  gained  an  almost  dramatic  interest  in  recent  years, 
for  it  has  been  shown  that  they  are  the  residuals  of  much  greater  lakes  that 
for  a  time  occupied  the  lacustrine  belt  when  the  present  outlets  were  closed 
by  the  retreating  ice  sheet  of  the  last  glacial  invasion.  The  expanded 
waters  of  the  glacial-marginal  lakes  carried  silt  from  the  melting  ice,  and 


H  Existing  Glaciers        kPj  Ancient  Ice 
FIG.  329. — The  Glaciation  of  North  America. 


6yo       The  International   Geography 


the  lake  floors  now  laid  bare  form  smooth  prairies  of  fine  deep  soil,  yielding 
great  crops  of  wheat  if  not  too  far  north.  Their  fertility  coupled  with 
modern  means  of  transportation  have  seriously  affected  the  commerce  in 
the  food  supply  of  the  world.  The  lakes  still  remaining  afford  a  marvellous 
system  of  inland  waterways. 

South  and  west  of  the  lake  belt,  glacial  action  has  been  on  the  whole 
constructive,  instead  of  destructive.  For  tens  of  miles  together,  not  a  ledge 
of  rock  is  to  be  seen  ;  the  surface  is  heavily  sheeted  with  glacial  drift,  the 
greater  part  of  which  has  a  fine  and  fertile  soil.  Although  commonly 
treated  as  if  pertinent  to  geology,  it  cannot  be  questioned  by  those  who 
know  the  appearance  of  this  vast  drift-covered  prairie  region  that  glacial 
action  has  many  geographical  consequences. 

Appalachians. — The   Appalachian  highland,    extending  from  New- 
foundland to  Alabama  (and  probably  reappearing  west  of  the  Mississippi  in 

Arkansas  and  Indian  Territory)  is 
one  of  those  old  mountain  ranges, 
made  in  the  earlier  and  middle 
ages  of  the  Earth's  history ;  so  long 
ago  that  the  original  mountains 
have  been  for  the  most  part  worn 
down  to  lowlands ;  their  present 
moderate  height  is  due  to  the  local 
success  of  the  most  enduring  rocks 
in  resisting  complete  denudation, 
or  to  a  relatively  modern  uplift  of 
the  region  to  upland  height ;  or  to 
both  causes  combined.  Being  so 
old,  the  Appalachians  have  none 
of  the  bold  and  irregular  forms  of 
younger  and  more  vigorous  moun- 
tains, where  lofty  peaks  rise  be- 
tween deep  passes.  Ridges  with 


FlG.  330. — Configuration  of  North  America. 


even  crest  lines  and  broad  uplands  separated  by  open  and  populous 
valleys  are  the  prevailing  forms.  Only  the  culminating  parts  of  the 
system,  the  White  Mountains  of  New  Hampshire  and  the  Black  Moun- 
tains of  North  Carolina,  retain  distinctly  conical  or  peak-like  forms,  and 
even  here,  forests  clothe  most  of  the  mountain  slopes,  only  occasional 
summits  rise  above  the  tree  line,  and  bare,  angular  crags  are  seldom  seen. 
The  middle  part  of  the  system,  known  as  the  Allegheny  Mountains  in 
Pennsylvania  and  Virginia,  is  of  moderate  elevation,  and  is  intersected  by 
many  and  broad  valleys.  Immigration  into  the  Ohio  valley  was  here  less 
obstructed  by  the  mountain  ridges  than  by  the  Allegheny  plateau  which 
lies  west  of  them. 

Trends  in   a  north-east  and  south-west  direction  predominate  in  the 
Appalachians,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  land  arms  and  fjords  of  Newfound- 


North  America  671 

land  and  Nova  Scotia,  as  well  as  in  the  ridges  and  the  valleys  of  the 
Alleghenies  in  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia.  The  boundaries  of  the  system 
are  of  interest  in  connection  with  its  physical  history.  From  New  York 
to  Newfoundland  the  Appalachian  belt  of  New  England  and  the  Provinces 
dips  under  the  sea  on  the  east  and  north-east ;  its  structures  do  not  end,  they 
simply  descend  beneath  the  sea  and  are  lost  to  sight  on  account  of  a  recent 
continental  depression.  As  the  uplands  slant  down  to  lowlands  near 
the  coast  they  are  occupied  by  a  large  population,  especially  in  the 
harbour  cities  where  manufacturing  and  commerce  are  active.  Further 
inland  the  population  is  almost  limited  to  the  open  valleys.  From  New 
York  to  Alabama,  the  Appalachian  structures  decrease  in  height  to  the 
south-east  and  south,  and  disappear  under  the  coastal  plain  of  the  Atlantic 
and  Gulf  States ;  the  inner  margin  of  the  plain  roughly  marks  the  shore 
line  of  an  earlier  period  of  continental  depression.  Here  a  rural  popula- 
tion occupies  the  broader  valleys  and  the  lower  uplands ;  the  chief  cities 
being  associated  with  the  inner  border  of  the  coastal  plain,  where  rapids 
in  the  outflowing  rivers  afford  water  power ;  and  again  with  the  outer 
border  of  the  plain  where  the  bays  and  the  estuaries  give  harbourage  to 
seagoing  vessels.  Only  on  the  north-west  is  a  true  termination  of  the 
mountain  system  discovered.  Here  the  deformations  that  give  so  distinct 
a  trend  to  the  upland  ridges  and  valleys  of  the  Appalachians  die  out.  The 
Laurentian  uplands  and  the  Adirondacks,  consisting  of  ancient  rocks  long 
undisturbed,  adjoin  the  Appalachians  of  the  Provinces  and  of  New 
England  ;  the  Allegheny  plateau,  of  nearly  horizontal  sedimentary  strata, 
adjoins  the  Appalachians  of  the  middle  and  southern  States. 

The  Allegheny  plateau  is  known  as  the  Catskill  Mountains  in  New 
York,  and  the  Cumberland  tableland  in  Tennessee  and  Alabama.  Between 
these  two  extremes  much  of  its  hilly  surface  is  known  as  the  Allegheny 
Mountains,  although  this  term  should  properly  be  restricted  to  the  long, 
even-crested  ridges  that  lie  next  to  the  south-east  from  Pennsylvania  to 
Tennessee.  Taking  the  plateau  altogether,  it  descends  by  a  strong  escarp- 
ment into  the  valleys  of  the  Alleghenies  on  the  south-east,  while  it 
gradually  decreases  in  altitude  towards  the  prairies  of  the  middle  Ohio 
and  Mississippi  on  the  west.  Throughout  this  plateau,  as  well  as  among 
the  Pennsylvania  ridges  on  the  east  and  under  certain  of  the  prairies 
further  west,  lie  the  great  stores  of  coal  on  which  the  industrial  prosperity 
of  the  eastern  United  States  largely  depends. 

Rocky  Mountain  System. — The  western  highlands  of  North  America, 
or  the  Rocky  Mountain  system  in  general,  is  widest  in  latitude  40° ;  and 
thence  narrows  to  its  end  in  the  Alaskan  range  about  latitude  63°,  and  to 
its  termination  near  the  great  Mexican  volcanoes  in  latitude  18°.  Its  eastern 
boundary  is  generally  well  denned  by  a  sudden  descent  to  the  Great  Plains. 
Its  western  border  touches  the  sea  for  nearly  all  its  length.  Within  its 
area  there  is  a  great  variety  of  structure  and  form.  The  Selkirk  Range, 
crossed  by  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  and  the  broad  St.  Elias  Alps  in 


672       The   International   Geography 

Alaska,  are  truly  Alpine  in  form,  with  great  snow-fields  and  long  glaciers. 
The  Cascade  Range  in  Washington  and  Oregon  and  the  southern  ranges  of 
Mexico  are  crowned  with  great  volcanic  cones.  Extensive  plateaux  of 
horizontal  structure  are  found  in  Arizona,  Utah  and  New  Mexico,  bearing 
dissected  volcanic  cones  and  lava  flows  on  the  uplands,  and  trenched  by 
deep  canyons,  of  which  that  of  the  Colorado  is  the  most  famous.  Vast 
lava  plateaux  occupy  intermont  basins  in  Idaho  and  Washington,  where 
they  are  cut  down  in  the  canyons  of  the  Columbia  and  Snake  rivers  ;  that 
of  the  Snake  being  less  known  but  hardly  less  marvellous  than  that  of  the 
Colorado.  Many  ranges  of  moderate  dimensions  inclose  intermont 
depressions  that  are  now  occupied  by  aggraded  or  waste-filled  plains ;  the 
plateau  of  Mexico  being  only  an  extensive  development  of  these  basins 
between  the  eastern  and  western  ranges  of  the  Sierra  Madre. 

As  is  the  rule  among  mountains,  the  individual  ridges  generally  result 
from  the  erosion  of  valleys  in  broadly  uplifted  ranges,  rather  than  from 
direct  and  local  uplift.  Many  of  the  separate  ridges  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tain ranges  in  Canada  and  Montana  are  thus  produced  ;  the  view  from 
their  summits  disclosing  a  "  sea  of  mountains,"  ridge  following  ridge  to  the 
horizon,  like  waves  on  the  ocean.  The  peaks  frequently  attain,  but  seldom 
exceed,  a  height  of  12,000  or  14,000  feet.  Greater  elevations  are  found 
in  the  far  north-west  where  Mounts  St.  Elias  and  Logan  exceed 
18,000  feet  on  either  side  of  the  Alaskan  boundary,  and  in  the  far  south, 
where  the  Mexican  volcanoes  rise  above  the  snow  line  to  similar  but 
slightly  less  altitudes. 

In  certain  parts  of  the  western  highlands,  dislocation  is  more 
directly  responsible  for  the  existing  relief  of  the  land ;  and  this  as 
well  as  the  great  general  altitude  of  the  region  places  it  in  strong 
contrast  with  the  lesser  eastern  highlands.  Certain  of  the  mountain  ridges 
and  ranges  are  the  immediate  result  of  the  uplift  of  the  crust-blocks  whose 
initial  form  has  not  yet  been  wholly  effaced  by  the  carving  of  valleys  on  their 
flanks.  The  Sierra  Nevada  is,  in  a  large  way,  a  great  tilted  block,  or  series 
of  blocks,  the  eastern  face  being  short  and  steep,  the  western  slope  being 
long  and  relatively  gentle  ;  both  faces  are  now  scored  by  deep  valleys 
through  which  the  mountain  waste  is  carried  out  to  form  the  adjacent 
plains.  The  lofty  plateaux  of  Arizona  are  bounded  by  great  cliffs,  the 
edges  of  the  huge  plateau-blocks,  that  have  been  uplifted  to  altitudes 
differing  by  a  thousand  feet  or  more,  and  now  made  rugged  by 
gnawing  streams.  Further  east,  basins  among  the  mountains  of  Colorado, 
Wyoming  and  Montana,  are  the  obverse  of  the  ranges  that  have  been 
uplifted  around  them,  the  basins  being  heavily  aggraded  with  the 
mountain  waste.  It  is  believed  that  lakes  occupied  some  of  these  basins 
for  a  time,  but  that  stage  is  now  past ;  the  outflowing  rivers  have 
cut  down  the  enclosing  ranges  in  deep  gorges,  still  so  narrow  as  to  be 
impassable  except  to  carefully  constructed  railroads.  It  is  in  the  basins 
that  most  of  the  population  gathers  in  the  mountain  region. 


North  America  673 

South  of  latitude  18°,  the  mountains  of  Central  America  are  largely 
volcanic,  with  little  relation  to  the  features  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  system. 
Where  ridges  appear,  they  generally  have  east  and  west  trends,  and  thus 
seem  to  be  associated  with  the  Antillean  Mountain  system,  of  which  the 
greater  part  is  submerged  in  the  Caribbean  Sea  and  made  known  only  by 
soundings  as  submarine  ridges. 

The  Great  Plains.— The  Great  Plains  slope  eastward  from  the  base 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  They  are  broadest  between  latitudes  35°  and  55°. 
Further  north,  they  are  narrowed  by  the  convergence  of  the  lacustrine 
belt  on  the  east  and  the  mountains  on  the  west ;  further  south,  they  merge 
into  the  coastal  plain  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  ;  beyond  southern  Texas  their 
width  is  measured  only  in  tens  of  miles.  Over  their  widest  expanse  they 
present  a  vast  surface  of  moderate  yet  varied  relief.  They  are  frequently 
interrupted  by  embossed  mesas  and  escarpments,  or  by  incised  valleys  ; 
yet  the  name  of  "  plains "  is  well  applied,  for  the  view  from  every  little 
eminence  is  almost  as  boundless  as  upon  the  sea.  On  the  east,  the  plains 
merge  into  the  prairies  ;  on  the  west  they  are  interrupted  by  foot-hills  and 
outlying  ridges  near  the  base  of  the  mountains.  A  mountain  group  in 
Dakota  known  as  the  Black  Hills,  named  from  the  dark  forests  that 
crown  it,  diversifies  the  treeless  plains  and  introduces  mining  and 
lumbering  in  the  midst  of  open  cattle  ranges.  The  Ouachita  ridges  extend- 
ing westward  from  Arkansas,  break  in  upon  the  plains  about  latitude  35°  ; 
further  south  they  are  known  in  Texas  as  the  "  Llano  estacado  "  with  bold 
and  ragged  escarpments  on  nearly  all  sides. 

Like  the  vast  plains  of  eastern  Europe  and  western  Asia,  the  Great 
Plains  of  North  America  stretch  over  so  great  a  distance  on  theEarth's 
convex  surface  that  they  are  more  varied  in  climate  than  in  form.  Far 
north,  they  are  frozen  and  barren.  Between  latitudes  50°  and  60°,  they 
are  forested,  the  temperature  here  not  being  low  enough  to  prevent  tree 
growth  and  not  high  enough  to  cause  active  evaporation  and  leave  the 
surface  arid.  From  55°  southward  into  Mexico,  the  plains  are  treeless  for 
the  most  part,  this  being  a  direct  result  of  their  dryness,  which  in  turn  is 
due  almost  as  largely  to  their  summer  warmth  as  to  their  light  rainfall. 
In  Mexico  and  Yucatan,  where  the  rainfall  increases  under  the  trade  winds, 
the  lowlands  have  a  tropical  flora  of  increasing  richness  southward  ;  in 
contrast  to  the  mild  climate  of  the  plateaux,  the  narrow  coastal  plains  are 
here  known  as  the  "  tierra  caliente." 

Climate. — The  varied  climates  of  North  America  afford  many  com- 
binations of  the  geometrical  zones  of  temperature,  wind,  and  rainfall, 
appropriate  to  the  globular  form  of  the  Earth,  with  the  irregular  or 
arbitrary  arrangement  of  these  climatic  factors  caused  by  the  non- 
geometrical  outline  and  relief  of  the  lands. 

Zonal  arrangement  is  seen  in  the  decrease  of  temperature  and  rainfall 
from  almost  equatorial  conditions  at  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  to  almost  polar 
conditions  bordering  the  Arctic  Sea.  It  is  displayed  with  equal  distinctness 


674       The  International  Geography 

in  the  easterly  winds  of  the  torrid  belt  that  cover  the  peninsular  and 
insular  lands  on  the  south,  and  in  the  stormy  westerly  winds  that  prevail 
over  a  broad  belt  of  middle  and  higher  latitudes.  The  irregular  distribu- 
tion of  the  climatic  factors  is  seen  in  the  far  northward  summer  migration 

of  the  heat  equator  to  the 
deserts  of  Arizona  and  western 
Mexico  as  compared  with  the 
moderate  migration  on  the 
oceans,  and  in  the  great  annual 
temperature  range  with  ex- 
treme winter  cold  on  the 
central  plains  of  Canada,  in 
contrast  to  the  moderate 
ranges  prevailing  over  the 
oceans  in  similar  latitudes. 
It  is  found  again  in  the  plen- 
tiful rainfall  of  the  western 


FIG.  331. — North  America.     Isotherms  for  January. 
(After  Buchan.) 


mountain  slopes  in  temperate  latitudes,  while  the  intermont  basins  and  the 
eastern  slopes  are  dry,  and  in  the  abundant  rainfall  of  the  eastern  slopes  in 
the  trade  wind  belt,  where  the  western  slopes  are  relatively  arid.  Nothing 
can  be  more  striking  than  the  contrast  between  the  moderate  change  of 
seasons  along  the  Pacific  coast  from  Alaska  to  California,  and  the  violent 
changes  from  winter  to  summer  in  the  interior  and  along  the  middle 
Atlantic  border.  These  unlike  conditions  are  dependent  partly  on  the 
arrangement  of  ocean  currents  as  guided  by  continental  barriers,  and 
partly  on  the  distribution  of  temperatures  by  the  prevailing  winds.  The 
British  Islands  have,  under  the  benign  influence  of  the  North  Atlantic  drift, 
the  most  abnormally  mild  climate  for  their  latitude  in  the  world  ;  Labrador 
in  the  same  latitude  has  one 
of  the  most  severe  of  climates. 
It  is  a  frozen  and  snow- 
covered  wilderness  in  winter ; 
it  might  have  a  comparatively 
high  mean  temperature  in 
summer,  but  for  the  chill  that 
is  received  when  the  wind 
blows  inland  from  the  cold  ice- 
laden  current  along  its  coast. 
Following  upon  these  great 
interior  changes  of  tempera- 
ture, the  prevailing  winds  ex- 
hibit something  of  a  monsoon 
effect  in  certain  regions.  They  frequently  blow  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  up 
the  Mississippi  valley  in  summer,  and  down  the  valley  to  the  Gulf  in  winter. 
Some  indications  of  inflow  and  outflow  may  also  be  perceived  in  summer 


FIG.  332. — North  America.     Isotherms  for  y-uly. 
(After  Buchan.) 


North  America 


675 


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75 
70 
65 
60 
55 
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40 
35 
30 
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SAN  FRANCISCO  —  NEW  YORK  — 

and  winter  along  the  Arctic  coast.  There  is  furthermore  a  breaking  of  the 
wind  belts  merely  from  the  occurrence  of  transverse  land  barriers.  It  is 
chiefly  on  account  of  the  obstacle  formed  by 
the  western  highlands  that  a  branch  of  the 
prevailing  westerly  winds  turns  towards 
the  trades  off  the  Pacific  coast,  especially  in 
winter  when  the  low  continental  tempera- 
ture discourages  the  entrance  of  winds 
from  the  ocean.  Similarly,  the  trades  give 
forth  branches  to  the  westerly  winds  east 
of  the  Mexican  highlands,  especially  in 
summer  when  the  high  continental  tempera- 
ture persuades  the  winds  to  blow  inland. 

The   ovals  of  high  and  low   pressure,    FIG.  ^'-Temperature  and  Rainfall 

known  as  Cyclonic  and  anticyclonic  areas,        Curves  for  San  Francisco  and  New 

which  so  markedly  characterise  the  westerly 

winds  of  temperate  latitudes,  are  not  only  well  developed  as  they  drift  across 
North  America,  but  they  have  been  abundantly  charted  in  the  great  series  of 
official  weather  maps  for  the  United  States  and  a  bordering  belt  of  Canada. 
While  the  anticyclones  are  generally  associated  with  fair  weather,  the 
cyclonic  areas  provide  most  of  the  heavy  clouds  and  rainfall  on  their  path. 
During  the  passage  of  these  atmospheric  disturbances  across  the  interior 
plains,  they  determine  the  strong  changes  of  weather  for  which  the  region 

is  noted ;  the  vast  extent  of  comparatively 
low  open  country  permitting  a  free  im- 
portation of  air  currents  from  frigid  and 
torrid  latitudes  on  either  hand. 

Rainfall  and  Vegetation.— While 
the  extremes  of  temperature  are  the  con- 
trolling climatic  factors  in  determining  the 
vegetable  products  and  human  industries 
between  the  far  north  and  south,  variation 
of  rainfall  exercises  the  most  important 
climatic  control  across  the  great  breadth 
of  the  continent  in  middle  latitudes.  A 
vast  extent  of  country  in  the  interior,  shut 
off  by  the  mountains  from  the  moist  winds 
of  the  Pacific,  is  too  dry  for  ordinary 
processes  of  agriculture,  unless  resort  is 
had  to  irrigation.  Where  most  arid,  the 


i  M«T.Jj«.M.Auc  Sc»  Oci  KM  Die 


NEW  ORLEANS—  I 


FIG  334—TemperatureandRainfall    surface   is  a  desert,   although    seldom    so 
Cntves  for   Winnipeg  and  New    absolutely  barren  as  the  driest  deserts  of 

the   Old  World.      Where  a  light  rainfall 

is  received,  a  thin  growth  of  grass  that  once   supported  vast  herds  of 
bisons  now  gives  scanty  pasture  to  ranging  cattle.    Trees  are  wanting 


676       The  International  Geography 


over  a  great  space  of  broad  plains  and  interment  basins  west  of  the 
looth  meridian  ;  but  the  mountain  slopes  are  forested,  especially  as 
the  Pacific  is  neared,  the  western  descent  of  the  Cascade  Range  being 

densely  occupied  by  trees  of 


FIG.  335. — The  Mean  Annual  Rainfall  of  North 
America.     (After  Supan.) 


great  size.  East  of  the 
meridian,  excepting  for  the 
prairies  of  the  Mississippi 
and  Winnipeg  region,  and 
the  barren  grounds  of  the 
far  north,  forests  originally 
covered  the  entire  country, 
for  here  the  beneficent  sub- 
mergence under  the  Caribbean 
and  Mexican  Mediterraneans 
of  what  would  otherwise  be 
an  American  Sahara  permits 
a  plentiful  rainfall  over  the 
eastern  part  of  the  continent.  When  first  explored,  great  tracts  of  forest 
were  found  to  have  been  devastated  by  fire.  Although  the  forests  have 
now  been  extensively  cut  for  timber  and  cleared  for  farming,  the  living 
trees  at  present  are  believed  to  be  not  greatly  decreased  below  the  number 
that  were  growing  at  the  time  of  first  settlement. 

Aboriginal  People.—  Four  hundred  years  ago,  North  America  was 
for  the  most  part  thinly  populated  by  savage  or  barbarous  peoples.  In 
Mexico  and  Central  America  the  inhabitants  had  developed  an  elaborate 
stone  architecture,  shown  now  in  the  temples  whose  ruins  are  often  con- 
cealed under  heavy  forest  growth.  Further  north,  numerous  earthworks 
and  fortifications  mark  the  sites  of  pre-Columbian  settlements,  as  in  the 
Ohio  basin  ;  these  are  by  some  attributed  to  an  extinct  people  ;  by  others, 
to  the  immediate  ancestors  of  the  wandering  warlike  tribes,  to  whom 
a  memorial  of  Columbus's  faulty  reckoning  of  longitude  still  clings  in 
the  name  of  "  Indians."  The  early  Americans  had  learned  to  do  simple 
weaving,  to  make  rough  pottery,  to  carve  shells,  to  hammer  the  native 
copper  of  Lake  Superior,  and  to  chip  flints  and  polish  stone  imple 
ments  in  the  neolithic  fashion.  They  seem  to  have  had  no  horses  when 
first  discovered,  but  the  tribes  of  the  open  prairies  and  plains  became 
expert  horsemen  in  later  times.  In  the  western  desert  interior  there 
are  "  pueblos,"  or  villages,  built  for  protection  on  isolated  mesas,  still  occu- 
pied, and  probably  to  be  associated  with  the  abandoned  cliff  dwellings 
of  the  neighbouring  canyon  walls.  On  the  north-west  coast  there  are 
tribes  remarkable  for  their  fantastic  wood  carvings.  In  the  far  north  the 
Eskimos  are  made  torpid,  as  far  as  development  goes,  by  the  extreme 
rigour  of  their  surroundings.  Striking  differences  of  language  prevailed 
among  many  of  the  tribes,  especially  those  on  the  Pacific  slope. 

History.  —  The  early   discovery  of   North  America  by  the  way  of 


North  America 


677 


Iceland  seems  to  be  authenticated  in  the  "  Sagas,"  but  no  traces  of  previous 
settlements  were  found  by  later  comers.    The  Columbian  discovery  sooner 
or  later  led  the  Spaniards  to  found  colonies  from  Florida  southward,  the 
French  from  Louisiana  and  Acadia  (now  Nova  Scotia)  northward,  and  the 
British  along  the  middle  Atlantic  coast.     Conquest,  treaty  and  purchase 
have  now  placed  the  Anglo-Saxon  element  in  possession  of  the  continent 
from  Mexico  northward.     The  defeat  of  the  French  at  Quebec  in  1759 
brought  to  the  British  crown  all  the  St.  Lawrence  region  except  some  small 
"  enclaves  "  on  or  near  Newfoundland.     The  last  quarter  of  the  eighteenth 
century  witnessed  the  stormy  separation  of  the  Atlantic  colonies  from  the 
United  Kingdom,  and  their  union  in  the  first  of  the  great  modern  republics 
— the  United  States.     Purchase  in  1803,  when  the  Emperor  Napoleon  was 
in  need  of  money,  brought  Louisiana  (the  western  basin  of  the  Mississippi) 
to  the  United  States,  and 
in    1867  added  the   pre- 
viously Russian  territory 
of  Alaska  to  the  Republic. 
Mexico     and    the    other 
Central  American  States 
secured    their    indepen- 
dence   from     Spain     in 
the   first   quarter  of  the 
nineteenth    century,  and 
adopted  republican  forms 
of  government  (Fig.  350). 
The    attempt    to    bring 
Mexico  again  under  Euro- 
pean control,  at  a   time 
when  the   United  States 
was    distracted    by  civil 
war,  fortunately  met  early  failure.    In  the  meantime,  fed  by  a  great  number 
of  European  colonists,  the  several  northern  British  colonies  (except  New- 
foundland) have  united  in  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  which  now  stretches 
from  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  to  the  Arctic ;  the  territory  of  the  United  States 
has  been  extended  west  to  the  Pacific,  partly  by  exploration,  partly  at  the 
expense  of  Mexico ;  and,  as  a  result  of  the  war  of  1898,  Cuba  has  been 
separated  from  Spain,  and  Porto  Rico  fallen  to  the  share  of  the  United 
States  as  one  of  the  first  non-Continental  possessions  which  the  future 
seems  to  have  in  store  for  it. 

The  rapidity  with  which  the  northern  New  World  has  been  turned  to 
the  uses  of  civilisation  is  an  appropriate  consequence  of  the  century  of 
steam,  electricity,  and  the  wholesale  production  of  steel.  Railways  and 
telegraphs  now  unite  the  Pacific  and  Atlantic  slopes  of  North  America, 
and  serve  as  political  as  well  as  commercial  bonds  between  the  east  and 
west.  Steamships  and  cables  bring  Europe  and  North  America  into  the 


FiG.  336. — Chief  Railways  of  North  America. 


678       The  International  Geography 

closest  relations  as  to  people  and  commerce.  Even  so  small  a  matter  as 
getting  the  time  by  one's  watch  is  now  done  in  concert,  not  with  the 
people  of  North  America  alone,  but  with  those  of  western  Europe  as 
well,  for  the  greater  part  of  the  northern  New  World  is  divided  into 
"  time  belts,"  whose  noon  hour  falls  four,  five,  six,  seven  or  eight  hours 
earlier  than  noon  at  Greenwich.  Isolated  villages  in  the  backwoods  may 
still  hold  to  the  old-fashioned  habit  of  keeping  local  time,  but  the  larger 
communities  which  use'  the  railways  as  the  basis  of  nearly  all  activities, 
adopt  Atlantic,  Eastern,  Central,  Mountain  or  Pacific  time,  according  to 
their  position. 

STATISTICS. 

THE   COUNTRIES  OF   NORTH   AMERICA. 

Area  in  square  miles.  Population. 

United  States  of  America  (including  Alaska)          . .        3,501,000           . .  75,560,000 

Dominion  of  Canada 3,300,000            . .  5,370,000 

Mexico        767,000           . .  13,500,000 

Newfoundland  (and  Labrador)           161,000           ..  217,000 

STANDARD  BOOKS. 

N.  S.  Shaler.     "Nature  and  Man  in  America."    New  York  and  London,  1892. 
E.J.Payne.     "  History  of  the  New  World  called  America."     Oxford.     2  vols.     1892,1899, 

E.  Deckert.     "  Nordamerika  "  (ed.  by  Sievers).     2nd  ed.     Leipzig  and  Vienna,  1904. 
H.  H.  Bancroft.     Historical  Works.     39  vols.     San  Francisco,  1883-90. 

F.  Parkman.     Historical  Works.     12  vols.     New  York  and  London. 

I.  C.  Russell.     "Lakes  of  North  America."     Boston  and  London,  1900. 

—     "Glaciers  of  North  America."     Boston  and  London,  1901. 

P.  Fountain.     "  The  Great  Deserts  and  Forests  of  North  America."    London,  1901. 


CHAPTER    XXXVIII.- COLONIAL     NORTH 
AMERICA 

I— THE  DOMINION   OF   CANADA 

BY  J.  B.  TYRRELL,  M.A.,  B.Sc., 

Formerly  of  the  Geological  Survey  of  Canada. 

Position  and  Boundaries. — British  North  America,  including  under 
this  name  Canada  and  Newfoundland,  occupies  the  whole  of  the  northern 
part  of  the  continent  of  North  America,  except  Alaska,  which  belongs  to 
the  United  States.  It  lies  between  longitudes  53°  and  141°  W.,  and  touches 
the  42nd  parallel  on  the  south.  The  total  area  is  rather  over  three  and 
a  half  million  square  miles,  or  slightly  larger  than  the  United  States,  including 
Alaska,  and  somewhat  smaller  than  the  whole  of  Europe.  Its  greatest 
length,  on  a  line  drawn  from  Cape  Race,  in  Newfoundland,  to  Mount  St. 
Elias,  on  the  boundary  of  Alaska,  is  3,400  miles. 

Its  only  land  boundary  is  with  the  United  States,  being  separated  from 
the  territory  of  Alaska  by  the  meridian  of  141°  W.,  and  an  undemarcated 
line  parallel  to  the  Pacific  coast.  The  southern  frontier,  3,260  miles  in 
length,  passes  through  the  straits  of  Juan  de  Fuca  and  Haro  on  the  west, 
along  the  parallel  of  49°  N.  to  the  Lake  of  the  Woods,  east  of  which  it 
takes  a  very  irregular  course,  passes  through  the  middle  of  Lakes  Superior, 
Huron,  Erie,  and  Ontario,  then  follows  the  highlands  north  of  the  State 
of  Maine,  and  finally  turns  southward  to  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Croix  river 
on  the  Bay  of  Fundy. 

Coasts. — The  eastern  continental  shore  extends  from  the  mouth  of 
the  St.  Croix  river  in  a  very  sinuous  course  northwards  to  Cape  Chidley. 
The  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  which  is  its  most  conspicuous  and  important 
hydrographic  feature,  is  a  pear-shaped  sea  500  miles  long,  cut  off  from 
the  main  Atlantic  by  the  islands  of  Newfoundland  and  Cape  Breton, 
and  receiving  on  the  west  the  great  river  St.  Lawrence.  The  islands 
of  Prince  Edward  and  Anticosti  lie  within  it.  The  northern  coast  of 
the  mainland  extends  from  Cape  Chidley  to  Demarcation  Point,  on  the 
border  of  Alaska,  north  of  which  is  the  immense  Arctic  archipelago, 
the  islands  for  the  most  part  being  separated  by  rather  shallow  water. 
Hudson  Bay,  which  is  a  great  indentation  on  this  northern  coast,  is  one 
of  the  most  important  physical  features  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada, 
extending,  as  it  does,  southward  until  it  reaches  to  within  300  miles  of  the 

679 


680      The  International  Geography 

north  shore  of  Lake  Superior.  It  thus  divides  the  land-mass  of  Canada 
into  two  great  parts,  the  smaller  lying  east  and  south-east,  and  the  larger 
west  of  its  shores.  It  is  an  inland  sea,  1,300  miles  in  its  greatest  length, 
and  600  miles  in  maximum  breadth,  with  an  average  depth  in  the 
centre  of  60  fathoms.  Its  water,  except  in  James'  Bay,  is  clear  and 
salt  like  the  Atlantic,  with  which  it  is  connected  by  Hudson  Strait.  The 
Pacific  Coast-line,  beginning  at  the  Strait  of  Juan  de  Fuca,  runs  north- 
westward to  the  southern  extremity  of  Alaska,  a  distance  of  530  miles.  It 
has  an  extremely  irregular  outline,  on  account  of  the  many  fjords  and 
off-lying  islands. 

Configuration   and   Geology. — The  land-surface  of   Canada,  and 


FIG.  337. — The  Geological  Structure  of  Canada. 


in  fact  of  the  whole  of  the  North  American  continent,  has  been  built  up 
around  a  great  V-shaped  area  of  Archaean  rocks,  which  extends  from  the 
northern  and  eastern  shore  of  Labrador  round  the  north  of  the  Great 
Lakes,  and  thence  north-westward  to  the  Arctic  Sea.  In  the  centre  of  this 
V  lies  Hudson  Bay,  while  around  it  are  the  fertile  plains  of  eastern  and 
western  Canada.  This  area,  which  has  been  called  the  Laurentian 
plateau,  has  a  gently  undulating  rocky  surface,  in  which  the  existing 
streams  have  nowhere  cut  deep  valleys.  In  the  depressions  are  some 
considerable  areas  of  fertile  land,  but  as  a  rule  the  region  cannot  support 
a  large  agricultural  population.  The  eastern  and  western  borders  of  the 


Dominion  of  Canada  68 1 

continent  rise  in  two  main  systems  of  mountain  chains,  known  respectively 
as  the  Appalachian  and  Cordilleran  systems,  the  former  dying  out  in  eastern 
Canada  and  Newfoundland,  while  the  latter,  which  forms  the  backbone 
of  the  continent,  runs  to  its  highest  summits  in  north-western  Yukon, 
where  Mount  St.  Elias  has  an  altitude  of  18,010  feet,  and  Mount  Logan  a 
reputed  altitude  of  19,500  feet.  Between  the  Laurentian  plateau  and  the 
Appalachian  Mountains  lies  the  fertile  plain  of  the  Great  Lakes  and  the 
St.  Lawrence  valley,  which  as  yet  contains  the  larger  portion  of  the 
population  of  Canada,  while  between  the  Laurentian  plateau  and  the 
Cordilleran  chain  lie  the  vast  plains  and  prairies  of  western  Canada.  The 
country  has  been  divided  by  the  late  Dr.  G.  M.  Dawson  into  : — (i)  Eastern 
lowlands  and  hills,  almost  entirely  based  on  old  and  hard  Palaeozoic  rocks. 
(2)  The  Laurentian  plateau.  (3)  The  inland  plains,  principally  based  on  the 
comparatively  soft  rocks  of  Mesozoic  age,  which  still  lie  nearly  as  flat  as 
when  they  were  originally  deposited.  (4)  The  Cordilleran  or  western 
mountain  region. 

Hydrography. — The  mainland  of  Canada  may  be  divided  into  four 
hydrographic  basins. 

(1)  In  the  Atlantic  basin  the  principal  stream  is  the  St.  Lawrence, 
which  rises  far  in  the  interior  of  the  continent,  and  after  a  course  of 
2,100  miles,  in  which  it   chains  the  most  magnificent   series  of  fresh- 
water lakes  in  the  world,  empties  by  a  wide  and  deep  estuary  into  the 
Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence.    Its  basin  has  an  area  of  half  a  million  square  miles. 
From   Lake   Erie,   the   Niagara  river  is  broken  by  the   Niagara   Falls, 
where  the  whole  drainage  of  the  four  upper  lakes  plunges  167  feet  over  a 
rocky  ledge. 

(2)  The  drainage  basin  of  Hudson  Bay  is  the  largest  in  the  Dominion, 
and  into  it  converge  streams  flowing  from  the  east,  south,  and  west.     Of 
these  the  Saskatchewan-Nelson  is  the  most  important  for  length,  drainage- 
area,  and  the  fertility  of  the  land  it  drains. 

(3)  The  principal  stream  in  the  Arctic  drainage-area  is  the  Mackenzie 
river,  whose  sources  are  mainly  in  the  Rocky   Mountains.    The  Finlay 
and  Peace  form  the  longest  of  the  tributaries,  though  the  Athabasca,  rising 
farther  south,  is  usually  regarded  as  the  main  upper  branch  of  the  river. 
Athabasca,  Great  Slave  and  Great  Bear  Lakes — three  of  the  largest  of  the 
many  great  bodies  of  water  which  lie  along  the  edge  of  the  Laurentian 
plateau — are  tributary  to  the  Mackenzie. 

(4)  The  Pacific  area  is  in  part  drained  by  rapid  streams  which  flow 
more  or   less  directly  into  the  ocean,  among  which  the   Fraser  is  the 
most  important ;  and  in  part  by  the  Yukon  which  rises  behind  the  Coast 
Range  and  flows  more  or  less  parallel  with  that  range,  northward  through 
the  Yukon   district,  and  westward  through  Alaska,  644  miles  being  in 
Canada. 

Climate. — In  so  extensive  a  region  the  climate  necessarily  exhibits 
great  diversities,  but  for  the  most  part  it  may  be  said  to  be  continental. 


682       The  International  Geography 


Dr.  G.  M.  Dawson  divides  the  whole   country  into  three  climatic  areas. 

(i)  The  Eastern  region  characterised  by  great  range  of  temperature  and 

ample  rainfall.  This  includes  all  the  older 
provinces  of  Canada,  with  Newfoundland, 
and  extends  westward  nearly  to  Winnipeg. 
It  is  naturally  the  great  forest  region. 
(2)  The  Inland  region,  adjoining  the  last 
and  stretching  westward  to  within  a  short 
distance  of  the  Pacific  Coast.  This  is 
characterised  by  very  great  range  in 
temperature  and  moderate  rainfall.  It 
includes  the  great  prairies  and  open 
plains,  but  is  also  in  large  part  more 
or  less  wooded.  (3)  The  Pacific  Coast 
region,  which  does  not  include  the 
whole  Pacific  slope,  but  only  a  narrow 
belt  on  the  seaward  side  of  the  western 
mountain  range  of  the  Cordillera.  The 

ig    ^^    ^    ^{    mnge     Q£ 


v  J»n  Fct.  MAI  API.  MAT.  JJH  Jiu.  Auc.  SEP.  CIO.  ««v  Die     1° 

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60 
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45 
40 
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15 

14 
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.w  WESTMINSTER  —  MONTREAL— 

Summer. 

Winter. 

Range  between 

(July,  August, 
September.) 

(January,  Feb- 
ruary, March.) 

Mean  Summer 
and  Winter. 

61-9 

19-8 

42-1 

58-5 

22-3 

36-2 

6r6 

247 

36-9 

64-8 

17-1 

477 

64-1 

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i6-o 

FIG.  338.—  Temperature  and  Rainfall 

of  New  Westminster  and  Montreal. 

temperature,  and  great  rainfall  and  humidity. 

The  following  table  of  mean  temperature  illustrates  these  climates  :— 


Eastern.— Charlottetown,  P.E.I. 

St.  John,  N.B. 

Halifax,  N.S. 
„  Montreal,  Que. 

Toronto,  Ont. 
Inland. — Winnipeg,  Man. 
Pacific.— Victoria,  B.C. 

Forests.— Speaking  generally,  British  North  America  is  a  region  of 
forest,  and  east  of  Winnipeg  almost  all  of  the  land  which  is  now  under 
cultivation  has  been  cleared  of  the  heavy  growth  of  timber  which  once 
covered  it.  Extending  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  and  with  a  width 
of  from  200  to  300  miles,  is  the  vast  Sub-Arctic  forest  which  is  composed 
largely  of  black  and  white  spruce  (Abies  nigra  and  A.  alba]  and  larch 
(Larix  Americana).  These  trees  have  essentially  the  same  northern  limit, 
the  black  spruce  dwindling  to  a  shrub  before  it  disappears,  while  the 
others  retain  throughout  their  tree-like  character.  The  northern  limit  of 
the  forest,  and  the  southern  edge  of  the  "  Barren  Lands  "  is  not  determined 
by  winter  cold,  or  mean  annual  temperature,  but  is  controlled  entirely  by 
the  length  and  warmth  of  the  summer  ;  the  northern  limit  of  the  forest 
closely  follows  the  line  of  a  mean  summer  temperature  of  50°  F. 

In  eastern  Canada  this  sub- Arctic  forest  merges  on  the  south  into  a  forest 
of  deciduous  trees,  characterised  by  the  great  number  and  variety  of  its 
species,  there  being  sixty-five  species  in  Ontario  alone.  In  western  Canada 
the  trees  of  the  more  southern  forest  continue  chiefly  coniferous  in  type, 


Dominion  of  Canada  683 

but  on  account  of  the  moistness  of  the  climate  many  attain  to  gigantic  size. 
In  central  Canada  the  coniferous  forest  is  skirted  by  a  belt  fifty  to  a 
hundred  miles  wide  of  intermittent  forest  of  aspen  (Populus  tremuloides), 
south  of  which  are  the  open  grassy  plains,  where  the  climate  is  too  dry  for 
the  growth  of  continuous  woods. 

Fauna. — One  of  the  most  interesting  animals  to  be  found  on  the  con- 
tinent is  the  musk-ox  (Ovibos  moschatus],  which  lives,  even  in  winter,  on 
the  Barren  Lands  and  on  the  Arctic  islands.  Barren-ground  caribou 
(Rangifer  grcenlandicus)  roam  in  great  herds  over  the  same  plains  in 
summer,  but  in  winter  most  of  them  go  south  within  the  edge  of  the 
forest.  The  five  remaining  species  of  deer,  including  the  moose  (Alces 
Americanus},  and  the  waskasew,  or  American  elk  (Cervus  Canadensis}  inhabit 
different  parts  of  the  woodland  area  to  the  south.  Bison  (Bos  Americanus) 
formerly  ranged  in  countless  herds  over  the  plains  and  prairies  east  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  but  in  the  wild  state  they  are  now  practically  extinct. 
Prong-horned  antelope  are  still  fairly  numerous  on  the  plains,  and  moun- 
tain sheep  and  mountain  goats  are  to  be  found  in  most  of  the  more 
inaccessible  parts  of  the  Cordilleras.  The  sub-Arctic  forest  is  the  home  of 
the  most  important  fur-bearing  animals,  including  the  beaver,  bear  (brown 
and  black),  marten,  musk  rat,  otter,  fisher,  fox  (black,  red,  and  white),  mink, 
lynx,  skunk,  and  wolverine.  Most  of  the  birds  are  migratory,  breeding 
during  the  summer  in  the  north,  and  going  south  as  the  winter  sets  in. 
Perhaps  the  most  interesting  bird  is  the  Canada  jay,  or  whiskey-jack 
(Perisorens  Canadensis},  which  lives  throughout  the  year  in  the  sub-Arctic 
forest,  and  nests  and  hatches  its  young  in  February  and  March,  during 
the  severe  cold  of  the  winter  season.  The  coastal  waters,  rivers  and  lakes 
abound  in  fish,  among  which  the  most  important  are  the  cod,  salmon, 
herring  and  whitefish. 

People. — When  the  country  was  discovered  by  Europeans,  it  was 
occupied  by  a  scattered  native  population,  who  were 
then  called  Indians.  Their  descendants  are  still 
scattered  throughout  the  whole  Dominion,  those  in  the 
more  thickly  inhabited  districts  having  adopted  the 
habits  and  modes  of  life  of  the  white  people  in  the 
vicinity,  while  those  in  the  more  remote  regions  still 
live  by  hunting  and  fishing.  The  Indians  now  number 
about  100,000,  or  about  one-fiftieth  of  the  population. 

They  are  divided  into  a  large  number  of  tribes,  utafan  o 
which  belong  to  about  ten  or  eleven  distinct  linguistic  mile  °f  the  Dominion 
stocks.  Of  these  the  Algonkian  is  much  the  largest 
and  most  important,  for  its  people  occupy  the  greater  part  of  the  sub- 
Arctic  forest  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  they  are, 
par  excellence,  the  fur  hunters  of  Canada.  They  travel  chiefly  on  the  lakes 
and  streams,  the  birch-bark  canoe  being  their  peculiar  boat,  and  the  birch- 
bark  tent,  or  wigwam,  their  home.  The  Crees,  Ojibways,  and  Blackfoot 
45 


684      The  International  Geography 


belong  to  this  stock.  North  of  them,  to  the  edge  of  the  Barren  Lands 
between  Hudson  Bay  and  the  Pacific,  are  the  tribes  of  the  Tinne  stock,  who 
are  for  the  most  part  deer  hunters.  Further  north  the  Eskimo,  or  Innuits 
(Inwl),  inhabit  the  whole  northern  coast  from  the  Strait  of  Belle  Isle  to 
Alaska,  including  parts  of  the  shores  of  Hudson  Bay.  They  are  strong 
and  well-built,  good  hunters,  endowed  with  remarkable  perseverance,  and 
capable  of  enduring  great  fatigue.  They  live  chiefly  on  marine  animals, 
which  they  kill  with  a  spear  or  harpoon,  but  there  is  also  an  inland  tribe 
on  the  banks  of  Kazan  river,  west  of  Hudson  Bay,  which  subsist  almost 
entirely  on  reindeer.  The  Iroquois  were  the  ablest,  both  intellectually  and 
physically,  of  all  the  North  American  Indians,  and  their  Confederacy, 
known  as  the  Six  Nations,  for  a  long  time  held  the  balance  of  power 
between  the  early  English  and  French  settlers.  They  now  live  in  the 
settled  parts  of  Ontario  and  Quebec.  The  Sioux,  or  Assiniboines,  live  on 

the  western  interior  plains,  while 
the  Haida,  Kwakioor,  Tsimshiian, 
Salish,  and  Kootenay  live  on  the 
coast  or  in  the  broken  mountainous 
districts  of  British  Columbia. 

Of  the  population  of  Canada  in 
1891,  86  per  cent,  were  born  in 
Canada,  and  10  per  cent,  in  other 
parts  of  the  British  Empire.  Of 
these  29  per  cent,  speak  French, 
while  almost  all  the  rest  speak 
English.  Forty-one  per  cent,  are 
Roman  Catholics,  while  most  of 
the  remainder  belong  to  various 
Protestant  denominations. 
FIG.  340.— A  typical  Township  Plan  of  36  square  In  the  unoccupied  parts  of  the 
milts  showing  Sections  and  Quarter-sections.  western  provinces  and  territories, 

land  may  be  obtained  either  free  or  at  a  nominal  cost  by  any  one  willing  to 
settle  upon  and  work  it.  This  land  is  held  as  the  property  of  the  Dominion 
Government  until  allocated,  and  the  Dominion  Land  Survey  is  charged 
with  surveying  the  unoccupied  country  and  marking  it  out  into  rectangular 
townships,  each  of  six  miles  square  divided  by  lines  running  north  and 
south  and  east  and  west  into  thirty-six  sections  of  one  square  mile  each. 
Thus  every  piece  of  land  is  readily  identified. 

Internal  Communications. — The  great  rivers  and  lakes  of  Canada 
have  furnished  means  of  access  from  the  coast  to  the  interior  from  the 
dates  of  the  very  earliest  settlements.  This  is  especially  true  of  the  St. 
Lawrence,  which  is  navigable  to  Montreal  for  ocean-going  steamers 
drawing  27!  feet  of  water.  Thence  steamers  can  ascend  to  the  head 
of  Lake  Superior,  the  obstructions  in  the  rivers  being  overcome  by  eight 
canals  and  fifty-four  locks,  which  have  a  depth  of  fourteen  feet  or  more. 


Canada— Nova  Scotia  685 

The  Saskatchewan  and  its  branches  are  continuously  navigable  for 
steamers  of  light  draft  for  1,200  miles  ;  the  Mackenzie  and  its  tributaries 
have  4,300  miles  of  navigable  waters,  broken  at  only  three  places  by  rapids 
or  falls.  In  the  Yukon  basin  there  are  about  2,600  miles  of  continuous 
navigation. 

An  extensive  system  of  railways  now  unites  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  serving  the  whole  of  the  settled  part  of  the  country  and  opening  up 
much  of  the  interior  to  settlement.  The  total  length  of  these  railways  in 
1902  was  18,714  miles  (see  Fig.  336),  and  large  schemes  of  railway  extension 
have  been  proposed. 

Government. — The  Dominion  of  Canada  is  a  federation  of  self- 
governing  colonies  associated  for  common  affairs.  The  Dominion 
Government  consists  of  (i)  a  Governor-General  appointed  by  the  British 
Government  to  represent  the  Crown  for  a  term  of  five  years ;  (2)  a  Senate 
of  8 1  members  appointed  by  the  Crown  (on  the  advice  of  the  Privy  Council 
of  Canada)  for  life ;  (3)  a  House  of  Commons  of  213 
members,  elected  for  five  years  on  a  very  liberal  fran- 
chise, liable  to  be  dissolved  by  the  Governor-General 
on  the  advice  of  the  Ministry  ;  (4)  an  Executive 
Ministry  composed  of  13  or  more  members,  having 
seats  in  the  two  Houses  of  Parliament,  and  holding 
office  only  so  long  as  it  has  the  support  of  the  majority 
of  the  members  of  the  House  of  Commons;  (5)  a 
Dominion  Judiciary  composed  of  six  judges,  acting  as 
a  Court  of  Appeal  from  all  the  provincial  courts, 
though  its  decisions  are  subject  to  review  on  appeal  »«m  of  Canada. 
by  the  Judicial  Committee  of  the  Queen's  Privy  Council  in  London. 
In  each  of  the  provinces  there  is  a  Lieutenant-Governor,  appointed  by 
the  Governor-General  in  Council  for  a  term  of  five  years ;  a  Legislative 
Assembly  composed  of  members  elected  for  terms  of  four  or  five  years  ; 
and  also  in  Nova  Scotia  and  Quebec  a  Legislative  Council  or  upper  house 
appointed  by  the  Lieutenant-Governor  in  Council  for  life.  There  is  also 
an  Executive  Council  of  from  5  to  12  members,  who  hold  office  as  long  as 
they  are  supported  by  a  majority  in  the  popular  Assembly.  A  Judiciary 
in  each  of  the  provinces  is  appointed  by  the  Governor-General  in  Council. 
Besides  these  there  are  in  most  of  the  provinces  municipal  or  local 
councils,  who  have  the  control  of  their  local  affairs,  and  have  the  power  to 
tax  for  the  support  of  schools  and  the  prosecution  of  public  works  of  a 
local  character. 

NOVA    SCOTIA 

Position  and  Coasts. — Nova  Scotia,  the  most  south-easterly  pro- 
vince of  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  consists  of  a  long  and  rather  narrow 
peninsula,  extending  in  a  south-west  and  north-east  direction,  and  the 
large  island  of  Cape  Breton,  lying  off  its  north-eastern  end.  It  lies 


686      The  International   Geography 

between  59^°  and  66°  W.  long.,  and  43^°  and  47°  N.  lat.,  being  thus  in  the 
same  latitude  as  Switzerland  and  the  south  of  France.  Near  the  middle 
of  its  north-western  side  it  is  connected  with  New  Brunswick  by  an 
isthmus  which  at  one  point  is  only  16  miles  in  width. 

The  south-western  portion  of  the  peninsula  has  the  Bay  of  Fundy  and 
Chignecto  Bay  on  the  south,  while  the  north-eastern  end  of  the  peninsula 
and  Cape  Breton  Island  are  bounded  on  the  north  by  Northumberland 
Strait  and  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence.  The  Gut  of  Canso,  only  a  mile  and 
a  half  in  width  at  its  narrowest  part,  separates  Cape  Breton  Island  from 
the  mainland,  and  the  island  itself  is  almost  divided  by  an  arm  of  the  sea 
known  as  Great  Bras  d'Or.  The  Atlantic  coast  is  bold  and  rocky,  and  is 
indented  by  many  bays,  almost  all  of  which  furnish  safe  anchorage  for  the 
largest  ships.  On  the  southern  shore  of  the  Bay  of  Fundy  the  coast  is 
much  less  broken,  and  the  northern  shore  forms  a  moderately  regular  coast 
from  Bay  Verte  round  the  north  point  of  Cape  Breton.  Pictou  Harbour 
is  the  most  important  of  the  several  good  harbours  on  the  north  coast. 

Along  the  southern  coast  of  the  province,  where  the  waves  of  the 
Atlantic  Ocean  have  carved  the  shore  into  very  irregular  shapes,  there  are 
many  small  rocky  islands.  Sable  Island  lies  85  miles  out  in  the  open 
Atlantic.  It  is  a  chain  of  sand  dunes,  20  miles  long  and  a  mile  wide, 
resting  on  a  more  elevated  part  of  the  submarine  banks,  and  forming  a 
great  danger  to  shipping.  Lighthouse  and  life-boat  men  are  the  only 
inhabitants. 

Configuration. — The  surface  of  the  province  is  rather  irregular, 
being  formed  of  ridges,  often  diffuse  and  indefinite,  which  run  more  or 
less  parallel  to  the  long  axis  of  the  peninsula,  and  intervening  plains  and 
valleys.  These  ridges,  which  nowhere  rise  more  than  1,200  feet  above 
the  sea,  are  formed,  like  those  of  Newfoundland,  by  the  outcrops  of 
harder  rocks.  The  highest  range,  known  as  the  Cobequid  Mountains,  runs 
from  the  Bay  of  Fundy  eastward  to  the  Gut  of  Canso.  A  high  bold 
ridge  of  trap,  known  as  North  Mountains,  forms  the  southern  shore  of 
the  Bay  of  Fundy,  extending  from  Brier  Island  to  Cape  Blomidon,  on 
the  south  side  of  which,  underlain  by  Triassic  sandstone,  is  the  Annapolis 
valley,  the  garden  of  the  province.  Farther  south,  where  the  country  is 
underlain  by  Cambrian  schists,  quartzites,  and  intrusive  granites,  agricultural 
land  is  mainly  confined  to  the  river  valleys. 

Climate. — The  climate  of  this  and  the  adjoining  provinces  of  New 
Brunswick  and  Prince  Edward  Island  is  more  humid  and  much  more 
variable  than  that  of  central  Canada,  and  fogs  are  common  along  the 
northern  and  eastern  coasts,  where  the  cold  Arctic  currents  hug  the  shore. 

People  and  Industries.— Nova  Scotia  was  probably  the  land  dis- 
covered by  Lief  Ericsen,  the  Northman,  in  A.D.  1000,  and  it  was  redis- 
covered by  Cabot  in  1498,  shortly  after  which  its  shores  and  harbours  were 
resorted  to  by  French  and  Portuguese  fishermen.  In  1605  the  French 
founded  the  first  European  settlement  on  the  shores  of  Annapolis  basin,  and 


Canada— Prince  Edward  Island      687 

for  the  next  century,  until  the  Peace  of  Utrecht  was  signed  between  France 
and  the  United  Kingdom,  Acadia  (French,  Acadie)  remained  in  the  hands 
of  the  French  ;  then  under  the  name  of  Nova  Scotia  it  became  a  British 
colony  and  entered  the  Dominion  of  Canada  on  its  formation.  Most  of 
the  present  population  have  been  born  in  the  province,  but  their  ancestors 
were  immigrants  from  different  parts  of  Great  Britain.  Living  within  the 
sound  of  the  sea,  and  near  a  coast  indented  with  many  good  harbours, 
they  naturally  turn  to  the  ocean  for  their  means  of  subsistence.  The 
fisheries  therefore,  especially  of  cod  and  lobsters,  form  the  most  important 
industry  in  the  province.  More  than  14,000  boats  and  vessels  and  27,000 
men  are  engaged  in  this  industry. 

In  the  northern  part  of  the  province  coal  mines  are  extensively  worked, 
the  total  amount  raised  in  1901  being  4,200,000  tons,  while  in  the  southern 
portion  of  the  province  gold  is  mined.  Iron  and  gypsum  are  the  other 
chief  mineral  products. 

Halifax,  the  capital,  is  situated  about  the  middle  of  the  south-east  coast, 
on  a  magnificent  natural  harbour,  the  nearest  to  Europe  on  this  continent 
that  is  open  and  free  of  ice  all  the  year  round.  It  is  an  important  coaling 
station  for  the  British  fleet,  and  is  strongly  fortified  and  garrisoned  by 
Imperial  troops. 

PRINCE    EDWARD    ISLAND 

Position  and  Surface.— Prince  Edward  Island,  the  smallest  province 
in  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  lies  within  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  between 
latitude  46°  and  47°  N.,  being  separated  from  New  Brunswick  and  Nova 
Scotia  by  Northumberland  Strait  which  is  only  ten  miles  wide  at  its 
narrowest  point.  The  island  is  145  miles  long,  with  a  breadth  of  from  5  to 
35  miles.  Its  coast  is  very  irregular,  projecting  in  long  low  points,  and  cut 
into  deep  bays,  many  of  which  have  bars  of  sand  stretching  across  them, 
though  these  bars  are  usually  broken  through  sufficiently  to  allow  vessels 
of  light  draught  to  enter.  The  island  is  underlain  by  soft  red  sandstones 
of  Permo-Carboniferous  and  Triassic  age,  which  weather  down  readily 
and  evenly,  and  on  this  account  the  surface  is  without  strongly  marked 
prominences  and  nowhere  rises  more  than  500  feet  above  the  sea. 

Resources  and  People. — The  soil,  like  the  underlying  rock,  is  red 
in  colour,  and  is  very  fertile,  so  that  agriculture  occupies  the  attention 
of  the  people  to  a  large  extent.  Potatoes  and  oats  are  the  chief  products, 
but  cheese  and  butter  are  ilso  now  becoming  important.  Many  fine 
horses  are  also  reared.  Next  to  agriculture  fishing  is  the  chief  industry, 
the  lobster-fishing  being  the  most  important,  while  the  oyster-beds  furnish 
more  than  half  the  oysters  collected  in  Canada.  The  province  is  the 
most  thickly  peopled  in  the  Dominion,  the  average  density  being  54  to  the 
square  mile.  The  people  are  mostly  native  born,  but  about  half  are  of 
Scottish  descent.  The  province  joined  the  Dominion  in  1873.  Charlotte" 
town,  the  capital,  is  situated  on  an  excellent  harbour  on  the  south  coast 


688      The  International  Geography 

NEW    BRUNSWICK 

Position  and  Surface. — New  Brunswick  is  roughly  rectangular  in 
shape  with  a  greatest  length  from  north  to  south  of  205  miles.  Exclusive 
of  islands  it  lies  between  45°  and  48°  N.,  being  thus  in  the  same  latitude  as 
central  France,  or  southern  Hungary.  It  has  land  boundaries  with  the 
province  of  Quebec  on  the  north,  the  State  of  Maine  on  the  west,  and 
the  province  of  Nova  Scotia  at  the  isthmus  of  Chignecto  in  the  east.  Its 
coasts  face  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  and  the  Bay  of  Fundy.  There  are 
many  good  harbours,  though  the  east  coast  is  for  the  most  part  low,  with 
outlying  sandy  shoals.  Bay  Chaleur,  to  the  north,  is  85  miles  long,  and 
free  of  rock  and  shoals,  while  the  Bay  of  Fundy  on  the  south  is  noted  as 
having  the  highest  tides  in  the  world,  the  spring  tides  at  the  head  of  the 
bay  rising  50  feet. 

The  central  tract,  underlain  by  rocks  of  Carboniferous  age,  is  a 
low-lying  plain,  seldom  rising  more  than  a  few  hundred  feet  above  the 
sea,  and  sloping  gently  towards  the  east  coast.  Both  it,  and  much  of 
the  higher  country  in  the  north-west  portion  of  the  province,  underlain 
by  Silurian  rocks,  are  well  adapted  for  agriculture,  but  as  yet  only  a  small 
portion  is  cultivated.  The  country  underlain  by  disturbed  and  altered 
crystalline  and  Cambrian  rocks  along  the  south  coast,  and  stretching 
diagonally  north-eastward  through  the  province,  is  much  more  rugged  and 
broken,  the  latter  belt  rising  into  numerous  high  peaks  ;  Bald  Mountain, 
the  highest,  reaches  2,470  feet.  The  whole  country,  both  highlands  and 
lowlands,  is  almost  everywhere  covered  with  a  forest  of  spruce  (Picea  alba). 

Rivers. — New  Brunswick  is  a  land  of  many  and  beautiful  rivers, 
which  flow  either  southward  into  the  Bay  of  Fundy  or  eastward  into  the 
Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence ;  several  of  them  are  navigable  by  river  steamers. 
The  St.  John,  450  miles  long,  rises  in  the  State  of  Maine,  and  at  its  mouth 
it  flows  through  a  rocky  gap  only  400  feet  in  width,  where,  at  ebb  tide, 
there  is  a  heavy  fall  towards  the  harbour,  while  at  flood  tide  there  is  a  fall 
in  the  opposite  direction.  Four  times  a  day,  at  half  tide,  ships  can  pass 
in  or  out  through  the  narrow  gap.  Above  this  reversible  fall  the  river  is 
navigable  for  river  craft  for  212  miles  to  Grand  Falls. 

People  and  Resources. — The  province  was  originally  settled  by  the 
French,  but  the  present  inhabitants  are  chiefly  descendants  of  British 
emigrants.  Hitherto  the  forests  have  been  the  chief  sources  of  wealth  to 
the  people.  Pine  was  formerly  abundant,  but  has  now  become  very  scarce, 
the  forests  being  almost  entirely  composed  of  spruce.  Only  the  larger 
trees  are  cut,  while  the  smaller  ones  are  carefully  preserved,  so  that 
in  this  way  any  district  can  be  economically  "  cut  over "  every  ten  or 
fifteen  years.  Fishing  is  the  industry  of  second  importance,  though  it  is 
chiefly  carried  out  along  the  shore,  but  few  vessels  being  engaged  in  deep- 
sea  fishing.  A  considerable  number  of  people  are  engaged  in  agriculture, 
all  the  ordinary  products  of  temperate  climates  being  produced. 


Canada— Quebec  689 

Towns.— St.  John,  the  largest  and  most  important  commercial  city 
in  the  province,  is  situated  on  a  rocky  peninsula  where  the  St.  John 
river  flows  into  the  Bay  of  Fundy.  It  has  an  excellent  harbour,  open 
all  the  year  round,  for  in  winter  it  is  kept  clear  of  ice  by  the  tides,  which 
here  rise  25  feet.  It  is  thus  busy  in  winter  when  the  St.  Lawrence  is 
frozen.  In  the  days  of  wooden  ships  St.  John  was  a  famous  ship-building 
town,  and  even  now  a  very  large  number  of  vessels  are  owned  in  the 
city.  Fredericton,  the  capital  of  the  province,  is  situated  on  the  St.  John 
river,  86  miles  from  its  mouth,  and  the  tide  ascends  the  river  to  a  short 
distance  above  it.  Moncton,  on  the  Petitcodiac  river,  is  a  considerable 
manufacturing  centre. 

QUEBEC 

Position  and  Boundaries. — The  province  of  Quebec  lies  between 
59°  and  79^°  W.,  and  between  45°  and  53°  N.  It  is  bounded  on  the 
west  by  the  province  of  Ontario  and  a  short  section  of  the  east  coast  of 
Hudson  Bay  ;  on  the  south  by  the  States  of  New  York,  Vermont,  New 
Hampshire,  and  Maine,  and  the  province  of  New  Brunswick ;  on  the  east 
by  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  and  that  portion  of  Labrador  attached  to  New- 
foundland ;  and  on  the  north  by  the  district  of  Ungava.  Its  total  area  is 
about  one-sixth  less  than  the  combined  areas  of  France  and  Germany. 

Its  coast  line,  with  the  exception  of  100  miles  on  Hudson  Bay,  is  entirely 
confined  to  the  Gulf  and  Estuary  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  The  north  shore, 
from  the  Strait  of  Belle  Isle  westward,  is  bold,  rocky,  and  quite  bare  of 
trees  as  far  as  Cape  Whittle,  beyond  which  it  becomes  slightly  lower  ;  trees 
appear  in  some  of  the  valleys,  and  in  a  few  places  small  patches  of  land 
have  been  brought  under  cultivation.  Close  to  the  shore  are  many  bare 
rocky  islands.  The  south  shore  of  the  estuary  is  formed  of  bold,  rocky 
hills,  most  of  which  are  covered  with  forest. 

Of  the  islands  included  in  the  province  the  Magdalens,  a  cluster  of 
rocky  knolls,  often  connected  by  bars  of  sand,  very  dangerous  to  shipping, 
rise  in  the  centre  of  the  southern  half  of  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence. 
Anticosti,  which  lies  in  the  mouth  of  the  estuary  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  is 
140  miles  long,  but  has  no  good  harbours,  and  is  almost  uninhabited. 

Configuration. — The  province  is  naturally  divided  into  three  parts. 

(i)  The  Laurentian  Plateau  is  an  undulating  rocky  country  north 
of  the  St.  Lawrence,  lying  between  500  and  2,000  feet  above  the  sea, 
chiefly  underlain  by  granites,  gneisses,  and  other  rocks  of  Laurentian 
age,  while  here  and  there  are  areas  underlain  by  highly  altered  sediments 
of  Huronian  age.  In  the  vicinity  of  lakes  St.  John  and  Mistassini 
small  outliers  of  comparatively  unaltered  Cambrian  and  Silurian  rocks  are 
also  included.  The  region  has  all  been  severely  glaciated  and  there  is 
little  residuary  soil  remaining  anywhere.  The  summits  of  the  low, 
rounded  hills  are  bare,  while  the  depressions  are  either  occupied  by 
irregular  lakes  of  beautifully  clear  water,  or  are  filled  with  stony  clay, 


690       The   International  Geography 

which  is  usually  covered  with  a  scattered  and  stunted  forest  of  spruce  and 
larch,  and  a  deep  bed  of  moss.  On  the  better-drained  land,  along  the 
streams  and  lakes  there  are  often  extensive  forests  of  large  pine  and  spruce. 
Seen  from  the  valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence  the  edge  of  this  plateau  has  the 
appearance  of  a  range  of  low  rounded  mountains,  to  which  the  name 
Laurentide  Mountains  has  been  applied.  Among  the  highest  points  are 
Les  Eboulements,  2,547  feet,  and  Trembling  Mountain,  2,380  feet. 

The  streams  flowing  from  the  small  lakes  form  a  succession  of  quiet, 
lake-like  reaches  of  water  separated  by  short,  rapid  chutes  or  falls.  This 
feature,  which  is  characteristic  of  most  of  the  streams  throughout  the 
great  Archaean  continental  nucleus,  has  rendered  it  possible  to  travel  very 
extensively  in  canoes  or  small  boats,  which  with  their  cargoes  may  be 
carried  on  "portages"  over  narrow  rocky  ridges,  and  past  intervening  falls. 
Most  of  the  streams  flowing  southward  to  the  St.  Lawrence  are  of  this 
type  until  they  reach  the  edge  of  the  plateau,  or  "  Fall  line,"  where  they 
plunge  in  one  or  more  heavy  falls  to  the  plains  below.  Montmorency  Fall, 
near  Quebec,  224  feet  high,  is  a  fine  example  of  these  cataracts. 

(2)  The  St.  Lawrence  Plain  has  an  area  within  the  province  of  about 
10,000  square  miles.     It  is  a  long  and  comparatively  narrow  belt  between 
the  foot  of  the  Laurentian  Plateau  and  the  highlands  south  of  the  river. 
Beginning  a  short  distance  below  the  city  of  Quebec  it  gradually  rises,  until, 
at  the  west  end  of  the  province,  it  has  a  maximum  elevation  of  between  300 
and  400  feet  above  the  sea.     It  is  underlain  by  more  or  less  flat-lying  Silu- 
rian limestones  and  sandstones.    Towards  the  close  of  tfie  Glacial  Epoch, 
when  the  land  was  much  lower  than  it  is  at  present,  the  estuary  of  the  St. 
Lawrence  extended  far  beyond  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  Montreal,  and 
a  varying  thickness  of  sand  and  clay  was  deposited  in  it.     Since  the  land 
has  been  again  uplifted  these  sands  and  clays  form  the  fertile  soil  on  which 
the  agricultural  prosperity  of  the  province  depends.     On  this  plain  a  few 
hills  of  trappaean  rock,  such  as  Mount  Royal  behind  Montreal,  rise  above 
the  general  level. 

(3)  The  Highlands  south  of  the  St.  Lawrence  form  the  northern  con- 
tinuation of  the  Appalachian  Chain  which  extends  northward  through  the 
eastern  United  States.     They  are  known  as  the  Notre-Dame  Mountains  in 
the  southern  portion  of  the  province,  and  the  Shickshocks  in  the  Gaspe 
peninsula,  the  highest  points  in  the  latter  portion  of  the  range  rising  to 
nearly  4,000  feet.     They  are  formed  of  parallel  ridges  of  rock,  usually 
standing  at  high  angles,  and  varying  in  age  from  Archaean  up  to  Devonian. 
Much  of  the  country  is  thickly  forested.     South  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  lakes 
are  not  numerous  and  all  the  principal  streams  run  in  the  moderately  high 
country  beyond  the    Notre-Dame  and   Shickshock    Mountains  and  flow 
northward  through  these  mountains  in  deep,  narrow  channels. 

Climate. — The  climate  is  continental.  The  winters  are  clear,  with 
a  mean  temperature  of  14°  F.,  while  the  summers  are  warm  and  bright, 
with  a  mean  temperature  of  60°  F.  The  average  precipitation  is  about 


Canada — Quebec 


'91 


36  inches  per  annum.     In  the  southern  portion  of  the  province  all  the 
ordinary  cereals  usually  grown  in  temperate  climates  come  to  perfection. 

History  and  People. — The  discovery  of  Quebec  dates  from  1534, 
when  Jacques  Cartier  entered  the  St.  Lawrence  river,  but  it  was  not  until 
1608,  when  the  city  of  Quebec  was  founded  as  a  fur-trading  station,  that 
any  successful  attempt  was  made  at  settlement.  From  that  time  onwards 
for  a  century  and  a  half,  settlers  from  France  spread  over  the  country,  most 
of  whom  were  engaged  in  the  double  occupation  of  collecting  rich  furs 
from  the  Indian  hunters,  and  clearing  and  tilling  the  fertile  soil.  In  1760, 
during  the  Seven  Years'  War,  the  country  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  British 
through  the  capture  of  Quebec  by  Wolfe.  In  1774  the  French,  who  at 
that  time  numbered  70,000,  were  assured  by  the  "  Quebec  Act "  the  right 
to  be  governed  by  their  own  civil  laws,  which  right  they  still  enjoy. 
Eighty-five  per  cent,  of  the  people  of  Quebec  province  are  of  French 
race  and  Roman  Catholic  religion,  and  the  French  language  is  used 
officially  as  well  as  English. 

Resources. — Most  of  the  population  are  engaged  in  agriculture  ;  oats; 
barley,  wheat,  maize,  hay  and  tobacco  are  the  chief  products,  while 
fruits,  such  as  apples,  pears  and  plums,  are  extensively  grown.  Horses 
and  cattle  are  also  raised  in  large  numbers,  and  much  attention  is  paid 
to  the  making  of  cheese  and  butter.  The  timber  industry  is  next  in 
importance  to  agriculture,  white  pine,  spruce  and  larch  being  the  principal 
woods  brought  into  the  market.  Fishing  is  important  in  the  Gulf  of  St. 
Lawrence.  Gold  is  found  in  alluvial  deposits  on  the  Chaudiere  river. 
Asbestos  is  largely  mined  in  the  country  south  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  while 
copper,  iron,  mica  and  graphite  are  also  worked  to  some  extent. 

Towns. — Montreal,  founded  in  1642,  is  situated  on  an  island  at  the 
junction  of  the  Ottawa  and  the 
St.  Lawrence  rivers  at  the  head 
of  ocean  navigation,  any  vessel 
that  can  enter  the  harbour  of 
New  York  or  Boston  being  able 
to  steam  up  to  its  wharves.  The 
extensive  system  of  inland  navi- 
gation, which  reaches  into  the 
very  heart  of  the  continent, 
begins  above  the  city,  and  the 
St.  Lawrence  is  crossed  by  its 
first  bridge.  It  is  the  principal 
seaport,  and  the  largest  city  in 
the  Dominion,  and  is  the  main 

eastern   terminus  of  the  Grand 

FiG.  342. — Site  of  Montreal. 
Trunk  and  Canadian  Pacific  rail- 
ways.    It  is  an  important  manufacturing  centre.     The  population  is  more 
than  half  of  French  extraction. 
46 


FIG.  343.— S/fe  of  Quebec. 


692       The  International  Geography 

Quebec,  one  of  the  oldest  cities  on  the  continent,  was  founded  by 
Champlain  in  1608.  The  present  city  is  situated  partly  on  a  bold  pro- 
montory on  the  north  side  of  the 
St.  Lawrence,  and  partly  at  the 
foot  of  the  cliffs  close  to  the  river 
bank.  In  front  of  it  is  a  mag- 
nificent basin,  in  which  the  largest 
ships  afloat  can  ride  in  safety.  It 
is  the  capital  of  the  province,  has 
beautiful  parliament  buildings,  an 
important  Roman  Catholic  uni- 
versity, and  its  citadel,  situated  on 
the  summit  of  the  rocky  cliff  over- 
looking the  river,  has  often  been 
spoken  of  as  the  "Gibraltar  of 
America."  The  population  is 
mostly  of  French  descent,  and 
French  is  more  spoken  than  English.  Hull,  on  the  Ottawa  river,  and 
Sherbrooke,  near  Montreal  but  south  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  are  also  thriving 
manufacturing  towns. 

ONTARIO 

Position  and  Boundaries. — The  province  of  Ontario  lies  between 
42°  and  52°  N.,  and  74°  and  95°  W.  It  is  bounded  on  the  south  and  south- 
west by  the  States  of  New  York,  Michigan,  and  Minnesota  ;  on  the  east  by 
the  province  of  Quebec,  and  on  the  north  and  north-west  by  the  district 
of  Keewatin.  Its  total  area  is  somewhat  larger  than  either  France  or 
Germany,  and  its  greatest  length  from  east  to  west  is  about  1,000  miles. 

The  province  lies  almost  entirely  inland,  for  the  only  place  where  it 
reaches  the  sea  is  on  the  shallow  coast  of  Hudson  Bay,  with  no  harbours 
that  will  accommodate  large  ocean-going  vessels.  But  most  of  its 
southern  border  lies  along  the  Great  Lakes,  which,  with  their  connecting 
rivers,  give  it  a  shore  line,  acces- 
sible for  about  eight  months  of  the 
year,  of  1,700  miles.  The  steamer 
traffic  on  the  great  lakes  may  be 
judged  from  the  fact  that  a  greater 
tonnage  passes  through  the  "  Soo  " 
canals,  which  avoid  the  rapids  at 
Sault  St.  Marie  between  Lake  Huron 
and  Lake  Superior,  than  through 

the    Suez    Canal.      The   Canadian 

..  _    ,        _    ,      .       T,  .  FIG.  344.— The  "Soo"  Canals. 

shores  of  Lakes  Ontario,  Erie,  and 

part  of  Huron  are  low  and  moderately  regular.     The  northern  shore  of 
Lake  Huron  lies  along  the  edge  of  the  Laurentian  Plateau,  and  is  fringed 


Canada— Ontario  693 

with  a  vast  number  of  small  rocky  islands  ;  the  northern  shore  of  Lake 
Superior  is  very  bold,  with  deep  bays  and  comparatively  few  islands,  all 
of  which  are  rugged  and  picturesque. 

Configuration. — The  surface  contour  is  but  slightly  accentuated, 
most  of  it  being  less  than  1,200  feet  above  the  sea,  while  very  few,  if  any, 
points  rise  to  a  height  of  2,000  feet.  It  is  divided  naturally  into  four  main 
subdivisions,  (i)  A  relatively  small  area  sloping  gently  northward  towards 
Hudson  Bay,  and  underlain  by  flat-lying  Silurian  and  Devonian  limestones. 
This  is  very  largely  covered  with  swamp  or  morass,  and  much  of  it  is 
thinly  wooded  with  small  spruce  and  larch.  Except  a  few  fur-traders  and 
missionaries  it  has  no  white  inhabitants.  (2)  The  Laurentian  Plateau, 
a  continuation  westward  of  the  same  region  in  the  province  of  Quebec, 
forms  by  far  the  largest  part  of  the  province,  though  most  of  it  is  yet 
a  wilderness.  It  is  almost  entirely  underlain  by  Laurentian  and  Huronian 
rocks  intricately  folded  and  squeezed  together,  the  former  being  essentially 
granitic  in  type.  The  Huronian  rocks  consist  of  sandstones  and  clays 
associated  with  traps  and  other  igneous  and  intrusive  rocks,  and  are  of 
especial  importance  on  account  of  the  rich  minerals  associated  with  them. 
Where  the  character  of  the  rock  varies  greatly  within  comparatively  short 
distances,  as  near  the  north  shore  of  Lake  Superior,  there  are  high  hills 
and  deep  valleys,  but  in  other  places  the  surface  is  mamillated  with  many 
low  rounded  hills  and  shallow  rock-bound  basins  filled  with  clear  water 
or  mossy  swamps.  Usually  the  summits  of  the  hills  are  almost  naked 
rock,  supporting  but  a  stunted  forest  growth,  the  valuable  forests  of  spruce 
and  pine  being  confined  to  the  richer  and  moderately  well-drained  valleys  ; 
but  near  the  great  lakes  the  rock  is  often  covered  by  extensive  deposits 
of  sand  and  clay,  laid  down  in  the  beds  of  these  lakes  when,  towards  the 
close  of  the  Glacial  Epoch,  their  waters  stood  at  much  higher  levels  than 
at  present,  and  on  these  lacustral  deposits  grow  some  of  the  finest  pine 
forests  in  Canada.  The  southern  end  of  the  Laurentian  Plateau  crosses  the 
Ottawa  river  at  the  Chats  Rapids  and  strikes  southwards  to  the  Thousand 
Islands  on  the  St.  Lawrence.  (3)  East  of  this  boundary  comes  the 
western  extension  of  the  St.  Lawrence  Plain  underlain  by  flat-lying 
Cambro-Silurian  rocks,  over  most  of  which  is  a  Pleistocene  deposit  of 
marine  sands  and  clays.  As  yet  it  is  not  very  thickly  settled  except  along 
the  banks  of  the  rivers.  (4)  From  the  Thousand  Islands  the  southern  edge 
of  the  Laurentian  Plateau  strikes  westward  to  Matchedash  Bay,  at  the 
south-eastern  extremity  of  Georgian  Bay,  and  south  of  this  line  is  the 
district  known  as  the  Ontario  peninsula  which  is  the  most  fertile  and 
thickly  peopled  portion  of  Canada.  It  is  underlain  by  flat-lying  Silurian 
and  Devonian  rocks,  chiefly  limestones,  over  which  there  is  almost  every- 
where spread  a  covering  of  till  or  glacial  detritus  from  the  old  northern 
ice-sheets  ;  this  till  forms  some  of  the  richest  soil  to  be  found  on  the 
continent.  In  places  the  till  is  again  overlaid  by  lacustral  deposits  formed 
in  the  beds  of  the  great  post-glacial  lakes.  This  district  is  divided  by 


6  g4      The  International  Geography 

the  Niagara  escarpment,  a  bold  cliff  of  Silurian  shales  and  limestones, 
which  crosses  the  Niagara  river  at  Queenston,  skirts  the  south  shore  of 
Lake  Ontario  to  Hamilton,  and  thence  strikes  northward  to  the  Bruce 
Peninsula,  between  Lake  Huron  and  Georgian  Bay,  finally  forming  the 
backbone  of  Manitoulin  Island  in  Lake  Huron. 

Smaller  Lakes  and  Rivers. — Lake  Nipigon,  with  an  area  of  1,450 
square  miles,  is  probably  the  largest  of  the  many  lakes  occupying  depres- 
sions in  the  Laurentian  Plateau,  while  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  (Fig.  47),  on 
the  extreme  western  edge  of  the  province,  is  of  about  e'qual  size.  Along 
the  edge  of  the  Laurentian  Plateau  a  narrow  chain  of  lakes  has  been 
formed,  among  which  are  those  of  Balsam  and  Scugog.  In  the  Ontario 
peninsula,  north  of  the  Niagara  escarpment,  there  are  a  few  very  pictu- 
resque lakes,  Lake  Simcoe  being  the  largest,  and  well  known  as  a  summer 
resort. 

The  streams  of  Ontario  province  belong  to  three  different  drainage- 
areas— (i)  those  flowing  southward  into  the  great  lakes;  (2)  northward 
into  Hudson  Bay,  these  being  the  longest  in  the  province ;  and  (3)  west- 
ward into  Lake  Winnipeg. 

History  and  Resources. — Ontario  was  first  settled  in  1776,  after  the 
close  of  the  American  Revolution,  by  United  Empire  Loyalists,  men  who 
had  left  the  United  States,  and  their  property  there,  for  the  love  of  the 
United  Kingdom  and  British  institutions.  That  patriotism  was  strength- 
ened in  1812  when  the  armies  of  the  United  States  invaded  the  country 
and  were  repulsed  on  every  side  after  heavy  loss.  In  1791  the  district 
was  erected  into  a  province,  and  since  that  time  the  population  has  grown 
quietly,  mainly  in  the  peninsula.  Four-fifths  of  the  inhabitants  are 
Canadian  born. 

A  large  number  are  engaged  in  agriculture,  farming  being  the  most 
important  industry  in  the  province.  Wheat,  oats,  barley,  maize,  potatoes 
and  hay  are  the  principal  crops.  Stock-raising  is  also  extensively  carried 
on,  and  wool  is  of  some  importance.  Cheese-making  and  dairying  are  also 
great  and  growing  industries.  Fruit  is  extensively  grown,  the  principal 
kinds  being  apples,  pears,  peaches,  plums  and  grapes.  The  chief  fruit 
districts  are  in  the  peninsula  near  the  shores  of  the  great  lakes.  Lumber- 
ing is  next  in  importance  to  agriculture,  the  timber-lands  being  leased  for 
this  purpose  by  the  Government  to  private  companies  or  individuals.  The 
fisheries  are  confined  to  the  great  lakes  where  about  3,000  men  are 
employed. 

With  the  exception  of  petroleum,  the  mineral  industries  of  the  province 
are  yet  in  their  infancy.  Nickel  ores  occur  in  extensive  deposits  near 
Sudbury  on  the  line  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  and  an  almost 
unlimited  supply  of  the  metal  could  be  obtained  if  there  were  a  sufficient 
demand.  Copper  is  usually  associated  with  the  nickel  in  these  ores.  Gold 
is  found  in  the  Huronian  rocks  of  the  western  portion  of  the  province,  and 
it  is  not  improbable  that  many  rich  gold  mines  will  soon  be  worked  there. 


Canada— Manitoba  695 


Natural  gas  exists  at  several  places  in  the  southern  portion  of  the  peninsula. 
Salt  and  gypsum  are  also  produced  in  considerable  quantity. 

Towns. — Ottawa,  the  capital  of  the  Dominion,  is  beautifully  situated 
on  the  south  bank  of  the  Ottawa  river  just  below  the  Chaudiere  Falls. 
The  Dominion  Government  buildings  are  of  imposing  character  and  finely 
situated.  Ottawa  has  the  most  important  lumber  interests  of  any  city  in 
Canada.  Several  railways  pass  through  it,  and  the  Rideau  Canal  joins 
it  to  Kingston  on  Lake  Ontario.  Toronto  is  both  the  commercial  and 
political  capital  of  the  province.  It  is  built  on  a  series  of  low  terraces  on 
the  north  shore  of  Lake  Ontario  between  the  mouths  of  the  Don  and 
H  umber  rivers,  and  in  front  of  it  is  an  excellent  harbour  about  3^  square 
miles  in  extent,  formed  by  a  long  sandy  island  which  projects  westward 
from  the  foot  of  the  cliffs  at  Scarboro'  Heights.  It  was  founded  by 
Governor  Simcoe  in  1793,  on  the  site  of  an  old  French  fort  that  had  been 
built  forty-four  years  before.  It  is  the  seat  of  numerous  manufactories, 
several  large  industrial  institutions,  and  being  an  important  railway  ter- 
minus is  the  principal  distributing  centre  of  the  province.  It  is  also  a 
banking  centre,  many  of  the  largest  financial  institutions  in  the  Dominion 
making  it  their  headquarters.  Hamilton,  situated  at  the  head  of  a  sheltered 
bay  at  the  west  end  of  Lake  Ontario,  is  a  manufacturing  town.  London 
is  situated  on  the  Thames  river,  in  the  centre  of  one  of  the  finest  farming 
districts  in  the  province.  Kingston,  at  the  east  end  of  Lake  Ontario,  is 
the  oldest  city  in  the  province,  and  besides  other  educational  institutions 
it  contains  a  military  college,. 

MANITOBA 

Position  and  Surface. — The  province  of  Manitoba  lies  in  the  very 
centre  of  the  continent,  being  almost  equidistant  from  the  Atlantic  and 
Pacific  coasts,  and  from  the  Arctic  Sea  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  In 
outline  it  is  almost  square,  with  sides  about  270  miles  in  length.  It 
extends  along  the  49th  parallel  of  latitude,  which  is  here  the  boundary 
with  the  United  States  (Minnesota  and  North  Dakota)  from  the  Lake 
of  the  Woods  westward  to  the  meridian  of  101°,  which  forms  the  western 
boundary.  On  the  east  it  is  bordered  by  Ontario,  and  the  North- West 
Territories  lie  on  the  north  and  west. 

The  province  falls  naturally  into  three  principal  divisions,  running  in 
a  general  north-westerly  and  south-easterly  direction,  (i)  The  Laurentian 
Plateau,  which  lies  east  of  the  east  shore  of  Lake  Winnipeg,  with  its 
characteristic  undulating  rocky  surface,  dotted  with  small  lakes,  and 
traversed  by  many  crooked,  irregular  streams.  It  is  chiefly  underlain 
by  Laurentian  rocks  of  granitic  type.  (2)  The  Lacustral  Plain,  or  First 
Prairie  Steppe,  which  includes  rather  more  than  half  of  the  province, 
occupies  part  of  the  basin  of  an  ancient  glacial  or  post-glacial  lake, 
which  has  been  called  Lake  Agassiz.  The  thick  beds  of  clay  and  silt 
deposited  in  that  lake  now  form  the  rich  wheat-producing  soil  of  the 


696       The  International  Geography 

Red  River  valley.  It  is  almost  entirely  underlain  by  flat-lying  Silurian 
and  Devonian  limestones,  and  in  its  southern  portion  the  original  in- 
equalities of  the  rocky  surface  have  been  almost  entirely  levelled  up 
by  the  lacustral  deposits,  while  further  north  the  rocky  surface  was 
more  irregular,  and  was  not  so  completely  covered  with  clay,  having 
long  wide  ridges  and  hollows,  the  most  important  of  the  latter  being 
now  occupied  by  Lakes  Winnipeg,  Winnipegosis,  and  Manitoba.  Much 
of  the  country  south  of  these  lakes  is  open  grassy  prairie,  while 
farther  north  it  is  more  or  less  thickly  wooded  with  spruce  and  poplar. 
(3)  The  Manitoba  Escarpment  borders  the  lacustral  plain  on  the  west, 
rising  from  800  to  1,400  feet  above  the  plain  at  its  base.  West  of 
this  escarpment  comes  the  Second  Prairie  Steppe,  in  which  the  relief  is 
more  strongly  pronounced,  the  rivers  often  flowing  in  valleys  which  they 
have  cut  to  a  depth  of  several  hundred  feet,  while  many  of  the  stony  hills 
are  rough  and  steep.  Much  of  the  soil  is  of  excellent  quality,  and  in  the 
southern  portion  of  the  province  will  grow  large  crops  of  wheat ;  further 
north  and  on  the  higher  tracts  abundant  crops  of  oats,  barley,  and  the 
more  hardy  cereals  and  roots  can  be  grown.  This  plateau  is  underlain 
by  soft  shales  and  sandstones  of  Cretaceous  age. 

Winnipeg  river,  a  large  stream,  broken  up  by  many  rapids  and  falls, 
flows  into  Lake  Winnipeg  from  the  Laurentian  plateau  on  the  east.  The 
Red  River  of  the  North  rises  in  the  United  States  and  flows  northward 
to  empty  into  the  south  end  of  the  same  lake,  while  its  tributary,  the 
Assiniboine,  drains  much  of  the  western  portion  of  the  province. 

History  and  Towns. — The  retired  employes  and  dependents  of 
the  North- West  and  Hudson's  Bay  Fur-trading  Companies  formed  the 
nucleus  of  the  present  population  of  the  province,  originally  called  the 
"  Red  River  Settlement."  In  1870  the  population  was  about  12,000,  while 
in  1901  it  had  risen  to  255,000.  Almost  all  the  inhabitants,  who  include 
many  immigrants  from  the  United  States  as  well  as  from  Europe,  derive 
their  support,  directly  or  indirectly,  from  agriculture.  The  principal 
crops  are  wheat,  oats,  barley,  potatoes  and  flax,  and  of  these  the  exports 
consist  mainly  of  wheat,  the  arrangements  for  collecting  and  transporting 
which  are  highly  organised.  In  the  more  northern  parts  of  the  province 
many  farmers  devote  themselves  to  raising  cattle,  and  to  the  making  of 
cheese  and  butter.  White-fish  of  the  finest  quality  are  caught  in  the  large 
lakes  of  the  province,  and  of  late  years  the  fishing  industry  has  assumed 
considerable  proportions. 

Winnipeg,  the  capital,  and  chief  city  of  the  province,  is  situated  on  the 
level  lacustral  plain,  at  the  confluence  of  the  Red  and  Assiniboine  rivers. 
It  is  the  distributing  point  and  commercial  focus  of  the  whole  of  the 
Canadian  North-West,  one  of  the  most  important  stations  on  the  Canadian 
Pacific  Railway,  and  a  railway  centre  for  lines  from  the  United  States  as 
well.  Brandon  and  Portage  la  Prairie  are  prosperous  towns  in  the  centre 
of  rich  wheat-growing  districts  on  the  Canadian  Pacific  line. 


Canada— British  Columbia  697 

BRITISH    COLUMBIA 

Position  and  Area.— British  Columbia,  stretching  from  the  Rocky 
Mountains  to  the  sea,  is  the  largest  province  in  the  Dominion,  having  an 
area  three  times  as  large  as  the  United  Kingdom.  Its  greatest  length, 
measured  in  a  north-westerly  direction,  is  1,250  miles.  It  is  bounded 
on  the  south  by  the  United  States,  the  parallel  of  49°  separating  it  from 
Montana,  Idaho  and  Washington.  On  the  west  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and 
farther  north  a  narrow  strip  of  the  United  States  territory  of  Alaska,  are 
the  boundaries.  On  the  east  and  north  it  is  bordered  by  the  North-West 
Territories,  which  separate  it  from  the  eastern  provinces. 

Coasts. — Viewed  as  a  whole  the  coast  has  a  general  trend  in  a  north- 
westerly direction,  but  in  detail  it  is  very  irregular,  reaching  back  into 
deep,  narrow  fjords,  and  fringed  by  a  maze  of  islands  of  all  sizes.  The 
fjords  and  straits  are  submerged  valleys  both  in  line  with  and  transverse  to 
the  general  direction  of  the  mountain  ranges,  Of  the  fjords,  Dr.  G.  M. 
Dawson  writes  :  "  Their  width  is  usually  from  one  to  three  miles,  their  shores 
rocky  and  abrupt,  and  rising  towards  the  heads  of  the  longer  fjords  into 
mountains  from  6,000  to  8,000  feet  in  height.  The  water  is  deep,  usually 
much  too  deep  for  anchorage,  but  at  the  head  of  each  arm  a  delta-flat, 
formed  by  an  entering  river,  is  commonly  found.  Many  good  harbours 
exist  along  the  coast,  but  the  two  best  and  most  important  of  those  on  the 
mainland  are  Burrard  Inlet,  upon  which  the  city  of  Vancouver  is  built, 
and  Port  Simpson,  near  the  northern  end  of  the  coast  of  the  province." 

Vancouver  Island  is  separated  from  the  mainland  by  the  Strait  of  Juan 
de  Fuca  on  the  south,  and  the  Strait  of  Georgia  and  Queen  Charlotte 
Sound  on  the  north-east,  these  two  being  connected  by  narrow  channels 
which  at  Seymour  Narrows  are  less  than  half  a  mile  in  width.  It  has  a 
length  of  285  miles,  and  a  greatest  width  of  80  miles. 

Mountains. — British  Columbia  is  essentially  a  country  of  mountains. 
In  the  portion  of  the  province  north  of  latitude  54°,  the  breadth  of  the 
Cordillera  or  mountain  belt,  from  south-west  to  north-east,  is  about  400 
miles.  The  mountains,  as  a  rule,  run  in  a  north-westerly  and  south- 
westerly direction,  and  the  two  most  conspicuous  and  important  ranges 
run  along  opposite  sides  of  the  rhomb,  the  Rocky  Mountains  proper  along 
the  eastern  side,  and  the  Coast  Range  along  its  western  side.  At  the 
international  boundary  the  Rocky  Mountains  have  an  average  width  of 
about  60  miles,  and  many  of  the  peaks  reach  heights  of  10,000  feet, 
being  snow-capped  and  abounding  in  fine  glaciers.  Further  north  the 
range  decreases  both  in  width  and  height,  until  in  the  vicinity  of  Peace 
river,  in  latitude  56°,  it  is  only  20  miles  wide,  and  but  few  of  its  peaks 
rise  above  5,000  or  6,000  feet.  This  range  is  composed  of  stratified 
limestone,  quartzites,  and  other  rocks  from  Cambrian  to  Cretaceous  ; 
granites  and  other  crystalline  rocks  are  almost  entirely  absent.  The 
Rocky  Mountain  range  is  bounded  on  the  west  by  the  great  Columbia- 


698       The  International  Geography 

Kootenay  valley,  which  in  its  course  north-westward  is  occupied  succes- 
sively by  the  upper  portions  of  the  Kootenay,  Columbia,  Eraser,  Parsnip, 
Findlay,  and  other  rivers,  which  usually  break  through  its  western  border 
to  the  sea.  South-west  of  this  great  valley  are  the  Selkirk  and  Gold  ranges. 
The  gold  and  silver  recently  discovered  in  southern  British  Columbia 
occur  in  these  mountains.  Between  the  Gold  and  the  Coast  ranges,  the 
interior  plateau  attains  an  average  width  of  ico  miles.  To  the  south,  it 
does  not  much  exceed,  on  the  average,  a  height  of  3,000  feet,  but  it 
gradually  decreases  to  2,000  about  latitude  54°,  beyond  which  it  is  cut 
off  by  transverse  ranges  of  mountains.  In  places  it  is  so  deeply  dissected 
by  streams  and  atmospheric  agencies  that  it  has  lost  all  semblance  of  a 
plain,  but  in  other  places  there  are  extensive  almost  level  tracts,  among 
which  is  much  land  suitable  for  ranching  and  agriculture. 

The  Coast  Range  begins  about  latitude  49°,  and  runs  north-westward, 
near  the  coast,  for  about  900  miles,  with  an  average  width  of  about  100 
miles.  Many  of  its  summits  rise  to  heights  of  7,000  and  8,000  feet,  while 
its  submerged  valleys  form  deep  fjords.  Its  seaward  slopes,  clothed 
with  magnificent  forests,  rising  to  snow-capped  peaks  form  some  of 
the  grandest  scenery  in  the  world.  The  mountains  forming  the  back- 
bone of  Vancouver  and  Queen  Charlotte  islands  are  a  subsidiary  and 
partly  submerged  chain  of  the  main  range.  The  Coast  Range  is  chiefly 
composed  of  granitic  and  highly  altered  sedimentary  rocks. 

Hydrography. — In  conformity  with  the  structural  lines  of  the 
country,  the  numerous  lakes  are  long  and  narrow,  lying  either  between 
the  mountain  ranges,  or  in  the  bottoms  of  the  deeper  parts  of  river 
valleys,  which  have  been  obstructed  in  some  way.  The  Peace  and 
Liard  rivers  rise  in  the  north-eastern  part  of  the  province,  and  drain 
a  large  area  eastward  into  the  Mackenzie  river.  A  small  area  in  the 
extreme  northern  portion  is  drained  by  the  headwaters  of  the  Yukon. 
The  remaining  rivers  flow  towards  the  Pacific  coast  in  very  irregular 
channels,  running  between  and  across  the  ranges,  and  often  doubling 
back  parallel  to  their  upper  courses.  Of  these  the  principal  is  the 
Fraser,  which  rises  on  the  western  slopes  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  close 
to  the  source  of  the  Athabasca,  and  flows  at  first  north-westward,  and 
then  southward,  to  empty  into  the  Strait  of  Georgia,  having  a  total  length 
of  about  750  miles.  The  upper  waters  of  the  Columbia  river  flow  through 
the  province,  the  river  being  twice  crossed  by  the  Canadian  Pacific 
Railway.  The  Skeena  and  the  Stikine  are  both  large  rivers,  navigable  for 
small  steamers  in  their  lower  courses. 

Climate. — The  climate  varies  from  temperate  insular  on  the  coast  and 
islands,  to  extreme  continental  on  the  high  interior  uplands.  The  total 
annual  precipitation  in  the  valleys  of  the  interior  is  about  15  inches ;  at 
Victoria  it  is  40  inches,  while  in  some  parts  of  the  coast  to  the  north  it 
exceeds  100  inches.  It  is  thus,  in  some  parts  of  the  interior,  possible 
to  grow  crops  only  with  the  aid  of  irrigation,  while  along  portions 


Canada — British  Columbia  699 

of  the  coast  the  excessive  humidity  practically  precludes  agriculture 
(see  Fig.  338). 

History  and  People. — The  coast  of  British  Columbia  was  discovered 
and  partly  explored  by  Spanish  voyagers,  and  by  Cook  in  the  course  of  his 
last  voyage  in  1778.  In  1793  Alexander  Mackenzie  first  crossed  the  interior 
on  his  journey  from  Lake  Athabasca  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  early  in  the 
nineteenth  century  David  Thompson  explored  and  opened  up  trade  routes 
into  the  country  from  the  upper  waters  of  the  Saskatchewan  and 
Athabasca  rivers.  In  1849  Vancouver  Island  was  granted  a  Governor,  and 
in  1856  it  elected  its  first  legislative  body.  The  discovery  of  gold  in  1857 
brought  a  rush  of  population  to  the  province,  and  in  1866  Vancouver 
Island  and  the  mainland  were  united  under  the  name  British  Columbia. 
In  1871  it  entered  the  federal  union  of  the  Dominion,  one  condition  of 
federation  being  the  construction  of  a  railway  to  the  eastern  provinces. 

Mines. — The  wealth  of  the  people  depends  very  largely  on  mineral 
products.  Gold  was  first  discovered  in  auriferous  sands  and  gravels  on 
the  Thompson  and  Eraser  rivers  and  their  tributaries  in  1857  and  1858, 
and  in  the  early  "6o's"  stories  of  the  rich  finds  in  the  remote  Cariboo 
district  were  common  throughout  the  English-speaking  world.  Until 
recently  this  gold  was  almost  entirely  obtained  from  placer  diggings,  but 
rich  gold-bearing  lodes  have  been  found  in  the  West  Kootenay  district, 
which  has  consequently  been  made  accessible  by  railways  and  steam- 
boats, so  that  the  dwindling  placer  mines  of  the  Cariboo  district  are 
thrown  in  the  shade  by  the  rich  and  rapidly  developing  lode  mines  of 
the  south.  In  1897,  silver  derived  almost  entirely  from  the  silver-lead 
mines  of  the  West  Kootenay  district,  jumped  to  the  first  place  among 
the  mineral  products,  the  total  silver  product  exceeding  in  value  that 
of  gold.  The  amount  of  lead  produced  is  very  considerable,  and  some 
copper  also  is  obtained.  The  coal  mines  of  Vancouver  Island  have  long 
held  an  important  place  on  the  Pacific  coast,  as  they  not  only  supply  the 
province  itself,  but  lead  the  market  in  the  coast  cities  of  the  adjoining 
republic.  Large  coal-fields  also  exist  in  Queen  Charlotte  Islands,  and 
in  the  interior,  notably  in  the  Crow's  Nest  Pass  of  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
through  which  a  railway  has  been  carried  to  the  Kootenay  gold  and 
silver  mining  districts. 

Resources  and  Towns. — Throughout  the  province  there  is  a  vast 
extent  of  country  covered  with  forest,  chiefly  of  conifers,  among  which  the 
most  valuable  tree  is  the  Douglas  fir.  Along  the  coast,  and  on  Vancouver 
Island,  there  are  many  saw-mills  which  are  supplied  with  this  fir  from  the 
adjacent  forests,  and  from  which  lumber  is  largely  exported.  The  fisheries 
are  another  important  source  of  wealth  to  the  people.  Salmon  abound 
in  many  of  the  streams,  and  are  caught  and  put  up  in  cans  for  export  in 
enormous  quantities.  Halibut,  herring,  rock-cod,  &c.,  are  also  caught  off 
the  coast.  The  pelagic  sealing  fleet  is  also  largely  owned  in  this  province. 

There  is  much  good  agricultural  land  in  the  southern  portion  of  the 


700       The   International  Geography 

interior  plateau,  on  the  deltas,  and  in  the  valleys  of  the  principal  rivers 
where,  in  addition  to  cereal  crops,  fruit  of  many  kinds  is  now  beginning 
to  be  successfully  cultivated.  Difficulties  of  transport  have  heretofore 
limited  farming,  but  stock-raising  is  an  industry  of  considerable  import- 
ance in  the  southern  part  of  the  interior. 

Victoria,  the  capital  of  the  province,  is  situated  on  a  good  harbour  at  the 
south  end  of  Vancouver  Island.  The  provincial  Parliament  House  is  one  of 
the  finest  buildings  in  Canada.  Three  miles  to  the  west  is  the  great  naval 
harbour  Esquimau,  the  principal  station  for  the  North  Pacific  Squadron 
of  the  British  fleet.  Vancouver,  the  western  terminus  of  the  Canadian 
Pacific  Railway,  is  situated  on  the  south  shore  of  Burrard  Inlet,  one  of  the 

best  harbours  on  the  Pacific  coast, 
and  the  point  of  departure  of 
regular  lines  of  steamers  to  Japan 
and  New  Zealand.  New  West- 
minster, the  first  capital  of  the  main- 
land province,  a  short  distance  up 
the  Fraser  river,  was  founded  in 
1858.  Rossland,  on  the  gold-fields 
near  the  Columbia  river,  has  sprung 
into  existence  as  a  city  second  in 


FIG   345. — Vancouver  and  Victoria,  B.C.  ,_  , 

population  only  to  Vancouver  and 

Victoria,  and  provided  with  railway  communication  with  the  United  States. 
In  all  the  towns  of  the  province  there  is  a  large  Chinese  element,  most  of 
the  domestic  servants  and  many  labourers  being  Chinamen.  Japanese 
immigrants  are  also  met  with  ;  but  in  spite  of  the  mixture  of  races  British 
Columbia  is  perhaps  the  most  English  of  all  the  provinces  of  Canada  in  the 
life  of  the  people  as  well  as  in  the  climate. 

THE    TERRITORIES 

Territories. — Outside  of  the  organised  provinces  of  the  Dominion 
there  are  vast  areas  which  have  long  been  known  as  the  North-East  and 
North-West  Territories.  Recently  these  have  been  divided  into  districts, 
some  of  which  are  provided  with  representative  government,  while  others, 
whose  only  inhabitants  are  a  few  scattered  Indian  hunters,  are  governed 
by  the  Dominion  Parliament  at  Ottawa.  These  districts  are  nine  in  number. 

Ungava. — The  district  of  Ungava  comprises  the  northern  portion  of 
the  Labrador  peninsula,  north  of  the  province  of  Quebec,  except  the 
eastern  strip  of  coast  which  for  700  miles  is  under  the  jurisdiction  of 
Newfoundland.  The  western  side  of  the  peninsula  is  the  rocky  eastern 
shore  of  Hudson  Bay,  indented  by  many  deep  narrow  bays,  and  skirted 
by  a  large  number  of  rocky  islands.  The  interior  is  a  gently  undulating 
plateau  underlain  by  Archaean  and  highly  altered  Cambrian  rocks.  The 
main  watershed  is  about  the  middle  of  the  southern  boundary  of  the  district, 


Canada — The  Territories  701 

and  from  there  the  rivers  flow  northward,  westward,  and  eastward,  and 
also  southward  through  the  province  of  Quebec.  On  the  long  Hamilton 
river,  which  flows  south-eastward  to  the  Atlantic,  are  the  Grand,  or  McLean 
Falls,  where  the  stream  plunges  300  feet  over  a  cliff  into  a  narrow  rocky 
gorge.  The  country  is  more  or  less  sparsely  wooded  as  far  north  as  the 
south  end  of  Ungava  Bay. 

Keewatin. — The  south-western  and  western  sides  of  Hudson  Bay, 
and  the  country  adjoining,  are  comprised  within  the  great  district  of 
Keewatin.  Its  coast  on  Hudson  Bay  is  exceedingly  low  and  flat  south 
of  61°  N.  lat.,  while  north  of  that  latitude  it  becomes  much  more  bold  and 
rocky.  The  lagoon  at  the  mouth  of  the  Churchill  river  is  the  only  good 
harbour  on  the  more  southern  portion  of  this  coast,  and  it  remains  unfrozen 
on  the  average  for  five  months  in  the  year.  Most  of  the  country  is  under- 
lain by  Archaean  rocks.  South  of  60°  N.  the  district  is  generally  forested, 
scattered  woods  of  small  black  spruce  and  larch  growing  on  swampy 
tracts.  North  of  60°  N.  it  is  almost  entirely  treeless,  often  forming  an 
undulating  stony  plain,  thinly  covered  with  short  grasses  and  sedges.  Count- 
less herds  of  a  small  variety  of  reindeer  roam  over  these  plains.  These  are 
almost  the  only  living  creatures  in  this  country,  the  fur-bearing  animals 
being  confined  to  the  forests  further  south.  The  district  is  entirely  beyond 
the  limits  of  settlement,  and,  as  in  Ungava,  except  a  few  white  fur-traders 
the  only  inhabitants  are  Indians  and  Eskimo. 

The  Organised  Districts. — Assiniboia,  Saskatchewan,  and  Alberta, 
lie  between  Manitoba  and  part  of  Keewatin  on  the  east,  and  British 
Columbia  on  the  west,  and  between  latitudes  49°  and  55°.  They  are  spoken 
of  as  the  organised  districts,  for  they  have  a  Lieutenant-Governor,  an 
elected  Parliament,  and  an  Executive  Council  to  attend  to  their  local 
affairs,  while  at  the  same  time  they  have  representatives  in  both  Houses  of 
the  Dominion  Parliament  in  Ottawa. 

At  its  north-eastern  corner  the  district  of  Saskatchewan  touches  the 
hummocky  Laurentian  plateau,  and  is  underlain  by  rocks  of  Laurentian 
and  Huronian  age.  South-west  of  this  is  a  narrow  strip  underlain  by 
Silurian  limestones,  while  the  whole  remaining  portion,  to  the  foot  of  the 
steep  cliffs  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  is  underlain  by  soft  clays  and  sand- 
stones of  Cretaceous  and  Tertiary  age,  often  covered  by  a  thick  mantle  of 
drift.  The  rise  from  the  Archaean  plateau  to  the  foot  of  the  mountains 
averages  5^  feet  to  the  mile.  This  rise  is  not  regular,  though  it  indicates 
the  general  slope  of  the  country,  but  is  most  pronounced  along  the  line  of 
the  Manitoba  escarpment  which  marks  approximately  the  eastern  edge  of 
the  Cretaceous  rocks,  and  along  the  Missouri  Coteau,  which  separates  the 
second  from  the  third  or  highest  prairie  steppe. 

The  Saskatchewan  river,  with  its  tributaries,  drains  the  greater  part  of 
these  districts.  Most  of  its  branches  rise  on  the  eastern  slopes  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  some  of  the  more  northern  ones  being  fed  by  glaciers, 
and,  flowing  eastward,  unite  into  one  great  stream  which  empties  into  the 


702       The  International  Geography 

north  end  of  Lake  Winnipeg.  At  the  mouth  of  the  river  is  a  heavy  rapid, 
with  a  descent  of  seventy  feet,  but  above  this  the  main  stream  is  navigable 
for  river-steamers  for  900  miles,  while  the  south  branch  is  navigable  for 
400  miles  above  its  confluence.  A  small  area  in  the  south  is  drained 
southward  towards  the  Missouri,  while  north  of  latitude  54°  most  of  the 
country  is  drained  northward  either  to  the  Mackenzie  or  to  the  Churchill 
rivers.  The  surface  is  very  generally  dotted  with  small  lakes  and  ponds, 
usually  shallow,  which  lie  in  hollows  in  the  general  covering  of  drift. 
Many  of  these  are  without  outlet,  and  some  are  quite  saline,  chiefly  from 
the  presence  of  sulphate  of  soda. 

The  whole  of  Assiniboia,  and  large  tracts  in  the  south  of  Saskatchewan 
and  Alberta  are  treeless,  except  in  the  deep  valleys,  consisting  of  grassy 
plains  or  prairies,  which  usually  extend  to  the  horizon  on  every  side.  Or 
the  level  plain  may  be  varied  here  and  there  by  sandy  or  stony  hills, 
appearing  as  high  ridges  in  the  distance,  but  on  closer  approach  dwindling 
to  grassy  downs.  A  few  plateau-like  elevations,  such  as  the  Cypress  and 
Hand  Hills,  rise  1,000  feet  or  more  above  the  surrounding  plain.  The 
total  area  of  this  prairie  country  north  of  49°  N.,  including  the  prairie 
portion  of  Manitoba,  is  about  193,000  square  miles.  North  of  the  treeless 
prairies  comes  a  belt  of  varying  width,  consisting  of  open  grassy  glades 
alternating  with  groves  of  poplar,  north  of  which  again  is  the  coniferous 
forest,  composed  chiefly  of  spruce  and  larch. 

People  and  Towns. — The  inhabitants  are  partly  Indians,  while  the 
remainder  are  immigrants  from  many  parts  of  Europe  and  the  eastern 
provinces  of  the  Dominion.  The  attention  of  the  people  is  almost  entirely 
devoted  to  agriculture  and  raising  live  stock.  In  the  more  eastern  parts 
of  Assiniboia  and  in  the  partly  wooded  country  near  the  banks  of  the 
Saskatchewan  river,  wheat,  barley,  and  oats  are  grown  to  great  perfec- 
tion. In  the  drier  country  farther  south  and  west,  most  of  the  people 
are  engaged  in  the  raising  of  cattle,  horses  and  sheep.  Extensive  beds 
of  coal  and  lignite  underlie  large  areas,  ensuring  an  abundant  supply  of 
fuel. 

Regina,  the  capital  of  the  North-West  Territories,  stands  on  a  level 
plain  on  the  line  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  and  is  the  head-quarters 
of  the  North-West  Mounted  Police,  who  keep  order  over  the  whole  region. 
Calgary,  also  on  the  railway,  in  the  southern  portion  of  Alberta,  is  the 
centre  of  the  ranching  country,  and  its  handsome  stone-built  houses  con- 
trast with  the  wooden  or  iron  dwellings  common  in  newly-settled  districts. 
A  branch  line  runs  north  to  Edmonton,  on  the  Saskatchewan. 

North- Western  Districts. — The  four  districts  of  Athabasca,  Mac. 
kenzie,  Yukon,  and  Franklin,  together  make  up  a  full  third  of  the  Dominion 
of  Canada.  With  the  exception  of  Yukon,  all  of  these  districts  are  without 
white  inhabitants,  except  a  few  fur-traders  who  have  gone  out  into  the 
wilderness  to  barter  with  the  Indian  hunters.  The  Indian  population  is 
estimated  at  about  32,000.  Athabasca  and  Mackenzie  are  essentially 


Canada — The  Territories  703 

similar  in  character.  Their  eastern  half  lies  on  the  north-western  extension 
of  the  Archaean  plateau.  Their  western  half  is  underlain  by  stratified 
limestones,  shales,  and  sandstones,  varying  in  age  from  Devonian  up  to 
Miocene.  The  north-eastern  corner  of  Mackenzie  lies  within  the  area  of  the 
Barren  Lands,  beyond  the  limit  of  the  growth  of  trees,  while  most  of  the 
remainder  is  covered  with  a  forest  of  stunted  spruce  and  larch,  of  no 
commercial  value.  In  the  south-western  part  of  Athabasca  there  are  open 
poplar  woods,  with  some  rather  large  tracts  of  open  grassy  prairie.  Some 
portions  of  the  country  west  of  Athabasca  have  a  height  of  3,000  feet, 
while  east  of  that  river  there  are  elevations  of  about  1,700  feet.  From  there 
the  country  has  a  gentle  and  fairly  regular  slope  northward  through 
Mackenzie  to  the  Arctic  Sea.  The  most  conspicuous  breaks  in  the  general 
level  of  this  plain  are  the  cliffs  on  the  north  shore  of  Great  Slave 
Lake,  and  the  Copper  Mountains,  near  the  Coppermine  river.  The 
Athabasca-Mackenzie  river  traverses  the  whole  length  of  the  district. 
The  furs  secured  by  the  Indians  throughout  the  forests  of  this  northern 
country  are  its  principal  source  of  wealth.  Fish  abound  in  the  lakes  and 
streams  and  furnish  valuable  supplies  of  food  for  the  traders  and  Indians. 
Franklin  consists  of  the  islands  of  the  Arctic  Archipelago,  varying  in 
size  from  Baffin  Land  down  to  small  reefs.  These  are  underlain 
generally  by  rocks  ranging jn  age  from  Archaean  up  to  Carboniferous,  the 
latter  containing  some  good  seams  of  coal,  while  in  a  few  places  Mesozoic 
and  Tertiary  rocks  have  been  recognised.  The  greater  part  of  the  surface 
is  not  very  high,  and  in  general  character  is  similar  to  the  Barren  Lands 
of  the  continent.  Here  the  musk  ox,  polar  bear,  and  reindeer  have,  as  yet, 
a  safe  retreat.  A  few  Eskimo  are  now  the  only  inhabitants. 

Yukon. — Yukon  Territory  lies  between  the  northern  limit  of  British 
Columbia  and  the  Arctic  Sea,  and  between  the  summit  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains  on  the  east,  and  the  boundary  of  Alaska  on  the  west.  In 
general  character  it  is  a  northern  extension  of  the  mountainous  region  of 
British  Columbia,  though  the  ranges  are  not  so  distinct  or  regular.  The 
streams  which  drain  it  are  nearly  all  tributary  to  one  great  river,  the 
Yukon,  which  is  navigable  by  river  steamers  for  2,400  miles  from  one 
of  its  sources  in  Teslin  Lake  to  the  Bering  Sea.  Since  1897  discoveries 
of  rich  deposits  of  placer  gold  on  the  tributaries  of  the  Yukon  have 
attracted  a  large  number  of  prospectors  and  miners  from  all  parts  of  the 
world  to  this  remote  region,  where  the  gold  of  the  Klondike  river  has 
led  to  the  growth  of  the  town  of  Dawson.  The  gold  produced  in  1900  and 
looi  averaged  ^4,000,000  per  annum  in  value.  Access  to  Dawson  is  had 
by  rail  from  the  United  States  port  of  Skagway  in  Alaska  over  the  moun- 
tains to  the  navigable  upper  waters  of  the  Yukon.  Yukon  Territory,  in 
consequence  of  its  position  in  relation  to  the  Pacific  and  the  ameliorating 
effects  of  the  prevalent  westerly  winds,  is  by  no  means  so  rigorous  in  its 


704       The  International  Geography 

climate  as  those  parts  of  the  continent  further  to  the  east.  Except  in  the 
extreme  north,  the  lowlands  are  generally  wooded,  and  hardy  crops  may 
be  grown  with  some  chance  of  success  almost  to  the  Arctic  Circle. 

STATISTICS. 

AREA  AND   POPULATION  OF  THE  DOMINION  OF  CANADA. 


Aream 

Population. 

Provinces. 
Novia  Scotia 
Prince  Edward  Island 

square  miles.                  1881. 
20,600                     440,572 

2,000                              I08,89I 

1891. 
450,396 
109,078 

1901. 
459.574 
103,259 

New  Brunswick 

28,200               321,233 

321,263 

331,120 

Buebec 

347.350             1,359,027 

1,488,535 

1,648,898 

ntario        .  . 

222,000                          1,926,922 

2,114,321 

2,182,947 

Manitoba    .  . 
British  Columbia 

73,960                                62,260 

383,300                      49,459 

152,506 
98,173 

255,211 
178,657 

Territories. 

Assiniboia  .  . 

89,535^ 

/ 

(     •• 

67,385 

Saskatchewan 

107,092 

( 

66,799]      -. 

25,679 

Alberta 

100,000 

I     .. 

65,876 

Keewatm    .  . 

756,000 

{'    •• 

8.546 

Athabasca  .. 

251,300 

5°,44°i 

•• 

6,615 

Mackenzie  .  . 
Yukon 

563,200 

198,300 

•' 

5,216 
27,218 

Ungava 
Franklin 

456,000 
Unknown, 

I 

:: 

5^13 

Great  Lakes  of  St 

Lawrence    ..         47,400        ..              — 

..       — 

— 

Totals 


. .     3,653,950 


4,324,810 


4,833,239 


5,37i,3i5 


POPULATION  OF  CHIEF  TOWNS. 


Montreal 
Toronto 
8uebec.. 
ttawa.. 
Hamilton 
Winnipeg 
Halifax.  . 

1881. 
155,237 
96,196 
62,449 
31,307 
35.96o 
7,985 
36,100 

1891. 
216,650 
181  220 
63,000 
44,154 
48,980 
25,642 
38,556 

IOOI. 

267,730 
208,040 
68,840 
59.928 
52,634 
42.340 
40,832 

St.  John,  N.B. 
London,  Ont. 
Vancouver,  B.C. 
St.  Henri  .  . 
Victoria,  B.C. 
Kingston  .  . 
Brantford 

1881. 
41,353 
26,206 

6,415 
5,925 
14,091 
9,616 

1891. 
39,179 
31,977 
13,685 
13,413 
16,841 
19,263 
12,753 

1901. 
40,711 
37,o8i 
26,133 
21,192 
20,816 
17.961 
16,619 

AREA  AND   ELEVATION  ABOVE  SEA  OF  THE  LARGEST  LAKES. 


Superior 
Huron 
Great  Bear 
Great  Slave 
Erie 
Winnipeg 

Area  in 
square  miles. 
31,200 
23,800 
11,400 

10,100 

9,960 
9,400 

Elevation 
in  feet. 
600-5 
58o 
340 
520 
572 
710 

Ontario  .  . 
Athabasca 
Winnipegosis 
Manitoba 
Nepigon 

Area  in 
square  miles. 
7,240 
2,850 
2,000 
1,710 
1,450 

Elevation 
in  feet. 
245-5 
690 
828 
810 
..        850 

Exports 
Imports 


AVERAGE  ANNUAL  TRADE  (in  pounds  sterling). 

1871-75.  1881-85.  1891-95. 

16,500,000  ..        19,200,000  ..        22,500,000 

23,500,000  ..        23,300,000  ..        24,400,000 


II,— NEWFOUNDLAND 

BY  J.  B.  TYRRELL,  M.A.,  B.Sc., 

Formerly  of  the  Geological  Survey  of  Canada. 

Coast  and  Surface. — The  large  island  of  Newfoundland,  lying  across 
the  mouth  of  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence,  extends  from  46^°  to  $i%°  N.  lat, 
separated  from  the  mainland  of  Labrador  by  the  Strait  of  Belle  Isle, 
12  miles  wide,  and  from  Cape  Breton  by  Cabot  Strait  60  miles  wide. 


Newfoundland  705 

It  is  roughly  triangular  in  outline,  each  of  its  three  sides  being  between 
300  and  400  miles  in  length;  but  while  the  north-western  shore  is 
moderately  straight,  the  southern  and  north-eastern  shores  are  indented 
by  many  deep  bays,  and  fringed  with  a  great  number  of  rocky  islands, 
which  form  many  magnificent  harbours.  The  coast  is  for  the  most 
part  bold  and  rocky,  and  its  total  length  is  about  2,000  miles.  The 
large  bays  usually  run  in  a  north-easterly  and  south-westerly  direction, 
and  their  shores  are  broken  by  many  smaller  bays.  The  bays  of  Notre- 
Dame  and  Bonavista  on  the  north-east  coast  are  marvellously  fretted  by 
little  peninsulas  and  fringed  with  small  islands.  Heart's  Content,  on  the 
north  side  of  Trinity  Bay,  is  the  landing-place  of  the  Atlantic  cables. 
Burin  Peninsula,  with  a  length  of  82  miles,  lies  between  the  great  bays 
of  Fortune  and  Placentia,  while  the  peninsula  of  Avalon,  in  the  south-east, 
on  which  the  larger  part  of  the  population  is  settled,  is  almost  cut  off  from 
the  rest  of  the  island  by  Placentia  Bay  on  the  south  and  Trinity  Bay  on 
the  north,  the  neck  of  the  peninsula  being  only  three  miles  wide  in  its 
narrowest  part.  St.  Mary's  Bay  and  Conception  Bay  make  great  indenta- 
tions into  this  peninsula. 

The  interior  of  Newfoundland  is  underlain  chiefly  by  Archaean  and 
early  Palaeozoic  rocks,  arranged  in  long  folds  in  a  general  north-easterly 
and  south-westerly  direction,  parallel  to  the  north-west  coast,  the  older  and 
harder  rocks  forming  the  ridges,  while  the  softer  and  later  rocks  occupy 
the  depressions.  The  Long  Range,  on  the  west  side,  is  the  highest  and 
most  important  of  the  ridges,  varying  in  height  from  1,000  to  2,000  feet. 
The  undulating  surfaces  of  the  rocky  hills  are  dotted  with  an  immense 
number  of  small  ponds  and  lakes,  from  which  flow  many  brooks  to  form 
the  larger  streams,  the  most  important  of  which  are  the  Exploits  and 
Sanchau,  discharging  on  the  north-east  coast,  and  the  H  umber  river,  dis- 
charging into  the  head  of  the  Bay  of  Islands  on  the  west  coast.  The  tops 
of  the  rocky  hills  and  ridges  are  for  the  most  part  scantily  wooded  or 
barren,  while  the  river  valleys  and  the  land  at  the  head  of  the  deep  bays 
are  usually  thickly  wooded  with  large  and  valuable  timber,  chiefly  white 
pine,  spruce,  larch  and  birch. 

Climate. — The  Arctic  current,  bearing  extensive  fields  of  ice  and 
many  icebergs,  flows  southward  past  the  east  side  of  the  island,  and  tends 
to  lower  the  temperature  in  summer,  but  very  extreme  temperatures  are 
unknown,  the  thermometer  rarely  falling  below  zero  F.  or  rising  above 
85°  F.  Dense  fogs  often  hang  over  the  south  and  east  shores,  but  these 
do  not  extend  many  miles  inland,  and  the  weather  in  the  interior  is  usually 
clear  and  bright. 

Resources  and  Industries.— Though  there  are  large  areas  of  good 
agricultural  land  in  the  interior,  it  has  as  yet  been  almost  entirely 
neglected,  for  the  surrounding  ocean  contains  such  an  abundance  of  fish 
and  seals  that  the  catching  and  curing  of  them  occupies  almost  the  entire 
attention  of  the  people.  Early  in  March  steamers  and  sailing  vessels 


706       The  International  Geography 


put  to  sea  heavily  manned,  and  seek  the  ice-floes  drifting  down  from  the 
north,  on  which  the  seals  have  brought  forth  their  young.  The  sealing 
season  lasts  from  March  i6th  to  April  i6th.  After  the  sealing  is  over  the 
season  for  cod-fishing  begins,  and  lasts  from  June  to  November.  The  vast 

submarine  plateau  which  extends 
around  the  south  and  east  shores 
of  Newfoundland,  known  as  the 
Grand  Banks,  and  covered  with  a 
depth  of  from  10  to  160  fathoms 
of  water,  is  the  greatest  fishing- 
ground  for  cod  in  the  world,  and 
ships  of  many  nations  congregate 
there  to  gather  the  rich  harvest 
from  the  sea ;  and  the  bold  and 
well-trained  sailors  from  New- 
foundland, being  nearest  to  the 
Grand  Banks,  and  provided  with 
a  plentiful  supply  of  bait  (capelin, 
squid,  &c.),  which  swarm  on  their 
shores,  come  in  for  a  full  share 
of  this  harvest.  The  fish,  when 
caught,  are  cleaned,  salted  and 
dried  in  the  sun  on  stages,  which 


FlG.  346. — Newfoundland  and  the  Grand  Banks. 
The  French  shore  is  shown  by  a  double  line. 


may  be  seen  almost  everywhere.  Herring,  capelin,  and  other  fish  are  caught 
in  considerable  quantity  along  the  shore.  Salmon  are  caught  in  the  rivers, 
and  of  late  years  a  considerable  industry  has  grown  up  in  the  catching  and 
canning  of  lobsters.  Almost  90  per  cent  of  the  exports  of  Newfoundland 
consist  of  the  products  of  the  fisheries,  more  than  half  being  dried  codfish. 

Iron  pyrites,  copper  and  iron  ore  are  the  principal  minerals  at  present 
worked,  the  first-named  being  exported  to  England  for  the  manufacture  of 
sulphuric  acid.  Coal  is  reported  to  exist  in  considerable  quantity,  chiefly 
on  the  west  side  of  the  island,  and  lead  and  nickel  are  also  said  to  occur. 
The  timber  is  cut  to  some  extent  for  local  use. 

Population  and  History. — Newfoundland  was  discovered  by  John 
Cabot  in  1497,  at  which  time  it  was  inhabited  by  the 
Beothuks,  or  Red  Indians,  a  tribe  whose  exact  affinities 
are  now  unknown,  for  the  last  survivor  is  supposed  to 
have  died  in  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
The  fame  of  the  cod-fishing  off  its  shores  soon  spread 
through  the  maritime  nations  of  Europe,  and  many 
ships  from  France,  Spain,  Portugal  and  England  re- 
sorted every  year  to  the  Grand  Banks,  using  the  many  FlG-  347-— The  Badge 

', .  .  i       .  ,       ,         i  ,  ~ of  Newfoundland. 

harbours  of  the  island  as  bases  of  operations.     In  1582 

an  English  Governor  was  appointed,  and  during  the  next  fifty  years  several 

futile  attempts  were  made  at  colonisation.    Then  for  more  than  a  century 


St.  Pierre  and   Miquelon  707 

and  a  half  colonisation  was  discouraged,  the  English  merchants,  who  were 
amassing  large  fortunes  by  cod-fishing,  not  wishing  to  have  to  compete  with 
inhabitants  of  Newfoundland.  It  was  not  till  1791  that  a  Supreme  Court 
of  Judiciary  was  erected  in  the  island.  At  present  there  is  a  Governor 
appointed  by  the  Crown,  a  Legislative  Council,  appointed  for  life  by  the 
Governor  in  Council,  and  a  Legislative  Assembly 
elected  for  four  years  by  the  whole  people.  The 
executive  is  in  the  hands  of  a  Ministry  having  the 
confidence  of  the  Assembly.  For  administrative  pur- 
poses the  coast  of  Labrador  is  considered  as  part  of 
the  colony  of  Newfoundland. 

The  usual  means  of  communication  between  one 
place  and  another  has  been  by  boats  along  the  coast,  'FlG,  34s.-Average 
but  a  railway  now  crosses  the  island  from  St.  John's  ulation  of  a  square 
to  Port  aux  Basques,  passing  through  the  most  fertile  ™ic  of  Newfoundland. 
and  well-wooded  districts,  and  it  is  expected  not  only  to  open  much  of  the 
interior  to  settlement,  but  also  to  form  a  part  of  a  line  of  rapid  communi- 
cation between  Europe  and  America. 

Towns. — St.  John's,  so  called  because  the  harbour  was  first  entered 
by  John  Cabot  on  St.  John's  Day,  is  the  capital.  It  is  situated  on  the  east 
side  of  Avalon  Peninsula,  at  the  head  of  a  magnificent  land-locked  harbour 
a  mile  long  and  half  a  mile  wide,  which  is  entered  through  a  deep,  rocky 
passage  only  200  yards  wide  at  its  narrowest  part.  In  it  the  largest  ships 
can  ride  in  safety.  It  is  the  centre  of  the  fishing  trade  of  the  island,  and 
may  become  one  of  the  most  important  ports  on  the  Atlantic  seaboard, 
when  the  railway  across  the  island  is  connected  by  fast  steamers  with  the 
Canadian  railway  system,  for  it  is  nearer  Europe  than  any  other  port  in 
America,  being  only  1,675  miles  from  Cape  Clear  on  the  west  coast  of 
Ireland.  Harbour  Grace,  the  next  town  in  size,  stands  on  Concepcion  Bay. 

STATISTICS. 

1891.  1901. 


Area  of  Newfoundland  (square  miles)          42,200 

„        Labrador  (square  miles)          H9,ooo 

Population  of  Newfoundland 197.934 

Density  of  Population  of  Newfoundland  (per  square  mile)  47 

Population  of  Labrador 4,106 

„            St.  John's 29,007 

Harbour  Grace 6,466 


ANNUAL  TRADE  (in  pounds  sterling). 


1881-85. 


Imports  1,630,000 

Exports  1,574,000 


42,200 

119,000 

217,037 

5'2 

3,947 

29,594 

5,184 


1891-^5. 
1,400,000 

1,350,000 


III.— ST.   PIEERE  AND  MldUELON 

BY  M.  ZlMMBRMANN.1 

St.  Pierre  and  Miquelon.— The  two  little  islands  of  St.  Pierre  and 
Miquelon  with  a  permanent  population  of  a  few  thousand  persons,  remain 
1  Translated  from  the  French  by  the  Editor. 


708       The  International  Geography 

in  the  possession  of  France  as  the  only  relics  of  the  magnificent  colonial 
empire  she  founded  in  North  America.  They  lie  close  to  the  south  of 
Newfoundland  and,  small  as  they  are,  only  93  square  miles,  they  possess 
a  real  importance  to  the  mother  country  on  account  of  their  proximity  to 
the  Grand  Banks  where  large  fleets  of  French  fishing-boats  are  engaged  in 
the  capture  of  cod.  The  islands  form  the  basis  of  the  fish  trade  with 
France,  and  the  exports  of  fish  from  the  port  of  St.  Pierre,  on  the  island  of 
the  same  name,  are  steadily  increasing,  their  value  in  1894  exceeding 
five  million  dollars.  Miquelon,  although  the  larger  island,  has  very 
few  inhabitants,  and  the  rainy  climate  with  its  frequent  fogs  does  not 
encourage  immigration.  In  connection  with  these  islands  France  retains 
certain  fishing  rights  on  the  west  coast  of  Newfoundland,  which  on  that 
account  is  termed  the  French  Shore  (Fig.  346). 


STATISTICS  (1892). 


St.  Pierre 
Miquelon 


Area  in  square  miles. 
10 
83 


Population. 
5,7oo 
550 


Density  of  Population. 
570 
7 


17.— BERMUDA 

BY   THE   EDITOR. 

Position  and  General  Character. — A  solitary  bank  rising  abruptly 
from  the  depths  of  the  North  Atlantic  in  32°  N.  and  65°  W.  bears  a  group  of 
small  islands  of  remarkable  formation  known  as  the  Bermudas.  Farther 

north  than  any  other  coral  islands, 
they  are  of  coral  formation  ;  a 
consequence  of  the  warm  water 
carried  northward  by  the  great 
oceanic  whirl  of  which  the  Gulf 
Stream  forms  part.  The  islands 
occupy  a  space  of  only  twenty 
miles  by  five,  but  are  surrounded, 
especially  on  the  north  and  west, 
by  a  growing  reef  through  which 
a  few  intricate  channels  admit 
vessels.  Unlike  other  atolls  the 
Bermudas  are  in  parts  hilly,  the  heights,  which  rise  to  260  feet,  being  formed 
of  blown  coral  sand,  cemented  by  the  action  of  rain  into  solidrock  ;  they 
are  in  fact  petrified  dunes.  The  sweeping  curve  of  the  hook-shaped  main 
island  brings  it  so  close  to  the  smaller  members  of  the  group  that  many  of 
them  are  reached  by  bridges  or  causeways.  The  situation  is  as  remarkable 
as  the  formation.  From  Bermuda  as  a  centre  a  radius  of  800  miles  would 
sweep  the  coast  of  North  America  from  Nova  Scotia  to  Cape  Hatteras  ; 
and  a  radius  of  1,000  miles  would  sweep  the  east  coast  of  Florida  and  the 
whole  line  of  the  Antilles  from  Cuba  to  Antigua.  This  gives  the  little 


FlG.  349. — Bermuda   Islands  and  reefs, 
map  includes  30  miles  by  20. 


The 


Bermuda  709 


group  remarkable  strategic  value.  Another  element  of  importance  is 
the  climate,  which  is  remarkably  mild  and  equable.  The  temperature 
has  never  been  known  to  fall  below  40° ;  the  monthly  mean  of  February, 
the  coldest  month,  is  nearly  63° ;  that  of  August,  the  hottest  month,  does 
not  exceed  80°.  Hence  in  spite  of  poor  soil  the  islands  have  become 
noted  for  the  growth  of  early  vegetables  of  excellent  quality,  and  for 
many  subtropical  products  ;  the  staple  crops  for  export  to  New  York  were 
in  1896,  onions,  early  potatoes,  and  lily-bulbs.  There  is  no  lake  nor  stream 
in  the  islands,  and  the  wells  yield  somewhat  brackish  water,  so  that  the 
inhabitants  rely  mainly  on  rain-water  caught  and  stored  in  cisterns. 

History,  Government  and  People. — The  group  was  discovered  in 
1515  by  a  Spanish  navigator,  Bermudez,  and  from  the  usual  pronunciation 
of  his  name  it  became  known  as  the  Bermoothes,  a  form  perpetuated  by 
Shakespeare  when  he  laid  the  scene  of  "The  Tempest"  there.  In  1609 
the  shipwreck  of  Sir  George  Somers  gave  them  the  alternative  name  of 
Somers'  Islands,  and  also  led  directly  to  the  first  settlement  and  colonisa- 
tion from  Virginia  and  England.  Bermuda  is  now  a  British  colony  under 
a  Governor,  who  is  assisted  by  an  Executive  and  a  Legislative  Council 
nominated  by  him,  with  an  elected  Legislative  Assembly  as  a  Lower  House. 
Of  the  population  little  over  one-third  is  white,  the  rest  being  negroes  and 
coloured  people  as  in  the  West  Indies.  The  main  occupation  is  market 
gardening,  but  the  increasing  use  of  Bermuda  as  a  winter  resort  for  wealthy 
Americans  is  also  important.  Steamers  ply  regularly  to  New  York.  A 
telegraph  cable  connects  the  islands  with  Nova  Scotia,  and  may  be  pro- 
longed southward  to  the  West  Indies.  Bermuda  is  an  important  British 
naval  station  for  the  North  American  squadron  on  account  of  its  central 
position ;  the  approaches  to  the  channels  are  accordingly  fortified,  and 
a  garrison  of  about  1,500  British  troops  is  permanently  stationed  in  this 
Malta  of  the  western  North  Atlantic.  The  chief  town  is  Hamilton,  situated 
on  the  main  island. 

STATISTICS. 

1885.  1895. 

Area  of  Bermuda  (square  miles) 20  ..  20 

Population..            15,036  ..  15.794 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile 751  . .  789 

Population  of  Hamilton  (the  capital) 2,100  ..  i>296 

STANDARD  BOOKS. 

S.  E.  Dawson.    "  Canada  and  Newfoundland."    In  Stanford's  Compendium.    London, 

1897. 

*  British  Association  Handbook  to  Canada."    Toronto,  1897. 
Sir  J.  G.  Bourinot.    "  Canada  under  British  Rule,"  1760-1900.     London,  1900. 
G.  R.  Parkin.    "The  Great  Dominion."    London,  1895. 
M.  Harvey.    "  Newfoundland  in  1897."    London,  1897. 
A.  Heilprin.    "  Bermuda  Islands."    Philadelphia,  1889. 

The  publications  of    the    Canadian   Geological    Survey  contain    many   valuable 
reports  on  exploration  in  all  parts  of  the  Dominion. 


CHAPTER    XXXIX.— THE    UNITED    STATES    OF 

AMERICA 

BY  WILLIAM  MORRIS  DAVIS, 

Professor  of  Physical  Geography  in  Harvard  University. 

I,— HISTORICAL  AND  POLITICAL  GEOGRAPHY 

Discovery  and  Settlement. — The  New  World  is  fortunate  in  lying 
with  its  lesser  highlands  towards  the  narrow  Atlantic  which  separates  it 
from  western  Europe,  the  home  of  active  and  inventive  Caucasians,  and 
in  presenting  its  greater  highlands  to  the  broad  Pacific,  which  separates  it 
from  eastern  Asia,  the  home  of  the  unprogressive  Mongolians  ;  for  to  this 
accident  of  position — if  such  it  be — the  discovery  and  colonisation  of  the 
New  World  by  the  best  race  of  the  Old  World  may  be  ascribed.  A 
century  of  discovery  along  the  eastern  coast  led  to  a  century  of  colonisa- 
tion, this  to  a  century  of  rapid  colonial  growth,  and  this  again  to  a 
century  of  independence  and  expansion  for  the  middle  colonies  of  the 
Atlantic  border.  At  the  close  of  these  four  centuries  the  United  States 
has  become  one  of  the  foremost  nations  of  the  world  in  extent,  variety,  and 
value  of  territory,  and  in  number,  intelligence,  and  wealth  of  population. 

The  English  colonies  of  the  Atlantic  coast  between  the  St.  Lawrence 
and  Florida  were  established  at  first  with  relation  to  the  harbours  that  gave 
protection  to  the  vessels  by  which  intercourse  with  the  mother  country 
was  maintained.  From  the  harbour  settlements  as  centres,  large  areas  of 
land  were  claimed  under  the  authority  of  royal  grants  ;  thus  the  coast  was 
subdivided  among  a  dozen  colonies,  some  of  which  laid  claim  to  an 
indefinite  extent  of  inland  country.  Progress  into  the  interior  was  in  most 
cases  opposed  by  the  aboriginal  Americans,  of  tribal  organisation,  to  whom 
the  name  of  "Indians"  was  given  by  the  early  discoverers  as  if  to  set  a 
lasting  mark  on  their  faulty  reckoning  of  longitude.  Idealised  in  romance, 
too  often  abused  in  the  rough  realities  of  frontier  life,  the  Indian  was  a 
rude  savage.  He  probably  lived  as  closely  to  his  ideas  of  virtue  and  duty 
as  the  colonists  did  to  theirs,  and  when  fairly  treated,  as  by  the  Quakers 
under  Penn,  he  was  peaceful ;  but  the  ideas  of  natives  and  of  new-comers 
were  usually  unlike,  even  irreconcilable.  Each  one  often  accused  the 
other  of  injustice,  and  the  intercourse  between  them  was  constantly 
interrupted  by  petty  warfare,  resulting  in  an  aggressive  advance  of  the 
whites  into  the  lands  of  the  Indians.  The  progress  of  the  backwoodsman 
among  the  Alleghenies  in  the  eighteenth  century,  of  the  frontiersman  on 
the  prairies,  plains  and  mountains,  and  of  the  Indian  agent,  acting  for  the 

710 


The  United  States 


711 


government  under  profitable  contracts  in  the  nineteenth  century,  does  not 
make  a  glorious  history  to  review,  so  far  as  it  deals  with  native  tribes. 

Hardly  less  fortunate  than  the  narrowness  of  the  Atlantic  is  the  north- 
ward trend  of  its  coast  lines,  as  a  result  of  which  the  inland  progress  of  the 
early  English  colonists,  and  of  the  later  immigrants  from  many  countries, 
carried  them  westward  across  North  America  within  the  limits  of  a  single 
climatic  belt,  instead  of  northward  across  many.  The  belt  thus  naturally 
marked  out  includes  the  greatest  area  of  the  best  land  on  the  continent.  The 
early  boundaries  of  the  belt  lay  near  the  St.  Lawrence  on  the  north,  where 
the  French  had  planted  colonies,  and  near  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  on  the 
south,  where  Florida  was  colonised  by  the  Spaniards.  From  these 
beginnings  a  great  expansion  was  accomplished  in  the  century  of  inde- 
pendence ;  and  the  new  territory,  at  first  in  charge  of  governors  appointed 
at  Washington,  was  gradually,  part  by  part,  brought  into  the  fellowship 
of  States,  until  at  present  only  New  Mexico,  Arizona,  a  remnant  of  Indian 
Territory,  and  the  re- 
mote Alaskan  province 
are  still  outstanding. 

The  Declaration  of 
Independence  on  the 
4th  of  July,  1776,  was 
the  natural  result  of 
unjust  legislation  on 
the  part  of  the  British 
government  imposing 
burdens  upon  the  colo- 
nies without  offering 

equivalent   privileges  to      «"»°'*--*~  -B-d^.fDKu 
them,  and  Great  Britain ,  FlG'  ^°'~Th£  Mansion  of  the  United 

was  compelled  to  recognise  the  independence  of  the  colonies  in  1783. 
Florida  was  bought  from  Spain  in  1819,  Louisiana  (the  western  half  of  the 
Mississippi  basin)  was  bought  from  France  in  1803,  Oregon  was  acquired 
by  right  of  exploration,  the  south-west  from  Texas  to  California  was  gained 
from  Mexico  between  1845  and  1853,  after  a  manner  which  the  Americans 
had  aptly  inherited  from  their  ancestors  in  Europe,  and  Alaska  was  bought 
from  Russia  in  1867.  Finally,  Hawaii  was  annexed,  the  Philippine  Islands 
and  Porto  Rico  were  ceded  by  Spain,  and  the  protection  of  Tutuila  in 
Samoa  was  assumed  in  1899. 

The  States  and  the  United  States. — Since  the  formation  of  the 
Union,  and  particularly  since  its  cementation  after  the  Civil  War  of 
1861-65,  the  geographer  may  turn  his  attention  from  the  single  States  to 
the  United  States,  and  this  is  now  done  even  in  the  descriptive  pages  of 
school  geographies,  the  best  of  which  divide  the  United  States  into 
physical  districts,  and  refer  to  the  separate  States  chiefly  as  a  means  of 
giving  location  to  the  physical  features  and  their  industrial  consequences. 


712       The   International  Geography 

The  individual  State  is  still  a  unit  for  the  politician  and  the  lawyer,  but 
it  is  a  fraction  for  the  geographer,  and  very  often  an  improper  fraction. 
The  Ohio  and  Mississippi  rivers  are  exceptional  in  serving  as  natural 
boundaries  for  many  States ;  but  even  the  great  Mississippi  does  not 
divide  States  at  its  head  or  at  its  mouth.  The  Appalachian  mountain- 
system  is  most  irregularly  partitioned  among  the  older  States.  The 
western  States  are  generally  bounded  by  lines  dependent  on  the  form  and 
rotation  of  the  globe,  after  a  method  that  has  become  habitual  when 
civilised  man  wishes  to  divide  thinly  settled  and  unsurveyed  territory. 
The  strong  front  range  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  rising  abruptly  from  the 
plains,  forms  no  State  boundary,  but  is  crossed  by  the  borders  of  Montana, 
Wyoming,  Colorado,  and  New  Mexico.  Commerce  is  free  to  cross  State 
limits,  while  the  principle  of  protection  regulates  the  trade  of  other 
nations  with  the  United  States  as  a  whole.  Many  manufacturing  and 
mining  companies  are  incorporated  in  one  State  where  local  laws  give 
them  some  advantage,  carry  on  their  business  in  another  State,  and 
perhaps  have  their  financial  office  in  a  third.  Railroads  truly  must  have 
charters  from  every  State  that  they  cross ;  but  this  is  merely  a  legal 
technicality,  of  no  consequence  to  the  passengers  or  the  freight  that  are 
carried  over  the  tracks.  Several  lines  of  transatlantic  steamers,  nominally 
bound  for  New  York  City,  land  their  passengers  in  New  Jersey  ;  and  but 
for  the  accident  of  a  State  boundary  that  runs  through  New  York 
harbour,  Jersey  City  would  have  probably  been  included  in  the  Greater 
New  York,  recently  formed  by  consolidating  several  cities  with  the 
metropolis.  State  capitals  are  often  of  less  importance  than  the  com- 
mercial cities,  whose  growth  follows  physical  controls.  Many  business 
men  in  border  cities  reside  in  the  adjoining  State,  and  cross  the  boundary 
to  and  from  their  work  every  day  :  Philadelphia  has  suburbs  across  the 
Delaware  in  New  Jersey  ;  St.  Louis  across  the  Mississippi  in  Illinois ;  and 
Kansas  City  itself  spreads  across  the  line  between  Missouri  and  Kansas. 
Government. — The  republican  form  of  government  adopted  by  the 
United  States  is  in  many  ways  paralleled  by  the 
governments  of  the  individual  States.  There  is  a 
national  constitution,  under  which  each  State  has 
its  individual  constitution.  The  Union,  like  the 
separate  States,  has  the  three  usual  divisions  of 
governmental  functions — legislative,  executive,  and 
judicial.  The  President  of  the  whole  country  has 

his  Cabinet  of    the   heads  of   departments;    the 

representing  the  13  original  Governor  of  a  State  has  similar  councillors.     A 
present  number  **"*  '*'  SuPreme  Court  sits   at  Washington,  and  district 
federal  courts  sit  in  different  parts  of  the  country 

to  act  upon  questions  in  which  the  interests  of  citizens  of  more  than  one 
State  are  involved.  Each  State  has  a  similar  judiciary  for  the  decision 
of  local  matters.  The  Congress  of  the  United  States  consists  of  the  Senate 


The  United  States  713 


and  the  House  of  Representatives ;  the  Legislatures  of  the  States  are 
similarly  divided.  The  national  Senate  includes  two  members  from  each 
State— not  a  satisfactory  method  of  representation  to-day,  since  Nevada 
(whose  population  is  decreasing),  Rhode  Island,  and  Delaware  are  placed 
on  an  equality  with  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  and  Illinois.  The  represen- 
tatives are  chosen  on  the  basis  of  population.  The  laws  passed  by  Congress 
are  uniform  for  the  whole  country.  Within  limits  thus  defined,  the  several 
States  frame  laws  for  themselves,  often  of  great  diversity  in  different  parts 
of  the  country.  Many  laws  regarding  slavery  formerly  obtained  in  the 
southern  States ;  liquor  laws,  restricting  or  prohibiting  the  sale  of  intoxi- 
cating liquors,  have  been  passed  in  several  northern  States.  The  right  to 
vote  has  been  extended  to  women  in  some  of  the  western  States,  where 
conservative  traditions  have  less  hold  than  in  the  east.  With  the  desire  to 
increase  their  population,  other  States  have  been  over-liberal  regarding 
divorce  laws  ;  and  the  desert  State  of  Nevada  has  even  gone  to  the  offensive 
extreme  of  permitting  prize  fights,  as  if  in  the  vain  hope  of  staying  its 
recent  loss  of  numbers. 

People. — The  remoteness  of  the  United  States  from  formidable  neigh- 
bours has  fortunately  not  required  the  withdrawal  of  many  persons  from 
industrial  pursuits  into  the  army  and  navy ;  and  as  long  as  the  territory 
under  the  national  government  remains  compact  it  is  probable  that  the 
burden  of  an  elaborate,  expensive,  and  unproductive  military  and  naval 
establishment  may  be  avoided.  There  is  little  need  for  forts  and  soldiers 
within  the  country  itself.  It  is  true  that  individual  differences  have  been 
too  often  settled  by  violence  rather  than  by  appeal  to  the  courts  ;  but 
when  the  rapidity  of  settlement  and  the  heterogeneous  nature  of  the 
population  are  considered,  and  when  it  is  remembered  that  even  during 
the  century  of  independence  a  large  part  of  the  population  has  had 
personal  experience  of  the  rude  conditions  of  frontier  life,  the  prevalence 
of  good  order  becomes  the  striking  feature  of  the  country.  This  must  be 
ascribed  chiefly  to  the  plentiful  and  profitable  occupation  that  the  vast 
extent  of  new  land  gave  to  all  comers  during  nearly  all  the  century  of 
independence  ;  for  even  with  a  decennial  increase  of  from  five  to  ten 
millions  there  has  been  land  enough  and  to  spare.  Another  beneficent 
effect  of  plentiful  occupation  has  been  the  rapid  assimilation  of  immigrants, 
whereby  the  foreigners  from  many  lands  have  soon  been  Americanised. 
A  failure  of  this  process  is  seen  to  a  greater  or  less  degree  in  large  cities, 
in  certain  mining  regions,  and  in  some  parts  of  the  north-west  where  the 
settlement  of  immigrants,  derived  largely  from  a  single  European  country, 
causes  the  retention  of  at  least  a  foreign  language  if  not  of  other  customs 
foreign  to  the  United  States.  But  in  spite  of  these  deficiencies,  the  leading 
fact  remains  that,  as  a  whole,  the  great  population  has  become  naturalised 
to  its  new  continental  home  with  a  success  that  recalls  the  spread  of 
thistles  in  Argentina  and  rabbits  in  Australia;  and  although  uncompli- 
mentary, the  comparison  is  based  on  sound  biological  principles. 


714       The  International  Geography 

Religious  freedom  and  public  education  have  contributed  largely  to 
the  good  results  which  plentiful  and  profitable  occupation  have  chiefly 
controlled.  There  is  no  established  church,  and  the  several  larger 
religious  bodies  are  so  strong  that  no  one  is  likely  to  overpower  the  others. 
Illiteracy  is  rare,  except  among  the  negroes  and  poor  whites  of  the  south. 
Besides  the  public  schools,  for  which  provision  is  made  with  constantly 
increasing  liberality,  there  are  State  colleges  in  most  of  the  States,  and 
there  are  only  too  many  sectarian  colleges,  especially  in  the  north  and  east 
of  the  plains,  established  as  if  for  the  religious  safety  of  the  young  of  the 
several  denominations.  Large  gifts  have  been  made  to  educational 
institutions  by  wealthy  men  ;  and  the  strongest  universities  of  the  country, 
Harvard,  Yale,  Columbia,  Princeton,  Pennsylvania,  Johns  Hopkins, 
Chicago,  and  Stanford,  have  thus  been  supported  in  great  part.  Public 
libraries  are  numerous ;  they  are  frequently  the  gifts  of  successful  men  to 
the  homes  of  their  boyhood.  The  establishment  of  scientific  Government 
Bureaus  has  greatly  contributed  to  the  development  of  the  national 
resources.  Notable  among  these  is  the  Geological 
Survey,  now  engaged  in  mapping  the  entire  national 
domain ;  and  the  liberal  method  of  disposing  of  its 
publications  at  a  nominal  price,  in  order  that  they 
shall  be  widely  used,  deserves  imitation  elsewhere. 
The  Weather  Bureau  of  the  United  States  is  unique 
in  the  area  covered,  and  in  the  promptness  of  pub- 
lication of  its  daily  maps. 

With  the  aid  of  education,  and  the  incentive  of 


mile  of    the   United  industrial   opportunity,  the   people   of  the   northern 

States   have   been  remarkably  fertile  in  mechanical 

inventions,  to  say  nothing  of  the  application  of  perverted  ingenuity  to  the 

development  of  "  rings  "  in  politics  and  "  corners  "  in  the  markets,  and  of 

monopolies  and  over-profitable  trusts  in  corporations. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  nineteenth  century  certain  unfavourable 
reactions  followed  the  rapid  growth  in  population  and  wealth.  Immi- 
grants of  a  less  desirable  class  than  the  early  comers  have  made 
their  appearance  in  increasing  numbers,  chiefly  from  eastern  and  southern 
Europe.  Many  of  them  remain  in  crowded  seaports  instead  of  entering 
further  into  the  country.  Disputes  between  incorporated  employers  and 
the  employed  have  become  more  and  more  serious  in  their  nature.  The 
multiplication  of  factories  and  the  competition  among  manufacturers 
compels  such  economy  in  production  as  to  reduce  wages,  and  for  this 
reason  more  than  any  other,  new  markets  for  manufactured  products  are 
now  eagerly  looked  for.  If  the  twentieth  century  witnesses  a  territorial 
expansion  beyond  the  present  boundaries,  the  change  will  be  made  largely 
on  commercial  grounds ;  for  with  nearly  all  the  valuable  public  lands  now 
disposed  of  to  incorporated  or  to  individual  owners,  and  with  a  rapidly 
increasing  excess  of  production  over  consumption,  the  demand  for  new 


The   United  States  715 

opportunities  on  the  part  of  the  "  business  men  "  may  prove  stronger  than 
the  resistance  of  those  conservatives  who  feel  that  a  republic  of  wide- 
spread territory  is  not  compatible  with  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
and  the  principles  of  the  Constitution.  That  such  a  result  should  have 
already  come  within  the  range  of  possibility  only  emphasises  the  marvel- 
lous changes  of  the  United  States  during  the  century  of  independence. 

Trade. — The  foreign  trade  of  the  United  States  is  mainly  carried  on 
by  the  seaports  of  New  York  (through  which  almost  one-half  of  the  trade 
of  the  country  passes),  Boston  (which  comes  next  with  only  one-tenth), 
New  Orleans,  Baltimore,  Philadelphia,  and  San  Francisco.  It  is  carried 
on  mainly  under  foreign  flags,  only  one-ninth  of  the  value  of  the  export 
and  import  trade  being  done  in  vessels  belonging  to  the  United  States. 
On  the  other  hand,  no  foreign  vessels  are  allowed  to  engage  in  coasting  trade 
from  one  port  of  the  United  States  to  another.  The  value  of  the  exports 
considerably  exceeds  that  of  the  imports.  The  former  consist  mainly  of 
agricultural  produce — wheat,  animals,  preserved  meat,  &c.,  from  the 
prairie  States,  and  raw  cotton  from  the  south  Atlantic  and  the  Gulf  coastal 
plains ;  these  together  make  up  two-thirds  of  the  exports.  Manufactures 
are  exported  nearly  to  the  value  of  one-third,  most  of  the  products  of 
mines  and  forests  being  required  for  home  use.  The  imports  are  mainly  of 
products  which  cannot  be  produced  in  the  United  States,  or  not  in  suffi- 
cient quantity  for  the  demand,  such  as  coffee,  sugar  (the  largest  import, 
amounting  to  one-seventh  of  the  value  of  the  whole),  raw  wool  and  silk, 
and  certain  manufactured  goods.  The  import  of  such  articles  as  can  be 
manufactured  in  the  United  States  is  discouraged  by  the  imposition  of  a 
heavy  tariff,  which  raises  the  price  to  the  consumer,  and  so  benefits  the 
manufacturing  class  with  less  advantage  to  the  farmers.  Nearly  half  of 
the  exports  go  to  the  United  Kingdom  ;  Germany  comes  next  in  import- 
ance as  a  customer,  and  Canada,  France,  and  Holland  follow.  The  United 
Kingdom  sends  one-fifth  of  the  total  imports,  Germany  and  France  come 
next  with  one-fifth  between  them.  The  imports  are  drawn  from  a  wider 
field  than  that  over  which  the  exports  are  distributed  ;  thus,  while  at  least 
76  per  cent,  of  the  exports  are  sent  to  Europe,  only  55  per  cent,  of  the 
imports  are  drawn  from  that  continent.  The  recent  development  of  the 
total  trade  is  shown  in  Fig.  71. 

II.— REGIONAL    GEOGRAPHY 

THE   APPALACHIAN    BELT 

The  Appalachian  Belt.— The  chief  geographical  features  of  the 
eastern  United  States  cannot  be  appreciated  until  it  is  understood  that  a 
great  part  of  the  region  has  been  uplifted  by  tectonic  forces,  worn  down 
to  a  nearly  level  surface  by  erosion,  and  after  being  again  more  or  less 
uplifted  is  now  once  more  in  process  of  dissection.  The  Appalachian 
.  47 


716       The  International  Geography 

Mountains  were  first  formed  by  disturbances  so  long  ago  that  once  at 
least  in  later  times  the  mountains  have  been  worn  down  to  an  extensive 
lowland  of  moderate  relief,  close  to  the  level  of  the  sea  ;  and  the  mountains 
of  to-day  are  either  the  occasional  unconsumed  remnants  of  the  lost  ranges, 
or  the  product  of  renewed  uplift  and  dissection.  Thus  viewed,  the  Appa- 
lachian belt  may  be  easily  subdivided  and  described  ;  thus  described,  a 
close  connection  will  be  found  between  its  geological  history  and  its 
present  form  ;  and  again,  between  its  present  form  and  its  control  over 
human  conditions. 

Divisions  of  the  Appalachian  Belt. — An  eastern  division  of  the 
Appalachian  belt  consists  of  ancient  crystalline  rocks,  such  as  schists  and 
gneisses,  with  many  areas  of  granites  and  other  igneous  intrusions.  A 
western  division  consists  of  a  great  series  of  Palaeozoic  strata,  chiefly 
derived  from  the  waste  of  the  older  rocks  on  the  east,  and  now  greatly 
tilted  and  folded.  Both  of  these  divisions  were  well  worn  down  to  low- 
lands over  the  greater  part  of  their  area  during  Mesozoic  time  ;  but  the 
hardest  parts  of  the  crystalline  division  survived  in  residual  mountains,  for 
which  the  generic  name  monadnock  is  coming  into  use,  after  a  fine  residual 
mountain  of  this  name  in  south-western  New  Hampshire.  The  White 
Mountains  of  New  Hampshire  and  the  Black  Mountains  and  other  ranges 
in  North  Carolina  seem  to  be  groups  of  such  monadnocks. 

If  viewed  in  Cretaceous  times,  the  Appalachian  region  would  have  been 
seen  as  a  broad,  gently  rolling  lowland,  here  and  there  surmounted  by 
monadnocks,  singly  or  in  groups.  Since  then  the  lowland  has  been  raised 
into  an  upland,  bearing  the  monadnocks  on  its  back.  The  quiet  streams 
of  the  lowland  were  thus  revived  into  new  vigour,  and  new  valleys  have 
consequently  been  incised  beneath  the  upland  surface.  Unlike  the  earlier 
mountain-making  disturbances,  the  later  uplift  was  of  a  gentle  nature, 
producing  a  broad  swell,  whose  arch-line  follows  the  Appalachian  trend, 
and  whose  side  slopes  fall  off  slowly  to  the  south-east  and  north-west. 
Much  of  the  Appalachian  system  is  therefore  not  mountainous  to-day  ;  near 
the  sea  it  may  even  include  extensive  areas  of  low  land.  The  broadly 
uplifted  portion  has  regained  the  appearance  of  mountains  chiefly  by  the 
excavation  of  valleys  along  the  belts  of  weak  rocks,  or  along  the  paths  of 
its  larger  streams.  The  mountains  and  ridges  of  to-day  must  therefore  be 
regarded  as  forms  of  circumdenudation,  like  those  of  the  Scottish  High- 
lands, in  contrast  to  mountains  of  direct  uplift,  such  as  occur  in  certain 
parts  of  the  western  United  States. 

Following  principles  of  wide  application,  it  may  be  briefly  stated  that 
the  valleys  worn  by  the  larger  streams  in  the  uplifted  lowland  are  now 
deep  where  the  lowland  was  raised  highest,  and  shallow  where  the  least 
uplift  occurred.  Again,  the  valleys  are  broad  where  the  rocks  are  rela- 
tively weak;  here,  indeed,  lowlands  of  a  later  generation  have  been 
developed,  above  which  the  local  belts  of  harder  rocks  stand  as  residual 
hills  and  ridges  of  the  second  order.  Where  the  rocks  are  resistant  the 


The  United  States  717 

valleys  are  still  narrow,  time  enough  not  yet  having  elapsed  since  the 
uplift  to  permit  the  valleys  to  grow  wide.  The  varied  combinations  of 
these  controlling  factors  give  rational  explanations  to  a  great  variety  of 
geographical  forms. 

The  Older  Appalachian  Belt. — The  eastern  or  crystalline  division 
of  the  Appalachians — the  Older  Appalachian  Belt,  as  it  may  be  called 
(O  A  in  Fig.  353) — consists  so  largely  of  resistant  rocks  that  its  uplands 
preserve  the  altitude  given  to  them  by  uplift  over  large  areas,  and  the 
valleys  worn  out  by  the  streams  are  relatively  narrow.  The  western  or 
stratified  division — the  Newer  Appalachian  Belt  (N  A  in  Fig.  353) — includes 
a  much  larger  proportion  of  easily  weathered  rocks;  hence  its  valleys 
are  well  worn  down,  and  its  narrow  ridges  occur  only  where  the  harder 
strata  are  found.  The  even  crest  lines  of  the  ridges,  a  striking  feature  of 
the  Newer  Appalachians  in  Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  and  Tennessee,  are 
analogous  to  the  even  uplands  of  the  Older  Appalachians.  The  breadth 
of  the  older  and  newer  belts  is  very  variable.  The  older  belt  is  narrow 
and  low  between  New  York  and  Washington,  and  broad  and  high  in 
New  England  and  North  Carolina.  The  newer  belt  is  represented  chiefly 
by  a  broad  valley  north  of  Albany ;  it  is  still  broader,  with  many  ridges 
and  valleys  in  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia. 

After  thus  recognising  the  division  of  the  Appalachians  into  two  chief 
longitudinal  belts,  there  are  certain  contrasts  between  the  northern  and 
southern  part  of  the  system  that  deserve  attention.  North  of  New  York 
City,  a  comparatively  recent  depression  of  the  Appalachian  region,  in- 
creasing towards  Newfoundland,  has  drowned  the  borders  of  this  geo- 
graphical province  beneath  the  waters  of  the  Atlantic,  bringing  the  sea 
against  the  resistant  rocks  of  the  once  deep-seated  mountain  structures. 
South  of  New  York,  an  elevation  of  the  region,  increasing  towards  Ala- 
bama, has  revealed  the  unconsolidated  deposits  of  a  former  sea  bottom  in 
the  coastal  plain  of  the  southern  States.  Few  simpler  examples  of  the 
manner  in  which  crustal  movements  determine  geographical  forms  can  be 
found  than  this,  and  few  in  which  the  arrangement  of  geographical  forms 
has  a  more  direct  influence  on  the  conditions  of  human  life. 

The  Atlantic  Shore  Line. — The  shore  line  of  the  northern  Appa- 
lachians is  extremely  irregular  ;  many  long  arms  of  the  sea  enter  between 
low  rocky  headlands  and  outlying  islands  ;  comparatively  deep  water  is 
carried  into  the  re-entrants  of  the  coast,  making  numerous  and  excellent 
harbours ;  but  the  rugged  hill  country  follows  almost  immediately  inland, 
discouraging  agriculture.  Mount  Washington,  the  highest  of  the  White 
Mountains,  and  many  other  monadnocks  are  in  sight  from  the  sea. 

The  shore  line  of  the  southern  coastal  plain  is  usually  fringed  with  sand 
reefs,  broken  by  tidal  inlets  and  enclosing  shallow  lagoons.  The  sea  is 
shallow,  deepening  very  gradually  towards  the  outer  edge  of  the  con- 
tinental shelf,  where  the  rapid  descent  to  the  true  ocean  basin  begins,  a 
hundred  miles  or  more  from  shore.  The  land  is  very  flat,  ascending  slowly 


718       The  International  Geography 

inland ;  no  hills  surmount  its  surface.  It  is  traversed  by  rivers  whose 
courses  have  been  extended  forward  from  the  former  shore  line  at  the 
inner  border  of  the  coastal  plain,  but  the  river  valleys  are  eroded  only  to 
a  very  moderate  depth  ;  not  until  the  inner  border  of  the  plain  is  ap- 
proached is  the  surface  so  well  dissected  as  to  be  called  hilly.  Agriculture 
is  promoted  on  the  more  fertile  parts  of  the  plain,  and  upon  the  deep  soils 
of  the  smooth  uplands  of  the  Older  Appalachian  Belt,  next  inland.  When 
it  is  remembered  that  the  rugged  surface  of  New  England  was  settled  by 
religious  refugees,  whose  convictions  were  as  rugged  as  the  country  they 
peopled,  and  that  the  southern  States  were  settled  by  colonists  whose 
motives  were  generally  commercial  rather  than  religious,  a  long  sequence 
of  historical  consequences  may  be  traced  from  the  association  of  unlike 
people  on  unlike  lands. 

The  movements  of  the  land  whereby  the  configuration  of  the  shore  line 
has  been  effected  must  be  pursued  one  step  further.  A  slight  depression 
has  followed  the  elevation  of  the  coastal  plain  from  New  Jersey  to  North 
Carolina ;  thus  the  broadened  valley  floors  of  the  chief  rivers  have  been 
submerged,  forming  bays  and  estuaries,  from  that  of  the  Delaware  to  that 
of  Pamlico  Sound.  On  the  other  hand,  a  recent  movement  of  elevation  has 
partly  counteracted  the  previous  movement  of  depression  in  New  England, 
for  the  littoral  districts  of  Maine  and  New  Hampshire  contain  smooth  plains 
of  marine  clays  that  interlock  with  the  rocky  arms  of  the  land. 

The  order  of  settlement,  the  arrangement  of  State  boundaries  and  the 
occupation  of  inhabitants  in  this  region  had  been  profoundly  affected  by 
the  physical  features,  thus  briefly  sketched.  The  early  colonists  in  tide- 
water Virginia  found  protected  harbourage  in  the  many  branching  bays  of 
the  Chesapeake  and  lower  Potomac ;  for  many  years  communication 
between  them  was  more  easily  carried  on  by  water  than  overland  through 
the  forests.  Although  the  drowning  of  these  former  valley  lowlands  has 
been  a  loss  to  agriculture,  there  is  some  compensation  for  the  loss  in  the 
valuable  fishing  grounds  which  they  afford.  Their  importance  in  deter- 
mining political  units  is  manifest.  The  largest  bays  of  the  coastal  plain 
divided  the  colonies  of  Virginia  and  Maryland.  Another  bay  led  to  the 
establishment  of  Pennsylvania  and  Delaware,  leaving  New  Jersey  on  its 
eastern  side.  The  south-pointing  peninsular  areas  defined  by  the  bays 
determined  the  small  area  of  the  three  colonies  that  occupied  them,  in 
contrast  to  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania,  which  at  the  time  of  the  Revolution, 
claimed  all  the  land  westward  to  the  Pacific. 

The  Atlantic  Coastal  Plain. — Various  features  of  the  coastal  plain, 
constantly  reflected  in  the  distribution  and  occupation  of  the  people,  may 
well  serve  as  types  for  this  class  of  land  forms.  The  outer  border  of  the 
plain,  fronted  by  shallow  water  and  fringed  with  sand  reefs  from  New 
Jersey  to  North  Carolina,  attracts  no  commercial  settlements,  but  is  in- 
creasingly frequented  as  a  holiday  resort :  Atlantic  City  on  an  off-shore  reef 
in  southern  New  Jersey  is  the  largest  town  of  this  kind  (Fig.  354).  Along 


The  United  States 


719 


j2o       The  International  Geography 


the  North  Carolina  shores,  the  sand  reefs,  locally  known  as  "  banks,"  have 
a  peculiar  concave  outline  to  the  sea,  meeting  in  sharp  points  or  cusps> 
forming  Capes  Hatteras,  Fear,  and  Look-out.  These  are  believed  to 
be  due  to  the  interaction  of  several  large  back-set  eddies  of  the  long- 
shore waters,  which  seem  to  turn  in  local  circuits  between  the  Gulf  Stream 
and  the  continent.  The  cusps  are  the  most  perfect  examples  of  such  shore 
forms  anywhere  known.  The  "  banks  "  are  occupied  by  small  communities 
of  isolated  people,  known  as  "  bankers."  A  small  breed  of  horses,  known 
as  "banker  ponies,"  here  run  wild,  subsisting  on  the  coarse  grass  that 
grows  on  the  sandy  soil ;  in  the  absence  of  brooks,  the  ponies  find  fresh 
water  by  pawing  away  the  sand  in  the  depressions  between  the  dunes. 

The  islands  along  the  coast  of  South  Carolina  are  peculiar  in  being 
interrupted  by  numerous  tidal  inlets,  a  direct  result  of  the  increased  strength 
of  the  tides  in  the  "  Carolina  bight "  of  the  Atlantic  coast.  Here  the  off- 
shore islands  are  not  entirely  composed  of  sand  reefs,  but  in  part  resemble 
detached  portions  of  the  mainland  ;  their  soil  is  rich  and  produces  the 

famous  "Sea  Island  cotton";  they 
are  exposed  to  dangerous  sea- 
floods,  when  on-shore  hurricane 
winds  conspire  with  a  rising  tide. 
The  tidal  waters  behind  the  islands 
are  much  reduced  in  area  by  the 
growth  of  extended  marshes, 
whose  inner  stretches  produce 
abundant  rice  crops. 

The  important  commercial  cities 
of  the  coastal  plain  are  generally 
situated  on  embayed  valleys  and 
estuarine  rivers;  some  are  near 


FIG.  354-—^ 


Atlantic  Coaxal  Plain. 


the  coast  line,  like  Norfolk,  Va.,  Wilmington,  N.C.,  Charleston,  S.C., 
and  Savannah,  Ga. ;  others  are  at  the  inner  border  of  the  plain  like 
Trenton,  N.J.,  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  Baltimore,  Md.,  Washington,  D.C.,  and 
Richmond,  Va.,  these  cities  being  at  or  near  the  head  of  tide  water. 
Others,  like  Raleigh,  N.C.,  and  Columbia,  S.C.,  are  at  the  "falls"  of 
their  respective  rivers,  above  the  reach  of  tide,  but  at  the  head  of 
river  navigation;  the  "falls"  being  formed  where  the  streams,  coming 
forward  from  the  interior,  pass  from  the  resistant  rocks  of  the  older 
land  to  the  unconsolidated  strata  of  the  coastal  plain.  If  an  observant 
traveller  should  traverse  the  coastal  plain  along  any  of  the  transverse 
inter-stream  strips  or  "doabs,"  into  which  it  is  divided  by  the  chief 
rivers,  he  would  find  that  its  soil,  the  surface  expression  of  its  loose  tex- 
tured strata,  is  arranged  in  belts  that  trend  nearly  parallel  to  the  Atlantic 
shore  line ;  cleared  and  farmed  where  marly  or  limey,  barren  and  left  to 
pine  forests  where  sandy  ;  the  forest,  however,  yielding  large  quantities  of 
lumber  and  resinous  products  in  the  southern  States.  Southern  Virginia 


The   United  States  721 


and  North  Carolina  include  extensive  fruit  and  vegetable  farms  on  the 
smoother  parts  of  the  coastal  plain,  from  which  the  markets  of  the  northern 
cities  are  now  largely  supplied.  Part  of  the  plain  near  the  shore  is  so  low 
and  flat  that  the  growth  of  vegetation  builds  up  its  surface,  forming  exten- 
sive swamps,  of  which  Dismal  Swamp,  on  the  borders  of  Virginia  and 
North  Carolina  is  the  largest  example.  Unlike  many  other  swamps,  these 
occupy  the  highest  ground  in  their  district,  and  streams  run  out  of  them, 
not  into  them  ;  where  drained  and  cleared  they  have  been  transformed  into 
good  farming  land. 

On  passing  inland,  an  increasing  diversity  of  relief  is  found ;  the  low 
flat  plain  near  the  shore  is  gradually  replaced  by  a  surface  in  which  the 
valley  slopes  of  the  intrenched  streams  have  the  appearance  of  hills ;  but 
if  our  language  would  permit  it,  this  district  should  be  called  a  valley  rather 
than  a  hilly  country.  The  more  resistant  layers  of  the  plain,  generally  half 
cemented  sand-stones,  sometimes  come  to  surmount  the  less  resistant  and 
more  denuded  layers  further  inland,  giving  a  belt-like  arrangement  in  form 
as  well  as  in  soils.  Thus  a  low  upland  encloses  an  inner  lowland  from  Newark 
to  Camden,  N.J.,  important  as  a  natural  pathway  between  the  chief  Atlantic 
cities  and  characterised  by  many  pits  and  potteries  on  its  clayey  substratum. 
Artesian  water  supply  is  a  marked  feature  of  the  outer  part  of  the 
coastal  plain,  where  its  importance  increases  with  the  growth  of  the  popu- 
lation, and  with  the  better  understanding  of  the  menace  to  public  health 
in  shallow  surface  wells  and  polluted  streams.  The  larger  shore  resorts 
on  the  sand  reefs  are  supplied  in  this  way  as  well  as  the  mainland. 
Certain  towns  in  peninsular  Maryland  sink  their  artesian  wells  into  water- 
bearing strata  or  "  aquifers,"  that  reach  the  surface  and  gather  their  rainfall 
west  of  Chesapeake  Bay. 

People  of  the  Coastal  Plain. — As  the  southern  colonies  grew 
on  the  coastal  plain  and  the  people  pressed  inland,  they  found  an 
open  country,  easily  occupied  as  far  as  the  residual  mountains  of 
the  Blue  Ridge  and  its  fellows  in  Virginia  and  North  Carolina;  but 
these  and  the  Allegheny  Plateau  were  long-enduring  obstacles  to 
the  settlement  of  the  further  interior.  In  North  Carolina  particularly, 
where  the  old  Appalachians  are  broadest  and  most  mountainous, 
movement  from  east  to  west  was  almost  forbidden ;  and  to  this  day  an 
unusually  large  share  of  the  descendants  of  the  early  colonists  remain  on 
the  coastal  plain,  on  the  piedmont  slopes,  or  among  the  valleys  of  the  inner 
mountains,  with  comparatively  little  gain  by  immigration  from  Europe. 
Nowhere  else  in  the  United  States  is  so  large  a  part  of  the  population 
•"  native  born  "  and  "  born  of  native  born."  Local  habits  of  speech  and  home- 
spun clothing  are  no  rarities  in  villages  among  the  mountains,  which  form 
a  fitting  geographical  environment  for  conservative  ways  of  life. 

New  England.— On  the  New  England  coast,  examples  of  geographical 
controls  are  no  less  distinct  than  further  south.  Here  the  distinction 
between  upland  and  lowland  depends  chiefly  on  the  distribution  of  strong 


722       The   International  Geography 

and  weak  rock  structures  in  the  Older  Appalachian  Belt.  The  strong  struc- 
tures still  preserve  something  of  the  upland  surface  gained  by  the  uplift  of 
the  worn-down  old  Appalachians  ;  they  are  low  only  near  the  coast,  where 
they  were  little  uplifted.  The  weak  structures  are  already  worn  down  to 
lowlands  again.  In  the  present  depressed  attitude  of  the  region,  the 
stronger  structures  stand  forward  in  headlands  on  the  coast  line,  like  that  of 
Cape  Ann,  Mass.  Gloucester,  on  a  good  harbour  on  this  headland,  sends  out 
a  large  fleet  of  fishing  vessels  to  the  Newfoundland  Banks  :  the  headland 
granites  are  quarried  at  Rockport,  and  sent  away  in  heavy-laden  schooners  to 
more  southern  ports.  The  valleys  and  lowlands  are  more  or  less  drowned, 
forming  embayments  like  Boston  Harbour;  and  Boston  has  outstripped 
the  neighbouring  settlements  of  Plymouth  and  Salem,  its  rivals  in  early 

times,  in  great  part  because 
it  stands  further  inland, 
and  therefore  in  better  con- 
nection with  the  interior 
population  of  later  growth. 
In  New  England  many  of 
the  towns  borrowed  names 
from  the  mother  country; 
but  the  chief  colony  took 
the  name  of  a  monadnock 
a  few  miles  south  of  Boston, 
and  now  reserved  as  a 
metropolitan  park,  and 
known  to  the  Indians  in 
colonial  days  as  "  Massa- 
chusetts" or  Great  Hills, 
the  first  land  to  rise  over 
the  sea  horizon  on  ap- 
proaching Boston  from  the 


FIG.  355.— The  Site  of  Boston,  Mass. 


east. 


The  rugged  uplands,  gradually  gaining  height  inland,  were  slowly  settled, 
and  still  offer  only  hard  conditions  to  their  occupants,  however  well  the 
villages  and  cities  in  the  valleys  may  thrive.  After  a  trial  of  the  higher 
uplands  as  dwelling  places  in  the  eighteenth  century,  many  families  moved 
out  west  to  the  prairies  in  the  nineteenth  century  ;  towards  the  close  of  the 
latter  period,  the  "  hill  towns "  of  western  Massachusetts  exhibit  a  very 
general  decrease  of  population.  Here  the  Old  Appalachian  Belt  is  so  broad 
that  no  river  crosses  it.  Its  gain  of  height  (apart  from  the  scattered  or 
grouped  monadnocks  that  rise  above  it)  is  so  well  maintained  northward 
and  westward,  until  reaching  a  sudden  descent  from  its  culmination  into 
the  Appalachian  valley,  that  the  crest  line  naturally  suggested  colonial  and 
international  boundaries ;  thus  New  York,  led  inland  northward  by  the 
Hudson  valley,  acquired  the  land  west  of  the  Taconic  and  Green  Mountains ; 


The  United  States  723 


and  Canada  on  the  north  would  have  been  limited  by  the  divide  between 
the  Atlantic  waters  of  Maine  and  the  branches  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  had  not 
such  a  boundary  lain  further  north  than  was  expected.  Here  in  the  north, 
the  barrier  of  the  Older  Appalachian  Belt,  broad  and  rugged  like  that  which 
separated  the  Carolina  colonies  from  the  interior  wilderness,  divided  New 
England  and  its  Puritan  stock  from  Canada  and  its  French  population. 

It  was  to  a  lowland,  etched  out  beneath  the  general  level  of  the  upland 
and  then  partially  submerged  in  Narragansett  Bay  that  Roger  Williams  and 
his  independent  followers  removed  from  the  Massachusetts  Colony  ;  thus 
the  city  of  Providence  and  the  little  Colony  of  Rhode  Island  were  founded. 
Newport,  on  an  island  at  the  entrance  to  Narragansett  Bay,  has  become  a 
popular  seaside  resort  on  account  of  its  agreeable  climate.  Parties  of 
settlers  around  Boston  finding  themselves  crowded,  and  like  an  over- 
stocked hive  of  bees,  as  a  contemporary  writer  said,  ready  to  swarm, 
crossed  the  hilly  uplands  in  1637,  and  entered  the  Connecticut  valley  low- 
land, a  broad  depression  worn  down  on  a  belt  of  comparatively  weak 
Triassic  sandstones.  Some  of  the  towns  thus  founded  remained  members 
of  their  parent  colony ;  others  asked  for  a  new  charter,  and  thus  the  small 
colony  of  Connecticut  was  formed ;  it  is  crowded,  like  Rhode  Island, 
between  its  larger  neighbours.  Its  chief  cities,  Hartford  and  New  Haven, 
lie  in  the  lowland  that  attracted  its  early  settlers. 

Further  north  the  uplands  are  so  extensive,  the  monadnocks  are  so 
numerous,  and  the  valleys  are  often  so  deep-cut,  that  the  population  has 
grown  slowly.  Northern  Maine  is  still  a  forested  wilderness ;  outlying 
settlements  there  are  to  this  day  called  "  plantations,"  in  the  sense  of  the 
word  used  by  the  early  colonists,  and  not  with  the  acquired  meaning  of 
"  an  extensive  farm,"  usual  in  the  southern  States.  Remnants  of  Indian 
tribes  still  remain  here.  Only  the  southern  part  of  Maine  is  well  peopled  ; 
Portland  having  a  fine  harbour  on  the  coast;  Augusta,  the  capital, .and 
Bangor,  a  great  lumber  market,  being  situated  at  the  head  of  tide  on 
the  estuarine  waters  of  the  Penobscot  and  Kennebec  rivers.  The  coastal 
border  is  here  almost  too  much  dissected  by  the  drowning  of  its  valleys 
and  lowlands  ;  for  its  village  communities  are  thus  isolated  to  disadvantage 
on  islands  and  long  slender  land-arms ;  local  travel  in  small  boats  is  not 
always  easy  on  account  of  the  tides,  whose  strong  rise  and  fall  often  make 
landing  troublesome,  and  whose  rapid  currents  frequently  overcome  oars 
and  sails.  In  the  last  thirty  years  a  large  "summer  population"  has 
resorted  to  these  islands,  where  the  cool  water  gives  the  air  a  mild  tem- 
perature. Mount  Desert,  already  mentioned,  containing  a  number  of  sum- 
mits over  a  thousand  feet  in  height,  the  boldest  land  on  the  eastern  coast 
of  the  United  States,  is  the  most  famous  of  these  summer  settlements. 

New  Hampshire  has  the  advantage  of  a  good  harbour  at  Portsmouth, 
and  of  a  fine  river  in  the  Merrimack  ;  but  its  uplands  are  thinly  peopled, 
and  its  mountains  are  visited  only  by  lumbermen  and  vacation  tourists. 
Deforestation  is  already  giving  cause  for  alarm  here  and  in  Maine,  especially 


724      The  International  Geography 

since  even  the  smaller  trees  are  taken  to  feed  the  pulp  mills,  called  into 
being  by  the  many  pages  of  the  modern  newspaper.  The  State  of  Ver- 
mont has  no  seaport  and  an  over-large  share  of  rugged  highland.  Its 
industries  are  rural  rather  than  manufacturing  or  commercial ;  its  popula- 
tion is  increasing  slowly. 

In  all  the  New  England  States  building  stone  is  an  important  product. 
Granite  and  similar  crystalline  rocks  are  quarried  extensively,  many 
quarries  having  the  advantage  of  a  situation  on  or  near  a  navigable  tide 
water.  Marble  and  slate  are  found  in  the  Green  Mountain  valleys.  Sand- 
stone is  taken  in  large  quantities  from  the  Connecticut  valley  for  use  in 
ornamental  architecture. 

Glacial  Action  in  New  England. — The  imprint  of  glacial  action 
is  strong  in  New  England.  The  deep  soils  of  the  southern  States, 
gradually  passing  into  firm  rock  at  depths  of  from  thirty  to  fifty  feet,  are 
here  replaced  by  an  immediate  change  from  the  surface  drift,  of  very 
variable  thickness,  to  the  glaciated  surface  of  firm,  unweathered  rock. 
Many  ledges  on  the  upland  hills  have  been  left  almost  bare  of  soil ;  a  thin 
deposit  of  drift  in  the  crevices,  slightly  increased  by  post-glacial  weathering, 
suffices  only  to  support  tree  growth.  Elsewhere  the  uplands  are  blanketed 
over  with  unstratified  drift  or  till,  a  compact  deposit  of  rock  scrapings 
from  further  north  accumulated  under  the  slowly  moving  ice  sheet  where 
more  waste  was  brought  than  could  be  carried  further  forward.  The  till 
frequently  assumes  the  form  of  rounded,  oval  hills,  known  as  drumlins, 
half  a  mile  or  more  long,  and  from  100  to  300  feet  high.  These  are 
sometimes  so  plentifully  covered  with  boulders  that  they  hardly  serve  even 
for  pastures ;  but  more  generally  they  are  cleared  and  farmed.  In  certain 
districts  drumlins  are  so  plentiful  as  to  give  their  pleasing  expression  to  the 
landscape  :  southern  New  Hampshire,  and  eastern  and  central  Massachu- 
setts contain  them  in  great  numbers ;  the  islands  of  Boston  Harbour  (Fig. 
355)  are  nearly  all  drumlins,  cliffed  by  the  waves  and  furnishing  drift 
for  the  construction  of  extensive  beaches. 

In  the  valleys  and  on  the  lower  ground  near  the  coast,  various  forms  of 
washed  drift  generally  bury  the  ledges  out  of  sight.  Extensive  terraces 
occupy  the  larger  valleys  ;  their  higher  levels  are  rather  too  sandy  for  the 
best  farming  land  ;  their  lower  levels,  flooded  by  the  rivers,  offer  attractive 
meadows  of  which  none  is  more  beautiful  than  that  of  Deerfield,  on  a 
branch  of  the  mid-Connecticut,  the  scene  of  early  settlement  and  of 
disastrous  struggles  with  the  Indians.  It  is  chiefly  in  connection  with  the 
irregular  distribution  of  the  valley  drift  that  the  numerous  small  lakes  of 
New  England  are  to  be  explained.  Their  basins  were  first  accounted  for 
by  glacial  erosion,  but  at  present  it  is  more  generally  believed  that  they 
mark  the  sites  of  lingering  remnants  of  the  melting  ice  sheet,  while  the 
evacuated  space  about  them  was  filled  with  sands  and  gravels.  The  lakes 
form  natural  reservoirs  for  the  water  supply  of  the  villages  and  cities; 
the  water  being  pure  except  in  autumn,  when,  the  temperature  being 


The  United  States  725 

uniform  from  surface  to  bottom,  overturnings  are  easily  caused  by  the 
winds,  and  the  impurities  gathered  in  the  deep  water  during  the  summer  are 
discharged.  Ice  from  the  lakes  is  an  important  winter  harvest ;  and  at 
one  time  Wenham  ice,  from  a  small  lake  near  Salem,  was  famous  even 
in  India. 

Water  Power  in  New  England. — The  rivers,  entrenching  their 
courses  in  drift-clogged  valleys  have  repeatedly  lost  their  former  channels 
and  cut  down  upon  rocky  ledges  ;  thus  dividing  their  courses  into  smooth- 
flowing  reaches  and  hurried  rapids  and  falls.  The  latter  supply  the  great 
water  power  of  New  England,  on  which  its  vast  manufacturing  industries 
began.  Fall  River,  on  an  eastern  branch  of  Narragansett  Bay,  was  at  first 
satisfied  with  the  power  derived  from  a  small  stream ;  now  its  myriad 
spindles  are  driven  by  steam.  The  mills  here  and  in  New  Bedford,  a 
little  further  east,  profit  from  the  high  humidity  of  the  atmosphere  near  the 
sea,  an  important  factor  in  spinning  cotton.  The  sites  of  Lowell,  Lawrence 
and  Manchester  were  occupied  by  farms  seventy  years  ago.  Enterprising 
capitalists  and  engineers  took  control  of  the  great  water  powers  of  the 
Merrimack,  and  to-day  the  river,  supplemented  by  steam  in  dry  seasons, 
drives  more  cotton  mill  spindles  than  any  other  river  in  the  world. 
Thousands  of  French  Canadians  now  make  their  homes  in  these  factory 
cities,  working  as  operatives  in  the  mills. 

In  Maine  the  falls  of  the  Saco  gives  rise  to  the  paired  cities  of  Saco  and 
Biddeford  ;  those  of  the  Androscoggin  determine  the  sites  of  Lewiston  and 
Auburn.  It  is  noticeable  that  these  manufacturing  towns  in  Maine  are  near 
its  south-western  corner ;  numerous  water-powers  in  other  parts  of  the 
State  are  too  remote  from  the  chief  markets  of  the  United  States  to  be 
utilised  to  their  full  value  at  present.  In  Connecticut,  on  the  other  hand, 
near  the  great  commercial  centre  of  New  York  City,  hardly  a  single 
waterfall  is  idle.  Here  a  certain  feature  of  water-powers  of  indirect 
glacial  origin  deserves  notice.  In  the  normal  river,  the  trunk  stream  has, 
as  a  rule,  graded  its  course  so  as  to  secure  a  steady  flow  ;  it  may  even  be 
navigable.  Rapids  and  falls  are  found  only  on  the  upper  waters,  where  the 
smaller  branches,  working  in  districts  of  greater  altitude  and  frequently  on 
rocks  of  greater  resistance,  have  not  yet  been  able  to  wear  down  their 
channels  to  an  even  slope.  Although  falls  are  here  abundant,  the  volume 
of  water  is  deficient,  and  the  prevailing  ruggedness  of  the  head-water  hills 
is  disadvantageous  to  large  settlements.  But  the  falls  on  rivers  of  drift- 
terraced  valleys  are  placed  at  haphazard,  as  well  on  the  lower  trunk  stream 
as  near  the  head,  and  the  glacial  period  is  so  recent  that  even  the  trunk 
rivers  have  not  yet  extinguished  their  falls.  Manufacturing  cities  situated 
at  falls  near  the  river  mouths  have  the  great  advantage  of  large  water 
volume  and  of  neighbourhood  to  the  sea  in  a  low  and  comparatively  open 
country ;  repeated  illustrations  of  the  benefits  of  these  favouring  circum- 
stances might  be  named.  The  lakes  are  also  of  practical  value  as  natural 
reservoirs  by  which  the  volume  of  the  lower  stream  is  rendered  relatively 


736       The  International  Geography 

constant.  Many  lakes  are  dammed  at  their  outlets,  and  in  a  dry  season  the 
volume  of  the  failing  river  is  maintained  by  opening  the  flood  gates.  In 
the  absence  of  important  agricultural  resources,  New  England  has  turned 
so  largely  to  manufacturing  that  even  its  abundant  water  powers  do  not 
suffice  for  its  needs.  With  little  or  no  water  power,  Worcester  and  Provi- 
dence produce  machines  and  tools.  Lynn  and  Brockton  are  "  shoe  towns." 
Waterbury  makes  brass  ware  and  clocks,  and  Danbury  makes  hats.  The 
goods  from  these  active  centres  find  a  market,  though  with  increasing 
competition,  in  all  parts  of  the  country. 

Cape  Cod  and  the  Outlying  Islands.— The  most  extensive  moraines 
of  the  New  England  region  are  those  that  mark  some  of  the  furthest 
advances  of  the  ice  sheet  on  the  southern  coast  and  on  the  outlying  islands 
of  Long  Island,  Martha's  Vineyard,  and  Nantucket.  A  foundation  of  Creta- 
ceous and  Tertiary  strata,  similar  to  those  of  the  coastal  plain  of  New 
Jersey  and  beyond,  but  much  deformed  and  denuded  before  the  last  ice 
advance,  constitutes  the  preglacial  structures  from  Long  Island  to  Cape 
Cod.  Belts  of  morainic  hills  with  numerous  boulders  increase  the  relief  by 
a  hundred  feet  or  more,  giving  a  pleasing  undulation  to  the  surface.  Broad 
plains  of  washed  gravels  extend  southward  from  the  moraines  to  the  sea, 
now  more  or  less  cut  back  in  the  cliffs,  as  on  the  east  side  or  "back"  of 
Cape  Cod  ;  or  fronted  with  long  sand  reefs,  as  along  the  southern  border 
of  Long  Island  (Fig.  356).  In  the  eighteenth  century,  when  the  traveller 
from  Boston  to  New  York  went  more  comfortably  by  sailing  packet 
than  by  land,  even  the  outermost  island  of  Nantucket  was  not  the 
out-of-the-way  place  that  it  is  to-day ;  and  for  some  time  after  overland 
travel  was  established  a  thrifty  Quaker  stock  and  -an  active  whaling 
industry  made  the  island  prosperous ;  but  when  whales  became  scarce 
and  when  rock-oil  replaced  whale-oil,  the  trade  and  population  of 
Nantucket  dwindled,  its  wharves  decayed,  some  of  its  houses  were  carried 
away  to  the  mainland,  and  it  was  almost  in  danger  of  being  deserted,  until 
in  recent  years  when  its  value  as  a  quiet  summer  resort  was  recognised. 
Provincetown,  a  land's  end  village  on  Cape  Cod,  is  peculiar  in  containing 
a  colony  of  Portuguese,  the  families  of  fishermen  and  sailors.  Here  on  a 
great  wave-built  spit,  covered  with  sand  dunes,  the  Pilgrims  first  landed  ; 
but  seeing  the  morainic  hills  of  Manomet  across  Cape  Cod  Bay,  they  sailed 
on  and  founded  Plymouth,  where  the  famous  rock  on  its  shore  is  only  a 
glacier  boulder  of  modest  size,  too  small  to  be  chipped  off  for  keepsakes 
by  the  many  descendants  of  the  Pilgrims. 

Gateways  to  the  Interior. — The  narrowing  of  the  Older  Appalachian 
belt  between  New  York  City  and  Washington,  due  to  ancient  subsidence 
of  a  part  of  the  ranges,  has  been  of  great  importance  in  determining  points 
of  entrance  of  immigration  towards  the  vast  Mississippi  basin  ;  for  nearly 
all  the  many  thousand  emigrants  from  Europe  have  reached  the  interior 
by  gateways  through  this  least  formidable  part  of  the  mountains.  There 
can  be  little  doubt  that  the  important  commercial  cities  of  New  York, 


The   United  States  727 


Philadelphia,  and  Baltimore  owe  their  growth  to  the  easier  access  thus 
allowed  to  the  interior  of  the  country  behind  them.  Ports  like  Providence, 
Boston,  Salem  and  Portland,  further  north,  and  ports  like  Norfolk, 
Wilmington,  Charleston  and  Savannah,  further  south,  chiefly  serve  local 
needs ;  they  cannot  compete  in  international  traffic  with  the  three  inter- 
mediate cities,  of  which  Boston  and  Norfolk  are  the  only  important  rivals. 
The  pre-eminence  of  New  York  among  the  middle  ports  is  dependent 
partly  on  its  good  harbour,  partly  on  being  nearer  Europe  than  the  ports 
further  south,  and  much  more  on  the  navigable  waters  of  the  Hudson  that 
reach  inland  almost  across  the  Appalachian  Belt. 

The  Newer  Appalachian  Belt. — The  last  point  may  be  better 
appreciated  after  a  fuller  account  of  the  Newer  Appalachian  Belt  (N  A 
in  Fig.  353),  whose  inter-ridge  lowlands  are  worn  down  on  the  weaker 
Palaeozoic  strata.  They  extend  from  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  (beyond  the 
territory  of  the  United  States)  along  a  curved  path  past  New  York  to  Alabama, 
and  there  disappear  under  the  overlapping  strata  of  the  Gulf  coastal 
plain.  In  the  north  the  newer  belt  is  limited  on  the  inland  side  by  the 
Laurentian  plateau  of  Canada,  and  by  an  outlying  area  of  similar  structure 
and  more  rugged  form,  known  as  the  Adirondack  Mountains,  in  northern 
New  York.  From  Albany  to  Alabama,  the  inland  boundary  of  the  ridge-and- 
valley  belt  is  formed  by  the  escarpment  of  the  Allegheny  plateau.  In  New 
York  the  ridges  are  few  and  the  lowland  is  broad  and  open,  but  from  New 
Jersey  to  Alabama,  long,  narrow,  even-crested  mountains  of  curious  zigzag 
pattern,  1,000  to  3,000  feet  high,  formed  on  the  outcropping  edges  of 
resistant  sandstone  layers,  are  very  numerous.  They  divide  the  lowlands 
into  many  compartments,  with  difficulty  connected  by  roads  over  the 
mountains,  but  open  to  one  another  where  rivers  have  cut  transverse 
notches  or  water  gaps.  The  ridges  are  highest  in  Virginia,  where  some  of 
the  crests  rise  to  4,000  feet ;  and  here  most  of  the  valleys  between  them 
are  so  narrow  and  deep  as  to  be  of  small  value  for  settlement.  Much  of 
the  better  timber  has  been  cut  from  the  ridges,  but  they  are  still  left  to 
forest  growth,  for  their  slopes  are  cloaked  with  coarse,  slow-creeping, 
blocks  of  sandstone,  the  waste  of  the  ridge-making  strata. 

The  valley  floors  between  the  ridges  are  sometimes  underlain  by  lime- 
stone, especially  along  the  eastern  border  of  the  Newer  Appalachian  Belt ; 
here  the  rich  soils  are  occupied  by  some  of  the  best  farms  in  the  country, 
albeit  they  have  not  the  unlimited  expanse  of  those  on  the  western  prairie. 
Harrisburg,  the  capital  of  Pennsylvania  is  in  the  midst  of  these  thrifty 
surroundings.  Beds  of  anthracite  coal  and  plentiful  deposits  of  iron  ores 
among  the  ridges  of  Pennsylvania  have  contributed  greatly  to  the  wealth 
the  Keystone  State— so  called  from  being  the  middle  one  of  the  thirteen 
colonies  in  the  time  of  the  Revolution.  Mining  industries  have  here 
attracted  colonies  of  European  labourers,  where  foreign  languages  are 
often  more  prevalent  than  English.  The  iron  ores  of  the  southern  part  of 
the  belt,  near  the  coal-fields  of  the  plateau  on  the  west,  have  been  an 


728       The  International  Geography 

important  factor  in  the  development  of  the  "  New  South  "  since  the  Civil 
War ;  the  centre  of  the  iron  industry  in  Alabama  having  ambitiously  taken 
the  name  of  Birmingham. 

The  continuity  of  lowland  along  the  eastern  side  of  the  Newer  Appa- 
lachian Belt  has  given  this  part  of  its  floor  the  general  name  of  the  Great 
Appalachian  Valley  ;  it  is  locally  known  as  the  Hudson  Valley  in  New  York, 
the  Kittatinny  Valley  in  New  Jersey,  the  Cumberland  Valley  in  southern 
Pennsylvania,  the  Shenandoah  Valley  in  Virginia,  and  the  Valley  of  East  Ten- 
nessee. The  Great  Valley  is  peculiar  in  being  drained  by  a  number  of  inde- 
pendent rivers  that  find  exit  through  the  deep  gorges  cut  in  the  uplands  on 
the  east  or  west.  Exceptions  to  this  rule  are  seen  in  the  longitudinal  escape 
of  the  St.  Lawrence  with  its  branch  from  Lake  Champlain  in  the  north- 
east, and  of  the  Coosa  in  the  south-west ;  both  of  these  rivers  run  out 
lengthwise  at  the  extremities  of  the  valley.  The  Hudson,  Delaware, 
Schuylkill,  Susquehanna,  Potomac  and  James  all  rise  in  the  valley,  or  on 
the  plateau  to  the  west  of  it,  and  reach  the  Atlantic  through  steep-sided, 
narrow  gorges  in  the  uplands  of  the  Older  Appalachian  Belt.  The  New- 
Kanawha  and  the  Tennessee  rise  in  the  Older  Appalachians  of  North 
Carolina,  and  escape  westward  through  deep  gorges  in  the  Allegheny 
plateau  to  the  Mississippi  system  and  the  Gulf.  It  is  interesting  to  note 
that  the  six  Atlantic  rivers  all  cross  the  Old  Appalachian  Belt  in  or  near  its 
low  and  narrow  middle  part ;  their  valleys  serving  as  so  many  entrances  to 
the  interior,  and  thus  emphasising  the  contrast  already  noted  between  the 
lower  middle  and  the  higher  terminal  districts  of  the  Atlantic  highlands. 

Transverse  Valleys  in  the  Old  Appalachian  Belt. — The  physical 
relation  between  the  lengthwise  lowlands  of  the  Great  Valley  and  the 
transverse  gorges  by  which  its  rivers  escape  has  been  generally  misunder- 
stood. The  broad  lowland  and  the  narrow  gorges  are  the  work  of  erosion 
in  the  same  period  of  Tertiary  time.  The  rivers  had  much  the  same  pattern 
as  to-day  when  all  this  region  had  about  the  altitude  of  its  uplands  and  ridge 
crest.  Since  then  the  excavation  of  the  broad  inner  valley  and  the  incision 
of  the  narrow  gorges  have  gone  on  together  :  indeed,  the  incision  of  the 
gorges  on  the  transverse  course  of  the  several  rivers  in  the  harder  rocks 
of  the  Older  Appalachian  Belt  was  the  essential  antecedent  to  the  deepening 
of  their  channels  in  the  weaker  rocks  of  the  newer  belt ;  but  while  the 
gorges  have  widened  very  slowly  in  the  harder  rocks,  the  weaker  strata  of 
the  inner  belt  have,  as  it  were,  melted  away  under  the  weather,  and  the  inner 
valley  has  become  as  broad  as  the  belt  of  weak  strata  that  guide  it.  Since 
the  general  form  thus  described  was  developed,  a  moderate  uplift  of  the 
region  has  again  set  the  rivers  at  work,  and  they  have  cut  narrow  trenches 
in  the  valley  floors. 

The  Hudson  and  St.  Lawrence  are  unlike  all  the  other  rivers  of  the 
Great  Valley  in  having  their  valleys  partly  flooded  by  sea  water,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  moderate  depression  of  the  northern  lands  already  men- 
tioned in  describing  the  bays  of  the  New  England  coast.  The  lower  St. 


The  United  States 


729 


Lawrence  is  thus  broadly  expanded  into  a  funnel-shaped  bay,  misnamed  a 
gulf  ;  but  the  drowned  Hudson  is  closely  hemmed  in  by  the  steep  walls  of 
the  highlands.  It  thus  retains  the  appearance  of  a  river,  although  its 
volume  is  by  no  means  an  appropriate  measure  of  the  rainfall  on  its  basin. 
It  is  a  deep  navigable  waterway,  open  to  large  vessels  to  the  head  of  tide 
at  Albany  and  Troy,  150  miles  from  New  York.  It  is  the  only  deep-water 
passage  through  the  Atlantic  highlands  ;  and  on  this  fact  chiefly  depends 
the  metropolitan  rank  of  New  York  City  among  the  Atlantic  seaports.  The 
northward  extension  of  New  York  Colony  and  State,  from  its  first  settle- 


FIG.  356.— The  Site  of  New  York  City. 

ment  at  the  mouth  of  the  Hudson,  repeats  the  northward  extension  of  Virginia 
and  Pennsylvania  from  the  colonies  on  their  lower  bays.  Just  as  the  latter 
colonies  claimed  possession  of  long  belts  of  territory  westward  to  the 
Pacific,  and  thus  confined  Maryland,  Delaware  and  New  Jersey  to  small 
areas,  so  the  former  claimed  control  of  all  the  land  west  of  the  northern 
Older  Appalachians,  and  thus  determined  the  small  dimensions  of  the  New 
England  States.  Had  the  Potomac  been  drowned,  not  only  in  its  course 
across  the  coastal  plain  as  far  inland  as  Washington,  but  through  its  gorge 
in  the  Blue  Ridge  to  Harper's  Ferry,  Norfolk  might  have  tried  to  rival 
New  York  City ;  yet,  even  then,  the  upper  Potomac  would  have  had  no 


730      The  International  Geography 


branch  valley  comparable  to  that  of  the  Mohawk,  by  which,  as  will  be 
shown  further  on,  New  York  City  has  so  greatly  benefited. 

New  York,  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore. — The  relation  of 
New  York  City  to  the  interior  of  the  United  States  has  determined  its  relation 
to  Europe.  Commercialism  is  here  supreme.  The  banker,  the  broker,  the 
importer,  and  the  railway  director  are  the  leaders  of  business  activity. 
Standing  as  the  chief  port  of  entry  for  commerce  and  immigration,  the 
city  has  gathered  colonies  of  all  the  peoples  of  Europe.  Germans,  French, 
Italians,  and  many  other  nationalities  here  group  themselves  together,  pre- 
serving their  foreign  ways  even  to  the  second  generation  ;  much  concern 
is  felt  by  the  sociologist  over  so  congested  a  population.  The  government 
of  the  city  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  of  political  problems,  and  it  has  by 
no  means  been  made  easier  by  the  recent  consolidation  of  Brooklyn  and 
other  independent  municipalities  in  "  Greater  New  York."  The  profes- 
sional politician  and  the  "  boss "  accomplish  their  selfish  ends  by  most 
elaborate  and  successful  management  of  the  people.  The  narrow  island 
between  North  (Hudson)  and  East  rivers  has  become  inconveniently 
crowded  ;  elevated  railroads,  running  to  the  northern  suburbs,  make  the 
streets  resound  with  their  many  trains,  although  the  New  Yorkers  seem  to 
accept  the  noise  as  a  proper  part  of  the  bustle  of  their  great  city.  A  huge 
suspension  bridge  connecting  New  York  and  Brooklyn  very  imperfectly 
accommodates  the  crowds  that  throng  it  morning  and  evening. 

Philadelphia  has  been  favoured  in  another  manner.     It  began  with  the 

thrift  of  the  Quaker 
followers  of  William 
Penn;  it  has  profited 
from  the  presence  of 
many  industrious  Ger- 
man immigrants  on  the 
rich  farming  lands  of 
the  Great  Valley,  near 
at  hand ;  it  has  had  a 
commercial  advantage 
in  being  the  southern- 
most Atlantic  port  in 
the  non  -  slaveholding 
States.  Furthermore  it 
has  had  great  physical 
advantage  from  abun- 
dant open  ground  on 
FIG.  357. — The  Site  of  Philadelphia. 

which    to    expand,    so 

that  the  proportion  of  houses  to  families  is  very  large ;  from  the 
water  power  of  the  Schuylkill,  whereby  it  has  come  to  be  a  great 
manufacturing  city ;  and  from  the  small  altitude  and  width  of  the  Older 
Appalachian  Belt  in  the  background,  so  that  the  communication  with 


The  United  States 


the  interior  of  Pennsylvania  has  been  comparatively  easy.  The  uplands 
are  narrow  here  because  of  the  strong  overlap  of  the  coastal  plain. 
They  are  low,  because  they  have  been  but  little  uplifted  since  they  were 
worn  down  in  Cretaceous  times  ;  but  more  than  this,  they  happen  here  to 
include  a  tract  of  weak  Triassic  sandstones  and  shales  (like  those  of  the 
Connecticut  valley  and  the  Bay  of  Fundy),  which  occupies  a  large  part  of 
their  small  breadth,  and  indeed  obliquely  traverses  them  from  east  to  west. 
The  sandstones  and  shales  are  now  worn  down  to  a  lowland,  like  the  Great 
Valley  next  adjoining  on  the  west.  Nowhere  else  are  the  Older  Appalachians 
so  inconspicuous  as  here.  Indeed,  if  traced  by  the  empirical  guide  of 
height  instead  of  by  their  geological  composition  and  their  physical  cha- 
racteristics, they  might  be  overlooked,  as  has  often  happened  in  geo- 
graphical descriptions.  Extensive  railroad  systems  connect  Philadelphia 
with  the  coal-fields  of  Pennsylvania,  and  with  the  Ohio  Valley  ;  but  so 
great  is  the  importance  of  New  York,  that  all  these  roads  now  continue 
their  trains  past  Philadelphia  to  the  metropolitan  city  (see  Fig.  336). 

Baltimore  is  practically  the  civic  representative  of  Maryland.  In  con- 
trast to  Philadelphia,  it  is  the  northernmost  commercial  city  of  the  south. 
It  is  physically  the  result  of  the  far  inland  reach  of  Chesapeake  Bay,  and  of 
the  access  to  the  further  interior  afforded  by  the  valleys  of  the  Potomac 
and  Susquehanna  rivers.  The  bay  brings  in  ocean-going  vessels  and 
develops  international  trade,  as  well  as  supporting  an  active  fishing 
industry ;  oysters  being  included  under  fisheries  on  commercial  rather 
than  zoological  grounds.  The  Potomac  valley  leads  a  great  railroad  from 
the  harbour  city  towards  the  Ohio  region  ;  but  the  difficulties  encountered 
in  crossing  the  Allegheny  Plateau  and  the  comparatively  small  population 
on  the  way,  have  made 
this  line  less  successful 
financially  than  the  chief 
railroads  further  north. 
Educationally,  Baltimore 
has  in  Johns  Hopkins,  the 
southernmost  university 
of  wide  resort,  as  Boston 
has  (in  its  suburb  of 
Cambridge)  Harvard,  the 
northernmost  great  uni- 
versity ;  the  latter  is  an 
outgrowth  of  an  early 
colonial  beginningini636. 

It  is  noteworthy  that        FlG'  358.— Washington  and  the  Distnct  of  Columbia 
the  three  great  commercial  cities  just  described  are  not  the  capitals  of  their 
States.    The  State  governments  have  their  seats  in  Albany  on  the  Hudson, 
Harrisburg  on   the  Susquehanna,  and     Annapolis   on   Chesapeake    Bay. 
Washington,  whose  situation  on  the  lower  drowned  Potomac  corresponds 


732       The  International  Geography 

to  that  of  Baltimore  on  Chesapeake  Bay,  is  purely  a  governmental  city. 
The  great  water  power  of  the  Potomac,  where  it  runs  from  the  Old 
Appalachian  Belt  to  the  Coastal  Plain,  is  not  yet  utilised  for  manufactures. 

THE   ALLEGHENY   PLATEAU 

The  Allegheny  Plateau  (A  P  in  Fig.  353)  is  the  westernmost  division 
of  the  Atlantic  highlands.  It  retains  much  of  the  forest  which  originally 
covered  nearly  all  the  region  east  of  the  Mississippi  and  south  of  the  Ohio. 
Its  altitude  ranges  from  2,000  to  4,000  feet.  It  extends  as  far  south-west  as 
the  mountain  belt,  and  like  it  disappears  under  the  coastal  plain  of  the 
Gulf.  It  is  terminated  on  the  east  by  a  strong  escarpment,  known  as 
Allegheny  or  Cumberland  Mountain  in  different  parts  of  its  front ;  but  on 
the  west  or  north-west  it  as  a  rule  decreases  in  height  gradually,  and  thus 
merges  into  the  prairie  region  of  the  Ohio  basin.  On  the  north-east,  the 
plateau  is  known  as  the  Catskill  Mountains,  overlooking  the  Hudson  and 
Mohawk  valleys.  Throughout  this  extensive  region,  the  same  great  series 
of  Palaeozoic  strata  that  is  broken,  tilted,  and  folded  in  the  mountains  of 
the  Newer  Appalachian  Belt,  lies  nearly  horizontal.  Productive  coal-beds 
underlie  most  of  the  surface.  The  well  denned  north-east  and  south-west 
trends  that  prevail  in  the  uplands,  ridges  and  valleys  of  the  Appalachians, 
are  here  exchanged  for  a  systemless  maze  of  digitate  spurs  dissected  by 
repeatedly  branching  valleys.  The  greater  part  of  the  region  is  drained  by 
branches  of  the  Ohio,  of  which  the  most  interesting  is  the  Kanawha,  whose 
canyon,  1,000  to  1,500  feet  deep,  is  the  strongest  river  valley  in  the  eastern 
part  of  the  country.  The  Kanawha  is  furthermore  remarkable  in  having 
maintained  its  course  to  the  Ohio  against  an  arching  uplift  of  the  plateau 
in  late  geological  times,  whereby  the  district  traversed  by  its  middle  waters 
was  elevated  about  1,000  feet  more  than  that  about  its  upper  waters  ;  but 
in  spite  of  this  discouragement,  the  river  cut  down  its  channel  and  held 
to  its  former  path  ;  thus  acquiring  a  right  to  membership  in  the  interesting 
class  of  antecedent  rivers.  There  is  not  another  river  in  the  whole 
Appalachian  region  that  so  well  preserves  its  ancient  course. 

The  Southern  Plateau. — Beginning  on  the  south-west,  as  it  emerges 
from  the  southern  coastal  plain,  the  features  of  the  Southern  Plateau  may 
be  called  coarse-textured,  inasmuch  as  tablelands  that  measure  several 
miles  across  rise  between  broad-floored  valleys.  Here  the  uplands  are 
known  as  the  Cumberland  Plateau  or  Tableland,  for  the  most  part  a  forested 
wilderness.  Although  containing  great  stores  of  coal,  there  has  been  little 
mining  until  within  recent  years,  in  the  return  of  prosperity  to  the  southern 
States  after  the  civil  war.  The  plateau  is  peculiar  in  falling  off  on  the 
north-west  by  an  escarpment  almost  as  strong,  but  much  less  straight  than 
that  by  which  it  is  limited  on  the  south-east.  The  surface  thus  descends 
as  if  by  a  great  step  to  a  platform  of  less  elevation,  underlain  by  limestones ; 
here  occur  the  numerous  caverns  of  Tennessee  and  Kentucky,  of  which  the 
Mammoth  cave  is  the  most  famous.  Further  to  the  north-west  the  platform 


The  United  States  733 

is  underlain  by  sandstone,  furnishing  an  infertile  soil,  and  discouraging  an 
impoverished  population,  in  remarkable  contrast  with  the  fortunate  occu- 
pants of  the  limestone  lowlands  next  beyond,  the  famous  Blue  Grass 
country  of  Kentucky  and  the  less  known  but  equally  fertile  Nashville  basin 
of  Tennessee  (B  G  and  N  in  Fig.  353).  Looking  back  from  the  extensive 
farms  of  the  limestone  lowlands,  one  sees  a  wooded  bluff,  several  hundred 
feet  in  height,  known  as  the  Highland  Rim.  It  was  from  a  point  on  that 
part  of  the  rim  known  as  Muldraughs  hill  that  Daniel  Boone,  late  in  the 
eighteenth  century,  first  saw  the  beautiful  lowland  that  his  followers 
settled,  and  thus  founded  what  afterwards  came  to  be  the  State  of  Ken- 
tucky. 

The  Middle  Plateau. — The  middle  part  of  the  plateau,  in  eastern 
Kentucky  and  West  Virginia,  reaches  altitudes  of  3,000  and  4,000  feet,  so 
that  its  dissected  uplands  fully  deserve  the  name  of  mountains,  by  which 
they  are  locally  known ;  and  the  people  appropriately  call  themselves 
"  mountaineers."  As  in  Tennessee,  the  region  is  a  great  forested  wilder- 
ness. The  separate  uplands  are  seldom  broad  enough  to  support  more 
than  a  small  community ;  often  not  more  than  a  single  family,  who  find 
life  hard  and  lonesome.  Farming  is  unprofitable,  for  most  of  the  surface 
consists  of  steep  hillside  slopes,  belted  around  with  contouring  sandstone 
ledges ;  if  the  forest  were  cleared  and  the  ground  ploughed,  much  of  the 
soil  would  soon  be  washed  -away.  Roads  are  rough  and  steep,  badly 
washed  by  heavy  rains  ;  to  keep  them  in  good  condition  would  cost  large 
sums  of  money,  far  beyond  the  means  of  the  county  treasuries.  The 
valleys  are  deep,  and  their  narrow  floors  are  exposed  to  destructive  floods 
that  rise  suddenly  in  wet  weather.  Bridges  are  an  expensive  luxury  that 
only  the  more  important  highways  can  maintain  :  when  streams  cannot  be 
forded  in  time  of  high  water,  travel  is  for  a  time  suspended.  The  railroad 
that  follows  the  deep  canyon  of  the  Kanawha  through  the  plateau  brings 
the  lower  lands  on  the  east  and  west  into  close  connection,  but  it  has  little 
effect  on  the  people  among  the  hills.  Even  the  branch  lines  that  carry  out 
coal  and  lumber  leave  the  greater  part  of  the  plateau  country  untouched 
and  untamed.  The  people  still  live  in  primitive  log  houses ;  hand  looms 
are  no  rarities ;  wild  game  is  almost  as  important  a  food  supply  as  garden 
produce  ;  the  rifle  is  as  familiar  as  the  spade.  Feuds  are  kept  up  for  years 
between  rival  families,  and  personal  differences  are  settled  by  an  appeal  to 
arms  rather  than  to  the  courts. 

The  Northern  Plateau. — A  less  altitude  prevails  in  the  plateau  within 
the  limits  of  Pennsylvania,  where  2,000  feet  will  measure  most  of  the 
upland  heights.  Here  a  greater  degree  of  settlement  has  accompanied  the 
fuller  development  of  the  great  natural  resources  of  the  region,  both  of 
these  advances  being  promoted  by  the.  neighbourhood  of  the  great  manu- 
facturing communities,  at  first  in  the  north-east,  and  afterwards  in  the  north- 
west as  well,  where  a  ready  market  is  found  for  the  bituminous  coal,  the 
rock  oil  or  petroleum,  and  the  lumber  of  the  plateau.  Railroads  are  nume- 


734      The   International  Geography 

rous  and  monopolistic  corporations  dominate  the  politics  of  the  State. 
Pittsburg  has  attained  an  altogether  unusual  population  for  a  city  in  the 
plateau  district;  it  was  favoured  at  first  by  its  situation  at  the  junction  of 
the  head  branches  (Allegheny  and  Monongahela)  of  the  Ohio,  down  whose 
ample  current  so  many  early  settlers  of  the  western  prairies  found  easy 
transportation  ;  later  by  the  marvellous  development  of  industries  and  rail- 
roads in  the  second  half  of  the  nineteenth  century.  It  is  now  one  of  the 
greatest  manufacturing  centres  in  the  United  States ;  the  ironworks  in  and 
near  the  city  are  the  admiration  of  the  technical  world. 

The  north-east  extremity  of  the  plateau,  known  as  the  Catskill  Mountains, 
contains  summits  as  high  as  those  of  West  Virginia.  No  mineral  products 
of  value,  other  than  too  abundant  building  stone,  are  found  here  ;  hence 
the  mountains  remain  thinly  populated,  and  are  chiefly  noted  as  a  summer 
resort  for  the  crowded  population  of  New  York  City.  Further  west,  along 
the  southern  borders  of  New  York  State,  the  plateau  is  less  elevated,  and 
its  rolling  uplands  and  open  valleys  contain  an  agricultural  population. 
It  happens  that  this  portion  of  the  plateau  contains  no  coal,  and  com- 
paratively little  rock  oil ;  the  productive  fields  being  almost  entirely  south 
of  the  Pennsylvania  boundary. 

Outliers  of  the  Laurentian  Highlands.— The  rugged  Adiron- 
dack Mountains  of  northern  New  York,  and  the  highlands  of  northern 
Wisconsin  and  Michigan  are  outlying  representatives  of  the  Laurentian 
highlands  of  Canada.  They  consist  of  extremely  ancient  rocks,  for  the 
most  part  thoroughly  indurated  and  very  resistant.  Although  their 
structures  are  greatly  disordered,  their  relief  is  of  moderate  measure  ; 
in  the  Adirondacks,  the  highest  summit,  Mount  Marcy,  is  but  little  more 
than  5,000  feet  above  sea-level,  with  valleys  one  or  two  thousand  feet  deep 
around  it ;  in  northern  Wisconsin,  the  altitude  of  the  highlands  is  not  so 
great,  and  their  local  dissection  is  much  more  gentle.  Both  of  these  are 
forested  wildernesses,  unattractive  to  the  farmer,  but  tempting  to  the 
lumberman.  The  ancient  rocks  contain  valuable  stores  of  iron  ore,  less 
important  in  the  Adirondacks  than  in  upper  Michigan,  where  they  are 
extensively  mined  and  shipped  down  the  Lakes  to  furnaces  near  the  coal 
regions.  The  uplands  bordering  on  Lake  Superior  are  peculiar  in  contain- 
ing deposits  of  native  copper,  unknown  elsewhere  in  the  world.  The 
Adirondacks  are  separated  from  the  Laurentian  region  by  an  ancient 
trough  that  has  been  filled  with  Palaeozoic  rock  layers  and  re-excavated  in 
comparatively  modern  geological  times.  It  is  followed  by  the  St.  Law- 
ence  river,  an  important  waterway,  but  so  young  on  its  present  course 
that  in  spite  of  its  great  volume,  many  rapids  still  interrupt  its  channel. 
The  Wisconsin-Michigan  uplands  (O  L  in  Fig.  353),  are  separated  from 
the  Laurentian  plateau  in  Canada  by  the  broad  and  deep  trough  of  Lake 
Superior  of  uncertain  origin,  but  of  great  value  as  a  member  of  the  vast 
system  of  inland  waterways  by  which  the  wheat  of  the  north-west,  the 
ores  of  the  uplands,  and  the  lumber  from  the  forests  are  carried  to  the 


The  United  States  735 

more  populous  States.  The  outlet  of  Lake  Superior  is  interrupted  by 
rapids ;  hence  its  name,  the  Sault  (pronounced  Soo)  Ste.  Marie.  These  are 
passed  by  a  canal  that  has  been  constructed  around  them  on  the  southern 
side  (see  Fig.  344);  the  tonnage  passing  through  this  canal  rivals  in 
quantity,  although  not  in  value,  that  of  the  Suez  canal. 

The  Adirondack  region,  and  to  a  less  degree  the  highlands  of  Wis- 
consin also,  serve  as  camping  and  hunting  grounds  in  the  summer  vacation 
season,  when  civilised  man  seems  to  enjoy  a  temporary  return  to  the 
wilder  ways  of  his  remote  ancestors. 

THE   OHIO   REGIONS  AND   PRAIRIES 

The  Ohio  Region.— The  region  north  of  the  Ohio  and  east  of  the 
Mississippi  is  one  of  the  most  valuable  parts  of  the  United  States.  The 
surface  is  of  moderate  relief,  nearly  everywhere  open  to  occupation.  The 
soil  is  rich,  the  climate  encouraging.  Into  this  magnificent  territory  has 
poured  a  tide  of  immigration  during  the  nineteenth  century  with  which  the 
history  of  the  world  has  no  parallel.  The  struggles  for  the  acquisition  of 
the  land  were  practically  completed  before  the  century  opened  ;  struggles 
in  which  the  stronger  invaders  repeated  too  often  the  harsh  treatment  that 
a  higher  race  inflicts  upon  a  lower,  but  which  nevertheless  lead  forward  to 
progress  in  the  end.  The  northern  Atlantic  States,  as  well  as  the  countries 
of  north-west  Europe,  furnished  hundreds  of  thousands  of  able-bodied 
workers  under  whose  hands  the  Ohio  basin  region  has  grown  to  marvellous 
productiveness,  activity,  and  wealth,  fully  warranting  the  opinion  of  Lewis 
Evans  of  Philadelphia  in  1750,  when  he  urged  Great  Britain  to  gain 
possession  of  this  "  great  extent  of  good  land  in  a  happy  climate,"  arguing 
that  whatever  nation  wins  it  must  inevitably  gain  the  balance  of  power  on 
the  continent. 

The  Ohio  Region  as  an  Ancient  Coastal  Plain. — The  physical 
features  of  the  Ohio  region  are  best  explained  by  regarding  it  as  an  ancient 
coastal  plain,  skirting  the  older  Laurentian  lands  of  Canada  and  their  out- 
liers in  the  Adirondacks  and  the  Wisconsin  highlands.  Travelling 
southward  from  the  rugged  Laurentian  highlands  of  Canada  on  the 
meridian  of  Niagara,  a  traveller  would  see  the  rugged  country  merge  into 
the  fertile  lowland  of  Ontario,  partly  submerged  under  the  lake  of  tRat 
name  ;  all  this  low  ground  being  an  "  inner  lowland  "  worn  down  on  the 
weak  under  layers  of  the  ancient  coastal  plain.  Crossing  to  Niagara,  the 
ascent  of  a  bluff  or  escarpment  of  strong  limestone,  two  or  three  hundred 
feet  in  height,  makes  a  distinct  break  in  the  general  smoothness  of  the 
lowland  and  leads  to  a  broad  upland,  which  then  gradually  slopes  south- 
ward to  the  trough  of  Lake  Erie,  a  second  lowland  underlain  by  weak 
strata,  and  in  turn  enclosed  by  the  hills  that  form  the  northern  border  of 
the  Allegheny  plateau.  Thus  two  inner  lowlands  and  two  uplands  form 
belts  along  the  border  of  the  Laurentian  country ;  and  the  rest  of  the  Ohio 
region  may  be  described  in  terms  of  these  elementary  forms. 


736      The  International   Geography 

The  Mohawk  Valley. — Following  the  fading  Niagara  escarpment 
eastward  beyond  its  disappearance  near  Rochester,  one  sees  the  two  low- 
lands of  Ontario  and  Erie  blend  into  one,  forming  the  rich  farming  country 
of  western  New  York  ;  then  narrowing  as  the  Adirondacks  come  forward 
from  Canada  and  thus  define  the  Mohawk  valley  between  their  southern 
slope  and  the  escarpment  of  the  Helderbergs,  which  here  forms  the  north- 
eastern extremity  of  the  Allegheny  plateau.  It  is  the  confluence  of  the 
Mohawk  valley  with  the  navigable  tidewater  of  the  Hudson  that  opened 
the  Great  West  to  the  port  of  New  York  City.  At  first  an  Indian  trail,  then 
the  path  of  the  frontier  settlers  driving  their  waggons  up  the  valley  road, 
next  the  course  of  the  famous  Erie  canal  whose  construction  in  the  first 
half  of  the  nineteenth  century  was  a  fit  achievement  for  the  Empire  State, 
now  followed  by  important  railroad  lines,  the  Mohawk  valley  was  always 
a  leading  line  of  movement  between  the  east  and  west.  There  can  be 
little  question  that  the  port  that  stands  in  closest  connection  with  its 
eastern  end  shall  long  be  pre-eminent  on  the  Atlantic  coast.  It  is  true 
that  Philadelphia  stands  nearer  the  Ohio  region,  and  that  the  great  railway 
leading  thence  to  Pittsburg  and  beyond  has  the  advantage  of  least  distance ; 
but  its  way  leads  over  the  Allegheny  plateau  where  gradients  are  heavy. 
It  is  true  that  a  shorter  railway  has  been  constructed  from  New  York  to 
Buffalo  than  that  which  follows  up  the  Hudson  and  the  Mohawk  ;  but  the 
shorter  line  crosses  the  Allegheny  plateau  where  it  is  broader  than  in 
Pennsylvania,  and  it  has  had  to  pay  dearly  for  its  defiance  of  natural 
pathways  ;  indeed,  had  English  investors  known  more  of  the  form  of  the 
land  when  this  venturesome  road  was  projected,  they  would  not  have 
become  so  largely  its  owners.  Binghampton  and  Elmira  are  the  only 
considerable  cities  on  its  way  among  the  hills  ;  while  the  Hudson  valley, 
the  Mohawk  valley,  and  the  southern  border  of  the  Ontario  lowland  include 
a  much  greater  population  in  Newburgh,  Poughkeepsie,  Albany,  Troy, 
Schenectady,  Utica,  Syracuse,  Auburn  and  Rochester. 

The  Great  Lakes  and  the  Prairies. — In  tracing  the  Ohio  region 
westward,  it  is  interesting  to  note  the  relation  of  its  belted  lowlands  and 
uplands  to  the  basins  of  the  Great  Lakes  and  to  the  path  of  the  inter- 
national boundary.  The  northern  border  belts  of  the  Ohio  region  are 
neither  straight  nor  persistent ;  they  vary  greatly  from  the  type  section  on 
the  Niagara  meridian.  The  basins  of  the  Great  Lakes  exhibit  a  close 
relation  to  the  lowland  belts.  Ontario,  Georgian  Bay  and  Green  Bay  (on 
the  west  side  of  Lake  Michigan)  occupy  depressed  parts  of  the  inner  low- 
land ;  Erie,  Huron  and  Michigan  occupy  corresponding  parts  of  the 
second  lowland.  Between  the  lakes,  the  lowlands  offer  excellent  farming 
districts.  The  upland  of  the  Niagara  limestone,  between  the  two  lowland 
belts,  with  its  bluff  looking  across  the  inner  lowland  towards  the  rugged 
old  Laurentian  land,  may  be  traced  with  varying  strength  even  beyond  the 
Mississippi ;  it  is  of  moderate  height,  and  is  not  rugged  enough  to  dis- 
courage settlement.  Its  course  (N  on  Fig.  353)  leads  north-west  across 


The  United  States  737 


the  Province  of  Ontario  to  the  belt  of  islands  that  divides  Georgian  Bay 
and  Lake  Huron  ;  westward  through  the  eastern  arm  of  upper  Michigan 
State  ;  southward  through  eastern  Wisconsin  in  the  ridge  that  divides 
Green  Bay  from  Lake  Michigan  ;  and  then  curves  through  northern 
Illinois  into  north-eastern  Iowa.  Artesian  wells  afford  an  abundant  water 
supply  in  this  ancient  coastal  plain  south  of  the  Wisconsin  highlands.  The 
Allegheny  upland,  bounding  the  lowlands  in  southern  New  York,  fades 
away  westward  in  Ohio  ;  an  isolated  upland,  coal-bearing  and  forested  like 
the  Allegheny  plateau,  but  subdued  in  form,  occupies  lower  Michigan 
between  Lakes  Huron  and  Michigan.  The  lumber  from  this  region  has 
led  to  the  growth  of  the  city  of  Grand  Rapids,  where  household  furniture  is 
largely  made. 

It  is  but  natural  that  the  international  boundary  should  have  followed 
the  manifest  line  of  the  lakes  and  rivers,  rather  than  the  more  irregular  and 
less  distinct  line  that  marks  the  inner  border  of  the  ancient  coastal  plain  ; 
and  if  by  thus  departing  from  one  physical  guide  for  another  the  United 
States  have  lost  peninsular  Ontario,  they  have  gained  the  great  mineral 
deposits  of  the  upper  Michigan  highlands.  It  should  be  remarked  that 
Lake  Superior  is  unlike  the  other  lakes  in  being  unrelated  to  the  belts  of 
the  ancient  coastal  plain.  Its  basin  is  an  anomaly,  a  puzzle  to  the 
geomorphologist,  who  has  not  yet  been  able  to  give  a  good  account  of  it. 
The  basin  must  be  of  recent  origin,  for  if  ancient,  it  would  long  ago  have 
been  filled  with  sediments  and  converted  into  a  plain. 

The  hills  of  the  Allegheny  plateau  are  not  seen  in  Ohio  west  of  Cleve- 
land ;  and  with  their  disappearance  a  broad  expanse  of  country  opens 
towards  the  Mississippi,  originally  wooded  in  the  east,  a  treeless  prairie 
further  west.  This  great  extension  of  the  Erie  lowland  is  now  divided 
into  the  States  of  Ohio,  Indiana  and  Illinois.  Little  wonder  that  the  early 
farmers  of  the  rugged  New  England  hills  sent  their  sons  out  to  this 
wonderful  farming  land  of  deep  and  rich  soil.  Little  wonder  that  such 
of  the  European  immigrants  as  did  not  stop  in  the  Atlantic  cities  passed 
the  uplands  of  the  Allegheny  plateau  before  settling  upon  their  new 
homes.  Little  wonder  that  those  who  found  so  bountiful  a  welcome  on 
the  prairies,  became  Americanised  in  the  first  generation  ;  never  has  so 
composite  a  population  been  so  rapidly  unified.  With  free  movement, 
with  rapidly  growing  population,  with  wonderful  increase  in  wealth,  one 
here  sees  few  of  the  old-fashioned  ways  of  living  that  still  remain  in  the 
enclosed  valleys  of  the  Atlantic  highlands.  The  rough  cabin  or  log  house 
was  usually  replaced  by  a  well-built  frame  cottage  within  the  life  of  the 
first  settler ;  and  his  sons  and  grandsons,  leaders  in  the  growing  com- 
munities, often  occupy  mansions  of  some  pretension,  albeit  their  architecture 
seldom  follows  classic  lines. 

The  rivers  at  first  served  as  important  lines  of  travel  and  transportation. 
The  growth  of  Cincinnati  was  for  many  years  as  much  dependent  on  the 
trade  that  followed  the  Ohio  river  as  on  the  rich  farming  country  that 


738       The  International  Geography 

surrounded  it.  Canals  were  cut  between  the  headwater  branches  of  the 
Ohio  and  Mississippi  and  the  waters  of  the  Great  Lakes  ;  the  lakes  them- 
selves, consecrated  to  peace  after  the  war  of  1812,  lie  with  extended  shore 
lines  along  the  northern  border  of  the  great  fertile  country,  and  a  whole 
series  of  important  cities  has  been  built  on  their  southern  side — Buffalo, 
Erie,  Cleveland,  Toledo,  Detroit,  Chicago,  Milwaukee.  But  important  as  the 
rivers  have  been  and  as  the  lakes  are  still,  it  is  to  the  marvellous  develop- 
ment of  railroads  on  the  level  prairies  that  the  industrial  and  commercial 
activity  of  the  region  is  most  largely  due.  Distance  is  their  only  obstacle, 
and  that  they  overcome  by  building  single  tracks  ;  they  have  few  cuttings 
or  embankments,  they  cross  each  other  on  the  level,  and  gather  in  tangled 
ganglia  in  many  prairie  centres  like  Columbus,  Indianapolis,  and  Spring- 
field. An  open  country,  occupied  by  a  few  Indians  a  century  ago,  has 
suddenly  become  populous  and  rich,  and  the  manufacturer  and  the  rail- 
road magnate  take  the  place  of  the  feudal  baron  of  Europe. 

Glacial  action  in  the  Ohio  region. — Various  geographical  features 
have  already  been  traced  backward  to  their  origin  in  past  geological 
processes,  and  forward  to  their  control  over  human  distribution  and 
occupations.  This  phase  of  geographical  study  nowhere  receives  more 
striking  illustration  than  in  those  elements  of  form  that  have  resulted 
directly  or  indirectly  from  the  action  of  the  ice  sheets  of  the  glacial  period. 
It  has  been  too  generally  the  custom  to  set  such  subjects  aside,  as  if  they 
belonged  only  in  the  province  of  the  geologist ;  but  in  the  Ohio  region  as 
in  New  England  events  without  number,  great  and  small,  from  trifling 
matters  of  individual  action  to  momentous  problems  of  national  importance, 
have  turned  on  the  geographical  results  of  ice  action.  Once  recognised, 
their  meaning  cannot  be  neglected.  The  soils  on  which  the  richness  of 
the  Ohio  region  depends  are  almost  wholly  of  glacial  origin.  Smooth 
sheets  of  till  were  spread  out  under  the  invading  ice  sheet  where  it  could 
drag  along  no  further  the  rock  waste  that  it  brought  from  nearer  its 
source  ;  still  smoother  sheets  of  silt  were  deposited  in  various  marginal 
lakes,  large  and  small.  Sheets  of  loess,  ascribed  to  wind  action  by  many 
observers,  to  turbid  fluviatile  waters  by  others,  are  found  in  the  south- 
western part  of  the  district,  and  reappear  in  greater  force  beyond  the 
Mississippi.  Far  from  being  a  destructive  agency,  the  ice  sheets  and  their 
associated  processes  were  here  largely  constructive  ;  they  buried  the  pre- 
existent  topography,  extinguished  the  pre-glacial  drainage,  and  made  the 
surface  over  anew.  The  soil  of  the  till  plains'  is  more  or  less  stony  ;  that 
of  the  silt  and  loess  plains  is  almost  impalpably  fine.  All  are  rich  soils, 
for  they  consist  in  greatest  part  of  pulverised  rock,  not  exhausted  by 
vegetable  growth  while  weathering,  but  worn  mechanically  from  its  parent 
ledges  under  the  desert  ice  sheets  and  in  the  ice-fed  rivers. 

The  plains  of  till,  silt,  and  loess  are  so  extensive  and  continuous,  that 
rock  ledges  are  unknown  for  many  miles  together  ;  pre-glacial  hills  and 
valleys  are  completely  buried  over  large  areas  ;  it  is  only  in  the  sides  of 


The   United  States  739 

young  valleys,  recently  cut  through  the  glacial  deposits,  that  the  ledges  are 
exposed.  The  geologist  hardly  knows  where  to  draw  the  boundaries  of 
rock  formations  ;  he  has  to  trust  largely  to  the  samples  brought  up  from 
the  wells  and  deep  borings  that  have  been  made  in  search  of  oil  and  gas. 
The  absence  of  trees  on  the  prairies  has  been  ascribed  by  some  to  the 
fineness  of  the  soil ;  by  others,  to  Indian  fires.  It  appears  probable  that 
both  these  causes  have  had  effect.  The  climate  of  the  region  is  certainly 
favourable,  for  trees  flourish  when  planted.  On  the  other  hand,  trees  are 
absent  from  the  western  plains  because  of  lack  of  rainfall ;  and  the  blend- 
ing of  plain  and  prairie  west  of  the  Mississippi  has  sometimes  given  rise  to 
the  wrong  idea  that  their  treelessness  was  due  to  a  common  cause. 

It  may  now  be  understood  how  strikingly  the  soil  and  the  surface  of 
the  prairies  north  of  the  Ohio  differ  from  those  further  south,  as  in  the 
Blue  Grass  region  of  Kentucky.  There  the  soil  is  of  local  origin  and  varies 
with  the  nature  of  the  rock  beneath  ;  hence  the  sharp  contrast  between 
the  fertility  of  the  Blue  Grass  district  and  the  barrenness  of  the  adjoining 
sandstone  uplands  already  mentioned.  In  the  glaciated  region,  local  and 
distant  materials  are  well  mixed  ;  there  is  generally  an  excess  of  local 
material,  but  it  seldom  prevails  in  such  quantity  as  to  make  the  soil  very 
much  better  or  worse  than  the  average.  The  hills  of  south-eastern  Ohio, 
outside  of  the  glaciated  district,  should  be  regarded  as  a  part  of  the 
dissected  Allegheny  plateau ;  but  whatever  hills  there  once  were  in  north- 
western Ohio  are  now  buried  under  the  drift.  One  part  of  the  State  has 
many  coal  mines,  the  other  has  extensive  farms.  In  the  same  way  southern 
Indiana  and  Illinois,  beyond  the  border  of  the  drift,  exhibit  local  details 
of  topographic  form  dependent  on  rock  structure,  and  accompanied  by 
relatively  sudden  changes  in  the  character  and  value  of  the  soils,  similar  to 
those  found  south  of  the  Ohio  river  in  Kentucky  ;  the  central  and  northern 
parts  of  these  States  are  smoothly  drift  covered  for  scores  of  miles. 

Corn  (Indian  corn,  or  maize)  is  the  characteristic  crop  of  the  drift  region 
from  Ohio  to  Nebraska.  Its  growth  is  favoured  by  hot  summer  weather. 
Travelling  by  rail,  one  may  pass  miles  and  scores  of  miles  of  corn-fields, 
waving  green  in  early  summer,  dull  brown  or  gray  in  early  autumn. 
Other  grains  are  also  raised  in  abundance.  Great  herds  of  cattle  are 
pastured  on  the  drift  prairies,  rivalling  the  product  of  the  western  plains. 
Roads  very  generally  follow  the  north-and-south  or  east-and-west  lines  by 
which  the  land  was  originally  divided  for  sale  from  the  government  to  the 
people.  Road-making  is  generally  done  by  a  scraping  machine,  which 
throws  the  soil  from  a  ditch  on  either  side  to  an  arch  in  the  middle  ;  in 
wet  weather  they  have  many  sloughs,  where  waggon  wheels  sink  hub-deep. 
In  the  villages  and  cities  vitrified  brick  is  coming  to  be  largely  used  for 
paving,  in  the  absence  of  good  road  metal.  Barbed  wire  is  now  almost 
universally  used  for  fencing  on  the  treeless  prairies. 

The  broad  surface  of  the  drift  plains  is  here  and  there  interrupted  by 
looped  belts  of  low  hills,  convex  southward  ;  these  are  the  terminal 


74-O       The  International  Geography 

moraines  of  the  ice  lobes  into  which  the  front  of  the  glacial  sheet  was 
divided ;  each  trough  of  low  ground  on  the  north  allowed  the  ice  to  move 
faster  and  further  forward,  while  each  district  of  higher  ground,  like  the 
Allegheny  Plateau  of  eastern  Ohio,  the  uplands  of  lower  Michigan,  and  the 
highlands  of  Wisconsin,  retarded  the  advance.  Although  of  moderate 
relief,  the  morainic  belts  are  usually  the  only  hills  visible  over  hundreds  of 
miles  of  prairie,  hence  they  commonly  serve  to  define  the  subdivides 
between  river  headwaters,  although  not  ranking  as  equals  in  this  respect 
with  the  upland  belts  of  the  ancient  coastal  plain.  The  moraines  have  a 
moderately  rolling  surface,  they  are  sometimes  strewn  with  boulders  ;  their 
hollows  contain  numerous  ponds  and  marshes. 

Effect  of  Glacial  Action  on  Drainage. — Rivers  running  from  the 
glaciated  area  bore  with  them  an  abundant  load  of  waste,  and  thus  built 
up  their  valley  floors  into  broad  flood  plains  ;  but  since  the  disappearance 
of  the  ice  and  the  decrease  of  the  waste  furnished  to  them,  the  rivers  have 
trenched  the  valley  flood  plains,  forming  terraces,  and  sometimes  pro- 
ducing falls  and  rapids  where  the  entrenching  streams  have  cut  down 
upon  buried  ledges  ;  but  the  water  power  thus  provided  is  much  less  than 
in  New  England,  on  account  of  the  small  relief  of  the  region  and  the  slow 
descent  of  the  valley  floors.  The  lakes  which  gathered  on  the  land  that 
sloped  towards  the  retreating  ice  sheets  marked  their  shore  lines  with 
beaches,  many  of  which  are  so  well  preserved  that  they  are  used  as 
naturally  graded  roads.  The  outlets  of  these  glacial  lakes  were  at  the 
lowest  passes  across  the  height  of  land  on  the  south.  Strong  rivers  ran  from 
the  greater  lakes,  scouring  out  broad  channels,  now  abandoned  except  by 
the  waters  of  such  small  side  streams  as  happen  to  enter  them.  A  well- 
defined  channel  of  this  kind  is  incised  to  a  slight  depth  across  the  drift- 
covered  surface  of  northern  Indiana,  where  the  waters  of  the  expanded 
Lake  Erie  (when  its  present  outlet  was  obstructed  by  ice)  ran  out  by  the 
Wabash,  Ohio,  and  Mississippi  rivers.  Another  channel  discharged  the 
expanded  waters  of  Lake  Michigan  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Illinois  river 
across  the  south-western  border  of  the  lake  basin  ;  there  an  Indian  portage 
was  naturally  found  when  white  settlers  entered  the  region ;  a  military 
outpost,  Fort  Dearborn,  was  established  on  this  travelled  path  early  in  the 
nineteenth  century,  and  there  Chicago  has  since  grown.  The  old  channel 
of  overflow  has  been  a  little  deepened,  a  current  of  water  is  drawn  through 
it  from  the  lake  to  the  Mississippi  system,  and  the  drainage  of  the  city  is 
thus  to  be  disposed  of  in  the  future. 

Chicago  is  the  epitome  and  climax  of  the  prairie  and  lake  region. 
Its  lofty  buildings  disclose  a  boundless  prairie  to  the  west  and  south,  and  a 
boundless  blue  lake  to  the  east.  No  other  city  in  America  is  the  focal 
point  of  so  many  lines  and  systems  of  railroads.  No  other  lake  port  has  so 
valuable  a  commerce.  No  other  city  in  the  world  has  grown  to  so  huge  a 
population  in  so  short  a  time — an  empty  prairie  in  1830 ;  more  than  a 
million  of  population  at  the  close  of  the  century.  From  an  idle  military 


The  United  States 


post,  Chicago  has  risen  in  seventy  years — the  span  of  a  single  lifetime — to 
a  sensationally  active  market  for  traffic  in  cattle,  grain,  and  lumber  ;  as  the 
centre  of  trade  for  a  vast  region,  it  feeds  the  east  and  furnishes  the  west. 
The  immediate  site  of  the  city  had  few  advantages  for  the  seat  of  a  great 
population.  The  ground  was  so  low  and  flat  as  to  be  poorly  drained,  and 
after  the  growth  of  the  city  had  been  well  begun,  the  buildings  and  streets 
had  to  be  raised  to  a  higher  level  than  that  of  the  natural  prairie.  The  lake 
shore  was  open  to  storms,  and  the  little  river  that  alone  gave  protection  to 
shipping  had  to  be  enlarged  like  a  canal  before  it  could  admit  many 
vessels.  To  counterbalance  these  disadvantages,  Chicago  stands  in  the 
midst  of  a  vast  prairie  region,  at  a  point  where  all  overland  travel  from 
the  east  must  turn  round  the  southern  end  of  Lake  Michigan  on  the  way 
to  the  great  North- West ;  and  to 
this  fact  of  general  relations  much 
more  than  to  any  immediate  local 
advantage  has  the  great  city  owed 
its  growth.  Rapid  growth  has  not 
been  altogether  an  advantage,  for 
a  city  that  has  increased  in  popu- 
lation so  fast  as  Chicago  cannot 
have  exercised  a  careful  selection 
in  the  choice  of  its  new  members. 
Like  other  great  cities,  it  exhibits 
many  of  the  unattractive  sides  of 
human  nature,  but  from  about  the 
time  of  the  Columbian  Exhibition 
of  1893,  various  signs  of  better 
growth  have  appeared.  The  in- 
numerable railroads  all  originally 
crossed  each  other's  tracks  on  the 
level,  but  the  correction  of  this 
difficulty  is  now  actively  in  pro- 


FlG.  359. — The  Site  of  Chicago. 


gress.  The  immense  wealth  gathered  in  the  city  has  found  new  application 
in  the  establishment  of  a  university  and  a  museum,  whose  development 
has  advanced  by  wondrous  strides.  Already  the  centre  of  population  has 
passed  the  meridian  of  Chicago.  However  important  the  harbour  cities 
may  be  in  relation  to  Europe,  the  great  interior  City  on  the  Lake  promises 
soon  to  outrank  them  in  all  domestic  relations. 

Niagara  and  the  Great  Lakes.— A  whole  series  of  events  reaching 
from  the  close  of  the  glacial  period  past  the  present  into  the  future, 
associate  Niagara  river,  the  Great  Lakes,  and  the  city  of  Chicago  in  a 
most  curious  history.  The  lakes,  except  Superior,  occupy  lowlands  or 
depressions  which,  as  has  been  pointed  out,  are  closely  dependent  upon 
the  structure  of  the  ancient  coastal  plain  between  the  Laurentian  high- 
lands of  Canada  and  the  Ohio  prairies.  Although  the  problem  of  the 


742       The  International   Geography 

origin  of  the  lakes  is  still  unsolved,  their  history  during  the  retreat  of  the 
latest  ice-sheet  has  been  well  deciphered  during  the  last  twenty  years,  and 
now  offers  a  consecutive  story  of  extraordinary  interest  and  importance  to 
the  geographer.  As  the  ice  withdrew  from  its  last  great  advance  numerous 
small  disconnected  water  bodies  were  formed  along  its  margin ;  but  as 
the  retreat  of  the  ice  continued,  the  many  small  lakes  coalesced  into  a  few 
lakes  of  much  larger  size  ;  and  ultimately  perhaps  all  these  were  reduced 
to  a  single  sheet  of  water  of  very  irregular  outline,  escaping  to  the 
Mississippi  by  a  single  outlet  at  the  site  of  Chicago.  This  outlet  was 
probably  maintained  while  the  ice  still  lay  heavily  on  the  lands  to  the 
north-east ;  but  as  the  ice  front  withdrew,  lower  outlets  were  offered,  first 
eastward  by  the  Mohawk  to  the  Hudson,  then  north-east  by  the  St. 
Lawrence  as  to-day.  As  the  change  from  the  southern  to  the  eastern 
drainage  was  approaching,  a  considerable  river  ran  along  the  trough 
defined  by  the  northern  slope  of  the  Allegheny  Plateau  in  central  New 
York,  and  the  southern  slope  of  the  ice  front ;  this  being  known  by  the 
channels  cut  across  the  spurs  of  the  plateau  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Syracuse,  where  they  are  conspicuous  features.  Later  on,  when  the 
eastern  discharge  was  fully  established,  and  the  Chicago  outlet  was 
abandoned,  the  great  marginal  lake  was  divided  into  a  larger  western  and 
a  smaller  eastern  part  by  the  Niagara  upland  between  the  Erie  and  the 
Ontario  basins ;  the  latter  overflowing  down  the  Mohawk  while  the  ice 
still  filled  the  St.  Lawrence  valley,  and  afterwards  sinking  to  a  lower  level 
when  the  St.  Lawrence  valley  was  opened.  Several  lines  of  discharge  for 
a  time  flowed  northward  across  the  Niagara  upland,  and  fell  down  its 
north-facing  bluff  into  the  lowland  beneath  ;  but  of  these  only  the  Niagara 
river  has  survived  ;  its  fall  has  now  been  worn  back  nearly  seven  miles 
from  its  original  position. 

During  all  these  remarkable  changes  the  land  was  slowly  rising  in  the 
north-east,  as  if  relieved  of  the  weight  of  the  ice  by  which  it  had  been  for 
a  time  depressed  ;  this  being  known  by  the  gentle  north-eastward  ascent 
of  the  earlier  lake-shore  lines.  The  change  of  level  thus  brought  about  had 
much  influence  in  determining  the  location  of  the  successive  lake  outlets. 
As  the  ice  sheet  uncovered  the  lowlands  of  south-western  Ontario,  a  line  of 
discharge  was  opened  eastward  from  Georgian  Bay  at  a  lower  level  than 
the  roundabout  flow  through  Lake  Erie  ;  and  for  a  time  the  upper  lakes 
were  allowed  to  discharge  directly  eastward.  During  this  interval  only 
Lake  Erie  fed  Niagara,  and  the  part  of  the  gorge  then  cut  by  the  reduced 
river  is  much  narrower  than  that  of  earlier  and  later  dates.  As  the  land 
rose  in  the  north-east,  the  path  of  the  discharge  eastward  from  Georgian 
Bay  became  too  high  for  the  lake  outlet ;  hence  the  waters  of  the  upper 
lakes  again  ran  round  through  Erie,  Niagara  was  restored  to  the  full 
volume  which  it  has  since  maintained,  and  the  gorge  was  cut  to  full  width 
again.  A  consequence  of  the  variation  in  the  width  of  the  gorge  is  seen 
in  the  position  of  the  two  great  railroad  bridges  by  which  it  is  crossed  ; 


The  United  States  743 

they  are  close  together,  spanning  the  narrow  portion  of  the  gorge  that  was 
cut  while  the  volume  of  the  Niagara  was  diminished  by  the  diversion  of 
the  upper  lake  waters  to  the  more  direct  outlet  across  the  Ontario  district. 

The  rise  of  land  in  the  north-east  not  only  turned  the  discharge  of  the 
upper  lakes  back  to  Erie  and  Niagara,  it  raised  all  the  lake  waters  on  their 
south-western  shores ;  thus  a  number  of  little  valleys  were  flooded  into 
bays,  furnishing  harbours  such  as  that  which  determined  the  location  of 
Toledo  at  the  south-west  end  of  Lake  Erie.  By  a  similar  movement,  the 
water  at  the  southern  end  of  Lake  Michigan  has  been  raised  again  from 
the  level  that  it  must  have  had  while  the  land  was  lower  in  the  north-east 
and  the  eastward  outlet  was  maintained  from  Georgian  Bay  ;  thus  the 
Michigan  waters  have  returned  very  nearly  to  the  level  of  the  earlier  time, 
when  the  northern  end  of  the  lake  was  blocked  by  ice,  and  the  outlet  ran 
south-westward  past  the  site  of  Chicago.  Not  only  so  ;  the  rising  of  the 
land  in  the  north-east  and  resulting  change  of  water  levels  still  continues, 
and  at  a  rate  rapid  enough  to  be  discovered  in  the  brief  period  during 
which  accurate  measurements  have  been  made  of  the  lake  waters.  An 
examination  of  a  number  of  authentic  records  by  Gilbert  has  shown  that 
there  is  a  tilting  of  0*42  feet  in  a  hundred  miles  in  a  century.  If  continued, 
the  backing  up  of  the  waters  on  the  southern  end  of  Lake  Michigan  will 
be  much  faster  than  their  lowering  on  account  of  the  work  of  Niagara  in 
wearing  down  its  falls  ;  and  in  two  or  three  thousand  years  all  the  lakes 
but  Ontario  will  again  be  tributary  to  the  Mississippi  river. 

The  Upper  Mississippi  River.— No  one  can  say  where  the  source 
of  the  Mississippi  River  lay  in  pre-glacial  times.  Its  present  head  in  Lake 
Itasca  is  not  determined  by  the  long  and  slow  adjustments  characteristic 
of  river  sources  in  mountainous  regions,  such  as  the  Older  Appalachian 
Belt  of  North  Carolina,  but  by  the  accidental  position  of  a  small  lake  in 
a  morainic  region.  Its  upper  course  strays  across  a  comparatively  open 
country,  guided  as  much  by  the  irregular  deposits  of  drift  as  by  the 
form  of  the  underlying  rock.  It  has  incised  a  narrow  and  shallow  valley, 
but  is  still  too  young  to  have  worn  down  its  many  falls  and  rapids. 
Settlements  have  sprung  up  at  many  of  the  water  powers  thus  determined. 
The  most  important  of  these  is  Minneapolis,  at  the  lowest  and  the  largest 
of  the  falls,  those  of  St.  Anthony,  now  famous  for  driving  extensive  flour- 
mills,  where  much  of  the  wheat  of  the  north-west  is  ground.  Between  the 
neighbouring  cities  of  Minneapolis  and  St.  Paul  the  narrow  valley  of  the 
young  Mississippi  joins  a  broader  valley  now  occupied  by  the  Minnesota 
river,  but  formed  by  the  large  overflow  of  the  glacial  Lake  Agassiz.  The 
broader  valley  is  thenceforward  followed  southward,  St.  Paul  standing  on 
its  border  at  the  head  of  navigation  ;  and  thus  the  "  twin  cities,"  too  close 
together  for  the  needs  of  the  region,  are  forced  into  an  over-active  rivalry. 
Lake  Pepin,  a  short  distance  below  St.  Paul,  is  an  expansion  of  the 
Mississippi  caused  by  an  abundant  deposit  of  drift  that  was  washed  into 
the  valley  by  the  Chippewa  river  from  the  north-east,  probably  at  a  time 


744      The  International  Geography 

when  the  volume  of  the  latter  was  enlarged  by  contributions  from  the 
melting  ice  sheet.  Further  on,  the  river  generally  possesses  a  flood  plain 
a  few  miles  in  width,  bounded  by  strong  bluffs  which  ascend  to  the  rolling 
prairie ;  here  the  valley  probably  follows  the  course  of  the  pre-glacial 
Mississippi ;  but  occasionally  the  river  trough  is  much  narrower,  as  if  the 
pre-glacial  course  had  been  obstructed  by  drift,  and  a  new  course  had  been 
carved  in  post-glacial  time.  Masterful  as  the  river  is,  it '  cannot  pretend  to 
great  antiquity.  It  is  the  modern  representative  of  an  ancient  river,  but  it 
departs  in  many  ways  from  the  habit  of  its  predecessor.  A  number  of 
thriving  cities  of  moderate  size — Dubuque,  Davenport,  Burlington,  Quincy 
— are  built  on  the  valley  floor  or  border  ;  their  first  advantage  coming 
from  the  great  north-and-south  waterway  ;  but  to-day  the  river  is  of  little 
importance  as  compared  to  the  railroads  running  east  and  west.  Indeed, 
the  river  is  now  more  of  an  impediment  from  having  to  be  bridged,  than 
an  advantage  as  a  public  highway. 

The  Ohio  River.  — The  Ohio  and  its  northern  branches  resemble 
the  upper  Mississippi  system  in  many  ways.  Its  trunk  stream  is  now  old 
enough  to  have  opened  a  good  flood  plain  between  the  enclosing  hills.  The 
head  waters  rise  on  drift  barriers,  by  which  the  pre-glacial  drainage  system- 
has  been  greatly  modified.  Many  valleys  that  formerly  discharged  to  Lake 
Erie  are  now  blocked  by  moraines,  and  turn  part  of  their  waters  to  the 
Ohio.  There  is  growing  reason  for  the  belief  that  a  number  of  streams 
from  as  far  south  as  the  West  Virginia  plateau  originally  ran  northward 
across  Ohio  to  Lake  Erie  ;  that  an  ice  blockade  of  their  lower  (northern) 
courses  in  an  early  epoch  of  the  glacial  period  caused  them  to  rise  in  lakes 
and  overflow  westward  across  the  hills  at  the  lowest  passes  they  could 
find  ;  and  that  in  this  accidental  way  the  upper  and  middle  Ohio  valley 
was  developed.  If  so,  this  river,  by  which  so  many  settlers  found  their 
way  to  the  prairies,  is  an  indirect  consequence  of  glacial  action,  like  the 
water  powers  on  which  the  manufactures  of  New  England  at  first 
depended.  Only  the  southern  branches  of  the  river  can  lay  claim  to  great 
antiquity.  Cincinnati  and  Louisville  are  the  chief  cities  on  the  middle 
Ohio ;  both  profiting  more  largely  to-day  from  the  rich  agricultural  districts 
behind  them,  and  from  the  railroads  that  lead  across  country,  than  from 
the  rivers  to  whose  advantages  their  location  was  originally  due.  Coal 
and  lumber  is  still  floated  down  the  river  from  the  hills  of  the  Allegheny 
Plateau  ;  but  the  large  river  steamboats  and  their  voyages  from  Pittsburg 
to  the  Mississippi  are  almost  things  of  the  past.  Small  river-boats  to-day 
have  a  share  of  local  traffic,  but  the  railroads  absorb  nearly  all  the  long- 
distance transportation. 

All  these  rivers  are  subject  to  severe  floods,  those  of  the  Ohio  being 
especially  disastrous ;  many  of  its  branches,  especially  in  the  plateau 
district,  gather  rainfall  rapidly  from  their  steep  valley  sides.  No  lakes  are 
present  to  equalise  their  discharge,  the  Ohio  being  strongly  contrasted 
with  the  St.  Lawrence  in  this  respect.  A  destructive  rise  of  from  forty  to 


The  United  States  745 

sixty  feet,  submerging  the  whole  valley  floor,  and  drowning  the  streets  of 
many  a  village,  must  be  expected  once  if  not  oftener  in  a  decade. 

The  Climate  of  the  Ohio  Region. — Cold  winters  and  hot  summers, 
with  an  equable  distribution  of  rainfall  through  the  year,  are  the  leading 
features  in  the  climate  of  the  Ohio  region.  The  hot  summers  are  so 
productive  that  the  cold  of  the  winters  is  easily  survived.  The  position 
of  the  region  between  the  warm  Gulf  of  Mexico  on  the  far  south,  and  the 
open  plains  of  Canada  on  the  far  north-west,  gives  an  unpleasant  violence 
to  its  weather  changes.  The  light  southerly  winds  that  prevail  in  front 
of  cyclonic  areas  in  midsummer  cause  excessive  temperatures  with  high 
humidity  under  a  hazy  sky;  prostration  from  sunstroke  is  of  common 
occurrence  in  the  cities  during  these  spells  of  true  "sirocco"  weather. 
The  Atlantic  cities  are  subject  to  the  same  affliction,  but  seldom  of  so  great 
severity  as  on  the  prairies.  As  the  cyclonic  centre  passes  eastward,  the 
wind  shifts  to  west  or  north-west,  the  sky  clears  to  a  bright  blue,  and  the 
temperature  falls  to  a  moderate  degree.  Violent  thunderstorms  and 
tornadoes  often  mark  the  transition  from  one  weather  type  to  another.  In 
contrast  with  these  excessive  heats  of  summer  and  their  cool  waves  are 
the  mild  southerly  winds  of  winter  and  their  cold  waves  ;  the  latter  are 
piercing  blasts  that  sweep  suddenly  down  from  the  Canadian  plains, 
reducing  the  temperature  to  zero  or  lower,  and  causing  sudden  frost  after 
the  thaw  of  the  southerly  winds.  Like  the  warm  waves  of  summer,  the 
cold  waves  of  winter  reach  the  Atlantic  coast,  even  as  far  south  as  Florida, 
but  with  diminished  intensity  as  they  move  forward  from  their  remote 
northern  source. 

THE  SOUTHERN  COASTAL  PLAIN 

The  Southern  Coastal  Plain.— The  account  already  given  of  the 
Atlantic  Coastal  Plain  as  far  south  as  the  Carolinas  prepares  the  way  for 
following  its  extension  westward,  where  it  wraps  around  the  southern 
Appalachians  and  turns  into  the  Mississippi  embayment.  The  mountains 
gradually  decrease  in  height,  although  preserving  their  disordered 
structures  in  full  strength,  and  thus  disappear  below  the  covering  strata  of 
the  coastal  plain  in  northern  Georgia  and  Alabama.  With  the  burial  of 
the  mountains,  the  granite  and  marble  quarries  of  the  older  belt,  and  the 
coal  and  iron  mines  of  the  newer  belt,  give  way  to  the  agricultural 
industries  of  the  plain.  The  plain  is  well  dissected  and  hilly  in  the  interior, 
with  local  relief  of  from  two  to  four  hundred  feet ;  it  gradually  descends 
towards  the  coast,  and  there  falls  to  broad  prairies,  recently  emerged  from 
the  waters  of  the  Gulf,  still  flat  and  marshy.  Pine  forests  cover  much  of 
the  region,  yielding  valuable  lumber  as  well  as  resinous  products.  The 
population  is  generally  rural  or  gathered  in  small  villages ;  even  the  largest 
cities  are  of  moderate  size.  Middle  Alabama  offers  the  only  peculiar 
feature  that  deserves  special  description  ;  this  is  a  belted  arrangement  of 
form,  such  as  has  been  described  for  New  Jersey.  An  inner  lowland 


746       The  International  Geography 


borders  the  older  land  of  the  Appalachians ;  an  upland  known  as 
Chunnenugga  Ridge  encloses  the  inner  lowland  ;  and  the  outer  slope  of 
the  "ridge"  descends  to  the  flat  coastal  prairies.  The  inner  lowland  has 
been  worn  down  on  a  weak,  loose-textured  lime- 
stone ;  its  flat  surface  is  covered  by  a  rich  .soil, 
and  here  is  the  chief  cotton  belt  of  the  State  with 
the  largest  cities  of  the  agricultural  district. 
Being  without  good  road  metal,  the  roads  are 
often  impassable  in  the  spring ;  the  traveller 
must  then  mount  a  horse  and  take  to  the  fields. 
The  "ridge"  stands  up  because  its  strata  are 
more  resistant  than  those  of  the  inner  lowland ; 
being  sandy  for  the  most  part,  their  soils  are 
relatively  infertile.  The  coastal  prairies  are  low, 
because  they  have  never  been  uplifted  high ;  they 
are  smooth  because  they  cannot  be  dissected 
while  standing  near  sea-level.  Mobile,  at  the  head 
of  a  bay  formed  by  drowning  the  lower  valley 
of  Alabama  river,  the  result  of  a  slight  depres- 


Cult  of   Mexico. 


FIG.  360. — The  Alabama 
Coastal  Plain. 


sion  of  the  region,  is  the  chief  port  of  the  Gulf  coast,  east  of  the  Mississippi. 
Slavery. — The  Southern  Coastal  Plain  is  chiefly  responsible  for  the 
grievous  affliction  of  slavery  that  so  long  blighted  the  southern  States  and' 
poisoned  the  whole  country.  The  settlements  of  the  whole  Atlantic  coast 
were  at  first  to  blame  for  the  iniquity,  for  slaves  were  originally  held  in 
New  England  as  well  as  in  Virginia  and  the  Carolinas ;  but  in  the  north 
slave  labour  was  of  so  little  profit  that  sordid  motives  did  not  deceive  the 
awakening  conscience  of  the  people  ;  and  before  the  system  gained  a 
strong  hold  it  was  uprooted.  In  the  south,  on  the  other  hand,  slave  labour 
on  the  plantations  became  extremely  profitable  ;  and  moreover,  the  heat  of 
summer,  it  has  often  been  asserted,  was  too  severe  for  white  labourers. 
The  principles  of  the  people  very  naturally  followed  their  profitable 
practice,  and  slavery  became  an  established  institution.  The  population 
was  thus  divided  into  three  chief  classes,  the  white  slaveholders,  the  land- 
owners and  leaders,  financially  and  politically,  of  the  south,  men  of  wealth, 
ability,  and  high  position  ;  the  poor  whites  or  "  white  trash,"  in  large  part 
the  descendants  of  very  undesirable  colonists  of  early  days,  owning  no 
slaves  and  very  little  property,  lazy,  ignorant,  and  poverty-stricken,  despised 
by  both  the  other  classes  ;  and  the  negro  slaves,  with  no  property  or 
influence  whatever.  To  these  three  classes  a  fourth  may  be  added ;  the 
sturdier  people  of  the  uplands,  inland  from  the  coastal  plain,  often  owning 
no  slaves,  sometimes  owning  a  few,  not  profiting  enough  by  the  system  of 
slavery  to  be  strongly  attached  to  it,  yet  not  sufficiently  wealthy  or  politi- 
cally important  to  exert  much  influence,  and  too  generally  casting  what 
influence  they  had  with  the  more  ardent  slaveholders  as  against  the  people 
of  the  north. 


The  United  States 


747 


FIG.  361  — The  Old  Slave  States  and  the  present 
Distribution  of  Negroes. 


If  the  distribution  of  the  wealthy  and  the  influential  slaveholders  were 
charted,  it  would  be  found  to  be  closely  associated  with  the  Southern 
Coastal  Plain,  and  especially  with  the  belts  of  richer  soil.  The  piedmont 
border  of  the  Appalachian  belt,  the  inland  Appalachian  valley  (the  Shenan- 
doah  valley  of  Virginia  and  the  Valley  of  East  Tennessee),  the  flood  plain 
of  the  Mississippi  and  the  isolated  limestone  basins  of  western  Tennessee 
and  northern  Kentucky  (the  Blue  Grass  country)  were  also  profitable  slave- 
holding  districts  ;  but  the  stronghold  of  the  system  was  on  the  coastal 
plain.  Better  that  the 
plain  should  never  have 
grown  a  pound  of  cotton, 
better  that  its  fertile 
strata  should  never  have 
emerged  from  the  waters 
of  the  sea,  than  that 
slavery  and  its  direful, 
long-lasting  consequences 
should  have  come  upon 
the  United  States.  Now 
after  a  dreadful  struggle, 
slavery  is  abolished  and 
better  conditions  are 
ushered  in.  Considerable  sums  of  public  money  are  devoted  by  the  several 
States  to  the  education  of  the  negroes,  but  always  apart  from  the  whites  ; 
many  schools  are  supported  by  contributions  from  the  northern  States ; 
some  advance  is  made  in  the  ownership  and  cultivation  of  land  and  in  the 
practice  of  trades  ;  but  political  rights  are  practically  withheld  from  the 
former  slaves ;  there  is  still  a  great  body  of  poor  and  ignorant  negroes 
— often  a  majority  of  the  population— set  apart  from  the  whites  by  all  the 
prejudices  that  divide  the  races  of  mankind.  The  coastal  plain  has  much 
to  answer  for,  in  so  far  as  it  led  to  this  unhappy  condition. 

Florida  is  an  anomalous  out-growth  from  the  Southern  Coastal  Plain, 
a  low  up-arching  of  the  sea  floor,  nowhere  reaching  more  than  a  few 
hundred  feet  above  sea-level.  Much  of  its  interior  is  underlain  by  lime- 
stones ;  here  numerous  lakes  are  found  as  if  occupying  cavities  dissolved 
out  of  the  soluble  rock,  and  many  streams  disappear  in  "  sinks,"  emerging 
elsewhere  in  large  springs.  Nearer  the  coast  the  land  is  low  and  often 
marshy,  especially  in  the  south  where  the  grassy  Everglades  form  an 
impenetrable  wilderness,  and  where  the  shore  line  is  often  bordered  by 
mangrove  swamps,  especially  on  the  western  side.  Remnants  of  Indian 
tribes  are  still  found  in  this  untamable  country.  The  eastern  coast  is 
bordered  by  extensive  sand  reefs  with  remarkably  even  shore  lines, 
enclosing  long  narrow  lagoons.  In  Florida,  as  well  as  further  north  to 
Carolina,  there  are  strata  so  rich  in  phosphatic  deposits— largely  derived  from 
the  bones  of  sea  animals— as  to  be  valuable  as  fertilizers  ;  they  are  already 
49 


748       The  International  Geography 

excavated  in  shallow  pits  and  exported  in  considerable  quantity  ;  but  this 
industry  is  only  in  its  infancy,  awaiting  the  further  exhaustion  of  the  soils  in 
the  northern  farms  for  its  full  development.  The  southern  extremity  of 
Florida  and  the  outlying  islands  are  coral  reefs  ;  in  part  slightly  elevated 
and  worn  down  again  ;  in  part  growing  at  sea-level ;  thus  resembling  the 
extensive  banks  of  the  Bahamas  to  the  south-east. 

The  far  southern  reach  of  Florida  between  the  Atlantic  and  the  Gulf 
waters  gives  it  an  almost  torrid  climate.  It  has  a  plentiful  rainfall,  with  a 
stronger  maximum  in  summer  than  is  found  anywhere  else  in  the  United 
States.  Tropical  cyclones  frequently  pass  the  Florida  coast  in  the  late 
summer  or  early  autumn,  on  their  curved  track  between  the  West  Indies 
and  the  North  Atlantic.  They  sometimes  cause  disaster  on  the  low  coastal 
lands  by  brushing  the  sea-water  ashore  in  storm  tides,  as  well  as  by  over- 
whelming the  unwary  mariner  ;  but  their  coming  is  generally  announced 
by  the  Weather  Bureau.  The  mild  winters  of  Florida  attract  many 
invalids  from  the  more  severe  climates  of  the  northern  States.  The 
high  mean  temperature  permits  the  cultivation  of  subtropical  fruits, 
which  are  sent  in  large  quantities  to  the  northern  markets ;  but  a  cold 
wave  occasionally  sweeps  down  from  the  north-west  in  the  late  winter 
and  freezes  the  orange  trees  and  early  vegetables ;  hence  fortunes  have 
been  lost  as  well  as  made  in  the  orchards  and  farms  of  Florida.  Key  West, 
on  an  island  off  the  south  end  of  the  peninsula,  is  the  United  States  naval 
station  for  the  Gulf. 

The  Lower  Mississippi.— During  the  deposition  of  the  strata  of 
the  Southern  Coastal  Plain,  a  strong  embayment  occupied  the  place  of 
the  lower  Mississippi.  As  the  region  was  elevated,  many  rivers,  formerly 
independent,  were  engrafted  on  a  single  trunk,  and  thus  the  "  father  of 
waters  "  was  formed.  The  upper  Mississippi  deserves  no  higher  rank  than 
the  Ohio  and  the  Missouri ;  indeed,  in  the  matter  of  age,  the  Ohio  head- 
waters in  the  Black  Mountains  of  North  Carolina  and  the  Missouri  head- 
waters in  the  Rocky  Mountains  of  Montana,  Wyoming,  and  Colorado,  are 
much  more  venerable  than  the  post-glacial  parvenus  of  the  upper  Mis- 
sissippi in  Minnesota  ;  but  the  lower  Mississippi  combining  them  all  is 
truly  a  great  river.  The  early  French  explorers  of  North  America  entered 
the  interior  by  its  two  chief  waterways,  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the  Mississippi. 
Their  presence  is  revealed  by  many  names  still  in  use,  such  as  Quebec 
and  Montreal,  New  Orleans  and  Baton  Rouge,  St.  Louis  and  Louisiana. 
The  defeat  of  the  French  at  Quebec  transferred  all  their  possessions  on 
the  northern  river  to  British  control.  The  purchase  of  Louisiana  brought 
a  western  empire  into  the  possession  of  the  United  States.  In  both  cases 
the  upper  basin  of  the  river  followed  the  fate  of  the  mouth. 

Although  bearing  a  heavy  load  of  silt,  the  great  volume  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi enables  it  to  establish  a  channel  of  very  gentle  slope.  Its  vigorous 
meanders,  swinging  now  this  way,  now  that,  have  alternately  worn  back 
the  bluffs  on  the  east  and  west  so  that  the  flood  plain  has  gained  a  breadth 


The  United  States 


749 


of  from  thirty  to  sixty  miles  over  a  length  of  600  miles, 
the  plain  slopes  gently  away  from  the  river 
banks,  and  is  therefore  liable  to  be  flooded  at 
times  of  high  water.  Hardly  a  year  passes  but 
a  moderate  flood  occurs  in  one  part  or  another ; 
hardly  a  decade  without  a  devastating  inunda- 
tion. Near  the  river  the  plain  is  partly  cleared 
and  cultivated  :  its  rich  soil  produces  abundant 
crops  of  cotton  and  sugar  cane.  Further  back 
upon  the  river  a  great  part  of  the  plain  is 
not  yet  cleared.  Southward,  the  flood  plain 
continues  into  the  delta,  which  is  rapidly  build- 
ing forward  into  the  Gulf.  The  river  there 
divides  into  a  number  of  outgoing  branches  or 
distributaries,  each  of  which  is  ^enclosed  in  its 
furthest  advance  by  low  and  narrow  banks  of 
mud.  Few  deltas  in  the  world  more  clearly 
exhibit  in  their  digitate  outline  the  intention  of 
their  river ;  few  are  more  indifferent  to  the 
desire  of  the  waves  to  turn  their  front  into  a 
smooth  convex  curve.  The  mouths  of  the  dis- 
tributaries are  known  as  "  passes "  ;  at  one  of 
them,  jetties  have  been  formed  to  confine  the 
river  breadth,  increase  its  velocity,  and  thus 
cause  it  to  scour  out  a  deeper  channel  for  the 
advantage  of  navigation.  No  large  cities  have 
grown  upon  the  flood  plain  except  New  Orleans, 
the  chief  city  of  the  Gulf  coast,  the  harbour 
city  where  internal  and  external  commerce  meet. 


The  greater  part  of 


FlG.  362. — The  Mississippi  Flood 
Plain  (white). 


Its  population  contains 
many  Creoles — Americans  of  French  ancestry — and  many  Italian  immi- 
grants. St.  Louis,  although 
above  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio, 
may  be  regarded  as  standing 
at  the  head  of  the  great  flood 
plain.  In  earlier  years,  when 
river  transportation  was  at  its 
best  development,  the  two 
cities  of  the  lower  Mississippi 
were  intimately  connected  ;  a 
voyage  on  a  Mississippi  steam- 
boat was  an  experience  sui 
generis,  in  the  way  of  boat  con- 
struction and  navigation,  as 
FIG.  363—™*  end  of  the  Mississippi  Delta.  wdl  ag  in  the  chance  of  meet. 

ing  with  planters  and  gamblers,  and  of  seeing  a  cargo  of  "  slaves,  cotton 


750        The  International  Geography 


and  other  merchandise."  The  trip  may  still  be  made  ;  there  are  still  shift- 
ing sand  bars  on  the  "  crossings  "  between  the  river  curves,  and  there  is  still 

a  great  extent  of  unoccupied  forest  along 
the  river  banks ;  but  here,  as  well  as 
further  north,  the  rapid  transportation 
of  the  railroad  is  largely  replacing  the 
slower  movement  of  the  river  boat, 
except  for  local  traffic  supplied  by  the 
settlements  on  the  flood  plain  itself. 
Between  New  Orleans  and  St.  Louis, 
the  chief  settlements  are  at  points  where 
the  swinging  river  touches  the  bluffs 
on  one  or  other  side  of  the  plain.  Hap- 
pening in  this  century  to  lie  nearer  the 
eastern  side  of  the  plain  than  the  west- 
ern, Memphis,  Tenn.,  Vicksburg,  Miss., 
FIG.  3fa-The  Site  of  New  Orleans.  and  ^^  and  Bflfo|f  RQ^  ^  ^Q 

on  the  eastern  bluffs.  Helena,  Ark.,  is  the  only  important  city  on  the 
western  bluff  below  St.  Louis.  To  these  must  be  added  Cairo,  III.,  at  the 
junction  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi. 

If  engineering  skill  ever  suffices  to  control  the  floods  of  the  Mississippi, 
to  restrain  the  shifting  of  its  meandering  channel,  and  to  drain  the  "  back- 
swamps"  of  its  flood  plain,  the  whole  surface  may  be  cultivated.  Already 
some  steps  have  been  taken  toward  this  profitable  end.  A  Mississippi 
River  Commission  has  constructed  elaborate  maps  of  the  river,  and  exten- 
sive dikes  or  "  levees "  are  constructed  along  its  banks.  Another  century 
may  see  great  advance  made  from  this  beginning,  and  then  the  product  of 
the  Mississippi  flood  plain  will  be  proportionate  to  its  vast  extent  and  its 
inexhaustible  fertility. 

TRANS-MISSISSIPPI  STATES 

The  Trans-Mississippi  States.— The  tier  of  States  from  Minnesota 
to  Louisiana  immediately  west  of  the  Mississippi  presents  an  epitomised 
review  of  what  has  already  been  described.  Northern  Minnesota  is  an 
extension  of  the  Laurentian  highlands,  a  region  of  ancient  rocks  worn 
down  to  moderate  relief,  rich  in  iron  ores.  It  is  abundantly  strewn  over 
with  sheet  drift  and  heaped  moraines  enclosing  innumerable  lakes.  Its 
northward  slope,  with  that  of  eastern  North  Dakota,  drained  by  the  Red 
River  of  the  North,  was  the  seat  of  the  vast  glacial-marginal  Lake  Agassiz, 
stretching  far  north  into  Canada  against  the  retreating  ice,  and  overflowing 
at  a  dip  in  the  height  of  land  on  the  south,  where  the  channel  now  followed 
by  the  Minnesota  river  was  cut.  The  shore  lines  of  the  lake  and  the 
deltas  of  inflowing  rivers  on  the  east  and  west  are  not  less  distinct  than  the 
channel  of  its  outlet,  although  now  abandoned  by  the  waters  that  made 
them.  As  with  the  Laurentian  glacial  lakes,  the  shore  lines  of  Lake 


The  United  States 


Agassiz  now  rise  northward  at  a  slight  inclination,  proving  an  elevation  of 
the  land  in  the  north  during  and  since  the  disappearance  of  the  ice  sheet. 
The  lake-floor,  a  vast  treeless  prairie,  one  of  the  most  nearly  level  tracts  on 
the  face  of  the  Earth,  has  been  occu- 
pied by  great  wheat  farms ;  the  fine 
texture  of  its  soil,  the  smoothness  of 
its  surface,  and  its  freedom  from  forest 
growth  have  promoted  its  rapid  settle- 
ment, while  the  rolling  drift  country 
on  the  east  and  west,  with  its  stony 
moraines,  its  abundant  forest  growth, 
and  its  many  lakes  and  swamps,  is  less 
generally  occupied.  Here  as  elsewhere 
in  the  north-west,  Scandinavian  immi- 
grants are  numerous. 

Southern  Minnesota,  Iowa,  and 
northern-Missouri — and  the  adjoining 
parts  of  South  Dakota,  Nebraska,  and 
Kansas — resemble  the  western  prairie 
States  of  the  Ohio  region.  The  sur- 
face is  underlain  by  nearly  horizontal 
strata  of  ancient  date,  similar  to  those 
which  stretch  southward  from  the 


FIG.  365.— The  Site  of  St.  Louis. 


Wisconsin  highland.  There  is  the  same  general  concealment  of  rock 
ledges,  except  in  the  banks  of  the  post-glacial  stream  courses ;  the  same 
wide  expanse  of  gently  undulating  plains  of  till,  the  same  ornamenta- 
tion by  belts  of  hilly  moraines.  Most  of  the  surface  is  treeless  prairie, 
very  fertile  and  widely  cultivated.  Many  villages  and  small  cities  have 
sprung  up,  but  there  are  as  yet  no  large  cities.  Railroads  are  almost  as 
plentiful  as  east  of  the  Mississippi.  There  is  no  part  of  the  United  States 
in  which  the  succession  of  earlier  and  later  drift  sheets  is  so  well  displayed. 
In  the  northern  part  of  this  district  the  forms  produced  by  the  ice  are 
hardly  modified,  except  close  to  the  sharp-cut  stream  lines  ;  the  till  plains 
are  still  undissected,  lakes  are  still  present  in  the  moraines  :  here  the  drift  is 
very  young.  In  the  southern  part  there  are  no  lakes  and  the  surface  of  the 
drift  is  well  carved  by  numerous  branching  streams  into  an  undulating  sur- 
face :  here  the  drift  is  comparatively  old.  The  interval  between  the  earliest 
and  latest  ice  advances  must  have  been  much  longer  than  between  the  latest 
advance  and  the  present  day.  The  fertile  loess  mantle  that  so  generally 
cloaks  the  more  southern  drift  is  distinctly  associated  with  one  of  the 
earlier  advances  ;  the  latest  advance  produced  no  loess,  but  gave  forth 
energetic  rivers  that  bore  streams  of  gravel  along  the  valleys  far  beyond 
the  terminal  moraines. 

Tornadoes  of  the   Mississippi  Basin.— The  plains  immediately 
to  the  west  of  the  Mississippi  vie  with  those  immediately  to  the  east  of  the 


752       The  International  Geography 

river  in  affording  opportunity  for  the  development  of  tornadoes  during  the 
spring  and  summer  months.  These  violent  and  destructive  whirlwinds 
are  now  shown  to  be  almost  limited  to  the  south-eastern  quadrant  of  large 
cyclonic  or  low  pressure  areas,  in  that  part  of  the  cyclonic  track  and  in 
that  season  which  provides  strong  contrasts  of  temperature  and  humidity 
in  the  inflowing  winds.  The  same  great  cyclonic  storm,  a  thousand  miles 
in  diameter,  may  be  followed  in  its  eastern  progress  all  across  North 
America,  and  far  out  upon  the  North  Atlantic  even  to  north-western 
Europe.  The  general  circulation  of  its  whirling  indrafts  is  alike  during 
its  entire  journey  of  five  or  ten  thousand  miles ;  but  only  on  passing 
the  middle  Mississippi  basin  in  spring  or  summer  are  tornadoes  frequently 
developed.  They  occur  within  thunderstorms,  but  by  no  means  within 
every  such  local  storm  ;  hence  it  may  be  inferred  that  their  development 
depends  on  highly  specialised  conditions,  such  as  warm  and  moist  southerly 
winds  in  the  lower  atmosphere,  and  a  probable  overflow  of  cool  and  dry 
westerly  winds  aloft.  The  destructive  tornado  whirl,  within  which  hangs 
a  writhing  funnel-shaped  cloud,  is  seldom  over  a  thousand  yards  in 
diameter.  It  travels  rapidly,  usually  from  south-west  to  north-east,  avera- 
ging thirty  miles  an  hour,  while  the  velocity  of  the  winds  themselves  must 
exceed  a  hundred  miles  per  hour.  The  storm  comes  out  of  the  cloudy 
west  with  little  warning,  lays  waste  its  narrow  path  with  a  frightful  roaring, 
and  quickly  disappears  across  the  prairie.  Trees  and  buildings  are 
violently  destroyed  in  a  moment,  if  the  full  force  of  the  whirl  comes  upon 
them.  Little  wonder  that  those  who  have  witnessed  but  escaped  a  tornado's 
fury  are  nervously  apprehensive  when  dark  clouds  gather  over  the  western 
horizon  in  sultry  summer  weather. 

The  Missouri  Highlands.— The  Missouri  river  roughly  follows 
the  border  of  the  drift  area  on  the  west  of  the  Mississippi,  as  the  Ohio 
does  on  the  east.  There  is  some  reason  for  thinking  that  the  course  of 
the  river  was  determined  when  an  early  ice  sheet  lay  on  the  country  to  the 
north-east  of  it,  thus  increasing  its  resemblance  to  the  Ohio.  It  is  now  a  well 
established  river,  with  a  flood  plain  generally  several  miles  wide,  incised  one 
or  two  hundred  feet  below  the  uplands  on  either  side.  Many  towns,  like 
Jefferson  City,  the  capital  of  Missouri,  occupy  the  bordering  uplands  where 
the  swinging  river  impinges  against  the  base  of  the  bluff ;  thus  showing 
that  here,  as  on  the  Ohio,  river  travel  was  important  before  the  days  of  the 
railroad.  Now  many  steamboats  are  rotting  at  their  wharves. 

South  of  the  Missouri,  the  land  rises  gradually  to  the  Ozark  Plateau  (Oz 
in  Fig.  353),  a  broad  flat  dome  of  Palaeozoic  strata,  in  general  less  dissected, 
but  singularly  like  the  Allegheny  plateau  in  many  respects.  The  uplands 
include  a  number  of  ragged  cuestas ,  that  is,  reliefs  determined  by  the 
harder  members  of  the  plateau  strata  whose  gently  inclined  position  causes 
them  to  form  escarpments  of  irregular  front,  two  or  three  hundred  feet  in 
height  on  the  outcrop  side,  but  descending  slowly  to  lower  ground  in  the 
direction  of  their  dip  ;  the  belt  of  lower  ground  between  the  back  slope  of 


The  United   States  753 

one  cuesta  and  the  escarpment  of  the  next  being  the  surface  expression  of 
the  weaker  strata  that  lie  between  the  cuesta-makers.  The  chief  river 
valleys  are  cut  down  beneath  the  level  of  the  belts  of  lower  ground,  and 
are  therefore  doubly  deep  in  their  passage  through  the  uplands  of  the 
cuestas.  They  are  generally  steep  sided  and  narrow  floored  :  some  of 
them  have  singularly  meandering  courses,  like  that  of  the  Osage.  The 
population  is  gathered  on  the  broader  interstream  uplands,  and  is  almost 
exclusively  engaged  in  agriculture.  The  chief  exception  to  this  statement 
is  found  in  the  St.  Fra^ois  Mountains,  eastward  from  the  higher  parts  of 
the  plateau,  where  iron  mining  flourishes  ;  this  being  the  natural  result  of 
the  emergence  here  of  several  ancient  mountain  summits  that  rise  through 
the  stratified  rocks  of  the  plateau  from  a  buried  Archaean  land  surface. 
Iron  Mountain  is  one  of  these  summits ;  Pilot  Knob,  a  landmark  seen 
from  afar,  is  another.  The  plateau  slowly  decreases  in  height  and  increases 
in  ruggedness  on  approaching  its  border  in  northern  Arkansas.  Across  its 
whole  breadth,  there  is  an  increase  in  the  abundance  of  natural  tree 
growth,  in  contrast  to  the  treeless  prairies  of  Iowa ;  the  rugged  southern 
part  of  the  Ozark  Plateau  is  abundantly  forested  and  thinly  inhabited. 

The  Arkansas  Highlands. — The  lower  country  of  central  Ar- 
kansas, next  beyond  the  southern  border  of  the  Ozark  Plateau,  is  deter- 
mined by  the  upturning  of  the  strata,  which  from  the  beginning  of  their 
overlap  on  the  Archaean  floor  of  northern  Minnesota  had  been  almost 
horizontal.  The  denuded  folds  of  the  crushed  rocks  form  the  Ouachita 
Mountains,  occupying  a  belt  that  trends  east  and  west  across  middle  Ar- 
kansas, disappearing  under  the  embayment  of  the  Southern  Coastal  Plain 
to  the  eastward,  and  extending  far  into  the  dry  country  to  the  westward 
(Ou  in  Fig.  353).  Here  so  many  repetitions  of  the  Appalachian  structure 
and  form  have  been  found  that  the  Appalachian  mountain-making  disturb- 
ance of  Permian  time  is  now  recognised  as  extending  far  beyond  the  limits 
originally  assigned  to  it  in  Alabama.  The  harder  strata  stand  up  as  ridges 
of  moderate  height,  turning  in  angular  zigzags  of  true  Appalachian  habit ; 
the  streams  cut  through  the  ridges  in  sharp  water  gaps ;  the  farming 
country  lies  in  the  basins  and  "  coves "  divided  by  the  ridges.  Certain 
sandstone  layers  in  the  ridges  are  of  extremely  fine  texture  and  are  exten- 
sively quarried  for  whetstones. 

The  uneducated  population  of  the  South  is  at  its  worst  in  the  "  piney 
woods"  of  central  Arkansas.  Whether  because  of  inferior  ancestry  or 
because  of  the  blight  of  slavery,  the  people  of  the  country  districts,  white 
as  well  as  black,  are  here  miserably  degraded.  As  so  often  elsewhere  in 
the  South,  the  shiftless  farmers  often  buy  seed  for  spring  planting  with 
money  borrowed  on  the  prospect  of  the  autumn's  harvest.  They  show 
little  desire  to  improve  their  condition,  and  remain  ignorant,  badly  housed, 
roughly  clothed,  and  poorly  fed  from  generation  to  generation.  Some  of 
the  inertness  of  the  people  may  be  charged  to  the  extreme  heat  of  the 
summers;  but  from  whatever  cause,  their  slow  progress  makes  a  sad 


754      The  International  Geography 

contrast  to  the  rapid  emergence  from  frontier  conditions  in  such  States  as 
Wisconsin  and  Iowa.  Amid  rural  surroundings  so  deplorable,  it  is  natural 
that  the  urban  population  should  grow  slowly,  and  that  manufacturing  and 
mercantile  activity  should  be  at  the  lowest  ebb.  Helena  on  the  Mississippi 
and  Little  Rock  on  the  Arkansas,  the  chief  cities  of  the  district,  are  only  of 
local  importance. 

The  Red  River  Rafts. — Southern  Arkansas  is  overlapped  by  the 
coastal  plain  which  continues  through  Louisiana  to  the  shore  of  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico,  repeating  many  of  the  conditions  already  described  for  the 
region  east  of  the  Mississippi.  Much  of  the  surface  is  still  forested, 
and  the  population  is  almost  entirely  rural  and  agricultural.  The  flood 
plain  of  the  Red  River  deserves  mention  among  the  physical  features  on 
account  of  the  famous  "  rafts "  by  which  the  river  channel  through  it  has 
been  encumbered  for  distances  of  twenty  or  more  miles.  The  rafts  are 
formed  by  the  accumulation  of  tree  trunks  that  have  been  swept  in  time 
of  flood  from  the  forested  flood  plain  further  up  the  valley.  The  older 
trunks  rot  away  at  the  lower  end  of  the  raft,  while  new  ones  gather  at  the 
upper  end ;  thus  the  raft  slowly  moves  up  stream.  In  recent  years  a 
navigable  channel  has  been  opened  through  the  raft  above  Shreveport, 
and  kept  clear  by  patrolling  "  snag-boats."  Appropriate  to  the  slow  pro- 
gress of  the  region,  river  transportation  has  not  been  so  generally  super- 
ceded  by  the  railroads  here  as  in  the  north.  Partly  on  account  of  the 
obstruction  of  the  river  current  by  the  raft,  partly  on  account  of  the  large 
amount  of  sediment  brought  down  from  the  upper  waters  in  the  Llano 
Estacado  of  Texas,  the  flood  plain  of  the  Red  River  is  rapidly  aggrading 
or  building  up  the  valley  floor.  The  side  streams  in  Louisiana,  unable  to 
aggrade  their  valleys  at  the  same  rapid  rate,  expand  on  approaching  the 
main  valley,  and  thus  form  a  number  of  lakes  of  unusual  origin.  The 
coastal  prairie  offers  little  temptation  to  settlement.  Its  surface  is  so  low, 
flat,  and  marshy  as  generally  to  be  unfit  for  cultivation  ;  its  shore  possesses 
no  good  harbours,  and  is  subject  to  storm  floods  from  the  sea. 

The  Coastal  Plain  of  Texas.— The  Southern  Coastal  Plain  extends 
south-westward  into  Texas.  Its  shore  line  sweeps  in  a  long  concave  curve 
from  the  fingered  delta  of  the  Mississippi  to  the  rounded  delta  of  the  Rio 
Grande.  For  nearly  all  this  distance  the  low  margin  of  the  plain  is 
bordered  by  off-shore  sand-reefs,  built  by  wave  action  in  the  shallow  waters 
of  the  Gulf.  The  reefs  are  of  extraordinary  continuity,  by  reason  of  the 
weakness  of  the  tides.  Padre  Island,  the  reef  that  extends  northward  from 
the  Rio  Grande  delta,  measures  nearly  a  hundred  miles  without  a  break, 
and  in  this  respect  is  strikingly  unlike  the  broken  reefs  and  sea  islands  of 
South  Carolina,  where  the  much  stronger  tides  maintain  many  openings 
leading  from  the  mainland  to  the  sea.  Texas  is  so  poorly  provided  with 
harbours  that  its  chief  port,  Galveston,  is  situated  on  one  of  the  off-shore 
sand  reefs,  where  it  was  devastated  by  a  hurricane  and  simultaneous  sea- 
flood  in  1900.  The  other  ports  are  on  shallow  bays  (valleys  in  the 


The  United  States  755 

coastal  plain,   slightly  drowned),  accessible  only  to  vessels  of  moderate 
draught  through  narrow  inlets  of  the  sand-reef. 

The  coastal  prairie  is  treeless  except  along  the  watercourses  ;  it  forms  a 
vast  grazing  country.  Further  inland,  the  surface  rises  slowly,  is  dissected 
into  a  hilly  expression,  and  is  more  generally  wooded.  Then  follows  the 
black  prairie  of  smoother  surface  and  more  fertile  soil,  a  great  cotton  district, 
like  that  enclosed  by  the  Chunnenugga  Ridge  of  Alabama.  Here  are  the 
chief  interior  cities,  including  Austin,  the  capital.  Finally,  the  long  slope 
of  the  Grand  Prairie,  a  Cretaceous  cuesta  of  large  dimensions,  ascends  to 
uplands  of  considerable  altitude  before  descending  by  a  ragged  escarp- 
ment to  the  "  central  denuded  region,"  a  farming  district  of  ancient  rocks 
and  diversified  structure,  form,  and  resources.  The  Cretaceous  cuesta  is 
traversed  by  valleys  that  lead  rivers  outward  from  the  interior  denuded 
region ;  but  between  the  valleys  its  upland  surface  is  relatively  continuous, 
a  great  uniform  expanse.  Here  already  the  rainfall  is  becoming  deficient, 
foreshadowing  the  aridity  of  western  Texas.  The  "Northers"  of  the 
Texas  coast  are  winds  that  sweep  down  from  the  Great  Plains,  when  a 
cyclonic  area  lies  on  the  Gulf  :  in  winter  they  are  cold  waves. 

THE   GREAT   PLAINS 

The  Great  Plains. — A  vast  sub-arid  region,  extending  from  the 
trans-Mississippi  tier  of  States  to  the  base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  is 
known  as  the  Great  Plains.  The  eastern  boundary  of  this  division  is 
indefinite ;  the  dry  plains  merge  into  the  more  fertile  prairies  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  second  tier  of  States  west  of  the  Mississippi.  The 
plains  are  more  varied  in  form  than  the  name  implies,  and  are  indeed  hilly 
enough  over  large  districts  to  be  called  rugged.  Even  where  most  nearly 
level,  they  generally  roll  in  broad  swells,  whose  variation  of  height  is 
frequently  to  be  measured  in  scores  of  feet.  Moreover,  most  of  the  rivers 
of  the  plains  have  incised  their  valleys  to  depths  of  fifties  or  hundreds  of 
feet  below  the  interstream  surfaces  ;  and  the  branch  streams,  gnawing 
headwards,  produce  a  broken  country  on  either  side  of  the  main  valleys 
that  is  anything  but  plain.  A  dry  climate  excludes  growth  of  trees, 
except  along  the  streams,  or  on  the  higher  hills  and  escarpments  ;  and  the 
name  of  the  region  is  more  an  expression  of  the  almost  boundless  view 
disclosed  from  every  eminence  than  an  indication  of  its  precise  form. 

The  dryness  of  the  plains  predestines  them  to  a  small  population.  To- 
day, with  the  advantages  of  many  railroads,  the  traveller  is  impressed  with 
the  great  amount  of  unoccupied  space.  Yet  from  this  vast  region,  once 
deemed  almost  a  desert,  cattle  are  now  shipped  in  great  numbers  to  the 
more  eastern  cities,  although  they  require  a  much  greater  grazing  area  than 
on  the  prairies.  The  Coteau  of  the  Missouri  in  North  and  South  Dakota, 
where  the  Great  Plains  enter  the  United  States  from  Canada,  is  a  broad 
upland,  that  descends  with  some  approach  to  abruptness  on  its  eastern  side 
50 


756       The  International  Geography 

into  the  lower  ground  drained  by  James  River  :  it  is  the  topographical 
expression  of  a  series  of  Cretaceous  strata  which  extend  far  west  and  south 
under  the  plains,  and  which  here  crop  out  to  the  eastward  ;  it  may  be 
taken  as  marking  the  transition  from  the  moister  climate  and  more  plen- 
tiful grass  covering  of  the  prairies  further  east,  and  the  dryer  climate  and 
scanty  grass  covering  further  west.  The  upland  is  belted  over  with  many 
moraines  of  rolling,  hummocky,  boulder-strewn  surface,  not  high  enough 
to  be  formidable,  but  uneven  enough  to  be  fatiguing  to  the  drover, 
teamster,  or  horseman,  and  too  stony  to  yield  easily  to  the  plough.  In  the 
absence  of  landmarks,  one  may  easily  be  lost  among  the  morainic  hills 
and  hollows.  The  abandoned  channels  of  large  glacial  rivers  are  charac- 
teristic features  of  the  drift-covered  uplands  ;  one  may  sometimes  ascend 
the  gentle  grade  of  their  broad  floor  between  well-marked  banks,  and  at 
last  emerge  on  the  top  of  a  morainic  belt,  with  a  broad  stretch  of  lower 
ground  beyond  ;  here  the  channel  heads  against  the  air,  and  here  the 
source  of  its  extinct  river  in  the  edge  of  the  ice  sheet  must  be  inferred. 
The  blizzard  finds  its  best  development  on  the  broad  Coteau.  It  is  a 
violent  cold-wave  wind,  at  a  temperature  near  zero  F.  or  lower,  drifting 
clouds  of  fine  snow  by  which  all  landmarks  are  hidden.  A  guide  of  rope 
is  needed  in  going  a  few  hundred  feet  from  a  house  to  a  barn  in  one  of 
these  freezing,  blinding  storms.  Travellers  on  foot  should  be  roped 
together,  as  if  climbing  Alpine  peaks. 

Beyond  the  Missouri  to  the  Rocky  Mountains  in  Montana,  there  is  a 
great  space  of  comparatively  even  plains,  interrupted  only  by  occasional 
eminences  and  by  the  sharply  incised  valleys  of  the  larger  rivers  and  their 
short  branches.  The  eminences  are  of  various  types.  The  Little  Rocky 
Mountains,  near  the  Canadian  boundary,  are  local  upheavals  of  the  under- 
lying strata  in  a  dome-like  structure,  now  much  denuded.  The  Bear  Paw 
Mountains,  also  far  north,  are  a  group  of  peaks  formed  by  the  dissection  of 
an  ancient  volcano.  The  High  wood  and  the  Crazy  Mountains,  between 
the  Missouri  and  Yellowstone  rivers,  owe  their  altitude  to  the  network  of 
igneous  dykes  and  stocks  which  have  locally  indurated  the  enclosing 
strata.  Various  ridges,  buttes,  and  mesas  are  the  consequence  of  the 
better  resistance  to  erosion  of  dykes  and  lava  sheets,  than  of  the  weak 
strata  of  the  plains.  Taken  altogether,  these  embossed  forms  prove  that 
the  surrounding  plain  is  not  smooth  because  it  retains  the  form  of  the  sea 
floor  in  which  its  strata  were  laid  down  (like  the  coastal  prairies  of  Texas), 
but  because  it  has  been  well  worn  down  from  whatever  initial  upper 
surface  it  once  possessed.  It  is  a  true  plain  of  denudation,  with  the  rem- 
nant hills  and  mountains  here  and  there  to  serve,  like  once  overwhelmed 
nilometers,  as  minimum  measures  of  the  height  to  which  the  entire 
surface  once  rose.  As  a  plain  of  denudation,  the  region  must  have  been 
worn  down  so  low  that  the  rivers  wandered  idly  upon  its  surface.  The 
sharply  intrenched  valleys  of  to-day  prove  that  the  denuded  plains  have 
been  broadly  uplifted,  with  an  inclination  eastward,  and  this  only  long 


The  United  States  757 


enough  ago  to  allow  vigorous  rivers  to  erode  narrow  valleys.  There  are 
few  better  examples  of  composite  topography  than  this. 

Hills  of  the  Great  Plains.— The  hills  and  mountains  that  rise  over 
the  plains  bear  trees  on  their  upper  slopes.  The  plains  are  absolutely 
treeless,  but  offer  good  grazing  ranges,  and  are  now  stocked  with 
wandering  herds  of  cattle.  Although  the  winters  are  cold,  the  snowfall  is 
very  light ;  the  cattle  are  left  unsheltered  on  the  open  ranges  all  the  year 
round,  to  get  along  as  well  as  they  can  ;  they  generally  endure  their  winter 
privations,  but  severe  losses  occur  during  blizzards.  Sheep  cannot  survive 
without  protection  and  food.  There  is  a  tendency  among  the  ranchmen  to 
carry  the  name  of  "  Prairie  "  far  west  to  the  thinly  grassed  upland  plains, 
but  thus  used,  the  word  is  a  deceptive  misnomer.  The  uplands  are  out  of 
reach  of  irrigation,  but  the  valley  floors,  half  a  mile  or  more  in  width,  are 
often  watered  by  canals  from  the  rivers  :  here  cultivated  fields  produce 
good  harvests.  All  the  settlements  are  on  the  rivers  :  Bismarck,  where  the 
Northern  Pacific  railroad  crosses  the  Missouri,  Fort  Benton,  an  early 
military  station  at  the  head  of  navigation  of  the  Missouri,  and  Great  Falls, 
where  the  revived  river  has  developed  a  number  of  cataracts  on  a  series  of 
resistant  sandstone  layers,  are  examples  ;  the  latter  uses  its  water  power  in 
various  industrial  works,  as  well  as  in  driving  street  cars  and  in  furnishing 
electric  light.  The  homes  of  the  cattlemen  are  likewise  in  the  valleys,  out 
of  sight  of  one  another  and  widely  separated  by  the  unoccupied  plains. 
Important  Indian  reservations  lie  near  the  mountains,  where  the  Red  Man 
still  remains  in  large  numbers.  The  denuded  plains  extend  along  the 
Rocky  Mountain  border  far  south  into  Colorado,  repeating  the  features 
above  described  except  that  the  residual  hills  are  comparatively  rare. 
Here  the  upland  surface  is  often  strewn  over  with  sheets  of  river-washed 
gravels,  derived  from  the  mountains,  and  of  practical  importance  as  water- 
bearing deposits.  As  in  Montana,  the  rivers  are  now  intrenched  in  valleys 
beneath  the  upland  surface. 

The  Black  Hills,  in  South  Dakota  and  Wyoming,  occupy  an  oval 
upheaved  area,  measuring  about  a  hundred  miles  in  its  longer  north 
and  south  diameter  (BH  in  Fig  353).  It  is  a  dome-like  mountain  uplift 
on  a  scale  intermediate  between  that  of  the  Little  Rocky  Mountains  of 
eastern  Montana  and  of  various  members  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  proper. 
Although  the  covering  strata  of  the  dome-like  uplift  have  been  greatly 
denuded,  the  hills  surmount  the  plains  by  one  or  two  thousand  feet,  and  thus 
induce  a  local  increase  of  rainfall.  The  Black  Hills  are,  therefore,  well 
forested,  and  their  dark  appearance,  when  seen  in  the  distance,  has  given 
them  their  name.  They  supply  much  lumber  to  the  ranches  on  the  sur- 
rounding plains.  The  denudation  of  the  originally  arching  strata  has  worn 
them  back  to  concentric  rimming  ridges,  and  has  revealed  their  foundation 
rocks  of  very  ancient  origin  :  and  as  these  bear  gold  and  silver,  mining  has 
come  to  be  an  important  industry  in  the  hills.  Two  railways  have  pushed 
their  lines  from  the  prairie  States  across  the  eastern  plains  to  the  Black 


758       The  International  Geography 

Hills,  and  now  compete  for  freights  from  the  mines  as  well  as  from  the 
cattle  ranges  on  the  way.  Here,  as  so  often  elsewhere,  strong  buttes 
mark  the  site  of  heavy  "  necks  "  of  volcanic  rocks  and  testify  to  the  great 
and  general  denudation  that  the  hills  and  plains  have  suffered.  Mato 
Teepee,  north-west  of  the  hills,  is  the  most  remarkable  of  these  forms,  a 
great  bare  rock-shaft  of  columnar  structure,  six  hundred  feet  in  height, 
without  a  rival  in  the  world. 

The  Bad  Lands — the  mauvaises  terres  pour  traverser  of  the  early 
French  voyageurs — are  named  from  their  excessively  rough  and  barren 
surface,  the  result  of  minute  and  detailed  dissection  by  wet-weather 
streams.  They  are  found  in  many  parts  of  the  western  arid  country, 
nowhere  in  better  or  greater  development  than  along  the  branches  of  the 
Missouri  north  and  south  of  the  Black  Hills.  The  fine-textured  strata 
thus  carved  are  in  many  cases  of  lacustrine  or  fluviatile  origin  and  of 
Tertiary  age  ;  the  result  of  accumulation  in  broad  basins  formed  by  slight 
warpings  of  the  Great  Plains.  A  wonderful  series  of  mammalian  fossils 
has  been  entombed  in  them.  The  dry  climate  of  the  plains  allows  only  a 
scanty  covering  of  vegetation ;  the  fine  texture  and  imperfect  consolidation 
of  the  lacustrine  strata  promotes  their  denudation.  Similar  strata  in  a 
moister  climate  would  be  so  well  covered  by  vegetation  that  little  work 
would  be  done  by  small  streams  and  rills  ;  most  of  the  waste  would  wash 
evenly  from  the  slopes  to  the  larger  valleys,  or  would  creep  slowly  down 
hill  in  soil-cap  motion,  and  the  forms  of  the  surface  would  be  smoothly 
rounded.  It  is  curious  to  note  that  in  such  cases,  the  vegetation  sup- 
ported under  the  greater  rainfall  largely  counteracts  the  work  that  the 
rainfall  would  do  alone  ;  it  is  in  dry  regions  that  the  direct  work  of  small 
streams  is  best  displayed,  even  though  their  action  is  intermittent. 

The  Sand  Hills.— North  of  the  Platte  River  a  large  extent  of  the 
Great  Plains  in  Nebraska  is  occupied  by  low  sand  hills,  or  dunes,  heaped  by 
the  wind  from  incoherent  sandy  strata.  There  is  a  scanty  growth  of  grass 
in  the  hollows  between  the  hills,  and  here,  as  well  as  elsewhere  on  the 
plains,  great  herds  of  buffalo  wandered  in  the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  But  explorers  and  emigrants  looked  on  the  region  as  a  desert, 
for  it  gave  them  little  support  during  the  slow  progress  of  their  waggons 
or  "  prairie  schooners  "  across  its  monotonous  waste.  Yet  to-day  a  railroad 
traverses  this  "desert"  on  its  way  to  the  Black  Hills,  and  carries  many 
cattle  from  ranches  among  the  sand  hills  to  eastern  markets. 

The  loose  texture  of  the  strata  of  the  plains  exert  an  influence  on  the 
behaviour  of  its  rivers  as  well  as  on  the  form  of  its  bad  lands  and  its  sand 
hills.  The  rivers  are  so  abundantly  supplied  with  the  waste  of  the  land 
that  they  need  a  relatively  strong  slope  on  which  to  gain  a  velocity  that 
will  enable  them  to  wash  along  their  load.  Hence,  in  spite  of  the  con- 
siderable altitude  of  the  plains — 3,000  or  4,000  feet  over  vast  areas — the 
valleys  are  of  moderate  depth,  and  the  local  relief  is,  therefore,  less  than  it 
would  be  if  the  strata  were  more  thoroughly  indurated,  and  the  valleys 


The   United  States  759 

more  deeply  cut.  The  Platte  illustrates  this  principle  in  a  striking  manner, 
for  its  broad  channel  is  little  sunk  below  the  adjoining  plains.  Its  visible 
volume  decreases  by  sinking  underground  from  a  good  supply  near  the 
mountains  to  a  comparatively  slender  stream  wandering  on  a  broad  bed 
of  sands  in  the  sand-hill  region.  Only  in  occasional  floods  is  the  channel 
filled  from  bank  to  bank. 

The  Plains  of  Kansas  ascend  westward  in  a  series  of  broad  benches 
that  are  separated  by  east-facing  bluffs  of  moderate  height  and  ragged 
outline.  These  are  similar  to  the  belted  uplands  or  cuestas  of  southern 
Missouri :  each  bench  is  underlain  by  a  relatively  resistant  stratum,  whose 
outcrop  forms  its  limiting  escarpment.  The  flood-plained  valleys  of  the 
larger  streams  have  little  relation  to  the  cuestas,  but  traverses  them 
irregularly.  While  the  eastern  part  of  this  region  generally  has  a  sufficient 
rainfall,  the  western  part  of  Kansas  reaches  an  arid  region  whose  settle- 
ment has  been  attended  by  much  misfortune.  The  practice  of  borrowing 
money  with  which  to  stock  a  new  farm  was  here  organised  by  loan 
companies ;  and  it  happened  that  between  1880  and  1890,  when  this 
business  was  at  its  height,  the  rainfall  on  the  Great  Plains  was  heavier 
than  usual,  and  for  a  time  all  went  well.  Many  enthusiasts  believed  that 
the  climate  had  been  favourably  changed  by  the  cultivation  of  the  ground. 
Then  in  one  of  the  times  of  decreasing  rainfall,  common  to  all  semi-arid 
regions,  crops  failed,  the  disappointed  settlers  left  their  farms,  and  the 
eastern  investor  found  himself  the  owner  of  a  distant  patch  of  worthless 
ground  on  the  boundless  plains.  The  legitimate  use  of  borrowed  capital 
in  eastern  Kansas  and  Nebraska,  as  well  as  on  the  prairies,  has  been 
beneficial  both  to  borrowers  and  lenders  in  many  cases  where  the  farms 
were  favourably  situated,  but  the  plains  are  still  desolate  ;  little  settlements 
here  and  there  in  the  valleys  only  emphasise  the  emptiness  of  the  uplands. 

Omaha,  in  Nebraska,  and  Kansas  City,  on  the  border  of  Missouri  and 
Kansas,  both  on  the  Missouri  river,  are  the  chief  cities  of  the  western 
prairies,  near  the  eastern  borders  of  the  plains.  They  have  grown  rapidly 
during  the  latter  decades  of  the  century,  with  the  extension  of  railroads 
across  the  plains  and  the  growth  of  cattle  ranching.  They  are  rivals  as 
railroad  centres  and  as  cattle  markets. 

The  Llano  Estacado. — The  Ouachita  mountain  range  of  middle 
Arkansas  extends  westward  into  Indian  Territory  and  Oklahoma,  interrupt- 
ing the  plains  for  several  hundred  miles,  but  disappearing  beneath  them 
before  reaching  the  Rocky  Mountains.  This  region  is  not  yet  well 
studied  owing  to  its  having  been  long  set  apart  as  a  home  for  various 
tribes  of  Indians  when  they  were  removed  from  their  original  homes.  It 
is  followed  on  the  south-west  by  the  Llano  Estacado,  an  even-topped 
plateau  in  northern  Texas,  confluent  with  the  Great  Plains  in  the  north- 
west, gnawed  on  the  north-east,  east,  and  south  by  the  head  waters  of 
many  rivers  that  flow  to  the  Mississippi  and  the  Gulf,  and  divided  from 
the  mountains  on  the  west  by  the  valley  of  Pecos  river.  As  a  source  of 


760      The  International  Geography 

sediment  for  fertile  flood  plains  in  a  moister  climate  near  the  coast,  the 
Llano  is  well  placed ;  but  its  upland  surface  is  too  arid  for  profitable 
occupation,  unless  by  wandering  herds,  and  for  these  the  scarcity  of  water 
is  a  formidable  difficulty.  In  summer  the  plateau  is  intensely  hot  by  day, 
and  it  is  probably  from  this  region  and  its  fellows  beyond  the  Mexican 
boundary  that  the  "hot-winds"  of  Kansas  and  Nebraska  are  derived. 
These  south-west-  winds  are  veritable  scourges,  for  with  a  temperature  of 
95°  or  more  and  an  extremely  low  humidity,  they  blight  the  fields  over 
which  they  pass.  They  frequently  affect  narrow  belts  in  the  direction  of 
their  progress,  as  if  their  excessive  heat  was  limited  to  a  small  current  in 
the  general  movement  of  the  winds.  Fortunately  they  are  of  rare 
occurrence  in  their  greater  severity.  It  has  been  suggested  that,  like 
similar  winds  observed  in  northern  India,  the  high  temperature  of  these 
fiery  blasts  is  immediately  derived  from  compression  during  their  descent 
from  a  considerable  altitude  ;  but  it  is  manifest  that  they  must  have  been 
previously  heated  when  near  the  ground. 

Denver  is  the  only  important  city  on  the  Great  Plains.  Thirty  years  ago 
it  was  reached  only  by  stage-coach  ;  now  it  is  the  focus  of  many  railroads, 
some  coming  from  the  Mississippi  valley,  others  entering  the  Rocky 
Mountains  which  rise  a  dozen  miles  away.  There  was  originally  nothing 
in  the  immediate  surroundings  of  Denver  to  give  it  eminence  over  a  score 
of  other  frontier  settlements.  It  is  built  on  Cherry  Creek,  which,  like 
many  another  stream  in  the  dry  country,  is  a  bed  of  sand  and  gravel  during 
much  of  the  year,  but  which  occasionally  rises  in  furious  floods  from 
cloud-burst  rains.  The  neighbouring  plains  for  a  hundred  miles  are 
occupied  partly  as  cattle  ranges,  partly  as  irrigated  farms.  The  mountains 
beyond  have  mining  towns  here  and  there.  The  successful  growth  of 
Denver  depends  partly  on  the  long  distance  by  which  the  Rocky  Mountains 
are  separated  from  the  cities  of  the  Mississippi  valley,  partly  on  the 
contrast  between  the  Plains  and  the  Mountains  ;  for  even  in  the  days  of 
railroads,  centres  of  trade  must  not  be  too  far  from  their  constituents. 


THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS 

The  Rocky  Mountains. — The  Great  Plains  are  terminated  abruptly 
on  the  west  by  the  front  range  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  which  rises  from  a 
base  of  4,000  or  6,000  feet  to  summits  of  10,000  or  14,000  feet.  Many  other 
ranges  of  similar  height  follow  further  west ;  each  has  its  local  name,  as 
the  Teton  Range  in  Wyoming,  south  of  the  Yellowstone  Park,  one  of  the 
grandest  mountain  groups  in  the  west ;  the  Sawatch  Range  beyond  the 
upper  waters  of  the  Arkansas  in  Colorado,  with  its  chief  peaks,  Harvard, 
Yale,  and  Princeton,  named  after  eastern  colleges ;  the  Uinta  Range  in 
Utah,  exceptional  in  having  an  east  and  west  trend  nearly  at  right  angles 
to  its  fellows ;  the  Wahsatch  Range  in  Utah,  overlooking  the  arid  basin 
of  Great  Salt  Lake  on  the  west.  Although  often  of  bold  and  vigorous 


The  United  States  761 


form,  "  needles "  and  "  horns "  are  comparatively  rare.  Talus-covered 
flanks  of  uniform  slope  are  extensively  developed.  The  upper  slopes 
stand  high  above  the  tree  line,  yet  they  gather  only  small  snowfields  and 
bear  no  glaciers  except  in  northern  Montana.  The  moraines  of  extinct 
glaciers  are,  however,  abundant  in  many  valleys.  The  middle  and  lower 
slopes  are  generally  forested,  except  in  the  far  south. 

Geology  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.— The  geological  series  in 
the  mountain  ranges  extends  from  the  ancient  crystalline  rocks  through 
the  Palaeozoic  and  the  Mesozoic  to  the  early  Tertiaries.  Well-defined 
Devonian  horizons  usually  have  small  thickness.  The  Carboniferous  is 
a  heavy  marine  limestone  with  no  trace  of  coal.  Workable  beds  of  coal, 
chiefly  lignite,  occur  in  the  upper  Cretaceous  and  lower  Tertiary.  The 
long  maintained  conformability  of  the  rock  series,  sometimes  without  a 
break  from  Cambrian  to  Cretaceous,  gives  an  interesting  contradiction 
to  the  early  doctrine  that  a  great  break  is  always  to  be  found  between  the 
Palaeozoic  and  Mesozoic.  The  prevailing  absence  of  metamorphosed  sedi- 
ments is  a  notable  peculiarity.  Igneous  rocks  are  common  in  the  form 
of  intrusive  sills  and  laccoliths,  and  in  the  Yellowstone  region  there  are 
extrusive  flows  and  agglomerates  of  great  thickness  and  extent. 

The  structure  of  many  ranges  is  anticlinal.  The  axis  of  the  front  range, 
south  of  the  Missouri,  is  largely  composed  of  granite,  from  which  the 
bedded  formations  dip  away  with  much  regularity  on  either  flank.  The 
Uinta  Range  is  still  arched  over  by  Carboniferous  strata  for  much  of  its 
length.  The  Wahsatch  is  peculiar  in  being  of  synclinal  structure,  with  an 
east  to  west  axis  at  right  angles  to  the  range,  and  broken  across  by  a  great 
fracture  that  marks  the  eastern  border  of  the  Great  Basin  and  exposes  a 
vast  natural  section  on  the  western  slope  of  the  mountains.  North  of  the 
Missouri  river,  and  extending  into  Canada,  the  front  range  also  assumes  a 
synclinal  structure,  with  a  great  overthrust  fault  near  its  eastern  base  : 
here  the  lower  Palaeozoic  formations  are  extremely  heavy,  while  further 
south,  where  the  anticlinal  structure  prevails,  they  are  comparatively  thin. 
Massive  laccoliths  form  the  resistant  centres  of  some  mountain  groups  in 
western  Colorado ;  they  are  greatly  denuded  and  elaborately  carved, 
forming  some  of  the  most  picturesque  scenery  of  the  region. 

On  passing  from  the  modern,  undisturbed  strata  of  the  Great  Plains  to 
the  ancient,  disordered  structures  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  the  pastoral 
industries  of  the  one  region  give  place  to  the  mining  industries  of 
the  other.  Important  deposits  of  gold,  silver  and  copper  have  been 
profitably  worked  at  Cripple  Creek,  Leadville  and  Butte  ;  hundreds  of  less 
valuable  deposits  have  led  to  moderate  returns  or  to  unknown  losses  ; 
countless  "  prospects  "  have  been  tested  by  pick  and  shovel  in  all  parts  of 
the  mountains,  high  and  low.  Modern  methods  of  drilling  rocks  and 
treating  ore  are  so  rapid  that  already  many  mining  districts  are  nearly  or 
quite  worked  out ;  their  excitable  population,  with  the  feverish  accom- 
paniments of  saloons  and  gambling  houses,  have  moved  away  to  some 


762       The  International  Geography- 
newer  "  camp."   In  spite  of  the  scant  half  century  of  exploitation,  deserted 
villages  are  no  rarities. 

Interment  Basins. — Many  basins  are  found  among  the  mountains, 
where  broad  surfaces  of  moderate  relief  attract  the  ranchman  to  raise 
cattle  and  wheat.  Here  railroads  make  their  way  between  the  ranges,  and 
permanent  settlements  spring  up.  To  this  steadier  class  of  population,  as 
well  as  to  the  speculative  and  excitable  miner,  the  future  welfare  of  the 
region  will  be  due.  The  basins  are  in  all  cases  due  to  a  deformation  or 
warping  of  the  mountain  structure  ;  they  serve  as  gathering  grounds  for 
the  rock-waste  swept  down  from  many  centripetal  valleys  :  deposits  of 
gravel  and  sand  a  thousand  feet  or  more  thick  having  been  formed  in  this 
way.  The  outflowing  river  of  each  basin  escapes  through  the  enclosing 
range  in  a  gorge  or  canyon,  usually  so  narrow  and  steep-sided  as  to  be 
useless  for  roads,  and  passable  only  with  great  difficulty  by  railroads.  In 
many  cases  the  river  has  worn  its  canyon  so  deep  that  the  floor  of  the 
basin  is  now  dissected  into  bench  land  and  flood  plain  :  the  latter  is 
irrigable  and  serves  for  wheat  land,  the  former  is  dry  and  serves  only  for 
pasture.  In  some  cases  the  strata  of  the  older  basins,  tilted  by  later 
disturbances  and  now  more  or  less  denuded,  form  low  ridges  lateral  to 
the  ranges  that  once  supplied  their  sediments. 

The  intermont  basins  present  at  first  sight  every  appearance  of  having 
been  formerly  occupied  by  lakes.  In  some  cases  the  appearance  is  con- 
firmed by  the  occurrence  of  fine  silts  appropriate  to  lacustrine  conditions 
of  deposition ;  but  it  often  happens  that  layers  of  coarse  texture  and 
irregular  stratification  form  a  large  part  of  the  basin  deposits,  and  hence  it 
must  be  concluded  that  in  such  cases  the  warping  of  the  basin  did  not 
proceed  much  faster  than  the  filling  of  its  floor  and  the  cutting  of  its 
outlet,  and  that  the  deposits  are  fluviatile  and  not  lacustrine.  This  con- 
clusion is  particularly  fitting  for  those  basins  in  which  the  floor  is  not 
level,  but  inclines  from  the  margins  to  the  river  of  discharge,  after  the 
fashion  of  piedmont  slopes  of  mountain  waste,  the  world  over.  Even  if 
lakes  were  formed  at  brief  times  of  more  rapid  warping,  their  depth  was 
probably  small  and  their  duration  short. 

The  San  Luis  Valley,  an  oval  depression  about  sixty  miles  long, 
between  two  ranges  in  southern  Colorado  and  northern  New  Mexico, 
is  a  good  example  of  an  intermont  basin.  The  surface  round  the  margin 
has  a  gentle  slope  towards  the  centre,  and  here  the  deposits  are  stony 
and  gravelly;  here  the  streams  run  out  from  the  mountains  in  good 
volume.  The  central  area  is  "  as  flat  as  a  billiard  table "  ;  here  the 
materials  are  sands  and  silts,  and  here  the  smaller  streams  wither  away 
in  the  dry  air.  The  stronger  streams  unite  to  form  the  Rio  Grande,  which 
makes  its  exit  southward  by  a  dark  gorge  through  the  mountains.  Here, 
as  in  New  Mexico  generally,  there  are  many  traces  of  Mexican  occupation 
in  names  and  people.  The  Big  Horn  Basin,  enclosed  by  a  range  and 
drained  by  a  river  of  the  same  name  in  Wyoming,  once  resembled  the 


The  United  States  763 

San  Luis  Valley  in  having  a  smooth  floor,  but  now  it  is  dissected  to  a  depth 
of  two  or  three  hundred  feet  by  the  centripetal  and  the  exit  streams.  The 
Green  River  Basin,  in  western  Wyoming,  drained  by  the  Green  river  in  a 
deep  canyon  through  the  Uinta  Range,  is  now  dissected  so  as  to  convert 
its  once  even  floor  into  a  labyrinth  of  bad  lands,  with  local  reliefs  up 
to  a  thousand  feet.  The  "Parks"  that  occur  west  of  the  front  range  in 
Colorado  are  intermont  basins  of  greater  height  than  usual— 6,000  or  7,000 
feet — with  rainfall  enough  to  support  here  and  there  a  park-like  growth  of 
pine  trees. 

The  Yellowstone  Park. — An  extensive  intermont  basin  in  north- 
western Wyoming  has  a  plateau-like  surface,  built  up  by  heavy  lava  beds ; 
the  numerous  geysers  which  occur  in  it  have  led  to  the  reservation  of  the 
region  as  the  Yellowstone  National  Park.  There  are  picturesque  mountains 
bordering  the  basin ;  a  few  dissected  volcanoes,  like  Mount  Washburn, 
surmount  the  lava  beds ;  but  as  a  whole  the  scenery  is  relatively  mono- 
tonous. The  broad  plateau  is  clothed  with  a  pine  forest  through  which 
the  stage  roads  wind  from  one  group  of  geysers  to  another.  The  geysers 
are  associated  with  hot  springs,  around  which  siliceous  deposits  of  great 
beauty  have  been  formed.  Yellowstone  lake  and  Yellowstone  canyon  are 
grateful  variations  from  the  sameness  of  the  forested  lava  plateau.  This 
"park,"  which  is  nearly  as  large  as  Yorkshire,  will  always  be  preserved  in 
a  state  of  nature  and  serve  as  a  refuge  for  native  animals. 

The  Colorado  Plateaux. — South  of  the  Uinta  Range  in  Utah,  New 
Mexico,  and  Arizona,  there  is  an  extensive  region  of  great  altitude  (over 
6,000  feet)  that  is  traversed  by  the  Colorado  river  and  its  few  branches  in 
deep  canyons.  A  heavy  series  of  Palaeozoic  and  Mesozoic  strata,  lying 
nearly  horizontal,  has  been  greatly  denuded,  so  that  the  stronger 
layers  now  form  great  platforms  ending  in  rugged  cliffs  and  escarpments, 
while  the  weaker  layers  are  worn  back  until  they  are  hidden  under  the 
talus  of  the  cliffs.  In  the  north-western  part  of  this  area,  great  fractures 
divide  the  country  into  blocks,  ten  or  twenty  miles  wide  ;  and  the  adjacent 
blocks  are  moved  unevenly,  so  that  the  edges  of  the  higher  blocks,  now 
more  or  less  battered  by  the  weather,  form  cliffs  one  or  two  thousand  feet 
high.  Volcanic  action  has  been  plentiful.  The  deep-seated  intrusions  of 
cistern-like  form,  known  as  laccoliths,  were  first  recognised  in  the  Henry 
Mountains,  a  group  of  rugged  forms  in  a  greatly  denuded  region  west  of 
the  Colorado  river.  Lofty  volcanic  cones,  like  San  Francisco  mountain, 
and  extensive  lava  flows  are  scattered  about  near  the  Colorado  canyon ; 
some  of  the  former  are  more  or  less  dissected  by  radial  valleys,  others  are 
symmetrical  cinder  cones  hardly  affected  by  erosion;  some  of  the  latter 
form  mesas  surmounting  a  more  denuded  surface,  others  are  of  modern 
date,  still  black  and  unweathered,  occasionally  forming  stony  cascades  over 
the  fault  cliffs.  This  volcanic  centre  constitutes  a  striking  exception  to 
the  rule  that  volcanic  action  is  limited  to  continental  margins  and  to  the 
ocean  floors.  It  is  owing  to  a  comparatively  recent  uplift  of  this  denuded 


764.      The  International  Geography 

region,  after  the  cliffed  platforms  had  been  carved,  that  the  larger  rivers 
have  incised  their  extraordinary  canyons,  3,000  to  5,000  feet  in  depth. 

The  highest  plateaux  receive  sufficient  rainfall  to  be  forested ;  the  less 
lofty  uplands  are  barren  deserts,  unattractive  to  the  ranchman  or  the 
miner,  however  wonderful  to  the  geographer  and  geologist.  Where  the 
plateaux  have  been  most  vigorously  dissected  into  a  labyrinth  of  branching 
spurs,  a  few  tribes  of  warlike  Indians  still  remain  unsubdued.  Where 
isolated  mesas  offer  natural  protection,  several  tribes  of  gentler  nature 
have  made  their  homes.  Shallow  caves  under  overhanging  cliffs  contain 
the  abandoned  stone  dwellings  of  a  people  who  probably  chose  these 
singular  sites  for  the  safety  that  they  gave  from  attack.  A  few  settlers  are 
found  in  valleys  or  basins  where  water  can  be  had  to  irrigate  their  fields. 
Some  lumbermen  have  attacked  the  forests  on  certain  of  the  volcanoes  near 
a  railroad  line  that  crosses  the  desolate  plateaux.  Government  surveyors 
have  traversed  and  studied  the  region,  and  it  would  almost  seem  that  the 
greatest  gain  to  be  derived  from  this  almost  uninhabitable  country  will 
be  its  teachings  as  to  the  origin  of  land-forms  by  wholesale  denudation. 

The  Columbia  Plateaux.— A  great  extent  of  country  drained  by  the 
Columbia  and  Snake  rivers  in  Idaho,  Oregon,  and  Washington,  is  built  up 
of  vast  lava  sheets,  which  have  converted  a  broad  depression  between  the 
Rocky  and  the  Cascade  Mountains  into  an  extensive  plateau.  The  shore 
line  of  the  lava  flood  may  often  be  traced,  entering  the  mountain  valleys 
in  level  embayments,  indented  by  the  mountain  spurs  which  advance  into 
it  like  promontories.  Isolated  hills  and  mountains  occasionally  rise  above 
the  lava  plain  like  outlying  islands.  The  lava  floods  must  have  taken  place 
at  different  dates ;  tor  while  some  are  smooth,  unweathered,  and  barren, 
as  if  very  recent,  others  are  more  or  less  upheaved  and  dislocated,  and 
dissected  even  by  small  streams.  The  Blue  Mountains  in  south-eastern 
Washington  are  only  an  uplifted  and  deeply  dissected  part  of  the  lava 
plateau ;  here  the  canyon  of  Snake  River  has  a  depth  of  4,000  feet  with 
intricately  carved  walls.  At  certain  points  the  stream  has  laid  bare  some  of 
the  underlying  mountains ;  one  of  these,  composed  of  resistant  quartzite, 
is  cut  down  2,500  feet  by  the  river,  although  capped  by  1,500  feet  of 
bedded  lavas.  Elsewhere  the  dissection  is  of  gentler  nature  ;  from  every 
interstream  swell  of  the  surface  a  vast  expanse  of  treeless  undulations 
stretches  away  to  a  horizon  almost  as  level  as  that  of  the  sea.  Gray  sage 
brush  is  found  everywhere  ;  scattered  tufts  of  grass  suffice  for  ranging 
horses  and  cattle.  Near  the  Rocky  Mountains,  where  the  rainfall  is  some- 
what greater  than  over  the  centre  of  the  plateau,  there  is  a  plentiful  soil  on 
the  uplands,  partly  supplied  by  local  weathering,  partly  wind-borne  from 
further  west ;  here  is  one  of  the  newer  wheat  districts  of  the  great  interior 
country.  Although  the  land  is  not  at  first  sight  inviting  to  the  farmer,  it 
repays  his  labour  abundantly  without  the  need  of  irrigation.  Spokane, 
where  two  transcontinental  railway  lines  come  together,  is  the  growing 
metropolis  of  this  region. 


The  United  States  765 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  features  of  the  lava  plateau  is  the  former 
path  of  the  Columbia  river,  known  as  the  "  Grand  Coulee,"  carved  when 
its  northern  detour  was  obstructed  by  ice  streams  that  descended  from  the 
mountains  on  the  north  and  west  in  the  glacial  period.  Although  now 
nearly  dry,  the  Grand  Coulee  may  be  traced  for  over  a  hundred  miles  across 
the  plateau;  here  narrow  and  deep-cut  in  the  uplifted  lava  beds,  there 
broader  and  shallower  in  a  lower  upland ;  generally  with  an  even  floor , 
but  at  one  place  broken  by  the  cliffs  of  a  former  cataract  that  must  have 
greatly  exceeded  Niagara  in  height,  breadth  and  variety  of  form.  Thy 
pools  that  were  excavated  by  the  plunge  of  the  extinct  cataract  contain 
clear  blue  lakes,  but  the  cliffs  are  dry  and  bare. 

The  Basin  Ranges. — West  of  the  Wahsatch  Range  and  the  Colorado 
plateaux,  south  of  the  Columbia  plateaux,  and  east  and  south  of  the  Sierra 
Nevada,  there  is  an  arid  region  embracing  all  of  Nevada,  part  of  Utah  and 
Arizona  and  the  south-eastern  corner  of  California,  and  extending  into 
Mexico.  Only  one  important  river,  the  Colorado,  reaches  the  sea  from 
this  desert  empire.  Nearly  all  the  scanty  rainfall  dries  away  in  the 
dessicating  atmosphere.  The  region  is  diversified  by  many  independent 
mountain  ranges  of  north  and  south  trend  and  of  varied  structure.  Some 
bear  trees  on  their  upper  slopes  ;  others  are  barren  to  their  crests.  In  the 
north-west,  adjoining  the  lava  plains  of  Oregon,  some  of  the  ridges  are 
notable  for  the  very  recent  date  of  their  uplift,  their  form  being  as  yet 
hardly  modified  by  erosion  from  the  original  shape  of  their  tilted  blocks. 
In  the  middle  of  the  region  the  ridges  are  elaborately  carved  by  valleys 
and  branch  valleys.  In  the  south-west  some  of  the  ridges  appear  to  be 
nearly  worn  away,  only  low  residual  knobs  remaining. 

The  confluent  depressions  between  the  isolated  ranges  are  floored  with 
long  piedmont  slopes  of  stony  and  gravelly  waste  that  has  been  washed 
from  the  mountain  valleys.  Two  approaching  slopes  unite  in  forming  an 
intermont  trough  whose  floor  may  stand  at  altitudes  of  4,000  or  6,000  feet 
in  Utah  and  northern  Nevada,  thus  rivalling  the  height  of  many  plateaux ; 
yet  it  differs  from  a  typical  plateau  in  the  prevailing  absence  of  valleys, 
for  the  waste  slopes  are  built  up  by  the  streams  that  issue  heavily  charged 
with  detritus  from  the  mountain  gorges.  Thus  the  depressions  are  filling 
up  while  the  mountains  are  wearing  down.  In  the  south-west  the  floor  of 
the  depressions  is  of  moderate  altitude  ;  indeed,  in  south-eastern  California 
the  arid  floor  of  the  Coahuila  desert  descends  300  feet  beneath  sea-level. 
This  depression  represents  the  head  of  the  Gulf  of  California,  now  isolated 
by  the  delta  of  the  Colorado  and  evaporated  to  dryness.  An  outflowing 
branch  or  distributary  of  the  Colorado  occasionally  turns  northwards  on 
the  delta  at  times  of  high  water,  and  flows  into  the  desert  basin,  forming  a 
short-lived  lake.  In  south-western  Arizona  some  of  the  gently  inclined 
piedmont  slopes  are  rock-floored,  bearing  only  a  thin  veneer  of  waste  here 
and  there  ;  the  streams,  issuing  from  the  mountains  after  a  shower,  find  no 
channels,  but  spread  out  in  a  sheet  a  mile  or  more  broad  and  one  or 


7 66      The  International  Geography 


two  feet  deep,  washing  the  gravel  veneers  forward  down  the  inclined 
rock  floor ;  this  peculiar  style  of  drainage  has  been  termed  a  "  sheet 
flood." 

Nearly  all  the  streams  from  the  mountains  wither  away  on  the  dreary 
piedmont  waste  slopes.  Sage  brush  is  the  prevailing  vegetation ;  spiny 
yuccas  and  thorny  cactus  occur  in  the  arid  and  warm  south-west.  The 
larger  streams  unite  to  form  shallow  salt  lakes  in  sthe  lowest  part  of  the 
intermont  troughs.  Others  form  shallow  water  sheets,  a  few  inches  deep, 
in  the  wet  season,  where  smooth  plains  of  barren  sun-baked  mud,  or 
"  playas,"  remain  in  the  dry  months.  There  are  few  parts  of  the  country 
less  inviting  to  settlement  than  the  region  of  the  Basin  Ranges,  yet  here, 
as  on  the  Colorado  plateaux,  the  scientific  explorer  has  reaped  a  rich 
harvest.  Comparable  with  the  record  of  a  past  glacial  climate  in  the 
region  of  the  Laurentian  lakes  is  the  record  of  a  past  humid  climate  in  the 
arid  basins  of  Utah  and  Nevada.  The  basin  of  Great  Salt  Lake  in  Utah 

and  that  of  several  indepen- 
dent lakes  in  north-western 
Nevada  each  formerly  held 
large  lakes  that  rose  nearly  a 
thousand  feet  on  the  adjoining 
mountain  flanks,  and  there 
marked  their  shore  lines  in 
cliffs,  bars  and  deltas.  The 
records  have  been  deciphered 
and  are  elaborately  described 
in  monographs  of  the  United 
States  Geological  Survey.  No 
other  ancient  lake  basins  have 
been  so  well  studied. 

People  and  Towns  of 
the  Basin  Ranges.  — The 
settlements  of  the  Basin  Range  region  may  be  grouped  under  three  classes  : 
the  Mormons  originally  about  Salt  Lake  in  Utah,  the  mining  towns  in  the 
mountains,  and  scattered  ranches  of  Mormons  and  Gentiles,  where  streams 
can  be  used  for  irrigation.  The  Mormons  exhibit  in  their  polygamous 
and  superstitious  creed  an  example  of  religious  atavism.  Their  converts 
have  been  gathered  from  the  eastern  United  States  and  from  western 
Europe.  Their  history  includes  many  deeds  of  violence  and  cruelty,  yet 
much  may  be  said  in  their  favour.  Their  settlements  in  Utah  were  estab- 
lished half  a  century  ago  without  the  intemperance  of  every  kind  that  has 
characterised  the  frontier  towns  of  those  who  would  in  a  census  be  classed 
as  "Christians."  Their  desert  home  has  been  transformed  into  a  productive 
farming  country  by  persevering  industry  and  thrift.  Polygamy,  now  for- 
mally abandoned,  was  never  practised  by  more  than  4  per  cent,  of  the  mar- 
riageable men ;  the  Mormons  should  be  classed  as  merely  one  more  of  the 


FiG.  366. — The  Ancient  Beds  of  Lake  Bonneville 
(in  Utah)  and  Lake  Lahontan  (in  Nevada).  The 
Map  measures  550  by  420  miles. 


The  United  States  767 

many  superstitious  sects  of  the  so-called  civilised  nations.    Salt  Lake  City 
on  the  shore  of  the  lake  is  the  centre  of  Mormon  activity. 

The  most  famous  mining  town  of  the  Basin  Ranges  is  Virginia  City  in 
north-western  Nevada.  Many  millions  of  gold  and  silver  have  been  taken 
from  the  Comstock  Lode,  above  which  the  city  was  built,  and  many  other 
millions  have  been  spent  in  efforts  to  prolong  the  life  of  the  mines  there 
opened.  The  discovery  of  the  lode  about  1860,  at  a  time  when  the  yield 
of  gold  in  California  was  decreasing,  caused  the  greatest  "  rush  "  known  in 
the  history  of  western  mining.  Thousands  of  persons  hurried  over  the 
Sierra  Nevada,  in  the  hope  of  locating  a  paying  claim ;  other  thousands 
followed  to  open  saloons,  gambling  resorts,  and  "  opera  houses,"  and  thus, 
like  parasites,  to  live  upon  the  miners.  The  rapid  growth  of  Virginia  City 
and  a  few  other  mining  "camps"  was  the  excuse  for  the  admission  of 
Nevada  as  a  State  in  1864 ;  a  most  unfortunate  political  necessity,  for  in 
spite  of  its  enormous  area,  exceeding  that  of  many  eastern  States  com- 
bined, its  population  has  fallen  under  50,000,  less  than  that  of  many  cities 
of  the  second  class.  Virginia  City  is  now  reduced  to  a  mere  shadow  of  its 
short-lived  greatness.  The  population  of  the  State  must  always  be  scanty, 
scattered,  and  isolated. 

THE    PACIFIC    SLOPE 

The  Pacific  Ranges,  broadly  separated  from  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
include  the  lofty  Sierra  Nevada  of  California,  the  Cascade  Mountains  of 
Oregon  and  Washington,  and  several  smaller  coast  ranges.  The  highest 
summits  are  in  the  granitic  southern  part  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  where 
Mount  Whitney  nearly  reaches  15,000  feet.  The  Sierra  is  precipitous  on 
the  east,  descending  abruptly  into  the  Basin  Range  region  and  shedding 
great  slopes  of  stony  waste,  varied  about  Mono  lake  by  superb  moraines  of 
extinct  glaciers.  The  descent  on  the  west  is  much  more  gradual ;  here  many 
of  the  interstream  highlands  have  the  appearance  of  somewhat  uneven 
inclined  planes,  separated  by  deep-cut  canyons.  All  these  features  suggest 
that  the  range  as  a  whole  may  be  regarded  as  a  huge  block,  uplifted  on 
the  east  long  enough  ago  to  be  deeply  scored  by  the  streams  from  its  crest. 
Among  the  valleys  the  Yo-Semite  is  phenomenally  deep,  with  precipitous 
walls  of  granite.  The  Hetch-hetchy  valley  is  of  similar  form,  but  of 
smaller  dimensions,  a  little  further  north.  The  range  is  crossed  only  by 
Pitt  river,  which  rises  on  the  western  part  of  the  Columbia  plateau, 
trenches  through  the  range  and  joins  the  Sacramento  system.  Great  flows 
of  lava  and  sheets  of  volcanic  conglomerates  lie  on  the  western  slope  of 
the  range  about  its  middle,  the  date  of  their  eruption  being  earlier  than 
that  of  the  valley  cutting.  Further  north  volcanic  cones  and  recent  lava 
flows  become  more  abundant. 

The  higher  summits  of  the  Cascade  Range  are  all  volcanic  cones,  more 
or  less  dissected  by  radiating  valleys,  the  chief  being  Mounts  Rainier,  St. 
Helens,  and  Hood.  They  bear  heavy  snowfields  and  glaciers.  Mount 


768       The   International  Geography 

Shasta,  in  northern  California,  is  an  isolated  volcano,  west  of  the  higher 
ranges,  one  of  the  most  symmetrical  and  least  dissected  of  the  larger  cones. 
Crater  lake  in  southern  Oregon  occupies  a  huge  caldera  ;  once  a  lofty  cone, 
furrowed  by  radial  valleys,  the  upper  part  has  been  removed  by  engulf- 
ment,  leaving  a  great  cavity,  with  precipitous  inner  walls,  four  miles  in 
diameter  and  one  mile  deep.  The  lost  summit  of  the  cone  has  been  chris- 
tened Mount  Mazama  by  a  club  of  mountain  climbers  of  that  name,  who 
have  done  much  to  make  the  caldera  better  known.  The  Columbia  and 
Klamath  rivers  break  through  the  mountains  in  deep  gorges  on  their  way 
from  the  lava  plateaux  to  the  sea. 

The  Coast  Ranges  are  of  moderate  altitude,  well  dissected  by  numerous 
valleys,  and  frequently  descending  directly  to  the  ocean  shore  in  pre- 
cipitous cliffs  and  headlands.  Many  signs  of  change  of  level  are  found 
in  raised  beaches  and  submerged  valleys ;  but  owing  to  the  general 
parallelism  of  the  ridges  and  the  coast  line,  and  to  the  absence  of  recent 
strong  depression,  the  shore  has  few  strong  re-entrants.  The  range  is  not 
rich  in  metalliferous  deposits,  save  at  New  Almaden,  where  there  has  been 
a  large  yield  of  mercury. 

The  broad  troughs  between  the  Coast  Ranges  and  the  higher  moun- 
tains further  inland  are  floored  with  waste  from  the  mountain  valleys.  In 
California  the  waste-strewn  floor  makes  a  plain  of  great  extent,  the  flat 
fans  of  detritus  that  are  spread  out  before  every  mountain  valley  being 
admirably  adapted  to  the  distribution  of  water  by  irrigating  canals.  The 
intermont  trough  is  much  less  distinctly  developed  on  the  path  of  the 
Klamath  river,  where  the  adjacent  ranges  approach  one  another  in  a  node 
of  irregular  relief.  Further  north  it  reappears,  and  is  partly  occupied  by 
the  branching  waters  of  Puget  Sound.  Here  recent  studies  lead  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  waste-built  lowlands  adjoining  the  sound  are  glacial  or 
aqueo-glacial  deposits,  while  the  trunk  and  branches  of  the  sound  are  the 
spaces  once  occupied  by  many  confluent  ice  streams  that  came  down  from 
the  mountains  in  the  glacial  period.  The  many  degrees  of  latitude  that  are 
traversed  in  passing  along  the  Pacific  slope  from  the  desert  lowlands 
between  the  Basin  Ranges  of  south-eastern  California  over  the  great 
valley  of  California  to  the  forested  valley  of  Puget  Sound,  explain  the 
climatic  contrasts  between  the  arid  and  humid  extremes  of  this  belt.  They 
resemble  each  other  only  in  their  relatively  small  seasonal  changes,  one 
being  persistently  warm  and  dry,  the  other  persistently  cool  and  wet. 

People  and  Towns  of  the  Pacific  Coast.— The  settlement  of  the 
Valley  of  California  by  Spanish  Americans  was  well  advanced  before  the 
discovery  of  gold  caused  the  inrush  of  fortune-seekers  from  the  eastern 
United  States  and  Europe  in  1849  and  1850.  Spanish  names  still  prepon- 
derate, as  in  Sacramento,  the  capital,  San  Francisco,  the  great  Pacific  port 
at  the  only  break  in  the  California  coast  range,  Los  Angelas  and  San  Diego 
on  the  coast  further  south.  The  old  Spanish  mission  churches  are  the  only 
antiquities  of  the  State  having  European  associations.  In  those  early  days 


The  United  States 


769 


cattle  raising  on  the  great  valley  plain  was  the  main  industry,  and  hides 
were  the  chief  article  of  export.  With  the  acquisition  of  the  territory  by 
the  United  States  and  the  incursion  of  gold  seekers,  a  new  order  of  things 
was  inaugurated  ;  a  rough  and  violent  order  at  first  when  "  vigilance  com- 
mittees "  put  their  prompt  measures  in  the  place  of  the  slower  procedure 
of  the  law  courts. 

The  newcomers  made  their  way  thither  by  long  voyages  in  sailing  ships 
round  Cape  Horn,  by  shorter  voyages  with  a  land  passage  across  the 
malarial  isthmus  of  Darien,  and  by  a  difficult  and  dangerous  overland 
journey  in  white-covered  waggons  or  "prairie-schooners."  The  hardships 
of  the  overland  passage  across  plains,  mountains,  and  desert  basins,  are 
long  to  be  remembered  ;  Indian  ambuscade,  thirst  in  the  dry  country,  and 
cold  storms  in  the  Sierra  overcame  many  a  pioneer  emigrant.  The  sur- 
vivors are  justly  proud  of  their  record  as  "  '49-ers."  Gold  was  taken  from 
quartz  veins  in  the  metamorphic  rocks  of  the  lower  Sierras,  and  from 
"  placers  "  or  gravel  deposits  in  the 
foot  hills  ;  but  in  the  ten  years  from 
1850  to  1860  the  great  increase  of 
population  and  the  exhaustion  of 
many  mines  and  "  diggings  "  turned 
attention  to  the  fertility  of  the  great 
valley  plain,  the  cattle  ranches  were 
replaced  by  farms,  and  California 
became  a  great  wheat-raising  State. 
The  second  decade  was  marked  by 
the  construction  of  a  trans-conti- 
nental railroad,  completed  in  1866, 
and  California  then  ceased  to  be 
a  distant  part  of  the  Union.  In 
later  years  the  number  of  railroads 
across  the  continent  (Fig.  336)  has  increased  to  five — not  counting  the 
Canadian  Pacific  Railway — each  line  now  being  largely  dependent 
on  carrying  cattle  and  farm  products  by  the  way,  as  well  as  on  through 
passengers  and  freights.  Beautiful  winter  resorts  attract  thousands  of 
people  to  the  tempered  Pacific  coast  from  the  violent  climate  of  the 
interior.  The  irrigated  plains  of  southern  California  are  now  occupied  by 
extensive  vineyards  and  fruit  ranches,  from  which  eastern  markets  are 
largely  supplied.  At  the  same  time  the  more  northern  railroads  have  pro- 
moted the  growth  of  Portland,  Tacoma,  and  Seattle  on  the  harbours  of  the 
far  north-west ;  the  great  forests  on  the  littoral  slopes  of  Oregon  and 
Washington  are  being  sawed  into  lumber  for  the  distant  plains  and 
prairies.  The  purchase  of  Alaska  and  more  recently  the  discovery  of  the 
Klondike  gold-field,  has  encouraged  traffic  along  the  north-western  coast. 
Trans- Pacific  commerce  has  in  the  meantime  grown  apace,  and  with  it 
came  an  incursion  of  Chinamen,  patient  and  industrious  workers,  living  on 


FIG.  367. — The  Site  of  San  Francisco. 


770       The  International  Geography 

a  fraction  of  what  would  be  required  for  an  ambitious  American,  not 
making  the  United  States  their  home,  but  hoping  to  return  to  China  alive 
or  dead  ;  a  useful  element  in  a  country  where  serfdom  prevailed,  but  not 
desirable  citizens  for  a  free  republic.  The  manifest  lesson  to  be  drawn 
from  the  great  intelligence  and  prosperity  of  the  people  in  the  north- 
eastern quarter  of  the  United  States  is  that  all  immigrants  must  make  this 
country  a  permanent  home  for  themselves  and  their  children  ;  that  they 
must  accept  the  rights  and  duties  of  citizenship  as  well  as  the  responsi- 
bility of  self-support  and  self -improvement ;  and  that  from  the  unified 
mass  thus  formed  no  barrier  of  race,  religion  or  foreign  fealty  shall 
obstruct  the  rise  of  leaders,  to  guide  the  people  in  the  further  develop- 
ment of  the  United  States. 

Alaska. — The  north-western  extremity  of  North  America,  constituting 
the  territory  of  Alaska,  580,000  square  miles  in  area  (about  one-sixth  of  the 
area  of  United  States)  was  bought  from  Russia  for  $7,200,000  in  1867.  It 
has  a  small  native  population  of  various  Indian  tribes,  and  a  growing  white 
population  bent  on  the  development  of  its  resources.  The  compact  land 
body,  approaching  within  54  miles  of  Asia,  and  bounded  on  the  east  by  the 
141  st  meridian,  has  an  arm  500  miles  long  extending  south-east  along  the 
coast,  and  including  a  narrow  strip  of  mainland  as  well  as  the  countless 
islands  of  the  Alexander  Archipelago.  Sitka,  the  territorial  capital,  is 
situated  on  Baranof  Island  in  this  group.  There  is  a  second  arm,  1,500 
miles  in  length,  composed  of  the  volcanic  Aleutian  Islands^  looping  across 
the  northern  Pacific  from  Alaska  Peninsula  towards  Kamchatka.  The 
coast  line  is  extremely  irregular  on  the  south,  measuring  in  total  18,000 
miles,  or  more  than  that  of  all  the  United  States. 

The  southern  coast  is  bold  and  mountainous.  Mount  St.  Elias,  practi- 
cally on  the  frontier  at  the  base  of  the  south-eastern  arm,  rises  higher 
than  18,000  feet.  The  heavy  snowfall  forms  immense  glaciers,  descending 
to  the  sea,  the  largest  being  the  Malaspina  glacier,  fed  by  snow-fields  on 
the  St.  Elias  range.  Muir  glacier,  further  south-east,  is  annually  visited 
by  many  tourists.  The  temperature  on  the  mountain  flanks  is  moderate 
and  equable,  favouring  the  growth  of  heavy  forests  along  the  coast  as  far 
as  Kadiac  Island,  at  the  base  of  the  Aleutian  chain.  The  interior  is  little 
known,  except  along  the  course  of  the  Yukon,  one  of  the  great  rivers  of  the 
world.  Its  climate  is  drier  than  on  the  coast,  and  the  seasonal  changes  of 
temperature  are  greater ;  extreme  cold  is  felt  in  winter,  and  the  ground  is 
frozen  to  a  depth  estimated  at  100  feet.  Here  the  vegetation  is  chiefly  a 
dense  cover  of  moss.  On  the  north  coast,  far  within  the  Arctic  circle, 
layers  of  ice  are  seen  beneath  the  surface  soil. 

The  economic  products  of  Alaska  come  at  present  chiefly  from  the  seal 
fisheries  of  the  Pribilof  Islands  (north  of  the  Aleutian  chain),  and  from  the 
gold-fields  of  the  Yukon  valley  and  the  coast  of  Bering  Sea.  The  seals 
have  been  reduced  from  their  originally  countless  numbers  by  too  reck- 
less destruction,  but  if  their  capture  is  properly  restricted  they  must 


The  United  States 


771 


yield  a  large  revenue  to  the  Government  as  well  as  a  profit  to  the  sealers 
for  many  years  to  come.  Gold  deposits  of  moderate  value  have  been 
worked  for  about  thirty  years  past  at  various  points  on  the  Alexander 
Archipelago.  In  the  autumn  of  1896  the  Klondike  field  in  the  Canadian 
Yukon  District  was  discovered,  and  when  the  news  of  its  richness  reached 
the  United  States  in  the  following  spring,  there  was  a  "  rush  "  of  would-be 
miners  that  recalls  early  Calif  ornian  days. 

Alaska  is  of  especial  interest  as  the  first  outlying  territorial  addition  to 
the  United  States.  Its  purchase  provoked  much  criticism,  and  even 
ridicule,  yet  as  a  financial  investment  it  has  been  profitable.  Its  adminis- 
tration has  been  thus  far  comparatively  simple,  for  its  population  has  been 
far  too  small  for  any  question  to  arise  as  to  its  accession  to  Statehood. 
Quite  different  political  problems  must  arise  in  the  more  populous  detached 
territories  in  a  genial  climate  which  have  recently  been  brought  under  the 
sway  of  the  United  States. 

STATISTICS. 

AREA  AND  POPULATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Area. 

Population. 

Date  of  Admission. 

sq.  miles. 

1880. 

1890. 

looo.       Territory. 

State. 

Alabama  52,250 

1,262,505 

1,513-017 

1,828,697 

1817 

1819 

Ala. 

Arizona  113,020 

40,440 

59,620 

122,931 

1863 

— 

Ariz 

Arkansas           ..        ..        53,850 

802,525 

1,128,179 

1819 

1836 

Ark. 

California         .  .        .  .       158,360 

864,694 

1,208,130 

M8S053 

— 

1850 

Cal. 

Colorado           ..         ..       103,925 

194,327 

412,198 

539,700 

1861 

1876 

Col. 

Connecticut      ..        ..         4,990 

622,700 

746,258 

908,420 

Original 

State. 

Conn. 

Delaware          ..         ..          2,360 

146,608 

168,493 

184,735 

Del. 

District  of  Columbia    .             70 

117,624 

230,392 

278,718 

1791" 

II_ 

D.  C. 

Florida   .           ..          .        58,680 

269,493 

391,422 

528,542 

1822 

1845 

Fla. 

Georgia  .          .  .          .        59,475 

1,542,180 

1,837,353 

2,216,331 

Original 

State. 

Ga. 

Idaho      .          ..          .        81,800 

32,610 

84,385 

161,772 

1863 

1890 

Id. 

Illinois    .          ..          .        56,650 

3,077-871 

3,826,351 

4,821,550 

1809 

1818 

111. 

Indiana  .          ..          .        36,350 

1,978,301 

2,192,404 

2,516,462 

1800 

1816 

Ind. 

Indian  Territory          .        31,400 

392,060 

— 

_. 

LT. 

Iowa       .          ..          .       56,025 

1,624,615 

1,911,896 

2,231,853 

1838 

1845 

Iowa. 

Kansas    . 

82,080 

990,096 

1,427,096 

1,470,495 

1854 

1861 

Kane. 

Kentucky 

40,400 

1,648,690 

1,858,635 

2,147,174 

1792 

Ky. 

Louisiana 

48,720 

939,946 

1,118,587 

1,381,625 

1805 

1812 

La. 

Maine 

33,040 

648,936 

661,086 

604,466 

1820 

Me. 

Maryland 
Massachusetts  .  . 

12,210 

8.315 

934-943 
1,783-085 

1,042,390 
2,238,943 

1,188,044 
2,805,346 

Original  State. 

Md. 
Mass. 

Michigan          .. 

58,915 

1,636,937 

2,093,889 

2,420,982 

1805" 

1837 

Mich. 

Minnesota 

.       83,365 

780,773 

1,301,826 

1,751,394 

1849 

1858 

Minn. 

Mississippi 

46,810 

1,131,597 

1,289,600 

1,551,270 

1798 

1817 

Miss. 

Missouri.. 

69,415 

2,168,380 

2,679,184 

3,106,665 

1812 

1821 

Mo. 

Montana 

146,080 

39,159 

132,159 

243,329 

1864 

1889 

Mont. 

Nebraska 

77,510 

452,402 

1,058,910 

1,066,300 

1854 

1867 

Nebr. 

Nevada  .. 

110,700 

62,266 

45-761* 

42,335 

1861 

1864 

Nev. 

New  Hampshire 

9,305 

346,991 

376,530 

Original 

State. 

N.  H. 

New  Jersey      .  . 

8,175 

1,131,116 

1,444,933 

I,883i669 

„ 

)( 

N.J. 

New  Mexico    .  . 

122,580 

"9,565 

153,593 

195,310 

1850 



N.  M. 

New  York 

49,220 

5,082,871 

5-997,853 

7,268,894 

Original  State. 

N.Y. 

North  Carolina 

52,250 

1,399,750 

1,617,947 

1,893,810 

M 

N.C. 

North  Dakota  .  . 

70,795 

135,  1772 

182,719 

319,146 

1861 

1889 

N.  Dak. 

Ohio 

41,000 

3,198,062 

3,672,316 

4,157,545 

_ 

1802 

O. 

Oklahoma 

39,030 

61,834 

398,331 

1890 

— 

Ok.T. 

Oregon   .. 
Pennsylvania    .  . 

96,030 
45,215 

174-768 
4,282,891 

313.767 
5,258,014 

413,536 
6,302,115 

1848 
Original 

i859 
State. 

Ore. 
Pa. 

Rhode  Island    .  . 

1,250 

276,531 

345,506 

428,556 

tl 

lt 

R.  I. 

South  Carolina..          .        30,570 

995,577 

1,340,316 

" 

" 

S.C. 

>  Decrease- 


Including  South  Dakota. 


772        The  International  Geography 

AREA  AND  POPULATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES— (continued). 


South  Dakota   . 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Utah 

Vermont. . 

Virginia  . . 

Washington 

West  Virginia 

Wisconsin 

Wyoming 


United  States 


Area. 

Population. 

sq.  mile' 

,.         1880. 

1890. 

77-650 

See  N.  Dakota.     328,808 

42,050 

1,542,359 

1,767-518 

265,780 

1,591,749 

2,235.523 

84.970 

143,963 

207,905 

9.565 

332,286 

332,422 

42.45° 

1,512,565 

1,655,080 

69,180 

75,  "6 

349.390 

24.780 

618,457 

762,794 

56,040 

1,315-497 

1,686,880 

97,890 

20,789 

60,705 

1900. 

401,570 

2,020,616 

3,048,710 
276,749 
3431641 

1,854,184 

518,103 

958,800 

2,009,042 

9^,531 


3,022,600     50,155,783     62,622,250     76,085,794 


Date  of  Admission. 
Territory.  State. 

1861  1889    S.  Dak, 

1796    Tenn. 
—  1845    Tex. 

1850  1806    U. 

1791    Vt 

Original  State.    Va. 
1853  1889    U  ash. 

1863    W.  Va. 
1836  1848    Wis. 

1868  1890    Wy. 


POPULATION  BY  BIRTH. 


1890. 

009,092 

100,079 

242,231 

1,871,509 


1000. 

842,078 
93,682 

233,977 
1,618,567 


England 

Wales 

Scotland 

Ireland          _._._„„_,        _._ 

United  Kingdom       . .        '. '.       '.'.'"'..     3,122,911         '.'.        ".''  .7  '      2,788,304 

Germany         2,784,894                     .  2,666,990 

Canada  and  Newfoundland           ..        ..       980,938                     .  1,181,255 

Sweden  and  Norway 800,706                      .  *             910,025 

Russia  and  Poland 330,084  807,606 

Italy        —  484,207 

Austria-Hungary        303,812  579.O42 

China 106,688  81,827 

Other  Foreign  Countries 819,514  857,388 

Total  Foreign  Born 9,249,547  • '         •  •           10,356,644 

Coloured,  Native  Born        7,470,040  . .        . .             8,840,388 

White,  Native  Born 45,902,663  . .        . .           57,888^762 

Total  Population  of  United  States  (excluding  Alaska)  62,622,250  77,085,794 
POPULATION  OF  THE  LARGER  CITIES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


1890.          1900. 

1890.        1900, 

New  York,  N.Y.    . 
Chicago.  111... 

1,515,301   3,437,202t 
1.099,850    1,698,575 

Worcester,  Mass. 
Syracuse,  N.Y.    .. 

84,655    118,421 
88,143    108,374 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 

1,046,964    1,293,697 

New  Haven,  Conn. 

81,298    108,027 

Brooklyn,  N.Y. 

806,343          — 

Paterson,  N.J.    .. 

78,347    105,171 

St.  Louis,  Mo. 

451,770       575.238 

Fall  River,  Mass. 

74,398    104,863 

Boston,  Mass. 

448,477       560,892 

St.  Joseph,  Mo.   .  . 

52,324    102.979 

Baltimore,  Md. 

434.439       508.957 

Omaha,  Neb. 

140,452    102,555 

Cleveland,  O. 

261.353       381,768 

Los  Angeles,  CaL 

50,395    102,479 

Buffalo,  N.Y. 

255.669       352,387 

Memphis,  Tenn... 

64,495    102,320 

San  Francisco,  Cal 

298,997       342,782 

Scranton,  Pa.      .. 

75,215     102,026 

Cincinnati,  O. 

296,908       325,902 

Lowell,  Mass.     .  . 

77,696      94,969 

Pittsburg,  Pa. 

238,617       321,616 

Albany,  N.Y. 

94.923      94.151 

New  Orleans,  La. 

242,039       287,104 

Cambridge,  Mass. 

70,028      91,886 

Detroit.  Mich. 

205,876       285,704 

Portland,  Ore.    .  . 

46,385      90,426 

Milwaukee,  Wis. 
Washington.  D.C. 

204.468       285,315 
230,392       278,718 

Atlanta,  Ga. 
Grand  Rapids,  Mich. 

65,533      89,872 
60,278      87,565 

Newark.  N.J. 

181,830       246,070 

Dayton,  O. 

61,220      85,333 

Jersey  City,  N.J. 
Louisville,  Ky. 

163,003       206,433 
161,129       204,731 

81,388      85,050 

Nashville,  Tenn... 

76,168      80,865 

Minneapolis,  Minn 

164,738       202,718 

Seattle.  Wash.     .  . 

42,837      80,671 

Providence,  R.I. 

132,146       175,597 

Hartford,  Conn... 

53,230      79,85° 

Indianapolis,  Ind. 

105,436       169,164 

Reading,  Pa.  - 

58,661      78,961 

Kansas  City,  Mo. 

132,716       163,752 

Wilmington,  Del. 

81,431      76,508 

St.  Paul,  Minn. 
Rochester,  N.Y. 

133,156       163,065 
133.896       162,608 

Camden,  N.J.      .  . 
Trenton,  N.Y.     .  . 

58,313      75,935 
57,458      73,307 

Denver,  Col... 
Toledo,  O.     .  . 

106,713       133,859 
81,434      131,822 

Bridgeport,  Conn. 
Lynn,  Mass. 

48,866      70,096 
55,727      68,513 

Allegheny,  Pa. 

105,287       129,896 

Lawrence,  Mass. 

44,654      62,559 

Columbus,  O. 

88,150      125,560 

Des  Moines,  Iowa 

50,093      62,139 

LAND  UNDER  CROPS  IN  1901. 

Crop  ..     Indian  Corn.       Wheat.  Oats.  Cotton.          Barley.        Potatoes.* 

Acres..        91,350,000       49,896,000       28,541,000       27,532,000       4,296,000       2,611,000 


Includes  Brooklyn. 


In  1900. 


The  United  States 


773 


State 

Million  bushels 


CHIEF  WHEAT-GROWING  STATES,  1901. 

Kansas.    Minnesota.  N.  Dakota.    S.  Dakota.    Nebraska.  United  States. 
99i  80-1  593  517  42°  748-5 


State    

Bales  of  Raw  Cotton 


CHIEF  COTTON-GROWING  STATES,  1899. 

.      Texas.       Georgia.     Mississipi.  Alabama.    S.  Carolina.  United  States. 


2,438,000    1,346,000      1,204,000    1,005,000        831,000         9,143.000 


CHIEF  MINERAL  PRODUCTIONS  IN  1901. 

Product  .  .        .  .  Bituminous  Coal.*    Anthracite.    Pig  Iron.     Gold.  Silver. 

Amount  —  tons          ..        201,630,000  60,242,000    15,878,0003      — 

Value—  £        ..        ..          47,300,000  22,500,000    48,400,000  15,730,000  14,270,000 


GROWTH  OF  RAILWAYS  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 
Date    ........          1830.  1850.  1870.  1890.  1900. 

Miles  open    ......  23  9,021  52,922          169,698  194.334 


Imports 
Exports 


ANNUAL  TRADE  OF  UNITED  STATES  (in  pounds  sterling). 

1871-75.         1881-85.         1891-95- 

115,600,000   ..   133,400,000   ..   157,000,000 

97,200,000   ..    154,900,000   ..    174,500,000 


DESTINATION  AND  ORIGIN  OF  FOREIGN  TRADE. 

(Percentage  of  total  in  1896.) 


Country. 

Exports  to. 

Imports  from.  Total  Trade. 
23-1          .        36-4 
14-5         .        13-1 
8-9          .          6-8 
5'3          •          56 
9-0          .          44 
17          •          3'5 
1-7          .          2-6 

2'5                           2'2 

Germany      .  .        .  .        .          .  . 

British  North  America 
Brazil           ... 

57 

4-8 

Belgium 

TI 

Italy  

Mexico              *              .  . 

.  .           .  .           .  .            2'2 

2-3             .             22 

2-6          .          1-8 

25'1                        IQ'3 

China           

Other  Countries    . 

14-6 

Total 


STANDARD  BOOKS. 

J.  Bryce.     "  The  American  Commonwealth."    2  vols.     London,  1893-95. 

"Reports  of  the  Eleventh  Census,  1890."     ca.  20  vols.     Washington. 

"Reports  of  U.S.  Bureau  of  Ethnology."  Volumes  published  at  frequent  intervals. 
Washington. 

"Reports  of  U.S.  Geological  and  Geographical  Survey."  Annual.  Also  special  mem- 
oirs on  different  districts.  Washington. 

"National  Geographic  Monographs  "  (by  various  authors).     Washington. 

Elisee  Reclus.  "  Nouvelle  Geographic  Universelle."  Vol.  xvi.  Paris,  1892,  and  Eng- 
lish translation,  London. 

N.  S.  Shaler  (Editor).  "The  United  States  of  America  by  various  Writers."  2  vols. 
London,  1894. 

F.  Ratzel.    "  Die  Vereinigten  Staaten  von  Amerika. "    2nd  edit.    2  vols.    Munich,  1893. 

H.  Gannett.     "The  United  States"  in  Stanford's  Compendium.     London,  1898. 

I.  D.  Whitney.     "  The  United  States."     2  vols.     Boston,  1889  and  1894. 

J.  Lane  Allen.     "The  Blue-Grass  Region  of  Kentucky."     New  York,  1900. 

Burroughs,  Muir,  and  others.     "Alaska."     2  vols.     New  York,  1002. 

A.  P.  Brigham.     "  Geographical  Influences  in  American  History.  '     Boston,  1903. 

Ellen  C.  Semple.    "American  History  and  its  Geographical  Conditions."    Boston,  1903. 

A.  H.  Brooks.     "  The  Geography  and  Geology  of  Alaska."     Washington,  1906. 


1  For  development  of  coal  production  (Anthracite  and  Bituminous)  see  curve  in  Fig.  70. 
*  In  1902  the  production  exceeded  17,800,000  tons. 


CHAPTER  XL.— MEXICO 

BY  ANGELO  HEILPRIN, 

Professor  of  Geology,  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of  Philadelphia. 

Position  and  Extent. — The  Republic  of  Mexico  (Spanish,  Mejico), 
which  bounds  the  United  States  on  the  south,  lies  between  latitudes  32^° 
and  14^°  N.,  and  the  meridians  86£°  and  117°  W.  of  Greenwich.  In 
its  north  and  south  extent  it  thus  lies  almost  equally  within  and  without 
the  tropics.  The  boundary  line  with  the  United  States,  which  was  deter- 
mined by  treaties  in  1848  and  1853,  has  a  length  of  1,833  miles,  of  which 
1,136  are  constituted  by  the  Rio  Grande,  from  the  mouth  of  that  stream 
in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  upwards.  The  boundary  with  Guatemala,  which 
was  finally  adjusted  by  treaty  in  1895,  fixes  the  southern  point  of  the 
republic  almost  at  the  mouth  of  the  Zuchiate  river.  The  area  of  the 
country,  inclusive  of  a  few  small  outlying  islands,  is  some  767,000  square 
miles,  or  approximately  three  times  that  of  Austria- Hungary.  Mexico  has 
two  peninsular  parts — the  peninsula  of  Lower  California  (officially,  Baja 
California)  and  Yucatan,  the  latter  properly  comprising  the  two  States  of 
Yucatan  and  Campeche.  The  great  Gulf  of  California,  which  separates 
the  main  mass  of  the  republic  from  Lower  California  and  receives  at  its 
northern  extremity  the  Colorado  River  from  the  United  States,  occupies 
seemingly  the  position  of  a  sunken  block  of  the  Earth's  crust  which  broke 
continuity  between  what  is  now  the  peninsular  apex  and  the  protruding 
coastline  of  the  State  of  Jalisco. 

Configuration. — Mexico  is  pre-eminently  a  region  of  mountain  eleva- 
tions, but  this  is  not  always  to  be  recognised  in  the  interior  on  account 
of  the  development  of  a  broad  elevated  tableland  whose  flat  or  gently 
undulating  surface,  rising  from  the  depression  of  the  Rio  Grande  to 
graduated  altitudes  of  6,000,  7,000,  and  8,000  feet,  or  even  more,  masks 
the  configuration  of  the  land.  Much  of  this  plateau  has  been  formed 
through  a  progressive  and  long-continued  accumulation  of  detrital  material, 
representing  in  part  the  distributed  products  resulting  from  mountain 
destruction  and  in  greater  part  the  discharges  from  an  almost  endless 
number  of  volcanic  openings.  These  have,  as  it  were,  filled  the  original 
valleys  to  their  lips,  and  it  is  thus  upon  the  new  surface  that  the  more 
recent  or  existing  valleys  have  been  imposed.  In  this  conception,  the 
great  central  plateau  of  Mexico  is  not  of  tectonic  construction,  but  merely 
a  filled-up  series  of  troughs,  not  wholly  unlike  the  snow-accumulated 
tableland  of  Greenland,  through  whose  margins  alone  the  buried  moun- 

774 


Mexico  775 


tains  protrude  their  summit-peaks.  In  Mexico,  too,  especially  in  the  loftier 
parts  of  the  plateau,  buried  mountains  rear  their  summits  as  "islands  "  above 
the  enveloping  mass  ;  elsewhere  they  make  continuous  ridges  or  chains, 
whose  crest-lines  may  be  as  much  as  10,000  feet  above  the  sea.  The  east 
and  west  flanks  of  the  plateau  clearly  reveal  their  mountain  origin,  and 
in  their  sudden  plunge  to  the  lowlands  the  Sierra  Madre  Oriental  and  the 
Sierra  Madre  Occidental — as  the  two  main  lines  of  bulwarks  and  their 
ramifications  are  vaguely  designated — present  some  of  the  most  marked 
physical  features,  and  at  the  same  time  some  of  the  sublimest  views  of 
nature,  that  are  to  be  met  with  on  the  Earth's  surface.  What  relation  the 
Mexican  Cordilleras  bear  to  the  main  Rocky  Mountain  system  of  North 
America  has  not  yet  been  definitely  determined,  but  that  they  do  not  con- 
stitute that  integral  part  which  was  at  one  time  assumed,  is  certain  ;  and 
it  remains  for  further  investigation  to  ascertain  the  relationship,  if  any 
such  exists,  with  the  South  American  Andes. 

Volcanoes. — The  volcanoes  of  Mexico  are  very  numerous,  and  they 
constitute  the  highest  relief  of  the  land.  The  loftiest  of  these  are  : 
Citlaltepetl,  the  "  Star  Mountain  " — commonly  known  as  the  Peak  of 
Orizaba — (18,250  feet),  ranking,  with  the  possible  exception  of  Mount 
Logan,  as  the  highest  summit  of  the  North  American  continent ;  Popo- 
catepetl, the  "  Smoking  Mountain  "  (17,520  feet) ;  Ixtaccihuatl,  the  "  White 
Woman  "  (16,960  feet) ;  Nevado  de  Toluca  (14,950  feet) ;  Malinche  (Mat- 
lalcueyatl,  13,460  feet) ;  Cofre  de  Perote  (Nauhcampatepetl,  13,400  feet) ; 
Nevado  de  Colima  (14,210  feet) ;  Volcan  de  Colima  (12,990  feet) ;  Cerro  de 
Apisco  (12,700  feet);  and  Tancitaro  (12,650  feet).  The  first  two  of  these, 
both  resting  with  one  foot  on  the  plateau,  might  properly  be  considered 
as  dormant  cones,  since  they  continue  to  exhale  from  perfectly  preserved 
craters  aqueous  and  sulphurous  vapours  ;  they  are  amongst  the  most 
beautifully  formed  of  volcanic  mountains.  Ixtaccihuatl  is  manifestly 
a  broken-down  and  dismantled  volcano,  having  to-day  the  contour  of 
some  of  the  silenced  volcanic  peaks  of  the  equatorial  Andes,  such  as 
Antisana ;  similar  wrecks  are  the  Nevado  de  Toluca  (in  whose  crater 
is  one  of  the  most  elevated  lakes  of  the  globe)  and  the  Cofre  de  Perote. 
Colima  is  the  most  active  volcano  of  the  land,  its  eruptions  having  been 
almost  unremitting  for  many  years.  Its  position  off  the  plateau,  on  the  Pacific 
slope,  allies  it  with  Jorullo — a  mountain  of  only  Vesuvian  proportions,  made 
famous  by  Humboldt's  recital  of  its  terrific  constructive  eruption  of  1759-63. 
Heated  columns  of  air,  with  a  temperature  of  167°  F.,  still  rise  from  the 
crater- walls  of  this  forest-clad  mountain.  Some  efforts  have  been  made 
by  geographers  and  geologists  to  prove  that  the  principal  volcanic  cones 
are  situated  on  one  or  more  main  lines  of  fissure  which  traverse  the  region 
in  an  extended  east  and  west  course  ;  and  it  has  even  been  contended  that 
the  southern  edge  of  the  plateau  was  coincident  with  one  of  these  lines, 
but  this  still  remains  to  be  demonstrated.  The  snow-line  in  the  region  of 
the  higher  summits  being  found  but  little  below  15,000  feet,  only  three 


776       The   International  Geography 

of  the  peaks — Orizaba,  Popocatepetl,  and  Ixtaccihuatl — are  perpetually 
snow-clad,  although  the  names  of  two  other  summits — Nevado  de  Toluca 
and  Nevado  de  Colima — signify  ice-mountain.  The  writer  has  seen  the 
Nevado  de  Toluca  entirely  destitute  of  either  snow  or  ice.  Only  on 
Ixtaccihuatl  does  the  ice-cap  acquire  a  development  sufficient  to  form  true 
glaciers. 

Rivers  and  Lakes. — Mexico  is  singularly  deficient  in  large  permanent 
streams,  and  the  Mexican  rivers  offer  but  little  opportunity  to  navigation. 
Apart  from  the  Rio  Grande,  which  at  times  becomes  almost  dry  between 
El  Paso  and  Presidio  del  Norte  in  consequence  of  irrigation  tappings  in 
New  Mexico,  the  most  important  waterways  are  the  Rio  Conchos  in  the 
north,  the  Rio  Lerma,  or  Santiago,  and  Rio  de  las  Balsas  (Mescala) — both 
flowing  to  the  Pacific — in  the  south,  and  the  Grijalva  and  Usumacinta, 
in  the  State  of  Chiapas,  east  of  the  isthmus  of  Tehuantepec.  About  fifteen 
miles  from  the  city  of  Guadalajara  the  Lerma  is  precipitated  over  the 
magnificent  fall  of  Juanacatlan,  the  "Niagara  of  Mexico."  Nearly  all 
parts  of  the  country  are  gashed  by  deep  troughs  or  excavated  water- 
channels  (barrancas],  many  of  which  are  waterless  during  the  dry  season  ; 
but,  after  the  rains,  are  wild  with  the  tumult  of  tumbling  waters,  to  whose 
revivifying  influence  a  luxurious  vegetation  responds. 

There  are  no  really  large  lakes  in  the  republic,  that  of  Chapla  on  the 
Lerma,  in  the  state  of  Jalisco,  being  the  largest ;  but  Cuitzeo  and  Patzcuaro, 

in  the  State  of  Michoacan,  are  ex- 
tremely picturesque.  Six  lacustrine 
basins,  covering  considerable  area, 
but  with  very  insignificant  depth, 
occupy  much  of  the  valley  of  the 
City  of  Mexico,  or  the  true  plain 
of  Anahuac,  but  their  waters  are 
merely  relics  of  the  much  larger 
extent  which  they  formerly  occu- 
pied. At  the  time  of  the  Spanish 
conquest,  the  City  of  Mexico  was 
a  city  of  islands,  being  completely 

surrounded  by  the  waters  of  Lake 
FIG.  368.— The  Valley  of  Mexico.  .J.    ,,       .,  .    TT 

Texcoco.      At  the  time   of   Hum- 

boldt's  visit  the  western  borders  of  that  lake  occupied  a  position  about  one 
mile  to  the  eastward  of  the  city  limits  ;  now,  except  in  time  of  floods,  this 
distance  is  about  doubled.  The  depth  of  water  in  the  lake  at  the  present 
day,  under  normal  conditions,  hardly  exceeds  two  feet  over  a  large 
part  of  its  area.  The  Mexican  capital  has  at  various  times  been 
inundated  by  the  flooding  of  these  lakes,  and  on  account  of  the  sewage 
of  the  city  discharging  into  a  lake  without  outlet  epidemic  malarial  and 
gastric  fevers  have  been  common,  and  their  ravages  have  only  been  checked 
by  the  benefits  of  a  climate  of  7,000  feet  elevation.  As  it  is,  the  death-rate 


Mexico 


777 


in  the  Mexican  capital,  40  per  1,000,  is  the  highest  of  any  city  in  the 
civilised  world.  The  problem  of  drainage  has  thus  become  so  serious  that 
the  greatest  drainage  system  and  one  of  the  most  remarkable  engineering 
enterprises  in  the  world  was  commenced  in  1866  and  completed  in  1898. 
This  desague,  as  the  work  is  called,  comprises  a  canal  forty-three  miles  in 
length  and  a  tunnel  somewhat  exceeding  six  miles,  the  latter  discharging 
into  the  valley  of  Tequixquiac,  due  north  of  Lake  Zumpango. 

Climate. — The  tropical  position  of  Mexico,  combined  with  its  high 
elevation,  necessarily  ensures  to  the  land  a  variety  of  climatic  conditions. 
What  is  ordinarily  considered  to  be  a  stifling  tropical  temperature  charac- 
terises the  lowland  region — at  least,  its  southern  half — for  the  greater  part 
of  the  year,  the  maximum  temperature  at  Merida  (Yucatan),  Mazatlan, 
and  Colima,  not  infrequently  reaches  105°  F.  Ordinarily  the  summer  heat 
is  not  more  oppressive  than  in  the  southern  or  central  United  States,  and 
along  the  immediate  ocean  border  it  is  tempered  by  indraughts  of  cool 
sea-air.  Over  the  greater  part  of  the  plateau-surface  a  mild  temperate 
climate  prevails,  the  temperature  in  summer  rarely  rising  above  88°  or  90°, 
or  in  winter  falling  much  below  the  freezing  point.  Snow  in  the  Mexican 
capital  is  an  extreme  rarity,  but  it  is  not  absolutely  unknown. 

In  a  general  way  the  Mexicans  recognise  three  superimposed  zones  of 
climate  :  the  hot  zone,  or  tierra  caliente,  extending  from  sea-level  to  about 
3,000  feet  of  elevation  ;  the  temperate  zone,  tierra  templada,  between  3,000 
and  5,000  feet ;  and  the  cold  zone,  tierra  fria,  comprising  the  land  above 
7,000  feet.  Manifestly  this  zonal  distribution  of  climate,  in  a  region  whose 
meridianal  extent  is  upwards  of  1,200  miles,  differs  considerably  for  the 
northern  and  southern  sections  of  the  country.  Two  well-marked  seasonal 
conditions  characterise  much  or  most  of  the  region.  The  rainy  season, 
which  occurs  between  May  or  June  and  October  or  November,  brings  joy 
to  the  landscape  of  Mexico,  when  the  slumbering  forces  of  vegetable  and 
animal  nature  are  again  called  into  activity.  During  the  height  of  the 
rainy  season  torrential  rain  falls  almost  daily,  especially  between  the  hours 
from  two  to  four  in  the  afternoon.  In  the  dry  season  little  or  no  rain  falls. 
The  highest  rainfall  appears  to  be  at  about  Monterey,  in  the  State  of  Nuevo 
Leon,  where  an  annual  average  of  about  130  inches  has  been  established  ; 
in  the  region  about  the  City  of  Mexico,  which  represents  the  conditions 
of  a  large  part  of  the  plateau,  the  annual  precipitation  is  about  25  inches. 
At  Jalapa,  situated  (at  an  elevation  of  4,400  feet)  on  the  coastal  slope  of  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  the  number  of  rainy  days  per  year  has  been  known  to 
exceed  200.  The  conditions  of  rainfall  throughout  much  of  the  land  have 
unquestionably  been  greatly  modified  since  the  period  of  the  Spanish 
conquest,  as  a  result  of  extensive  deforestation. 

Flora  and  Fauna.— The  Mexican  flora  naturally  combines  most 
diverse  features.  Dense  and  exuberant  tropical  jungles  cover  much  of 
the  low-lying  tracts  and  the  basal  2,000  to  3,000  feet  of  the  mountain 
declivities.  The  forest  is  still  in  greater  part  virgin,  and  access  to  it 


778       The   International   Geography 

is  obtained  chiefly  along  the  highways  and  the  different  waterways  that 
irregularly  thread  through  it.  Among  the  dominant  arboreal  types  of  this 
tract  may  be  mentioned  the  palms,  figs  (rubber-trees),  caesalpinias,  and  other 
acacias,  the  rosewood,  and  mahogany ;  the  huge  fig-trees  are  especially 
remarkable  with  their  buttressed  trunks.  Hardly  less  imposing  are  the 
giant  mangroves  at  various  points  on  the  coast  of  Yucatan.  The  zone 
between  4,500  and  6,000  feet,  characterised  by  a  superb  growth  of  ever- 
green oaks,  of  melastomas,  and  in  its  lower  part  of  an  almost  bewildering 
variety  of  orchidaceous  plants,  may  be  said  to  constitute  the  transition 
tract  between  the  distinctively  tropical  and  temperate  floras  ;  above,  it 
is  succeeded  by  the  ordinary  types  of  oaks  and  by  the  pine,  spruce  and 
fir  among  conifers.  The  latter  ascend  the  high  volcanoes  to  about  13,000 
feet,  forming  magnificent  forests  at  elevations  of  9,000  to  10,000  feet.  The 
"  zones  of  vegetation,"  so  called,  can  be  made  out  with  fair  regularity,  but 
the  overlaps  are  remarkable  for  their  vertical  displacements.  Thus,  on  the 
limestone  ridges  of  the  Yautepec,  south  of  the  central  plateau,  palms  grow 
luxuriantly  up  to  7,500  feet ;  per  contra,  the  pine  is  not  infrequently  met 
with  down  to  an  elevation  of  3,000  feet  or  less.  The  most  striking  exhibi- 
tions of  cactus  growth — in  which  Mexico  stands  pre-eminent — are  found 
on  the  lower  plains  of  Yucatan  and  in  the  arboreal  masses,  which,  at  an 
elevation  of  some  6,000  feet,  clothe  the  mountains  south  of  Tehuacan. 

Mexico  enjoys  a  wealth  of  tropical  and  subtropical  fruits,  such  as  the 
orange,  pine-apple,  banana,  coco-nut,  pomegranate,  anona,  sapote,  mango, 
and  papaw,  and  loses  correspondingly  in  the  quality  or  flavour  of  most 
fruits  of  temperate  climes.  Among  the  special  products  of  cultivation, 
indigenous  or  introduced,  are  the  sugar-cane,  cacao,  coffee,  vanilla,  and 
agave,  or  American  aloe.  The  last  named,  in  Yucatan  chiefly,  furnishes 
the  sisal  hemp  or  fibre,  while  in  major  Mexico,  an  allied  species  yields  the 
fermented  national  beverage  known  as  pulque— the  curse  of  beggardom, 
and  the  wealth  of  the  endless  pulquerias  where  it  is  sold. 

The  fauna  of  Mexico  is  necessarily  a  mixture  of  the  faunas  of  South 
America  and  of  the  United  States,  the  lowlands  representing  the  elements 
of  the  former  and  the  highlands  of  the  latter.  Zoogeographically  it  is  a 
transition  tract.  The  larger  or  more  distinctive  quadrupeds  include  the  tapir, 
jaguar  (tigre,  with  a  range  extending  nearly  or  quite  to  the  Texan  frontier), 
ocelot,  puma  or  cougar,  coyote  (prairie-wolf),  peccary  (ranging  to  Arkansas), 
ant-eater,  and  armadillo.  Several  species  of  monkey  find  a  congenial  home 
southward  of  the  igth  parallel,  but  at  least  one  form,  as  in  the  sapotales 
or  sapote  forests  of  the  northern  coast  of  Yucatan,  reaches  the  2ist  parallel. 
The  birds  are  of  great  variety.  Standing  at  the  edge  of  the  great  plateau 
the  traveller  may  be  beguiled  by  the  tones  of  the  robin  or  mocking-bird, 
and  three  hours  later  by  foot-walk  his  feathered  companions  will  be  the 
toucan,  chattering  parrots,  the  humming-bird,  and  cassique,  or  hangnest. 
Alligators,  and  perhaps  even  the  American  crocodile,  are  abundant  in  some 
of  the  lowland  streams,  as  well  as  in  bays  and  estuaries,  and  ordinarily  they 


Mexico 


779 


FIG.  369.— Average  pop- 
ulation of  a  square 
mile  of  Mexico. 


are  much  more  in  evidence  than  the  ophidians,  large  and  small,  which 
belong  to  the  forest  tract.  Non-venomous  water-snakes  are  singularly 
numerous  in  some  of  the  plateau  lakes.  As  special  faunal  elements  should 
be  mentioned  the  remarkable  tailed  amphibian  axolotl,  and  from  among 
insects,  the  travelling  or  foraging  ants  and  nest-constructing  termites. 

People.— The  inhabitants  of  Mexico  resolve  themselves  into  three 
categories  :  native  Indians,  of  some  40  to  50  tribes  ;  Spaniards,  or  the 
descendants  of  the  conquerors  of  Mexico,  together  with  representatives 
of  other  European  races ;  and  the  mixed  people  resulting  from  a  union 
of  these  two,  who  are  often  spoken  of  simply  as  Mexicans.  Probably 
about  19  per  cent,  of  the  people  are  of  European  descent,  38  per  cent, 
are  native  Indians,  and  43  per  cent,  mixed  races 
(Mexicans).  It  would  appear  that  the  native  popu- 
lation has  been  steadily  decreasing  since  the  be- 
ginning of  the  nineteenth  century.  The  Mexican 
Indians,  with  certain  exceptions  (Apaches,  Comanches, 
Seris),  are  of  a  less  warlike  disposition  than  the 
Indians  of  the  farther  north,  and,  on  the  whole,  may 
be  said  to  be  a  hard-working,  moral,  and  sober  people, 
distinctly  inclined  to  the  arts  of  peace.  Little  or  no 
prejudice  exists  against  them  as  a  race,  and  where 
by  station  or  education  they  have  advanced  to  a 
special  grade  of  civilisation,  they  are  accepted  in  marriage  among  the 
highest  families  of  Spanish  blood.  They  are  kindly,  courteous  and 
dignified  in  mien  and  disposition,  easily  recognising  the  position  which 
they  occupy,  and  law-abiding  to  a  most  generous  extent. 

The  most  important  of  the  hundred  modern  languages  of  Mexico  are 
the  Mexican  (Nahuatl  Aztec),  Comanche  -  Shoshone,  Mixteco  -  Zapoteca, 
Maya-Quiche  and  Otomi.  The  Nahua  tribe  of  the  Mexico,  (Mexicans) 
derives  its  name  from  Mexitl,  a  word  of  obscure  origin  and  meaning,  but 
often  assumed  to  be  synonymous  with  Huitzilopochtli,  the  Mexican  God 
of  War.  That  Mexica  and  Azteca  (the  people  from  Aztlan,  "  the  land  of 
the  white  heron  ")  define  the  same  people — a  people  migrating  in  from  the 
north — admits  of  no  doubt ;  hence,  we  may  assume  that  Mexicans  and 
Aztecs  (including  the  Toltecs,  who  appear  to  have  been  only  Mexicans 
from  the  region  about  Tula,  and  not  an  earlier  independent  migratory 
horde)  represent  in  part  the  people  who  were  ruled  by  the  various  kings 
and  monarchs  styled  Motecuzoma,  Moctezuma  or  Montezuma. 

To  what  period  of  construction  belong  the  monumental  ruins  that  are 
scattered  through  southern  Mexico — in  Uxmal  and  Chichen-Itza  in  Yucatan, 
of  Palenque  in  the  State  of  Chiapas,  or  of  Mitla  in  the  State  of  Oaxaca — 
still  remains  to  be  determined,  although  recent  research  does  not  seem 
to  demand  an  antiquity  exceeding  700  to  1,000  years. 

History  and  Government.— When  conquered  by  Cortez  in  1521 
Mexico    was    called     the    Province     of    New    Spain  :    it    remained    a 
51 


780       The   International  Geography 

dependency  of  the  Spanish  crown  for  precisely  three  centuries,  and  was 
ruled  successively  by  Governors,  Audencias,  and  Viceroys.  On  September 
27,  1821,  the  Spanish  power  in  Mexico  finally  terminated,  after  a  struggle 
of  eleven  years.  An  Empire  was  proclaimed  early  in  1822  ;  but  this  was 
followed  by  the  proclamation  of  a  Republican 
Constitution  in  1824.  A  generally  stormy  period 
led  up  to  the  war  with  the  United  States  (April, 
1846,  to  September,  1847).  After  some  deter- 
mined resistance  on  the  part  of  the  Mexicans, 
Maximilian,  Archduke  of  Austria,  as  the  represen- 
tative of  Napoleon  III.  of  France,  was  placed  upon 
FIG.  VO.-Mexican  Flag.  ^  thrQne  Qf  Mexico  in  ^  and  thus  was  consti. 

tuted  the  second  Empire.  After  the  fall  of  the  empire  and  the  execution  of 
the  emperor  in  1867  the  Republic  was  re-established  and  became  prosperous, 

Mexico  is  now  organised  as  a  Federal  Republic,  composed  of  twenty- 
seven  States,  two  territories,  and  one  federal  district,  whose  political 
organisation  is  almost  identical  with  that  of  the  United  States.  The  powers 
of  the  government  are  vested  in  the  Legislative,  Executive,  and  Judicial 
bodies,  the  first-named  consisting  of  a  House  of  Representatives  and  of 
a  Senate,  representation  in  which  is  brought  about  by  the  suffrages  of  the 
people.  The  Executive  or  President  is  elected  by  electors  popularly  chosen 
and  holds  office  for  four  years  ;  there  is  no  provision  forbidding  re-election. 

Industries. — Mexico  is  one  of  the  richest  mining  countries  of  the 
world,  her  mineral  resources,  which  are  as  yet  only  partially  developed, 
comprising  gold,  silver,  platinum,  copper,  lead,  iron  and  mercury.  The 
annual  output  of  silver  is  now  claimed  to  be  in  value  nearly  ^12,000,000, 
and  of  gold  about  ;£i, 000,000.  The  main  silver  mines  are  comprised  in 
the  mining  districts  of  Guanajuato,  Zacatecas,  and  Catorce.  An  extensive 
industry  is  carried  on  in  opals  (principally  from  the  region  of  Queretaro), 
and  in  the  so-called  "Mexican  onyx,"  a  beautifully  shaded  stalagmitic 
calcite  which  occurs  in  interbedded  layers  in  the  State  of  Puebla. 

There  are  extensive  manufactures  of  cotton  and  woollen  goods  (cloths, 
blankets,  shawls),  of  leather  (saddles  and  accessory  trappings,  shoes),  and 
of  felt  and  straw  (hats) ;  the  pottery  of  Guadalajara  is  famous. 

The  cultivation  of  coffee  is  destined  to  become  one  of  the  foremost 
industries  of  the  land,  the  lower  tracts  of  the  tierra  caliente  being  particularly 
favourable  to  its  growth.  The  coffee  of  Cordoba  ranks  but  little  inferior 
to  the  best  coffee  of  the  New  World.  Agriculture,  although  extensively 
practised,  has  in  many  districts  hardly  passed  a  primitive  or  experimental 
stage,  and  it  is  no  uncommon  thing  to  see  the  ancient  forked  or  hooked  stick 
serving  for  the  plough-share.  An  equally  primitive  condition  of  the  road- 
ways and  of  transportation  equipments  prevails,  transport  over  large  areas 
being  still  almost  exclusively  by  donkeys.  During  late  years  there 
has  been  an  astonishing  development  of  railroad  enterprises,  the  length 
of  roads  operated  by  steam  being,  in  1901,  over  9,500  miles.  Two  trunk 


Mexico 


78i 


lines — the  Mexican  Central  and  the  Mexican  National — connect  the  City 
of  Mexico  with  the  United  States  frontier.  The  Mexican  Railway,  con- 
necting the  capital  with  Vera  Cruz,  was  officially  opened  in  1873,  and 
remains  one  of  the  most  remarkable  pieces  of  railroad  construction. 

Towns. — Mexico  (Fig.  368),  the  ancient  Tenochtitlan,  capital  of  the 
Federal  District  and  of  the  Republic  of  Mexico,  is  situated  at  an  elevation  of 
7,350  feet  above  the  sea-level.  It  combines  the  sumptuousness  of  a  little 
Paris  with  the  beggardom  of  Naples,  the  activity  of  a  city  of  the  north  with 
the  full  inactivity  of  cities  of  the  south.  Here  was  established,  in  1536,  the 
pioneer  printing-press  of  America,  and,  in  1693,  the  first  newspaper 
(Mercurio  Volante]  of  the  New  World.  Schools,  colleges,  hospitals,  and 
asylums  flourish  in  abundance.  The  National  Museum  contains  a  most 
important  collection  of  American  antiquities — a  treasure-house  to  the 
archaeologist  and  ethnologist.  The  School  of  Fine  Arts,  or  Academy  of 
San  Carlos,  occupies  the  site  where  Fray  Pedro  de  Gante,  in  1524,  founded 
the  first  school  in  the  New  World.  The  architectural  features  of  the  city 
are  predominantly  Spanish,  the  "  palaces  "  of  the  wealthier  classes  down  to 
the  dingy  shops  of  the  poorer  tradespeople,  together  with  the  arcades, 
municipal  buildings,  and  churches,  having  fully  accepted  the  controlling 
lines  of  Old  Spain.  The  most  striking  edifice  is  the  cathedral,  the  largest 
and  most  sumptuous  church  of  America,  erected  on  the  site  of  the  pyramidal 
temple  of  the  titular  god  of  the  Aztecs. 

The  most  important  ports  or  harbours  of  Mexico  are,  on  the  Pacific 
side,  Mazatlan,  San  Bias,  Manzanillo,  and  Acapulco ;  and,  on  the  Gulf 
coast,  Tampico,  Vera  Cruz,  Coatzacoalcos,  Campeche,  and  Progreso  (the 
last  two  in  Yucatan).  Acapulco  has  been  described  as  the  most  beautiful 
Pacific  port  of  all  America,  and,  after  Sydney,  the  finest  harbour  in  the 
world.  Vera  Cruz,  which  has  so  long  held  supremacy  as  the  eastern  port, 
is  destined  to  be  supplanted  by  Tampico,  the  open  coral-reef  waters,  in 
their  exposure  to  the  sudden  and  powerful  north  winds  (el  Norte),  being 
unsuited  for  protracted  anchorage. 


STATISTICS. 


Area  of  Mexico  in  square  miles 
Population  of  Mexico  
Density  of  population  per  square  mile     .  . 

Population  of—             1879.               1900. 
Mexico  City       ..     241,110     ..     344,721 
Puebla    ..        ..      68,634     ..      93.521 
Leon       .  .        .  .         —        .  .      58,426 

1879- 
767,005 
9,908,011 
....                  13 

Population  of— 
Guadalajara 
Monterey.. 
San  Luis  Potosi.. 

Imports 
Exports 


ANNUAL  TRADE  (in  pounds  sterling). 
Average  1871-75.  1881-85. 

5,500,000        ..         ..        6.170,000 
5,000,000        ..         ..        6,830,000 


1000. 

767,005 
13,545,462 

18 

IOOO. 

.  101,208 

.   62,266 

61,019 


1891-95- 
7,600,000 
7,500,000 


STANDARD   BOOKS. 

W.  H.  Prescott.     "  History  of  the  Conquest  of  Mexico."     London. 

H.  H.  Bancroft.     "Resources  and  Development  of  Mexico."     San  Francisco,  1894. 

M.  Romero.     "  Geographical  and  Statistical  Notes  on  Mexico."     New  York  and  London,  1898. 

Prince  R.  Bonaparte  and  others.     "LeMexique."     2  vols.     Pans,  1904. 


BOOK   V.: 
CENTRAL    AND    SOUTH    AMERICA 


CHAPTER   XLI.-CENTRAL   AMERICA 

BY  DR.  CARL  SAPPER, 

Cohan. 

Central  America. — The  Central  American  republics — Guatemala, 
Salvador,  Honduras,  Nicaragua,  Costa  Rica — and  the  colony  of  British 
Honduras,  occupy  the  greater  part  of  the  area  of  the  land  bridge 
between  the  North  and  the  South  American  continents.  They  are  bounded 


T   ^^ 


CENTRAL  AMERICA 


Interocetnic  canals, 

——.-\Boundanes 


60 


FIG.  371. — Central  America. 


on  the  north  by  the  republic  of  Mexico,  and  on  the  south  by  the  Colom- 
bian State  of  Panama,  and  lie  between  the  Pacific  Ocean  and  the 
Caribbean  or  Antillian  Sea  of  the  Atlantic.  Both  coasts  are  fairly 
uniform,  forming  only  a  few  large  bays,  the  Gulf  of  Honduras  or  Bay 

782 


Central  America  783 


of  Amatique  on  the  Caribbean,  and  the  smaller  gulfs  of  Fonseco,  Nicoya, 
and  Golfo  Dulce  on  the  Pacific  side. 

Orography  and  Geology.— Central  America  is  very  mountainous, 
the  greatest  heights  occurring  among  the  mountains  of  Guatemala  and 
Costa  Rica,  while  the  ranges  between  them  are  only  of  moderate  elevation. 
The  beautiful  cones  of  numerous  volcanoes  rise  in  a  long,  broken  row 
near  the  Pacific  coast ;  only  where  the  land  narrows  in  Costa  Rica  do 
they  stretch  across  to  the  Atlantic  side.  The  soft  volcanic  ashes  which 
have  accumulated  are  of  great  importance,  forming  plains  in  the  mountain 
region,  and,  together  with  river  deposits,  along  the  coasts,  where  they 
materially  increase  the  fertility  of  the  soil.  In  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
volcanic  belt  earthquakes  are  common  and  sometimes  very  severe,  as  the 
frequent  destruction  of  towns  testifies.  Amongst  the  specially  memorable 
catastrophes  are  those  of  Guatemala  in  1773  and  1902,  of  San  Salvador  in 
1854  and  1873,  of  Jucuapa  (Salvador)  in  1878,  of  Cartago  (Costa  Rica)  in 
1841  and  1851,  of  Rivas  (Nicaragua)  in  1844,  and  of  Leon  (Nicaragua)  in 
1609.  Earthquakes  are  rarer  and  less  severe  in  the  non-volcanic  districts 
and  least  frequent  on  the  Atlantic  coast.  They  are  very  rarely  felt  in 
British  Honduras. 

Surface  of  Guatemala. — In  the  northern  republic  of  Guatemala 
it  is  easy  to  distinguish  three  orographic  zones,  the  northern  hilly 
plain  of  Peten,  merging  into  the  southern  hilly  district  and  northern 
plain  of  British  Honduras  ;  then  the  mountain  chain  of  Central 
Guatemala,  which  attains  heights  of  12,500  feet,  and  the  massive 
range  of  South  Guatemala,  which  reaches  11,900  feet  in  Cerro  Cotzic, 
and  is  continued  towards  the  east  into  Honduras  and  Salvador. 
On  the  southern  ridge  of  the  last-named  range  numerous  volcanoes 
rise,  the  highest,  as  determined  by  the  triangulations  of  the  inter- 
continental railway  commission  in  1892,  are  Tajumulco,  13,814  feet, 
Tacana,  13,334  feet,  and  Acatenango,  12,992  feet.  The  Pacific  coast  plain 
stretches  at  the  foot  of  the  volcanoes.  The  plain  of  Peten  is  composed 
for  the  most  part  of  horizontally  stratified  recent  Tertiary  limestones. 
The  northern  chain  of  the  Central  Guatemala  system,  which  appears  to 
have  been  upheaved  in  middle  Tertiary  times,  is  composed  of  strongly 
folded  and  up-tilted  early  Tertiary  and  Mesozoic  strata  including  an  Upper 
Cretaceous  limestone,  which  plays  a  large  part.  The  middle  chain  is 
Palaeozoic,  including  schists  and  Carboniferous  limestones,  and  both  chains 
are  broken  through  by  the  transverse  valley  of  the  Rio  Chixoy.  The 
southern  chain  (Sierra  de  Las  Minas  and  Del  Mico)  is  of  Archaean  formation, 
principally  mica-schist.  Outbursts  of  granite,  diorite,  and  serpentine 
pierce  these  ancient  rocks.  The  cordillera  in  southern  Guatemala  is  built 
up  of  recent  eruptive  rocks,  partly  andesite  and  partly  basalt.  Most  of  the 
volcanoes  of  Guatemala  are  extinct ;  during  historic  times  eruptions  have, 
however,  been  recorded  of  Tacana,  Cerro  Quemado,  Fuego  and  Pacaya. 

Surface  of  Salvador.— In  the  republic  of  Salvador  the  mountain 


784      The  International  Geography 

chains  of  recent  eruptive  rocks  rarely  exceed  5,000  feet  in  height,  and 
are  broken  through  by  the  transverse  valley  of  the  Rio  Lempa.  Steep- 
sided  spurs  of  the  Honduras  Mountains  in  the  north  are  separated  from 
one  another  by  deep-cut  river  valleys.  The  Pacific  coast  plain  is  rather 
narrow,  and  the  main  mountain  ridge  behind  it  contains  most  of  the 
volcanoes,  none  of  which  reach  8,000  feet.  During  historical  times  the 
volcanoes  Santa  Ana,  Quezaltepeque,  San  Miguel,  Conchagua,  and 
Conchaguita,  have  been  active  ;  Izalco  was  formed  in  1793  and  has  since 
been  continually  in  eruption ;  on  the  other  hand,  a  new  volcano  which 
appeared  in  Lake  Ilopango  in  1880,  has  since  nearly  disappeared.  The 
mountains  of  this  republic  have  on  the  whole  been  little  explored. 

Surface  of  Honduras. — In  the  south  of  Honduras  the  mountains 
of  recent  eruptive  rock  are  separated  into  different  groups  by  deeply- 
trenched  valleys,  and  some  considerable  depressions  of  the  crest.  In 
northern  Honduras  the  mountains  present  the  appearance  of  a  chain, 
although  eruptive  flows  play  a  considerable  part  in  their  structure  :  quartz 
porphyry  in  the  southern,  Mesozoic  and  granite  in  the  northern,  chain 
of  Archaean  rock.  The  latter  reaches  its  greatest  height  in  Congrehoy 
Peak,  8,040  feet.  The  mountainous  Bay  Islands,  Roatan,  Utila,  and 
Bonaca  are  remnants  of  a  former  parallel  chain.  There  are  almost  no 
volcanoes  in  Honduras  except  the  extinct  volcanic  islands  in  the  Gulf 
of  Fonseca  on  the  Pacific. 

Surface  of  Nicaragua. — A  great  alluvial  plain,  similar  to  that 
of  British  Honduras,  stretches  along  the  Atlantic  coast  of  Nicaragua, 
and  behind  it  the  extensive  highlands  of  Segovia,  Matagalpa  and 
Chontales,  composed  of  Palaeozoic  and  Mesozoic  strata  with  granite 
and  basalt  intrusions,  reaches  a  maximum  height  of  7,000  feet.  Beyond 
it  there  is  a  broad  and  remarkable  depression  occupied  by  the  Gulf 
of  Fonseca  in  the  north,  and  further  south  by  the  great  lakes  of 
Managua  and  Nicaragua  and  the  valley  of  their  effluent,  the  San  Juan 
river.  On  the  west  this  depression  is  bordered  by  the  low  mountains 
of  the  coast  cordillera.  Numerous  volcanoes  rise  from  the  volcanic 
ashes  and  tuffs  with  which  the  depression  is  covered,  and  many  of 
them  are  active.  Omotepe,  on  an  island  in  Lake  Nicaragua,  is  one 
of  these,  and  the  eruption  of  Coseguina  in  1835  is  famous  as  one  of 
the  most  tremendous  and  disastrous  known  to  history. 

Surface  of  Costa  Rica. — Two  parallel  mountain  ranges  run 
through  Costa  Rica,  separated  by  the  depression  of  Cartago  ;  on  the 
northern  range  there  are  several  active  volcanoes,  two  of  which, 
Turrialba  and  Irazu,  exceed  11,000  feet  in  height.  The  southern  chain 
has  also  numerous  lofty  mountains,  but  its  highest  peak  (the  volcano 
Chiriqui,  10,150  feet)  lies  beyond  the  southern  border.  The  geological 
formations  are  similar  to  those  of  Nicaragua. 

Hydrography. — The  rivers  of  Central  America  flow  partly  to  the 
Atlantic  Ocean  and  partly  to  the  Pacific,  but  a  few  find  their  way  into 


Central  America  785 

lakes  which  have  no  outlet.  The  main  watershed  runs  near  the  Pacific 
coast  and  thus  the  rivers  entering  the  Atlantic  are  longer,  and  some  of 
them  are  navigable  in  places  for  light-draught  boats.  It  was  proposed 
(before  the  United  States  took  up  the  Panama  Canal)  to  utilise  the  San 
Juan  river  flowing  from  Lake  Nicaragua  to  the  Caribbean  Sea  in  the 
formation  of  a  ship  canal,  to  join  the  two  oceans  through  the  great  lake. 
The  Usumacinta  and  its  chief  tributaries,  the  Chixoy  and  Rio  de  la  Pasion 
in  northern  Guatemala  are  navigable,  but  rapids  on  the  border  of 
the  Mexican  province  of  Tabasco  interrupt  communication  with  the 
sea.  There  are  numerous  lakes,  chief  amongst  them  the  great  Lake 
Nicaragua,  with  an  area  of  over  3,000  square  miles,  and  Lake  Managua, 
which  discharges  into  it.  Lake  Yzabal  (Golfo  Dulce)  in  Guatemala  and 
the  numerous  very  beautiful  mountain  tarns  and  crater-lakes  in  most  parts 
of  Central  America  are  distinctive  features.  Lakes  without  outlet  are 
common  in  the  limestone  region  of  northern  Guatemala,  the  largest  being 
Lake  Peten  ;  in  the  rainy  season  many  shallow  temporary  lakes  (Akalches) 
are  formed  in  the  hollows  of  the  same  region.  Numerous  lagoons  of 
brackish  water  occur  along  both  coasts. 

Climate. — Central  America  lying  completely  within  the  tropics  in  8° 
to  18°  N.,  where  the  trade  winds  prevail,  the  climate  would  necessarily 
be  damp  and  hot  were  it  not  for  the  prominent  mountain  system,  which 
influences  both  temperature  and  rainfall.  While  the  mean  annual  tem- 
perature on  the  coast  is  about  80°  F.,  in  Quezaltenango,  at  an  elevation  of 
7,700  feet,  it  is  only  58°.  The  annual  range  is  comparatively  small ;  the 
average  temperature  of  the  coolest  month,  December  or  January,  is  only 
from  6°  to  12°  below  that  of  the  hottest  month,  April  or  May.  The 
direction  and  extent  of  the  mountain  ranges  exercise  the  principal 
influence  on  the  atmospheric  humidity  and  rainfall.  Where  the  east  or 
north-east  trades  blow,  the  slopes  facing  the  Atlantic  are  moister  than 
those  of  the  Pacific ;  on  the  latter  coast  only  the  southern  slopes  of  the 
highest  elevations  in  Guatemala  extract  a  heavy  rainfall  from  the  sea 
breezes.  The  driest  regions  are  those  which  are  protected  by  mountain 
ranges  from  both  oceans.  All  Central  America  is  subject  to  numerous 
thunderstorms  during  the  summer  rainy  season  (Invierno),  which  reach  a 
maximum  shortly  after  each  solstice.  On  the  Atlantic  coast  the  summer  rainy 
season  passes  gradually  into  the  trade  wind  rains,  characterised  by  a  mini- 
mum of  thunderstorms  but  many  rain  showers  of  long  duration,  and  leading 
to  a  winter  rainy  season  with  moderate  precipitation,  from  February  to  April. 
On  the  Pacific  slope  a  dry  period  (Verano)  prevails  from  November  to 
May.  As  an  example  of  the  influence  of  mountains  on  the  distribution  of 
rainfall  it  may  be  mentioned  that  the  annual  fall  at  Tual  on  the  northern 
slope  of  the  Central  Guatemalan  Chain  (2,700  feet)  is  about  195  inches,  in 
Coban  on  the  top  of  the  mountains  (4,300  feet)  100  inches,  and  in  Salama 
(3,050  feet)  on  the  dry  inland  district  of  central  Guatemala  only  27  inches  ; 
while  in  Guatemala  city  (4,850  feet)  on  the  crest  of  the  Southern 


786       The  International  Geography 

Cordillera  the  rainfall  is  57  inches.  The  zone  of  maximum  rainfall  lies 
between  2,000  and  3,500  feet  in  elevation,  above  that  precipitation 
often  assumes  the  form  of  mist,  and  at  heights  above  10,000  feet,  of  snow. 

Flora  and  Fauna. — Corresponding  to  the  climate,  the  moist  Atlantic 
side  of  Central  America  is  covered  with  luxuriant  primeval  forest,  which  in 
the  interior  is  rich  in  valuable  wood,  including  mahogany  and  logwood, 
as  well  as  in  palms,  creepers,  and  in  the  higher  parts,  tree-ferns,  and 
epiphyte  orchids.  On  the  high  mountains,  oaks,  alders,  pines  and  cypresses 
are  found.  In  the  dry  parts  of  the  interior  of  the  Pacific  slope  thin  pine 
and  oak  woods  cover  the  mountains,  while  the  plains  form  grassy 
savannas  diversified  by  thorny  bushes.  The  driest  parts  of  all  are 
characterised  by  succulent  plants  such  as  the  agave.  On  the  Atlantic 
coast  extensive  deposits  of  sand  are  covered  with  grass  and  scattered  pine 
trees,  and  known  as  Pine  Ridges  in  British  Honduras  and  on  the  Mosquito 
coast.  According  to  the  temperature  there  are  three  distinct  floral  zones, 
(i)  Tierra  Caliente,  or  hot  land  up  to  2,000  feet,  the  principal  zone  of  cacao 
cultivation,  of  the  india-rubber  and  mahogany  trees  and  of  the  coco-nut 
palm.  (2)  Tierra  Templada,  or  temperate  land  from  2,000  to  6,000  feet, 
containing  the  principal  belt  of  coffee  cultivation.  (3)  Tierra  Fria,  or  cold 
land  above  6,000  feet,  the  principal  grain  and  potato  growing  region. 
Cultivation  stops  at  10,500  feet,  and  forests  at  12,500. 

Animal  life  is  also  richer  and  more  varied  in  the  moist  than  in  the  dry 
regions.  The  principal  mammals  of  Central  America  are  the  jaguar,  the 
cougar,  and  smaller  felidae,  wild  swine,  deer,  monkeys,  squirrels,  and 
opossums.  Bird-life  is  particularly  rich,  and  the  most  beautiful  bird  of 
Central  America,  perhaps  of  the  whole  Earth,  is  the  quetzal,  which  is 
limited  to  the  forests  of  the  moist  and  cool  region.  Snakes,  some  of  them 
very  poisonous,  abound  in  the  moist  and  hot  region.  Alligators  and  turtles 
are  found  in  the  waters  of  the  hot  land,  and  everywhere  insect  life  is 
superabundant. 

People  and  History. — In  contrast  with  the  luxuriance  of  plant  and 
animal  life  in  the  moist,  warm  region,  the  human 
inhabitants  flourish  in  the  drier  parts,  where  agri- 
culture presents  fewest  difficulties  and  the  conditions 
of  health  are  favourable.  The  hot  forest  districts  are 
very  thinly  peopled  or  even  uninhabited,  while  a  con- 
siderable density  of  population  is  found  in  the  driest 
parts  of  the  country.  The  prevalence  of  malaria  in 
the  low  ground,  both  moist  and  dry,  leads  similarly 

FlG.  372. — Average  pop-  J '  * 

ulation  of  a  square  mile  to  a  concentration  of  population  on  the  highlands, 
of  Central  America.  which  are  free  from  malarial  fevers.  Human  habi- 
tations are  found  as  high  as  10,500  feet,  but  above  that  level  the  mountain 
slopes  are  uninhabited.  On  the  low,  hot  plains  of  Peten,  in  Guatemala, 
there  is  only  one  person  to  two  square  miles,  while  in  the  high  department 
of  Totonicapan  the  density  of  population  is  285  to  the  square  mile. 


Central  America  787 

The  aboriginal  inhabitants  at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century 
were  much  more  numerous  than  now,  and  were  divided  into  many  small 
tribes,  always  at  war  with  one  another.  The  only  considerable  kingdom 
was  that  of  the  Quiche,  which  had  already  begun  to  decline  when  some  of 
the  rebellious  vassals  of  the  Quiche  king  sought  the  aid  of  the  Spaniards 
against  their  sovereign.  Craftily  taking  advantage  of  the  disunion  amongst 
the  Indian  tribes  Pedro  de  Alvarado,  in  1524  and  1525,  took  possession  of 
the  greater  part  of  Guatemala  and  Salvador  with  a  handful  of  Spaniards, 
whose  horses  and  firearms  were  objects  of  peculiar  terror.  Some  years 
later  the  Verapaz  district  was  peacefully  brought  under  Spanish  control 
through  Fray  Bartolome  de  las  Casas,  the  famous  historian  of  the  Spanish 
conquest  of  America.  Costa  Rica  was  occupied  by  the  Spaniards  from 
Panama  in  1522,  and  Honduras  was  taken  in  1523.  Cortez  himself  made 
an  extremely  difficult  campaign  through  northern  Guatemala  and  into 
Honduras  in  1524-25.  The  agricultural  native  tribes  of  Guatemala,  who 
were  in  possession  of  an  old  and  highly  developed  culture  and  possessed 
organised  government,  were  easily  overcome  in  war,  but  so  stubbornly 
did  they  resist  the  introduction  of  new  ideas  and  customs,  that  to  the 
present  day  a  large  number  of  them  have  remained  free  from  intermixture 
and  preserved  their  ancient  language.  The  other  Indian  tribes,  who 
stoutly  resisted  the  Spaniards  in  arms,  were  gradually  overcome  or 
absorbed,  and  thus  it  happens  that  over  880,000  aboriginal  Indians  now  live 
in  Guatemala,  while  only  70,000  exist  in  the  rest  of  Central  America.  The 
number  of  Indian  languages  now  spoken  is  about  thirty,  but  most  of  the 
Indians  also  speak  Spanish.  The  majority  of  the  population  now  consists 
of  Spanish-speaking  Ladinos  or  Mestizos,  i.e.,  offspring  of  Europeans  and 
Indians.  There  are  perhaps  30,000  Whites,  Creoles  and  immigrants,  and 
a  larger  number  of  Negroes,  Mulattoes,  the  offspring  of  Negroes  and  whites, 
and  Zambos,  the  offspring  of  Negroes  and  Indians. 

In  the  seventeenth  century  the  Mosquito  Indians,  who  lived  on  the  east 
coast,  entered  into  friendly  relations  with  the  British  Government,  and  by 
British  intervention  the  Indians  of  the  Mosquito  coast,  which  now  forms 
part  of  Nicaragua,  retain  special  privileges.  Logwood  cutters  from 
Jamaica  settled  on  the  coast  of  Yucatan  in  the  seventeenth  century,  and 
the  colonists,  by  defeating  a  Spanish  attack  in  1798,  definitely  established 
the  colony  of  British  Honduras.  In  the  sixteenth  century  Central  America 
and  Chiapas  formed  one  Spanish  colony,  the  Captain-generalship  of 
Guatemala,  which  became  independent  in  1823,  when  Chiapas  was 
included  in  Mexico,  and  the  rest  formed  the  United  States  of  Central 
America.  In  1839  they  broke  up  into  five  separate  republics,  and 
attempts  at  reunion,  although  frequently  made,  have  hitherto  come  to 
nothing.  In  1896  Nicaragua,  Honduras  and  Salvador  formed  themselves 
by  the  Treaty  of  Ampala  into  the  Republica  Mayor  de  Centroamcnca,  with 
common  representation  in  foreign  countries,  but  the  agreement  did  not 
continue.  Although  there  is  complete  religious  freedom  in  all  the 
52 


788       The  International  Geography 

Central  American  republics,  by  far  the  most  of  the  people  are  Roman 
Catholics. 

Productions  and  Trade. — As  yet  minerals  are  only  worked 
extensively  in  Honduras  and  the  north  of  Nicaragua,  where  gold  and 
silver  are  mined.  There  is  a  little  gold-washing  and  some  lead  mines  in 
Guatemala,  and  lignite  deposits  are  known  in  several  places,  although  not 
worked.  There  is  scarcely  any  manufacturing  industry  except  the 
weaving  of  silk,  wool  and  cotton  on  a  small  scale.  Altos  in  Guatemala 
has  woollen  factories,  and  a  great  annual  market  is  held  at  Esquipulas,  in 
the  same  republic.  The  export  of  mahogany  and  logwood,  india-rubber 
and  other  forest  products  is  considerable  ;  Balsam  of  Peru  is  sent  out 
from  Salvador,  and  a  certain  amount  of  vanilla  and  sarsaparilla  are  also 
exported.  Most  of  the  people  live  by  agriculture  and  the  collection  of 
forest  produce,  the  nature  of  the  cultivation  depending  on  the  climate,  as 
each  particular  branch  is  concentrated  in  a  special  zone.  Cattle-breeding 
is  mainly  carried  on  in  the  dry  regions  of  the  savannas  and  the  scattered 
oak  and  pine  woods,  which  form  natural  pastures.  Honduras  and 
Nicaragua  are  specially  favourable  for  cattle-rearing,  while  the  highlands 
in  the  high  district  of  Guatemala  are  important  for  sheep.  The  cultivation 
of  the  cochineal  insect  was  once  important,  but  has  now  ceased.  The 
cultivation  of  the  soil  is  even  more  influenced  by  climatic  conditions, 
although  the  most  important  crops,  maize  and  beans,  which  form  the 
staple  food  of  the  people,  flourish  in  every  climate  and  at  all  altitudes  up 
to  10,000  feet.  Other  cultivated  plants  are  confined  to  the  warm,  moist 
land,  like  cacao ;  to  the  warm,  dry  land,  like  indigo ;  or  to  the  warm  and 
temperate  belt,  like  coffee,  tobacco,  sugar-cane,  rice  and  cotton ;  while 
others  are  confined  to  the  cold  land,  like  grain,  potatoes  and  apples. 
Some  products  are  insufficient  for  home  use ;  the  cacao  production 
barely  suffices  for  the  home  demand  and  even  flour  must  be  imported 
from  abroad.  The  only  plantation  product,  except  indigo  from  Salvador, 
which  is  exported  in  large  quantities  is  coffee,  which  is  of  very  fine  quality, 
principally  in  Alta  Verapaz  and  Costa  Rica.  Guatemala  and  Salvador 
have  the  largest  coffee  export,  Costa  Rica  and  Nicaragua  produce  about 
one-quarter  as  much,  and  in  Honduras  the  export  is  only  beginning. 

Means  of  Communication. — The  most  important  seaports  of 
Central  America  are  :  in  Guatemala,  on  the  Pacific  coast,  the  open 
roadsteads,  San  Jose,  Champereco  and  Ocos,  which  carry  on  a  large 
trade  in  coffee  ;  and  on  the  Atlantic,  Livingston  and  Puerto  Barrios,  the 
latter  a  good  natural  harbour,  but  not  well  situated  for  trade.  The  chief 
harbours  of  Salvador  are  Acajutea,  Triumfo  and  La  Union  j  in  Honduras, 
on  the  Atlantic  coast,  Puerto  Cortez ;  and  Antapala  on  the  Pacific. 
Nicaragua  has  on  the  Atlantic  side,  Bluefields  and  San  yuan  del  Norte 
(Grey  town)  ;  on  the  Pacific,  Corinto  and  San  'Juan  del  Sur.  The  harbours  of 
Costa  Rica  are  on  the  Atlantic  side,  Puerto  Limon ;  on  the  Pacific  coast, 
Punta  Arenas.  The  means  of  communication  in  the  interior  are  still 


Central  America  789 


somewhat  undeveloped  ;  quite  recently  railways  have  been  constructed  or 
planned  to  the  principal  centres  of  coffee  production,  and  lines  joining  the 
Atlantic  and  the  Pacific  seaports  are  open  or  under  construction  in  Costa 
Rica,  Honduras  and  Guatemala.  Regular  steamer  communication  is  kept 
up  on  a  number  of  the  lakes.  The  system  of  roads,  on  which  goods  arc 
conveyed  in  two-wheeled  ox-carts,  is  still  very  imperfect,  and  in  the  moun- 
tainous parts  of  the  interior  only  mules  and  other  beasts  of  burden  can  be 
employed.  The  Indians  still  continue  to  carry  loads  on  their  backs  in 
wooden  vessels  supported  by  a  strap  round  their  foreheads. 

Political  Divisions. — Central  America  is  divided  into  six  republics 
and  one  colony,  the  principal  divisions  and  towns  of  which  can  merely  be 
enumerated. 

Guatemala  is  divided  into  twenty- two  departments.  The  capital, 
Guatemala,  an  inland  town,  is  the  seat  of  an  archbishop,  of  a  university 
and  other  educational  establishments.  The  other  important  places  are 
Quezaltenango,  Antigua  Guatemala,  which  was  formerly  the  chief  town  of 
Central  America,  Chiquimula,  and  Coban. 

Salvador  is  divided  into  fourteen  departments;  its  capital,  San 
Salvador,  is  the  seat  of  a  bishop  and  of  a  university,  and  stands  near  its 
port,  Libertad.  S.  Ana,  S.  Vicente  and  S.  Miguel,  are  the  other  towns. 

Honduras  is  divided  into  fifteen  departments,  Tegucigalpa  is  the 
present  capital,  but  that  rank  was  formerly  held  by  Comayagua,  which 
is  still  the  seat  of  a  bishop  ;  both  towns  stand  on  the  high  plateau. 

Nicaragua  has  thirteen  departments.  Its  capital  is  Managua,  on  the 
lake  of  the  same  name,  but  Leon  is  a  larger  town  and  the  seat  of  a  bishop. 
Granada  on  Lake  Nicaragua,  Masaya  and  Chinandega  are  also  large  towns, 
and  Greytown,  at  the  mouth  of  the  San  Juan  river,  will  become  important 
when  the  projected  Nicaragua  Canal  is  carried  out. 

Costa  Rica  contains  seven  provinces.  Its  capital,  S.  Jose  de  Costa  Rica, 
high  up  on  the  mountains,  is  the  seat  of  a  bishop,  and  Cart  ago,  the  former 
capital,  is  also  an  important  town. 

Panama. — Formerly  a  province  of  Colombia.     See  p.  828. 

British  Honduras.1 — The  Crown  colony  of  British  Honduras,  for- 
merly dependent  on  Jamaica,  was  given  a  separate  organ- 
isation in  1884.  It  is  divided  from  Mexico  by  the  river 
Hondo,  and  by  the  river  Sarstoon  from  Guatemala  in  the 
south.  The  western  boundary  is  an  arbitrary  line.  The 
coast  is  bordered  by  a  maze  of  small  islands  and  coral 
reefs,  rendering  navigation  difficult.  The  principal  river 
is  the  Belize,  crossing  the  centre  of  the  colony,  and  sepa- 
rating the  hilly  southern  part,  where  the  Cockscomb 
Mountains  reach  4,000  feet,  from  the  flat  northern  por- 
tion, a  great  part  of  which  is  occupied  by  swamps  and  lagoons,  or  shallow 
lakes. 

1  By  the  Editor. 


790       The  International  Geography 

Practically  the  whole  area  is  under  forest,  and  forest  products,  which 
attracted  the  "  Daymen  "  in  the  seventeenth  century,  continue  to  be  the 
staple  exports  of  the  colony.  Mahogany  and  logwood  trees  are  felled  in 
the  forests  of  the  interior,  and  floated  down  to  the  coast,  the  quantity  of 
the  roughly  hewn  logs  sent  out  each  year  largely  depends  on  the  amount 
of  water  in  the  rivers  available  for  floating  them.  Coco-nuts  and  bananas 
are  largely  grown  for  the  American  market. 

The  population  contains  only  one  per  cent,  of  Europeans  ;  but,  for  the 
tropics,  British  Honduras  is  considered  not  unhealthy,  many  of  the  whites 
being  descended  from  early  immigrants.  Besides  the  usual  mixed  races 
there  are  Caribs  in  the  south,  the  remnant  of  those  deported  from  the 
West  Indies.  Belize,  the  one  town,  is  named  after  Wallace,  an  old 
buccaneer.  It  has  no  harbour,  steamers  having  to  anchor  a  mile  or  more 
from  the  river-mouth  and  work  their  cargo  from  lighters. 

STATISTICS  (Approximate). 


Area  in 
sq.  miles. 

Density  of  pop.        Largest 
Population,      per  sq.  mile.            Town. 

Population. 

Guatemala 

42,400 

1,365,000 

32 

Guatemala 

65,000 

Salvador.  . 

8,100 

780,000 

96 

San  Salvador 

25,000 

British  Hondur 

is        7,500 

31,000 

4 

Belize 

7,000 

Honduras 

46,300 

382,000 

8 

Tegucigalpa 

12,600 

Nicaragua 

47,800 

3i3,ooo 

7 

Leon 

34-000 

Costa  Rica 

20,800 

263,000 

13 

S.  Jose 

19,000 

Central  America  172,900  3,134,000 


160 


STANDARD   BOOKS. 

T.  Belt.    "  The  Naturalist  in  Nicaragua."    London,  1874. 

A.  R.  Colquhoun.    "  The  Key  of  the  Pacific — the  Nicaragua  Canal."     London,  1896. 

J.  R.  Gibbs.    "British  Honduras."    London,  1883. 

D.  Gonzalez.    "  Geografia  de  Centre-America.1'    San  Salvador,  1877. 

C.  Sapper.    "  Das  Nordliche  Mittel-Amerika."    Brunswick,  1897. 

1  "  Mittelamerikanische  Reisen  und  Studien  aus  den  Jahren  1888  bis  1000." 

Brunswick,  1002. 
A.  H.    Keane.     "Central  and   South  America.    Vol.  II.  Central  America  and  West 

Indies"  [Stanford's  Compendium].    London,  1901. 

C.  N.  Bell.    " Tangweera  "  [on  the  Indians  of  the  Mosquito  Coast].    London.  1899, 
T.  Brigham,    "  Guatemala,  the  Land  of  the  Quetzal"    London,  1887. 


CHAPTER  XLII.— THE  WEST  INDIES 

I. — GENERAL   FEATURES 

BY    J.    RODWAY, 

Georgetown,  Demerara. 

Position  and  Structure. — The  West  Indian  Islands  extend  as  a 
natural  breakwater  in  front  of  the  Caribbean  Sea  and  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
from  27°  N.  off  the  coast  of  Florida  to  10°  N.  near  the  shores  of  Venezuela. 
They  contain  colonies  of  the  Danes,  French,  Dutch,  territories  of  the 
United  States,  and  independent  republics,  but  the  United  Kingdom  holds 
the  greater  number  of  the  islands.  The  islands  vary  in  size  from  Cuba, 


10 


too 


00  73  7*> 

FIG.  374.— The  West  Indies. 


which  is  one-third  larger  than  Ireland,  to  tiny  rocks  and  keys  (or  cays)  just 
rising  above  the  sea.  They  differ  also  in  geological  structure  ;  some  pro- 
bably once  formed  part  of  the  continent,  some  are  composed  of  volcanic 
rock,  others  only  of  coral.  Most  of  them  have  central  ridges  of  mountains, 
and  many  signs  of  active  volcanoes  may  be  seen  in  the  Caribbees,  where 
eruptions  and  earthquakes  are  still  experienced  at  intervals.  Taken  as  a 
whole  the  islands  appear  to  form  a  great  mountain  chain,  similar  to  the 

791 


792       The  International  Geography 

Andes,  but  deeply  submerged.  Rushing  mountain  torrents  are  common 
in  all  the  islands  ;  their  gullies,  at  one  time  nothing  more  than  beds  of 
sand  and  pebbles,  are  at  another  full  and  overflowing. 

Rising  from  the  deep  blue  sea,  covered  with  rich  green  forests,  and 
bathed  in  the  splendour  of  tropical  sunlight  the  rocky  islands  are 
exceedingly  beautiful.  In  sailing  or  steaming  along  from  one  to  another 
they  look  like  ocean  gems  ;  here  a  mountain  enwrapped  in  clouds,  there  a 
field  of  yellow-green  canes,  again  a  little  town  embosomed  in  precipices. 

Climate  and  Vegetation.— The  climate  is  purely  tropical.  The 
sea-level  temperature  over  the  whole  of  the  West  Indies  exceeds  80°  F.  on 
the  average  from  May  to  October,  and  in  the  cooler  months  rarely  falls 
below  75°  F.,  the  annual  range  being  very  small.  Rainfall  and  local 
varieties  of  climate  are  dominated  by  the  trade  winds,  which  blow  all  the 
year  round.  From  October  to  March  the  north-east  trades  blow  strongly  ; 
as  summer  advances  they  become  rather  weaker,  and  eddy,  so  as  to  blow 
from  the  east  and  south-east  over  the  whole  group,  gradually  returning  to 
a  north-easterly  direction  about  September.  One  consequence  of  the 
steady  easterly  winds  is  that  the  windward  or  eastward  coasts  of  the 
Caribbees  are  beaten  on  by  a  continual  surf,  while  the  leeward  or  western 
coasts  have  usually  calm  water,  and  deep,  unsilted  harbours.  All  the 
important  towns  of  the  Lesser  Antilles  lie  on  the  west  of  the  islands.  The 
rainy  season  takes  place  towards  the  end  of  summer,  October  being  the 
wettest  month  as  a  rule,  and  the  dry  season  is  at  its  height  between 
December  and  April,  when  the  northerly  component  predominates  in  the 
wind.  From  August  to  October  hurricanes  are  frequently  experienced. 
The  local  climates  vary  considerably  in  the  various  islands.  The  Bahamas 
are  cooler  and  more  healthy  than  the  Caribbees,  and  in  Jamaica  the 
inhabitants  have  the  cool  mountain  slopes  to  which  they  can  retire  when 
the  coast  is  uncomfortably  hot. 

Most  of  the  land  is  fertile,  and  in  some  islands  particularly  rich,  although 
in  others,  such  as  the  Bahamas,  it  is  almost  barren.  There  are  few  wild 
animals,  but  birds  and  insects  are  plentiful,  while  the  flora  is  particularly 
varied  and  interesting.  All  tropical  fruits  and  vegetables  can  be  grown, 
but  the  staple  has  hitherto  been  sugar  cane.  Latterly  the  low  price  of 
sugar  consequent  on  the  bounties  given  by  European  countries  to  en- 
courage beet  growing  has  reduced  many  of  the  West  Indian  islands  to  a 
very  low  condition,  a  state  of  things  intensified  in  some  of  the  islands  by 
civil  war  and  bad  government. 

People. — Since  the  discovery  of  the  West  Indies  by  Columbus  in  1492 
the  original  inhabitants  have  almost  entirely  disappeared,  leaving  only  a 
few  degenerate  half-breed  Caribs  in  St.  Vincent.  The  great  labour 
experiment  of  negro  slavery  was  tried  on  a  vast  scale,  and,  whatever  may 
have  been  the  evils  of  that  system,  there  is  no  doubt  that  it  was  successful 
from  an  economic  point  of  view.  It  has  resulted  in  peopling  the  islands 
with  a  tropical  race  which  seems  well  fitted  to  carry  out  their  development, 


Cuba 


793 


and  may  perhaps  some  day  make  an  impression  on  the  world.  Without 
the  negro  these  beautiful  islands  would  possibly  have  been  abandoned  long 
ago,  for  since  the  emancipation  of  slaves  the  whites  are  becoming  fewer 
and  fewer  every  decade,  except  in  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico.  Experiments 
have  been  made  in  bringing  labourers  from  India  and  China  with  good 
results  in  Trinidad,  but  the  general  position  of  all  the  islands  in  1899  may 
be  considered  as  almost  stagnant.  Yet  they  were  of  great  value  in  the 
past,  when  they  were  "  bones  of  contention "  between  the  four  great 
nations  which  fought  for  them,  and  with  them  the  sovereignty  of  America. 
Spain  was  put  in  the  background  by  Holland,  France,  and  the  United 
Kingdom,  and,  after  many  changes,  the  existing  partition  of  the  islands 
•was  brought  about.  The  future  of  the  West  Indies  is  bound  up  with  the 
future  of  cane-sugar  ;  other  tropical  products  seem  likely  (1898)  always  to 
remain  of  secondary  importance. 

The  islands  are  linked  together  by  telegraph  cables,  which  connect 
with  North  and  South  America.  There  are  several  lines  of  steamers  run- 
ning regularly  between  the  West  Indies  and  Europe 


II.— CUBA 

BY  ROBERT  T.  HILL, 

Geologist,  U.S.  Geological  Survey. 

Position  and  Coasts. — Cuba,  the  largest  and  richest  of  the  West 
Indian  Islands,  lies  just  within  the  tropics ;  its  most  northerly  point 
is  within  100  miles  of  Key  West,  its  most  southerly  within  100  miles  of 
Jamaica.  The  island  is  720  miles  long,  and  from  25  to  100  miles  wide. 
Its  area,  including  1,300  keys 
(cays)  or  islets,  is  45,000  square 
miles,  of  which  10  per  cent,  is 
cultivated,  4  per  cent,  forest-land, 
and  the  rest  unreclaimed.  Cuba 
has  three  natural  divisions,  the 
eastern  mountains,  the  central 
plains  with  occasional  hills,  and 
the  western  central  axial  moun- 
tains bordered  by  sloping  valleys. 
Excepting  the  swamp  region,  the 
island  is  thoroughly  drained.  The 
coast-line  measures  2,000  miles  ; 
with  embayments  and  islets  it  is 
over  6,800  miles.  Except  on  the 

south  central  side  the  coast  is  abrupt,  and  bordered  by  a  narrow  bench 
of  coral  reef  elevated  15  feet  above  the  sea.  The  eastern  coast,  600  feet 
high,  is  rugged,  with  stair-like  terraces.  The  land-locked  harbours  with 
narrow  entrances  are  adapted  for  commerce  and  defence.  The  keys, 


FIG  375. — Havana  Harbour — a  typical  natural 
harbour  of  Cuba. 


794       The  International  Geography 

which  border  one  half  the  coast,  are  coral  or  mangrove  islets  growing  up 
from  shallow  platforms  ;  lack  of  good  water  makes  them  uninhabitable. 

Configuration. — The  higher  eminences  in  the  interior  are  true 
mountains  of  deformation,  composed  of  disturbed  sedimentary  rocks  with 
igneous  intrusions.  They  occur  in  three  independent  groups  in  the  eastern, 
western  and  central  portions.  The  highest  range,  the  Sierra  Maestra,  domi- 
nates both  coasts  of  Santiago  de  Cuba.  Its  loftiest  crest,  Pico  del  Turquino, 
has  an  estimated  height  of  6,800  feet;  its  lower  slopes  are  terraced. 
The  central  high  mountains  are  less  angular  than  the  Sierra  Maestra, 
and  their  summits  (the  highest,  El  Potrerillo,  2,900  feet)  have  radiating 
slopes.  They  are  composed  of  semi-crystalline  limestones  and  shales, 
doubtfully  considered  Palaeozoic,  flanked  by  disturbed  Cretaceous  and 
Tertiary  beds.  The  Sierra  de  los  Organos  forms  the  island's  axis  west  of 
Havana,  and  is  an  elongated  ridge  of  various  geological  formations.  It 
culminates  in  the  Pan  Guajaibon,  altitude  2,532  feet.  Low  hills  and  mesas 
of  circumdenudation  capped  by  Tertiary  limestone,  3,000  feet  of  which 
once  enveloped  the  island,  form  an  extensive  plateau  north  of  the  Sierra 
Maestra,  with  terraced  cliffs  towards  the  sea  ;  they  include  the  Mesa  Toar 
and  Junki  de  Baracoa,  sometimes  mistaken  for  craters.  The  upper  edge 
of  this  plateau  is  cut  into  knife-edged  salients ;  the  lower  stair-like  benches 
are  crossed  by  vertical  canyons,  through  which  the  drainage  finds  outlets 
to  the  sea.  In  Matanzas  and  Havana  provinces,  the  arch  of  the  plateau, 
whose  crest  on  the  northern  side  presents  a  cliff  topography,  descends 
nearer  sea-level,  develops  a  longer  but  gentle  slope  toward  the  south 
coast,  and  ends  in  the  Zapata  Cienaga  and  the  shallows  between  Cuba  and 
the  Isle  of  Pines.  The  brackish  swamp,  Zapata,  occupies  600  square  miles 
on  the  southern  coast.  The  famous  valleys  of  Cuba  are  either  wide  plains 
threaded  by  rivers  reaching  the  sea,  or  amphitheatres  within  the  limestone 
plateau. 

The  rivers  are  voluminous  in  proportion  to  their  catchment  areas.  The 
streams  run  through  widely  sloping  valleys ;  canyons  are  not  developed 
until  the  coastal  rim  of  harder  limestone  at  the  entrance  of  the  pouch- 
shaped  harbours  is  reached.  Many  streams  flowing  southward  disappear  in 
vast  swamps.  In  limestone  formations  the  drainage  is  mostly  subterranean, 
and  beautiful  caverns  abound,  the  largest  underlying  the  eastern  Cuchillas. 
There  are  also  waterfalls,  natural  bridges,  mineral  springs,  and  baths,  the 
usual  accompaniments  of  such  karst  phenomena. 

Climate. — There  are  no  extensive  climatological  records  except  for 
Havana,  and  these  do  not  apply  throughout  Cuba.  Rains  are  most 
abundant  from  May  to  October;  those  brought  by  the  trade-winds  are 
heaviest  and  most  frequent  on  the  higher  eastern  slopes.  At  Havana  the 
annual  rainfall  is  about  52  inches,  of  which  32  inches  fall  in  the  wet  season. 
The  average  number  of  rainy  days  in  the  year  is  102.  The  air  is  usually 
charged  with  85  per  cent,  of  moisture.  Snow  has  only  once  been  recorded 
in  Cuba,  in  1856.  At  Havana  the  mean  annual  temperature  is  77°  F. ;  in 


Cuba  795 


July  and  August  the  average  is  82°  F.,  fluctuating  between  88°  and  76° ;  the 
highest  temperature  recorded  there  during  ten  years  was  100°.  In 
December  and  January  the  thermometer  averages  72°  with  a  maximum 
of  78°  and  a  minimum  of  50° ;  but  on  the  interior  elevations  the  freezing 
point  is  reached  in  winter.  The  diurnal  range  of  temperature  averages  10°. 
At  Santiago  the  temperature  is  higher  than  on  the  northern  and  western 
coasts,  and  averages  80°,  with  a  difference  between  the  warmest  and  coldest 
months  of  6°  F.  The  easterly  trade-wind  prevails,  but  from  November  to 
February  cool  north  winds  of  short  duration  occur  in  western  Cuba,  where 
also  a  refreshing  sea-breeze  blows  in  the  afternoon.  The  island  is  subject 
to  hurricanes. 

Flora. — A  voluptuous  flora  covers  the  surface  and  includes  cha- 
racteristic forms  of  the  West  Indies,  southern  Florida,  and  the  Central 
American  seaboard.  Many  large  trees  of  the  Mexican  Tierra  Caliente 
reappear  in  western  Cuba.  Numerous  palms,  including  the  royal  palm, 
occur,  and  the  pine  tree  is  associated  with  palms  and  mahoganies  in  Pinar 
del  Rio  and  the  Isle  of  Pines  ;  other  woods  are  the  lignum-vitae,  the  grana- 
dilla,  coco-wood,  out  of  which  reed  instruments  are  made,  and  Cedrela 
odorata,  used  for  cigar  boxes  and  linings  of  cabinet  work  ;  fustic,  logwood, 
and  mahogany  are  largely  exported  from  Santiago.  There  are  still  about 
13,000,000  acres  of  uncleared  forest.  Nutritious  grasses  are  found  ;  the 
pine-apple,  manioc,  sweet  potato,  and  Indian  corn  are  indigenous.  More 
than  3,350  native  plants  have  been  catalogued. 

Fauna. — The  peculiar  fauna  includes  only  a  few  indigenous  land 
mammals.  One  rodent,  the  agouti,  is  as  large  as  our  domestic  rabbit ; 
another  is  the  solenodon,  whose  family  has  other  representatives  only  in 
Haiti  and  Madagascar.  There  is  a  species  of  iguana,  but  there  are  no 
poisonous  snakes.  The  crocodile,  on  the  Isle  of  Pines,  is  the  species  which 
occurs  in  southern  Florida,  Jamaica  and  Central  America.  There  are  few 
fresh-water  fishes.  A  large  lepidosteus,  similar  to  the  alligatorgar  of  the 
southern  United  States,  occurs.  Insect  life  abounds,  and  there  are  many 
arachnids.  Land  molluscs  with  gorgeous  colouring  are  found.  Birds  are 
numerous,  and  the  parrot  is  conspicuous ;  there  is  only  one  indigenous 
humming  bird.  Collectively,  the  fauna  proves  the  long  isolation  of  Cuba 
from  continental  lands. 

History  and  People. — Beginning  on  the  west,  Cuba  is  divided  into 
six  provinces,  Pinar  del  Rio,  Havana,  Matanzas,  Santa  Clara,  Puerto 
Principe,  and  Santiago.  A  century  before  the  Anglo-Saxon  settlement  of 
the  New  World,  Spaniards  colonised  Cuba  and  built  Baracoa,  Santiago, 
and  Havana.  A  search  for  gold  yielded  little  return  except  the  ornaments 
of  the  soon  exterminated  natives.  Pastoral  pursuits  developed ;  the 
indigenous  tobacco,  and  sugar-cane  imported  from  the  Canaries,  were 
cultivated  and  African  slavery  introduced.  Morro  Punti  and  other 
fortresses  were  begun  before  1600.  The  second  century  of  occupation  saw 
increased  agricultural  development  and  colonisation,  and  fear  of  English 


796       The  International  Geography 

buccaneers  and  French  and  Dutch  pirates  resulted  in  the  primitive  fortifi- 
cations of  the  coastal  cities.  The  wise  administration  of  Las  Casas  and  its 
after  influences  held  Cuba  loyal  to  Spain,  even  during  the  times  (1794-1820) 
when  the  latter  lost  her  mainland  colonies  and  San  Domingo.  The 
Spanish  decree  of  1825  gave  the  Captains-general  despotic  authority,  ended 
domestic  peace,  and  initiated  insurrections  which  only  ended  with  the  fall 
of  Santiago  in  July,  1898.  During  the  nineteenth  century  Spain  made 
various  pretences  of  extending  Cuba's  political  privileges,  but  all  lacked 
the  true  essence  of  local  self-government,  and  absolute  power  remained 
with  the  Spanish  Captain-general.  The  Spanish  government  was  devoted 
to  the  enrichment  of  officials  and  to  retaining  Cuba  as  a  colony.  The 
United  States  resolved  in  1898  to  put  a  stop  to  bad  government  in  Cuba, 
and  after  a  short  war  with  Spain  the  island  was  taken  under  American 
protection  on  January  i,  1899.  A  constitution  was  adopted  in  1901,  and 
in  1902  Cuba  became  an  independent  republic.  The  people  of  Cuba  are 
for  the  most  part  descended  from  the  early  Spanish  settlers,  reinforced  by 
later  immigrants  from  southern  Europe,  and  affected  in  part  by  a  con- 
siderable infusion  of  negro  blood.  It  is  impossible  to  obtain  accurate 
statistics  of  the  changes  of  population,  because  no  reliable  census  was 
taken  for  many  decades.  About  32  per  cent,  of  the  population  are  black 
or  coloured,  using  the  latter  word  to  mean  a  mixture  of  the  black  and 
white  races.  The  Spanish  language  is  in  universal  use,  and  almost  all  the 
people  are  Roman  Catholics.  There  is  a  university  at  Havana,  and  there 
are  now  many  schools. 

Resources. — The  products  of  the  island  are  sugar-cane  of  a  superior 
quality,  tobacco,  coffee,  bananas,  Indian  corn,  oranges  and  pines  in  the 
order  named.  Cuba  leads  the  world  in  sugar  production,  the  amount  of 
which  in  1893-94  was  1,054,000  tons,  all  of  which  except  30,000  tons  was 
exported.  During  the  revolution  the  production  sank  to  one-third,  but  in 
1900-01  it  had  risen  again  to  600,000  tons.  The  sugar  lands  are  upland 
soils,  and  more  fertile  than  those  of  the  other  West  Indian  islands  ;  the 
cane  is  planted  only  once  in  seven  years  ;  no  fertilisers  are  used  ;  the 
estates  possess  recent  inventions  for  the  cultivation  of  the  cane,  the 
extraction  of  its  juices,  and  their  conversion  into  the  crystal.  Thus  sugar 
cultivation  in  Cuba  has  remained  profitable  in  spite  of  the  general  depres- 
sion in  the  cane-sugar  trade. 

Tobacco,  while  secondary  to  sugar,  is  far  more  profitable  in  proportion 
to  acreage.  This  product  grows  well  throughout  the  island,  but  the  chief 
seat  of  its  cultivation  is  the  southern  slopes  of  the  Sierra  de  los  Organos,  in 
Pinar  del  Rio — the  famous  Vuelta  Abajo  region.  Good  tobaccos  are 
exported  from  Trinidad,  Cienfuegos  and  Santiago.  There  are  large  cigar 
factories  in  Havana,  and  great  exports  of  baled  tobacco  from  eastern  Cuba 
are  sent  mostly  to  the  United  States.  Coffee  (introduced  by  the  French 
from  Martinique  in  1727)  was  once  extensively  exported,  but  the  trees  have 
been  replaced  by  sugar-cane  or  destroyed  during  revolutions.  Bananas 


Cuba 


797 


have  been  an  important  export  in  eastern  Cuba.  Delicious  oranges  grow 
everywhere.  Pine-apples  are  exported  from  western  Cuba  and  the  Isle  of 
Pines.  Besides  the  large  estates  there  are  many  small  farms  devoted  to 
fruit  growing,  market  gardening  and  dairy  products. 

On  the  fertile  grazing  lands  of  Santa  Clara,  Puerto  Principe  and 
Santiago,  fine  animals  of  Spanish  stock  are  produced.  Horses  are  bred 
throughout  Cuba.  The  developed  mineral  resources  are  iron  ores, 
asphaltum,  manganese,  copper  and  salt.  A  little  gold  and  silver  were 
mined  in  past  centuries.  Iron  ore  has  proved  the  chief  metallic  resource  ; 
the  Sierra  Maestra  mines  produce  mixed  brown  and  red  hematite,  contain- 
ing from  65  to  68  per  cent,  of  pure  iron.  They  occur  in  the  white 
limestone  that  for  2,500  feet  incrusts  the  seaward  face  of  the  por- 
phyritic  and  granitoid  core  of  the  mountains.  The  production  in  1890  was 
362,068  tons,  amounting  to  one-fourth  the  total  importation  of  iron  ores 
into  the  United  States  for  the  same  period.  Rich  deposits  of  manganese 
occur  in  the  Sierra  Maestra  range  near  Ponupo.  Asphaltum  of  unusual 
richness  is  found  near  Villa  Clara,  beneath  the  waters  of  Cardenas  Bay  and 
in  beds  of  late  Cretaceous  and  early  Eocene  age.  Copper  occurs  at  many 
places ;  from  1524  to  1867  it  was  mined  at  Cobre.  Salt  is  made  abundantly 
along  the  northern  keys.  There  are  natural  salt  pans  along  the  margin  of 
Cayo  Romano,  depressions  twelve  to  sixteen  inches  deep,  separated  from 
the  sea  by  coral  banks  over  which  the  waves  wash  in  stormy  weather. 
Clays  for  brick  and  roofing  tiles  abound  in  the  non-calcareous  formations, 
especially  in  the  eastern  provinces.  The  universal  building  material  is 
limestone  and  lime  products,  such  as  plaster  and  cement. 

Communications. — The  larger  part  of  the  thousand  miles  of  public 
railways  is  comprised  in  the  United  System  of  Havana,  which  extends  west 
and  east  from  Havana 
through  the  tobacco  and 
sugar  districts  of  the 
Vuelta  Arriba  and  Vuelta 
Abajo  and,  within  a  day's 
journey,  reaches  the  prin- 
cipal cities  west  of  Cien- 
fuegos  and  Sagua  la 
Grande.  The  western 
terminus  is  Pinar  del  Rio, 
.106  miles  from  Havana  ; 


FIG.  376.— The  Railways  of  Cuba. 


the  eastern-  terminus  is  Villa  Clara,  150  miles  distant.  One  line  runs  south 
from  Havana  to  Batabano  and  meets  the  south-coast  steamers.  On  sugar- 
estates  narrow-gauge  railways  are  freely  used  in  handling  cane  ;  they 
communicate  with  the  interior,  in  connection  with  coasting  steamers  and 
broad-gauge  lines.  Good  highways  are  short  and  few  ;  and  even  common 
roads  for  wheeled  vehicles  hardly  exist,  except  near  larger  towns. 

Trade. — Most  of  Cuba  is  accessible  to  maritime  transportation.     The 


798       The  International  Geography 

chief  harbours  on  the  north  coast  are  Bahia  Honda,  Cabanas,  Havana, 
Matanzas,  Sagua,  Nuevitas,  Gibara,  Nipe,  and  Baracoa  ;  and  on  the  south, 
Guantanamo,  Santiago  de  Cuba,  Manzanillo,  Trinidad  and  Cienfuegos.  The 
shipping  trade,  both  foreign  and  coastal,  is  extensive  ;  steamers  coast  the 
island,  the  north  coast  being  served  from  Havana  and  the  south  from 
Batabano,  the  southern  out-port  of  Havana.  Although  Cuba  naturally 
commands  the  commerce  of  the  American  Mediterranean,  trade  and 
communication  with  the  adjacent  regions,  other  than  Mexico,  have  not 
hitherto  been  encouraged.  The  essentials  of  Cuban  commerce  are  :  (i)  a 
large  balance  of  trade  in  favour  of  the  island  ;  (2)  preponderating  con- 
sumption of  the  exports  by  the  United  States  ;  (3)  the  division  of  the 
imports  between  other  countries ;  and  (4)  the  absence  of  trade  with  the 
neighbouring  regions — except  the  United  States — of  which  the  island  is 
the  natural  commercial  centre.  The  trade  of  the  United  States  with 
Cuba,  which  has  recently  been  summarised  by  Mr.  John  Hyde,  statistician, 
reached  its  high- water  mark  in  1892-93,  when  it  amounted  to  ^20,460,000, 
the  ratio  of  imports,  ^15,741,000,  to  exports  ^4,721,000,  being  approxi- 
mately as  ten  to  three.  In  1901  the  total  was  ^14,200,000,  of  which  the 
exports  amounted  to  ^5,300,000,  showing  a  remarkable  proportionate 
increase. 

STATISTICS  (approximate). 

Area  of  Cuba,  in  square  miles .-.        . .         45,000 

Population  (1899) 1,572,845 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile  36 

POPULATION  OF  CHIEF  TOWNS,   1902. 

Havana  (Habana) 275,000  |  Matanzas        36,374 

Santiago        43,ooo      Cienfuegos      ..         ..         ..         ..     30,038 

Puerto  Principe 25,102  |  Cardenas        ,.     21,940 

There  are  no  trustworthy  trade  statistics  on  account  of  the  long  period  of  political  disturbance 
in  the  island. 

III.  —  PORTO    RICO 

BY  ROBERT  T.  HILL, 

Geologist,  U.S.  Geological  Sinrvey. 

Position  and  Configuration. — The  island  of  Porto  Rico  lies  in  the 
same  tropical  latitude  as  Jamaica,  and  is  separated  from  Cuba  by  the 
island  of  Haiti.  Although  discovered  by  Columbus  in  1493,  and  con- 
quered in  1508  by  Ponce  de  Leon,  it  has  never  yet  been  systematically 
explored.  The  island  is  95  miles  long,  35  miles  wide,  and  has  a  coast-line  of 
360  miles.  It  presents  a  picturesque  hilly  landscape.  Central  .mountains 
with  broken  slopes  extend  through  its  greatest  length,  and  culminate  in 
the  Yunque  of  the  Sierra  Luquillo,  3,609  feet  high.  Remnants  of  the 
virgin  forests  are  still  found  on  the  sierra  heights.  The  slopes  are  gently 
rolling  divides,  succeeded  towards  the  littoral  by  well-drained  plains.  The 
undulating  surface  is  adapted  to  pasture  and  the  more  ordinary  kinds 
of  cultivation,  and  is  intersected  by  numerous  perennial  rivers. 


Porto  Rico 


799 


According  to  Cleve,  the  Swedish  naturalist,  the  northern  hills  are 
fragments  of  a  thick  series  of  limestone  strata  which  have  been  cut 
through  by  water.  They  have  little  inclination,  and  dip  seaward  from 
the  axis  of  the  island  at  a  low  angle.  The  mountain  summits  are  covered 
by  the  Antillean  Tertiary  limestone,  a  formation  which  is  usually  hard 
and  yellowish- white.  In  the  mountains  of  the  interior  an  older  formation 
of  conglomerates  and  metamorphic  rock,  similar  to  the  older  rocks  of 
Jamaica,  is  visible  below  the  limestones.  The  rocks  of  the  littoral  are  pro- 
bably elevated  coral  reefs.  Great  living  reefs  abound  along  the  south  coast. 
The  numerous  streams  have  contributed  to  the  wealth  of  Porto  Rico  ;  some 
are  navigable  for  small  vessels,  but  have  troublesome  bars  across  their  mouths. 

Climate. — The  mean  monthly  temperature  hardly  varies  6°,  and  the 
extreme  limits  observed  are  within  40°  of  each  other.  The  hottest  months 
are  June,  July,  August  and  September  ;  the  coolest,  December,  January 
and  February.  The  average  daily  temperature  is  80°  F.,  but  a  cooling 
north  breeze  prevails  during  the  hottest  days.  The  thermometer  averages 
88°  F.  at  noon,  sinks  to  81°  at  night,  and  sometimes  falls  to  61°  F.  The 
highlands  are  cooler,  but  snow  never  falls,  and  hail  rarely.  Disagreeable 
land  winds  are  unusual ;  but  tropical  hurricanes  are  frequent  between  July 
and  October.  The  central  mountains  cause  frequent  showers  on  the 
northern  side,  while  the  southern  district  remains  without  rain  for  months. 
The  average  annual  rainfall  for  twenty-five  years  at  San  Juan  is  54  inches, 
that  at  a  station  in  the  Yunque,  134  inches.  The  driest  months  are 
January  and  February,  the  wettest  are  October  and  November. 

Resources. — According  to  Cleve,  mercury  is  found  in  the  Rio  Grande, 
and  gold  in  loose  pieces  in  the  Sierra  Luquillo  and  Corozal  rivers ;  placer 
gold  was  mined  by  early  Spanish  settlers.  Specular  iron  is  reported, 
notably  on  the  Rio  Cuyul,  and  magnetic  iron  ore  from  Gurabo  and  Ciales  ; 
agate  of  good  quality,  malachite  and  other  ornamental  or  precious 
minerals  occur. 

Porto  Rico  contains  many  large  trees ;  in  the  higher  parts  the  forests 
are  open,  and  largely  without  parasitic  vegetation.  The  species  include 
several  palms,  two  tree  ferns,  cedar,  ebony,  sandal-wood  and  many  trees 
suitable  for  building  purposes  ;  while  there  are  numerous  medicinal  plants 
and  others  used  for  condiments,  dyes  and  tanning. 

Agriculture  is  sufficiently  diversified  to  produce  food  for  the  inhabitants 
besides  large  crops  of  sugar  and  coffee  for  export.  The  land  is  mainly 
divided  into  small  independent  holdings  belonging  to  the  peasantry  of  the 
interior.  Small  fruit  farms  are  the  most  numerous,  but  there  are  many 
small  and  some  large  coffee  estates,  and  a  number  of  sugar  estates,  cattle 
farms  and  some  tobacco  plantations. 

The  island  contains  no  native  mammals,  except  a  single  species  of 
agouti,  although  introduced  domestic  species  flourish.  In  the  mountains 
there  are  many  birds ;  flamingos  and  other  water-birds  frequent  the  coast ; 
fish  abound  in  the  fresh  water,  and  a  gigantic  tortoise  is  found. 


8 oo       The  International  Geography 

People  and  Government. — Porto  Rico  for  three  centuries  was 
only  a  penal  station.  The  aborigines,  of  Arawak  or  Carib  stock,  were 
nearly  exterminated  in  1811  after  an  uprising  against  the  Spanish.  The 
present  native  people  are  of  four  classes :  the  Creoles,  who  call 
themselves  Spaniards  ;  the  lower  class  of  white  peasantry,  or  Gibaros ; 
the  coloured  people,  or  Mestizos ;  and  the  blacks.  In  1615  a  decree 
invited  colonists  to  the  island  on  most  liberal  terms.  Lands  were  allotted 
gratis ;  the  settlers  were  free  from  direct  taxes,  and  for  a  certain  number 
of  years  from  tithes,  alcabala,  and  export  duties,  which  then  formed  an 
impolitic  feature  of  the  Spanish  system.  With  this  decree  the  prosperity 
of  Porto  Rico  began,  and  Spanish  capitalists  driven  from  San  Domingo 
and  the  Spanish  Main  about  the  same  period,  helped  to  develop  the 
resources.  The  negroes  of  Porto  Rico  are  in  a  minority.  When  eman- 
cipation was  given  in  1873  industry  survived,  the  planters  continuing 
their  agricultural  operations  without  financial  ruin  or  social  disorgani- 
sation. 

For  administrative  purposes  the  island  was  divided  into  seven  depart- 
ments, including  seventy  villages.  These  departments,  named  after  their 
chief  towns,  each  contain  about  100,000  inhabitants.  Three  small  islands 
adjacent  to  Porto  Rico  constitute  parts  of  its  political  organisation.  These 
are  Mona  on  the  west,  and  Culebra  and  Vieques  on  the  east. 

Porto  Rico  was  assumed  as  United  States  territory  at  the  close  of  the 
Spanish- American  war  of  1898,  when  Cuba  was  taken  under  American 
protection.  The  Catholic  bishopric  of  Porto  Rico  was  founded  in  1504, 
under  Pope  Julian  II.,  and  was  the  first  established  in  the  New  World. 
Instruction  is  divided  into  primary,  secondary  and  superior.  There  are 
eight  superior  schools  for  boys,  four  for  girls,  and  many  elementary  classes 
and  private  schools,  while  in  San  Juan  there  is  a  college,  with  courses  in 
medicine  and  law,  and  a  normal  school  for  both  sexes.  Eighty-seven  per 
cent,  of  the  people  are,  however,  illiterate. 

Trade  and  Towns.— The  industries  are  limited  to  the  preparation 
of  sugar  and  coffee  for  market,  and  the  manufacture  of  tobacco,  chocolate, 
wax,  soap,  matches,  rum  and  straw  hats  ;  but  there  are  a  few  foundries  for 
manufacturing  iron  machinery.  The  productions  for  export  are  sugar- 
cane, coffee,  tobacco,  cacao  and  cotton.  Sugar-cane  on  the  lower  slopes 
and  plains  yields  about  6,000  pounds  to  the  acre.  A  peculiar  variety  of 
upland  rice,  together  with  yuachia  and  plantains,  are  staple  foods  of  the 
labourers;  bananas,  maize,  beans,  yams,  sweet  potatoes,  mangoes,  pine- 
apples and  other  fruits  are  also  of  importance. 

The  larger  commercial  towns,  mostly  seaports,  are  :  San  Juan,  Ponce, 
Mayaguez,  Aguadilla,  Arecibo,  Fajardo,  Naguabo,  Arroyo,  and  San  German. 
The  principal  ports  are  San  Juan  on  the  north;  Fajardo  and  Enshhada 
Honda  on  the  east ;  Ponce  and  Guanica  on  the  south  ;  and  Puerto  Real 
de  Cabo  Rojo  on  the  west.  Playa  is  the  best  port. 

The  island  has  communication   by  steamer  with   Europe,   the  other 


Haiti  and  Santo  Domingo          80 1 

islands  of  the  West  Indies,  and  the  two  neighbouring  continents;  two 
lines  of  steamers  circumnavigate  it,  stopping  at  the  various  ports.  There 
are  about  150  miles  of  railroad  in  operation,  and  as  much  under  con- 
struction. 

STATISTICS. 

Area  of  Porto  Rico  in  square  miles 3,668 

Population  of  Porto  Rico  in  1899        953.243 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile           260 

Population  of  Ponce        27,952 

San  Juan 32.048 

COMPOSITION  OF  THE  POPULATION. 

White.  Coloured.  Negro.  Total. 

589,426  ..        ..  304,352  ..        ..  59,390  ..        ..  953,243 

IV.— HAITI  AND  SANTO  DOMINGO 

BY  J.  RODWAY, 

Georgetown,  Demerara. 

Physical  Features  of  Haiti. — The  island  of  Santo  Domingo,  better 
known  by  its  old  Carib  name  of  Haiti  (rough  land),  or  by  the  name 
Hispaniola  bestowed  on  it  by  Columbus  in  1492,  is  separated  from  Cuba 
by  the  Windward  Passage,  and  from  Porto  Rico  by  the  Mona  Passage, 
both  much  frequented  by  vessels  entering  the  Caribbean  Sea.  The 
outline  of  the  coast  is  remarkable,  and  the  island  is  nearly  as  large  as 
Ireland,  the  length  being  about  400  miles  and  the  greatest  breadth  160. 
Four  chains  of  mountains  corrugate  its  surface,  running  nearly  parallel  to 
each  other,  separated  by  depressions,  and  all  trending  nearly  east  and 
west.  The  Monti  Cristi  range,  parallel  to  the  north  coast,  is  succeeded 
by  the  great  Cibao  Chain,  which  forms  the  north-western  peninsula  and 
runs  to  the  extreme  east  end  of  the  island  ;  it  bears  the  highest  summit  in 
the  West  Indies,  Loma  Tina  (10,300  feet).  Between  these  ranges  lies  the 
broad  plain  called  by  Columbus  Vega  real  or  the  royal  garden,  a  region  of 
great  fertility,  traversed  by  large  rivers.  The  southern  range  forms  the 
south-western  or  Tiburon  peninsula,  and  runs  along  the  western  half 
of  the  south  coast.  Gold,  silver,  copper  and  other  minerals  are  found, 
while  for  the  variety  of  its  vegetable  productions  it  is  unexcelled  by  any  of 
the  other  islands. 

History  and  People. — This  magnificent  island  was  the  first  to  be 
colonised  by  Spain,  and  horrible  persecutions  and  massacres  of  the  natives 
took  place,  which  led  to  the  entire  extinction  of  the  aborigines  within  about 
fifty  years.  Haiti  was  then  almost  deserted  for  a  time,  save  as  a  place  of 
call.  Plantations  were  neglected  ;  cattle,  hogs  and  dogs  ran  wild  and 
increased  to  a  wonderful  degree,  until  the  French  buccaneers  settled  in 
some  of  the  western  bays,  and  especially  on  the  small  island  of  Tortuga. 
They  lived  by  hunting  the  wild  cattle  and  by  piracy,  until  gradually  taking 


8  02       The  International  Geography 

possession  of  a  great  portion  of  Hispaniola,  about  one-third  of  the  island 
was  ultimately  ceded  to  France  by  treaty  in  1697.  From  that  period  the 
portion  now  known  as  Haiti  became  the  most  flourishing  colony  in  the 
West  Indies,  until  by  the  blunders  of  the  first  French  Republic  and  then 
of  Napoleon  I.  it  was  entirely  lost.  The  Republic  declared  the  rights  of 
man  and  freed  the  slaves ;  Napoleon,  on  the  petition  of  the  whites, 
rescinded  this  resolution,  and  ordered  the  negroes  back  into  slavery.  The 
result  was  a  series  of  massacres,  ending  in  the  erection  of  a  negro  republic 
where  no  white  man  could  hold  any  real  property.  Since  1810  there  have 
been  negro  emperors,  kings,  and  presidents,  Haiti  has  been  joined  to 
Santo  Domingo,  which  proclaimed  its  independence  in  1821,  and  again 
separated,  and  the  whole  island  has  been  almost  ruined.  There  are, 
however,  no  reasons  why  it  should  not  be  very  prosperous,  save  the  want 
of  good  government  and  the  virtual  absence  of  white  men. 

The  Republic  of  Santo  Domingo. — The  eastern  republic  of 
Santo  Domingo  is  divided  into  six  provinces  and  six  maritime  districts, 
and  is  governed  by  a  President  and  a  Congress  of  twenty-four  members, 
who  are  elected  for  two  years.  The  exports  are  coffee,  timber,  tobacco, 
cacao  and  sugar.  The  capital  is  the  old  Spanish  city  of  San  Domingo  on 
the  south-east  coast,  and  there  is  a  port  on  the  north  named  Puerto  Plata 
of  about  the  same  size.  The  Spanish  language  is  universally  spoken  ;  but 
the  people  are  almost  entirely  negroes  and  half-breeds. 

The  Republic  of  Haiti.— The  western  portion  of  the  island  known 
as  Hai'ti  is  smaller  in  area,  but  of  greater  importance  than  its  sister  republic, 
still  retaining  the  superiority  which  existed  while  both  were  European 
colonies,  and  that  due  to  its  command  of  the  great  western  gulf  between 
the  two  long  mountainous  peninsulas.  The  government  is  administered 
by  a  President,  Senate,  and  House  of  Representatives,  but  it  is  generally 
considered  to  be  rather  that  of  a  military  despotism  than  of  a  republic. 
The  capital  is  Port-au-Prince,  the  towns  of  Cape  Haitien,  and  Aux  Cayes  are 
also  important.  A  patois  derived  from  French  is  commonly  spoken,  but 
pure  French  is  the  tongue  of  the  better  classes.  There  are  but  few  whites, 
and  these  labour  under  civil  disabilities  that  may  almost  be  compared  with 
those  formerly  laid  upon  the  coloured  people  under  French  rule.  The 
exports  are  coffee,  mahogany,  logwood  and  cotton. 

There  are  several  islands  off  the  coast ;  the  largest  is  Gonave,  37  miles 
long  by  9  wide,  but  on  account  of  its  being  destitute  of  springs,  it  is 
hardly  habitable.  There  is  also  the  old  rendezvous  of  the  buccaneers, 
Tortuga,  which  is  22  miles  long  by  8  broad,  and  La  Saona,  nearly  as 
large. 

STATISTICS  (estimates  about  1890-91). 

Area        Popu-    Density      Imports    Exports  Popu- 

sq.  miles,    lation.    of  Pop.  £  £  Capital.      lation. 

Santo  Domingo ..    18,045       610,000         34         537,ooo      585,000         Santo         15,000 

Domingo 
Ham       ..        ..     10,204     1.400,000        140      2,012.000    2,833  ooo  Port  au  Prince  50,000 


Jamaica  803 


V.— THE  WEST  INDIAN  COLONIES 

BY  J.  RODWAY, 

Georgetown,  Demerara. 
THE     BAHAMAS 

Bahamas. — The  Bahama  Islands  are  the  most  northerly  of  the  West 
Indies,  comprising  about  3,000  low  coral  islets,  rocks  and  banks.  The 
whole  group  is  a  British  possession,  and  about  twenty  of  the  islands  are 
inhabited.  The  most  important  are  New  Providence,  Abaca,  Harbour 
Island,  Eleuthera,  Inagua,  Mayaguana,  Ragged  Island,  Rum  Cay,  and  the 
Biminis,  all  of  which  are  ports  of  entry.  Besides  these  there  are  the 
Great  Bahama,  Crooked  Island,  Cat  Island  and  Watling  Island  (San 
Salvador),  Columbus's  supposed  landfall.  Compared  with  the  southern 
islands  most  of  the  Bahamas  are  little  more  than  barren  wastes,  rising 
but  a  few  feet  above  sea-level,  in  some  places  so  low  that  salt  lagoons 
penetrate  to  great  distances  beyond  the  shore.  The  most  conspicuous 
plant  is  the  agave,  from  which  sisal  hemp  is  obtained  as  an  article  of 
commerce.  Some  of  the  islands  are  covered  with  its  rosettes  of  spiny 
leaves  almost  to  the  exclusion  of  other  weeds. 

People  and  Industries. — Three-fourths  of  the  population  are  black 
or  coloured  people  ;  but  the  English  language  is  the  only  one  spoken. 
The  islands  were  originally  taken  possession  of  by  the  English  at  the  first 
settlement  of  Virginia,  but  for  a  long  period  they  were  little  more  than 
harbouring  places  for  pirates.  The  early  colonists  suffered  from  the  raids 
of  Spaniards  and  French,  and  in  1781  the  islands  were  captured  by  the 
former,  to  be  restored  to  Great  Britain,  however,  at  the  peace  of  1783. 

The  main  industries  are  sponge-fishing  and  salt-raking ;  from  natural 
ponds,  where  sea-water  is  continually  flowing  in  and  evaporating,  the 
crystals  of  salt  are  raked  into  flat-bottomed  punts  and  piled  in  heaps  on 
the  shore  until  ready  for  removal.  Coral,  shells  and  turtle-shell  are  also 
obtained  by  fishing  and  diving  ;  fruit  and  early  vegetables  are  grown  for 
the  American  market,  and  some  of  the  islands  yield  guano.  The  capital 
and  only  town  of  importance  is  Nassau  on  the  island  of  New  Providence. 

JAMAICA 

Position,  Surface  and  Productions.— About  100  miles  west  of 
Haiti,  and  100  miles  south  of  Cuba  comes  Jamaica,  the  largest  of  the 
British  West  Indies.  From  east  to  west  its  greatest  length  is  about  150 
miles,  and  its  breadth  from  north  to  south  50  miles.  A  range  of  mountains 
runs  through  the  axis  of  the  island  from  east  to  west  with  numerous 
projecting  spurs  ;  the  highest  peak  of  the  Blue  Mountains  rises  to  7,400 
feet.  Numerous  small  rivers  flow  from  both  sides  of  this  range,  but  none 
are  navigable.  The  name  "  Jamaica  "  comes  from  a  native  word  meaning 


804       The  International  Geography 

"  land  of  springs."  The  climate  differs  according  to  altitude,  that  of  the 
lower  levels  being  typically  tropical,  while  the  temperature  on  the  hills  is 
lower  according  to  the  height.  There  are  extensive  forests,  and  the  moun- 
tain streams  are  broken  by  numerous  falls  and  cataracts. 
All  tropical  productions  can  be  grown  to  perfection, 
and  the  exports  are  more  varied  than  those  of  the 
other  British  West  Indies.  The  sugar  plantations,  once 
so  famous,  have  now  dwindled  to  an  area  of  only  26,000 
acres,  and  although  other  products  have  been  largely 
increased  by  the  introduction  of  banana  and  orange 
FIG.  377.— r/ze  Badge  planting  for  the  American  and  British  markets,  the 
island  has  never  regained  the  prosperity  which  it  lost 
on  the  emancipation  of  the  slaves.  Its  chief  exports  are  now  bananas, 
oranges,  sugar,  rum,  coffee,  ginger,  pimento,  logwood  and  cacao. 

People,  History  and  Government. — The  population  consists 
mainly  of  black  and  coloured  people,  the  whites  numbering  only  2^ 
per  cent,  of  the  whole,  and  the  proportion  of  East 
Indians  is  about  the  same.  The  island  was  first 
settled  in  1509  by  the  Spaniards,  and  was  con- 
quered in  1655  by  a  British  force  sent  out  by  Oliver 
Cromwell,  since  which  time  it  has  remained  in  the 
hands  of  Great  Britain.  Charles  II.  granted  at  a 
constitution  in  1662,  but  in  1866  this  was  surrendered 
in  favour  of  a  Governor  and  Council,  partly  official 


and    partly    elective.    The    island    is  divided    into    FlG.  ^.—Average  pop- 
three  counties,  Cornwall  in  the  west,  Middlesex  in      Cation  of  a  square 
the  centre,  and  Surrey  in  the  east ;  these  are  sub- 
divided into  parishes  the  unit  of  local  government  being  the  Parochial 
Board. 

Resources  and  Towns. — There  are  few  industries  beyond  the  raising 
of  agricultural  produce.  Jamaica  rum  has  long  been  .famous  throughout 
the  world,  and  is  unique  in  flavour.  Jamaica  coffee  and  ginger  are  also 
well  known,  while  pimento  is  obtained  almost  exclusively  from  this  island. 
Attempts  have  been  made  to  introduce  tobacco^rowing  and  cigar  making, 
but  hitherto  with  only  moderate  success.  The  capital  is  Kingston,  which 
is  well  situated  on  a  good  harbour  in  the  south-east  of  the  island.  The 
town  was  practically  destroyed  in  1907  by  an  earthquake,  similar  to  that 
which  submerged  the  greater  part  of  the  town  of  Port  Royal  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  harbour  in  1692.  The  seat  of  government  was  formerly  Spanish 
Town,  which  lies  a  few  miles  inland.  A  railway  extends  from  Kingston 
to  Montego  Bay,  in  the  north-west,  113  miles  distant,,  another  to  Ewarton 
on  the  mountains,  and  a  third  to  Port  Antonio,  on  the  north-east  coast, 
a  distance  of  54  miles.  The  roads  in  the  island  are  fairly  good,  but  liable 
to  injury  by  floods.  From  an  economic  point  of  view  Jamaica  is  much 
behind  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico,  but  it  may  be  safely  predicted  that  it 


Danish  West  Indies  805 

is  destined  to  become  prosperous  in  the  near  future  as  one  of  the  fruit 
gardens  for  the  United  States,  and  as  a  winter  resort  for  North  Americans. 
Turks  and  Caicos  Islands,  the  most  southerly  of  the  Bahamas, 
are  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Jamaica.  They  consist  of  about  twenty  islands 
and  cays,  forming  two  groups.  The  Turks  Islands  were  so  called  from 
the  prevalence  of  the  turk's-head  cactus,  which  gives  a  character  to  the 
barren  soil.  The  most  important  of  the  group  is  Grand  Turk,  which  is 
6£  miles  long  by  2  wide.  In  South  Caicos  the  small  town,  Cockburn 
Harbour,  is  a  port  of  entry,  and  there  is  another  port  on  Salt  Cay.  Most  of 
the  black  and  coloured  people  are  descended  from  the  slaves  of  loyalist 
refugees  who  left  the  southern  States  during  the  American  War  of 
Independence.  Up  to  late  years  these  people  have  been  living  a  half 
"  savage  life,  but  latterly,  by  the  introduction  of  sponge-fishing,  salt-raking 
and  the  cultivation  of  sisal  hemp,  some  progress  has  been  made. 

The  Cayman  Islands  are  also  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Jamaica, 
from  which  they  are  distant  about  180  miles  to  the  west.  Grand  Cayman 
is  17  miles  long  by  7  broad,  in  some  places  rock-bound,  and  in  others 
protected  by  coral  reefs.  The  Morant  Cays  and  Pedro  Cays  are  small 
islands  with  a  few  inhabitants  engaged  in  turtling  and  collecting  guano. 

DANISH  WEST  INDIES 

Virgin  Islands.— Immediately  to  the  east  of  Porto  Rico  commences 
the  line  of  the  Lesser  Antilles  or  Caribbees,  which  form  a  perfect  bow 
with  the  convex  part  stretching  into  the  Atlantic.  The  first  group,  going 
south,  is  that  of  the  Virgin  Islands,  rising  from  the  extensive  bank  which 
runs  east  from  Porto  Rico.  Thirty-two  of  them  belong  to  Great  Britain 
and  two  to  Denmark. 

The  Danish  Islands  are  St.  Thomas  and  St.  John  in  the  Virgin  group, 
and  St.  Croix.  They  were  once  under  cultivation  to  a  considerable  extent, 
but  they  are  now  almost  bare,  only  covered  with  a  scrubby  vegetation 
consisting  mainly  of  lantana,  or  sage  bush, 
from  amidst  which  the  ruins  of  plantations 
can  here  and  there  be  discerned.  But  al- 
though once  largely  supplied  with  plan- 
tations, their  old  prosperity  was  perhaps 
more  due  to  the  fact  that  when  the  other 

nations  ruling  the  West  Indies  were  at  war, 

,      ,   .   ,.  ,        -^  FIG.  370. — St.  Thomas. 

Denmark    remained  strictly    neutral.     St. 

Thomas,  with  its  commodious  land-locked  harbour,  was  a  free  port, 
and  as  such  it  reaped  to  the  full  its  remarkable  advantages  of  position. 
Pirates,  privateers,  men-of-war  and  merchant  vessels  of  all  nations 
met  within  its  harbour  in  peace  and  safety,  and  obtained  supplies 
from  its  traders.  Of  late  years,  however,  St.  Thomas  has  very  much 
declined,  and  it  is  now  little  more  than  a  port  of  call.  The  area  of 
the  island  is  23  square  miles,  and  its  population  12,000,  most  of  whom 


806       The   International  Geography 

live  in  the  capital,  Charlotte  Amalie,  which  is  also  the  capital  of  the 
Danish  West  Indies.  St.  John  has  an  area  of  42  square  miles,  but  a 
population  of  only  900.  The  island,  in  fact,  is  virtually  ruined.  Santa 
Cruz  or  St.  Croix,  is  the  largest  of  the  Danish  West  Indies,  with  an  area 
of  74  square  miles.  Once  noted  for  its  plantations,  it  has  much  diminished 
in  the  output  of  sugar,  rum  and  molasses.  The  capital  is  Christiansted. 
Very  little  Danish  is  spoken  either  here  or  at  St.  Thomas,  English  being 
generally  used ;  the  St.  Thomas  negro,  however,  is  noted  for  having  a 
smattering  of  several  languages,  which  is  a  necessity  from  the  island  being 
the  resort  of  so  many  nationalities.  It  has  often  been  rumoured  that  the 
United  States  were  about  to  buy  these  islands. 

DUTCH  WEST  INDIES 

Dutch  Antilles. — In  the  group  south-east  of  the  Virgin  Islands  are 
the  small  Dutch  possessions  of  Saba,  St.  Eustatius,  and  St.  Martin's  (an 
island  half  of  which  belongs  to  France).  These  are  included  under  one 
government  with  Curacao,  Buen  Ayre,  and  Aruba,  which  are  situated  far 
away,  off  the  coast  of  Venezuela.  The  whole  have  an  area  of  400  square 
miles  and  less  than  50,000  inhabitants.  Saba  consists  of  a  single  volcanic 
cone  rising  1,500  feet  above  the  sea.  Steps  lead  from  the  shore  to  a  height 
of  800  feet,  where,  within  the  ancient  crater,  the  settlement  has  long  been 
established.  The  inhabitants,  who  number  nearly  2,000,  grow  fruit  and 
vegetables,  which  they  sell  to  other  islands,  and  they  are  also  expert  boat- 
builders  and  fishermen.  In  St.  Eustatius  also,  the  main  part  of  the  island 
is  a  volcanic  cone,  but  there  is  a  stretch  of  fertile  land  on  the  lower  slopes. 
It  was  once,  like  St.  Thomas,  a  depot  for  privateering  and  smuggling 
adventurers,  but  it  has  now  entirely  lost  its  former  trade.  St.  Martin's  has 
been  divided  between  France  and  Holland  since  the  year  1648.  The 
Dutch  portion  is  at  the  south  of  the  island,  and  contains  an  area  of  17 
square  miles,  with  a  population  of  nearly  4,000.  A  little  sugar  and  salt  are 
exported,  but  the  colony  is  by  no  means  flourishing. 

Dutch  Leeward  Islands.— The  principal  group  of  Dutch  islands 
lies  far  within  the  bow  of  the  Antilles  and  "about  40  miles  from  the  coast 
of  Venezuela.  Curasao  is  36  miles  long  by  8  broad.  Down  to  the  end 
of  the  last  century  it  was  the  chief  depot  of  the  smuggling  trade  with 
Spanish  America,  and  was  largely  cultivated  to  supply  fresh  provisions  to 
the  numerous  traders  calling  there,  but  now  it  is  much  depressed.  The 
chief  product  is  salt,  but  a  little  sugar  and  tobacco  are  grown,  as  well  as 
the  fruit  used  in  flavouring  the  well-known  liqueur  named  after  the  island. 
The  small  town  of  Willemstadt  is  the  capital  and  the  seat  of  government 
for  the  whole  of  the  Dutch  West  Indies.  The  administration  is  carried 
on  by  a  Governor  and  Colonial  Council,  and  each  island  has  a  chief,  all  of 
whom  are  appointed  by  the  sovereign.  Willemstadt  stands  on  a  very  safe 
harbour,  which  can  be  easily  secured  from  outside  enemies.  Buen  Ayre, 
or  Bonaire,  and  Aruba  are  smaller  islands  lying  respectively  to  the  east 
and  to  the  west  of  Curasao. 


British  Leeward  Islands  807 

LEEWARD  ISLANDS 

British  Leeward  Islands. — This  colony  includes  the  Virgin 
Islands  and  the  chain  of  British  islands  as  far  south  as  Dominica.  It  in- 
cludes, amongst  others  of  the  Virgin  Islands,  Anegada,  Virgin  Gorda,  Tortola, 
Joost  van  Dyke,  Peter's  Island  and  Salt  Island,  with  an  aggregate  area  of 
about  60  square  miles.  The  chief  town  is  Road  Town,  Tortola.  A  small 
quantity  of  sugar  is  grown,  but  the  few  inhabitants  mostly  live  by  growing 
provisions,  raising  cattle  and  fishing,  their  surplus  produce  being  taken  to  St. 
Thomas.  Antigua,  with  its  dependencies  Barbuda  and 
Redonda,  Dominica,  Montserrat,  St.  Kitt's  or  St.  Christo- 
pher's, Nevis,  The  Dogs,  and  several  smaller  islands,  also 
belong  to  the  "  Leeward  "  colony.  These  islands  were 
federated  under  one  Governor  and  Legislative  Council 
in  1871 ;  and  although  so  numerous,  their  total  area  is 
only  700  square  miles.  Structurally,  they  form  the  peaks 
of  two  parallel  volcanic  mountain  chains,  that  to  the  FlG-  380.— Badge  of 
west  including  Saba  and  St.  Eustatius,  St.  Kitt's,  Nevis, 
Redonda,  and  Montserrat,  and  that  to  the  east  Sombrero,  Anguilla,  St. 
Martin's,  St.  Barts  or  St.  Bartholomew's,  Barbuda,  and  Antigua. 

Antigua  is  28  miles  long  by  20  broad  ;  its  coast  is  deeply  indented 
and  broken  into  bays  and  peninsulas  with  high  and  rocky  shores,  in  con- 
trast to  the  usual  uniform  outline  of  these  islands.  The  whole  island  is 
beautifully  diversified  by  hill  and  dale,  and  the  highest  elevation,  the 
Shackerley  Mountains,  reaches  1,500.  The  chief  productions  are  sugar 
and  pine-apples,  and  there  are  many  small  estates  in  cultivation.  Little 
more  than  one-twentieth  of  the  population  are  whites.  The  island  was 
settled  by  the  British  in  1632,  and  except  for  a  short  French  occupation 
it  has  since  remained  under  the  same  flag.  English  is  commonly  spoken. 
The  chief  town  is  St.  John's,  well  situated  on  English  Harbour. 

Barbuda  and  Redonda  are  dependencies  of  Antigua.  Barbuda 
is  very  flat,  with  a  large  lagoon  on  its  west  side  ;  its  exports  are  salt  and 
phosphates.  Redonda  is  a  narrow  islet,  only  one  mile  long,  but  is  valuable 
for  its  mines  of  phosphate  of  alumina,  of  which  about  7,000  tons  are 
annually  exported. 

Dominica,  lying  between  the  French  islands  of  Guadeloupe  and 
Martinique,  is  29  miles  long  by  12  broad,  with  bold  precipitous  coasts  and 
a  picturesque  mountainous  interior.  The  loftiest  summmit,  Morne  Dia- 
blotin,  is  5,314  feet  high,  and  from  the  mountains  many  rushing  torrents 
descend,  which  vary  much  in  size  according  to  the  rainfall.  There  are 
several  hot  sulphur  springs.  Good  anchorage  can  be  obtained  to  leeward, 
but  there  are  no  harbours.  Roseau,  or  Charlotte  Town,  is  the  capital ;  the 
only  other  town  is  Portsmouth,  or  Prince  Rupert's  Town.  The  colony  was 
founded  by  the  French,  and  a  patois  of  that  language  is  most  commonly 
spoken.  The  Grand  Soufriere  is  an  active  volcano,  and  in  1880  there  was 


808       The  International  Geography 


an  eruption  which  covered  the  houses  of  Roseau  with  ashes  and  scoriae 
to  a  depth  of  two  or  three  inches.  The  chief  exports  are  coffee,  cacao, 
sugar  and  lime-juice. 

Montserrat  is  1 1  miles  long  by  7  broad.  It  is  so  rugged  and  moun- 
tainous that  only  one-third  of  its  small  area  can  be  cultivated,  the  re- 
mainder being  covered  with  magnificent  forests.  The  highest  elevation  is 
the  Soufriere  Hill,  3,000  feet.  Plymouth,  the  chief  town,  stands  on  an  open 
roadstead  on  the  south-west  coast  and  near  the  fertile  part  of  the  island. 
The  chief  product  is  sugar ;  lime-juice  is  also  of  some  importance  for 
export.  In  1896  a  great  hurricane,  earthquake  and  flood  devastated  the 
island.  The  English  language  is  universally  used,  and  the  island  is  said  to 
be  the  most  healthy  of  the  Antilles. 

St.  Kitt's,  or  St.  Christopher's,  23  miles  long  by  5  broad,  tapering  in 
the  south-east  to  a  long  narrow  peninsula,  consists  of  a  single  peak,  Mount 
Misery,  3,700  feet  high,  with  gentle  slopes  formed  by  old  lava  streams 
deeply  furrowed  by  the  floods  of  the  rainy  seasons.  The  slopes  are  very 
fertile,  and  the  alternating  forests  and  cane  fields  produce  a  most  pleasing 
effect.  There  are  hot  springs  in  several  places  which  emit  sulphurous 
vapours.  This  is  the  oldest  British  settlement  in  the  West  Indies,  having 
been  founded  in  1623  ;  but  on  account  of  an  amicable  arrangement  for  its 
division  between  the  British  and  French,  it  was  for  a  long  time  a  "  bone  of 
contention  "  between  the  two  nationalities.  The  chief  town  is  Basseterre,  at 
the  junction  of  the  long  peninsula  with  the  main  island.  The  chief  pro- 
ducts are  sugar,  molasses,  and  rum,  arrowroot,  coffee,  cacao  and  tobacco. 

Nevis  is  joined  to  St.  Kitt's  for  administrative  purposes,  and  is  only 
separated  naturally  by  a  narrow  strait.  It  is  about  eight  miles  in  diameter, 

and  consists  of  a  single  volcanic  moun- 
tain rising  from  the  sea  to  an  elevation 
of  3,200  feet,  with  fertile  land  on  the 
slopes.  The  only  town  is  Charlestown, 
and  its  products  are  sugar  and  salt. 

Anguilla  is  also  included  in  the 
same  administration.  It  is  16  miles  long 
by  3  broad,  its  name  meaning  "  eel," 
having  reference  to  its  long  narrow  and 
curved  form.  Its  exports  are  phosphate 
of  lime  and  salt,  and  there  is  a  small 

town  called  Rode  Bay.  The  small  islands  called  The  Dogs  are  dependencies 
of  Anguilla. 

FRENCH  WEST  INDIES 

BY   M.   ZlMMERMANN. 

The  French  West  Indies.— The  main  group  of  the  French  West 
Indies  occupies  the  portion  of  the  Lesser  Antilles  between  14^  and  i6£°  N. ; 
it  includes  the  islands  of  Martinique,  Guadeloupe,  Marie  Galante,  and 


FlG.  381. — Anguilla. 


Windward  Islands 


809 


Desirade  of  which  only  the  two  first  are  important ;  and  there  are  also  the 
islands  of  St.  Martin  and  St.  Bartholomew  in  18°  N.  These  are  all  that 
remain  to  France  of  its  flourishing  West  Indian  settlements  of  the  seven- 
teenth century.  Guadeloupe  is  composed  of  a  volcanic  island,  Grande 
Terre,  and  a  coral  island,  Basse  Terre,  united  by  a  narrow  isthmus,  while 
Martinique  is  purely  volcanic.  Both  are  exposed  to  hurricanes  and  earth- 
quakes, and  the  eruption  of  Mont  Pelee  on  Martinique  in  1902  wiped  out 
the  seaport  town  of  St.  Pierre  and  destroyed  30,000  people.  Both  islands 
are  undergoing  a  serious  economic  crisis  ;  their  former  sources  of  wealth, 
sugar  and  rum,  have  been  unable  to  compete  with  the  products  of  the 
beet.  The  trade  of  Guadeloupe  diminished  by  one-third  between  1878 
and  1898,  and  Martinique  is  no  better  off.  Efforts  have  been  made  to 
restore  prosperity  by  the  cultivation  of  cacao,  tobacco,  and  especially  pine- 
apples and  bananas.  The  population  is  very  dense  on  both  islands  ;  the 
negroes  and  mulattoes  have  entirely  taken  the  place  of  the  old  planters. 

WINDWARD   ISLANDS 

British  Windward  Islands.  — South  of  Martinique  comes  the 
federation  of  the  Windward  Islands,  which  includes 
St.  Lucia,  St.  Vincent,  Grenada,  and  the  Grenadines. 
The  total  area  of  these  islands  slightly  exceeds  500 
square  miles,  and  of  their  population  less  than  five 
per  cent,  are  whites. 

St.  Lucia  is  24  miles  long  by  12  broad  ;  it  is  of 
volcanic  formation,  very  picturesque  from  the  fantastic 
shapes  of  the  rocks.  The  soil  is  decomposed  lava  FlG-  382.— Badge  of 

,     ...  .          ,  ...  .        .          the  Windward  Islands 

and  very  fertile.     A  volcanic  crater  with  a  fuming 
soufriere  is  among  the  sights  of  the  island.     The  scenery  is  of  peculiar 
beauty,  and  Castries  on  the  north-west,  with  its  two  peaks  3,000  feet  high, 
called  the  Pitons,  can  hardly  be   equalled  in  grandeur.     The  harbour 

of  Castries  is  probably  the  finest 
in  the  West  Indies,  and  has 
been  adopted  as  a  naval  station. 
The  people  are  mostly  black 
and  coloured,  and  speak  a 
French  patois  similar  to  that  of 
Dominica,  but  English  is  gene- 
rally understood.  The  island 
was  settled  mainly  by  the  French, 
but  it  was  taken  and  given  up 
again  several  times  by  the  British 

before  it  finally  came  into  their 
FIG.  383.— Castries  Harbour.  „     .   . 

possession  in  1803.    Castries,  on 

its  fine  harbour,  is  the  capital ;  the  town  of  Soufriere  lies  on  a  less  impor- 
tant bay  in  the  north-west.  The  exports  are  sugar,  cacao,  logwood  and  spices. 


8 io       The  International  Geography 

St.  Vincent  is  18  miles  long  by  n  broad.  A  stretch  of  volcanic 
hills  forms  the  backbone  of  the  island,  and  extends  here  and  there  into 
spurs  with  rich  valleys  between  them.  The  highest  peak  is  the  Morne  a 
Garou,  4,000  feet ;  the  Soufriere,  3,000  feet,  is  an  active  volcano.  In  1812 
a  most  disastrous  eruption  took  place,  which  utterly  ruined  the  greater 
part  of  the  cultivation,  and  in  1902  eruptions  did  immense  damage. 
Between  the  two  mountains  there  is  a  lake  nearly  a  mile  in  diameter, 
occupying  the  crater  of  an  extinct  volcano,  and  without  either  inlet  or 
outflow.  In  early  times  the  island  was  left  in  the  hands  of  the  Caribs,  and 
was  afterwards  alternately  French  and  British.  The  Caribs  were,  how- 
ever, so  troublesome  to  the  settlers  that  in  1796  the  British  authorities 
deported  them,  to  the  number  of  5,000,  to  the  island  of  Rattan,  off  the  coast 
of  Honduras.  The  chief  exports  are  sugar,  rum,  cacao,  spices  and  arrowroot. 
The  capital,  Kingstown,  is  situated  on  an  extensive  harbour  in  the  south-west. 
The  Grenadines,  a  line  of  small  islands,  extends  between  St.  Vincent 
and  Grenada.  Bequia  belongs  to  St.  Vincent,  and  is  long  and  narrow, 
with  an  area  of  six  square  miles  ;  being  badly  watered,  however,  it  is 
not  favourable  to  settlement.  Carriacou,  Union,  and  Mustique  belong  to 
Grenada. 

Grenada  is  21  miles  long  and  12  broad,  rugged  and  picturesque  in 
scenery,  and  traversed  from  north  to  south  by  an  irregular  mass  of  volcanic 
mountains,  the  highest,  Mount  St.  Catherine,  rising  to  2,750  feet.  The 
island  contains  several  small  but  picturesque  crater  lakes.  The  soil  is  a 
dark  mould,  very  fertile,  especially  in  the  valleys.  Unlike  the  other  islands, 
it  has  ceased  to  grow  sugar,  which  has  been  replaced  by  cacao,  which 
forms  a  valuable  export,  as  well  as  coffee,  kola  and  spices  ;  the  colony  has 
been  called  "  The  Spice  Island  of  the  West."  Fruit  and  vegetables  are 
also  grown  for  the  markets  of  Barbados  and  Trinidad.  Grenada  was 
ceded  to  Great  Britain  in  1783,  after  being  in  the  hands  of  the  French  for 
over  a  century,  and  the  Creole  patois  is  commonly  spoken.  Of  the  popu- 
lation much  less  than  one  per  cent,  are  whites.  St.  George's,  the  capital, 
stands  on  a  fine  harbour  in  the  south-west. 

BARBADOS 

Barbados,  the  most  easterly  of  the  West  Indies,  is  21  miles  long  by 
14  broad,  and  lies  100  miles  east  of  St.  Vincent.  It  was  partly  federated 
with  the  Windward  Islands  until  1885,  when  it  was  entirely  separated, 
and  is  now  a  distinct  colony.  The  island  is  lower  than  most  of  the 
others,  the  highest  elevation  being  only  1,145  feet.  Surrounded  by  coral 
reefs,  its  formation  is  Tertiary  sandstone  and  limestone,  probably  raised  by 
volcanic  agency.  A  kind  of  bitumen  called  manjak  is  now  being  mined 
and  utilised,  and  a  crude  petroleum  known  as  Barbados  tar  has  long  been 
collected  and  used  as  a  medicine.  There  are  numerous  springs,  some  of 
which  are  impregnated  with  mineral  substances,  but  no  rivers.  The  soil 
is  so  fertile  and  so  free  from  rocks  that  there  is  very  little  waste  land  in 


Trinidad  and  Tobago 


811 


the  island.  It  was  first  settled  by  the  British  in  1625,  and  it  enjoys  the 
unique  position  of  having  never  been  in  the  possession  of  any  other  nation. 
The  whites  once  preponderated,  and  by  them  Virginia  and  Jamaica  were 
largely  colonised.  At  present  only  about  10  per  cent,  of  the  inhabitants 
are  white.  The  density  of  population,  1,120  per  square  mile,  is  perhaps 
unique  for  any  separately  governed  colony  or  State.  Barbados  has  never 
'experienced  the  difficulty  so  conspicuous  in  the  other  colonies  of  want 
of  labour ;  even  the  emancipation  caused  but  little  distress.  Sugar  has 
always  been  the  staple  product,  and  now  that  the  price  is  so  low  the 
island  is  passing  through  a  period  of  depression  hardly  known  before. 
The  English  language  is  universally  spoken,  and  the  Barbadian  is  proud 
of  his  connection  with  the  mother  country.  His  island  is  "  Little 
England,"  and  he  is  "  neither  Carib  nor  Creole,  but  true  Barbadian  born." 
The  constitution  is  old  and  on  the  lines  of  the  mother  country ;  the 
Governor  represents  the  King,  the  Legislative  Council  the  Lords,  and 
the  House  of  Assembly  the  Commons.  Bridgetown,  the  capital,  stands 
on  the  shore  of  an  open  roadstead  named  Carlisle  Bay,  in  the  south- 
west, and  a  railway  runs  thence  round  the  south  and  east  of  the  island. 

TRINIDAD 

Trinidad  is  only  separated  from  the  continent  by  narrow  straits,  and 
physically  belongs  to  South  America  rather 
than  to  the  West  Indies,  its  mountains 
being  the  continuation  of  the  Venezuelan 
system.  Next  to  Jamaica  it  is  the  largest 
of  the  British  West  Indian  Islands,  being 
48  miles  long  by  35  broad.  It  is  generally 
level,  but  three  chains  of  hills  run  across 
it  from  east  to  west ;  that  in  the  north, 
the  termination  of  the  Venezuelan  Coast 
Range,  is  the  highest,  reaching  a  maxi- 
mum of  about  3,000  feet.  The  most  re- 
markable feature  is  the  Pitch  Lake  at  La  Brea,  in  the 
south-west,  which  was  known  from  a  very  early  period* 
for  even  the  buccaneers  caulked  their  ships  with  its 
asphalt  or  bitumen.  The  lake  covers  about  ninety 
acres,  and  its  product  is  a  valuable  article  of  export, 
being  largely  used  for  pavements. 

The  climate  is   hot  and   damp,  but   agreeable,  the 
FIG.  385.— Badge  of    soil    fertile    and    capable    of    growing    all    tropical 
Trinidad.  products.      The  forest,  which  covers  a  large  part  of 

the  island,  is  valuable  for  its  timbers,  and,  like  that  of  the  neigh- 
bouring mainland,  is  very  interesting  botanically.  The  island  was 
discovered  by  Columbus  in  1498,  and  was  colonised  to  a  small  extent  by 
the  Spaniards,  who  continued  to  possess  it  till  1797,  when  it  was  con- 
53 


FIG.  384, — Trinidad. 


8 12       The  International  Geography 

quered  by  Great  Britain.  Remnants  of  Spanish  laws  still  exist,  and  the 
Spanish  language  is  spoken  to  some  extent ;  but  on  account  of  a  French 
immigration,  which  took  place  in  1783  and  following  years,  the  Creole 
French  patois  is  more  prevalent.  English  is,  however,  generally  under- 
stood. Together  with  the  island  of  Tobago  it  forms  a  Crown  colony ;  it 
is  administered  by  a  Governor,  Executive  Council, 
and  Legislative  Council.  The  inhabitants  consist  of 
black  and  coloured  people,  with  a  small  proportion 
of  whites,  East  Indians  who  have  been  imported  as 
labourers  to  the  great  benefit  of  the  colony,  and  a 
few  Chinese. 

The  chief  products  are  sugar,  cacao,  and  asphalt, 
and,  like  the  other  sugar  colonies,  it  is  much  de- 
FIG  386—  Average  pop-  Pressed  at  present  from  the  low  price  of  its  staple  ; 
ulation  of  a  square  less  so  than  others,  however,  for  Trinidad  cacao  is  an 
mile  of  Trinidad.        exceedingly  valuable  product.  There  are  about  eighty 
miles  of  railway  open  on  the  island  connecting  Port  of  Spain,  the  capital,  in 
the  north-west,  with  San  Fernando,  in  the  south-west,  and  with  the  interior. 
Tobago  lies  about  20  miles  north-east  of  Trinidad,  and  is  26  miles 
long  by  7^  broad.     Its  formation  is  volcanic,  with  conical  hills  and  ridges 
rising  to  a  height  of  1,800  feet.    It  exports  sugar,  coco-nuts  and  live  stock 
from  the  little  town  of  Scarborough,  on  the  south  coast. 

STATISTICS   OF  BRITISH   WEST  INDIES. 


Jamaica 

and  Turks 

Leeward 

Windward 

"rinidad  and 

Colony. 

Bahamas. 

Islands. 

Islands. 

Islands. 

Barbados. 

Tobago. 

Area.square  miles 

4,466 

4-372  . 

704  .. 

509 

166  . 

1,868 

Population,  1881 

43,521 

585-536  . 

.  122,046  .  . 

121,502 

171,860  . 

171,179 

1891 

47,565 

644.235  • 

.  127,723  .. 

136,483 

182,306  . 

200,028 

Density  of  pop.  190 

54.358 

12 

771,900  . 
i?7  . 

.  127,440  .. 
181  .. 

162,800 
320 

195,600  . 
1,180  . 

279,700 
150 

Annual  exports  :— 

Average,  1871-75 

135,000 

1,364,000  . 

.  482,000  . 

539,000 

1,193,000  . 

1,613,000 

1881-85 

145,000 

1,445,000  . 

.  545,000  . 

508,000 

1,159,000  . 

2,503,000 

1891-95 

127,000 

1,896,000  . 

.  457,000  . 

515,000 

911,000  . 

2,157,000 

Annual  imports  :— 

Average,  1871-75 

203,000 

1,654,000  . 

.  430,000  . 

419,000 

1,149,000  . 

1,381,000 

1881-85 

207,000 

1,500,000  . 

.  463,000  . 

407,000 

1,097,000  . 

2,566,000 

1891-95 

185,000 

2,094,000 

.  442,000  . 

446,000 

1,151,000  . 

2,195,000 

PRINCIPAL  TOWNS. 


Town. 

Colony. 

Population,  1881. 

Population,  1891 

Nassau 

Bahamas 

ca.  5,000 

ca.  5,000 

Kingston 
St.  John,  Antigua     . 
St.  George's,  Grenada 
Bridgetown    .  . 

Jamaica 
Leeward  Islands 
Windward  Islands 
Barbados 

33,566 
ca.  10,000 
ca.  5,000 
20.947 

48,504 
9,738 
ca.  5,000 

21,000 

Port  of  Spain.  . 

Trinidad 

31,858 

33,273 

STANDARD  BOOKS. 

R.  T.  Hill.    "  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico  with  the  other  Islands  of  the  West  Indies." 

York  and  London,  1808. 

J.  Rodway.    "The  West  Indies  and  the  Spanish  Main."    London,  1896. 
"  Report  of  the  West  India  Royal  Commission,  1897."    4  vols.    London,  1897. 
G.  P.  Musson  and  T.  L.  Roxburgh.    "The  Handbook  of  Jamaica."    London,  1896. 
L.  G.  Tippenhauer.    "  Die  Insel  Haiti."    Leipzig,  1893. 


New 


CHAPTER  XLIII.— THE    CONTINENT    OF    SOUTH 

AMERICA 

BY  A.  J.  HERBERTSON,  M.A.,  PH.D. 

Reader  in  Geography,  University  of  Oxford. 

Position  and  Outline. — South  America  is  little  less  in. area  than 
North  America.  Its  seven  million  square  miles  form  nearly  one-seventh 
of  the  land  surface  of  the  globe.  The  greater  part  of  the  continent  lies 
south  of  the  equator.  fThe  northern  point,  Punta  Gallinas,  lies  in  12^°  N. 
(the  latitude  of  Gambia),  and  the  southern  point,  Cape  Horn,  in  56°  S. 
(corresponding  to  the  position  of  Edinburgh  in  56°  N.).  The  extreme 
east  point,  Cape  Branco,  is  in  35°  W.,  and  the  extreme  west  point  is  Punta 
Parina,  which  lies  a  little  further  west  than  81°  W.,  the  continent  as  a 
whole  lying  farther  east  than  North  America. 

South  America  is  almost  surrounded  by  the  ocean  :  by  the  Atlantic  on 
the  north  and  east,  and  by  the  Pacific  on  the  west ;  and  it  is  joined  to 
Central  America  only  by  the  narrow  isthmus  of  Panama,  about  45  miles 
wide.  The  continent  as  seen  on  a  globe  has  a  roughly  triangular  shape, 
without  notable  peninsulas  and  with  few  islands-f  less  than  one  per  cent, 
of  the  area  is  insular.  In  this  respect  it  is  even  more  compact  than  Africa. 
The  South  American  coast  line  is  not  quite  twice  as  long  as  the  minimum 
line  that  could  circumscribe  its  area,  which  is  a  greater  proportion  than 
that  found  in  Africa.  The  fjords  of  the  south-west  are  the  chief  source  of 
the  relatively  more  extended  coast  line  of  South  America.  Nevertheless, 
the  coast  line  is  only  three-quarters  as  long  as  that  of  Europe,  whose  area 
is  little  more  than  half  as  great. 

Coasts. — The  north  coast  borders  the  Caribbean  Sea,  which  forms  two 
gulfs,  that  of  Darien  in  the  west,  and  that  of  Venezuela  in  the  centre,  the 
latter  opening  into  the  lagoon  of  Maracaibo.  The  water  of  this  lagoon  is 
fresh  in  the  south,  but  brackish  in  the  north,  where  it  is  partly  separated 
from  the  sea  by  a  bar  from  six  to  twelve  feet  below  the  surface.  The 
coast  here  is  low  and  sandy,  but  it  is  steep  on  the  west  coast  of  the  lagoon, 
where  the  mountains  approach  the  sea.  Curacoa,  Margarita,  and  other 
islands  off  the  north  coast  are  sometimes  named  the  Leeward  Islands,  but 
they  must  not  be  confused  with  the  group  of  British  West  Indian 
possessions  so  named.  Trinidad  lies  as  a  detached  part  of  the  continent 
off  the  eastern  point  of  this  northern  coast,  which  trends  south-east 
beyond  it.  South  of  Trinidad  the  great  delta  of  the  Orinoco  forms  a  flat 
coast,  and  this  continues  to  be  the  nature  of  the  Atlantic  shores  throughout 

813 


8 14       The  International  Geography 


Guiana,  which  is  bordered  by  a  flat  coastal  plain.  The  coast  south  of  the 
Amazon  is  broken  only  by  the  Gulfs  of  Sao  Marcos  and  Bahia,  but  it 
is  bordered  by  a  sandstone  reef  as  far  as  20°  S.  Beyond  this,  as  far  as  the 
mouth  of  the  Rio  de  La  Plata,  a  series  of  lagoons  run  parallel  to  the  sandy 
coast,  except  in  the  mountainous  region  between  Cape  Frio  and  Santos, 
which  is  of  the  Dalmatian  type,  and  contains  the  magnificent  harbour 
of  Rio  de  Janeiro  (Fig.  426).  The  Patagonian  tableland  forms  a  steep, 
though  not  lofty  coast,  with  numerous  gentle  outcurves  and  incurves  of 
which  the  bays  Blanca,  San  Matias  and  San  Jorge  are  the  chief.  The 
Falkland  Islands  rise  from  the  continental  shelf  to  the  east.  South  of  42°  S. 
there  is  a  fjord  coast  in  the  west,  which  is  bordered  by  numerous  islands. 
The  great  island  of  Tierra  del  Fuego  is  separated  from  the  mainland  by  a 
series  of  fjords  forming  the  Strait  of  Magellan  (Fig.  405).  Queen  Adelaide 
Archipelago,  Wellington  Island,  Chonos  Archipelago,  and  Chiloe  Island 
are  the  most  important  masses  of  land  separated  from  the  mainland  by  the 
western  channels.  North  of  this  the  coast  is  steep,  with  few  breaks.  It 
runs  almost  due  north  to  18°  S.,  then  north-west  to  Punta  Parina,  north 
of  which  comes  the  one  large  bay  on  this  long  coast  line,  the  Gulf  of 
Guayaquil. 

Configuration — Chief  Divisions. — The  mean  elevation  of  South 
America,  approximately  2,000  feet,  is  the  same  as  that  of  North  America 
and  of  Africa.  But  the  vertical  distribution  of  its 
land  differs  in  character  from  that  of  these  two 
continents.  South  America  is  distinguished  for 
the  large  proportion  of  its  area  under  600  feet 
(42  per  cent.),  and  also  for  the  relatively  large 
proportion  over  10,000  feet  (6  per  cent.),  which  is 
only  exceeded  in  Asia. 

Three  elevated  areas  stand  out  clearly  in  the 
structure  of  the  continent :  (i)  The  Western 
Cordillera ;  (2)  the  Guiana  Highland ;  (3)  the 
Brazilian  Highland.  The  flat  Orinoco  plain  lies 
between  the  Cordillera  and  the  Guiana  Highland  ; 
the  great  Amazon  plain  is  bounded  by  all  three  ; 
and  the  Paraguay- Parana  plain  stretches  from  the 
Cordillera  to  the  Brazilian  Highland  and  the  sea. 

The  Guiana  and  Brazilian  Highlands  possess  many  similar  characteristics, 
and  may  be  viewed  as  one  area — the  Eastern  Highlands — broken  into  two 
parts  by  the  Amazon  Valley.  There  are  thus  three  great  natural  regions 
in  the  continent  :  The  Eastern  Highlands ;  the  Central  Lowlands  ;  and 
the  Western  Cordillera. 

The  Eastern  Highlands.  —  The  Eastern  Highlands  of  South 
America  form  one  of  the  ancient  land  masses  of  the  Earth's  surface.  Their 
basis  is  of  Archaean  and  old  Palaeozoic  rocks,  covered  with  sandstones,  the 
age  of  which  is  uncertain  owing  to  the  absence  of  fossils.  They  are  not  of 


i 


0-600  feet 
600-JOOO- 
5000-15,000- 


FIG.    ^.—Configuration 
South  America. 


South  America  815 

marine  origin,  and  are  perhaps  Palaeozoic,  perhaps  Cretaceous  in  the  north. 
They  are  probably  Cretaceous  in  the  centre  and  south,  but  it  is  quite 
possible  that  some  of  the  southern  rocks  may  be  of  Triassic  age.  Too 
little  is  known  about  the  geology  of  the  interior  to  justify  definite  state- 
ments. In  the  south,  coal-bearing  layers  lie  over  the  Carboniferous  or 
Permian  conglomerate,  and  contain  a  glossopteris  flora.  This  resembles  a 
series  of  similar  rocks,  similarly  situated  in  South  Africa,  India  and  Australia, 
and  suggests  the  possible  existence  of  ancient  continental  connections. 
Narrow  strips  of  Cretaceous  and  Tertiary  rocks  skirt  the  coast.  In  the 
Eastern  Highlands  no  folding  of  the  strata  has  occurred  since  Palaeozoic 
times,  and  the  f  aultings  have  produced  the  masses  of  table-shaped  mountains, 
and  erosion  by  running  water  the  valley  landscapes. 

The  Eastern  Highlands  vary  from  1,000  to  3,000  or  4,000  feet  in 
average  elevation,  and  are  loftiest  in  the  north  and  in  the  south,  while  the 
centre  is  a  hollow,  forming  the  lower  valley  of  the  Amazon.  The 
Brazil  Highland  reaches  nearly  8,500  feet  near  the  tropic,  where  the  average 
elevation  is  between  4,000  and  5,000  feet.  This  loftier  region  is  close  to 
the  coast,  and  the  long  rivers  therefore  flow  west  like  the  Rio  Grande  and 
other  streams  running  to  the  Parana,  the  Sao  Francisco,  the  Paranahyba, 
and  the  Tocantins,  and  its  great  tributary  the  Araguaya.  South  of  the 
tropic  the  highland  is  lower  and  narrower.  The  Guiana  Highland  is  highest 
in  the  west,  where  the  maximum  height  is  supposed  to  be  11,000  feet  in 
Icutu.  The  Branco,  a  tributary  of  the  Rio  Negro  flowing  southwards, 
and  the  Essequibo  flowing  northwards  separate  this  higher  region  from 
the  lower  land  on  the  east.  Here,  as  in  Brazil,  typical  table  mountains 
and  terraces  have  been  formed  in  the  horizontally  bedded  rocks. 

The  Central  Lowlands. — The  Central  Lowlands  may  be  divided 
into  two  areas  :  the  Patagonia-Pampa  Area  and  the  Area  of  Great  River 
Basins,  the  latter  consisting  of  three  regions  ;  the  basins  respectively  of  the 
La  Plata,  the  Amazon,  and  the  Orinoco. 

The  Patagonia-Pampa  Area  consists  of  the  low  Patagonian  plateau,  and 
the  still  lower  Pampa  region  north  of  the  Rio  Colorado,  the  waters  of 
which  do  not  reach  the  sea.  Both  are  composed  of  a  sandy  clayey  marl  of 
Tertiary  age,  recalling  the  mollasse  of  Switzerland,  through  which  basalt 
flows  have  pierced,  over  which  glacial  waste  has  been  spread,  and  loess 
blown,  which  in  many  places  is  weathered  into  loam.  No  foldings  or  fault- 
ings  occur  in  these  strata,  where  Darwin  found  many  remains  of  giant 
mammals.  The  pampa,  however,  is  crossed  by  folded  outliers  of  the 
Western  Cordillera,  composed  mainly  of  ancient  crystalline  rocks. 

The  Great  Basin  Area  occupies  about  two-thirds  of  the  continent.  The 
three  basins  are  not  all  of  the  same  age,  and  each  has  its  special  charac- 
teristics. 

The  La  Plata  lowland  consists  of  a  flood  plain  formed  by  the  river 
alluvium  covering  the  glacial  morainic  and  inter-glacial  loess  and  loam 
which  here  and  there  are  found  on  the  surface.  The  rivers  rise  in  the 


816       The  International  Geography 

higher  regions  surrounding  this  lowland.  The  Uruguay  drains  the  lower 
part  of  the  Brazilian  highland,  in  the  higher  tropical  regions  of  which  the 
Parana  and  its  tributaries  rise,  the  Paraguay  flows  from  the  Matto  Grosso 
heights,  and  its  headwaters  are  only  a  mile  or  two  removed  from  those  of 
tributaries  of  the  Amazon,  and  three  great  rivers  flow  south-eastward  from 
the  Bolivian  plateau. 

The  main  stream  of  the  Amazon  flows  in  alluvium  of  its  own  moulding 
which  is  bordered  by  Tertiary  layers,  which  may  have  been  formed  in 
brackish  water  before  the  mighty  stream  extended  its  flood  plain  so  far  to 
the  east.  The  navigable  Marafion  and  Ucayali  from  the  Andes  join  at 
Nauta,  about  1,800  miles  from  the  Atlantic^  but  only  370  feet  above  the  sea 
level.  The  southern  tributaries  come  from  the  Andes,  the  divide  with  the 
Paraguay,  or  the  Brazilian  highland.  They  are  themselves  mighty  rivers, 
with  falls  between  10°  and  8°  S.,  above  and  below  which  they  are  navigable. 
The  northern  tributaries  also  have  falls  and  rapids  in  their  middle  course. 
The  main  stream  flows  south  of  the  equator,  which  it  reaches  only  at  its 
mouth.  The  basin  narrows  in  this  region,  and  the  river  forms  a  great 
estuary,  up  which  powerful  tidal  bores  rush.  Although  the  Amazon  is  by 
no  means  the  longest  river  in  the  world,  its  basin  is  the  largest,  and  the 
water  it  conveys  to  the  sea  the  greatest  of  any  river,  a  fact  easily  explained 
by  the  heavy  tropical  rains  which  fall  over  most  of  the  drainage  area. 

Very  little  is  yet  known  about  the  geology  of  the  Orinoco  basin.  The 
river  rises  in  the  loftier  western  region  of  Guiana.  The  upper  waters  of 
the  river  divide,  and  part  flows  by  the  Cassiquiare  south-west  to  the  Rio 
Negro,  a  tributary  of  the  Amazon,  while  the  rest  sweeps  in  a  curve  round  the 
base  of  the  Guiana  highland,  and  forms  a  great  delta.  The  river  receives 
many  tributaries  from  Guiana  and  also  from  the  eastern  ranges  of  the 
Colombian  and  the  southern  slopes  of  the  Venezuelan  Cordillera. 

The  Western  Cordillera  or  Andes.— The  Andes,  forming  the 
mountainous  western  portion  of  South  America,  run  from  south  to  north 
with  increasing  breadth  as  far  as  18°  S.,  and  then  curve  almost  in  a  semi- 
circle convex  to  the  west,  so  that  the  northern  ranges  border  the  north- 
west of  the  continent.  This  semicircular  belt  is  low  and  narrow  in  the 
region  where  the  Gulf  of  Guayaquil  cuts  into  the  coast ;  and  at  that  point  the 
tectonic  character  of  the  mountains  alters,  allowing  a  distinction  to  be 
drawn  between  the  Main  Cordillera  south  of  4°  S.  and  the  Northern  Cor- 
dillera north  of  that  latitude. 

The  Main  Cordillera  of  the  Andes  is  comparatively  simple  as  far  north 
as  Aconcagua,  its  highest  summit  (23,080  feet).  A  main  range  rises  from 
the  plains  in  the  east.  A  line  of  heights  borders  the  Pacific,  separated  by 
a  great  parallel  longitudinal  valley  from  the  main  range.  In  the  south, 
where  glaciation  has  been  great,  this  valley  becomes  submerged,  and  is 
represented  by  a  series  of  sounds  ;  in  ther  north  it  is  filled  by  recent 
geological  deposits  and  forms  the  fertile  valley  of  Chile.  The  glaciated 
region  south  of  38°  S.  is  cut  up  by  many  fjords  which  divide  the  western 


South  America  817 

heights  into  great  islands  and  peninsulas.  In  the  extreme  south  the  moun- 
tains trend  east  and  west.  The  southern  Andes  consist  of  granite  with  a  band 
of  Cretaceous  rocks  in  the  east,  and  must  be  distinguished  from  the  rest  of  the 
Main  Cordillera  north  of  40°  S.  From  40°  S.  to  4°  S.  the  western  and  eastern 
regions  of  the  Cordillera  differ  both  in  composition  and  age.  The  eastern 
ranges  contain  Archaean,  Palaeozoic,  and  petroleum-bearing  Mesozoic  rocks 
probably  of  Cretaceous  age.  The  eastern  ranges  were  folded  earlier  than  the 
western  ranges,  where  the  folds  are  more  marked.  Besides  old  crystalline 
rocks  the  western  ranges  contain  Jurassic  and  porphyritic  rocks  of  similar 
age  folded  together.  Both  are  remarkable,  the  Jurassic  because  they  are  the 
only  marine  sediments  of  that  age  south  of  the  equator,  the  porphyritic,  so 
called  by  Darwin,  who  first  described  them,  because  they  are  the  only 
evidence  we  possess  of  volcanic  activity  in  Mesozoic  times  except  in  the 
oldest  Triassic  strata.  A  series  of  young  volcanic  rocks  comes  between  the 
eastern  and  western  regions  ;  and  along  a  line  which  clings  to  the  eastern 
foot  of  the  western  or  main  range,  there  are  numerous  active  volcanoes. 

The  western  and  eastern  ranges  include  between  them  a  plateau. 
The  eastern  ranges  in  the  south  have  a  more  or  less  meridianal  trend,  but 
traces  of  them  can  be  found  in  the  Pampean  ranges,  in  the  mountains  of 
Cordoba,  Tandil,  and  Ventana.  In  the  north,  on  the  other  hand,  they 
strike  from  north-west  to  south-east,  and  can  be  traced  in  the  heights  of 
S.  Miguel  west  of  the  Paraguaya  in  18°  S.  The  Plateau  can  be  divided  into 
three  regions — the  smaller  or  Argentine 
region,  part  of  the  inland  drainage  area  of 
the  Pampa  ;  the  central  or  Bolivian  plateau, 
an  intermont  basin  with  its  own  drainage 
system  to  Lake  Titicaca ;  and  the  northern 

or  Peruvian  region  drained  to  the  Amazon- 

FIG.  388. — Section  across  the  Andes. 
It  was  for  a  long  time  suspected  that  the 

Andes  might  be  proved  to  attain  their  greatest  height  on  the  eastern 
side  of  Lake  Titicaca,  but  the  researches  of  Sir  Martin  Conway  in 
1898  showed  that  this  is  not  the  case.  The  peaks  of  Mount  Sorata 
(Ancohuma  and  Illampu)  do  not  reach  22,000  feet,  nor  is  that  altitude 
surpassed  by  Illimani. 

The  western  range  remains  uniform  in  structure  throughout  its  vast 
length,  but  the  southern  part  lies  parallel  to  the  meridian,  whereas  the 
northern  part  strikes  from  south-east  to  north-west,  and  disappears  about  4°  S. 
The  Northern  Cordillera  begins  at  the  point  of  disappearance  of  the 
main  western  chain.  Here  the  marine  Jurassic  and  the  porphyritic 
rocks  are  comparatively  rare.  The  Palaeozoic  rocks  of  the  eastern  ranges  are 
also  absent  in  the  north,  where  Archaean  and  Cretaceous  rocks  predominate. 
From  Loja  to  the  Knot  of  Pasto  the  Ecuadorian  Andes  form  two  chains, 
with  many  giant  volcanoes,  separated  by  a  narrow  but  lofty  plateau  (Fig.  397). 
North  of  Pasto  the  Cordillera  is  divided  into  four  chains,  with  deep  valleys 
between,  through  which  large  rivers  flow  to  the  north  and  north-east. 


818      The  International  Geography 

The  Eastern  Colombian  Range  divides,  and  one  branch  flanks  the  Gulf  of 
Maracaibo,  while  the  other  runs  eastward  along  the  coast  as  the  Caribbean 
or  Venezuelan  Range,  whose  continuation  can  be  traced  in  Trinidad, 
Barbados,  eastern  Guadeloupe,  Porto  Rico,  and  Cuba. 

Climate.— The  greater  part  of  South  America  has  a  tropical  climate, 
subtropical  and  temperate  conditions  occurring  only  in  the  south.  The 
lofty  western  mountains  divide  the  country  into  two  very  different  climatic 
areas,  the  west  ruled  by  the  Pacific,  the  east  more  dependent  on  the 
Atlantic.  South  America  is  distinguished  from  other  continents  by  not 

having  a  marked  conti- 
nental climate,  for  the 
term  can  be  applied  only 
to  the  pampa  region  west 
of  the  Plata  estuary.  At 
all  seasons  the  isotherms 
in  the  west  run  on  the 
whole  from  north-west 
to  south-east.  West  of 
the  Cordilleras  the  tem- 
perature of  the  north- 
eastern region  is  always 
a  little  over  or  under 
75°  F.,  but  the  centre  of 
highest  temperature  fol- 
lows the  Sun,  and  in  the 


FlG.  389.— Isotherms  of 
South  America  for 
January. 


FlG.  390.— Isotherms  of 
South  America  for 
July. 


south-east  the  summer  isotherms  are  convex  to  the  south,  while  those  of 
winter  follow  the  parallels  of  latitude. 

This  distribution  of  temperature  is  explained  by  the  study  of  the  pre- 
vailing winds  and  ocean  currents.  Much  of  the  west  coast  lies  on  the  east 
side  of  the  South  Pacific  subtropical  high  pressure  area ;  all  the  winds 
have  a  component  directing  them  northwards,  and  the  winds  drive  the 
surface  waters  in  a  northerly  direction,  and  also  cause  an  upwelling  of 
colder  water  from  below.  Hence  the  waters  near  the  coast  are  relatively 
eold,  and  the  air  is  also  relatively  cool  at  all  seasons.  The  extreme  north 
and  south  are  not  affected  by  this  regime.  The  tropical  regions  are  warmer 
in  the  north  in  the  northern  summer  and  in  the  south  in  the  southern 
summer.  The  centre  of  low  pressure  has  a  synchronous  movement,  and 
ocean  winds  penetrate  to  the  heart  of  the  continent  in  summer,  and  clouds 
screen  the  land  from  the  burning  Sun.  In  winter  the  south-east  of  South 
America  lies  in  the  west  of  an  anti-cyclone,  and  at  all  seasons  the  currents 
off  most  of  the  east  coast  flow  from  equatorial  regions  and  are  warm. 
The  contrast  between  the  climate  on  the  east  and  west  sides  of  a  high 
pressure  area  are  well  illustrated  in  South  America. 

The  rainfall  is  also  dominated  by  the  conditions  just  described.  In  the 
anti-cyclonic  areas  of  the  west  coast  practically  no  rain  falls,  even  although 


South  America 


819 


the  air  is  often  saturated  with  water  vapour  near  the  coast,  forming  winter 

mists.     This  is  partly  due  to  the  rapidly  rising 

temperature  gradient  from  the  coast  inland,  when 

the  humidity  is  low.  North  of  4°  S.  both  tempera- 
ture and  rainfall  increase.  In  Guayaquil  rain  falls 

from  December  to  May,  and  round  Buenaventura 

the   scanty,  and  perhaps  not    quite  trustworthy, 

records  show  enormous  precipitation  almost  every 

month  of  the  year.      The  westerly  storm  winds 

bring  much   rain  to  the   western   slopes  of  the 

southern  mountains  at  all  seasons,  and  the  northern 

limit  of  these  storm  rains  sways  north  and  south 

with  the  Sun.    The  south-east  is  dry  all  the  year, 

but  north  of  the  Plata  estuary  the  summer  rains 

characteristic   of    inter-tropical    and    sub-tropical 

regions  prevail.      The    equatorial    double    rainy 

season  is  not  well  marked  in  South  America  save  in  the  equatorial  moun- 
tainous regions.  This  resembles  the  Indian 
monsoon  rains,  and  is  due  to  the  hot  low 
pressure  area  formed  round  the  southern 
tropic  in  summer  causing  an  inflowing  of 
winds  from  the  north,  which  moisten  the 
Guianas  and  the  north  of  the  Brazilian 
plateau;  the  dry  period  of  inter-tropical 
South  America  occurs  when  the  vertical 
midday  Sun  has  moved  southward  from 
the  northern  tropic,  but  is  still  overhead  at 
noon  north  of  the  equator.  In  the  interior 
of  the  north-east  of  the  Brazilian  highland 
there  is  hardly  any  rain  in  winter.  The  low- 
lands north  of  4°  N.  have  less  abundant 


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FIG.  392.— Temperature  and  Rainfall  rains  than  the  other  inter-tropical  regions. 
of  Tropical  South  America.  ^^  influence  of  the  heavy  rains  on  the 

increase  of  the  eroding  powers  of  rivers  is 
beautifully  illustrated  in  two  regions.  In 
the  south-west  the  rivers  have  cut  into  the 
Cordillera  until  their  valleys  are  so  deep 
that  they  pass  east  of  the  main  line  of 
heights  and  drain  the  eastern  slopes.  The 
reverse  has  occurred  in  equatorial  regions, 
where  the  rainfall  is  heaviest  in  the  east, 
and  the  upper  waters  of  the  Amazon  and 

its  tributaries  flow  in    the    heart    of    the   FIG.  393-— Temperature  and  Rainfall 

of  Temperate  South  America. 
mountains.      The    lowering    and    narrow- 
ing of  the  ridge  near  4°  S.  is  probably  partly  due  to  excessive  erosion. 
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-BUENOS  AIRES  

820      The  International  Geography 

Minerals  and  Soils. — South  America  abounds  in  minerals.  The 
Guianas,  the  Eldorado  of  the  early  voyagers,  are  rich  in  gold ;  the  Brazilian 
gold  and  diamonds  developed  in  the  schists,  but  usually  found  in  con- 
glomerates or  rock  waste,  attracted  early  explorers.  Iron,  copper,  lead, 
bismuth,  antimony,  and  other  metals,  as  well  as  precious  stones,  are  sought 
for  and  obtained.  The  gold  and  silver  mines  of  the  Andes  have  yielded 
treasure  for  centuries,  and  are  not  yet  exhausted.  The  Potosi  mines  alone 
have  supplied  over  three  hundred  million  pounds  sterling  worth  of  silver 
since  the  Spaniards  first  took  possession  of  them. 

Laterite  covers  most  of  Brazil  and  Guiana.  The  Orinoco  and  Amazon 
valleys  consist  largely  of  recent  alluvium,  which  exists  in  the  lowlands 
through  which  the  other  rivers  pass.  Patagonia  is  covered  mainly  with 
glacial  waste,  and  loess  and  loam  are  found  over  the  pampa  and  parts  of 
the  Plata  basin,  and  even  as  far  south  as  the  Amazon.  Much  rough 
rock  waste  clings  to  the  mountain  sides,  and  along  the  young  volcanic  strip 
fertile  volcanic  soil  is  found.  The  dry  western  coast  lands  are  covered  with 
shifting  sands,  and  in  the  south  with  loam.  Salt  deposits  are  common  in 
the  pampa  and  in  the  Atacama  desert,  whence  nitrates  are  exported. 

Flora.— The  rainfall  and  vegetation  maps  of  South  America  present 
many  resemblances  if  the  higher  mountainous  regions,  which  have  a  suc- 
cession of  floral  regions  running  up  to  the  snow-line,  are  excluded.  The 
south-east  Patagonian  region  covered  with  glacial  waste  is  characterised  by 
dwarf  plants  suited  to  the  dry  climate.  This  passes  into  a  rich  grass-steppe 
land  in  the  north  round  the  Plata  estuary,  and  into  a  poor  salt  steppe 
inland  nearer  the  foot  of  the  Andes,  in  the  drier  districts  where  the 
extremes  of  temperature  are  at  a  maximum.  The  grass  steppe  of  the 
pampa  has  woods  along  the  water-courses,  and  the  intermediate  land 
covered  with  a  thick  carpet  of  grasses,  composites,  and  papilionaceous 
plants.  Further  north  trees  are  much  more  plentiful,  and  are  largely  ever- 
green, and  once  more  we  have  to  separate  the  moister,  richer  lands  of  the 
coast  from  the  drier  regions  nearer  the  Andes,  which  forms  the  Gran  Chaco, 
or  "great  hunting  ground."  This  is  a  subtropical  region  where  palms 
flourish.  The  mate  or  Paraguay  tea  (Ilex  paraguayensis)  is  found  in  the 
eastern  region ;  and  the  wax  palm  (Copernica  cerifera)  is  typical  of  the 
whole  Chaco.  In  eastern  Brazil  the  savanna  area  is  divided  into  a  southern 
Campos  region,  where  grasses  often  three  or  four  feet  high  predominate, 
and  a  northern  Catingas  or  "  light  woods  "  region,  with  a  dry  climate  and 
thorny  bushes.  The  Matto  Grosso— the  "  great  woods  " — region  belongs 
to  the  savanna  area.  The  Beni  region  is  probably  also  a  savanna  land 
with  lower  rainfall  than  the  surrounding  regions. 

Most  of  the  lowland  of  the  basin  of  the  Amazon  is  covered  with  dense 
tropical  jungle— giant  trees  to  whose  tops  strong  lianas  climb  while  round 
their  base  thick  impenetrable  underwood  abounds.  These  Selvas,  as  the 
tropical  forests  are  called,  are  the  area  of  densest  vegetation  on  the  globe, 
and  they  persist  owing  to  the  abundant  rains  which  fall  most  of  the  year 


South  America  821 

and  the  never  failing  high  temperature.  Palms,  mimosas,  figs,  bamboos 
are  among  the  characteristic  trees,  over  which  bignoniaceous  and  other 
creepers  twine,  among  whose  branches  epiphytes,  including  gorgeous 
orchids,  flourish,  while  in  the  pools  of  water  the  Victoria  regia  spreads 
its  great  leaves  and  opens  its  gorgeous  flowers. 

North  and  west  of  the  Orinoco,  where  the  rainfall  is  scantier,  are 
savannas,  here  called  llanos,  with  tall  grasses  and  isolated  trees,  many 
of  them  palms.  Savannas  also  characterise  the  northern  plains  of 
Colombia. 

The  rainy  northern  part  of  the  west  coast  has  dense  tropical  forests,  the 
rainless  region  is  a  desert,  and  temperate  forests  cover  the  hillsides  watered 
by  the  rains  accompanying  the  westerly  storm-winds.  Occasionally  in  the 
desert  area  scrubby  olives,  tamarinds,  and  mimosas  are  found,  but  in  the 
Atacama  desert  almost  no  vegetation  exists,  except  here  and  there  a  miser- 
able acacia  bush.  The  temperate  forest  contains  araucarias  and  conifers  ; 
but  there  is  a  gradual  change  in  the  north  to  the  desert  conditions,  and  in 
the  south  to  the  dwarf  beech  and  other  bushes  of  southern  Patagonia  and 
Tierra  del  Fuego. 

The  Cordilleras  contain  many  desert  regions,  here  and  there  bush  is 
formed  when  the  moisture  suffices,  in  the  north  Stipa  and  other  hard 
grasses  form  the  Puna  region.  The  eastern  slopes  over  5,000  feet  (the 
tierra  templada),  where  rain  is  more  abundant,  have  beautiful  tree  ferns, 
and  the  invaluable  cinchona  tree  flourishes  in  the  forests. 

Quinine  from  the  cinchona,  cocaine  from  the  coca,  are  among  the 
medicines  obtained  from  South  America.  Mate  and  cacao,  with  their 
valuable  alkaloids,  potatoes  and  tapioca,  maize  and  tobacco,  india-rubber 
and  a  variety  of  gums  and  wax,  in  addition  to  much  valuable  and  beautiful 
timber  mainly  used  by  the  cabinetmaker,  are  largely  exported  to  Europe. 
The  earth  nut,  Brazil  nut,  Spanish  pepper,  yams,  batatas,  and  many  other 
products  of  the  forests  and  fields  are  abundant.  Among  the  plants 
introduced  within  the  last  four  centuries  are  rice,  sugar,  arrowroot,  agave, 
cotton,  coffee  and  others  that  flourish  in  inter-tropical  regions. 

Fauna.— South  America  forms  a  separate  faunal  region  with  a  charac- 
teristic series  of  animal  forms,  exhibiting  different  association  of  animals 
with  the  different  plant  groups,  forming  a  physiological  rather  than  a 
morphological  unity.  The  tamed  llama  and  alpaca  of  the  Chilean  region 
are  among  the  useful  native  animals  of  South  America.  At  the  time  of  the 
Spanish  conquest  dogs  were  used  by  the  natives  ;  and  the  Incas  protected 
the  birds  whose  deposits  formed  the  great  guano  wealth.  Most  of  the 
other  useful  animals  have  been  introduced.  Horses  flourish  on  llanos  and 
pampa,  cattle  are  found  in  the  wetter,  and  sheep  in  the  drier  and  colder 
regions  of  the  southern  grass  lands,  and  pigs  are  plentiful,  many  of  them 
half  wild. 

People. — South  America  has,  at  a  rough  estimate,  37^  million  inhabi- 
tants, giving  a  mean  density  of  population  of  53  per  square  mile.  The 


822       The  International  Geography 

coastal  lands,  the  river  valleys,  especially  the  alluvial  plains  of  the 
Plata  basin,  are  the  most  densely  peopled.  The  inhabitants  of  the  interior 
of  the  forest  regions  and  in  Patagonia  consist  mainly  of  aborigines,  of 
many  races  differing  in  language  more  than  in  racial  characteristics.  The 
natives  of  the  warmer  regions  are  yellower  than  the  brown  inhabitants  of 
the  mountains,  but  all  possess  the  same  dark,  lank  hair  and  scantiness  of 
beard.  The  Caribs  of  the  lower,  the  Nu-Aruak  of  the  upper  Amazon,  the 
Tupi  between  the  Amazon  and  Plata,  and  the  Guaykuru  of  the  Paraguay, 
the  Ges  of  eastern  Brazil,  and  the  Patagonians  and  Fuegians  of  the  south 
are  among  the  most  important  of  their  races  east  of  the  Andes.  The 
Araucanians  of  Chile,  the  old  civilised  Quichua,  who  formed  the  Inca 
State  overthrown  by  the  Spaniards,  and  the  Chibcha  of  Colombia  are 
among  the  Andean  tribes.  The  name  Andes  was  itself  derived  from  the 
tribe  of  the  Antis.  The  inhabitants  of  the  more  densely  peopled  areas  are 
of  European  and  African  origin  as  well  as  American.  Pure  whites, 
negroes,  and  yellow  men  exist,  but  tlie  majority  are  of  mixed  race ;  so 
that  here,  as  Reclus  has  pointed  out,  mdn  containing  the  greatest  number 


of  characteristics  of  all  races  can  be 
specimens  of  humanity. 

History. — At  the  end  of  the  fifteen 
the  Aymara  and  other  Peruvian  tribes, 
a  relatively  high  state  of  civilisation, 
invaders,  who  had  more  difficulty  ir 


Chile,  a  people  who  still  form  an  imp 


found,  the  most  typical  average 

h  century  the  Chibcha  of  Colombia, 
under  the  Incas  of  Cuzco,  were  in 
but  could  not  resist  the  Spanish 
overcoming  the   Araucanians  of 


•tant  element  of  the  population  in 


the  south-west.  With  these  the  Spaniards  have  mixed,  and  also  in  the 
Plata  basin  with  the  natives  of  the  Gran  Chaco  and  Verua.  When 
Pope  Alexander  VI.  divided  the  world  between  Spain  and  Portugal  the 
latter  received  only  the  eastern  tip  of  Brazil,  but  by  the  Treaty  of 
Tordesillas  in  1494  the  boundary  was  moved  westwards  and  passed  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Amazon  due  south.  The  Spanish  conquered  from  the 
west,  the  Portuguese  from  the  east.  Here  the  Portuguese  settled  and  soon 
introduced  negroes  from  Africa  to  carry  on  the  manual  work.  Slaves 
continued  to  be  imported  for  over  three  centuries,  and  a  large  black 
element  is  found  in  the  east  from  the  Plata  to  Darien,  but  is  most 
numerous  in  Brazil  and  the  Guianas.  In  this  region  the  greatest  miscegi- 
nation  has  taken  place ;  and  the  complications  have  been  increased  in 
British  Guiana  in  recent  years  by  the  immigration  of  Hindu  coolies.  A 
steady  stream  of  Italian  emigrants  seeks  the  east  of  South  America,  and 
British,  German,  and  French  settlers  are  found  there  and  in  the  south-west. 
For  three  hundred  years  Spain  was  overlord  of  the  continent  outside 
Brazil  and  part  of  the  Guianas  ;  but  in  the  first  quarter  of  the  nineteenth 
century  the  Spanish  yoke  was  thrown  off  and  various  federal  republics 
were  formed  on  the  model  of  the  United  States — an  indirect  outcome  of 
the  establishment  of  the  Napoleonic  Empire  in  Europe.  In  1889  the 
Empire  of  Brazil  also  became  a  federal  republic.  Racial  as  well  as 


South  America 


823 


personal  rivalries  have  had  much  to  do  with  the  state  of  recurring  revolu- 
tion which  characterises  the  Latin  American  republics. 

Few  of  the  national  boundaries  in  South  America  were  definitely  fixed 
until  about  the  close  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  boundary  disputes 
were  frequently  the  cause  of  revolution  and  war.  Recently,  however, 
most  of  the  acute  frontier  difficulties  have  been  settled  by  arbitration. 

The  religion  of  the  whole  continent,  save  for  a  few  unconverted 
savages,  is  Roman  Catholic ;  the  social  and  public  life  is  derived  from 
that  of  Spain  and  Portugal. 

THE   COUNTRIES   OF  SOUTH  AMERICA. 


Country. 
Brazil     .  . 
Argentina 
Bolivia  .. 
Colombia 
Peru 
Venezuela 
Chile      .  . 

Area  sq.  miles.        Pop. 
3,210,000      14,332,000  (1890) 
1,136,000        4,894,000  (1900) 
515,130        2,520,000  (1893) 
513-850        3,320,500    — 
439,000        2,629,600  (1876) 
594,000        2,323,500  (1891) 
290,820        2,963,700    — 

Country. 
Ecuador  .  . 
Paraguay 
British  Guiana  . 
Uruguay.  . 
Dutch  Guiana  . 
French  Guiana. 
Falkland  Island 

Area  sq.  miles.      Pop. 
118,630       1,204,200    — 
97,722         330,000  (1887) 
88,650         278,000  (1891) 
72,170         793,000(1893) 
46,000           70,500  (1892) 
30,460           39,600    — 
5            6,500             2,000  (1901) 

STANDARD   BOOKS. 

A.  von  Humboldt.     "  Travels  to  the  Equinoctial  Regions  of  the  New  Continent  from 

1709  to  1804."     3  or  more  vols. 

J.  Ball.     "  Notes  of  a  Naturalist  in  South  America."    London,  1887. 
W.  Sievers.     "  Sud-  und  Mittel-Amerika."     2nd  ed.     Leipzig  and  Vienna,  1904. 
E.  Reclus.    "  Nouvelle  Geographic  Universelle."    Vols.  xviii.  and  xix.    Paris,  1893-94. 

Also  English  translation. 
Sir  C.  R.  Markham  and  A.  H.  Keene.    "Central  and  South  America."    Vol.  i.  "South 

America,"  in  Stanford's  Compendium,  1901. 
P.  Fountain.    "  The  Mountains  and  Forests  of  South  America."    London,  1902. 


CHAPTER  XLIV.— THE  ANDEAN  COUNTRIES 
I.— COLOMBIA 

BY  DR.   FRITZ   REGEL/ 

Professor  of  Geography  in  the  University  of  Wurzburg. 

Position,  Extent  and  Coasts. — The  Republic  of  Colombia  occupies 
the  north-west  of  South  America,  and  its  former  department  of  Panama, 
now  a  separate  republic,  gave  it  a  share  of  Central  America  bordering 
on  Costa  Rica.  It  is  bordered  by  the  Caribbean  Sea  in  the  north  and  by 
the  Pacific  Ocean  on  the  west.  On  the  south  its  frontier  is  principally  with 
Ecuador,  except  between  70°  and  73°  W.  long.,  where  the  Maranon  sep- 
arates it  from  Peru.  On  the  east  from  about  4°  S.  to  4°  N.  lat.  it  touches 
Brazil,  and  thence  northward  to  the  sea  in  12°  N.,  Colombia  marches  with 
Venezuela.  The  short  frontier  towards  Costa  Rica,  and  that  towards 
Venezuela,  determined  in  1891  by  Spanish  arbitration,  are  the  only  bounda- 
ries as  yet  definitely  fixed  ;  on  the  other  borders,  Ecuador  claims  a  broad 
strip  on  the  south,  Peru  claims  the  south-east  corner,  and  the  Brazilian  bor- 
der is  by  no  means  definite.  The  small  islands  of  the  south  coast  of  Panama 
also  form  part  of  Colombia.  . 

Configuration. — The  Isthmus  of  Panama  is  occupied  by  fairly  high 
mountains,  the  Cordilleras  of  Chiriqui,  of  Veragua,  and  of  San  Bias,  com- 
posed of  crystalline  schists  and  recent  eruptive  rocks  ;  and  they  are  only 
loosely  connected  through  the  Isthmus  of  Darien  with  the  most  westerly 
ranges  of  the  Andean  system.  The  South  American  portion  of  the  country 
may  be  divided  into  the  Andes  region,  and  the  great  plains  of  the  east. 

The  Andes  Region  contains  four  mountain  chains  :  (i)  The  still  almost 
unexplored  coast-range  or  Cordillera  del  Choco  begins  in  latitude  4^°  N.  on 
the  Gulf  of  Buena  Ventura,  and  is  defined  on  the  east  by  the  valleys  of  the 
Rio  San  Juan  and  Atrato.  (2)  The  Western  Cordillera  the  direct  continua- 
tion of  the  western  range  of  Ecuador,  forms  a  long  stretch  of  mountain 
wall,  bearing  the  high  summits  of  Cerro  Munchique,  10,000  feet,  and  the 
Farrallones  of  Cali  and  Citara,  11,000  feet;  further  north  near  Paramillo 
(about  11,000  feet),  the  range  breaks  up  into  several  spurs  which  sink  to  the 
low  ground  of  Bolivar.  The  eastern  border  is  marked  by  an  inter-Andean 
depression,  occupied  in  the  south  by  the  Rio  Patia  and  in  the  north  by  the 
Cauca.  (3)  The  Central  Cordillera  is  the  continuation  of  the  inner  or 
eastern  Cordillera  of  Ecuador,  and  extends  between  the  Cauca  and  the 
Magdalena  valleys.  The  southern  portion  is  characterised  by  lofty  vol- 
canoes built  up  of  andesitic  lavas,  tuffs  and  ashes,  including  Pasto,  8,350 

1  Translated  from  the  German  by  the  Editor. 
824 


Colombia 


feet ;  Cumbel,  16,000  feet ;  the  Sugar  Loaf,  16,000  feet ;  Puraca,  Huila, 
Tolima,  18,300  feet ;  Santa  Isabel  and  Ruiz,  whose  broad  snowy  dome 
is  the  most  northerly  of  the  giant  volcanoes  of  the  Cordillera,  and  rises 
almost  as  high  as  the  graceful  cone  of  Tolima.  The  range,  which  is  com- 
posed mainly  of  crystalline  schists,  sinks  and  broadens  into  the  highlands  of 
Antioquia,  the  northern  spurs  of  which  occupy  the  space  between  the 
Cauca,  Neohi  and  Magdalena  ;  although  falling  to  the  level  of  the  northern 
plain,  they  are  prolonged  structurally  to  the  snowy  heights  of  the  Sierra  de 
Santa  Marta  on  the  coast.  (4)  The  Eastern  Cordillera,  or  Cordillera  of 
Bogota,  adjoins  the  Cordillera  of  Ecuador  as  a  separate  mountain  system  in 
the  south  of  Colombia,  and  bears  almost  the  same  relation  to  the  Central 
and  Western  Cordilleras  as  the  range  of  the  Jura  does  to  the  Alps.  It  con- 
tains no  volcanoes,  .and  crystalline  schists  only  appear  in  the  north,  the 
range  as  a  whole  being  built  up  of  strongly  folded  Cretaceous  and  Tertiary 
strata.  Occasional  plateaux,  like  that  of  Bogota,  are  covered  with  more 
recent  sediments.  The  Cordillera  of  Bogota  splits  up  towards  the  north, 
the  western  fork,  called  the  Cordillera  of  Perija,  runs  due  north  to  the 
Sierra  Nevada  de  Santa  Marta  ;  the  central  chain  breaks  off  about  8°  N.  lat, 
while  the  eastern  fork  runs  north-eastward  into  Venezuela.  The  highest 
part  of  the  Eastern  Cordillera  of  Colombia  is  the  Sierra  Nevada  de  Cocui, 
the  summit  of  which  exceeds  16,000  feet  in  height. 

The  great  plains  or  llanos  in  the  east  of  Colombia  are  covered  by 
savannas  in  the  north,  the  territories  of  Casanare  and  San  Martin,  while  in 
the  south  in  the  territory  of  Caqueta,  there  are  huge  primeval  forests  or 
selvas.  The  soil  is  generally  river  alluvium,  which  conceals  the  Tertiary 
strata.  The  great  rivers  in  the  north,  including  the  Meta  and  Guaviare, 
flow  to  the  Orinoco,  and  further  south  to  the  Amazon,  whose  tributaries 
include  the  upper  Rio  Negro,  the  Caqueta  or  Yapura,  Putumayo  or  lea, 
and,  in  the  extreme  south,  the  Napo. 

Climate. — The  climate  corresponds  generally  to  the  purely  tropical  posi- 
tion of  the  country,  but  on  account 
of  the  great  elevations  in  the  west, 
it  presents  many  varieties.  Four 
typical  gradations  of  climate  can 
be  recognised  in  a  vertical  direction 
before  coming  to  the  region  of  per- 
petual snow  on  the  summits  of  the 
two  highest  mountains.  These  are 
(i)  the  Tierra  Caliente,  or  hot  region, 
in  the  low  ground  of  the  north- 
west, the  large  river  valleys,  and  the 

great  plains  of  the  east ;  this  zone 

FiG.  304. — Diagram  of  Andean  Climate  Zones. 
reaches  to  about  3,000  feet  above 

sea-level,  a  mean  annual  temperature  of  from  83°  to  75°  F.  prevails,  and  the 
products  of  the  soil  are  purely  tropical.  (2)  The  Tierra  Templada,  or  tempe- 


Paramos 


10,000  ft. 


Tierra  Fria 


lierra 


aoooft 


826       The  International  Geography 

ate  region,  on  the  lower  elevations,  the  foot-hills,  and  many  of  the  upper  river- 
valleys  extends  from  about  3,000  to  6,500  feet ;  the  mean  temperature  is 
from  75°  to  65°  F.,  and  maize  and  coffee  predominate  as  products.  (3)  The 
Tierra  Fria,  or  cold  region,  on  the  high  plains  and  in  many  mountain  districts 
of  the  Cordillera,  extends  from  6,500  to  10,000  feet,  with  mean  temperatures 
from  65°  to  54°  F.  (Bogota  for  example,  at  an  elevation  of  about  8,200  feet, 
has  a  mean  temperature  of  58°  F.).  Wheat,  vegetables  and  northern  fruits 
are  cultivated  in  this  zone.  (4)  The  Paramos,  the  bleak,  stormy,  and  almost 
uninhabited  region  of  the  mountains  from  10,000  to  over  13,000  feet,  prin- 
cipally in  the  Eastern  Cordillera,  have  a  mean  temperature  from  54°  to 
43°  F.  Trees  are  often  found  near  the  lower  limits  of  this  zone,  but  the 
typical  Paramos  begin  above  the  tree  line. 

The  rainfall  in  the  north  and  east,  as  far  as  the  Guaviare,  occurs  mainly 
in  two  rainy  seasons  (April  to  June  and  September  to  December)  separated 
by  two  dry  seasons,  in  the  north  tropical  rainfall  district ;  while  in  the 
remaining  districts  one  of  the  dry  seasons  (that  in  July)  diminishes  more 
and  more,  and  the  final  result  is  that  the  year  is  divided  into  one  extended 
rainy  season  (Invierno),  and  the  principal  dry  season  (Verano)  in  the  equa- 
torial rainfall  region,  where  the  primeval  forest  takes  the  place  of  the 
savannas  in  the  plain. 

Flora  and  Fauna. — Corresponding  with  the  climatic  zones  and  the 
complex  conditions  of  the  surface,  the  flora  is  unusually  rich  and  varied, 
it  bears,  generally  speaking,  the  character  of  the  South  American  floral 
region.  In  the  woods  of  the  hot,  low  plain  there  is  a  great  abundance  of 
leafy  trees  and  many  varieties  of  palms  ;  extensive  bamboo  thickets  (gua- 
duas)  fill  many  of  the  river  valleys,  ivory  nuts  (Phytelephas)  and  dividivi  wood 
(Caesalpinia  coriacea),  royal  palms  (Oreodoxa  regia]  and  coco-nut  palms  are 
widespread.  Other  varieties  of  palm,  together  with  many  tree  ferns,  are 
found  in  the  mountain  forests,  and  higher  up  the  cinchona  tree.  Lastly,  in 
the  misty  region  from  8,500  to  10,000  feet  on  the  Quindiu  Pass,  there  grow 
the  lofty  wax  palm  (Ceroxylon  andicold) ;  a  few  epiphytes,  principally 
varieties  of  orchids,  parasites,  and  ferns  live  on  the  high  forest  trees. 
On  the  Paramos  there  are  beautiful  flowering  shrubs,  innumerable 
"frailejons"  (Espeletia  and  Culcitium)  and  certain  grasses  and  similar 
plants  which  show  many  interesting  adaptations  to  the  rough  mountain 
climate. 

The  fauna  is  typically  South  American  with  a  number  of  Central 
American  forms  in  the  mountains.  It  includes  amongst  the  mammalia, 
monkeys,  the  ounce  and  puma,  tapir,  capybary,  the  manatee  in  the  Magdalena 
and  Atrato  rivers,  the  ant-eater,  armadillo  and  opossum.  The  country  is 
particularly  rich  in  birds,  amongst  which  humming  birds,  parrots  and  the 
toucan  may  be  mentioned.  Caymans,  tortoises,  very  numerous  lizards 
and  snakes,  toads  of  great  size,  particularly  in  the  hot  region,  and 
many  fish  are  found  in  the  Atrato  and  Magdalena.  Large  spiders, 
scorpions,  and  centipedes  are  common,  and  the  insect  life  is  extraordinarily 


Colombia  827 


rich  in  large  and  beautiful  butterflies,  innumerable  ants,  locusts,  and 
grasshoppers,  and  such  plagues  of  humanity  as  zancudos,  mosquitos,  fleas 
and  bugs. 

People  and  History. — Before  the  Spanish  conquest,  which  took 
place  between  1536  and  1560,  Colombia  was  inhabited  by  numerous  Indian 
tribes,  of  whom  the  Chibchas  inhabiting  the  eastern  high  plains,  were  akin 
to  the  Quichuas  of  Peru.  Besides  the  written  sources  of  information,  the 
numerous  discoveries  in  the  Central  and  Western  Cordillera  of  graves  con- 
taining gold,  stone  and  clay  utensils,  are  of  special  importance.  The 
civilised  Indians  of  the  Eastern  Cordillera,  still  form  an  important  con- 
stituent of  the  population  in  the  east  and  south  of  Colombia.  Indios  bravos, 
that  is  uncivilised  tribes,  are  now  found  principally  in  the  eastern  plains, 
the  northern  mountains,  particularly  in  Santander  and  in  the  Sierra  Nevada 
de  Santa  Marta  (Arhuacos),  in  the  Guajira  peninsula  (Guajiros),  in  the 
primeval  forests  of  the  Cordilleras  of  Choco,  and  to  ft_ 
some  extent  in  western  Antioquia.  In  the  extreme 
south  the  Indians  closely  approach  to  the  Quichua 
type.  The  bulk  of  the  present  inhabitants  are  the 
descendants  of  the  invading  Spaniards,  who  mixed 
with  the  Indians  as  well  as  with  the  negroes  intro- 
duced as  slaves  from  Africa.  A  great  part  of  the 
original  Indian  population  was  killed  out  by  perse-  FIG.  395.— The  Colombian 
cution.  The  negroes  and  mulattoes  form  a  large 

fraction  of  the  population  of  the  hot  region.  The  predominant  language 
everywhere  is  Spanish,  and  the  religion  Roman  Catholic  ;  with  an  arch- 
bishop in  Bogota  and  nine  bishops. 

The  Spaniards  founded  in  1547  the  Captain-Generalship  of  New 
Granada,  which  became  a  Vice-royalty  in  1718.  Independence  from  Spain 
was  secured  between  1810  and  1819,  when  Bolivar  united  New  Granada 
with  Venezuela,  and  in  1822  Ecuador  was  added  to  the  union.  This  large 
republic  of  Colombia  lasted  only  a  few  years ;  in  1829  Venezuela  sepa- 
rated, and  in  1830  Ecuador  followed  its  example.  The  constitution  of 
the  country  has  frequently  changed  since  1831,  when  it  was  known  as 
the  Republic  of  New  Grenada  ;  in  1857  its  eight  States  formed  the  Grena- 
dine Confederation;  in  1861  it  was  the  United  States  of  Colombia  with 
nine  States.  In  1886  the  present  republic,  with  its  capital  at  Bogota,  was 
formed,  and  in  1903  the  province  of  Panama  broke  off  under  the  guar. 
antee  of  the  United  States.  These  provinces  are  Cundinamarca  containing 
the  capital,  Boyaca,  SantandeY,  Magdalena  in  the  north-east,  Bolivar  in 
the  north,  Tolima  and  Antioquia  in  the  centre,  Cauca  on  the  west,  and 
Panama;  the  formerly  independent  territories  of  the  thinly-peopled 
eastern  plain  are  divided  between  Cauca  and  Cundinamarca.  Each  pro- 
vince has  its  own  financial  administration.  The  central  government 
consists  of  a  President,  seven  responsible  Ministers,  a  Senate  of  twenty- 
seven  members,  each  department  being  represented  by  three,  and  the 


828       The  International  Geography 

Chamber  of  Deputies,  who  number  68,  one  being  elected  for  every  50,000 
inhabitants. 

Productions,  Commerce  and  Towns, — As  a  rule  the  soil  is  culti- 
vated only  for  the  domestic  supply,  but  recently  the  coffee  plantations  of 
Santander  and  Antioquia  have  acquired  some  importance  for  export.  The 
principal  plants  grown  in  the  hot  region  are  sugar-cane,  bananas  and 
cacao  ;  maize,  coffee  and  yucca  in  the  temperate  ;  and  wheat,  vegetables 
and  fruit  in  the  cool  region.  Tobacco  is  an  important  crop  near  Ambalema 
in  Cundinamarca,  and  great  herds  of  cattle  are  kept  on  the  llanos,  in  the 
Cauca  district,  and  elsewhere.  There  is  a  certain  amount  of  mining,  in- 
cluding gold,  particularly  in  Antioquia,  silver,  copper,  iron,  salt  and  coal, 
while  emeralds  of  great  value  are  found  near  Muzo  in  Santander.  Industry 
is  as  yet  little  developed  and  practically  is  confined  to  articles  for  home  use ; 
most  necessaries  of  life  have  to  be  imported,  including  even  flour.  Trade 
is  much  hindered  on  account  of  the  bad  means  of  communication. 
There  are  only  about  250  miles  of  railway,  and  almost  no  roads,  only  mule 
tracks  and  footpaths  with  far  too  few  good  bridges.  Education  is  in  a 
neglected  condition ;  the  province  of  Antioquia  is  the  best  supplied  with 
schools.  Progress  has  been  greatly  retarded  by  the  frequency  of  civil  wars 
and  changes  of  government. 

The  population  is  principally  concentrated  on  the  mountains  and  high 
plains  of  the  Eastern  and  Central  Cordilleras,  and  the  upper  Cauca  basin  ; 
and  also,  of  course,  in  the  seaports.  The  only  large 
town  is  the  loftily  situated  Bogota.  The  principal 
harbours  are  on  the  north  coast ;  on  the  thinly- 
peopled  west  coast  Panama  and  Buenaventura  were 
alone  of  importance.  The  fine  and  strongly  fortified 
harbour  of  Cartagena  formerly  carried  on  a  great 
trade  with  the  interior,  but  now  the  "  Queen  of  the 
Indies"  is  thrown  into  the  shade  by  Barranquilla  on 


?IG  396—  Average  pop- 
ulation  of  a  square  the  Magdalena,  and  its  sea-harbour,  Sabanilla,  now 
mile  of  Colombia.  called  Puerto  Colombia.  In  1890  two-thirds  of  the 
imports  passed  through  Barranquilla,  and  the  Magdalena  remains  the 
principal  artery  of  trade,  although  its  navigability  leaves  much  to  be 
desired,  and  vessels  ascend  only  as  far  as  the  neighbourhood  of  Honda. 
The  well-peopled  western  portion  of  Colombia  is  also  reached  by  the 
Cauca,  the  largest  tributary  of  the  Magdalena,  and  by  the  Atrato  which 
flows  into  the  Gulf  of  Uraba  (Darien),  and  is  navigable  throughout  almost 
its  whole  length  to  Llord.  The  statistics  of  Colombia  are  very  unsatisfactory. 
In  Panama  the  railway  from  Colon  to  Panama,  about  45  miles  long,  is 
important  for  transit  trade  from  one  ocean  to  another.  A  great  canal  designed 
to  allow  vessels  to  cross  the  isthmus  was  commenced  in  1881  by  a  French 
company,  but  abandoned  after  immense  financial  loss.  The  work  has  now 
been  undertaken  by  the  United  States  Government  with  every  prospect  of 
success. 


Ecuador  829 

STATISTICS. 

Density  of  Population 

Province.                                       Area  in  sq.  miles.           Population.  per  sq.  mile. 

Antioquia       22,790       ..  ..       465,000  20 

Bolivar            27,040        . .  . .        945,250  9 

Boyaca            33,320        ..  ..        517,000  16 

Cauca  (including  Caqueta  Ter.)         . .      257,480       . .  . .       460,000  2 

Cundinamarca (including  San  Martin  Ter.)  79,700       ..  ..       537,500  7 

Magdalena 26,950        ..  ..        137,500  5 

Santander       16,290       . .  . .        432,000  27 

Tolima            18,440        ..  ..        305,250  17 

Colombia 482,010       ..        ..    3,099,500       ..        ..         6*5 

Population  of  Bogota 120,000 

Medellin  40,000 

Barranquilla 40,000 

ANNUAL  TRADE  (in  pounds  sterling)  1891-95. 

Imports        2,500,000 

Exports        3,400,000 

REPUBLIC  OF  PANAMA. 
Area,  31,570  sq.  miles.     Population,  340,000.     Density  of  population,  n  per  sq.  mile. 

STANDARD   BOOKS. 

F.  Regel.     "Colombia."    Berlin,  1898. 

A.  Hettner.     "  Reisen  in  der  Kolumbianischen  Anden."    Leipzig,  1888. 

"  Die  Kordillere  von  Bogota  "  (Erganzungsheft  No.  104  zu  Petermanns 

Mitteilungen).     Gotha,  1892. 
Rothlisberger.     "El  Dorado."    Bern,  1898. 

F.  Perez.     "  Geografia  General  Fisica  y  Politica."     2  edicion.     Bogota,  1883. 
F.  J.  Vergara  y  Velasco.     "  Nueva  Geografia  de  Colombia.     Tom.  i.     Bogota,  1902. 


H—  ECUADOR 

[Bv  SIR  CLEMENTS  R.  MARKHAM,  K.C.B.,  F.R.S. 

Position. — The  three  republics  of  Ecuador,  Peru  and  Bolivia,  on  the 
western  side  of  South  America,  occupy  the  territory  which  once  com- 
prised the  empire  of  the  Incas.  The  great  chain  of  the  Andes  forms  their 
backbone,  and  includes  the  principal  part  of  all  three  countries.  All  three 
contain  vast  forest-covered  territory  to  the  east  of  the  Andes,  and  the  two 
first  also  include  a  coast  region  between  the  mountains  and  the  Pacific 
Ocean.  The  general  configuration  is  the  same,  and  they  may  be  con- 
sidered as  one  division  of  the  continent,  each  divided  into  three  very 
distinct  regions,  the  Andes,  the  Coast,  and  the  Montana  or  eastern  forests. 
Ecuador,  as  the  name  implies,  is  crossed  by  the  equator,  and  it  includes 
the  equatorial  group  of  the  Galapagos  Islands  in  the  Pacific. 

The  Andes  of  Ecuador. — The  Andes  form  two  chains  of  mountains, 
the  eastern  being  composed  of  gneiss  and  schists,  with  some  granite  in  the 
south  ;  and  the  western  of  porphyritic  rocks,  diorite  and  greenstone.  The 
ranges  are  connected  by  mountain  knots  which  divide  the  plateau  between 
them  into  ten  basins,  much  broken  by  spurs  and  ravines,  but  sometimes  con- 
taining plains  of  considerable  extent.  Their  drainage  generally  finds  its 
way  to  the  Pacific,  but  in  four  places  rivers  force  their  way  through  the 


830      The  International   Geography 


main  eastern  chain  and  join  the  Amazon.  The  great  volcanic  eruptions, 
which  form  so  prominent  a  feature  of  the  Andes,  have  thrown  up  magnifi- 
cent peaks,  and  so  overlaid  the  original  formations  by  volcanic  rocks  that 
the  earlier  ranges  are  almost  obliterated,  except  in  the  south.  The  loftiest 
peak  of  Chimborazo,  20,498  feet  above  the  sea,  overlooks  the  coast  region  ; 
but,  with  this  exception,  the  grandest  snowy  masses  are  on  the  eastern 
chain,  including  Cotopaxi  (19,613  feet),  Antisana  (19,335  feet),  and  Cayambe 

(19,186  feet).  The  vol- 
canoes of  Cotopaxi,  Tun- 
garagua  (16,690  feet)  and 
Sangai  (17,464)  are  still 
active,  and  are  by  far  the 
loftiest  active  volcanoes 
in  the  world  ;  while  Pich- 
incha,  overhanging  the 
city  of  Quito  (15,918  feet), 
has  only  been  dormant 
since  1660.  The  average 
height  of  the  Andes  of 
Ecuador  is  11,400  feet,  and 
that  of  the  habitable  basins 
between  the  ridges  about 
8,000  feet. 

The  Andean  Basin. 
— From  the  most  northern 
basin,  that  of  Ibarra, 
streams  flow  westward  to 
form  the  Mira,  the  bound- 
ing river,  in  the  coast 
region,  between  Colom- 
bia and  Ecuador.  The 
lake  of  San  Pablo,  nine 
miles  long  in  this  basin,  is 
the  only  large  lake  in  the 
Andes  of  Ecuador.  The 
next  basin  to  the  south, 
that  of  Quito,  is  watered 
by  streams  forming  the 

river  Guallabamba,  a  tributary  of  the  Esmeraldas,  which  traverses  the 
coast  region  and  falls  into  the  Pacific.  The  two  basins  of  Latacunga  and 
Riobamba  are  watered  by  streams  uniting  to  form  the  Pastaza,  which  crosses 
the  eastern  chain  through  a  narrow  ravine,  and,  forming  a  sublime  cataract, 
dashes  down  a  profound  gorge  into  the  Amazonian  plain.  Here  there  is 
some  of  the  grandest  scenery  in  the  world.  The  rivers  Caute  and  Zamora, 
draining  the  basins  of  Cuenca  and  Loxa,  also  find  their  way  through  the 


THE  ANDES 

of 

ECUADOR 

aflvr   Wolf. 


FlG.  397.— The  Andean  Basins  of  Ecuador. 


Ecuador  831 


eastern  chain.  A  spur  from  the  Western  Cordillera  runs  parallel  with  the 
main  range  for  60  miles,  commencing  to  the  north  of  Chimborazo,  and 
forms  a  valley  down  which  the  river  Chimbo  flows  southward,  and  unites 
with  the  Chanchan  coming  from  the  Alausi  basin,  and  both  unite  to  join 
the  Guayas.  The  Canar  (Naranjal)  and  Jubones  basins  send  rivers  of  the 
same  names  to  the  Gulf  of  Guayaquil,  and  the  most  southern  Zaruma  basin 
is  drained  by  the  river  Tumbez,  which  separates  Peru  from  Ecuador  on  the 
coast.  Other  rivers  flow  from  the  outer  slopes  of  the  Andes,  such  as  the 
Ventanas  and  Doule  to  the  Pacific  coast,  and  the  great  river  Napo  on  the 
eastern  slope  of  Cotopaxi. 

The  Coast  Belt.— The  Pacific  Coast  of  Ecuador,  which  extends  from 
i^°  N.  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mira,  to  3^°  S.  near  the  mouth  of  the  Tumbez, 
presents  two  entirely  different  aspects.  From  the  Mira  river  to  a  short 
distance  south  of  the  equator  it  is  clothed  with  dense  tropical  vegetation, 
and  some  of  the  reaches  of  the  river  Esmeraldas  present  scenes  of 
surpassing  beauty.  To  the  south  vegetation  is  stunted  and  the  coast 
becomes  barren.  In  the  interior  of  the  coast  region,  which  is  about  80 
miles  wide,  up  to  the  foot  of  the  Andes,  there  are  long  spurs,  and  an 
isolated  chain  of  hills  of  Cretaceous  formation.  The  great  feature  of  the 
coast  is  the  gulf  of  Guayaquil  at  the  extreme  south,  with  its  large  island  of 
Puna.  The  river  system  of  Guayas  converges  to  form  a  large  estuary  on 
its  north  side,  and  the  vegetation  again  becomes  rich.  Along  the  shore  of 
the  Canal  de  Jambali,  on  the  east  side  of  the  gulf,  there  is  a  very  fertile 
district  famous  for  its  cacao  plantations,  but  the  desert  again  commences 
on  the  south  side. 

The  Amazonian  Slope.— The  spurs  from  the  Eastern  Andes  gradu- 
ally subside  into  .the  vast  forest-covered  Amazonian  plain  which,  within 
the  limits  of  Ecuador,  is  traversed  by  the  rivers  Napo,  Pastaza,  Santiago 
and  Tigre.  The  boundary  with  Peru  in  this  direction  is  unsettled.  Ecua- 
dor claims  as  far  as  the  mouths  of  the  rivers  in  the  Amazon  (Maranon), 
while  the  Peruvians  maintain  that  the  courses  of  the  rivers  as  far  as  they 
are  navigable  belong  to  them. 

Climate  and  Vegetation. — The  temperature  on  the  low  ground  is 
•very  high,  the  annual  average  at  Guayaquil  being  82°  F.  On  the  Andean 
basins  the  great  height  moderates  the  heat,  the  mean  annual  temperature  at 
Quito  (over  9,000  feet)  being  55^°  F.  (Fig.  392).  There  and  on  the  western 
slope  a  hot,  wet  season  lasts  from  December  to  May,  with  March  as  the 
wettest  month.  The  eastern-  slopes  are  subject  to  the  heavy  rainfall  brought 
across  the  Amazonian  plain  by  the  trade  winds. 

The  northern  part  of  the  coast  region  is  covered  with  magnificent 
forests,  and  here  the  Castilloa  kind  of  india-rubber  is  found.  On  the 
banks  of  the  Guayas  system  of  rivers  vegetation  is  also  rich  ;  while  on  the 
western  slopes  of  the  mountains  there  are  great  varieties  of  flowering 
shrubs.  This,  too,  is  the  home  of  the  Red  Bark  tree,  the  richest  in  alkaloids 
of  all  the  Cmchonae.  The  eastern  forests  abound  in  graceful  palms  of 


832      The  International  Geography 


FIG.   398.— The  Flag  of 
Ecuador. 


many  kinds,  enormous  forest  trees,  many  of  them  yielding  valuable  woods ; 
and  in  the  forests  of  Loja  are  the  famous  trees  of  Cinchona  officinalis  (or 
Condaminea),  the  first  species  that  was  used  for  the  cure  of  fever.  In 
the  basins  of  the  Andes,  from  their  great  elevation,  the  vegetation  is 
scanty,  chiefly  consisting  of  Compositae,  and  on  sandy  tracts  the  cactus  and 
the  agave  grow. 

People  and  History. — The  natives  of  the  Andes  of  Ecuador  are 
of  a  race  closely  allied  to  the  Inca  Indians  of  Peru, 
copper  coloured,  with  long  straight  hair,  no  beards, 
black  eyes,  and  wide  faces  with  large  mouths. 
They  are  broad  shouldered,  with  great  powers  of 
endurance  as  travellers,  and  strong  as  carriers. 
Owing  to  long  ages  of  oppression  they  are  melan- 
holy,  phlegmatic  and  taciturn.  In  the  eastern 
forests  there  are  numerous  wandering  tribes  of  a 
different  race.  Chief  among  them,  in  numbers  and 
importance,  are  the  Jeveros,  a  warlike,  brave  and  astute  people  who 
can  tolerate  no  yoke ;  they  are  cultivators  as  well  as  hunters,  and  range 
between  the  rivers  Pastaza  and  Santiago.  The  Zaparos,  in  the  basin  of 
the  Napo,  are  less  warlike  and  of  different  race,  their  physiogonomy  being 
Mongolian  ;  separate  branches  of  the  tribe  are  composed  of  fishermen, 
hunters  and  cultivators.  Apart  from  the  aboriginal  Indians  the  popula- 
tion consists  of  Creoles  of  more  or  less  pure  Spanish  descent,  negroes, 
mulattoes,  and  mixed  races  who  speak  Spanish  ;  but  at  least  two-thirds  of 
the  inhabitants  of  Ecuador  are  Indians,  speaking  the  Quichua  language. 
Almost  all  the  inhabitants  are  of  Roman  Catholic  faith,  and  education  is 
much  neglected.  Originally  an  independent  people 
under  their  own  "Scyris"  or  kings,  they  had  their 
capital  at  Quito.  These  Indians  were  conquered  in 
about  1450  A.D.  by  the  Incas,  who  introduced  large 
colonies  from  Peru  and  enforced  the  use  of  the 
Quichua  language.  In  1534  the  Spaniards  arrived  in 
the  country,  and  from  1564  Quito  was  governed  by  a 
President  of  the  Court  of  Justice,  under  the  Viceroy 
of  Peru.  In  1729  the  Presidency  of  Quito  was 
placed  under  the  newly  created  Viceroyalty  of  New 
Granada,  and  so  it  continued  until  independence  of  Spain  was  secured  by 
the  victory  of  Pichincha  on  May  22,  1822.  For  eight  years  it  was  part  of 
the  great  Republic  of  Colombia,  but  in  1830  it  commenced  a  separate 
existence  under  the  name  of  the  Republic  of  Ecuador,  with  its  capital  at 
Quito. 

Productions. — There  are  no  manufactures  of  any  consequence, 
Panama  hats  being  the  chief  manufactured  export.  Wheat  and  barley 
are  grown  in  the  Andean  basins,  but  only  sufficient  for  home  consumption, 
cereals  being  imported  from  abroad  for  the  use  of  Guayaquil  and  the 


FIG.  399-— Average  pop- 
ulation of  a  square 
mile  of  Eucador. 


Ecuador  833 


coast.  Cattle  are  raised  in  some  districts,  and  maize  is  largely  used. 
There  are  large  cacao  estates  on  the  east  side  of  the  bay  of  Guayaquil 
and  on  the  banks  of  some  of  the  tributaries  of  the  Guayas,  and  some 
coffee  is  also  raised.  The  chief  article  of  export  is  cacao,  then  follow 
Cinchona  bark,  sarsaparilla,  Panama  hats,  india-rubber,  coffee,  hides  and 
sugar.  There  are  some  gold  workings  in  the  basin  of  Zaruma,  and  there 
were  formerly  gold  washings  in  the  eastern  streams,  but  minerals  scarcely 
figure  in  the  customs  returns.  There  is  steam  and  boat  communication  on 
the  Guayas  and  its  tributaries,  and  a  railroad  from  Duran,  opposite  to 
Guayaquil,  passes  Chimbo,  and  is  being  extended  towards  Quito.  The 
roads  in  the  interior  are  merely  tracks  formed  by  the  traffic. 

Divisions  and  Towns. — The  republic  of  Ecuador  is  divided  into 
eleven  provinces  in  the  Andes,  corresponding  with  the  basins  already 
enumerated,  and  four  on  the  coast.  North  of  Quito  are  the  two  provinces 
of  Carchi  and  Imbabura,  with  capitals  called  Tulcan  and  Ibarra,  both 
small  towns.  Quito  is  in  the  province  of  Pichincha,  at  an  elevation  of  over 
9,000  feet,  and  possesses  the  usual  public  buildings  of  a  national  capital. 
South  of  Pichincha  come  the  provinces  of  Leon  with  the  town  of 
Latacunga,  Tungaragua  with  the  town  of  Ambato,  and  Chimborazo  with 
Riobamba.  South  of  Chimborazo  is  the  province  of  Bolivar,  with  Guaranda 
as  its  capital ;  and  the  province  of  Cafiar,  containing  very  interesting 
Inca  ruins,  has  two  towns,  Azoques  and  Canar.  The  three  most  southern 
provinces  are  Azuay,  with  the  large  and  charmingly  situated  town  of 
Cuenca;  Loja,  with  the  town  of  the  same  name;  and  Oro,  where  gold 
mining  has  been  commenced  round  the  little  town  of  Zaruma.  Each  of 
the  Andean  towns  occupies  the  central  position  in  a  lofty  but  habitable 
basin  surrounded  by  mountains.  The  four  eoast  provinces  are  Los  Rios, 
with  the  Bodegas  de  Babahoyo  as  capital ;  Guayas,  with  the  great  port  of 
Guayaquil ;  Manabi,  and  Esmeraldas.  Finally  the  Oriental  province  com- 
prises the  vast  forest-covered  region  to  the  eastward  of  the  Andes. 

The  great  geographical  interest  attaching  to  Ecuador,  the  classic 
ground  of  Condamine  and  Humboldt,  lies  in  the  magnificent  series  of  lofty 
active  and  extinct  volcanoes.  To  the  antiquary  it  is  a  region  very  inte- 
resting from  the  remains  of  a  past  indigenous  civilisation.  Rich  in  all 
the  varied  products  of  the  temperate  and  tropical  zones,  it  is  a  country  of 
magnificent  future  possibilities,  but  needing  population  for  its  development. 

STATISTICS   (Estimates). 

Area  of  Ecuador  (square  miles)         120,000 

Population  of  Ecuador 1,300,000 

„               Guayaquil          50,000 

„               Quito       40,000 

Cuenca 25,000 

„               Riobamba          12,000 

Value  of  Exports  in  pounds  sterling 1,400,000 

„        Imports         „               „       1,200,000 

STANDARD  BOOKS. 

T.  Wolf.    "  Geografia  y  Geologia  del  Ecuador."    Leipzig,  1893. 

E.  Whymper.    "  Travels  amongst  the  Great  Andes  of  the  Equator."    London,  1892. 


834       The  International  Geography 

m.-PERTJ 

BY  SIR  CLEMENTS  R.  MARKHAM,  K.C.B.,  F.R.S. 

Coast  Region.— Peru,  like  Ecuador,  is  divided  into  three  well-marked 
regions,  the  Coast,  the  Sierra,  or  region  of  the  Andes,  and  the  Montana,  or 
tropical  forest  within  the  basin  of  the  Amazon.  The  strip  of  land  between 
the  Pacific  and  the  Andes,  averaging  20  miles  in  width,  consists  of  a  desert 
traversed  at  intervals  by  rivers.  Its  coast  extends  from  3^°  to  18°  S.,  and 
trends  south-south-east  and  south-east  from  81°  W.  at  Point  Parima  to 
70°  W.  The  absence  of  rain  on  the  coast  of  Peru  is  caused  by  the  action 
of  the  lofty  wall  of  the  Andes  on  the  trades,  wringing  from  those  winds  the 
last  particle  of  moisture  that  a  very  low  temperature  can  extract.  Dry 
winds  consequently  descend  the  western  mountain  slopes  to  the  coast. 
The  constantly  prevailing  wind  on  the  coast  is  from  the  south,  and  a  cold 
ocean  current  flows  from  the  same  direction.  From  November  to  April 
there  is  usually  dryness  on  the  coast,  with  a  clear  sky,  but  from  June  to 
September  the  sky  is  obscured  for  weeks  together  by  mist,  which  is 
often  accompanied  by  drizzling  rain.  The  wind  never  exceeds  a  gentle 
breeze  all  through  the  year.  When  it  is  hottest  and  driest  on  the 
coast,  it  is  raining  heavily  in  the  Andes,  and  the  rivers  are  full.  When 
the  rivers  are  at  their  lowest,  the  mists  and  drizzling  rain  prevail  on 
the  coast. 

The  surface  of  the  deserts  between  the  rivers  is  generally  hard,  but  there 
are  often  accumulations  of  drifting  sand  in  the  form  of  half-moon  shaped 
dunes  called  medanos,  convex  towards  the  trade  winds.  When  the  mists 
set  in  the  low  barren  hills,  near  the  coast,  called  lomas,  are  covered  with  a 
blooming  vegetation  of  wild  flowers.  In  hollows  which  are  reached  by 
moisture,  the  desert  supports  a  few  trees,  such  as  the  algaroba  (Prosopis 
horrida).  A  striking  contrast  to  the  desert  is  afforded  by  the  banks  of  the 
rivers,  rich  with  groups  of  palms,  fine  old  willow  trees,  fruit  gardens,  and 
wide  expanses  of  sugar-cane,  cotton,  or  vineyards. 

The  Andean  Region. — The  Peruvian  Andes  increase  in  height  from 
north  to  south.  The  mountain  system  consists  of  three  ranges.  The 
Maritime  and  Central  Cordilleras,  running  parallel  and  near  each  other  on 
the  western  side,  are  of  identical  origin,  and  on  them  are  the  volcanoes  and 
many  thermal  springs.  But  the  great  Eastern  Cordillera,  properly  called 
the  Andes,  is  distinct.  The  narrow  space  between  the  maritime  and 
central  chain  is  for  the  most  part  a  cold  and  lofty  tract  known  as  the  Funa. 
The  Sierra  is  the  much  wider  region  between  the  central  and  eastern 
chains,  consisting  of  lofty  spurs,  wide  plains,  valleys  and  deep  ravines. 
The  Eastern  Cordillera  is  a  magnificent  continuous  range,  in  great  part  of 
Silurian  formation,  with  talcose  and  clay  slates,  and  intrusions  of  granitic 
rocks.  It  is  cut  through  by  six  rivers  in  Peru,  namely  the  Marafion, 


Peru  835 


Huallaga,  Mantaro,  Apurimac,  Vilcamayu  and  Paurcartambo,  the  four  last 
being  tributaries  of  the  Ucayali,  a  main  affluent  of  the  Amazon.  The 
Central  Cordillera  is  not  cut  through  by  any  river,  although  several  sources 
of  coast  streams  are  to  the  eastward  of  the  line  of  highest  peaks.  It,  how- 
ever, forms  an  unbroken  water  parting.  It  consists  of  crystalline  and 
volcanic  rocks,  with  Jurassic  strata,  often  thrown  up  almost  vertically,  on 
its  flanks.  The  Maritime  Cordillera  is  of  the  same  formation,  the  two 
lines  being  merely  separated  by  erosion.  The  habitable  tracts  within  the 
Cordilleras  are  from  5,000  to  12,500  feet  above  the  sea  ;  and  the  average 
height  of  the  Puna  and  lofty  ridges  is  from  12,500  to  14,500  feet ;  the 
peaks  rising  to  from  16,000  to  19,000  feet. 

Rivers  of  the  Andes. — At  the  frontier  of  Ecuador  the  Maritime 
Cordillera  is  of  moderate  height,  but  rises  further  south,  and  for  350 
miles  it  forms  the  western  side  of  the  basin  of  the  Marafion,  which 
rises  in  the  lake  of  Lauricocha,  on  the  inner  slope  of  the  Central  Cordil- 
lera. The  river  forces  its  way  through  the  eastern  chain  at  the  famous 
rapids  called  the  Pongo  de  Manseriche.  The  Huallaga,  following 
a  parallel  course  between  the  Central  and  Eastern  Cordilleras,  forces  its 
way  out  at  the  Salta  de  Aguirre,  and  joins  the  Marafion.  In  this 
northern  section  of  the  Peruvian  Andes  the  central  chain  attains  a 
height  of  20,000  feet.  Here  the  river  Santa  rises  in  the  alpine  lake 
of  Conococha  at  10,000  feet,  and  flows  northward  down  a  gorge  be- 
tween the  central  and  maritime  chains  for  a  hundred  miles,  then  turns 
west,  cuts  through  the  mountains  at  a  height  of  9,000  feet,  and  reaches 
the  coast.  This  is  the  remarkable  Callejon  de  Huaylas,  analogous 
to  the  valley  of  Chimbo  in  Ecuador.  South  of  the  sources  of  the  two 
great  rivers  Maranon  and  Huallaga,  the  mountain  knot  of  Cerro  de 
Pasco,  in  10°  48'  S.,  unites  the  three  Cordilleras  which  to  the  south 
become  loftier  and  more  closely  denned.  From  the  knot  of  Cerro  de 
Pasco  to  the  knot  of  Vilcanota  in  14°  S.  the  Andean  region  is  drained  by 
the  tributaries  of  the  Ucayali.  The  rivers  sometimes  cut  profound  gorges, 
but  generally  they  form  fertile  valleys,  with  grassy  mountain  slopes.  The 
source  of  the  Apurimac,  an  affluent  of  the  Ucayali,  is  the  most  distant  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Amazon,  but  the  Maranon  has  the  greatest  volume,  and 
the  lake  of  Lauricocha,  where  it  rises,  must,  therefore,  be  acknowledged  as 
the  true  source  of  the  mightiest  river  in  the  world. 

Beyond  the  knot  of  Vilcanota  is  the  basin  of  Lake  Titicaca,  which 
extends  into  Bolivia,  and  has  a  total  area  of  16,000  square  miles.  This 
basin  is  so  lofty  that  the  vegetation  is  scanty,  the  lake  itself  being  12,545 
feet  above  the  sea.  The  northern  part  is  drained  to  the  lake  by  a  number 
of  rivers  flowing  over  grassy  plains,  separated  by  low  ranges. 

The  Amazonian  Region.— The  tropical  forests  of  Peru,  within  the 
Amazonian  basin,  are  traversed  by  the  great  navigable  rivers  flowing  from 
the  Andes,  the  Maranon,  Huallaga,  Ucayali,  Yavari,  and  Madre  de  Dios. 
The  region  is  naturally  divided  into  two  sections,  the  subtropical  forests 


836       The  International  Geography 

in  the  ravines  and  on  the  slopes  of  the  Andes,  and  the  denser  tropical 
vegetation  in  the  plains. 

People  and  History. — The  races  of  Peru  are  very  distinct  in  the 
three  main  divisions.  The  Inca  Indians  occupying  the  Andean  regions, 
and  speaking  the  Quichua  language,  in  1876  made  up  57  per  cent,  of  the 
whole  population,  and  the  half-castes  23  per  cent.  On  the  coast  there  was 
once  a  race  with  a  peculiar  language  and  civilisation,  but  it  is  nearly 
extinct,  and  the  population  now  consists  of  negroes  and  Chinese.  The 
Creoles  of  Spanish  descent  are  chiefly  in  the  cities  of  the  coast,  but  they 
are  also  established  in  the  towns  of  the  interior,  and  they  all  use  the 
Spanish  language.  The  wild  Indian  tribes  in  the 
eastern  forests  are  calculated  as  including  350,000 
people.  The  empire  of  the  Incas,  with  its  capital  at 
Cuzco,  was  founded  early  in  the  eleventh  century, 
and  had  flourished  for  more  than  four  centuries, 
gradually  extending  its  conquests  and  absorbing  the 
numerous  tribes,  when  Pizarro  arrived  on  the  coast. 

FIG.  4oo.-Average  pop  After  the  conquest  Peru  formed  the  centre  of  a  large 
uiation  of  a  square  Spanish  viceroyalty,  with  its  capital  at  Lima  near 
mile  of  Peru.  the  coagt  A  great  but  yain  effort  wag  made  JQ 

1780-82  by  the  Inca  Indians  to  throw  off  the  Spanish  yoke.  The  indepen- 
dence of  Peru  was  proclaimed  at  Lima  on  July  28,  1821,  and  was  secured 
by  the  complete  defeat  of  the  Spanish  Viceroy  at  Ayacucho  in  1824.  The 
form  of  government  in  Peru  has  since  been  republican,  the  executive 
consisting  of  a  President,  two  Vice-Presidents,  and  Ministers,  with  pre- 
fects appointed  by  the  president  in  each  department,  and  sub-prefects 
in  each  province.  The  legislative  power  is  lodged  in  a  Congress  of  two 
chambers. 

Resources  and  Trade. — Peru  is  richly  endowed  with  natural 
resources  of  all  kinds,  but  the  great  need  is  population  to  utilise  them.  On 
the  coast  the  guano  of  the  Chincha  Islands  was 
a  source  of  wealth  for  nearly  thirty  years,  but  it 
was  exhausted  in  1872,  and  much  smaller  quan- 
tities are  now  obtained  from  the  Guanape,  Macabi, 
Malabrigo,  and  Lobos  Islands  further  north.  In 
1860  the  idea  of  refining  the  extensive  supplies 
of  petroleum  found  in  the  desert  between  the 
rivers  Tumbez  and  Chira  was  conceived.  The  ^^- 4^-— The  Peruvian  Flag. 
fertile  coast  valleys  produce  cotton,  sugar,  tobacco,  rice,  wine  and 
spirits  from  the  vineyards  of  Yea  and  Pisco,  Moquegua  and  Locumba. 
The  cultivable  area  on  the  coast  will  some  day  be  quadrupled  by 
the  extension  of  irrigation  works.  In  the  Andes  there  are  numerous 
mines  of  silver,  copper,  gold  and  coal,  the  chief  centres  of  the  silver- 
mining  industry  being  at  Cerro  Pasco  and  Puno ;  the  total  output 
of  silver  is  nearly  half  a  million  pounds  sterling;  and  of  copper  little 


Peru 


837 


less.  The  yield  of  wool  from  the  flocks  of  alpacas,  and  from  the 
wild  vicunas  is  a  source  of  wealth  peculiar  to  Peru.  The  vegetable 
products  of  the  Andes  include  the  finest  maize  in  the  world,  the  potato  and 
several  other  edible  roots,  and  there  are  vast  areas  admirably  adapted  for 
raising  wheat  and  barley,  and  rearing  cattle.  In  the  ravines,  on  the  eastern 
slopes  of  the  Andes,  cacao,  coffee,  tobacco,  and  coca,  another  valuable 
product  peculiar  to  Peru,  all  of  excellent  quality,  are  produced.  Among 
the  wild  products  are  the  cinchona  bark  and  india-rubber.  The  chief 
exports  of  Peru  are  sugar,  silver,  cotton,  wool,  rubber  and  coca  leaves. 
Most  of  the  trade  is  with  the  United  Kingdom,  Germany  coming 
second. 

Railways. — In  1902  the  length  of  the  railways  in  Peru  was  1,035  miles. 
Those  on  the  coast,  twelve  in  number,  are  intended  to  bring  the  produce 
of  the  various  fertile  tracts  on  the  river 
banks  to  the  ports.  The  work  on  the 
marvellous  railroad  over  the  Maritime 
and  Central  Cordilleras  from  Lima  to 
Cerro  Pasco  was  commenced  in  1870, 
and  is  not  yet  completed.  It  threads 
the  intricate  gorges  of  the  Cordilleras 
by  a  winding  giddy  pathway  along  the 
edge  of  precipices,  and  spans  chasms 
by  bridges  hundreds  of  feet  high,  and 
it  tunnels  the  Andes  at  an  altitude  of 
15,645  feet.  Another  line  crosses  the 
Cordilleras  from  Mollendo,  by  Arequipa 


FlG.  402. — The  Chief  Mountain  Railways 
of  Pent. 

to  Puno  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Titicaca,  the  summit  being  crossed  in  a 
cutting  14,660  feet  above  the  sea.  The  line  is  232  miles  long,  and  is  to  be 
continued  to  Cuzco.  Steamers  keep  up  the  communication  between  Peru 
and  Bolivia  on  Lake  Titicaca  ;  and  the  Amazonian  rivers,  within  Peruvian 
territory,  are  navigable  by  steamers  for  740  miles. 

Coast  Departments  and  Towns. — Peru  is  divided  into  eighteen 
departments,  of  which  eight  are  on  the  coast,  eight  in  the  high  interior 
and  two  entirely  on  the  navigable  eastern  rivers.  Piura,  the  most  northern 
department  on  the  coast,  has  as  its  capital  San  Miguel  de  Piura,  founded  by 
Pizarro.  It  is  in  a  fertile  valley,  and  a  railway  runs  to  its  seaport,  Payta. 
Next,  along  the  coast,  comes  the  new  department  of  Lambayeque,  also 
with  a  railway  to  the  port  of  Eten.  Libertad  contains  the  old  city  of 
Truxillo,  founded  by  Pizarro  in  1535,  and  now  the  most  important  place 
north  of  Lima.  It  had  an  excellent  road  to  its  port  of  Huanchaco,  and 
now  has  a  railway  to  the  port  of  Salaverry.  Ancachs  is  partly  in  the 
mountains,  and  partly  on  the  coast.  It  includes  the  Callejon  de  Huaylas. 
Huaraz,  the  capital,  is  172  miles  from  the  port  of  Chimbote,  with  which  it  is 
connected  by  railway. 

The  department  of  Lima  contains  Lima,  the  capital  of  Peru.    The  city 


838       The  International  Geography 

was  founded  by  Pizarro  in  1535,  and  called  "the  City  of  the  Kings,  in 
memory  of  the  epiphany,  and  also  of  the  two  sovereigns,  Juana  and  her 
son  Charles  V.  The  name  of  Lima  is  a  corruption  of  "  Rimac,"  an  oracle 
in  Quichua,  and  the  name  of  the  river  on  which  Lima  is  built.  The  houses 
and  churches  are  of  adobes  or  sun-dried  bricks,  and  great  pains  were 
bestowed  on  the  decoration  of  the  facades  of  the  churches  and  on  some 
houses.  Lima  has  railways  to  the  port  of  Callao,  to  the  bathing  resorts  of 
Chorillos  and  Magdalena,  to  Chancay  in  the  north,  and  to  the  interior. 
Callao  is  provided  with  fine  piers  and  a  mercantile  dockyard.  Yfa,  the 
coast  department  to  the  south  of  Lima,  has  the  capital  of  the  same  name 
connected  with  the  seaport  of  Pisco  by  a  railway ;  it  is  a  pleasant  town 
surrounded  by  cotton  and  vine  estates.  In  this  department  excellent  wine 
is  made,  and  great  quantities  of  a  spirit  called  Pisco  which  is  universally 
drunk  in  Peru.  The  great  department  of  Arequipa  in  the  south  has  as 
capital,  Arequipa,  founded,  like  so  many  other  towns,  by  Pizarro,  in  1536. 
It  is  separated  from  the  sea  by  a  desert  of  60  miles,  and  stands  7,260  feet 


FIG.  403. — Lima  and  Callao. 

above  the  sea-level,  with  a  temperate  climate.  The  magnificent  cone  of 
the  volcano  of  Misti,  20,000  feet  high,  rises  immediately  behind  the  town, 
which  is  built  of  white  volcanic  stone,  constructed  solidly  with  vaulted 
ceilings,  to  resist  the  shocks  of  earthquakes.  Arequipa  is  in  the  midst  of 
a  fertile  plain,  which  is  covered  with  fields  of  corn  and  lucerne,  diversified 
by  fruit  gardens,  and  dotted  with  villages.  Part  of  the  most  southerly 
coast  department  of  Moquegua  is  still  occupied  by  the  Chileans. 

Cordilleran  Departments  and  Towns. — Within  the  Cordilleras 
the  most  northern  department,  bordering  on  Ecuador,  is  that  of  Caxa- 
marca.  The  capital  of  the  same  name  is  historically  interesting  from 
having  been  the  scene  of  the  capture  and  death  of  the  Inca  Atahualpa, 
at  the  hands  of  Pizarro  and  his  conquistadores.  Huanuco  borders 
on  Caxamarca  to  the  south,  much  of  its  area  being  covered  with 
forest  round  the  head  waters  of  the  Huallaga.  Its  capital  of  the  same 
name  is  a  pretty  town.  The  department  of  Junin  contains  Cerro  de 
Pasco,  13,200  feet  above  the  sea,  the  centre  of  the  great  silver-mining 
industry.  Jauja  is  a  picturesque  town,  with  an  almost  perfect  climate, 


Peru  839 


and  Tarma  is  beautifully  situated  in  an  amphitheatre  of  mountains  clothed 
with  waving  fields  of  barley,  on  the  high  road  to  the  most  promising  and 
best  settled  of  the  forest  districts,  that  of  Chanchamayu.  The  department 
of  Huancavelica  occupies  the  loftiest  parts  of  the  Western  Cordilleras,  and 
its  towns  of  Huancavelica  and  Castro-vireyna  owe  their  existence  to  the  rich 
silver  mines  and  the  quicksilver  mine  of  viceregal  times.  Ayacucho,  named 
after  the  battle  which  secured  independence  for  Peru,  has  as  its  capital 
the  ancient  city  of  Guamanga,  founded  by  Pizarro  in  1539,  and  re-named 
Ayacucho  since  1824.  It  is  a  fine  town  with  stone  houses,  roofed  with  red 
tiles,  and  is  beautifully  situated,  5,850  feet  above  the  sea,  surrounded  on 
all  sides  but  the  west,  which  commands  a  glorious  view,  by  mountains  on 
the  steep  slopes  of  which  are  fields  of  maize,  fruit  gardens,  and  thickets  of 
prickly  pears.  The  department  of  Apurimac  contains  the  lovely  and 
fertile  valleys  of  Andahuaylas  and  Abancay,  each  with  its  picturesque  town 
surrounded  by  scenery  of  surpassing  beauty.  Cuzco  is  the  central  depart- 
ment of  Peru.  The  city  of  Cuzco,  capital  of  the  Empire  of  the  Incas,  in 
13^°  S.,  is  situated  on  a  tableland  surrounded  by  mountains,  11,380  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  sea,  at  the  foot  of  the  famous  hill  of  Sacsahuaman, 
which  is  crowned  by  the  Inca  citadel  consisting  of  three  lines  of  massive 
walls,  built  of  cyclopean  masonry,  one  of  the  stones  being  27  feet  high  by 
14  feet.  The  houses  of  Cuzco  are  of  stone.  The  lower  stories  are,  to  a 
great  extent,  of  Inca  masonry ;  the  upper  stories,  roofed  with  red  tiles, 
being  of  later  date.  The  fine  cathedral  and  church  of  the  Jesuits  are  built 
upon  Inca  palaces,  and  the  church  and  cloisters  of  San  Domingo  consist  of 
masonry  of  the  Temple  of  the  Sun.  This  city  is  only  a  few  miles  from  the 
warm  and  delightful  vale  of  Vilcamayu,  one  of  the  most  charming  spots  in 
this  favoured  land.  The  most  southern  department,  partly  in  the  basin  of 
Lake  Titicaca,  is  that  of  Puno,  which  includes  the  ravines  and  forests  of 
Caravaya.  Puno,  the  capital,  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Titicaca,  owes  its 
existence  to  the  rich  veins  of  silver  ore  in  the  surrounding  hills.  It  is  now 
the  terminus  of  the  railway  from  Arequipa  and  Mollendo,  and  the  junction 
of  the  Juliaca  line  with  extension  towards  Cuzco  (Fig.  402). 

Parts  of  the  forests  of  the  Eastern  Andes  are  included  in  the  depart- 
ments of  Puno,  Cuzco,  Ayacucho,  Junin  and  Huanuco ;  but  there  are 
two  departments  wholly  within  the  Amazonian  basin.  Amazonas,  with  its 
capital  at  Chachapoyas,  and  Loreto,  with  a  centre  of  river  stream  navigation 
at  Iquitos,  below  the  mouth  of  the  Ucayali,  on  the  Maranon.  Thence 
steamers  can  ascend  the  Ucayali  and  Pachitea  to  Puerto  Prado,  in  9°  56'  N. 
and  75°  45'  W.,  the  nearest  navigable  point  on  the  Amazon  to  Lima. 

Peru  is  one  of  the  most  favoured  countries  in  the  world,  except  as 
regards  the  one  essential  of  population.  Embracing  every  climate  and  an 
infinite  diversity  of  soils  and  aspects,  she  is,  or  might  be,  the  producer  of 
every  product,  and  all  of  unequalled  excellence.  Whatever  Peru  produces 
is  the  best  of  its  kind,  while  the  world  owes  to  the  Incas  the  potato, 
quinine,  coca,  and  the  silky  fleeces  of  the  alpaca  and  vicuna. 


840      The  International  Geography 

STATISTICS  (at  last  census,  1876). 

Area  of  Peru  (square  miles) 463.747 

Population 2,621,844 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile  5'6 


Population  of  Lima 
Callao 


Arequipa  .. 
Cuzco 


100,000        ..        (103,000  in  1891 
15.000        ..       (35,000  in  1880 
35-000 
22,000 


ANNUAL  TRADE  (in  founds  sterling-Estimates). 

Exports 2,000,000 

Imports 1,500,000 

STANDARD  BOOKS. 

Sir  C.  R.  Markham.    "Peru."    London,  1880. 

W.  H.  Prescott.    "  History  of  the  Conquest  of  Peru."    1847. 

E.  W.  Middendorf.    "Peru."    2  vols.    Berlin,  1893. 

A.  Raimondi.    "  El  Peru."    3  vols.    Lima,  1874. 


IV.— BOLIVIA 

BY  SIR  CLEMENTS  R.  MARKHAM,  K.C.B.,  F.R.S. 

Position  and  Configuration. — Bolivia,  formerly  known  as  Alto 
Peru,  occupies  the  southern  half  of  the  basin  of  Lake  Titicaca,  and  the 
southern  continuations  of  the  Andes  and  the  Maritime  Cordillera.  Chilean 
conquests  deprived  Bolivia  of  her  coast  province  in  1883  ;  and  the  country 
is  now  entirely  inland.  An  important  district  extends  far  to  the  eastward 
of  the  Andes  within  the  Amazonian  basin.  The  boundary  with  Peru 
crosses  Lake  Titicaca  ;  but  to  the  eastward  it  is  still  in  dispute. 

Lake  Titicaca,  12,545  feet  above  the  sea,  is  120  miles  long  by  40  broad, 
and  is  divided  into  two  parts  by  the  peninsula  of  Copacabana.  The 
southern  division,  called  the  Lake  of  Huaqui,  is  24  miles  long  by  21  broad, 
and  is  united  to  the  greater  lake  by  the  narrow  strait  of  Tiquina.  The 
islands  of  Titicaca  and  Coati  contain  ancient  ruins,  and  were  held  to  be 
sacred  in  the  time  of  the  Incas.  The  volume  of  water  received  from 
rivers  during  the  rainy  season  is  lost  by  evaporation  between  April  and 
September  ;  and  the  shores  of  the  lake  are  steadily  receding  under  the 
combined  influence  of  solar  evaporation  and  the  silt  brought  down  by  the 
rivers.  The  deepest  part  is  on  the  Bolivian  side ;  on  the  south-west  there 
arc  large  shoal  areas  covered  with  tall  rushes.  Much  water  is  taken  off 
from  the  lake  by  the  river  flowing  southwards,  called  Desaguadero  or 
"  the  drain,"  which  has  a  course  of  more  than  150  miles,  and  disappears  in 
the  salt  lake  of  Paria,  Aullagas,  or  Poopo. 

The  Andes  on  the  eastern  side  of  Lake  Titicaca  were  formerly 
supposed  to  contain  the  loftiest  summits  of  the  system,  but  recent 
explorations  have  shown  that  neither  of  the  peaks  of  Sorata  (Ancohuma  or 
Illampu)  nor  Illimani  exceeds  22,000  feet.  The  Bolivian  part  of  the 
Maritime  Cordillera  also  contains  peaks  of  great  height,  that  of  Sajama 


Bolivia  841 


being  believed  to  be  21,028  feet  and  that  of  Tacora  19,000  feet  above  the 
sea.  The  plateau  between  the  two  ranges  has  an  average  altitude  of 
12,000  feet,  with  a  length  of  500  miles  and  a  breadth  of  from  90  to  100 
miles.  Four  rivers  flow  from  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  Andes,  two  to  the 
Amazon,  the  Beni  and  Rio  Grande  forming  the  Mamore,  chief  feeders 
of  the  Madeira ;  and  two  to  the  Paraguay,  the  Pilcomayo  and  Bermejo. 
The  Bolivian  Cordilleras  contain  the  silver  mines  of  Potosi  and  Oruro 
which  have  been  famous  for  three  centuries,  but  the  real  wealth  of  the 
country  lies  in  the  ravines  of  the  Eastern  Andes  and  the  forest-covered 
plains  of  the  Beni  and  Mamore.  It  is  at  the  head  of  these  eastern  ravines 
that  the  principal  modern  cities  are  situated. 

People,  History  and  Government. — The  Indians  of  Bolivia 
belong  to  the  Colla  race,  to  whom  the  name  of  Aymara  was  erroneously 
given  by  the  Jesuit  missionaries  in  the  seventeenth  century.  They  formed 
part  of  the  empire  of  the  Incas,  by  whom  they  had  been  conquered.  The 
Aymara  are  massive  without  being  large ;  short,  thick-set,  broad-shouldered, 
with  long  body  and  short  legs.  The  features  and 
profile  are  good,  the  general  expression  sad,  with  a 
strong  admixture  of  determination.  Their  chief 
peculiarity  is  that  the  thigh  is  rather  shorter  than  the 
leg,  and  the  whole  build  is  admirably  adapted  for 
mountain  climbing.  The  Aymara  is  very  resolute, 
and  he  can  march  great  distances ;  seventy  miles  in  one 
day  is  not  uncommon.  Their  language  is  a  dialect 


of  Quichua,  containing  many  words  of  very  ancient   FIG.     404.  —  Probable 

origin.    Their  numbers  have  been  much  reduced  by      population  of  a  square 

..    J        mile  of  Bolivia. 
disease,  but  there  is  no  reliable  information  respecting 

the  population  of  Bolivia.  In  the  Bolivian  part  of  the  Amazonian  basin 
the  principal  tribes  are  the  Moxos  on  the  Beni  and  Mamore,  who  are 
Christianised,  and  number  about  30,000  souls,  being  settled  in  mission 
villages,  cultivating  the  soil  and  rearing  cattle.  The  Chiquitos  form  a 
numerous  group  of  tribes  between  the  head-waters  of  the  Itenez  and 
Mamore.  They  are  a  peaceful  race  of  cultivators,  raising  cotton  and  sugar 
cane.  There  are  also  several  wild  hunting  tribes.  The  people  of  Spanish 
and  mixed  descent  form  only  15  per  cent,  of  the  population. 

After  a  brave  struggle  the  Collas  (Aymaras)  were  conquered  by  the 
Spaniards  in  1538  ;  and  in  1559  Upper  Peru,  or  Charcas,  was  constituted  a 
Presidency,  with  a  Court  of  Justice  under  the  Viceroyalty  of  Peru.  In  1778 
Charcas  was  transferred  to  the  new  Viceroyalty  of  Buenos  Ayres.  In  1809 
the  insurrection  against  Spain  commenced,  but  independence  was  not 
secured  until  1824,  and  in  1825  a  general  assembly  of  the  people  at 
Chuquisaca  decreed  that  Upper  Peru  should  be  named  Bolivia  in  honour 
of  General  Bolivar,  the  Colombian  general  who  had  come  to  assist  in  the 
liberation  of  Peru.  There  is  a  Congress  of  two  Chambers,  and  there  is 
universal  suffrage  for  all  men  able  to  read. 


842       The  International  Geography 

Once  the  great  industry  of  Upper  Peru  was  mining,  and  the  mines  of 
Potosi  were  famous  throughout  the  world.  There  are  still  important  silver, 
copper  and  tin  mines,  the  output  being  valued  at  over  two  million  pounds. 
Wool  and  hides  are  also  exported  from  the  lofty  plateaux.  The  rich  valleys 
to  the  eastward  are  called  Yungus,  and  they  are  the  home  of  the  Calisaya 
species  of  cinchona  which  yields  the  largest  percentage  of  quinine ;  while 
the  cacao  and  coffee  grown  in  the  Yungus  is  the  best  in  the  world. 
Coca  is  also  largely  grown  and  exported.  In  the  Amazonian  plains,  within 
Bolivian  territory,  the  establishments  for  extracting  india-rubber  are 
numerous  and  increasing. 

Divisions  and  Towns. — There  is  a  service  by  steamers  across  Lake 
Titicaca  which  connects  La  Paz,  the  chief  city  of  Bolivia,  with  the  railway 
from  Puno  to  the  coast.  A  railroad  has  recently  been  constructed  from  the 
Bolivian  city  of  Oruro  to  the  Chilean  port  of  Antofagasta  on  the  Pacific 
coast,  and  others  have  been  projected. 

Bolivia  has  been  divided  into  departments,  of  which  there  are  eight. 
La  Paz  is  the  most  northern  department.  Its  capital  is  the  chief  city  of  the 
republic  and  well  situated  for  trade.  It  was  founded  by  order  of  President 
Gasca  in  1548,  and  the  native  name  of  Chuqui-apu  was  changed  to  La 
Paz.  The  famous  capital  of  the  department  of  Potosi  has  lamentably  fallen 
off.  Situated  on  the  silver-bearing  Cerro  de  Potosi,  its  population  in 
Spanish  times  was  160,000,  and  now  it  is  barely  12,000.  Oruro,  on  the 
salt  plain  north  of  Lake  Aullagas,  is  the  capital  of  the  department  of  the 
same  name,  and  it  also  has  fallen  from  its  glory  in  Spanish  times,  yet  it  is 
still  the  centre  of  a  silver  and  tin-mining  industry,  and  is  connected  by 
railway  with  Antofagasta.  The  plains  of  Oruro  yield  good  crops  of 
potatoes  and  barley,  and  afford  pasturage  for  flocks  of  llamas  and  sheep. 

The  department  of  Chuquisaca  lies  within  the  basin  of  the  Pilcomayo, 
a  tributary  of  the  Paraguay.  Its  capital,  originally  named  La  Plata,  was 
founded  by  order  of  Pizarro,  in  1539  ;  the  native  name  is  Chuquisaca,  but 
the  first  Republican  Congress  ordered  it  to  be  called  Sucre,  after  the  first 
President.  Though  the  nominal  capital  of  the  Republic,  and  the  seat  of  a 
university,  it  is  not  nearly  so  important  a  place  as  La  Paz.  Cochabamba,  in 
a  province  of  the  same  name  in  the  Amazonian  basin,  on  a  tributary  of  the 
Mamore,  in  the  midst  of  a  fertile  and  well- cultivated  plain,  is  the  most 
agreeable  place  of  residence  in  Bolivia.  Still  further  east  is  the  depart- 
ment of  Santa  Cruz  de  la  Sierra.  Beni  is  the  department  which  embraces 
the  region  of  dense  forest,  and  the  fluvial  highways  of  the  Beni  and  its 
tributaries.  The  most  southern  department,  bordering  on  the  Argentine 
Republic,  is  that  of  Tarija,  which  lies  in  the  basin  of  the  Bermejo,  a  tribu- 
tary of  the  Paraguay.  The  town  of  Tanja,  surrounded  by  fruit  gardens, 
enjoys  a  charming  climate. 

STATISTICS  (Estimates). 

Area  of  Bolivia  in  square  miles         567,000 

Population  of  Bolivia 2,000,000 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile        3-5 


Chile 


843 


Population  of  La  Paz    . . 
„  Cochabamba 

„  Sucre 

Potosi     . . 


40,000 
25,000 
20,000 
20,000 


ANNUAL  TRADE  (in  dollars). 

Imports 3.000,000 

Exports 12,500,000 

STANDARD    BOOK. 

M.  V.  Ballivian  and  E.  Idiaquez.   "  Diccionaria  Geographico  de  la  Republice  de  Bolivia." 
La  Paz,  1890. 


V. — CHILE x 

BY  ALEJANDRO  BERTRAND, 

Professor  of  Topography  and  Geodesy  at  the  University  of  Santiago  ;  Chief  Engineer  of  the 
Commission  of  Delimitation  with  the  Argentine  Republic. 

Configuration,    Geology    and    River    Systems.— Chile    is    a 

relatively  narrow  strip  of  land  stretching  from  18°  to  54°  S.  between  the 
Cordillera  of  the  Andes  and  the  western  coast-line  of  South  America.  The 
width  of  the  country  varies  from  70  to  140  miles,  except  close  to  the 
northern  and  southern  extremities,  where  it  widens  to  250  miles. 

The  general  surface  of  the  land,  whilst  sloping  rapidly  from  the  Cor- 
dillera to  the  sea,  slopes  also,  but 
more  gently,  from  north  to  south  ; 
so  that  the  central  part  of  the  strip 
which  at  the  northern  extremity 
rises  to  3,000  feet  above  sea-level, 
is  covered  by  the  sea  in  the  south, 
where  the  valleys  form  numerous 
channels  or  fjords,  and  the  higher 
ground  a  swarm  of  islands.  North 
of  41°  S.  the  coast  is  destitute  of 

deep  bays,  and  owing  to  the  abrupt    ^ — ; — 7^" ,,"°"T — TT^ 

FIG.  405  —Southern  Chile  and  Magellan  Strait. 
rise  of  the  land  towards  the  interior 

it  presents  the  appearance  of  a  chain  of  hills  when  seen  from  the  sea. 
Natural  harbours  are  scarce  along  this  coast,  and  nearly  all  are  without 
shelter  from  the  north.  In  the  southern  archipelago,  on  the  contrary,  they 
are  numerous  and  well  sheltered,  but  none  of  any  size. 

The  upheaval  of  the  Cordillera  of  the  Andes,  which  separates  Chile 
from  the  Argentine  Republic,  was  the  result  of  crustal  movements 
occurring  long  after  the  formation  of  the  rocks  composing  the  range, 
the  chief  of  which  are  porphyry,  sandstones,  and  metamorphic  rocks. 
The  Chilean-Argentine  Andes  contain  the  highest  peaks  of  America,  one 
of  which,  Aconcagua,  attains  an  elevation  of  23,000  feet.  Parallel  to 

1  Translated  from  the  Spanish. 
55 


844      The  International   Geography 

the  Andes,  and  nearer  the  coast,  runs  a  succession  of  lower  mountains,  of 
much  older  formation,  in  which  granite  and  gneiss  predominate  ;  and 
between  these  two  ranges  a  plain  30  miles  wide  and  known  as  the  Central 
Valley  of  Chile,  stretches  from  33°  to  41°  S.  It  is  covered  with  drift  or 
alluvial  deposits  which  form  a  very  rich  soil,  traversed  and  irrigated  by  the 
numerous  rivers  descending  from  the  Andes.  The  hydrographic  basins 
of  these  rivers  are  disposed  with  some  uniformity  ;  as  a  rule,  the  principal 
valleys  or  canyons  of  the  Cordillera  run  from  north  to  south,  and  very 
frequently  from  south  to  north ;  after  the  junction  of  the  chief  affluents 
they  cross  the  central  valley  and  are  deflected  by  the  coast-hills,  along 
the  eastern  side  of  which  they  run  until  they  meet  with  the  gaps  through 
which  they  throw  themselves  into  the  sea.  The  river  Maule,  which  enters 
the  sea  about  35°  S.,  is  the  first  northerly  one  navigable  for  lighters  or 
small  craft  from  the  central  valley.  The  rivers  Imperial,  Valdivia,  and 
Bueno,  farther  south,  are  navigable  for  small  steamers  in  the  lower  parts 
of  their  course.  From  the  structure  of  the  country  all  the  rivers  are 
necessarily  short. 

Natural  Resources. — The  greater  part  of  the  surface  of  the 
country  is  occupied  by  lofty  mountains  which,  in  the  northern  districts, 
are  treeless  and  almost  absolutely  arid.  But  deep  in  their  recesses 
valuable  lodes  of  copper,  lead,  silver  and  manganese  ores  lie  con- 
cealed. In  the  nearly  desert  region  of  the  provinces  of  Tarapaca  and 
Atacama,  between  19°  and  26°  lat.,  the  configuration  of  the  central  valley 
and  bordering  ranges  is  the  same  as  in  the  south  ;  and  on  the  western 
borders  of  this  rainless  district  deposits  of  nitrate  of  soda  (Chile  saltpetre) 
occur  on  the  surface.  It  is  one  of  the  best  nitrogenous  manures,  and 
more  than  400,000,000  tons  have  been  extracted  and  exported,  mainly 
to  Europe.  Metallic  lodes,  chiefly  copper  and  iron-pyrites,  also  abound 
throughout  the  country,  especially  in  the  spurs  of  the  Andes.  About 
37°  S.  beds  of  lignite  are  to  be  found.  Alluvial  gold  occurs  nearly  all 
over  the  country,  but  the  placers  yield  a  poor  return.  In  the  central  region 
there  is  an  abundant  supply  of  calcareous  rocks  useful  for  the  manufacture 
of  lime  and  cement.  Native  sulphur  occurs  abundantly  in  the  Cordillera, 
and  gypsum  is  still  more  widely  distributed.  Fine  granite  and  especially 
trachyte  is  quarried  and  makes  excellent  building  material.  Throughout 
the  country  there  is  clay  for  brick-making,  and  kaolin  for  manufacturing 
porcelain  is  also  plentiful.  In  almost  all  the  valleys  of  the  Andes  there 
are  mineral  springs  possessing  medicinal  properties.  Wood  for  fuel  and 
coal  exist  in  nearly  every  part  of  the  country.  From  the  34th  parallel 
southward  indigenous  trees  are  found  in  increasing  quantity,  but  with- 
out much  variety  of  species ;  the  timber  they  yield  is  firm  and  hard,  but 
somewhat  heavy.  European  trees,  especially  the  poplar,  are  very  easily 
acclimatised  ;  the  Australian  blue  gum  (Eucalyptus  globulus)  has  also 
increased  considerably.  A  large  portion  of  what  was  formerly  wooded 
land  has  been  cleared  and  converted  into  fields  and  pastures. 


Chile  845 


The  native  fauna  is  not  abundant  in  species,  even  in  the  woodlands. 
The  only  noxious  carnivorous  animal  is  the  puma  (Puma  felis),  which  is 
about  the  size  of  a  large  dog.  The  imported  quadrupeds  and  birds  mul- 
tiply with  great  facility. 

Climate. — In  Chile  there  are  all  climates.  The  temperature  is  in 
general  lower  than  that  corresponding  to  the  same  latitudes  on  the 
northern  hemisphere  on  account  of  the  cold  Humboldt  current, 
which  flows  along  the  coast  from  south  to  north.  In  the  north,  as  far 
as  30°  S.,  rain  is  the  exception,  although  dense  clouds  are  of  frequent 
occurrence ;  on  the  other  hand,  from  36°  S.  southwards,  rain  falls  on 
most  days,  especially  in  winter ;  the  largest  rainfall  occurs  about 
41°  S.  The  winds  which  prevail  on  the  coast  are  chiefly  from  the 
west  and  south-west.  The  climate  of  the  central  valley  and  of  the  coast 
between  32°  and  36°  S.  is  one  of  the  most  pleasant  in  the  world,  the 
thermometer  seldom  rising  above  77°  F.,  or  falling  below  32°.  This  region 
is,  at  the  same  time,  one  of  the  healthiest  to  be  found  anywhere,  because 
the  slope  of  the  land  secures  good  drainage  and  prevents  the  formation  of 
marshes. 

People. — The  principal  of  the  aboriginal  peoples  of  Chile  and  the  only 
one  of  which  genuine  representatives  now  remain  in 
the  country,  leaving  the  Fuegians  out  of  account,  is 
that  commonly  known  as  the  Araucanian,  a  race 
distinguished  by  its  endurance,  its  valour  and  its  in- 
domitable character.  Of  the  blood  running  in  the 
veins  of  the  present  population  of  Chile,  especially 
of  the  lower  classes,  a  large  proportion  is  Araucanian ; 


this  ancestry  entails  many  good  qualities,  but  also  FlG  4o6.— Average  pop- 
some  vices,  chiefly  a  propensity  to  drink.  The  edu-  ulation  of  a  square 
cated  classes  consist  almost  entirely  of  the  descen-  mile  of  Chtle' 
dants  of  the  Spanish  conquerors  who  settled  in  Chile  in  the  sixteenth 
century ;  and  these  have  preserved  the  language  and  religion  of  Spain, 
without  alteration,  as  well  as  most  of  the  habits  and  social  customs  of  the 
mother  country. 

History. — The  conqueror  and  first  governor  of  Chile  was  the 
Spanish  soldier  Pedro  de  Valdivia,  who  founded  the  capital,  Santiago, 
in  1541.  According  to  the  Spanish  system  of  colonising,  the  companions 
of  Valdivia,  and  also  their  successors  and  descendants,  divided  amongst 
themselves  the  natives  of  the  conquered  land,  and  employed  them 
for  working  the  mines,  extracting  gold  and  cultivating  the  soil. 
Although  Spanish  colonies  were  settled  all  over  the  Araucanian  territory 
soon  after  the  conquest,  the  dauntless  natives  succeeded  in  regaining 
a  large  part  of  their  lands ;  and  it  can  be  said  that,  up  to  the  middle 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  a  stretch  of  territory  extending  for  about 
150  miles  between  the  rivers  Biobio  and  Valdivia,  remained  in  the 
hands  of  the  Araucanians.  In  1810,  the  royal  power  of  Spain  having  been 


846       The  International  Geography 

suspended  in  the  Spanish  colonies,  the  first  national  government  of  Chile 
was  established.  Three  years  later,  the  forces  sent  from  Peru  by  Spain 
reconquered  the  country,  but,  in  1817,  Chile  suc- 
ceeded in  finally  regaining  its  independence,  and 
General  O'Higgins,  the  head  of  the  government, 
assisted  by  the  celebrated  naval  volunteer,  Lord 
Cochrane,  and  the  Argentine  general,  San  Martin, 
attacked  the  Spanish  army  of  Peru.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  a  few  revolutions  of  no  lasting  character, 
FIG.  407. —The  Chilean  Flag,  chile  has  since  been  able  to  pursue  its  develop- 
ment peacefully,  and  its  democratic  institutions  have  been  gradually  taking 
root.  In  1879  a  war  broke  out  between  Chile  and  the  neighbouring 
republics  of  Peru  and  Bolivia,  which  resulted  in  the  acquisition  by  Chile 
of  the  territories  of  Antofagasta  and  Tarapaca. 

Government  and  Administration.— The  form  of  government  is 
republican.  All  the  functionaries  in  the  department  of  Administration  are 
designated  by  the  President.  Prior  to  1890,  the  government,  or  rather  the 
president,  was  in  reality  the  chief  elector  of  Congress  ;  but  since  the  revo- 
lution of  1891  the  country  has  asserted  its  electoral  rights,  and  Ministers 
are  now  appointed  by  Congress.  The  wealth  accruing  to  the  Chilean 
treasury  from  the  tax  on  nitrate  of  soda,  since  1880,  has  been  the  means  of 
giving  a  great  impulse  to  the  administration,  to  education,  to  the  navy,  the 
army,  and  the  railways,  which  almost  all  belong  to  the  State.  The  munici- 
palities, which  were  formerly  departmental  and  directly  subordinate  to  the 
central  government,  are  now  communal  and  have  complete  local  self- 
government  ;  but  they  are  for  the  most  part  poor,  and  require  assistance 
from  the  national  Treasury. 

Industries  and  Commerce. — The  staple  industry  of  the  country  is 
the  extraction  of  nitrate  of  soda,  of  which  substance  between  one  and  one 
and  a  half  million  tons  are  exported  annually.  The  annual  exports  of 
iodine  extracted  from  the  nitrate  amount  to  about  300  tons.  Next  in 
importance  comes  the  working  of  the  silver,  copper  and  gold  ores,  borax 
and  coal,  the  export  of  which  yields  about  two  and  a  half  million  pounds 
sterling  yearly. 

Agriculturists  are  concerned  mainly  in  the  cultivation  of  cereals, 
tobacco,  vegetables,  vine-growing  and  cattle-breeding.  The  most 
advanced  agricultural  industries  are  flour-milling,  wine-making,  and  the 
preparation  of  cheese,  dried  and  preserved  fruits  and  honey.  Other 
industries,  such  as  tanning,  shoemaking,  distilling  and  brewing  are  not 
very  advanced,  and  are  chiefly  carried  on  by  the  German  colony  in  the 
province  of  Valdivia. 

Means  of  Communication.— There  are  two  lines  of  British  and 
German  steamers  with  fortnightly  sailings  for  Europe  via  the  Strait  of 
Magellan,  and  a  weekly  steamer  service  to  Panama,  as  well  as  coasting 
Steamers.  The  journey  from  Santiago  to  Buenos  Aires  through  the  Cordil- 


Chile 


847 


lera  takes  three  days  and  a  half,  and  is  closed  by  snow  from  June  to 
October,  the  winter  months.  Santiago  is  connected  with  Valparaiso  and 
Concepcion  by  a  railway  which  extends  to  Valdivia,  and  there  are  various 
other  lines.  The  plains  are  netted  with  roads,  and  there  are  roads,  in 
general  mere  cattle  tracks,  in  the  Cordillera  also. 

The  Chief  Towns  of  Chile. — Santiago  (33°  30*  S.),  the  capital,  is 
situated  at  the  foot  of  the  spurs  of  the  Andes,  on  the  banks  of  the  little 
river  Mapocho,  which  flows  through  the  town  in  a  stone  channel  130  feet 
wide,  and  on  the  eastern  border  of  an  extensive  and  fertile  plain  watered 
by  canals  from  the  river  Maipo.  The  town  rests  upon  a  firm  subsoil  of 
great  depth  covered  by  deep  layers  of  vegetable  mould.  The  streets  of 
Santiago  are  wide,  straight  and  laid  out  at  right  angles.  The  steep  slope 
from  east  to  west  facilitates  drainage,  and  ensures  the  good  sanitary 
conditions  of  the  town.  Its  special  features  are  the  Santa-Lucia  hill,  a 
picturesque  rocky  eminence  230  feet  high,  close  to  the  business  quarter, 
which  has  been  converted  into  a  handsome  promenade,  and  the  Alameda, 
an  avenue  over  a  hundred  yards  wide  and  two  miles  long,  which  is  the 
chief  highway.  Santiago  possesses  the  State  University,  beside  numerous 
establishments  for  technical  and  superior  instruction. 

Valparaiso  (33°  S.)  is  the  chief  port  on  the  west  coast  of  South  America. 
It  is  the  terminus  of  im- 
portant lines  of  steamers 
for  Europe  via  the 
Strait  of  Magellan  and 
Panama,  and  the  centre 
of  the  coasting  services. 
It  contains  a  numerous 
foreign  colony,  com- 
posed chiefly  of  British, 
German  and  French 
traders.  The  harbour 
is  well  sheltered  on  the 
south  and  south-west, 
but  is  completely  open 
on  the  north ;  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  however,  the  wind  seldom  blows  from  that  quarter.  There 
is  a  Custom  House  wharf,  alongside  which  steamers  of  ordinary  tonnage 
can  moor  ;  but  most  of  the  loading  is  done  by  lighters  from  a  quay  sur- 
rounding the  town.  The  whole  of  the  harbour  is  defended  by  modern, 
well-mounted  batteries. 

Iquique  (20°  S.),  built  in  the  middle  of  the  desert,  is  the  most  important 
port  on  the  Tarapaca  coast  for  the  shipment  of  nitrate.  This  town  has, 
among  other  great  public  works,  a  supply  of  drinkable  water  brought  down 
from  the  Cordillera  by  a  large  canal.  Copiapd  (27°  S.)  is  now  insignificant, 
but  it  was  formerly,  when  silver  commanded  a  high  price,  a  silver-mining 


FIG.  408.— The  Site  of  Valparaiso. 


848      The  International  Geography 

centre  of  very  great  importance.  The  Copiapo  valley,  though  narrow,  is 
very  fertile,  and  is  the  most  northerly  point  of  Chile  to  which  agriculture 
has  been  carried.  La  Serena  (30°  S.),  situated  close  to  one  of  the  best 
Chilean  ports,  Coquimbo,  is  the  chief  town  of  a  province  boasting  a  most 
delightful  climate,  but  owing  its  importance  to  its  mineral  wealth,  and  its 
numerous  metallurgical  establishments. 

Conception  (36°  20'  S.),  situated  at  the  mouth  of  the  Biobio,  the  largest 
river  in  Chile,  is  the  commercial  centre  of  the  whole  southern  region  as 
far  as  the  river  Cautin,  about  38°  30'  S.  A  railway  connects  it  with 
Santiago  ;  with  old  Araucania,  an  agricultural,  wooded  region  of  consider- 
able importance  ;  and  with  the  coal-bearing  coast  region  to  the  south. 
The  port  of  Concepcion  is  at  Talcahuano,  situated  in  the  beautiful  and 
extensive  bay  of  Concepcion.  Talcahuano  has  a  first-rate  dry  dock,  built 
of  stone,  round  which  a  large  military  port  is  being  constructed.  For  the 
defence  of  the  bay  modern  batteries  have  recently  been  erected.  Chilian 
is  the  centre  of  a  large  trade  in  cattle,  chiefly  cattle  and  horses.  Talca 
(34°  40'  S.)  is  an  inland  town,  situated  in  the  middle  of  the  old  agricultural 
district,  the  natural  outlet  of  which,  before  the  trunk  railway  was  built, 
was  the  port  of  Constitution,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  Maule. 

Valdivia  (40°  S.)  at  the  mouth  of  the  Calle-Calle  and  Puerto-Montt  in  the 
Gulf  of  Reloncavi,  are  two  important  ports  of  the  southern  region  ;  their 
development  is  due  chiefly  to  the  German  colonists  who  settled  in  that 
part  of  the  country  about  1850.  Punta  Arenas  (53°  S.)  is  the  capital  and 
only  town  in  the  territory  of  Magallanes,  which  now  contains  a  little 
over  5,000  inhabitants.  The  breeding  of  animals  producing  wool  is  the 
chief  industry  in  this  region,  but  there  is  a  little  gold-mining.  In  the 
western  archipelago  seal-hunting  is  carried  on  on  a  large  scale.  Punta 
Arenas  being  situated  in  the  middle  of  the  Strait  of  Magellan,  is,  in  spite 
of  its  remoteness,  a  calling  station  for  European  steamers. 

STATISTICS. 

Area  of  Chile  (square  miles)       293,000  293  ooo 

Area  inhabited  before  1880         115,000  ..  ii5',ooo 

Population  of  Chile 2,527,000  ..  2980000 

Density  of  Population  per  square  mile         9  ..  '  I0 

POPULATION  OF   CHIEF  TOWNS. 


1895.  1898. 

Santiago      ..    256,400  ..  302,000 

Valparaiso  ..     122,500  ..  140,000 

Concepcion..      40,000  ..  50,000 


1885.  1895. 

Talca..        ..     33,200        ..          40,000 
Iquique        ..     33.000        ..          33,000 


ANNUAL  TRADE  (in  pounds  sterling). 

i87i-75.  1881-85.  1891-95. 

6,930,000  8,755,000  12.444.000 

6,440,000  10,706,000  11,603,000 

STANDARD    BOOKS. 

Espinoza.     "Jeqgrafia  de  Chile."    With  Maps.    Santiago. 

"bmopsis  Jeografia  Estadistica  de  Chile."    (Published  annually  by  the  Bureau  of  Statistict 

Santiago. 

Agustin  Ross.    "  The  Trade  between  Chile  and  Great  Britain  "    1892 

BarrosArana.    "Historia  Jeneralde  Chile."    (Seventeen  volumes  already  issued).    Santiago. 
W.  A.  Smith.    "  Temperate  Chile."    London,  1899. 


CHAPTER   XLV.— THE    RIO   DE   LA   PLATA 
COUNTRIES 

I.— THE  ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC 
BY  H.  D.  HOSKOLD,  F.G.S., 

Director-General  of  the  Department  of  Mines  and  Geology,  Argentine  Republic. 

Position  and  Extent. — Argentina,  or  the  Argentine  Republic,  termi- 
nates the  South  American  continent,  being  situated  between  the  parallels  of 
22°  and  55°  S.  From  the  apex  at  Cape  Horn  to  the  Island  of  Martin  Garcia, 
in  34°  S.,  and  58°  W.,  it  is  bounded  on  the  east  by  the  Atlantic  Ocean  and 
the  Rio  de  la  Plata  or  River  Plate ;  and  further  north  its  north-eastern  and 
northern  limits  are  determined  by  the  republics  of  Uruguay,  Brazil,  Para- 
guay and  Bolivia.  The  western  limit,  forming  the  boundary  with  Chile, 
runs  from  23°  S.  to  43°  S.  along  the  high  summits  of  the  Cordillera  of  the 
Andes  where  it  coincides  with  the  continental  watershed  ;  from  43°  S.  to 
52°  S.  it  continues  in  some  places  along  the  mountains  of  the  Cordillera, 
in  others  along  the  continental  watershed  close  to  the  eastern  foot  of  the 
Andes.  The  boundary  between  Bolivia  and  Argentina  was  delimited  by  a 
mixed  commission  in  1903.  The  country  has  been  constitutionally  divided 
into  fourteen  Federal  Provinces,  and  the  less  developed  regions  have 
been  divided  into  nine  Territories.  Six  of  the  first-named  are  mining 
and  agricultural,  and  others  are  purely  agricultural  provinces.  From 
38°  S.  southward,  the  east  coast  is  usually  low  but  irregular  in  level. 
It  is  much  indented,  forming  various  important  bays  such  as  Bahia 
Blanca,  the  Gulf  of  San  Matias,  and  those  of  San  Jorge,  Deseado, 
San  Julian,  and  others.  The  principal  ports  are  at  Buenos  Aires,  Bahia 
Blanca,  and  La  Plata  ;  they  are  of  artificial  construction,  and  suffi- 
ciently large  to  accommodate  an  immense  shipping  traffic.  The  military 
port  of  Bahia  Blanca  is  in  construction,  and  other  ports  are  projected  along 
the  Argentine  coast,  but  natural  harbours  are  few.  No  special  trigono- 
metrical survey  has,  as  yet,  been  attempted  by  the  government,  but  the 
great  meridianal  extent  of  the  country  (more  than  33°  of  latitude)  would 
give  especial  scientific  interest  to  an  exact  survey  which  might  throw  new 
light  on  the  figure  of  the  Earth. 

Surface  and  Configuration. — The  surface  is  naturally  divided  into 
extensive  tracts  of  low  and  nearly  level  land,  and  elevated  regions.  The 
plains  extend  from  Buenos  Aires  northwards  to  the  Chaco,  westward  to  the 
town  of  Mendoza,  and  southward  through  Patagonia  ;  but  their  monotony 
is  relieved  by  various  small  chains  or  groups  of  mountain  ranges,  such  as 
those  of  San  Luis,  Cordoba,  Tandil,  Ventana,  Pampa  Central,  Rio  Negro, 
and  Chubut,  which  divide  up  the  plains.  Minor  groups  of  hills  also  occupy 

840 


850       The  International   Geography 

small  areas  in  the  western  portion  of  the  province  of  Entre  Rios,  and  San- 
tiago del  Estero.  The  foot-hills  and  slopes  of  the  Andes  form  extensive 
groups  or  chains  of  mountains  of  great  altitude,  occupying  large  areas  of 
the  provinces  of  Tucuman,  Salta,  Jujuy,  Catamarca,  La  Rioja,  San  Juan,  and 
Mendoza.  '  This  system  of  mountain  chains  extends  southward,  especially 
in  the  western  portion  of  the  national  territories  of  Neuquen,  Rio  Negro, 
Chubut,  Santa  Cruz,  and  also  in  Tierra  del  Fuego.  In  the  north-eastern 
portion  of  the  republic,  in  the  territory  of  Misiones,  extensive  but  lower 
highlands  occur,  a  continuation  of  the  eastern  mountain  system  of  Brazil. 
The  highest  mountains  rise  along  the  Andean  Cordillera,  the  culminating 
summit  of  which  is  Aconcagua  (23,080  feet).  The  immense  rocky  mass 
of  the  Andes,  with  its  various  ramifications,  covers  a  large  area  both  of 
the  Argentine  and  Chilean  republics.  The  Andean  provinces  of  the 
Argentine  Republic  are  very  rugged  and  broken,  leading  up  to  the  crest- 
line  which  is  divided  by  various  passes,  and  abounding  in  profound  gorges, 

Geology. — The  Andean  region  has  been  subject  to  various  depres- 
sions and  elevations,  the  last  occurring  at  the  close  of  the  Tertiary  period. 
Denudation  has  removed  from  the  Argentine  Andes  a  great  thickness  of 
rock,  leaving  the  gneiss  and  granite  visible  over  large  areas.  The  usual 
intrusive  rocks  are  common,  and  patches  of  Jurassic,  Rhastic,  Triassic  and 
Silurian  exist  in  places.  The  Tertiary  underlies  the  Pampean,  and  is  seen 
along  the  banks  of  the  Parana,  in  Entre  Rios,  Cordoba,  Corrientes,  along 
the  Patagonian  coast,  Strait  of  Magellan,  and  Tierra  del  Fuego.  Masses 
of  basalt  occur  inland  along  the  river  Santa  Cruz.  The  Tertiary  is  believed 
to  meet  the  Pampean  formation  along  the  Rio  Negro.  The  geology  of  the 
northern  and  north-eastern  part  of  the  republic  is  little  known,  no  official 
geological  map  having,  as  yet,  been  made. 

Rivers  and  Lakes.— The  principal  rivers  are  the  Parana  and  Uruguay, 
uniting  to  form  the  great  estuary  of  La  Plata.  Further  north,  the  Parana 
takes  the  name  of  Paraguay,  the  chief  tributaries  being  the  Pilcomayo  (the 
boundary  of  the  republic  towards  Paraguay),  and  Bermejo,  from  the 
Andes,  each  of  which  receives  various  smaller  streams.  The  province  of 
Cordoba  is  watered  by  the  rivers  Primero,  Segundo,  Cuarto,  and  Tercero, 
the  last  named  joining  the  Carcarana,  a  tributary  of  the  Parana.  The  river 
San  Juan,  flowing  from  the  Andes,  is  joined  by  the  Mendoza,  Diamante  and 
Atuel,  and  enters  the  river  Colorado  which  flows  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean 
south  of  Bahia  Blanca.  The  Neuquen  and  Limay  are  tributaries  of  the 
Rio  Negro,  running  parallel  to  the  Colorado  further  south,  and  also 
falling  into  the  Atlantic.  Patagonia  is  drained  by  the  rivers  Chubut, 
Santa  Cruz  and  Gallegos.  The  lakes  situated  along  the  base  of  the 
Andes  are  numerous,  and  some  of  them  very  beautiful,  such  as  Lake 
Nahuel-Huapi,  one  of  the  sources  of  the  Rio  Negro,  and  especially  Lake 
Fontana,  a  source  of  the  southern  affluent  of  the  Chubut.  Other  lakes  of 
a  different  type  occur  on  the  lower  ground,  many  of  them,  such  as  the 
large  Mar  Chiquita  in  the  province  of  Cordoba,  being  without  outlet. 


Argentine  851 

Climate.— The  Argentine  Republic  may  be  divided  into  four  zones  of 
varying  temperature.  The  first  includes  the  low  plains  of  the  north,  situated 
between  the  parallels  of  22°  and  31^°  S.,  and  is  of  a  tropical  character;  the 
second  comprises  the  section  of  the  plain  from  31^°  to  42°  S.,  and  is  tempe- 
rate ;  while  the  third,  or  southern  part  of  the  plain,  from  42°  to  55°  S.,  is 
almost  frigid.  The  fourth,  or  mountain  zone,  extending  the  length  of  the 
country,  affords  a  variable  climate,  depending  upon  the  seasons  of  the 
year,  the  difference  of  altitude  and  latitude. 

During  summer,  great  heat  occasionally  prevails  in  the  open,  low  and 
elevated  plains  or  campos,  some  of  which  are  situated  as  plateaux  inclosed 
by  high  mountain  chains.  Some  of  these  campos  are  covered  to  a  con- 
siderable thickness  with  finely  pulverised  pumice,  deposits  from  volcanic 
ejections,  which  causes  the  heat  to  accumulate  and  become  almost  unbear- 
able. The  northern  divisions  of  the  plain,  including  Buenos  Aires,  Santa 
Fe,  Entre  Rios,  Corrientes  and  Chaco,  are  not  subject  to  anything  like 
severe  winters.  From  Buenos  Aires,  southward,  the  hot  season  is  modified 
by  the  influence  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean  and  by  thunderstorms.  Generally 
the  provinces  are  very  healthy  and  the  people  take  no  harm  from  sleeping 
in  the  open,  a  very  common  practice.  Smallpox,  yellow  fever,  and  cholera 
are  not  native  diseases,  but  have  been  imported  from  Brazil  and  Italy. 
Such  epidemics  have  not  been  known  since  1886.  Since  that  epoch  strict 
sanitary  measures  and  great  vigilance  have  kept  Buenos  Aires  free. 
These  regulations  and  the  water  and  drainage  system  of  the  capital  have 
placed  Buenos  Aires  as  a  healthy  city  in  the  first  rank. 

Flora  and  Fauna. — Extensive  forests  of  algarroba  trees  (Prosopis  alba}, 
Quebracho,  cedar,  and  many  other  varieties  exist  in  the  territories  of  Chaco, 
Formosa,  Misiones  and  the  provinces  of  Santiago  del  Estero,  Tucuman, 
Jujuy  and  Salta.  Several  companies  are  established  in  the  Chaco,  converting 
the  timber  to  commercial  uses.  In  these  forest  regions  there  is  a  dense 
tropical  undergrowth,  consisting  of  shrubs,  climbing,  flowering  and 
medicinal  plants  of  the  greatest  variety.  The  Yerba-mate  from  Misiones 
has  great  commercial  value,  the  leaves  being  collected  and  used  in  the 
same  manner  as  tea.  Nearly  all  the  lower-level  valleys  in  the  interior 
provinces  are  well  wooded.  The  open  campos  are  generally  covered 
with  a  stunted  thorny  scrub,  almost  impenetrable  ;  but  frequently  mixed 
with  algarobas.  Cardone  (Cacti  gigantia]  grows  on  the  mountain  slopes 
of  La  Rioja,  and  in  some  other  places.  The  western  mountains  running 
southwards  through  the  territories  of  Neuquen,  Rio  Negro,  Chubut  and 
Santa  Cruz,  are  covered  with  dense  forests,  including  several  varieties  of 
beeches  and  pine,  from  a  considerable  height  down  to  the  margin  of  the 
plains.  The  mountains  surrounding  the  Strait  of  Magellan  and  Tierra  del 
Fuego  are  covered  with  immense  forests  of  beech.  Winter-bark  trees 
(Drimyswinten)  are  common  in  these  regions,  and  various  shrubs  yielding 
edible  berries.  Orchids  of  great  beauty  and  variety  are  also  plentiful.  The 
gigantic  seaweed,  Alga  macrocystis,  is  common  on  the  southern  coasts  and 
56 


852       The  International  Geography 

Tierra  del  Fuego.  Such  fruit  trees  as  are  common  to  Europe  are  found 
here  in  great  abundance,  including  various  tropical  fruits  such  as  orange, 
lemon  and  other  trees.  Grapes  of  all  kinds  are  cultivated  extensively, 
and  wine  is  made.  Yet,  in  spite  of  these  extensive  woodlands,  the 
central  parts  of  the  Argentine  Republic  are  almost  treeless,  forming  vast 
level  expanses  of  grass  land  known  as  pampas,  admirably  adapted  for 
cattle  raising,  and  possessed  in  many  parts  of  a  fertile  soil  repaying 
cultivation. 

The  principal  wild  animals  are  American  tiger  (jaguar)  and  lion  (puma), 
species  of  wolf,  fox,  mountain  cat,  guanaco,  vicuna,  and  chinchilla.  Two 
kinds  of  bears  are  reported  to  exist  in  the  northern  parts.  Several  species 
of  deer,  the  tapir,  ant-eater,  a  very  small  armadillo,  and  a  great  variety  of 
monkeys  also  occur.  The  condor  of  the  Andes  is  the  chief  bird  of  prey,  and 
the  falcon  family  is  largely  represented.  The  large  American  ostrich  and  a 
smaller  representative  of  the  same  family  in  Patagonia  are  numerous. 
Parrots,  paroquets,  and  humming  birds  are  remarkable  for  their  number, 
variety  and  beauty.  Fish  abound  in  the  rivers  and  lakes.  Amongst 
insects,  probably  the  blood-sucking  vinchuca  (Conorhinus  infestans),  in  the 
western  provinces  and  in  the  Chaco,  a  small  red  insect  that  penetrates 
under  the  nails  and  skin,  are  the  most  odious. 

People  and  History  .—The  ruins  of  ancient  buildings  and  pottery 
have  been  discovered  proving  that  at  least  one  of  the 
tribes  of  Indians  inhabiting  South  America  possessed 
a  high  degree  of  civilisation,  and  it  is  possible  that  this 
tribe  represented  the  original  inhabitants.  At  the 
conquest  in  the  sixteenth  century  the  Spaniards  mixed 
to  a  great  extent  with  the  Indians,  the  consequences 
of  which  are  still  to  be  traced.  The  admixture  of 


FIG  400  —  Average  pop-  Incnan  blood  is  not  so  marked  in  the  Argentine  as  in 
ulation  of  a  square  some  of  the  surrounding  republics,  a  fact  due  prin- 
mile  of  Argentina.  cipany  to  the  great  influx  of  immigrants  from  all  Euro- 
pean nations.  The  country  gained  its  independence  in  1810,  and  was  formed 
into  a  federal  republic.  The  legislative  affairs  are  managed  by  a  Congress, 
formed  of  Senators  and  Deputies  from  all  parts  of  the  republic,  and  the 
President  and  his  Ministers  form  the  adminis- 
trative power.  The  national  and  official  language 
is  Spanish,  but  many  others  are  spoken  in  the 
large  towns.  The  State  religion  is  Roman  Catholic, 
but  all  others  are  tolerated.  The  Government  is 
based  upon  liberal,  tolerant  and  equitable  princi- 
ples, and  although  the  two  classes  of  government, 
Federal  and  Provincial,  at  one  time  gave  rise  to 
internal  aggressions  and  civil  strife,  this  has  long 
since  ceased  to  be  the  case.  Foreigners  may  become  citizens  at  pleasure, 
but  there  is  no  legal  compulsion. 


FIG.  410.— The  Argentine 
Flag. 


Argentine 


853 


Communications  and  Resources.— The  level  surface  of  the  eastern 
and  central  plains  has  led  to  a  great  development  of  railways,  bringing  the 
chief  provincial  towns  into  touch  with  the  capital  and  chief  seaport,  Buenos 
Aires.  The  vast  area  of  good  unoccupied  land  promises  great  future  pros- 
perity when  the  resources 
of  the  country  are  fully 
utilised. 

Economic  minerals  of 
nearly  all  kinds  exist ;  those 
most  abundant  are  copper 
ores  mixed  with  gold  and 
silver ;  auriferous  mine- 
rals, silver,  antimony,  lead, 
tin,  bismuth,  iron  ore, 
coal,  salt,  nitrates,  borax, 
marbles,  sulphur  and  pe- 
troleum also  abound.  In 
the  provinces  of  Jujuy,  La 
Rioja,  and  San  Luis,  and 
in  the  territories  of  Neu- 
quen,  Chubut,  and  along 
the  Patagonian  and  Tierra 
del  Fuegian  coasts,  there 
are  alluvial  gold  deposits. 

Agriculture  is  followed 
to  a  considerable  extent; 
and  so  is  stock  raising, 
large  herds  of  cattle  and 
immense  flocks  of  sheep 
being  kept.  Various  estab- 


FlG.  411. — The  Railway  System  of  Argentina. 


lishments  are  engaged  in  the  preservation  of  meat,  and  the  preparation  of 
meat-extracts,  cheese  and  butter.  The  staple  exports  consist  of  live 
animals,  wool,  corn,  meats,  hides,  timber,  sugar  and  minerals. 

The  Littoral  Provinces. — The  fourteen  federal  provinces  of  the 
republic  may  be  conveniently  grouped  into  the  Littoral  or  Coast  Provinces 
on  the  sea  coast  or  on  the  great  navigable  rivers,  the  Central  Provinces,  the 
Andean  Provinces  in  the  west,  and  the  Northern  Provinces.  As  a  rule  the 
capital  of  each  province  bears  the  same  name,  and  is  the  focus  of  the  com- 
mercial as  well  as  of  the  social  provincial  life.  In  addition  to  these  pro- 
vinces, and  making  up  fully  two-thirds  of  the  area  of  the  country,  are  the 
nine  large  thinly- peopled  national  territories,  situated  to  the  north  and  the 
south  of  the  compact  group  of  the  provinces. 

Buenos  Aires  is  the  capital  of  the  republic,  situated  on  the  right  bank  of 
the  river  Plate  in  34^°  S.  and  58^-°  W.,  and  only  33  feet  above  sea-level. 
It  possesses  a  large  port  sufficient  for  the  accommodation  of  a  great  trade ; 


854       The  International  Geography 

the  construction  of  the  harbour  on  so  shallow  a  shore  was  an  engineering 
feat  of  no  little  difficulty.  It  contains  many  elegant  public  buildings,  and 

is  the  principal  centre  of 
the  railways  and  commerce 
of  the  country.  The  affairs 
of  the  national  government 
are  carried  on  in  this  city, 
the  cosmopolitan  character 
of  which  is  indicated  by 
nearly  all  the  languages  of 
the  world  being  spoken. 
The  large  and  handsome 
squares  which  embellish  it, 
are  adorned  with  com- 
memorative monuments  to 
departed  heroes  and  illus- 

FlG.  412. — Plan  of  Buenos  Aires.  T       _..    , 

tnous  persons.     La  Plata 

is  the  capital  of  the  province  of  Buenos  Aires,  one  of  the  largest  in  the 
Federation,  and  is  situated  in  35°  S.  and  58°  W.  It  is  a  very  handsome 
town,  with  a  port ;  its  prosperity  depends  upon  general  commerce  and  the 
produce  of  the  province,  which  is  principally  agricultural.  Rosario,  in  the 
province  of  Santa  Fe,  on  the  margin  of  the  river  Parana,  stands  in  33°  S. 
and  6o£°  W.  It  is  an  important  city,  and  a  great  railway  centre.  Its  exports 
are  shipped  direct  to  Europe,  competing  in  some  measure  with  the  trade 
of  Buenos  Aires,  as  it  is  the  principal  river  port  not  only  for  its  own 
province  but  for  others  surrounding  it.  Santa  Fe,  the  capital  city  of  the 
province  of  the  same  name,  is  also  situated  on  the  Parana,  but  further  up 
the  river,  at  an  altitude  of  393  feet  above  sea-level;  it  also  has  a  port. 
Agriculture,  stock  raising,  and  the  production  of  fruit,  corn,  butter  and 
cheese  are  the  staple  industries  of  the  province.  Parana,  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  Parana  river,  opposite  Santa  Fe,  is  the  capital  of  the  pro- 
vince of  Entre  Rios,  which,  as  its  name  implies,  occupies  the  land 
between  the  rivers  Parana  and  Uruguay.  It  is  generally  level,  b.ut  undu- 
lating, or  even  mountainous  in  parts,  and  is  well  watered.  Agriculture  and 
stock  raising  are  carried  on  extensively.  It  exports  corn,  cheese,  butter  and 
live  stock,  and  is  in  a  very  flourishing  condition.  Corrientes,  on  the  Parana, 
is  the  capital  of  Corrientes,  north  of  Entre  Rios  and  the  most  easterly 
province  of  the  republic.  Like  the  other  provinces  of  this  group  it  is 
devoted  to  agricultural  pursuits.  The  territory  of  Misiones  stretches  to 
the  north-east,  between  Brazil  and  Paraguay. 

Central  Provinces. — Cordoba  city  is  situated  in  a  depression  of  an 
undulating  plain  in  31^°  S.  and  64°  W.,  1,440  feet  above  sea-level.  It  is 
very  irregularly  built,  but  it  has  a  university  and  a  cathedral,  while  the 
national  astronomical  observatory  is  situated  upon  a  rise  overlooking  the 
city.  It  is  supported  chiefly  by  commerce,  some  agriculture,  stock  raising 


Argentine  855 


and  mining ;  the  mines,  however,  are  not  much  worked.  At  no  great  distance 
it  is  surrounded  by  mountains  of  moderate  height,  but  the  valleys  between 
them  are  well  watered,  with  woods  and  patches  of  beautiful  scenery.  The 
Northern  Railway  passes  through  the  city  on  its  way  from  Buenos  Aires 
and  Rosario  to  Tucuman  and  Salta.  San  Luis  town,  situated  almost  due 
east  of  Mendoza  on  the  Western  Railway,  is  the  capital  of  the  province  of 
San  Luis,  a  stretch  of  undulating  land  west  of  Cordoba  and  intermediate 
between  the  plain  and  mountains.  It  carries  on  mining,  agriculture  and 
stock  raising.  Santiago  is  the  capital  of  the  province  of  Santiago  del 
Estero,  north  of  Cordoba.  The  position  of  the  town  is  28°  S.  and  64°  W., 
and  its  elevation  is  530  feet  above  sea-level.  It  is  mainly  an  agricultural 
province,  but  suffers  as  yet  from  inadequate  means  of  transport. 

Andean  Provinces. — Mendoza  city  stands  in  a  nearly  level  plain  in 
32^°  S.  and  69°  W.,  2,320  feet  above  the  sea.  Viticulture,  stock  raising,  corn 
growing,  and  mining  are  the  industries  of  the  province,  which  borders  on 
the  Andes,  and  has  a  very  small  rainfall.  A  terrible  earthquake  occurred 
in  1 86 1,  destroying  many  buildings  and  causing  great  loss  of  life  in  the 
city.  It  stands  on  the  Western  Railway,  which  has  been  continued  from 
Buenos  Aires  into  the  Cordillera  of  the  Andes  in  order  to  connect  with  the 
Chilean  lines,  but  is  not  finished.  San  Juan,  the  capital  of  a  province  of 
the  same  name  north  of  Mendoza,  is  situated  upon  an  almost  level  plain  in 
30^°  S.  and  69°  W.,  at  an  altitude  of  2,165  feet.  Like  Mendoza,  the  town  of 
San  Juan  is  sheltered  on  the  west  by  the  Andes.  It  depends  upon  viti- 
culture, agriculture,  stock  raising,  and  mining.  La  Rioja  is  situated  in 
29°  S.  and  67°  W.,  at  an  altitude  of  1,670  feet.  The  province  of  which  it 
is  the  capital  depends  chiefty  upon  mining,  but  has  some  viticulture,  agri- 
culture and  stock  raising.  Its  aspect  is  generally  mountainous,  with  level 
plains  between  the  descending  spurs  of  the  eastern  Andes.  It  is  connected 
by  a  branch  line  with  the  Northern  Railway.  Catamarca  is  the  capital  of 
the  province  north  of  Rioja,  and  stands  on  an  undulating  plain,  surrounded 
at  no  great  distance  by  mountains  at  the  foot  of  the  eastern  Andes,  in 
28°  S.  and  66|°  W.,  1,722  feet  above  sea-level.  Mining,  viticulture,  some 
stock  raising,  and  agriculture  are  carried  on  in  this  province.  A  branch 
of  the  Northern  Railway  from  Buenos  Aires  reaches  the  town. 

Northern  Provinces. — Tucuman,  the  capital  of  the  smallest  province 
in  the  Federation,  is  situated  in  27°  S.  and  65°  W.,  at  an  altitude  of  1,520 
feet.  Sugar  cane  is  largely  grown  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  there  are 
various  sugar  manufactories,  the  produce  of  which  is  largely  exported. 
Maize  and  other  grain  and  tobacco  are  grown.  Ancient  mines  exist  in  the 
mountains  of  this  province,  but  they  are  not  exploited.  The  province  con- 
tains forests  of  timber,  and  tropical  undergrowth,  and  is  traversed  by  the 
Northern  Railway.  Salta,  in  the  valley  of  Lerma,  is  situated  in  24^°  S. 
and  65°  W.,  at  an  altitude  of  3,790  feet.  Mining  is  carried  on  in  the  moun- 
tainous province  of  the  same  name,  and  also  some  agriculture.  There  are 
important  forests  of  timber  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  province.  Coffee  and 


856      The  International  Geography 


tobacco  are  grown.  The  province  is  bordered  on  the  east  by  the  terri- 
tories of  Chaco  and  Formosa.  Jujuy  is  one  of  the  most  northerly  towns 
in  the  republic,  being  situated  in  24°  S.  and  65^°  W.,  on  the  verge  of  the 
tropic,  but  at  an  altitude  of  4,050  feet,  on  an  undulating  plain  surrounded 
by  mountains.  Mining  is  carried  on  in  the  province  together  with  a 
certain  amount  of  agriculture.  Sugar-cane  is  grown  extensively,  as  well 
as  coffee  and  tobacco,  and  there  are  forests  of  timber  trees. 

The  Territories. — Taken  as  a  whole  one  quarter  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  Argentine  Republic  live  in  the  larger  towns  of  the  federal  provinces. 
Of  the  total  population  in  1895  only  103,400  were  returned  as  inhabiting 
the  nine  national  territories  (giving  a  density  of  population  of  o'i  per 
square  mile),  although  the  total  area  of  these  territories  is  more  than 
twice  as  great  as  that  of  the  fifteen  federal  provinces  which  had  a  density 
of  population  exceeding  7  to  the  square  mile.  The  three  northern 
territories,  Misiones,  Chaco  and  Formosa,  are  tropical.  South  of  the  pro- 
vinces there  are  six  territories,  the  Pampas  and  Neuquen,  next  to  the  settled 
portion,  those  of  the  Rio  Negro,  Chubut  and  Santa  Cruz  in  Patagonia,  and 
the  isolated  eastern  half  of  Tierra  del  Fuego  in  the  far  south. 

STATISTICS. 


Area  of  the  Argentine  Republic,  squat 
Population  of  the  Argentine  Republic 
Density  of  population  per  square  mile 
Number  of  foreigners  in  the  Republic 


uare  miles 


1869. 
1,135.840 
1,877,490 

i 


1895- 
1,135.840 
4,044,911 

1,004,527 


POPULATION  OF  THE  CHIEF  TOWNS. 


Buenos  Aires. , 
Rosario 
Cordoba 
Tucuman 


1895- 
663.854 
23,169 
42.783 
34,297 


1901. 

836,381 

112,461 

50,000 

50,000 


La  Plata 
Mendoza 
Santa  Fe 
Parana 


1895. 

43,406 

28,808 

22,244 

24,099 


ANNUAL  TRADE  (in  pounds  sterling). 

1871-75.  1881-85. 

Imports         11,900,000  ..  15,300,000 

Exports         8,700,000  ..  13,200,000 

STANDARD  BOOKS. 

W.  H.  Hudson.    "The  Naturalist  in  La  Plata."    London,  1892. 

"  Idle  Days  in  Patagonia."    London,  1893. 

M.  G.  and  E.  T.  Mulhall.    "  Handbook  of  the  River  Plate."    London,  1893. 
C.  Wiener.    "  La  Republique  Argentine."    Paris.  1899. 


1900. 
1.135,840 
4,894,149 
4 


1901. 

35.410 

29,500 

25,500 

25,000 


1891-05. 
19,800,000 
21,500,000 


H— URUGUAY 

BY  ALEXANDER  F.  BAILLIE, 

Consul  for  Paraguay  in  London. 

Position. — The  official  name  "  La  Republica  Oriental  del  Uruguay,"  or 
Republic  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  river  Uruguay,  very  clearly  locates  the 
position  of  this  small  South  American  State,  lying  south  of  Brazil  between 
the  3oth  and  35th  degrees  of  south  latitude  and  $2nd  and  58th  degrees  of 
west  longitude.  On  three  sides  it  is  bounded  by  water ;  on  the  east  by  the 
Atlantic  Ocean,  and  on  the  south  and  west  by  the  rivers  Plate  and  Uruguay 
which  form  the  division  between  it  and  the  Argentine  Republic. 


Uruguay  857 


Configuration. — The  country  on  the  coast  of  the  Atlantic  and  river 
Plate  may  be  regarded  as  a  gently  undulating  plain  covered  with  magnifi- 
cent pasture  lands,  well  watered  but  sparsely  timbered  ;  while  in  the 
interior  it  is  broken  by  several  low  mountain  ranges,  rising  to  an  elevation  of 
little  more  than  2,000  feet,  and  the  forests  are  larger,  though  the  trees  are 
nowhere  of  any  great  size.  The  mountain  chains  form  the  watershed  of 
the  numerous  rivers  that  intersect  the  land.  The  Uruguay  itself,  from  which 
the  republic  takes  its  name,  has  its  origin  in  Brazil  and  is  upwards  of  1,000 
miles  in  length,  but  navigation  is  impeded  by  the  lofty  cascade  at  Salto,  a 
town  of  some  importance,  situated  about  20  miles  below  the  river  Arapey, 
and  about  the  same  distance  above  the  Daiman,  which  are  tributaries  draining 
the  surrounding  mountainous  ranges  into  the  main  river.  Other  tributaries 
are  the  Queguay  and  the  Rio  Negro,  the  latter  of  which  divides  the  whole 
country  from  north-east  to  south-west  into  two  nearly  equal  portions.  The 
Santa  Lucia  and  San  Jose  unite  together  and  flow  into  the  river  Plate 
above  Montevideo,  while  the  Yaguaron,  the  Tacuari,  and  the  Cebollati 
drain  the  area  east  of  the  Cuchilla  Grande,  and  feed  the  great  lake  of 
Merim,  which  is  partly  situated  in  Brazil,  and  is  a  remarkable  hydrographi- 
cal  feature  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  country. 

Climate  and  Resources. — The  climate  is  mild  and  healthy.  The 
cold  is  never  excessive,  and  frosts  are  unknown ;  in  summer  the  heat  is  in- 
tense, but  is  tempered  by  the  breezes  from  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  Uruguay 
has  no  Indians  on  the  frontiers  to  disturb  the  peace,  and  it  has  no  ferocious 
animals  to  devastate  its  flocks  and  herds.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  the 
Biscacha,  or  Peruvian  hare,  which  burrows  the  land  in  all  directions  on 
the  western  side  of  the  Uruguay  to  the  great  detriment  of  sheep  and  cattle- 
farmers,  has  never  been  found  on  the  eastern  border  of  that  river.  The 
only  indigenous  mammal  of  any  size  is  the  Cervus  campestris,  a  species  of 
deer  common  to  all  the  pampas  of  the  river  Plate.  The  capybara,  or 
water-hog,  is  the  largest  rodent  in  the  world.  Birds  are  numerous,  and 
include  ostriches  (Struthio  rhea),  vultures,  and  carrion-feeding  hawks, 
great  numbers  of  ground-partridges  (Northura  major),  and  a  variety  of 
song  birds,  among  which  the  most  remarkable  is  a  mocking-bird  called 
by  the  inhabitants  (t  Calandria."  The  rich  undulating  pasture  lands  are 
well  adapted  for  the  breeding  of  vast  herds  of  horned  cattle,  which  are 
said  to  be  larger,  and  to  carry  a  heavier  hide  than  those  in  the  neigh- 
bouring Argentina,  on  account  of  the  phosphates  and  alkaline  silicates 
in  the  soil,  but  the  sheep  are  smaller,  and  the  wool  inferior  in  quality. 
Moreover  the  plains  are  better  timbered  than  the  true  pampa  of  Buenos 
Aires,  and  the  trees,  although  stunted  and  of  small  value  in  themselves, 
afford  protection  to  the  herds  from  the  great  heat  of  the  sun.  The  breed- 
ing and  slaughtering  of  cattle  are  the  most  important  occupations  of  the 
inhabitants,  for  very  little  has  been  done  in  the  promotion  of  agriculture. 
Paysandu,  on  the  river  Uruguay,  and  Montevideo,  the  capital,  are  the  great 
centres  of  the  "  Saladero  "  business.  At  the  former,  about  250,000  head  of 


858       The  International   Geography 


cattle  are  killed  annually,  and  the  carcases  are  prepared  to  meet  the 
requirements  of  the  different  markets  to  which  they  are  consigned.  "  Carne 
seca,"  or  sun-dried  beef,  is  largely  exported  to  Brazil,  while  corned-beef  and 
tinned  ox-tongues  find  a  ready  sale  in  Europe.  At  Fray  Bentos,  south  of 
Paysandu,  there  are  large  establishments  for  the  manufacture  of  extracts  of 
meat,  which,  with  hides,  tallow,  horns,  bone-ash,  wool  and  sheep  skins,  are 
the  principal  articles  of  export  trade 

Gold,  silver,  iron  and  copper  ores  occur  over  a  large  area.  The  riverine 
department  of  Salto  yields  jasper,  porphyry,  alabaster  and  agate,  which 
are  exported,  chiefly  to  Germany. 

People  and  Government. — The  original  stock  of  the  present  popu- 
lation of  Uruguay  differed  widely  from  that  of  the  neighbouring  republics. 
The  latter  are  inhabited  by  races  which  have  sprung 
from  the  alliances  of  the  European  conquerors  with 
the  aborigines,  but  the  early  settlers  in  the  Banda 
Oriental  were  already  a  mixed  race  at  the  time  of 
their  advent.  The  City  of  Montevideo  was  founded 
in  1717,  as  a  military  outpost,  by  the  Royal  Governor 
of  Buenos  Aires,  and  so  remained  until  1726,  when 

a  large  immigration  from  the  Canary  Islands  took 
FlG  413 — Average  popu- 
lation  of  a  square  mile  place.     The   inhabitants   of  these  islands  were  des- 

of  Uruguay.  cendants  of  Spaniards  and  of  the  native  "  Guanchos," 

mingled  also  with  Norman,  Flemish  and  Moorish  blood.  The  aboriginal 
Guanchos  were  a  brave,  peaceful  shepherd  race,  who  regarded  the  trade 
of  "  butcher "  as  being  so  degrading  and  ignominious,  that  no  member 
engaged  in  that  occupation  was  permitted  to  associate  with  his  fellow 
countrymen.  The  fact  is  noteworthy,  seeing  that  the  descendants  of 
these  people  are  probably  the  greatest  cattle-slaughterers  in  the  world. 
In  1821  the  country  was  annexed  by  the  Empire  of  Brazil,  but  in  1828 
its  independence  was  recognised,  and  was  guaranteed  by  the  British 
Government.  Of  the  people  70  per  cent,  are  native  born,  the  residue 
consisting  of  Europeans  of  several  nationalities,  but  chiefly  Italian. 

Government  and  Towns. — The  administration  consists  of  two 
Houses  of  Parliament,  the  Senate  and  the  Chamber 
of  Representatives,  and  the  Executive  is  given  by 
the  Constitution  to  a  President  who  is  elected  for 
four  years.  Uruguay  is,  however,  one  of  the  worst 
governed  of  all  the  civilised  nations  of  the  world. 
The  administration  is  in  the  hands  of  a  few  indi- 
viduals who  have  the  control  of  the  army,  and  who 
make  and  unmake  the  Presidents,  of  whom  no 
less  than  three  have  been  assassinated  during 
30  years.  The  language  spoken  is  Spanish,  and  the  State  religion  is  Roman 
Catholic,  but  there  is  complete  toleration.  The  republic  is  divided  into 
nineteen  departments. 


FlG.  414. — The  Uruguay 
Flag. 


Paraguay 


859 


Montevideo,  the  capital,  takes  its  name  from  the  Cerro,  or  Mount,  which 
stands  at  the  extremity  of  a  semicircular  bay.  The  city  is  built  on  a 
promontory  between  the  bay  and  the  estuary  of  the  river  Plate.  If  a 
breakwater,  which  is  urgently  required,  could  be  constructed  for  the  pro- 
tection of  shipping,  it 
would  become  one  of  the 
most  important  cities 
on  the  eastern  coast  of 
South  America.  The 
largest  inland  town  is 
San  Jose,  50  miles  from 
the  capital,  and  Colonia 
on  the  river  Plate,  Pay- 
sandu,  Salto,  Fray  Bentos, 
and  Santa  Rosa,  all  do  a 
considerable  trade,  but 
in  no  case  does  the 


FIG.  415.— The  Site  of  Montevideo. 


population   of  any  one 

of  them  exceed  5,000. 

The  means  of  communication  in  the  southern  districts  of  the   State  are 

fairly  good— more  than  1,000  miles  of  railway  are  open  to  traffic,  and  the 

more  distant  northern  towns  are  connected  With  the  railway  termini  by 

means  of  coaches.    There  are  also  over  4,000  miles  of  telegraph  lines. 


STATISTICS  (estimates). 

Area  of  Uruguay  in  square  miles 71,700 

Approximate  population  (1896)        840,000 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile 12 

Population  of  Montevideo 243,000 

Imports  in  dollars  (1892-96) 22,000,000 

Exports            „              „           30,000,000 

STANDARD  BOOKS. 

"  Handbook  of  Uruguay  "  (Bureau  of  American  Republics).    Washington,  1892. 

R.  L.  Lomba.    "  La  Republica  Oriental  det  Uruguay."    Montevideo,  1884. 

W.  H.  Hudson.    "The  Purple  Land  that  England  Lost  :  Banda  Oriental."    London,  1885. 


Ill— PARAGUAY 

BY  ALEXANDER  F.  BAILLIE, 

Consul  for  Paraguay  in  London. 

Position  and  Extent. — The  name  Paraguay  was  at  one  time  applied 
to  a  very  large  portion  of  "  the  gigantic  province  of  the  Indies,"  as  the 
Spanish  possessions  in  South  America  were  generally  entitled  in  the  reign  of 
the  Emperor  Charles  V.  It  formed  a  province  of  the  Viceroyalty  of  Peru 
and  included  parts  of  the  present  republics  of  Bolivia  and  Brazil,  and  the 
whole  of  the  vast  area  between  those  countries  and  the  rock-bound  coast 


86o       The  International  Geography 

of  Patagonia.  International  treaties,  and  armed  conflicts,  have  from  time 
to  time  reduced  its  limits,  but  its  area  is  still  considerably  larger  than 
that  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland.  The  country  lies  on  both  sides  of 
the  river  Paraguay ;  the  eastern  portion  of  Para- 
guay proper,  which  is  nearly  in  the  shape  of 
a  parallelogram,  lies  between  latitude  22°  and 
27°  S.  and  longitude  54°  and  58°  W.,  while  the 
triangular  figure  of  Western  Paraguay,  or  the 
Gran  Chaco,  extends  from  25°  to  21°  S.,  and  in 
longitude  from  58°  W.  to  an  undetermined 
FIG.  416.— The  Paraguay  dividing  line  supposed  to  be  about  62°  W.  The 
country  is  surrounded  on  the  north  and  north- 
east respectively  by  Bolivia  and  Brazil,  and  on  the  south  and  west  by  the 
Argentine  Republic. 

Configuration  and  Rivers.— On  the  eastern  frontier  of  Paraguay 
proper  the  low  Sierra  de  Amambay  stretches  from  north  to  south  ;  it  is 
crossed  from  east  to  west  by  several  other  chains  of  mountains,  and  is 
divided  about  latitude  24°  into  two  branches,  one  of  which  takes  a 
southerly  course  and  forms  the  Cordilleras  of  Caaguazu,  of  Villa  Rica  and 
of  Los  Altos,  while  the  other  proceeding  in  an  easterly  direction  under  the 
name  of  the  Sierra  de  Mbaracayu,  crosses  the  Parana,  and  by  creating  an 
obstacle  in  that  river  forms  the  celebrated  cataract  of  La  Guayra  or  Sete 
Quedas.  The  altitude  of  these  ranges  nowhere  exceeds  1,400  feet,  but 
with  the  numerous  spurs  which  spread  from  them,  the  whole  surface  of 
the  country  presents  a  continuance  of  undulations  watered  by  innumerable 
rivulets  and  streams  which  in  some  places  expand  into  swamps. 

The  hillsides  and  the  great  plains  that  they  surmount  are  covered  with 
majestic  forests,  interspersed  with  rich  alluvial  tracts,  forming  magnificent 
pasture  lands  for  large  herds  of  horned  cattle,  and  offering  vast  areas  of 
fertile  soil  for  the  cultivation  of  many  of  the  most  valuable  products  of  the 
tropical  and  temperate  zones.  The  Chaco,  or  Western  Paraguay,  has  only 
been  partially  explored,  and  would  appear  to  be  an  immense  and  fertile 
plain,  with  very  few  elevations,  and  large  areas  subject  to  frequent  inunda- 
tions. The  great  rivers  Parana  and  Paraguay  are  the  principal  features  in  the 
hydrography  of  the  country.  They  both  rise  in  Brazil,  and  for  a  consider- 
able distance  flow  in  parallel  courses  from  north  to  south  on  either  side  of 
Paraguay  proper.  The  Parana  is  by  far  the  larger,  but  is  only  navigable 
for  a  distance  of  250  miles,  while  the  Paraguay  is  accessible  to  vessels  of 
light  draught  to  a  point  1,200  miles  from  the  sea.  The  Paraguay  receives 
numerous  tributaries,  the  principal  on  the  left  bank  being  the  Apa,  Aqui- 
daban,  I  pane,  and  Tebicuari,  which  are  useful  for  the  transport  of  forest 
produce  by  boat  and  rafts,  from  short  distances  in  the  interior.  Those 
on  the  right  bank  are  the  Rio  Verde,  Araguay,  Confuso  and  Pilcomayo. 

Climate  of  Paraguay.— The  climate  is  hot  and  dry,  but  the  winds, 
which  are  very  variable  have  a  great  effect  on  the  temperature.  From 


Paraguay  86 1 

the  south  and  south-west  they  are  cool  and  refreshing,  and  the  most  trying 
are  those  from  the  north  and  north-east.  In  summer  the  temperature  some- 
times rises  to  100°  F.,  but  seldom  exceeds  it,  and  the  mean  is  85°  to 
90°.  In  winter,  that  is  to  say  from  May  to  August,  the  mean  is  62°  to  65°, 
and  sometimes  it  falls  as  low  as  40°.  Throughout  the  year,  some  sort  of 
covering  is  required  during  the  night,  and  in  winter  a  thick  blanket  is 
very  necessary.  There  is  no  fixed  rainy  season,  but  the  fall  is  greater 
during  the  summer  months,  September  to  April,  than  in  the  winter,  and 
offers  the  great  advantage  of  neutralising  the  effects  of  the  rapid  evapo- 
ration produced  by  the  rays  of  the  sun  in  the  hottest  period  of  the  year. 

Flora  and  Fauna  of  Paraguay. — The  country  is  so  highly  favoured 
by  nature,  and  its  innate  resources  are  so  great  that  when  for  some 
twenty-six  years  it  remained  under  the  remarkable  tyranny  of  the  dictator, 
Dr.  Francia,  and  was  prohibited  from  holding  intercourse  with  other 
nations,  it  was  not  only  self-supporting,  but  actually  accumulated  wealth. 
Its  vast  forests  furnish  timber  in  infinite  variety  adapted  for  all  pur- 
poses, and  unrivalled  for  elasticity,  hardness  and  durability ;  textile  and 
medicinal  plants  grow  spontaneously  ;  dye-woods,  gams,  cotton,  indigo 
and  india-rubber  are  found  in  their  natural  state ;  and  groves  of  orange 
trees  yield  fruit  unsurpassable  in  size  and  flavour ;  while  wherever  culti- 
vation is  attempted  sugar-cane,  tobacco,  rice,  mandioca,  maize  and  many 
other  products  are  raised  in  profusion.  Yerba-mate  (Ilex  Paraguaiensis), 
or  Paraguay  tea,  is  a  natural  product  of  the  soil,  and  is  extensively  consumed 
throughout  South  America.  The  gathering  employs  a  large  number  of 
labourers,  and  the  export  tax  placed  upon  it,  adds  considerably  to  the 
revenue  of  the  State. 

Animal  life  is  abundant.  Of  wild  animals,  the  jaguar,  puma,  tapir  and 
ocelot  are  the  most  formidable,  and  deer  of  several  species,  wild  boars 
and  peccaries,  the  more  numerous.  The  woods  are  full  of  monkeys  ;  and 
there  are  said  to  be  upwards  of  450  distinct  species  of  birds,  the  largest  of 
which  is  the  rhea,  or  American  ostrich,  and  the  smallest  the  viudita,  a 
little  parrot  about  the  size  of  a  canary.  Brilliant  macaws  and  jays,  toucans 
with  their  enormous  beaks,  wild  turkeys,  and  several  distinct  species  of 
partridge  are  common.  Alligators  and  carpinchos  bask  in  the  sun  on 
the  banks  of  the  rivers  and  lakes,  and  fish  of  many  kinds  swarm  in  the 
waters.  Snakes  are  both  numerous  and  venomous.  A  remarkable  feature 
of  the  inland  waters  is  the  existence  of  enormous  water-serpents,  which 
have  been  known  to  upset  canoes,  and  drag  the  occupants  below  the 
surface. 

The  mineral  resources  of  the  country  have  never  been  carefully  examined. 
A  little  gold  is  found,  probably  washed  down  from  the  province  of  Matto 
Grosso,  in  Brazil ;  but  copper  occurs  in  some  places,  and  iron  and  man- 
.ganese  are  spread  over  large  areas. 

People  and  History.— The  indigenous  inhabitants  were  tribes  of  the 
widespread  Guarani  nation,  and  were  conquered  in  1536  by  a  Spanish 


8  6 2       The  International  Geography 

expedition  under  the  command  of  Juan  de  Ayolas,  a  lieutenant  of  Sebas- 
tian Cabot.  Two  remarkable  incidents  in  the  history  of  the  republic  have 
attracted  world-wide  attention  ;  the  domination  of  the 
Jesuits  (1609-1767),  and  the  long  dictatorship  of  Gaspar 
de  Francia  (1816-1840).  In  1865  a  disastrous  war 
was  commenced  with  the  allied  forces  of  Brazil,  the 
Argentine  Republic,  and  Uruguay,  which  brought  the 
country  to  the  verge  of  ruin,  and  only  terminated  in 
1870.  The  present  form  of  Government  is  that  of  a 


FIG  417.— Average  popu-  democratic   republic  ruled   by  a   President  who  is 

of'para  "ta*™™  ""^  elected  for  four  vears>  and  a  Congress  consisting  of  a 
Senate  and  Chamber  of  Deputies  elected  by  universal 
suffrage.     The  religion  of  the  State  is  Roman  Catholic,  but  all  forms  of 
worship  are  tolerated.     Education  is  free  and  compulsory. 

Trade  and  Towns. — The  principal  industries  are  the  distillation  of 
spirits  from  sugar-cane  ;  the  fabrication  of  liqueurs,  essences,  oils,  soaps 
and  tans ;  the  manufacture  of  cigars,  earthenware,  bricks  and  furniture  ; 
and  the  raising  of  herds  of  cattle.  Hides,  both  green  and  dried,  horns, 
bones  and  horse-hair  are  largely  exported,  and  also  tobacco,  oranges, 
timber  barks  and  yerba-mate,  but  the  greater  part  of  the  products  are 
introduced  to  the  European  markets  as  proceeding  from  the  River  Plate. 
Asuncion,  the  capital,  is  extremely  well  situated  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
Paraguay,  which  at  this  point  is  a  thousand  yards  broad,  in  latitude  25° 
S.  Other  towns  of  lesser  importance  are  Villa  Rica,  Villa  Conception  and 
Villa  delPilar.  The  total  population,  exclusive  of  the  Indians  of  the  Chaco, 
is  450,000.  There  is  a  regular  service  of  steam  vessels  between  the  ports 
of  the  River  Plate  and  Asuncion,  and  communications  with  the  interior 
are  maintained  by  means  of  the  rivers,  and  by  several  good  trunk-roads. 
There  is  also  a  railway  150  miles  in  length  connecting  Asuncion  and  Villa 
Rica,  the  second  town  of  the  Republic,  and  then  diverging  in  a  southerly 
direction  towards  the  Parana  with  a  view  to  its  ultimately  joining  the 
Argentine  railway  system. 

STATISTICS  (Estimates). 

Area  of  Paraguay  in  square  miles       140,000 

Population 450,000 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile          3-2 

Population  of  Asuncion 45,000 

„        Villa  Rica 19,000 

ANNUAL  TRADE  (in  1896). 
Imports,  £492,000.  Exports,  £454,000. 

STANDARD  BOOKS. 

A.  F.  Baillie.    "  A  Paraguayan  Treasure."     London,  1887. 

A.  M.  Du  Gratz.    "  La  Republique  du  Paraguay."    Brussels,  1862. 

"  Handbook  of  Paraguay  "  (Bureau  of  American  Republics,  Washington). 

"  La  Republique  du  Paraguay"  (Prepared  for  the  Brussels  International  Exhibition,  1807). 

E.  Bourgade  La  Dardye.    "  Paraguay."    Pans,  1889,  and  translation,  London,  1892. 


The  Falkland  Islands 


863 


FlG.  418. — The  Falkland  Islands. 


IV,— THE  FALKLAND  ISLANDS 

BY   THE    EDITOR.1 

Position  and  Physical  Features. — The  Falkland  Islands  rise  on 
the  margin  of  the  continental  shelf  of  South  America,  east  of  the  Strait  of 
Magellan,  between  51°  and  53°  S.,  and  480  miles  north-east  of  Cape  Horn. 

The  coasts  are  generally  low  and  very  much  indented,  especially  on  the 
outer  sides  of  the  principal  islands  where 
they  are  broken  up  into  a  number  of 
jagged  peninsulas,  separating  deep  arms 
of  the  sea.  East  Falkland  is  almost  cut  in 
two  by  opposite  gulfs,  the  connecting 
isthmus  being  only  four  or  five  miles  wide. 
The  surface  is  wild,  rugged,  in  parts  hilly, 
or  even  mountainous,  rising  in  Mount 
Adam  on  West  Falkland  to  over  2,300  feet. 
Quartz  rock  predominates  in  the  higher 
parts,  and  clay  slate  in  the  lower,  and 
among  the  geological  puzzles  of  the  islands 
are  "  stone  rivers,"  lines  of  broken  stones 

which  in  the  course  of  time  gradually  make  their  way  down  hill  without 
the  aid  of  water.  Peat  is  abundant  and  furnishes  fuel.  There  are  no 
trees,  shrubs  being  the  largest  form  of  vegetation.  Tussac  grass  growing 
in  clumps  to  a  height  of  six  or  seven  feet,  forms  the  characteristic  feature 
of  the  flora,  still  abundant  in  the  islets,  though  in  the  larger  islands  it  has 
almost  disappeared.  There  are  extensive  tracts  of  moorland,  on  which  a 
species  of  cowberry  takes  the  place  of  heather ;  grain  and  vegetables  are 
scarcely  cultivable.  The  only  indigenous  four-footed  animal  is  a  species 
of  fox.  Cattle,  horses  and  sheep  have  been  introduced.  The  last  are  now 
reared  in  large  numbers,  and  constitute  the  chief  wealth  of  the  colony. 
Penguins  and  other  sea-fowl  are  very  numerous,  and 
fish  abound  off  the  coasts. 

The  climate,  although  not  cold,  is  raw,  and  the 
summers  are  not  genial.  The  mean  annual  temperature 
is  about  42°,  and  often  lower,  with  a  mean  range  between 
30°  and  65°;  the  rainfall  does  not  exceed  30  inches 
annually,  but  rain  falls  on  two  days  out  of  every  three 
and  mist  frequently  prevails.  Strong  gales  often  occur-  FlG-  419-— Badge  of 

.  JL  the  Falkland  Islands. 

History  and  Government. — The  islands  were 

discovered  by  Davis  in  1592,  but  it  was  not  until  the  latter  part  of  the 
eighteenth  century  that  any  attempt  was  made  at  colonisation.  French, 
Spaniards  and  English  successively  essayed  to  form  settlements,  and  the 
islands  were  seized  now  by  one,  now  by  another  of  the  rival  Powers.  At 

1  Assisted  by  E.  ].  Hastings. 


864      The  International  Geography 

last,  in  1833,  they  were  permanently  taken  possession  of  by  the  British 
Government  for  the  protection  of  the  whale  and  seal  fishery  in  the 
Southern  Ocean,  and  they  were  for  some  time  used  as  a  convict  station. 
The  Government  is  that  of  a  Crown  Colony.  The  inhabitants  are  almost 
entirely  of  European  origin.  The  principal  means  of  intercommunication 
is  by  water,  for  which  the  peninsular  character  of  the  islands  affords  great 
facilities.  The  islands  are  mainly  of  importance  as  a  station  for  refitting 
and  provisioning  ships  on  the  boisterous  passage  round  Cape  Horn. 
Sheep  farming  is  the  only  important  industry,  and  furnishes  the  staple 
export — wool,  that  of  frozen  mutton  is  increasing  ;  the  minor  exports,, 
hides,  tallow,  &c.,  are  derived  from  the  same  source.  Trade,  which  is  in 
the  hands  of  one  company,  is  almost  exclusively  with  the  United  Kingdom. 

Stanley,  the  capital,  seat  of  government,  and  only  town,  is  situated  on  a 
nearly  land-locked  harbour  on  the  north-east  of  East  Falkland.  There 
are  facilities  for  repairing  vessels.  Port  Darwin,  a  village  on  Darwin 
Harbour,  at  the  head  of  Choiseul  Sound,  commemorates  in  its  name  the 
visit  of  Darwin,  during  the  voyage  of  the  Beagle  in  1833. 

South  Georgia,  an  inhospitable  and  generally  ice-bound  land,  with  no 
permanent  inhabitants,  is  a  distant  dependency  of  the  Falkland  Islands. 
It  was  discovered  in  1675  by  a  French  navigator,  La  Roche,  and  exactly 
100  years  later  was  taken  possession  of  for  the  British  crown,  and  named 
after  the  king.  A  German  astronomical  expedition  visited  it  in  1882  to 
observe  the  transit  of  Venus,  and  remained  till  the  following  year. 

STATISTICS. 

1881.  1891.  1901. 

Area  of  Falkland  Islands  in  square  miles..        ..        6,500  ..  6,500  ..  6,500 

Population  of  Falkland  Islands 1,414  . .  1,789  . .  2,043 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile     . .        . .           0-2  . .  0-3  . .  0-3 

Population  of  Stanley          , 700  ..  694  ..  916 


CHAPTER  XLVL— THE   UNITED   STATES  OP 

BRAZIL 

BY  J.  BATALHA-REIS. 

Name,  Position  and  Extent.— The  word  Brazil  comes  from  brasil, 
brisil,  or  ver$ino,  the  name  of  a  dye-wood  used  in  Europe  in  the  Middle 
Ages,  and  applied  to  another  dye-wood  found  in  the  American  forests. 
The  United  States  of  Brazil  occupy  about  one-half  of  South  America,  and 
extend  across  seven-eighths  of  its  greatest  breadth.  The  country  is 
twenty-seven  times  as  large  as  the  United  Kingdom,  and  larger  than  all 
Australia  or  the  whole  of  Europe.  It  lies  almost  entirely  between  the 
tropics,  and  is  crossed  by  the  equator.  Brazil  and  the  territories  included 
by  the  Plata- Paraguay,  as  shown  in  the  accompanying  maps,  reproduce 
exactly  the  outline  of  the  whole  continent. 

Orography  and  Hydrography. — Brazil  is  made  up  of  highlands 
occupying  700,000  square 
miles,  and  forming  an 
"  Island,"  as  it  were,  sur- 
rounded on  the  north- 
east and  east  by  the 
Atlantic  Ocean,  and  on 
the  north-west  and  west 
by  the  continuous  valleys 
of  rivers,  the  Amazon- 
Madeira-Guapore,  and 
the  Paraguay  -  Parana- 
Plata  ;  and  by  lowlands 
comprising  a  large  part 
of  these  valleys  (the 
Amazon  basin  having  an 
area  of  1,900,000  square 
miles),  including  the 
southern  slopes  of  the 
Guiana  Mountains.  The 


Matto  C rosso 
FIG.  420. — Configuration  and  Hydrography  of  Brazil. 


harbour  of  Rio  de  Janeiro,  in  the  middle  of  the  Atlantic  coast  of  the 
Brazilian  "  Island,"  is  the  centre  of  a  real  mountainous  region,  the  highest 
part  of  which,  probably  the  highest  of  Brazil,  the  Itatiaia  (Mantiqueira),  is 
under  10,000  feet.  This  region  is  the  last  remnant  of  a  colossal  moun- 
tain mass,  the  worn-down  fragments  of  which  have  formed  the  sur- 
rounding lands.  The  highlands  grouped  as  water-partings,  either  stretching 

865 


866       The  International  Geography 

parallel  to  and  along  the  sea-coasts,  or  diverging  towards  the  interior, 
may  be  considered  as  forming  three  connected  systems,  the  names  of 
which  often  correctly  characterise  their  geographical  functions  : — 

(i)  The  Sea  Mountains  (Serras  do  Mar)  or  General  Range  (Serra  Geral}, 
form  the  south-eastern  slopes  of  the  great  plateau  of  the  Brazilian  Island, 
towards  a  strip  of  lowland  along  the  Atlantic.  (2)  The  Backbone 
(Espinhafo),  or  Axis  (Espigao),  or  Serra  Central,  is  an  extension  of  the 
Mantiqueira,  and  therefore  of  the  maritime  highlands  southward  towards 
the  Uruguay,  and  northward  in  the  basin  of  the  Sao  Francisco,  which  it 
separates  from  the  rivers  flowing  more  directly  into  the  Atlantic.  (3)  The 
Water-partings  (Vertentes)  between  north  and  south  separate  the  basin  of  the 
Amazon-Tocantins  and  Sao  Francisco  in  the  north,  and  that  of  the  Plata- 
Parana-Paraguay  in  the  south.  From  these  central  highlands  of  the 
"  Brazilian  Island  "  the  streams  run  into  the  deep  surrounding  valleys.  On 
the  north  and  north-east  the  rivers  Tocantins-Araguaya,  Xingu,  Tapajoz,  and 

Madeira  flow  to  the  Amazon  ;  on  the  south- 
west and  south  the  river  Guapore  flows  to 
the  Amazon,  and  the  system  of  the  Parana- 
Paraguay-Uruguay  to  the  Plata.  The  north 
and  north-east  are  partially  drained  by  the 
Sao  Francisco  flowing  to  the  Atlantic.  The 
ancient  mountainous  cordillera  is  now  worn 
down  as  the  result  of  ages  of  denudation 
into  vast  plateaux,  extensive  elevated  plains 
(called  variously  Chapadoes,  Taboleiros,  Cam- 
pos, Geraes},  the  more  resistant  parts  of 
which  project  as  sharp  hills  rather  than 
FIG.  421.— Diagram  of  Hydrogiaphy  real  mountain  ranges.  The  States  of  Minas 

Geraes  and  Goyaz,  with  a  general  altitude 

of  some  3,500  feet,  occupy  the  most  elevated  plateaux  in  the  centre  of 
the  "  Brazilian  Island,"  followed  westward  by  the  Matto  Grosso  plateaux, 
averaging  2,500  feet  and  more,  and  in  the  extreme  north-east  by  the  lands 
draining  directly  northward  to  the  sea  which,  from  the  upper  Maranhao 
to  Piauhy  and  Pernambuco,  sometimes  reach  elevations  of  4,000  and  5,000 
feet.  From  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  "  Brazilian  Island,"  south  of  the 
mouth  of  the  Sao  Francisco,  shorter  streams  run  straight  to  the  Atlantic. 

Running  from  the  Colombian  Andes  and  the  highlands  of  Venezuela 
and  Guiana,  the  waters,  in  the  northern  part  of  the  immense  Amazon  valley, 
gather  into  the  rivers  Ic.a,  Japura,  Negro-Branco,  Jamunda,  Trombetas, 
and  Jari.  North  of  the  mouth  of  the  Amazon  in  the  northernmost  ex- 
tremity of  Brazil  the  Oyapok,  Cassipore,  and  other  rivers  run  from  the 
slopes  of  French  Guiana  to  the  sea.  The  highest  valleys  of  the  Guapore 
and  the  Jaurii-Paraguay,  with  hardly  four  miles  between,  are  often  en- 
tirely covered  by  the  same  floods  ;  the  Amazon  is  actually  united  to  the 
Orinoco  by  the  Rio  Negro,  through  the  Cassiquiare,  to  the  Essequibo  by 


Brazil 


867 


the  Trombetas  ;  and  the  Tocantins  is  in  permanent  communication  with 
the  Sao  Francisco  by  the  Somno-Sapao.  More  than  half  of  the  surface 
of  Brazil  belongs  to  the  Amazon-Tocantins  basin ;  about  one-quarter  to 
that  of  the  Parana- Paraguay ;  and  the  other  quarter  to  the  Sao  Francisco 
and  the  shorter  Atlantic  rivers. 

Geology  and  Minerals. — Two  elliptical  zones  of  Primary  (Archaean- 
Palaeozoic)  rocks,  which  are  in  juxtaposition  from  north  to  south,  are 
coincident  from  east  to  west,  along  the  central  region  of  the  water-parting 
between  the  Amazon  and  Plata  basins,  forming,  indeed,  the  central  moun- 
tainous district  of  Rio  de  Janeiro,  Sao  Paulo,  Minas  Geraes,  Goyaz,  and 
Matto  Grosso.  These  Primary  zones  surround  respectively  two  central 
masses  of  Mesozoic  lands.  The  northerly  Primary  zone  is  itself  half 
encircled  on  the  north  and  east  by  a  long  strip  of  Tertiary  forma- 
tions, intersected  by  Secondary  ^^ 
rocks,  north  of  which  again 
Primary  rocks  form  the  slopes 
of  Guiana,  apparently  separated 
from  those  of  the  "  Brazilian 
Island"  by  the  Tertiary  and 
Quaternary  deposits  of  the 
Amazon  valley.  The  Paraguay- 
Parana  basin  and  several  smaller 
valleys  are  also  covered  with 
Quaternary  sediments.  In  the 
central  part  of  the  Archaean  for- 
mation, from  the  upper  valley  of 
the  Sao  Francisco  to  the  sea,  the 
gold  and  diamonds  which  once 
made  Brazil  famous  were  found 
in  situ.  But  both  gold  and 


so* 


FIG.  422. — Geology  of  Brazil. 


Archeun   S3 

diamonds  were  at  first,  and  are 
still,  worked  mainly  in  alluvial 
lands,  principally  in  the  vast  region  which  has  its  centre  in  the  district  of 
Minas  Geraes  (i.e.,  many  mines),  but  which  also  stretches  northwards  to 
Bahia,  westwards  to  Goyaz  and  Matto  Grosso,  and  southwards  as  far  as 
Rio  Grande  do  Sul.  In  the  same  localities  mercury,  copper,  zinc  and 
manganese  ores  are  found,  and  also  the  topaz,  amethyst,  tourmaline,  beryl, 
agate  and  other  precious  stones,  but  never  real  emeralds.  Large  deposits 
of  iron  have  been  found,  especially  in  Minas  Geraes  and  Sao  Paulo.  Coal 
also  seems  to  be  abundant  in  the  Carboniferous  strata  of  Sao  Paulo,  Santa 
Catharina,  and  Rio  Grande  do  Sul.  Lignite  exists  in  the  Tertiary  forma- 
tion of  the  Amazon,  Minas  Geraes,  and  the  east  coast.  The  decomposi- 
tion of  the  crystalline  rocks  (diorite,  diabase,  gabbro,  melaphyre) 
produces  red  soil  (terra  roxa*  or  Massape)  celebrated  for  its  immense 
fertility. 


.  Auc  SIP.  On.  %fi  he  >« 


868       The  International  Geography 

Climate,  Flora  and  Fauna.— With  the  exception  of  the  three 
smaller  southern  States  (Parana,  Santa  Catharina  and  Rio  Grande  do  Sul), 
the  whole  of  Brazil,  ranging  from  5°  N.  to  33°  S.,  is  included  in  the 
tropics :  the  vast  region  of  the  north  in  the  great  central  valley  of  the 
Amazon  lies  right  under  the  equator.  Hence  the  climate  is  almost 
everywhere  of  the  characteristic  tropical  type,  except  as  modified  by 
altitude.  The  combined  influence  of  high  temperature  and  constant 
moisture  (the  rainfall  of  the  Amazon  basin  is  excessive)  produces  extensive 
and  complex  tropical  forests.  These  find  their  chief  development  in  four 
regions — (a)  In  the  vast  Amazon  valley  surrounding  the  north  and  north- 
west of  the  "  Brazilian  Island"  (called  Selvas  or  Hylced),  where  palm-trees 
(Igapo)  grow  from  60  to  more  than  200  feet  high,  often  rooted  beneath 
floods  60  feet  deep.  Amongst  the  characteristic  species  are  the  Mauritia, 
Copernicia,  or  wax-palm,  Hevea,  Hancornia,  Micrandra  yielding  rubber, 
Cacao,  and  the  Bertholletia  giving  Brazil  nuts.  (6)  On  the  Guiana  slopes, 
{c)  On  the  banks  of  the  deep  valleys  of  the  affluents  of  the  Amazon,  even  in 

the  heart  of  the  "  Brazilian  Island,"  in  the 
upper  course  of  the  Parana,  and  in  the 
entire  valley  of  the  Sao  Francisco,  (d)  On 
the  Serras  do  Mar  (Mattas  virgens)  where, 
amongst  other  species,  Ipecacuanha,  Pilo- 
carpus,  Jacaranda  or  rose-wood,  Dialium 
ferrum,  Caesalpinia  echinata  giving  Brazil 
dye-wood,  and  Araucaria  flourish.  The 
eastern  forests  are  under  the  influence  of 
the  moisture-laden  easterly  trade  winds 
wherever  they  blow  perpendicularly  to  the 
coast,  the  prevailing  directions  being  from 
south-east  in  the  north,  east  in  the  centre, 
and  north-east  in  the  south.  The  dense 

forests  of  the  great  valleys  are  interrupted  in  certain  parts  of  the  Amazon 
valleys  by  savannas.  The  highlands  of  the  interior  of  the  "  Brazilian  Island'" 
in  Minas  Geraes,  Sao  Paulo,  Goyaz,  and  Matto  Grosso  have  a  less  mild 
climate,  and  are  covered  with  shrubs,  arboreal  cacti  and  grasses,  intersected 
by  subtropical  forests.  At  the  north-eastern  extremity,  in  Ceara  and  Rio 
Grande  do  Norte,  where  the  trade  winds  blow  parallel  to  the  coast  an 
especially  dry  season  occurs  periodically  from  June  to  December  every 
ten  years.  In  the  forests  of  the  flooded  valleys,  plants,  submerged  at  the 
base  and  mutually  shaded,  become  creepers  and  epiphytes  in  order  to 
reach  the  light  of  the  Sun. 

The  animals  are  also  often  modified  for  climbing  or  aquatic  habits. 
Many  species  of  monkeys,  sloths,  reptiles,  humming  birds  and  parrots  are 
typical  forms.  The  peccary,  agouti,  tapir,  armadillo,  paca,  puma,  coati, 
and  the  rhea,  or  American  ostrich,  are  all  characteristic  of  Brazil. 

Aboriginal    Peoples. — The  tribes  found  by    the    European    dis- 


FlG.  423. — Rainfall  and  Tempera- 
ture in  Brazil. 


Brazil  869 


coverers,  and  still  in  existence,  although  all  belonging  to  the  American 
" Indian"  stock,  seem  to  have  come  from  several  different  centres. 
Four  great  migrations  have  already  been  determined,  one  from  the 
north,  two  from  the  south,  and  one  from  the  east.  The  first  line  of 
migration  was  from  north  to  south  and  south-west,  by  which  the 
Nu-Aruaks  (Maipure  and  Ipurina)  came  from  the  West  Indies  to  the 
valley  of  the  Amazon,  diverging  south-westwards  to  the  rivers  Japura, 
Jurua,  and  Purus,  and  continuing  southwards  to  the  Paraguay.  The  Tupis 
or  Guaranis  moved  from  south  to  north  and  north-east  from  the  Paraguay 
to  the  Atlantic,  along  the  coast,  and  also  gained  the  valley  of  the  Amazon 
and  Guiana  by  passing  down  the  valleys  of  the  Xingu  and  Tapajoz.  The 
second  migration  from  the  south  was  that  of  the  Caribs  (Carahibs),  who 
came  northward  and  north-westward  to  the  valleys  of  the  Amazon 
(Japura)  and  to  Guiana.  From  the  east  the  Ges  (Aimores,  Acroa,  Caiapo, 
and  Botocudos  in  part)  moved  westward  from  the  eastern  half  of  Brazil 
and  from  the  Maranhao  to  the  Xingu,  penetrated  southward  to  Rio 
Grande  do  Sul.  Many  other  tribes  are  only  known  by  their  more  local 
movements,  the  chief  amongst  them  being  the  Goitaca  or  Vaitaca,  who 
migrated  from  northern  Parahiba  to  the  Rio  Doce  and  Minas  Geraes,  and 
the  many  peoples  of  the  interior  of  the  Amazon  valleys,  such  as  the 
Miranyas,  Panos,  Caraya,  and  Guayacuru.  The  Ges  seem  to  have  been 
displaced  by  the  migration  of  the  Tupi,  who  formed  most  of  the  tribes 
found  by  the  Portuguese  explorers,  and  the  Jesuit  missionaries  tried  to 
introduce  the  Tupi  dialect  as  a  general  Brazilian  language.  Some  of  the 
Tupi  and  other  Indians  were  at  first  forced  to  work  as  slaves  for  the 
conquering  Europeans,  but  were  afterwards  liberated,  and  in  many  places 
they  have  been  from  time  to  time  collected  in  settlements  or  villages  to  be 
educated.  Their  place  as  labourers  has  been  taken  since  1549  by  African 
negroes,  who  were  introduced  as  slaves. 

Present  Population.— After  four  centuries  of  contact  with  European 
and  African  races  the  best  known  inhabitants  of  Brazil  seem  to  exist 
in  the  following  relative  proportions — the  Europeans 
being  for  the  most  part  of  Portuguese  descent. 

Europeans.  Americans, 

(more  or  Pure  Mixed 

less  pure).  Negroes.  (Caboclos).    (Pardos).      Total. 

38  20  4  38  zoo 

Many  Indian  tribes,  still  living  in  a  state  of  native 
savagery,  have  never  entered  the  Brazilian  statistics, 


and  are  not  taken  account  of.  Towards  the  end  FIG.  424.— Averagepopu- 
of  the  sixteenth  century  the  population  of  Brazil  was  J£«w»  of^  ^uare 
estimated  at  some  60,000.  In  1819  the  first  census 
showed  4,000,000  inhabitants,  while  in  1890  the  population  numbered  about 
15,000,000,  having  thus  apparently  quadrupled  in  seventy  years.  The 
immigrants,  who  form  a  great  part  of  this  increase,  were  principally 
Portuguese  and  Spanish.  Italians  have  predominated  during  recent  years, 


870       The  International  Geography 

and  especially  settled  in  the  temperate  southern  States,  Sao  Paulo  and  Rio 
de  Janeiro.  In  the  south  also  some  German  agricultural  and  pastoral 
colonies  have  been  established.  These  settlers  continue  to  a  certain 
extent  to  use  their  own  languages ;  but  the  official  language  of  the 
country  is  Portuguese,  although  considerably  modified. 

Phases  of  History. — The  modern  history  of  Brazil  exhibits  six 
distinct  phases  :  (i)  The  struggle  of  the  Portuguese  against  the  French 
and  Dutch  for  the  possession  of  the  newly  discovered  land ;  (2)  the 
struggle  with  the  South  American  Spaniards,  and  the  question  of  boun- 
daries ;  (3)  the  internal  dissensions  due  to  trouble  with  the  Indians  and 
Jesuits  ;  (4)  geographical  and  economical  exploration  and  the  question  of 
slavery  ;  (5)  the  growth  of  the  provinces  into  the  present  quasi-autonomous 
States  ;  and  (6)  Brazilian  nationality  and  independence. 

Discovery. — The  northern  coasts  of  what  is  now  called  Brazil  were 
seen  in  January,  1500,  by  an  expedition  of  Vicente  Janez  Pinzon,  and 
had  probably  been  sighted  by  other  Europeans  half  a  century  or  more 
earlier.  The  centre  of  what  the  Portuguese  first  called  the  "  Land  of  the 
True  Cross"  (Vera  Cruz),  and  afterwards,  probably  since  1503,  "Brazil," 
was  visited  by  Pedro  Alvares  Cabral  in  1 500  at  Cabralia  Bay  in  the  south 
of  the  State  of  Bahia,  which  thus  became  the  starting-point  of  Portuguese 
exploration  and  colonisation.  By  1505  the  whole  coast  from  Maranhao 
to  the  Plata  had  been  generally  reconnoitred,  and  during  the  next  few 
years  many  Portuguese  settled  in  different  parts  of  the  new  land  and 
married  Indian  women.  From  1532  to  1535  Brazil,  then  extending  from 
the  equator  to  30°  S.,  was  divided  into  twelve  parallel  districts,  each 
running  due  west  from  the  Atlantic,  but  with  unequal  length  of  coast  and 
indefinite  hinterlands.  These  were  called  "  Captaincies,"  and  granted  as 
sovereign  fiefs  to  independent  captains  ;  more  were  subsequently  created, 
but  in  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  they  all  reverted  to  the 
Portuguese  Crown. 

Settlement  and  Exploration. — Two  great  centres  of  exploration 
were  formed  in  course  of  time,  Bahia  in  the  north  between  10°  and  15°  S., 
and  Sao  Vicente  (afterwards  Sao  Paulo)  in  the  south,  between  23°  and  25°  S. 
In  the  coast  regions  of  the  northern  division,  including  Bahia,  Pernambuco, 
and  Maranhao,  which  were  the  first  discovered  and  the  most  intensely 
colonised  up  to  1680,  the  climate  was  hostile  to  the  establishment  of 
Europeans,  and  demanded  the  cultivation  of  tropical  products.  Planta- 
tions of  sugar-cane,  introduced  from  Madeira  in  1532,  and  of  cotton  were 
accordingly  established.  The  first  important  Portuguese  settlement  was 
at  Sao-Salvador-da-Bahia-de-Todos-os-Santos  (All  Saints'  Bay),  which 
became  the  seat  of  the  first  central  colonial  Government  in  1549.  In  the 
southern  division  (Sao  Paulo  and  Rio  de  Janeiro),  the  white  population  took 
kindly  to  the  new  soil.  The  more  temperate  climate  allowed  all  sorts  of 
crops  to  be  cultivated  ;  and  mines  were  discovered  by  the  active  explora- 
tion of  the  interior.  A  national  Brazilian  character  was  naturally  formed 


Brazil  871 


in  these  more  favourable  surroundings,  and  the  centre  of  administration 
and  economical  activity  was  shifted  in  1762  from  Bahia  to  Rio  de  Janeiro. 
From  the  very  first  years  of  the  discovery  the  Portuguese  had  to  fight 
other  European  nations  for  the  possession  of  Brazil.  In  1504  the  French 
commenced  to  trade  to  Brazil  for  dye-wood  ;  subsequently  they  built  forts 
and  established  a  colony,  but  they  were  finally  expelled  in  1615.  The 
Dutch  made  their  first  hostile  appearance  at  the  end  of  the  sixteenth 
century.  They  afterwards  took  Bahia,  and  established  themselves  on  the 
coast  between  the  Sao  Francisco  and  the  Rio  Grande  do  Norte ;  but  in 
1661  the  Portuguese  finally  expelled  them  from  Brazil.  In  1640,  at  the 
time  when  Portugal  ceased  to  be  part  of  the  dual  Spanish  Monarchy, 
Brazil  was  divided  into  two  States  and  created  a  kingdom,  united  to 
Portugal  and  governed  by  a  Viceroy.  The  interior  had  been  already 
explored  in  many  directions  in  the  search  for  gold  and  emeralds,  and  for 
the  purpose  of  procuring  forced  labour.  In  1539-40  Orellana  navigated 
the  Amazon,  in  its  most  important  branch,  from  Peru  to  Para ;  and  a  century 
later  its  central  course  was  again  entirely  visited  by  Pedro  Teixeira.  At  the 
end  of  the  sixteenth  century  the  exploration  of  the  Sao  Francisco  valley 
was  commenced,  and  fifty  years  later  the  colonists  of  Sao  Paulo  reached 
northern  Paraguay,  and  thence  the  high  Andes  of  Bolivia,  afterwards 
exploring  Matto  Grosso,  Goyaz  and  Minas  Geraes.  From  the  end  of  the 
seventeenth  and  during  the  whole  eighteenth  century  the  exploration  of 
the  basin  of  the  Amazon  was  actively  continued.  Of  the  more  recent 
explorers  in  Brazil  it  is  impossible  even  to  record  the  names  and  dates ; 
but,  numerous  as  they  were,  and  energetically  as  their  explorations  were 
carried  on,  great  tracts  of  land  still  remain  quite  unknown. 

Native  Problems  and  Slavery.— In  1549  the  Jesuits  entered 
Brazil  as  missionaries,  catechising  the  Indians,  in  many  cases  succeeding 
in  collecting  and  fixing  them  in  villages,  opposing  their  employment 
and  their  subjugation  to  a  formal  state  of  slavery  by  the  Portuguese 
colonists,  but  making  them  work  for  the  benefit  of  their  Jesuit  churches 
and  establishments.  A  long  and  terrible  struggle  was  the  inevitable 
result  of  this  situation,  and  the  Jesuits,  who  often  allied  themselves 
with  the  Spanish  settlers  of  the  south  and  west,  were  expelled  from 
the  southern  province  of  Brazil  in  1640  by  the  Portuguese  colonists.  They 
returned  more  than  once  until  they  were  officially  banished  in  1759.  The 
enslavement  of  the  Indians  was  condemned  by  a  Papal  Bull  in  1640,  and 
abolished  by  law  in  1680.  Negro  slaves  from  Africa,  who  had  been 
employed  ever  since  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  had,  in  the  mean- 
time, become  very  numerous.  The  struggles  with  the  Jesuits  led  to  wars 
with  the  Spanish  colonies  and  States  surrounding  the  south  and  west  of 
Brazil,  which  lasted  during  the  whole  of  the  eighteenth,  and  part  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  often  modifying  the  southern  frontiers.  The  "  Colonia 
do  Sacramento  "  (founded  by  the  Portuguese  in  1680),  which  had  grown 
to  be  the  State  of  the  "Banda  Oriental,"  or  Uruguay,  became  in  1821  the 


872       The  International  Geography 

"  Cisplatine  province  "  of  Brazil,  coveted  by  the  Argentine  Republic.  A 
war  between  the  two  nations  led  to  the  ultimate  independence  of  Uruguay 
(1825-28).  The  war  between  Brazil  and  Paraguay  (1864-70)  was  the  last 
episode  of  the  great  historical  struggle.  In  1830  the  slave  trade  was 
prohibited.  Between  1871,  when  there  were  1,800,000  slaves,  and  1888, 
when  there  were  only  150,000,  slavery  was  gradually  but  totally  abolished. 
The  ports  of  Brazil  were  in  1808  opened  to  foreign  trade.  Half  a  century 
later  the  navigation  of  the  great  affluents  of  the  Plata,  in  1866  that  of  the 
Amazon,  the  following  year  that  of  the  Sao  Francisco  (up  to  Penedo)  were 
declared  free  to  all  nations.  The  constitution  of  the  republic  and  a  law 
of  1892  reserved  coasting  and  trade  between  Brazilian  ports  for  Brazilian 
ships. 

Independence. — From  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century  move- 
ments towards  independence  can  be  traced  in  Brazil.     In  1808  Queen 
D.   Maria   I.,   then   insane,  and    her    son,  the   Regent,   transferred   the 
Portuguese  court  from  Lisbon  to  Rio  de  Janeiro,  and  remained  in  Brazil 
during  the  French  occupation  and  the  revolution 
which  established    parliamentary   institutions    in 
Portugal.     On  returning  to  Europe  in  1821,  King 
Dom  Joao  VI.  left  his  son  Dom  Pedro  as  Regent 
of  Brazil.     But  in  1822  the  Brazilian  Empire  was 
established,  and  Dom  Pedro  proclaimed  Emperor 
with  a  parliamentary   constitution.     In   1831   he 
FIG.  425-— The  Brazilian     abdicated,  and  his  son  Dom  Pedro  II.  succeeded, 
and  reigned  until  1889,  when  the  present  republic 

of  the  United  States  of  Brazil  was  proclaimed,  each  province  becoming  a 
State  under  a  constitution  which  follows  the  type  of  that  of  the  United  States 
of  America. 

Resources  and  Trade.— Even  in  the  sixteenth  century  a  current 
rumour  pointed  to  the  existence  of  a  golden  centre  (El  Dorado) 
in  the  Guiana  mountains.  Gold  was,  however,  first  discovered  in  Sao 
Paulo  in  1560.  Up  to  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  gold  and 
diamonds  were  found  and  worked  in  the  province  of  "  Minas,"  which  was 
named  from  the  fact.  Coffee  was  introduced  in  the  plantations  of  Rio  de 
Janeiro  and  the  south  of  Sao  Paulo  in  1761.  From  the  remarkable 
prosperity  of  this  crop  Rio  de  Janeiro  became  the  economic  centre  of 
Brazil,  and  now  coffee  is  the  staple  production  of  the  country  as  far  as 
export  is  concerned,  the  railway  system  having  been  largely  developed  in 
order  to  provide  communication  between  the  plantations  and  the  seaports. 
India-rubber,  collected  on  the  Amazon  from  wild  trees,  is  also  of  great 
importance.  The  trade  of  Brazil  is  mainly  carried  on  with  the  United 
Kingdom,  the  United  States,  Portugal,  Germany  and  France.  Most 
imports  are  subject  to  a  very  high  tariff. 

Natural  Regions  and  Political  Divisions. — The  twenty-one 
States  or  main  divisions  of  Brazil  correspond  to  a  great  extent  with  natural 


Brazil  873 


regions,  and  can  easily  be  considered  in  six  natural  groups  :  (i)  The  valley 
of  the  river  Amazon  is  now  divided  into  two  States,  the  lower  part  form- 
ing Para,  the  upper  Amazonas.  (ii)  South  of  these  the  lands  which  slope 
up  from  the  Amazon  plain  to  the  plateau,  forming  all  the  vast  western 
hinterland,  belong  to  the  State  of  Matto  Grosso,  and  the  heart  and  hydro- 
graphic  centre  of  the  "  Brazilian  Island"  is  the  State  of  Goyaz.  (iii)  Along 
the  north-eastern  coast  and  stretching  inland  from  it  the  comparatively 
small  States  of  Maranhao  (part  of  which  is  a  continuation  of  the  Amazon 
and  Tocantins  plain),  Piauhi,  Ceara,  Rio  Grande  do  Norte,  Parahiba, 
Pernambuco,  Alagoas,  and  Sergipe,  succeed  one  another  from  north-west 
to  south-east,  (iv)  The  two  large  central  States  of  Bahia  and  Minas  Geraes 
occupy  the  valley  of  the  Sao  Francisco  and  other  rivers  draining  to  the 
Atlantic.  In  these  the  mining  and  industrial  activity  of  historical  and 
modern  Brazil  has  been  to  a  great  extent  concentrated,  (v)  The  small 
State  of  Espirito  Santo  and  the  State  and  Federal  District  of  Rio  de  Janeiro 
bordering  the  coast  just  within  the  tropic,  form  the  political  centre  of 
Brazil,  and  a  sort  of  transition  to  the  more  temperate  climates  and  the 
more  European  population  of  part  of  Sao  Paulo  and  the  whole  group  of 
(vi)  southern  States,  Parana,  Santa  Catharina,  and  Rio  Grande  do  Sul. 

Amazonian  States. — The  vast  inland  plain,  all  nearly  on  the  same 
level  as  the  central  part  of  the  Amazon  valley  between  the  rivers  Branco 
and  Madeira,  forms  the  State  of  (i)  Amazonas,  a  region  of  dense  tropical 
forests,  thinly  peopled  by  uncivilised  Indians.  It  is  like  a  palmately  or 
digitately-veined  leaf,  its  principal  ribs,  besides  the  central  course  of  the 
Amazon,  being  the  rivers  Negro  on  the  north  and  Madeira  on  the  south, 
on  which  secondary  tributaries,  themselves  great  rivers,  are  pinnately 
inserted.  Manaos,  near  the  confluence  of  all  the  converging  waters,  is  the 
capital  of  the  State,  and  the  natural  hydrographic  and  economic  centre 
of  the  immense  region,  which  can  be  traversed  only  by  its  waterways. 
Steamers  run  on  the  main  rivers,  and  native  canoes  follow  the  smallest 
branches.  The  valley  of  the  Trombetas  on  the  north  and  that  of  the 
Tapajoz  on  the  south,  divide  the  State  of  (2)  Para,  which  occupies  about 
one-third  of  the  whole  valley  of  the  Amazon.  The  highlands  project  from 
both  sides  and  constrict  the  valley  between  Obidos  and  Santarem  at  the 
western  extremity  of  the  State.  The  capital,  Belem  or  Para,  seventy  miles 
distant  from  the  Atlantic,  stands  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Tocantins.  This 
river  is  in  direct  communication  with  the  great  stream  of  the  Amazon  proper, 
and  really  forms  part  of  its  system,  being  only  divided  from  it  by  some 
islands,  the  largest  of  which  is  Marajo.  The  mouth  of  the  river  Para  or 
lower  Tocantins  has  been,  up  to  the  present,  the  real  maritime  and  com- 
mercial entrance  of  the  Amazon,  Belem  being  therefore  the  exporting 
centre  for  the  rubber,  vanilla  and  other  products  of  both  the  Amazonian 
States. 

Central  States. — The  State  of  (3)  Matto  Grosso  occupies  the  slopes 
which  lead  from  the  low  valley  of  the  Amazon  to  the  plateau  of  the 


874      The  International  Geography 

"Brazilian  Island,"  and  the  whole  western  part  of  the  latter,  with  a  mean 
altitude  of  3,000  feet.  It  occupies  nearly  one-half  of  the  total  width  of  Brazil, 
from  Bolivia  to  the  river  Araguaya,  and  more  than  one-half  of  its  length, 
from  the  middle  Tapajoz  and  Xingu  to  the  middle  Parana  at  the  republic 
of  Paraguay.  This  State  is  almost  without  inhabitants,  and  much  of  it  is 
still  unexplored.  The  capital,  Cuyabd,  and  some  few  settlements,  are  on  the 
rivers  of  the  Paraguay  hydrographic  system,  therefore  the  principal  com- 
mercial outlet  is  naturally  towards  the  Plata.  The  State  of  (4)  Goyaz 
is  almost  exclusively  formed  by  the  great  valleys  of  the  rivers  Tocantins 
and  Araguaya,  south  of  their  confluence,  stretching  for  15°  of  latitude  from 
north  to  south  through  the  water-parting  (Vertentes)  in  the  Santa  Martha 
and  Pyrenee  ranges  (which  reach  4,500  feet),  down  to  the  northernmost 
branch  of  the  hydrographic  system  of  the  Parana.  Goyaz  is  not  so  devoid 
of  population  as  Matto  Grosso.  The  capital,  Goyaz  (formerly  Villa  Boa), 
is  very  remotely  situated  in  the  central  region  whence  the  waters  flow 
to  the  Amazon  and  to  the  Plata. 

North-Eastern  Littoral  States.— In  the  extreme  north-east  the 
Parnahiba,  which  carries  the  greatest  volume  of  water  of  any  river  between 
the  valleys  of  the  Sao  Francisco  and  the  Tocantins,  forms  the  eastern 
border  of  the  State  of  (5)  Maranhao,  the  littoral  of  which  is  a  continua- 
tion of  the  Amazon  forest  zone.  The  higher  lands  form  savannas,  with  an 
average  height  of  800  feet,  which  are  continuous  on  the  west  with  those  of 
Para.  The  capital,  Sao  Luiz,  is  on  an  island  in  Sao  Marcos  Bay,  at  the 
common  mouth  of  numerous  rivers  which  drain  the  whole  State  from  south 
to  north,  and  form,  on  approaching  the  sea,  a  large,  low  and  swampy 
region,  edged  by  many  small  islands.  The  eastern  half  of  the  basin  of  the 
Parnahiba  forms  the  State  of  (6)  Piauhi,  which  has  a  coast-line  of  only 
eighteen  miles,  scarcely  more  than  part  of  the  mouth  of  the  river,  but  expands 
broadly  to  380  miles  towards  the  south.  It  is  covered  with  forests  in  the 
lowlands  and  with  shrubby  catingas  on  the  higher  lands ;  and  is  only 
thinly  peopled.  Therezina,  the  capital,  was  established  far  inland  where 
the  Poti,  the  most  important  tributary,  coming  from  the  north-east  enters 
the  Parnahiba.  The  State  of  (7)  Ceara,  on  the  east,  occupies  the  basin  of 
the  Jaguaribe,  and  has  a  long  coast-line  on  the  Atlantic  with  few  harbours. 
At  Fortaleza  (or  Ceara),  the  capital,  cargo  has  to  be  landed  in  surf-boats  on 
the  beach.  The  State  of  (8)  Rio  Grande  do  Norte  in  the  north-eastern 
angle  of  Brazil  includes  Cape  Sao  Roque,  and  occupies  the  valley  of  the 
lower  Piranhas  and  other  streams.  Its  capital  is  the  small  port  of  Natal. 
The  State  of  (9)  Parahiba  do  Norte  follows  to  the  south,  occupying  the 
valleys  of  the  upper  Piranhas,  Parahiba  and  other  streams.  The  three 
States  last  named  are  alike  in  sharing  a  low  forest-clad  coastal  plain  which 
rises  to  a  mountainous  region  of  savanna  character  where  they  meet  on 
the  watershed  in  the  interior.  The  important  State  of  (10)  Pernambuco, 
with  over  a  million  inhabitants,  covers  the  space  between  the  eastern 
curve  of  the  Sao  Francisco  and  the  north-eastern  highlands  of  Brazil. 


Brazil  875 


Its  capital,  Pernambuco  or  Recife  (named  from  the  reef  which  guards  its 
harbour),  in  front  of  Olinda,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Capiberibe,  is  a  sea- 
port doing  a  large  trade,  and  the  centre  from  which  a  fairly  complete 
railway  system  penetrates  the  State  and  brings  down  the  produce  of 
numerous  rich  plantations  of  sugar  and  cotton.  The  interior  land  is 
formed  by  savannas,  with  a  mean  elevation  of  between  1,500  and  2,000  feet, 
but  tropical  forests  clothe  the  eastern  slopes.  The  island  of  Fernando  de 
Noronha,  which  lies  340  miles  off  the  coast  to  the  north-east,  and  is  used 
as  a  convict  station,  is  officially  a  part  of  this  State.  The  last  two  littoral 
States  of  the  north-eastern  group  are  very  small  and  lie  one  on  either  side 
of  the  lower  Sao  Francisco.  They  are  (n)  Alagoas  on  the  north,  and 
(12)  Sergipe  on  the  south,  the  smallest  in  all  Brazil. 

Central  Eastern  States. — In  the  very  centre  of  the  eastern  zone  of 
the  "  Brazilian  Island,"  and  both  limited  to  the  west  by  the  elongated  region 
of  Goyaz,  the  two  great  States  of  Bahia  and  Minas  Geraes  occupy  succes- 
sive sections  of  the  wide  valley  of  the  Sao  Francisco,  and  of  the  eastward 
slope  of  its  eastern  watershed.  The  State  of  (13)  Bahia  may  be  divided 
into  two  different  regions — (a)  the  middle  and  northern  part  of  the  Sao 
Francisco  valley  and  (6)  the  valleys  of  the  littoral  rivers  Itapicuru, 
Paraguassu,  Contas  and  Pardo.  Its  capital  Sao  Salvador  da  Bahia,  or 
simply  Bahia,  which  was  the  first  capital  of  colonial  Brazil,  lies  on  the 
south-eastern  side  of  the  vast  Bay  of  All  Saints.  It  is  the  second  harbour 
of  Brazil,  and  continues  to  be  one  of  the  most  important  towns,  and  the 
residence  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Primate.  The  lands  around  the  bay, 
enriched  by  the  massape  soil,  are  of  extreme  fertility  and  covered  with 
plantations  of  sugar-cane,  tobacco  and  other  products.  The  most 
populous  State  in  Brazil  is  (14)  Minas  Geraes,  which  lies  entirely  inland, 
and  is  penetrated  only  on  its  margins  by  railways  from  the  seaports  of  Rio 
de  Janeiro  and  Sao  Paulo.  It  is  formed  of  three  different  regions— (a)  the 
higher  basin  of  the  Sao  Francisco  and  Parnahiba  with  its  mountainous 
borders  rising  to  elevations  of  from  3,000  to  5,000  feet ;  (6)  the  higher 
valleys  of  the  Jequitinhonha  and  Doce  which  rise  in  the  Espinhaco  and 
flow  eastward  to  the  Atlantic ;  and  (c)  the  valleys  of  the  higher  Rio  Grande- 
Parana.  This  State  is  the  richest  part  of  Brazil  as  regards  mineral 
resources.  Ouro  Preto,  which  succeeded  the  old  and  rich  centre  of  mining 
Brazil,  Villa  Rica,  is  still  its  principal  town  ;  but  the  official  capital  of  the 
State  was  recently  removed  to  Bella  Horizonte.  Plantations  in  the  south, 
and  cattle-breeding,  have  more  recently  acquired  importance. 

South-Eastern  States.— The  littoral  of  Minas  Geraes,  between  the 
Serra  do  Mar  and  the  sea,  forms  the  small  State  of  (15)  Espirito  Santo. 
To  the  south  of  it  follows  the  very  small  State  of  (16)  Rio  de  Janeiro, 
formed  by  the  highest  mountains  of  Brazil  at  an  angle  where  the  coast 
turns  from  a  southerly  to  a  south-westerly  trend.  It  is  the  most  densely- 
peopled  of  the  Brazilian  States,  and  the  best  served  by  railways.  The 
capital  is  Petropolis  on  the  mountainous  district.  On  the  grand  bay  of  Rio 
57 


876       The  International  Geography 


de  Janeiro,  facing  Nictheroy,  is  the  largest  city   of  South  America,  Sao 
Sebastiao  do   Rio  de   Janeiro,  familiarly  known  as  Rio.     Surrounded  by 

the  (17)  Federal  District  under  the  direct 
administration  of  the  central  national  govern- 
ment, it  has  been  the  capital  of  imperial  and 
is  now  that  of  republican  Brazil  as  it  was  of 
the  old  Portuguese  colony.  The  city  possesses 
one  of  the  finest  botanic  gardens  in  the  world, 
and  an  observatory.  It  is  famous  for  its  gar- 
dens and  tree-planted  avenues,  but  is  never- 
theless unhealthy.  As  a  harbour  the  bay  of 
Rio  de  Janeiro  is  only  to  be  compared  with 
Port  Jackson,  which  it  surpasses  in  the  gran- 
deur of  its  mountain  scenery.  It  is  the 
chief  emporium  of  Brazil,  carrying  on  a 
great  trade  with  all  parts  of  the  world. 


FiG.  426. — The  Bay  of  Rio  de 
Janeiro. 


South  of  Minas  Geraes  and  Rio  de  Janeiro  the  long  rectangle  between 
the  Atlantic  and  the  river  Parana  is  divided  by  some  of  the  affluents  of  the 
latter  into  four  parallel  zones,  forming  as  many  States,  which  have  a  short 
steep  versant  to  the  Atlantic,  and  slope  gently  inland  to  the  great  river. 
The  most  northerly  touching  Minas  Gerues,  Rio  de  Janeiro,  and  Matto 
Grosso,  and  for  the  most  part  within  the  tropics,  is  the  State  of  (18)  Sao 
Paulo.  It  consists  of  two  parts — (a)  the  basin  of  the  Parana  between  its 
two  branches  Rio  Grande  and  Paranapanema ;  (6)  part  of  the  central 
mountainous  region  where  Mantiqueira  reaches  5,462  feet,  and  of  the 
Serras  do  Mar  and  the  adjacent  littoral.  Through  the  very  centre  of  the 
State  flows  the  Tiete,  carrying  the  collected  waters  to  the  Parana.  The 
population  is  concentrated  in  the  east  where  the  principal  port  is  Santos. 
The  capital,  Sao  Paulo,  in  the  interior,  stands  at  an  altitude  of  2,390  feet. 
Numerous  islands  lie  along  the  coast.  The  State  is  one  of  the  most  enter- 
prising and  progressive  in  Brazil,  with  a  great  production  of  coffee,  and 
well  served  by  railways  in  the  eastern  half.  Italians  preponderate  now 
amongst  the  immigrants. 

Southern  States. — South  of  Sao  Paulo,  between  the  Itarare-Parana- 
panema  and  Rio  Negro-Iguassu,  is  the  State  of  (19)  Parana.  The 
harbour  of  Paranagud  is  the  chief  commercial  town,  exporting  the 
products  of  the  State,  amongst  which  Yerba-mate  (Paraguay  tea)  is  im- 
portant. The  State  of  (20)  Santa  Catharina  stretches  from  west  to  east, 
between  the  rivers  Iguassu  and  Uruguay,  to  the  Argentine  territory  of 
Missiones.  The  capital  is  Florianopolis  (Desterro),  on  the  island  of  Santa 
Catharina.  The  chief  resources  of  the  State  are  plantation  products  in  the 
east,  and  cattle  in  the  west.  There  are  many  groups  of  German  and 
Italian  colonists.  Last,  between  the  river  Uruguay  and  the  republic  of 
that  name,  and  forming  the  north  part  of  a  sort  of  peninsula  between  the 
.  Pelotas-Uruguay-Plata  and  the  sea,  comes  the  most  southerly  State,  which 


Brazil 


877 


seems  to  be  only  attached  to  the  restrof  Brazil  by  the  Serra  do  Mar  as  by 
a  narrow  isthmus.  This  is  (21)  Rio  Grande  do  Sul  (or  Sao  Pedro  do 
Rio  Grande  do  Sul),  drained  by  the  river  Ibicui,  which  belongs  to  the 
Uruguay  system,  and  by  the  Jacacahi-Jacuhi  flowing  to  the  great  lake  of 
Patos,  a  littoral  lagoon,  at  the  northern  end  of  which,  Porto  Alegre,  the 
capital,  is  established.  At  the  mouth  of  the  lagoon,  in  the  south,  Rio  Grande 
do  Sul  is  an  important  seaport.  Another  lagoon,  Lake  Mirim,  also  stretches 
along  the  Atlantic.  Like  the  other  southern  States  it  prospers  by  cattle- 
raising  on  its  extensive  pastures.  There  are  many  German  settlers. 

STATISTICS. 

1890. 

Area  of  Brazil  in  square  miles          3,209,878 

Population  of  Brazil 14,332,530 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile        4*5 


THE  STATES  OF  BRAZIL  IN  1890.1 


State. 
Amazonas      
Matto  Grosso 
Para      

i 

\rea  in  square  miles. 
732,500 
532.700 
443,600 
288,500 
222,000 
177,600 
164,600 
116,000 
112,300 
91,300 
85,400 
49,600 
40,200 
28,800 
27,400 
26,600 

22,000 
22,2OO 
17,300 

7,370 
538 

Population. 
148,000 
93,ooo 
327,000 
227,500 
3,184,000 
431,000 
1,820,000 
267,500 
1,385,000 
897,500 
249,500 
1,030,000 
805,500 
457,000 
283,500 
977,000 
511,500 
268,000 
136,000 
311,000 
522,600 

Density  of 
Population. 

0'2 
O'2 
07 
07 

I4'3 

2-4 

II'O 

2-3 
12-3 

9'8 
2-8 
207 

2O'O 

157 
36-6 

22-1 
I2'8 
7'2 
42-2 
971-5 

Goyaz  .  . 
Minas  Geraes. 
Maranhao 
Bahia   .. 
Piauhi   .. 
Sao  Paulo 
Rio  Grande  do 
Parana  .  . 
Pernambuco  . 
Ceara 

Sul    '.'. 

'• 

Parahyba 
Santa  Catharina 
Rio  de  Janeiro 
Alagoas 
Rio  Grande  do  Norte 
Espirito  Santo 
Sergipe.. 
Federal  District 

POPULATION  OF  THE  CHIEF  TOWNS. 


Rio  de  Janeiro 
Bahia 

Pernambuco 
Sao  Paulo  . . 
Belem 
Porto  Alegre 


Imports 
Exports 


Estimate  1883. 

350,000 

140,000 

130,000 

40,000 

40,000 

35,ooo 


1892. 
522,600 

200,000 

190,000 

100,000 

65,000 
55,000 


Parahiba 
Maranhao 
Ceara 
Pelotas 
Ouro  Preto 


Estimate  1883. 
35.000 

45,000 
20,000 


1892. 
40,000 
38,000 
35.000 
30,000 
22,000 


ANNUAL  TRADE  (in  pounds  sterling). 
(Largely  Estimates.) 

1871-75-  1881-85. 

19000,000        ..        21,350,000 
22,500,000        . .        23,200,000 

STANDARD   BOOKS. 


1891-95- 
30,000,000 
35,500,000 


L.  Agassiz.     "A  Journey  in  Brazil."     London,  1868. 

H.  W.  Bates.     "A  Naturalist  on  the  River  Amazons."     London,  2nd  edit,  1892. 

A.  Russel  Wallace.     "  Travels  on  the  Amazon  and  Rio  Negro."     London. 

A.  Moreira  Pinto.     "  Chorographia  do  Brazil,  Atlas-Texto."     Paris,  1895. 

E.  Levasseur  (and  others).     "  Le  Bresil."     Paris,  1889. 

E.  Liais.     "Climat,  geologic,  faune  et  botanique  du  Bresil."     Paris,  1872. 

J.  P.  Oliveira  Martins.     "O  Brasil  e  asColomas  Portuguesas."     Lisbon,  1888. 


*  A  census  was  taken  in  1900,  but  the  results  were  considered  fallacious  and  not  accepted 
officially. 


CHAPTER  XLVIL— NORTHERN   SOUTH  AMERICA 


I.— THE  COLONIES  OF  GUIANA 
BY  J.  RODWAY, 

Georgetown,  Demerara. 
BRITISH   GUIANA 

Position  and  Surface.— British  Guiana,  the  only  British  possession 
on  the  South  American  continent,  lies  between  Dutch  Guiana  and  Vene- 
zuela, from  which  latter  its  line  of  division  was  settled  by  a  tribunal  of 
arbitration  in  1899.  From  the  river  Corentyne,  which  divides  it  from 
Dutch  Guiana,  to  Point  Playa,  which  was  fixed  as  the  northern  boundary, 
the  coast-line  extends  to  a  length  of  about  250  miles;  the  depth  of  the 

colony  inland  to  the  sources  of 
the  Essequibo  river  is  about  600 
miles.  The  newly  defined  area 
of  British  Guiana  is  shown  un- 
shaded in  Fig.  427. 

For  fifty  miles  from  its  flat 
alluvial  shores  the  sea  is  dis- 
coloured by  the  immense  volume 
of  muddy  water  poured  in  by  its 
rivers.  Hardly  rising  above  high 
water  mark,  the  coast  for  about 
twenty  miles  inland  was  once 
nothing  more  than  a  mangrove 
swamp  in  front  and  a  sedgy  morass 
behind ;  but  this  has  been  changed 
to  a  great  extent  through  the  in- 
genuity of  the  first  possessors  of 
the  colony,  the  Dutch,  who,  imi- 
tating the  dams  and  dykes  of 
their  mother  country,  succeeded  in  empoldering  the  greater  part  of  the 
coast,  and  in  laying  out  a  line  of  sugar  and  cotton  plantations.  Cotton 
has,  however,  long  been  abandoned,  and  sugar  has  probably  seen  its  best 
days ;  nevertheless,  this  line  of  empoldered  land,  which  rarely  extends 
beyond  five  miles  from  the  shore,  is  virtually  the  only  portion  of  the 
colony  under  cultivation  and  almost  the  only  part  inhabited.  Behind  this 
depth  of  alluvium  come  reefs  of  white  quartz  sand,  the  sea  beaches  of 
some  former  age,  and  beyond  these  again  a  rocky,  hilly  country  covered 

878 


FIG.  427. — Some  of  the  boundaries  suggested 
between  British  Guiana  and  Venezuela. 


British  Guiana  879 

with  primeval  forest,  only  in  the  far  interior  broken  by  open  savannas  on 
a  sandstone  formation.  The  rocks  bdong  to  ancient  igneous  and  sedi- 
mentary formations,  consisting  mainly  of  granite,  quartz,  and  red  and 
white  clays,  in  which  gold  is  found. 

Rivers  and  Mountains. — The  longest  of  the  rivers  is  the  Essequebo 
which  rises  in  the  extreme  south  almost  on  the  equator,  and,  including  its 
numerous  windings,  is  over  600  miles  long ;  the  Corentyne  is  about  the 
same  length,  the  Berbice  400  miles,  and  the  Demerara  250.  Other  rivers  are 
the  Barima,  Waini,  and  Pomeroon,  besides  which  there  are  the  two  great 
affluents  of  the  Essequebo,  the  Cuyuni  and  Masaruni  as  well  as  hundreds 
of  smaller  rivers  generally  called  creeks.  The  Corentyne,  Berbice, 
Demerara,  and  Barima  are  navigable  for  over  a  hundred  miles  from  their 
mouths,  but  the  Essequebo,  Cuyuni,  and  Masaruni  are  obstructed  by  rapids 
about  fifty  miles  up.  The  joint  estuary  of  the  three  last-named  rivers, 
which  is  about  20  miles  broad,  contains  a  large  number  of  islands,  the 
largest  of  which  are  Wakenaam,  Leguan,  Hog  Island,  and  Troolie 
Island. 

There  are  three  principal  ranges  of  mountains  in  the  west,  the  Acarai, 
Pacarima  or  Humirida,  and  Canuku.  The  culminating  point  of  the  Paca- 
rima  is  the  famous  Roraima,  8,740  feet  in  height,  the  upper  portion  of 
which  is  an  immense  rock  rising  with  precipitous  sides  about  1,500  feet 
above  the  slope.  Other  mountains  range  from  3,000  to  4,000  feet 
and  those  in  the  Pacarima,  of  sandstone  formation,  are  exceedingly 
picturesque  from  the  weathering  of  the  rocks,  and  the  number  of  falls  and 
cataracts  on  the  rivers. 

Climate  and  Vegetation. — The  climate,  from  the  position  of  the 
colony,  T°  to  9°  N.,  is  naturally  hot ;  owing  to  the  heavy  rainfall,  which 
sometimes  amounts  to  140  inches  in  a  year,  it  is  moist,  and  in  the  forest 
steamy.  Nevertheless,  as  there  is  no  appearance  of  aridity,  and  as  on  the 
coast  there  are  always  sea  breezes  to  moderate  the  temperature,  the  heat  is 
never  unpleasant.  The  range  of  the  thermometer  is  from  74°  to  90°  F., 
but  it  more  commonly  remains  at  80°  to  82°.  Unlike  the  West  Indian 
Islands  the  colony  is  perfectly  free  from  hurricanes  and  earthquakes. 

The  forests,  which  cover  the  greater  portion  of  the  interior,  are 
peculiarly  interesting  to  the  naturalist  from  the  multiform  character  of  the 
vegetation,  and  the  beauty  and  variety  of  the  quadrupeds,  birds  and 
insects.  The  most  interesting  of  the  higher  animals  are  the  tapir,  the 
cavies  (allied  to  guinea-pigs),  the  ant  bear,  and  the  series  of  cats  which 
culminates  in  the  jaguar  or  American  tiger.  Alligators  and  immense  fish 
swim  in  the  rivers,  and  parrots,  macaws,  toucans  and  humming-birds 
perch  upon  and  hover  about  the  trees.  Epiphytal  orchids  and  monster 
creeping  plants  deck  the  branches,  and  on  the  river  banks  palms,  tree 
ferns,  and  aroids  decorate  the  foreground.  From  the  Berbice  river  the 
huge  Victoria  Regia  water-lily  was  first  brought  to  Europe,  to  be  after- 
wards distributed  over  the  whole  civilised  world. 


88o      The  International  Geography 

People  and  History. — The  inhabitants  are  varied  in  race  as  well  as 
nationality.  The  native  Indians  belong  to  several  tribes  ;  some  of  them 
live  in  much  the  same  condition  as  their  forefathers  did  when  America 
was  discovered.  The  Africans  are  represented  by  a  few  thousand  real 
Guinea  negroes,  and  a  hundred  thousand  born  in  the  colony ;  Asiatic 
races  are  represented  by  almost  as  many  East  Indians  (introduced  to  work 
on  the  plantations),  as  there  are  negroes,  and  a  number  of  Chinese  ;  while 
the  Europeans  are  mainly  Portuguese  and  British. 

The  colony  originally  consisted  of  two  settlements  on  the  Essequebo 
and  Berbice  rivers,  founded  early  in  the  seventeenth  century  by  the 
Dutch,  to  which,  in  1745,  that  on  the  Demerara  was  added  as  an  offshoot 
of  the  first.  Essequebo  and  Demerara  were  for  a  long  period  under  the 
control  of  the  Dutch  West  India  Company,  which  also  owned  Berbice,  but 
having  granted  that  river  as  a  fief  to  another  mercantile  company  it  was 
quite  independent.  The  settlements  suffered  much  at  different  times  from 
privateers,  and  in  1781  they  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  British,  to  be  recap- 
tured, however,  the  following  year  by  the  French 
allies  of  the  Dutch.  They  were  again  capltured  by  the 
British  in  1796,  given  up  at  the  Peace  of  Amiens  in 
1832,  and  a  third  time  captured  a  few  months  later  in 
1803,  to  be  finally  ceded  to  the  British  at  the  Peace 
of  1815.  The  colony,  which  was  first  called  British 
Guiana  on  the  union  with  Berbice  in  1831,  is  adminis- 
FIG.  428.— The  Badge  tered  by  a  Governor  and  Executive  Council  nomin- 
ated by  the  British  Colonial  Office;  there  is  a  legislative 
body  of  eight  officials  and  eight  electives  called  the  Court  of  Policy  to 
which  is  adjoined  to  vote  supplies  an  elected  body  called  Financial 
Representatives. 

Commerce  and  Towns.— The  most  important  industry  is  the  grow- 
ing and  manufacture  of  sugar  and  its  by-products,  rum  and  molasses. 
The  annual  export  of  sugar  in  1896-97  was  a  trifle  over  100,000  tons. 
There  has  been  a  considerable  reduction  (about  30,000  tons)  in  the  exports 
during  the  last  few  years,  which,  together  with  the  great  lowering  of  value, 
has  caused  much  depression  in  the  colony.  Gold  washing  first  became 
one  of  the  industries  of  the  colony  about  1880,  and  the  exports  of  1897 
were  valued  at  over  ^400,000,  but  it  has  undergone  no  expansion  since. 
Gold  mining  has  been  attempted,  but  hitherto  without  much  success.  It 
appears  that  two  zones  of  gold-bearing  strata  extend  in  the  west  of  the 
colony  from  Venezuelan  to  Brazilian  Guiana  ;  in  some  places  the 
"  pay-dirt "  is  very  rich,  but  on  account  of  the  long  journeys  in  open 
boats,  the  danger  of  the  rapids,  and  the  drenching  rains  and  floods,  the 
diggings  have  not  been  fully  developed. 

Communication  along  the  coast  and  for  short  distances  up  the  principal 
rivers  is  carried  on  by  a  line  of  steamers ;  there  are  good  roads  in  the 
inhabited  districts  and  two  short  railways.  It  is  intended  to  run  railways 


British  Guiana  88 1 

along  the  whole  coast  line  to  connect  with  that  on  the  east  coast,  and  some 
of  these  extensions  have  already  been  commenced. 

The  colony  is  divided  into  three  counties  which  correspond  with  the  old 
settlements — Essequebo,  Demerara,  and  Berbice,  and  retain  these  names. 
Demerara,  being  the  most  important,  has  long  been  used  as  a  general 
name  for  the  whole  colony,  e.g.,  Demerara  sugar,  which  is  not  simply 
the  product  of  one  county,  but  of  all  three.  A  portion  of  Essequebo 
known  as  the  North-West  District,  lay  within  the  territory  disputed 
by  Venezuela,  and  is  under  separate  jurisdiction.  Georgetown,  Demerara, 
the  capital  of  the  whole  colony,  is  situated  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
Demerara  at  its  mouth,  with  a  second  frontage  on  the  sea,  where  it  is 
secured  from  inundations  by  a  stone  wall  over  a  mile  long.  Like  the  other 
parts  of  the  coast  it  is  below  high-water  mark,  and  has  to  be  drained  by 
canals  with  sluices,  which  are  opened  at  low  water,  and  by  steam  pumps. 
Notwithstanding  its  flatness,  the  city  is  made  beautiful  by  the  number  of 
palms  and  other  trees  planted  in  its  streets  and  gardens,  in  fact  when  seen 
from  the  lighthouse  it  looks  as  if  embosomed  in  a  wood.  The  chief  town 
of  Berbice  is  New  Amsterdam;  in  Essequebo  is  the  small  town  of  Bartica, 
a  point  of  departure  for  the  gold  diggings,  and  there  is  the  nucleus  of 
a  town  in  the  North-West  District  called  Morawhanna.  Villages  are 
numerous  along  the  coast,  where  they  generally  alternate  with  the 
plantations. 

British  Guiana  has  been  called  a  magnificent  province.  Although 
almost  as  large  as  the  United  Kingdom,  hardly  one-hundredth  part  of  its 
area  has  been  touched,  and  not  one-tenth  of  the  fertile  alluvium  is  in  cul- 
tivation. Enough  sugar  to  supply  the  mother  country  could  be  easily 
grown  ;  cotton,  coffee,  cacao,  rice  and  tropical  fruits  also  flourish  to  per- 
fection. With  all  these  advantages  the  colony  is  virtually  at  a  standstill, 
mainly  on  account  of  the  bounty  system  on  beet  sugar  practised  by  the 
continental  countries  of  Europe. 


STATISTICS. 

1881.  1891. 

Area  of  British  Guiana,  square  miles 109,000  ..  109,000 

Population       „                       252,186  ..  278,328 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile        2*3  ..  2-5 

Population  of  Georgetown 47,175  ••  53J76 

„           New  Amsterdam        8,124  ••  8»9°3 


COMPOSITION  OF  POPULATION  IN  1891. 
(Native  Indians  accepted.) 

British  and 

Negro  and  coloured.        East  Indians.       Portuguese.       other  Europeans.        Chinese. 
144,617  ..        105,463        -.        12,166        ..  4,558  ..     3,714 

ANNUAL  TRADE  (in  dollars). 

1871-75.  1881-85.  1891-95; 

Exports    . .        . .        12,500,000        . .       13,000,000        . .      11,000,000 

Imports 9500,000        ..        9,500,000        ..        8,500.000 


882      The  International  Geography 

DUTCH   GUIANA 

Position  and  Surface.— Dutch  Guiana,  known  also  as  Surinam,  is 
separated  from  the  British  colony  by  the  river  Corentyne,  and  from  the 
French  by  the  Marowyne.  The  coast-line  is  about  240  miles  long,  and  the 
colony  extends  to  about  the  same  distance  inland.  What  has  been  said 
of  the  physical  geography  of  British  Guiana  applies  also  to  the  sister 
colony,  for  the  geological  formations,  the  forests,  the  climate,  and  rainfall 
of  the  whole  country  are  identical.  The  principal  rivers,  besides  those 
which  form  the  boundaries,  are  the  Suriname,  Saramacca  and  Coppename. 

The  few  white  inhabitants  are  mainly  Dutch,  and  speak  the  language 
of  their  country  ;  the  native  Indians,  who  number  about  12,000,  are  in  a 
similar  condition  to  those  of  British  Guiana,  and  the  negroes  generally 
speak  a  jargon  compounded  of  English,  Dutch  and  African  dialects, 
called  talkee-talkee.  Perhaps  the  most  interesting  people  in  the  colony  are 
the  "bush  niggers,"  descended  from  runaway  slaves,  who  gave  the 
colonists  so  much  trouble  in  the  latter  half  of  the  eighteenth  century  that 
the  government  was  compelled  to  make  treaties  with  them  and  give  them 
large  subsidies.  Living  in  the  forest,  like  the  Indians,  these  people  are 
savages  of  quite  a  different  type,  and  are  curious  examples  of  the  effect  of 
a  new  environment  on  the  uncivilised  negro  race. 

History  and  Trade. — The  colony  was  originally  founded  by  Lord 
Willoughby,  the  British  Governor  of  Barbados,  in  1650,  and  was  ceded 
to  the  Dutch  in  1667  in  exchange  for  what  is  now  New  York.  Like  the 
neighbouring  colonies  it  suffered  on  several  occasions  from  the  raids  of 
French  privateers,  and  was  captured  by  the  British  at  the  same  time  as 
its  neighbour,  but  it  may  be  stated  that  it  was  never  so  prosperous  as 
when  under  British  rule  during  the  Napoleonic  wars,  and  may  now  be  con- 
sidered much  less  prosperous  than  British  Guiana,  notwithstanding  the  de- 
pression of  the  latter.  This  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  colony  is  subsidised 
by  the  mother  country.  It  is  administered  by  a  Governor  and  Council. 

The  main  product  of  the  colony  was  originally  sugar,  but  this  has 
largely  gone  out  of  cultivation,  to  be  partly  replaced  by  cacao,  coffee,  and 
bananas.  Balata,  a  kind  of  gutta  percha,  is  largely  exported,  also  timber 
and  gold,  of  which  last  the  production  in  1899  exceeded  ;£  100,000.  There 
are  no  local  steamers,  no  railways,  and  the  roads  along  the  coast  are  not 
continuous.  The  capital  is  Paramaribo,  conveniently  situated  at  the 
junction  of  the  Suriname  and  Commewine  rivers,  ten  miles  from  the  sea. 

STATISTICS. 

Area  of  Dutch  Guiana  (square  miles) 46,060 

Population  of    „  (1896)        02,499 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile  

Population  of  Paramaribo  (1896)          29,26* 

ANNUAL  TRADE  (in  pounds  sterling). 

1895. 

Imports        460,000 

Exports        430,000 


French    Guiana  883 


FRENCH     GUIANA 

French  Guiana,  generally  called  Cayenne,  is  separated  from  the 
Dutch  colony  by  the  river  Marowyne  or  Maroni,  and  from  Brazil  by  the 
Oyapok.  It  has  followed,  therefore,  that  the  contested  territory  between 
these  rivers  has,  by  agreement,  been  left  as  a  neutral  district  until  the  matter 
is  settled  by  arbitration,  which  it  is  understood  will  soon  be  done.  Unlike 
the  other  colonies  French  Guiana  has  elevated  land  near  the  shore,  and  there 
are  several  rocky  islands  off  the  coast,  but  otherwise  the  geological  formation 
is  similar.  The  principal  rivers  are  the  Mana,  Sinnamarie,  Approuague,  and 
Oyapok.  Settlements  were  first  made  here  by  the  British  in  the  early  part 
of  the  seventeenth  century  ;  French  settlers  were  in  the  Sinnamarie  in 
1624,  and  in  Cayenne  in  1627,  but  it  was  not  until  after  several  failures 
that  the  present  colony  was  established  in  1664.  Several  unsuccessful 
attempts  were  made  to  establish  settlements  of  Europeans  during  the 
eighteenth  century,  and  ultimately,  since  the  time  of  the  Revolution  when 
it  was  first  used  as  a  penal  establishment,  it  has  gained  a  bad  name. 
Nevertheless  it  has  all  the  capabilities  of  the  other  Guianas,  and  could  be 
developed  with  advantage.  The  colony  is  administered  by  a  Governor 
and  sends  one  Deputy  to  the  French  National  Assembly.  There  are  but 
few  plantations,  and  on  these  cacao  is  grown  ;  the  other  products  are  gold, 
balata,  phosphates  from  the  islands,  and  anatto.  Latterly  the  gold  export 
has  been  very  considerable,  both  from  diggings,  some  across  the  Brazilian 
frontier,  and  from  dredging  in  the  river  Sinnamarie. 

The  capital,  St.  Louis,  is  well  situated  on  what  is  called  the  island  of 
Cayenne,  which,  however,  is  only  separated  from  the  mainland  bv  the 
branching  of  two  rivers.  The  population  of  the  town  is  increasing  from 
the  development  of  gold-mining. 

STATISTICS. 

Area  of  French  Guiana  (square  miles) 31,000  31,000 

Population  of     „  23,663         ..         22,714 

St.  Louis  (1895) 11,000         ..         12,351 

ANNUAL  TRADE  (in  pounds  sterling). 

1889.  1895. 

Exports          170,000        ..        374,400 

Imports          360,000        ..        457,500 

STANDARD   BOOKS. 

E.  F.  im  Thurn.    "  Among  the  Indians  of  Guiana."    London,  1883. 
J.  Rodway.    "  In  the  Guiana  Forest."     London,  1895. 

"  Handbook  of  British  Guiana."    Georgetown,  1893. 

J.  Strickland.    "  Documents  and  Maps  of  the  Boundary  Question  between  Venezuela 

and  British  Guiana."    London,  1896. 

Sir  Robert  H.  Schomburgk.    "  Description  of  British  Guiana."    London,  1840. 
Richard  Schomburgk.     "  Reisen   in  Britisch-Guiana  in   1840-44."     3  vols.    Leipzig, 

1847-48. 

H.  A.  Coudreau.     "  Dix  ans  de  Guyane."    Paris,  1892.  . 
—————    "  Chez  nos  Indiens— Quatre  ans  dans  la  Guyane  Francaise."     Paris, 

1802. 


58 


884       The  International  Geography 

II.  — VENEZUELA 

BY  DR.  W.  SIEVERS, 

Professor  of  Geography  in  the  University  of  Giessen. 

Position  and  Natural  Divisions.— Venezuela  occupies  the  north 
of  South  America  from  the  Gulf  of  Maracaibo,  where  it  borders  on  the 
republic  of  Colombia  on  the  west,  to  the  Guiana  plateau,  where  it  meets 
British  Guiana  on  the  east.  Southward  it  is  bounded  by  Brazil.  It  is 
naturally  divided  into  three  parts  :  the  highlands  of  Guiana,  the  great  plains 
or  Llanos,  and  the  high  mountain  systems  of  the  Cordilleran  and  the 
Caribbean  Ranges  in  the  north. 

Venezuelan  Guiana. — Very  little  is  yet  known  of  the  interior  of 
Guiana.  It  is  generally  supposed  to  be  a  system  of  crystalline  mountains 
covered  with  enormous  masses  of  Cretaceous  sandstone.  The  sandstone 
masses  form  the  highest  summits  in  the  east  (Mt.  Roraima,  8,530  feet),  while 
overlying  Cretaceous  strata  do  not  seem  to  exist  in  the  west,  the  Sierra 
Maraguaca  and  Cerro  Duida  (each  8,200  feet)  being  apparently  composed 
of  granitic  and  gneissose  rocks  only.  Towards  the  north  the  height  of  the 
Guiana  mountains  decreases  considerably,  and  only  monotonous  hills  of 
about  1,500  feet  reach  the  Orinoco.  The  hills  of  inner  Guiana  are  inter- 
spersed with  luxuriant  savannas,  which  are  covered  with  grass  more  than 
ten  feet  high,  and  numerous  shrubs,  bushes,  and  herbaceous  plants,  remark- 
able for  the  extraordinary  splendour  of  their  blossoms.  The  inner  parts  of 
Guiana  are  pathless,  and  nearly  inapproachable,  owing  chiefly  to  the 
numerous  cataracts  and  rapids  on  the  rivers.  The  west  and  north  of 
Guiana  is  encircled  by  the  Orinoco,  the  third  in  size  of  the  great  indepen- 
dent rivers  of  South  America.  Its  sources  lie  in  2^°  N.  in  the  Sierra 
Parima  ;  in  its  upper  course  the  banks  are  grown  with  dense 'woods,  but 
there  are  hardly  any  human  inhabitants  or  animal  life.  After  passing 
Esmeralda,  the  Casiquiare  branch  leaves  the  main  river  and  flows  to  the 
Rio  Negro  ;  the  tributaries  Ventuari  on  the  right,  Atabapo,  Inirida,  and 
Vichada  are  received'on  the  left,  and  the  Orinoco  leaves  the  woods  near  the 
mouth  of  the  river  Zama.  It  then  breaks  through  the  crystalline  rock 
border  of  Guiana  with  the  vast  rapids  of  Maypures  and  Atures,  receives 
the  rivers  Meta  and  Arauca  on  the  left,  and,  increasing  rapidly  in  breadth, 
turns  towards  the  east  even  before  receiving  the  Apure  from  the  west.  In 
its  course  to  the  sea  the  Orinoco  seems  to  follow  the  northern  slopes  of  the 
Guiana  plateau,  but  in  fact  the  channel  is  cut  deeply  into  them ;  and  various 
narrows  (angosturas)  are  produced,  the  most  famous  one  at  Ciudad  Bolivar. 
Near  Barrancas  the  river  begins  to  form  its  dense.lv  wooded  delta  of  about 
the  area  of  Wales. 

The  great  gold  mines  of  Callao,  in  the  Yuruari  territory,  which  produced 
nearly  a  million  pounds  sterling  in  1884,  have  declined  since  1887,  and  now 
yield  only  one-fifth  of  that  amount.  Forest  produce  is  also  collected  and 


Venezuela  885 

exported.     The  only  town  is  Ciudad  Bolivar  on  the  Orinoco,  a  river  which  is 
by  no  means  the  great  artery  of  commerce  it  ought  to  be. 

The  Llanos. — In  the  west  and  north  the  Orinoco  is  surrounded  by  the 
llanos,  extensive  plains  insensibly  sloping  down  from  800  feet  in  altitude 
to  the  river.  They  are  composed  of  detritus,  gravels,  sands,  clay  and  fer- 
ruginous breccias,  resulting  from  the  denudation  of  the  neighbouring 
mountain  chains,  and  probably  overlying  Tertiary  marine  strata.  The 
monotonous  plains  are  cut  by  the  rivers  into  portions  called  mesas,  remark- 
able for  dryness  in  comparison  with  the  humid  ground  of  the  actual 
valleys.  In  the  west,  especially  near  the  Cordillera,  the  plain  produces  exten- 
sive primeval  forests  or  selvas,  while  in  the  State  of  Bermudez,  between 
Maturin  and  Ciudad  Bolivar,  there  is  a  typical  desert,  with  drifts  of  sand 
and  barren  hills.  The  palma  moriche  (Mauritia  flexuosa)  borders  the 
rivulets  on  the  mesas  in  double  rows,  while  groups  of  trees  appear  where- 
ever  subterraneous  water  exists.  The  scenery  of  the  llanos  therefore 
frequently  resembles  that  of  an  English  park.  The  principal  river  is  the 
Apure ;  but  the  hydrographic  axis  is  formed  by  the  Cojedes  and  Portu- 
guesa  with  the  lower  Apure  into  which  they  flow. 
Most  of  the  rivers  of  the  llanos  converge  to  this  line, 
which  leads  backward  to  the  division  between  the 
Cordillera  and  the  Caribbean  Mountains.  The  Unare 
river  is  the  only  one  whose  valley  penetrates  deeply 
into  the  llanos  from  the  sea,  while  in  the  east  all  the 
rivers  flow  eastward  to  the  Orinoco  delta  and  the 
Gulf  of  Paria. 


The  llaneros,  or  people  of  the  llano,  live  chiefly  uiation  of  a  square 
by  cattle-breeding,  which  is  almost  their  only  occu-  mile  °f  Venezuela. 
pation,  agriculture  supplying  only  the  barest  necessaries  of  life.  The 
settlements  consequently  are  yards  for  cattle  (hatos),  taverns  (pulperias), 
and  small  villages ;  larger  villages  and  towns  are  very  rare  in  the  interior 
of  the  llanos,  but  on  the  northern  border  there  are  many.  The  principal 
river  ports,  San  Fernando  de  Apure  and  Nutrias,  export  live  stock  and 
produce  derived  from  them. 

The  Northern  Mountains. — The  mountainous  country  of  the  north 
consists  of  two  principal  sections — the  Cordillera  of  Merida,  with  the 
mountain  systems  of  Coro  and  Barquisimeto,  in  the  west ;  and  the  Caribbean 
system,  or  the  Venezuelan  Coast  Ranges,  on  the  east.  These  chains  are 
almost  entirely  interrupted  at  two  points  :  in  the  continuation  of  the 
Cojedes-Portuguesa  line  between  the  Cordillera  and  the  Caribbean  system, 
in  the  west,  where  the  elevation  of  the  watershed  is  only  1,150  feet ;  and 
again  on  the  coast  between  Cabo  Codera  and  Cumand,  where  the  Gulf 
of  Barcelona  invades  a  breach  in  the  northern  chain.  A  third  breach 
separates  the  island  of  Trinidad  from  the  mainland. 

The  Cordillera  of  Merida  is'  a  great  folded  chain,  15,400  feet  in 
maximum  altitude,  with  an  Archaean  crystalline  zone  in  the  centre,  and  two 


886       The  International  Geography 

sedimentary  flanking  zones  of  Cretaceous  sandstones  and  limestones.  The 
Cordillera,  a  continuation  of  the  Colombian  Cordillera  of  Bogota,  is  free  from 
all  volcanic  rocks  ;  the  five  highest  summits  of  the  most  elevated  mountain 
ridge,  the  Sierra  Nevada  de  Merida,  are  covered  with  perpetual  snow.  The 
most  important  rivers  are  the  Chama  in  the  middle  (on  which  Menda 
stands),  the  Motatan  in  the  east  (Trujillo)  and  the  Torbes  in  the  west 
(Tachira).  Vast  forests  cover  the  northern  and  southern  slopes  of  the 
Cordillera  up  to  10,000  feet ;  higher  up  are  alpine  pastures,  and  the  inhos- 
pitable paramos,  and  below  5,000  feet  plantations,  chiefly  of  coffee,  sugar- 
cane, bananas,  even  of  cacao,  and  fields  of  wheat  and  maize.  Up  to  8,000 
feet  beans,  peas,  potatoes  and  barley  can  be  cultivated. 

The  population  of  the  Cordillera  contains  more  Indians  and  fewer 
negroes  than  any  other  district  of  Venezuela  ;  the  former  live  chiefly  in  the 
highest,  the  latter  in  the  lowest  parts  of  the  mountains,  the  white  people 
occupying  the  intermediate  zone.  The  exports,  consisting  especially  of 
coffee  and  cacao,  pass  through  the  two  principal  commercial  towns  of  San 
Cristobal  and  Valera  to  Maracaibo  ;  the  railways  employed  are  that  from  Cucuta 
to  Puerto  Villamizar  in  Colombia,  and  that  from  Valera  to  La  Ceiba;  the 
middle  section  from  Merida  has  a  tolerable  outlet  by  means  of  the  Santa 
Barbara  railway. 

The  Northern  Lowlands. — The  lowlands  to  the  north  of  the 
Cordillera  form  an  enormous  alluvial  region,  built  up  by  the  rivers  which 
carry  the  detritus  from  the  surrounding  mountains  into  the  depressed  area 
between  the  Cordillera  de  Merida  and  the  Sierra  de  Perija  occupied  by  the 
Lake  of  Maracaibo,  which  is  decreasing  in  area  as  its  margin  is  being 
silted  up.  The  shallow,  brackish  lake  is  closed  by  a  bar,  which  prevents 
the  entrance  of  large  vessels,  nevertheless  Maracaibo,  as  the  capital  of  the 
State  of  Zulia,  and  principal  port  for  the  Cordillera  de  Merida  and  the 
adjacent  parts  of  Colombia,  has  grown  to  be  a  considerable  town.  The 
bar  separates  the  Lake  of  Maracaibo  from  the  Gulf  of  Venezuela,  which  is 
surrounded  by  the  peninsula  of  Guajira  in  the  west,  and  by  the  coast  of 
Coro  and  the  peninsula  of  Paraguana  on  the  east.  Both  these  peninsulas 
are  built  up  of  eruptive  rocks  and  Tertiary  strata  ;  they  are  dry  and 
almost  waterless,  but  have  a  numerous  population.  The  Guajira  aboriginal 
tribe  have  never  been  subjugated  ;  the  Coro  side  is  occupied  by  cattle- 
breeding  Venezuelans. 

The  Coro  Range. — The  Cretaceous  mountain  system  of  Coro  rises 
in  its  two  principal  chains  to  less  than  5,000  feet.  Between  these  chains  a 
broad  Tertiary  plain  of  about  1,200  to  1,500  feet  in  elevation  is  traversed  by 
the  longest  stream  of  western  Venezuela,  the  Rio  Tocuyo.  Coro,  or  the 
State  of  Falcon,  is  divided  into  two  quite  dissimilar  parts,  the  western  as 
far  as  69^°  W.  is  covered  with  cactus,  thorn-bushes,  shrubs  and  dry  woods, 
rain  being  rare,  and  water  scarce  ;  agriculture,  therefore,  is  little  developed. 
The  old  town  of  Coro,  founded  in  1527,  is  in  this  district.  The  coast  of 
the  eastern  part  is  fringed  by  coral  reefs  and  mangrove  woods,  and  unlike 


Venezuela 


western  Coro,  it  suffers  from  immoderate  rainfall,  leading  to  inundations 
which  discourage  agriculture.  Tucacas,  the  principal  port  of  eastern  Coro,  is 
thriving,  being  connected  by  railway  with  the  copper  mines  of  Aroa  and 
the  capital  of  the  State  of  Lara,  Barquisimeto.  The  State  of  Lara,  lying 
between  the  Cordillera,  the  Coro  mountains,  and  the  Caribbean  ranges, 
resembles  Coro  in  climate  and  vegetation.  Its  western  part  does  not 
exceed  2,600  feet  in  elevation,  is  dry,  and  in  the  main  waterless,  although 
the  river  Tocuyo  passes  through  it ;  the  east,  Yaracui,  is  a  fresh,  humid, 
wooded  land,  with  large  plantations  of  coffee  and  cacao  trees. 

The  Caribbean  Range.— The  Caribbean  system  of  mountains  is 
separated  by  the  depression  of  Barcelona  into  a  western  and  an  eastern 
section  of  similar  structure.  Both  are  composed  of  crystalline  schists  in 
two  parallel  eastward  running  chains,  between  which  lies  a  hollow  con- 
taining in  the  west  numerous  dry 
ancient  lake  beds,  and  one,  the 
lake  of  Valencia,  still  filled  with 
water.  In  the  east,  besides  the 
Gulf  of  Cariaco,  a  great  shallow 
lagoon  and  swampy  lands  separate 
the  two  chains.  In  both  sections 
the  northern  chain  forms  the 
rugged  coast  of  the  actual  ocean, 
the  southern  the  former  coast  of 
the  Tertiary  Llanos  Sea  ;  but  in 
the  west  the  northern  chain  is  the 
higher  (Naiguata  reaches  9,127 
feet,  and  Silla  de  Caracas  8,743 
feet),  while  in  tj^  east  the  southern 
chain  is  the  higher,  with  Turumiquire  6,562  feet.  The  eastern  and  western 
sections  of  the  chain  present  many  minor  differences  in  geological  and 
orographical  structure,  and  they  also  differ  in  vegetation.  In  the  east, 
forests  are  found  only  up  to  2,600  feet,  the  higher  parts  being  grassy 
pasture  grounds,  while  the  western  part  is  richer  in  wood,  and  far  better 
cultivated^. 

The  ^B  principal  towns  of  the  republic,  Caracas  and  Valencia, 
lie  in  the^PRst  of  the  richest  and  most  cultivated  coffee  regions  of  Vene- 
zuela, and  so  do  many  important  provincial  towns.  The  two  chief  ports, 
La  Guaira  (with  Maiquetia)  and  Puerto  Cabello,  are  connected  by  railway 
with  Caracas  and  Valencia.  Between  the  small  port  of  Carenero  at  the 
beginning  of  the  railway  to  the  cacao  centre  of  Rio  Chico  and  Barcelona, 
the  coast  is  a  level  shore  without  any  important  anchorage  or  settlement. 
Quanta,  the  best  port  of  the  east,  is  still  almost  tradeless,  although 
it  is  connected  by  railway  with  Barcelona,  the  capital  of  the  State  of 
Bermudez,  and  the  Cretaceous  coal  mines  of  Naricual.  The  trade  of  Cum- 
and,  one  of  the  oldest  towns  in  America,  is  larger,  but  it  has  no  railway  con- 


Heights  in  fee 


FiG.  430. — The  Railway  from  La  Guaira  to 
Caracas. 


The  International  Geography 


nections  ;  the  principal  road  of  the  east  of  Venezuela  leads  from  it  through 
the  dry  and  woodless  mountains  to  Maturin.  Campano,  a  mediocre  port  at 
the  foot  of  the  northern  chain,  exports  cacao,  the  most  important  produce 
of  the  humid  country  near  the  canyons  of  the  Gulf  of  Paria.  Margarita,  a 
double-topped  island,  composed  of  Archaean  schists,  is  the  highest  (4,450 
feet)  of  the  coast  islands,  and  is  densely  peopled,  while  the  other  small 
islands  off  the  coast,  forming  the  territory  of  Colon,  have  few  inhabitants. 

Government.— The  United  States  of  Vene- 
zuela are  politically  divided  into  nine  States,  five 
territories,  and  a  federal  district,  Caracas  and 
surroundings,  with  a  constitution  similar  to  that 
of  the  United  States  of  America.  The  language 
of  the  country  is  Spanish,  and  the  Roman  Catho- 
lic religion  prevails.  The  southern  boundary  is 
still  unsettled.  Coffee  is  the  chief  export  of 
Venezuela,  and  is  sent  mainly  to  France, 


FlG.  431. — The  Venezuelan 
Flag. 


Germany,  the  United  States,  and  Italy. 

STATISTICS. 

Area  of  Venezuela  (square  miles)         594  ooo 

Population  of  Venezuela 2  075  245 

Density  of  Population  per  square  mile 

Population  of  Caracas 

„  Valencia ' 

„  Maracaibo 

Ciudad  Bolivar ! 

Barquisimeto 


Exports  average  £4,000,000  annually  ;  there  are  no  recent  statistics  for  imports. 


1891. 

594.000 

2,323,52? 

4 

72,429 
27,538 
29,180 
12,877 
9,093 


POLITICAL  DIVISIONS  OF  VENEZUELA  IN  1891. 
STATES. 


Name. 

Los  Andes  (Cordillera) 
Bolivar  (Guiana) 
Bermudez  (Oriente) 
Carabobo  (Valencia) 
Falcon  (Coro) 
Lara  (Barquisimeto) 
Miranda  (formerly  Guzman 

Blanco) 

Zamora  (Western  Llanos) 
Zulia  (Maracaibo) 


>•                                                             TERRITORIES. 

Areasq.    Popula- 
miles.        tion. 

A     Areasq.  Popula- 
Name.                           miles.       tion. 

14,700      336,146 
88,700       56,289 

Distrito  Federal  (with  Caracas)          45        89,133 
Amazonas  (Alto  Orinoco)    .        200,000       45,  197 

32,000      300,597 

Guajira            

3,600       65,000 

3,000      198,021 

Yuruari  

81,000       22,392 

10,000      139,110 
9,300      246,760 

Delta  (of  the  Orinoco) 
Colon  (Outer  Islands) 

25,000             7,222 
166             129 

34,«oo      484.509 

25,000      246,676 

26,000       85,456 

j^*. 

STANDARD    BOOKS. 

W.Sievers.    "  Venezuela,  mit  einer  Karte  der  Venezolanischen  Cordillere."    Hamburg 
1888. 

"  Zweite  Reise  in  Venezuela  in  den  Jahren,  1892-93."    Hamburg,  1896. 

G.  Orsi  de  Mombello.    "  Venezuela  y  sus  Riquezas."    Caracas,  1890. 


BOOK  VI.— AFRICA 


CHAPTER  XLVIII.— THE  CONTINENT  OF  AFRICA 
BY  EDWARD  HEAWOOD,  M.A. 

Librarian    to    the   Royal    Geographical   Society. 

Position  and  Coasts.— Joined  at  its  north-eastern  corner  to  Asia  by 
the  Isthmus  of  Suez,1  Africa  forms  a  vast  peninsula,  of  remarkably  regular 
outline,  stretching  to  the  south-west  of  the  great  land  mass  of  the  Old 
World,  and  balancing,  so  to  speak,  the  great  island  of  Australia  lying  to 
the  south-east.  On  its  northern  and  north-eastern  sides  it  faces,  across 
comparatively  narrow  seas,  portions  of  Europe  and  Asia  respectively,  while 
on  all  other  sides  it  falls  rapidly  beneath  the  surface  of  the  Atlantic  and 
Indian  Oceans.  As  is  the  case  with  South  America  the  main  mass  of  the 
continent  runs  from  north  to  south,  crossing  the  Equator  near  the  middle 
of  its  length,  and  gradually  tapering  southwards.  In  its  northern  half, 
however,  it  has  an  important  westerly  extension  forming  a  rounded  limb 
which  almost  rivals  in  area  the  main  southward-pointing  portion,  while  on 
the  opposite  side  a  smaller,  more  tapering  mass  runs  eastward  in  the  shape 
of  a  blunted  horn.  The  distance  between  the  extremities  of  these  two 
projecting  segments  is  little  less  than  the  .whole  length  of  the  continent 
from  north  to  south.  Lastly,  in  the  north-west  a  narrow  rectangular  block 
projects  somewhat  beyond  the  general  line  of  the  northern  coast,  forming 
near  its  western  end  the  nearest  approach — at  the  Strait  of  Gibraltar — to 
the  neighbouring  continent  of  Europe. 

Apart  from  these  irregularities,  the  outline  of  Africa  is  remarkably 
uniform.  There  are  no  deep  gulfs  running  into  the  land  and  consequently 
no  well-marked  peninsulas.  Between  the  western  and  southern  limbs 
runs  the  wi$e  Gulf  of  Guinea,  divided  near  its  apex  into  two  rounded 
bights,  wfiileJon  the  north  coast  a  shallow  indentation  forms  the  Great  and 
Little  Syrtes  (Gulfs  of  Sidra  and  Gabes).  Elsewhere  the  coast  runs  in 
gradual  curves,  broken  on  a  minor  scale  only  by  inlets  or  projecting  head- 
lands. This  uniformity  is  further  seen  in  the  absence  of  important  islands. 
The  one  large  African  island — Madagascar — is  separated  from  the  conti- 
nent by  a  channel  far  deeper  than  the  Red  Sea  which  separates  Africa 
from  Asia,  and  more  continuously  deep  than  the  Mediterranean,  the 

1  The  Suez  Canal,  sometimes  said  to  make  an  island  of  Africa,  is  such  a  mere  surface 
scratch  that  it  may  be  disregarded  in  considering  the  natural  relations  of  the  continents 
to  one  another. 

889 


890       The  International  Geography 


dividing  sea  on  the  side  of  Europe ;  so  that  it  stands  in  no  close  relation 
to  the  main  continental  mass.  The  islands  which  lie  off  the  coasts  are  all 
of  small  size,  and  none  of  any  importance  occur  round  the  whole  southern 
coasts  for  a  distance  of  4,000  miles. 

Relief. — A  general  sameness  is  also  noticeable  in  the  relief  of  the 
continent.  Folding  and  crumpling  of  the  surface  strata  seem  to  have 
played  a  much  less  important  part  in  Africa  than  in  other  continents,  and 
in  consequence  there  is  a  marked  absence  of  mountain  ranges,  as  dis- 
tinguished from  irregular  groups  of  mountains  or  isolated  peaks.  The 
typical  form  of  surface  is  that  of  elevated  plateaux,  from  the  surface  of 
which  higher  ridges  or  summits  often  rise  abruptly.  These  plateau  lands 
fill  up  the  great  bulk  of  the  continent,  their  outer  slopes  or  terraces 
occurring  everywhere  comparatively  close  to  the  sea  and  nowhere  leaving 

room  for  extensive  low  plains.  The 
highest  ridges  occur  as  a  rule  near 
the  outer  edge  of  the  plateau,  and 
round  the  outer  escarpments  there 
is  generally  a  narrow  fringe  of  low- 
land, but  in  places  the  highlands 
rise  almost  directly  from  the  sea. 
In  elevation  there  is  an  important 
distinction  between  the  plateaux  of 
the  northern  and  southern  halves 
of  Africa,  those  of  the  north  being, 
on  the  whole,  far  lower  than  those 
of  the  south.  Drawing  a  curved 
line  from  the  coast  of  the  Red  Sea 
in  the  east  to  the  head  of  the  Gulf 
of  Guinea  in  the  west,  we  may  say 
FIG.  432.-The  Configuration  of  Africa  that  wnereas  land  over  2,000  feet 

above  the  sea  is  the  exception  to  the  north,  to  the  south  it  is  the  exception 
to.  find  land  below  that  elevation  except  close  to  the  coasts. 

In  spite  of  the  lower  average  elevation  of  North  Africa,  it  contains  the 
Atlas,  the  one  important  mountain  range.  It  runs  parallel  to  the  most 
projecting  part  of  the  northern  coast,  rising  in  its  most  pronounced, 
western,  half  to  a  height  of  14,000  feet  and  more.  Owing  to  its  direction 
it  does  not  help  to  form  any  well-marked  peninsula  such  as  that  of  Italy 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Mediterranean,  though  as  it  plunges  below  the  sea 
to  the  east  it  forms,  for  Africa,  an  unusually  prominent  angle  of  the  coast. 
To  the  south  the  Atlas  falls  suddenly,  and  near  its  eastern  end  there  is  a 
depressed  area  actually  below  sea-level ;  the  range  is  therefore  quite 
unconnected  with  any  of  the  other  highlands  of  North  Africa.  These 
occur  chiefly  in  three  lines  with  broad  expanses  of  lower  country  between 
them.  One  runs  nearly  north  and  south  along  the  western  shore  of  the 
Red  Sea;  a  second  runs  from  north-west  to  south-east  across  the  very 


Africa  891 


centre  of  northern  Africa ;  while  the  third — wider  but  somewhat  lower 
than  the  two  first — forms  a  strip  of  plateau  parallel  to  the  northern  shore 
of  the  Gulf  of  Guinea.  The  intermediate  areas  probably  nowhere  rise  to 
a  height  of  2,000  feet  except  in  isolated  groups  of  peaks. 

In  the  southern  half  of  Africa  the  greater  part  of  the  plateau  rises  to  an 
average  elevation  of  little  less  than  4,000  feet.  One  noteworthy  break  iri 
this  uniform  high  level  occurs  in  the  western  half,  where,  on  either  side 
of  the  Equator,  there  extends  a  vast  circular  basin,  bounded  on  all  sides 
by  higher  ground,  which  seems  to  represent  the  bed  of  an  ancient  inland 
sea.  Abreast  of  this  to  the  east  a  band  of  very  high  ground,  continuous 
with  the  eastern  line  of  northern  Africa,  runs  from  north  to  south,  attaining 
its  greatest  average  elevation  in  Abyssinia,  and  forming  the  most  important 
highlands  of  all  Africa.  It  is  marked,  towards  the  south,  by  the  presence 
of  a  number  of  lakes  of  very  large  size,  many  of  which  occupy  portions  of 
two  vast  furrows  also  running  mainly  north  and  south  and  forming  one 
of  the  most  striking  features  in  African  geography.  They  seem  to  be  due 
to  gigantic  cracks  or  rifts  in  the  Earth's  crust,  which  have  resulted  in  two 
long  lines  of  subsidence.  Other  evidences  of  subterranean  disturbance 
are  present  in  the  form  of  old  volcanic  cones,  some  of  which,  Kilimanjaro, 
Kenya,  and  Ruwenzori,  rise  to  heights  of  17,000  to  19,000  feet,  and  are  the 
highest  summits  of  all  Africa.  From  the  floor  of  the  western  furrow  rises 
a  still  partially  active  volcano  (Kirunga),  remarkable  as  occurring  at  a 
distance  of  nearly  700  miles  from  the  sea. 

Though  narrower  and  lower  to  the  south,  this  eastern  line  of  highlands 
is  continued  in  that  direction  to  the  extremity  of  the  continent,  forming 
near  its  southern  end  the  Drakensberg  Range  with  peaks  of  10,000  and 
n,ooofeet.  A  line  of  high  ground  accompanies  the  western  coast  also, 
while  the  interior  is  filled  by  a  plateau  of  somewhat  lower  elevation  than 
the  bounding  ranges,  so  that  the  whole  of  South  Africa  bears  a  general 
resemblance  to  an  inverted  saucer. 

Hydrography. — As  the  main  lines  of  elevation  run  at  no  great 
distance  from  the  coasts,  Africa  has  no  central  backbone  dividing  the 
continent  between  eastward  and  westward  flowing  river  systems.  These 
may  rather  be  distinguished  as  flowing  down  the  outer  or  the  inner  slopes 
of  the  fringing  highlands.  Those  which  descend  the  outer  slopes  have  of 
course  comparatively  short  courses,  while  the  inward-flowing  streams  have 
great  distances  to  traverse  before  reaching  the  sea,  and  therefore  form  the 
great  river  systems  of  the  continent.  As  a  rule  they  pierce  the  mountain 
rim  by  narrow  passages,  during  which  their  courses  are  much  broken  by 
cataracts.  As  a  continental  water-parting  the  eastern  line  of  highlands 
plays  the  most  important  part,  for  from  the  north-east  corner,  where  Africa 
joins  Asia,  through  about  43°  of  latitude,  it  gives  no  passage  to  a  river,  but 
effectively  separates  the  streams  flowing  to  the  Atlantic  and  Indian  Oceans. 
In  about  12°  S.,  however,  the  water-parting  diverges  to  the  west,  crossing 
the  continent,  and  including  within  the  basin  of  the  Indian  Ocean  almost 


892       The  International  Geography 

the  whole  breadth  of  South  Africa  as  far  as  22°  S.,  where  it  again  strikes 
across  to  the  east. 

Owing  to  the  position  of  this  water-parting,  the  largest  river  systems  are 
those  which  spring  from  its  western  rim,  flowing  west  and  north,  and  all 
belonging  to  the  Atlantic  basin.  The  two  largest  are  those  of  the  Nile — 
flowing  from  south  to  north  but  receiving  its  principal  tributaries  from  the 
main  watershed  to  the  east — and  Congo,  describing  a  vast  bend  to  the 
north  and  west  and  with  its  many  important  tributaries  occupying  the 
circular  hollow  of  the  ancient  inland  sea.  The  drainage  system  of  the 
Niger,  in  the  western  limb  of  the  continent,  and  therefore  away  from  the 
main  watershed,  is  still  within  the  Atlantic  basin.  It  also  forms  a  vast 
curve,  but  the  principal  flow  of  its  waters  is  towards  the  east  and  south, 
or  exactly  the  reverse  of  that  of  the  Congo.  With  the  exception  of  the 
basin  of  the  Orange  in  the  south,  the  remaining  Atlantic  streams  flow  down 
the  outer  continental  slopes.  The  principal  are  the  Senegal,  Gambia  and 
Volta  in  the  western  limb,  and  the  Ogowe,  Kwanza  and  Kunene  on  the 
western  side  of  the  southern  limb.  West  of  the  great  water-parting,  and 
therefore  included  within  the  Atlantic  basin,  there  is  a  vast  area  of  inland 
drainage  consisting  of  the  central  basin  of  Lake  Chad,  fed  principally  by 
the  Shari,  and  a  still  larger  area  in  which  any  streams  that  exist  are  merely 
temporary. 

On  the  side  towards  the  Indian  Ocean  the  only  great  river  system  is 
that  of  the  Zambezi,  enclosed  within  the  westward  curve  of  the  main 
divide.  The  greater  part  of  it  is  on  the  central  plateau,  while  all  the  other 
streams  flowing  to  the  Indian  Ocean — the  Jub,  Tana,  Rufiji,  Limpopo  and 
others— flow  mainly  down  the  outer  plateau  slopes  and  have  a  greater  or 
less  importance  according  as  these  recede  from  or  approach  the  sea. 

Interpolated  between  the  basins  of  the  Atlantic  and  Indian  Oceans, 
along  the  broad  uplands  which  form  the  continental  divide  in  East  Africa, 
is  a  narrow  region  of  inland  drainage,  the  central  furrow  of  which  is 
formed  by  the  more  easterly  of  the  great  lines  of  subsidence  already 
mentioned. 

Geology. — The  geology  of  Africa  has  not  yet  been  fully  investi- 
gated, and  even  where  the  formations  have  been  studied  to  some  extent 
it  is  often  impossible  to  determine  their  age  owing  to  the  general 
scarcity  of  fossils.  A  broad  distinction  may  be  drawn  between  the 
Atlas  range,  with  other  parts  of  North  Africa,  and  the  rest  of  the 
continent,  inasmuch  as  ancient  crystalline  rocks  are  almost  entirely 
wanting  in  the  former  region,  whilst  elsewhere,  and  especially  in  the 
inter-tropical  zone,  there  seems  to  be  a  foundation  of  Archaean  rocks, 
which  come  to  light  especially  along  the  axes  of  mountain  ranges.  These 
old  rocks  consist  of  granite  and  of  gneiss  in  East  Africa,  and  schists  and 
other  foliated  rocks  in  West  Africa.  The  chief  sedimentary  formations 
which  have  been  found  to  overlie  these  ancient  rocks  throughout  the 
greater  part  of  Central  and  South  Africa  are  of  Palaeozoic  or  early  Mesozoic 


Africa 


893 


age,  the  latter  being  particularly  well  represented  in  South  Africa,  where 
the  Karroo  beds  (Triassic)  occupy  a  large  area.  Jurassic  and  Cretaceous 
strata  occur  in  parts  of  East  Africa,  and  from  the  nature  of  its  fauna  it  has 
been  thought  that  Lake  Tanganyika  is  the  remnant  of  a  Jurassic  sea  which 
stretched  inland  from  the  west.  No  Jurassic  strata  have,  however,  been 
found  in  the  intervening  area.  Horizontally  bedded  sandstone,  mostly  of 
doubtful  age,  is  common  throughout  Central  Africa,  while  recent  alluvium 
covers  the  centre  of  the  Congo  basin,  and  shifting  sands  much  of  the  desert 
regions.  In  the  East  African  highlands  recent  eruptive  rocks  have  spread 
over  immense  areas. 

While,  therefore,  the  later  Secondary  and  Tertiary  formations  seem  to 
be  but  slightly  developed  in  Central  Africa,  in  the  north  they  are  well  repre- 
sented. In  the  Atlas,  which  forms,  geologically,  one  of  the  best  known 
parts  of  Africa,  the  Cretaceous  system  occupies  the  widest  extent  of  the 
surface,  in  a  series  of  beds  comparable  with  those  of  Europe.  It  appears 
also  as  a  horizontal  deposit  over  a  broad  region  bordering  on  the  Atlas* to 
the  south  and  south-east,  and  a  vast  series  of  sandstones  on  the  lower  Nile 
(known  as  the  Nubian  sandstone),  is  supposed  to  be  of  the  same  age. 
Along  the  north-west  coast,  and  in  a  few  parts  of  the  Atlas,  Tertiary  for- 
mations, chiefly  Miocene,  occur,  but  these  attain  their  maximum  develop- 
ment further  east,  the  whole  surface  between  the  Gulf  of  Sidra  and  the 
Isthmus  of  Suez  consisting  of  Tertiary  rocks. 

Climate. — The  uniformity  characteristic  of  Africa  is  less  marked  in 
the  climate  and  productions,  which  neces- 
sarily differ  according  to  latitude ;  but  as 
the  equator  cuts  the  continent  almost  at  the 
middle  of  its  length,  the  climatic  differences 
are  much  less  extreme  than  in  other  conti- 
nents. This  central  position  of  the  equator 
results  in  a  succession  of  climatic  zones 
stretching  across  the  continent,  those  of  the 
north  being  reproduced  in  reverse  order  in 
the  south.  The  primary  cause  of  variation 
between  the  zones  is  of  course  the  difference 
in  the  amount  of  heat  received  from  the  Sun. 
Both  the  northern  and  southern  extremities 
are  fairly  temperate  regions,  that  to  the 
north  being  defined  by  the  Atlas  range,  the 


LOAN DO - 


•  ZANZIBAR- 


Ram  Records  lmp«rt«ct 

FIG.  433. — Temperature  and  Rain- 
fall of  Tropical  Africa. 


lands  north  of  which,  climatically  as  in  other  respects,  rather  resemble 
southern  Europe  than  the  rest  of  Africa.  Within  the  tropics  the  mean 
annual  temperature  varies  within  comparatively  small  limits,  though  there 
are  differences  in  the  distribution  of  temperature  through  the  year.  Near  the 
equator,  and  especially  in  the  coast-lands  and  western  basin,  the  climate  is 
generally  equable,  whilst  elsewhere,  especially  in  the  elevated  regions  to 
the  east,  there  is  a  much  greater  difference  between  summer  and  winter, 


894       The  International  Geography 


and  between  day  and  night.  The  absolute  extreme  of  temperature  does 
not  occur  on  the  equator  but  between  the  parallels  of  10°  and  20°  N., 
where  the  average  elevation  is  lower  and  the  mass  of  land  greater.  Owing 
to  the  altitude  of  much  of  the  land  within  the  equatorial  zone,  the  climate 
is  often  actually  cool. 

Far  more  important  than  differences  of  temperature  is  the  variation  in 
amount  and  seasonal  distribution  of  rainfall.  Bordering  on  the  north  and 
south  temperate  zones  occur  areas  of  minimum  precipitation  where  desert 
conditions  prevail.  Owing  to  the  form  of  the  continent  the  northern 
desert  zone,  known  as  the  Sahara,  occupies  an  enormously  greater  area 

than  the  southern,  forming,  in  fact,  the 
largest  continuous  desert  on  the  Earth's 
surface.  The  Sahara  forms  part  of  the 
great  arid  belt  which  stretches  across  the 
Old  World  from  north-eastern  Asia  to  the 
borders  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  Virtually 
forming  part  of  the  greatest  land-mass  on 
the  surface  of  the  globe  and  thus  little  ex- 
posed to  the  moderating  influence  of  the 
oceans,  North  Africa  presents  an  example 
of  an  extreme  continental  climate,  with 
great  differences  between  the  seasons.  In 
winter  it  forms  an  area  of  high  pressure 
and  thus  the  winds  blow  outwards  in  all 
directions,  while  in  summer,  although  the 
low  pressure  over  the  Sahara  causes  an 
indraught  of  air  from  its  circumference, 
the  intense  heat  constantly  diminishes  the 
relative  humidity  of  these  air  currents,  and 
they  exercise  a  drying  rather  than  a  moisten- 
ing influence.  The  southerly  winds  from 
the  direction  of  the  equator  do,  it  is  true, 
a  certain  amount  of  moisture,  but 
the  greater  contrast  in  temperature  be- 
tween  North  Africa  and  the  regions  to  the  north  causes  the  dry  northerly 
winds  to  predominate.  By  its  position  at  the  northern  edge  of  the  con- 
tinent the  Atlas  range  does  its  part  in  screening  the  desert  from  the  action 
of  moisture-bearing  winds,  while  the  paucity  of  mountain  ranges  in  the 
centre  of  North  Africa  is  a  further  reason  for  the  small  precipitation. 
Where  such  exist,  as,  e.g.,  in  the  countries  of  Air  and  Tibesti,  local  rains  of 
some  violence  occur.  Such  rain-water  soon  sinks  below  the  surface,  often 
travelling  immense  distances  before  coming  to  light  again  as  springs,  and 
bringing  fertility  to  isolated  spots  amid  the  barren  wilderness,  known  as 
oases. 
Between  the  northern  and  southern  desert  regions  the  rainfall  gradually 


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FlG.  434. — Temperature  and  Rainfall    bring 
of  North  and  South  Tropical  Africa.    4.^^     „ 


Africa 


895 


increases  in  the  direction  of  the  equator,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  which 
the  greatest  rainfall  occurs.  But  besides  the  variations  of  annual  amount 
there  is  an  important  difference  in  different  latitudes  in  the  seasonal  dis- 
tribution of  the  rainfall.  At  a  distance  from  the  equator  all  the  rain  falls 
at  one  part  of  the  year,  the  wet  season  commencing  soon  after  the  Sun 
becomes  vertical,  and  lasting  for  two  or  three  months,  while  the  rest  of  the 
year  is  dry.  But  as  we  approach  the  equator,  since  the  Sun  is  vertical 
twice  in  the  year,  there  are  two  rainy  seasons  separated  by  an  interval  of 
dry  weather,  while  near  the  equator  itself  rain  falls  more  or  less  throughout 
the  year.  Local  differences  of  rainfall,  apart  from  the  influence  of  latitude, 
of  course  occur,  certain  mountainous  regions  being  especially  rainy,  while 
tropical  West  Africa,  on  the  borders  of  the  Gulf  of  Guinea  and  in  the 
basin  of  the  Congo,  has  a  larger  rainfall  than  the  eastern  part  of  the 
continent  between  the  same  latitudes. 

Flora. — The  varying  climatic  conditions  naturally  exercise  a  most 
important  influence  on  the  vege- 
tation, and  through  it  on  the 
animal  life  of  the  continent.  The 
northern  temperate  region  has  a 
flora  similar  on  the  whole  to  that 
of  southern  Europe,  the  forests 
consisting  largely  of  oaks,  while 
the  olive,  vine,  fig,  as  well  as  the 
cereals  of  Europe,  thrive.  Owing 
to  its  isolation  the  southern  tem- 
perate region  has  a  strongly  marked 
flora  of  its  own,  characterised  es- 
pecially by  the  general  brilliancy 
of  its  flowering  plants  and  the 
abundance  and  variety  of  heaths. 
Forests  are  not  extensive,  but  much 
of  the  surface  supplies  fodder  for  FlG-  ^--Vegetation  of  Africa. 

cattle  and  sheep.  The  desert  regions,  as  their  name  implies,  are  in  many 
parts — especially  where  the  sand  is  piled  up  by  the  action  of  the  wind  into 
dunes — almost  entirely  devoid  of  vegetation,  and  that  which  exists  is  stunted 
and  thorny,  being  differentiated  so  as  to  be  specially  adapted  to  the  dry 
climate.  One  of  the  most  common  bushes  is  the  gum  acacia.  As  a  rule  plants 
grow  in  tufts  with  bare  spaces  between  instead  of  forming  a  complete 
covering  of  the  surface.  In  the  oases  the  date-palm,  the  characteristic  tree 
of  the  Sahara,  forms  dense  groves.  On  the  margin  of  the  desert,  proceeding 
in  the  direction  of  the  equator,  the  vegetation  increases  and  a  steppe-like 
region  ensues,  still  largely  characterised  by  thorny  acacias,  while  another 
palm,  the  Dum  or  Hyphccne,  makes  its  appearance.  The  moister  regions 
of  Central  Africa  fall  broadly  into  two  main  divisions,  the  forest  and 
savanna.  Where  an  abundant  and  evenly  distributed  rainfall  is  com- 


8  96       The  International  Geography 

bined  with  an  equable  temperature  a  luxuriant  forest  growth  is  developed, 
such  being  the  case  generally  in  the  whole  of  the  tropical  coasts  of  West 
Africa  together  with  the  lower  parts  of  the  Congo  basin.  Forests  also 
occur  on  the  east  coast  and  generally  on  the  slopes  of  mountains  exposed 
to  moist  winds  from  the  sea.  The  whole  of  the  remainder  of  tropical 
Africa  forms  the  region  of  savannas,  remarkably  uniform  in  character, 
and  extending  from  the  Senegal  in  the  north-west  to  Abyssinia  in  the 
north-east,  and  thence  through  East  Africa  round  the  western  forest  region 
until  it  reaches  the  west  coast  again  south  of  the  Congo.  Trees  are  usually 
found  along  the  courses  of  streams,  where  they  form  what  are  known  as 
"  gallery  forests,"  and  are  often  dotted  over  the  surface  in  groups,  giving  it 
a  park-like  appearance. 

The  savanna  regions  are  characterised  especially  by  the  occurrence  of 
the  massive  Baobab  tree  (Adansonia  digitatd),  and  in  the  drier  parts  by  the 
curious  candelabra-like  Euphorbia.  An  immense  variety  of  trees  is  found 
in  the  western  forest  region,  which  is  the  special  home  of  the  wine  and  oil 
palms  (Raphia  vinifera  and  Elceis  guineensis).  A  special  flora  occurs  on 
many  of  the  higher  African  mountains,  which  present  a  succession  of 
zones  of  vegetation  varying  with  the  altitude.  Bamboos  form  regular 
thickets  above  the  true  forest  zone,  whilst  higher  still  occurs  a  peculiar 
type  of  vegetation  consisting  largely  of  tree  lobelias  and  a  giant  species  of 
Senecio.  Lastly,  a  type  of  vegetation  deserving  mention  is  that  growing  by 
the  swampy  margins  of  streams  especially  in  the  upper  Nile  and  Congo 
basins  ;  it  is  marked  by  the  luxuriant  growth  of  papyrus  and  other  aquatic 
plants. 

Fauna. — The  distribution  of  animal  life  upon  the  continent  follows 
very  closely  the  broad  subdivisions  of  the  flora.  The  desert  regions, 
however,  apart  from  the  negative  characteristic  of  scarcity  of  animals, 
are  less  individualised  in  this  respect,  forming  rather  areas  of  transi- 
tion between  the  regions  on  either  side  of  them.  The  main  dividing 
line  of  the  continent  has,  in  fact,  been  drawn  across  the  centre  of  the 
Sahara  at  the  Tropic  of  Cancer  ;  all  to  the  south  of  this  line  makes  up  what 
is  known  as  the  Ethiopian  Region,  while  the  smaller  area  to  the  north 
has  more  in  common  with  the  countries  north  of  the  Mediterranean. 
Especially  characteristic  of  the  Ethiopian  Region  is  the  abundance  of 
ungulates  and  carnivorous  animals,  the  former  including  two  families,  the 
hippopotami  and  giraffes,  found  nowhere  else  in  the  world.  But  the 
family  best  represented  is  that  of  the  antelopes,  which  occur  in  extra- 
ordinary numbers,  while  the  deer  are  almost  entirely  wanting.  Four 
species  of  rhinoceros  represent  a  group  common  to  Africa  and  south- 
eastern Asia.  The  carnivores  include  the  lion,  leopard,  several  hyaenas, 
the  jackal,  and  a  large  number  of  civets  and  their  allies,  but  the  tiger,  fox 
and  wolf  are  wanting.  The  African  elephant  was  formerly  found  through- 
out nearly  the  whole  of  the  Ethiopian  Region,  but  its  range  is  now  much 
restricted  owing  to  the  persecution  it  has  met  with  for  the  sake  of  its  ivory. 


Africa  899 


cattle-rearing  is  little  practised.  Yet  certain  tribes  of  the  savanna  region, 
notably  the  Zulus  and  Kaffirs  of  the  south-east,  as  well  as  the  Dinkas  and 
others  of  the  Upper  Nile,  practise  it  extensively  in  conjunction  with 
agriculture.  The  Hottentots,  who  inhabit  the  arid  region  of  the  south- 
west, are  again  pre-eminently  pastoral,  while  the  Bushmen  and  other 
tribes  of  small  stature  live  chiefly  by  hunting. 

The  peoples  of  Africa  are  alike  remarkable  for  the  small  amount 
of  political  cohesion  they  exhibit,  the  few  States  of  any  importance  which 
have  arisen  since  the  time  of  the  ancient  Egyptians  having  been  almost 
entirely  the  result  of  external  influence.  The  nomadic  pastoral  races  of 
the  north  dwell  under  the  patriarchal  rule  universally  associated  with  that 
mode  of  life.  Where  agriculture  can  be  practised,  as  in  Abyssinia,  politi- 
cal organisation  has  proceeded  further.  The  Negroes,  on  the  other  hand, 
though  agriculturists,  show  a  marked  incapacity  for  the  establishment  of 
stable  kingdoms,  being  split  up  into  a  great  number  of  independent  tribes, 
ruled  by  petty  chiefs,  whose  authority  often  extends  over  a  few  villages 
only,  and  who  live  at  constant  feud  with  each  other.  The  universal  pre- 
valence of  polygamy,  leading  to  intrigue  among  the  families  of  the  chiefs, 
has  tended  to  perpetuate  this  state  of  things,  and  still  more  the  slave 
trade,  which  has  been  the  scourge  of  Africa  for  centuries,  and  which 
encourages  inter-tribal  warfare  for  the  supply  of  prisoners.  The  religion 
of  the  Negroes  is  a  compound  of  degrading  superstitions,  fetishism  being 
widely  diffused,  and  this  has  done  much  to  keep  the  race  in  a  backward 
state.  Except  in  Abyssinia,  where  a  debased  form  of  Christianity  prevails, 
the  Hamites  and  Semites  are  all  adherents  of  Islam,  which  since  its  intro- 
duction by  the  Arab  invaders,  has  exercised  a  certain  civilising  influence, 
and  the  few  native  States  of  any  importance — on  the  Mediterranean 
coast  and  among  the  mixed  races  south  of  the  Sahara — may  be  as- 
cribed to  its  agency.  At  the  present  day  the  southward  advance  of  Islam 
among  the  Negroes  has  an  important  bearing  on  the  future  of  the 
continent. 

History.— Although  North  Africa,  from  its  contiguity  to  the  Mediter- 
ranean, has  from  the  earliest  times  participated  in  the  life  of  the  world  at 
large,  the  bulk  of  the  continent,  shut  off  on  the  north  by  the  great  Saharan 
desert,  and  placed  at  a  disadvantage  on  other  sides  by  its  massive  form,  its 
want  of  navigable  waterways,  and  its  unhealthy  coastlands  which  have 
seen  the  rise  of  no  powerful  kingdoms  and  offered  few  inducements  to 
commercial  activity,  has,  apart  from  a  certain  amount  of  intercourse 
between  its  east  coast  and  the  south-west  of  Asia,  remained  entirely  outside 
the  pale  of  civilisation.  Such  isolated  episodes  as  the  supposed  journey 
of  the  Nasamonian  youths  across  the  Sahara  and  the  circumnavigation  by 
the  Phoenicians  (related  by  Herodotus),  or  the  voyage  of  Hanno,  the  Car- 
thaginian, down  the  west  coast,  did  but  momentarily  lift  the  veil  of 
obscurity,  and  though  during  the  Roman  epoch  some  light  reached  Europe 
through  the  travels  of  merchants,  the  Nile  expeditions  initiated  by  Nero, 


900       The  International  Geography 

and  the  geographical  investigations  of  Ptolemy  of  Alexandria,  the  Saracen 
conquest  of  North  Africa  in  the  seventh  and  following  centuries  cut  off 
the  rest  of  the  continent  from  all  intercourse  with  Europe,  and  for  several 
centuries  the  only  additions  to  knowledge  were  supplied  by  the  writings  of 
Arab  historians,  who  left  some  record  of  the  kingdoms  founded  by  Arab 
influence  to  the  south  of  the  Sahara.  A  new  era  dawned  when,  early  in 
the  fifteenth  century,  Prince  Henry  of  Portugal  devoted  himself  to  the 
discovery  of  a  sea  route  to  the  east  round  the  African  coasts,  for  his  untiring 
efforts,  carried  forward  after  his  death  by  others,  led  to  the  rounding  of 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  by  Bartholomew  Diaz  in  1488,  and  the  successful 
voyage  to  India  of  Vasco  da  Gama  in  1497-98.  In  course  of  time  Portu- 
guese settlements  were  formed  both  on  the  east  and  west  coasts,  and  when 
other  European  nations  entered  the  field  trading  stations  were  estab- 
lished by  them  on  the  coasts  of  Guinea  and  elsewhere,  while  in  1652 
the  Dutch  occupied  the  site  of  Cape  Town.  At  the  opposite  end  of  the 
continent  the  Turks  had  established  themselves  along  the  Mediterranean 
shores  in  the  previous  century.  During  the  most  flourishing  days  of 
their  rule  the  Portuguese  penetrated  some  distance  into  the  interior, 
especially  in  Abyssinia,  but  it  is  uncertain  how  far  their  knowledge 
extended.  On  the  Senegal  and  Gambia,  French  and  British  adven- 
turers attempted,  without  much  success,  to  penetrate  to  the  mysterious 
city  of  Timbuktu. 

The  systematic  exploration  of  the  interior  has,  however,  been  almost 
entirely  the  work  of  the  past  century.  Between  1768  and  1772  James 
Bruce  made  his  celebrated  journey  to  the  source  of  the  Blue  Nile,  but  the 
founding  of  the  "African  Association"  in  1788  was  the  event  from  which 
the  modern  period  of  exploration  must  be  dated.  The  discovery  of  the 
course  and  termination  of  the  Niger — due  chiefly  to  the  journeys  of  Mungo 
Park  (1795-1805)  and  Lander  (1830) — and  the  exploration  of  parts  of  the 
Sahara  and  Sudan,  with  the  discovery  of  Lake  Chad — the  work  of  Denham 
and  Clapperton  (1822-27) — were  the  earliest  fruits  of  the  interest  thus 
aroused.  The  journeys  of  Laing  (1825)  and  Caillie  (1828)  to  Timbuktu  also 
deserve  mention.  In  South-East  Africa  the  Portuguese  scientific  explorer, 
J.  de  Lacerda,  made  an  important  journey  in  1798.  In  South  Africa, 
where  the  Dutch  settlement  finally  passed  into  British  hands  in  1806,  some 
progress  was  also  made,  especially  by  the  journeys  of  Dr.  Andrew  Smith 
and  Captain  J.  E.  Alexander.  The  conquest  of  Algeria  by  France  in  1830, 
and  of  the  Eastern  Sudan  by  Mehemet  Ali  of  Egypt  in  1820-21,  paved  the 
way  for  an  advance  in  these  directions,  and  an  Egyptian  Expedition 
ascended  the  Nile  as  far  as  4°  42'  N.  in  1841. 

A  period  of  renewed  activity  began  in  1849,  in  which  year  Dr.  Living- 
stone made  his  first  exploring  journey  from  the  south,  discovering  Lake 
Ngami,  while  reports  of  snowy  mountains  in  East  Africa  came  from  the 
missionaries  Krapf  and  Rebmann,  and  preparations  were  made  for  a  British 
Government  expedition  from  the  north  to  the  central  Sudan.  Important 


Africa  90 1 


results  followed  in  all  three  directions.  Dr.  Livingstone  reached  the 
Zambezi,  made  his  way  to  the  Portuguese  colony  of  Angola,  and  returned 
across  the  continent  to  the  mouth  of  the  Zambezi  (1851-56),  while  other 
travellers,  including  Galton,  Baines,  and  Mauch,  filled  in  the  details  of  the 
country  south  of  that  river.  In  East  Africa  an  expedition  despatched  by 
the  Royal  Geographical  Society,  under  Burton  and  Speke,  reached  Lake 
Tanganyika  and  the  Victoria  Nyanza  (1858) ;  while  Speke,  returning  with 
Grant  in  1859,  further  explored  the  Victoria  Nyanza,  and  discovered  its 
outlet  towards  the  Nile,  thus  virtually  solving  the  problem  of  the  Nile 
sources.  In  1864  Baker  discovered  the  second  Nile  reservoir  in  the 
Albert  Nyanza.  In  North  Africa  the  expedition,  led  at  the  outset  by 
Dr.  Richardson  and  afterwards  by  Dr.  Barth,  traversed  the  central 
Sudan  in  various  directions,  and  threw  a  flood  of  light  on  its  im- 
perfectly known  geography.  Good  work  was  also  done  later  by  Rohlfs 
and  Nachtigal. 

The  exploration  of  the  great  Congo  basin,  so  far  a  blank  on  the  maps, 
was  ushered  in  by  Dr.  Livingstone's  last  great  journey  (1866-73).  Pro- 
ceeding by  way  of  Lake  Nyasa  (discovered  by  him  and  Sir  John  Kirk  in 
1858)  he  came  upon  a  vast  northward  flowing  river  system,  which  he  at  first 
considered  to  belong  to  the  Nile  basin,  but  which  still  retained  its  secret 
when  death  overtook  him  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Bangweolo.  Cameron 
threw  additional  light  on  this  river  system  by  his  journey  of  1873-76, 
during  which  he  discovered  the  outlet  of  Lake  Tanganyika,  but  the  solution 
of  the  problem  was  supplied  by  H.  M.  Stanley,  who,  after  important  explora- 
tion in  East  Africa,  turned  his  steps  westward  and  amid  incomparable 
difficulties  and  dangers  traced  the  great  Lualaba  to  its  termination  as  the 
Congo  in  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  An  important  journey  into  the  Congo  basin 
from  the  north  had  been  made  in  1869-71  by  Dr.  Schweinfurth,  and 
about  the  same  time  Egyptian  sovereignty  was  extended  to  the  Albert 
Nyanza. 

The  largest  share  of  African  exploration  had  so  far  fallen  to  British 
subjects,  but  the  interest  of  Europe  was  now  thoroughly  awakened  and 
explorers  of  all  nationalities  flocked  to  the  shores  of  the  continent.  Poli- 
tical activity  was  also  aroused.  A  vast  undertaking,  initiated  by  King 
Leopold  of  Belgium,  finally  led  to  the  formation  of  an  Independent  State 
of  the  Congo,  whose  many  branches  have  since  been  explored  by  the 
State  officials.  France,  likewise,  pushed  into  the  interior  from  Algeria  and 
her  settlements  on  the  Senegal  and  Gabun,  in  time  extending  her  influence 
over  the  greater  part  of  the  western  Sudan,  and  even  to  Lake  Chad  and 
the  Nile  watershed.  In  1882  Great  Britain  acquired  a  preponderating 
influence  in  Egypt  by  the  suppression  of  the  military  revolt  under  Arabi 
Pasha.  In  1884  Germany  obtained  a  footing  in  South- West  Africa,  in 
Upper  Guinea  (Togoland),  and  the  Cameroons  (Kamerun),  and  soon 
afterwards  in  East  Africa,  where  in  1886  and  1890  the  most  fertile  portions 
were  partitioned  between  that  country  and  the  United  Kingdom.  Before 


902       The  International  Geography 


this  the  journeys  of  Joseph  Thomson  had  much  enlarged  the  bounds  of 
our  knowledge  in  East  Africa,  especially  in  the  country  of  the  dreaded 
Masai  tribe. 

In  1884  a  British  protectorate  was  declared  over  the  lower  Niger,  and 
British  influence  is  now  recognised  in  this  region  as  far  as  Lake  Chad.  The 
extension  of  the  older  colonies  of  the  Guinea  coast  has,  however,  been  much 
hampered  by  the  French  expansion.  In  South  Africa  the  bounds  of  British 
territory  have  been  pushed  far  to  the  north,  reaching  beyond  the  Zambezi 
and  joining  hands  with  another  young  settlement  on  Lake  Nyasa.  In  the 
Nile  basin  civilisation  received  a  severe  check  by  the  Mahdist  revolt  of 
1883,  and  not  till  1898  was  the  eastern  Sudan  once  more  liberated  by  the 
Anglo- Egyptian  campaign  under  Lord  Kitchener.  Italy  gained  a  footing 
on  the  Red  Sea  in  1882  and  subsequent  years,  and  afterwards  on  the  Somali 
coast  south  of  Cape  Guardafui.  Her  attempts  to  establish  a  protectorate 
over  Abyssinia  have,  however,  proved  unsuccessful.  Portugal  has  obtained 
some  extension  of  her  old  colonies  on  the  east  and  west  coasts,  but  has 

failed  to  realise  her  dream  of 
uniting  them  across  the  continent. 
These  territorial  acquisitions 
first  received  international  recog- 
nition at  the  Berlin  Conference 
of  1884 ;  and  subsequent  agree- 
ments between  individual  Powers, 
have  brought  practically  the  whole 
continent  under  European  influ- 
ence. Important  agreements  con- 
cluded in  1890-91  between  the 
United  Kingdom  and  Germany, 
France,  Italy  and  Portugal  deter- 
mined the  broad  outlines  of  the 
partition  of  the  interior,  but  left 
many  points  open  to  dispute, 
especially  between  the  United 
Kingdom  and  France.  These  were  finally  settled  by  the  Niger  Conven- 
tion of  1898  between  those  countries,  and  by  the  supplementary  Declara- 
tion of  1899.  France  has  thereby  made  good  her  claim  to  a  continuous 
territory  extending  from  the  lower  Congo  round  the  eastern  shores  of  Lake 
Chad  to  Algeria  in  the  north  and  the  Senegal  in  the  north-west ;  and  the 
United  Kingdom  has  established  political  ascendancy  over  the  whole  upper 
Nile  basin.  Explorers  have  more  and  more  worked  from  political  motives, 
confining  their  attention  chiefly  to  the  spheres  of  their  respective  countries. 
Among  the  host  of  names  deserving  credit  for  the  filling  in  of  details  in 
the  map  of  Africa  since  Stanley's  great  journey  of  1874-77,  those  of 
Thomson,  Teleki,  and  Baumann  (East  Africa),  Wissmann  and  Grenfell 
(Congo  basin),  Binger  and  Monteil  (West  Sudan),  Foureau  (Sahara),  and 


FIG.  43j.—TAe  Railways  and  Telegraphs  of 
Africa  (1907). 


Africa  903 


Bottego  (Galla  and  Somali-lands),  stand  out  pre-eminent  for  the  value 
of  their  achievements. 

With  the  increase  of  exploration  efforts  have  been  made  to  open  up 
the  comparatively  healthy  plateaux  by  railways  from  the  coast ;  the  pene- 
tration is  greatest  from  Cape  Town  in  the  south  and  Cairo  in  the  north,  and 
it  is  hoped  that  these  systems  may  be  united  in  the  not  distant  future; 
Apart  from  the  submarine  cables,  which  form  loops  round  the  coast,  over- 
land lines  have  been  carried  into  the  interior  in  advance  of  the  railways  ; 
the  wire  from  Cape  Town  will  soon  be  open  along  Lakes  Nyasa  and  Tan- 
ganyika to  Uganda  and  ultimately  to  Cairo,  while  a  line  is  being  constructed 
from  Leopoldville  on  the  Congo  to  Lake  Tanganyika. 

POLITICAL  DIVISION  OF  AFRICA. 

APPROXIMATE  AREAS. 

European  Colonies  and  Protectorates  :—  Sq.  miles. 

French  territory  i 3.7I2-000 

British  territory  2        2,165,000 

Egypt  (with  Sudan  to  5°  N.) 3       I,i35,ooo 

Congo  State  (Belgian  influence) 905.000 

German  territory        9O5.000 

Portuguese  territory 794.°°° 

Tripoli  with  Fezzan  (Turkish)        '        340,000 

Italian  territory          230,000 

Spanish  territory        82,000 

Native  States  outside  European  influence  :— 

Abyssinia          320,000 

Marocco           180,000 

Liberia 52,ooo 

Unclaimed  (Eastern  Sahara) 630,000 

Larger  lakes            70,000 

Total       11,520,000 

STANDARD    BOOKS. 

Sir  E.  Hertslet.    "  The  Map  of  Africa  by  Treaty."    3  vols.    London,  1896. 

A.  H.  Keane.    "Africa,"  in  Stanford's  Compendium.    2  vols.    London,  1895. 

W.  Sieversand  F.  Hahn.     "Afrika."     2nd  edit.     Leipzig,  1901. 

J.  Scott  Keltic.    "  The  Partition  of  Africa."    2nd  edit.    London,  1895. 

A.  Silva  White.     "  The  Development  of  Africa."    2nd  edit.    London,  1893. 

E.  Heawood.     "  Elementary  Geography  of  Africa."     and  edit.     London,  1903. 

A.  Knox.     "  Notes  on  the  Geology  of  the  Continent  of  Africa."    London,  1905. 


1  Including  Wadai  and  a  large  area  of  the  Sahara  still  unoccupied 

2  British  East  Africa  is  considered  to  extend  to  5°  N. 

3  Under  Turkish  suzerainty,  administered  by  Great  Britain. 


CHAPTER  XLIX.— NORTH  AFRICA 
I,— MAROCCO 

BY  LIEUT.-COL.  SIR  R.  LAMBERT  PLAYFAIR, 

Position  and  Extent. — The  Empire  of  Marocco  (often  written 
Morocco)  extends  on  the  north  from  Cape  Spartel,  a  distance  of  300  miles, 
to  the  frontier  of  Algeria.  The  boundary  between  them,  fixed  by  treaty  in 
1845,  starts  from  the  river  Kiss  and  runs  in  a  south-easterly  direction  to 
a  little  beyond  the  33rd  parallel  of  latitude.  On  the  Atlantic  coast  the 
Empire  extends  for  a  distance  of  450  miles,  as  far  as  the  Wad  Draa. 

Condition  and  History.— Marocco  is  the  last  of  the  Barbary  States 
which  has  preserved  its  independence,  and  it  is  peculiarly  interesting  from 
the  fact  of  its  standing  alone  as  a  monument  of  barbarism.  The  Sallee 
rovers,  it  is  true,  no  longer  scour  the  seas  as  of  yore,  but  the  inhabitants 
of  the  Riff  country,  who  have  given  the  word  Ruffian  to  the  English 
language,  are  as  much  pirates  at  heart  as  ever,  and  they  lose  no  chance  of 
plundering  any  vessel  which  may  happen  to  come  too  near  their  inhos- 
pitable shore.  There  is  no  country  near  Europe  so  little  known.  Up  to 
1820  the  largest  share  of  the  information  we  had  of  it  was  derived  from  the 
narratives  of  Christian  captives,  or  of  the  envoys  sent  to  effect  their 
ransom.  Its  geography  and  natural  history  have  more  recently  been 
illustrated  by  many  eminent  travellers. 

Configuration  and  Rivers. — The  configuration  of  the  Atlas  and  the 
hydrographical  system  of  the  country  are  not  essentially  different  from 
those  of  Algeria,  but,  inasmuch  as  the  mountains  are  higher  and  in  some 
places  covered  with  perpetual  snow,  the  rivers  on  both  sides  of  the  range 
are  more  considerable.  The  exact  height  of  the  loftiest  peak  is  not  known, 
but  Joseph  Thomson  ascended  one  in  the  southern  Atlas  12,700  feet,  and 
another  13,000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 

Marocco  has  no  navigable  rivers,  but  some  could  be  made  so  if  the 
sandbanks  at  their  mouths  were  removed.  The  only  considerable  one  on 
the  Mediterranean  coast  is  the  Muluia,  the  ancient  Molocath,  which  has  a 
course  of  400  miles.  Those  on  the  Atlantic  coast  are  the  Kus,  the  Sebu, 
the  Bou  Ragreg,  the  Um-er-Rebia,  the  Tinsift,  the  Sus,  and  the  Draa.  In 
summer  they  are  half  dry,  but  in  winter  they  are  raging  torrents. 

Productions  and  Communications. — Some  of  the  plains  and 
valleys  are  of  great  fertility  ;  cereals  are  grown  abundantly,  though  culti- 
vated in  the  most  rudimentary  manner.  Dates,  olives,  figs  and  many  other 
fruits  are  plentiful.  Marocco,  as  a  rule,  is  a  treeless  country  ;  the  northern 
slopes  of  the  Atlas  contain  finely  wooded  valleys,  but  beyond  this  little 
remains  of  the  natural  forests  which  at  one  time  covered  western  Barbary. 
There  are  rich  mineral  deposits  in  the  Atlas,  quite  unworked.  The  roads 

904 


Marocco 


90S 


throughout  the  country  are  mere  bridle-paths  worn  by  travellers,  beasts  of 
burden,  cattle,  sheep  and  goats  throughout  uncounted  ages.  No  railways 
exist  in  the  empire. 

People  and  Government. — The  population  of  Marocco  does  not 
probably  exceed  four  millions  and  has  nearly  the  same  composition  as 
in  Algeria,  except  for  the  lack  of  the  European  element.  Marocco  has 
been  called  a  crumbling  empire  ;  it  is  governed  by  an  absolute  Sultan, 
and  a  turbulent  aristocracy,  but  from  a  religious  point  of  view  it  is  the 
last  stronghold  of  Islamism.  The  only  resources  of  the  treasury  are 
exactions  and  authorised  robbery  from  one  end  of  the  social  scale  to  the 
other.  The  trade  is  insignificant  compared  with  the  size  of  the  country. 
Farm  produce  and  manufactured  leather  are  exported,  and  textiles  im- 
ported. The  United  Kingdom  stands  first  in  the  share  it  takes  both  in 
the  export  and  the  import  trade. 

Towns. — The  three  capitals  where  the  Sultan  resides  alternately  are 


FlG.  438. — The  Oases  of  the  Sahara. 

Fez  (Fas),  Mekenes,  and  Merakish  or  Marocco  city.  The  towns  on  the 
coast,  commencing  from  the  Algerian  frontier,  are  Tetuan,  Tangier, 
Laraich  (El-Araish),  Sallee  (S'la),  Rabat,  Casa-Blanca  or  Dar-el-Beida, 
Mazagan,  Soft,  and  Mogador  or'  Sueira.  These  have  a  varnish  of  civilisation, 
but  in  the  interior,  though  not  without  relics  of  past  splendour,  the  towns 
are  masses  of  ruin  and  all-abiding  filth.  The  most  important,  naturally, 
is  Tangier,  where  the  diplomatic  agents  of  foreign  Powers  reside.  It  is  of 
peculiar  interest  to  Englishmen  as  it  formed  part  of  the  dowry  of 
Catherine  of  Braganza  on  her  marriage  with  Charles  II.-  in  1662.  After  a 
short  and  badly  managed  British  occupation,  it  was  evacuated  in  1683.  It 
is-  now  a  favourite  residence  for  winter  visitors. 

Saharan  Oases. — All  along  the  Saharan  slopes  of  the  Atlas  there 
are  oases  inhabited  by  more  or  less  independent  tribes  owning  the 
suzerainty  of  the  Sultan.  The  most  important  is  that  of  Tafilet  or  Tafilelt, 


906       The  International  Geography 

about  200  miles  east  of  Merakish.  This  remarkable  place  has  been  visited 
recently  by  Mr.  Harris,  who  went  from  Merakish,  crossing  the  Atlas 
range,  through  a  district  inhabited  by  Berbers,  every  part  of  which  is 
dominated  by  great  castles,  often  50  feet  high,  with  richly  decorated 
towers.  Tafilet  consists  of  a  strip  of  fertile  land,  growing  vast  quantities 
of  dates,  extending  along  the  parallel  beds  of  the  Wad  Ziz  and  the  Wad 
Gheris,  rivers  which  irrigate  400  square  miles  before  being  lost  in  the 
sand.  There  is  no  city  of  the  name  of  Tafilet ;  the  capital  of  the  district 
was  Sigilmassa,  so  familiar  to  readers  of  mediaeval  works  on  Marocco,  now 
a  complete  ruin.  Here  is  the  resting-place  of  Mulai  Ali  Sherif,  the 
ancestor  of  the  reigning  Sultan,  whose  tomb  is  held  in  great  veneration. 

About  100  miles  to  the  east  is  the  Wad  Ghir,  the  upper  part  of  which 
was  seen  by  the  French  soldiers  of  General  Wimpffen's  expedition  in  1870, 
who  compared  it,  in  volume,  to  their  own  Meuse.  After  receiving  the 
waters  ot  the  Zusfana  at  Ighli,  the  united  stream  flows  southward  under 
the  name  of  the  Wad  Messaud,  and  eventually  becomes  lost  in  the  basin 
of  El- Erg.  This  is  geologically  the  most  extraordinary  part  of  the  Sahara ; 
it  is  an  immense  tract  of  sand,  seemingly  impassable  for  man  or  beast,  but 
nevertheless  there  are  valleys  in  which  caravans  are  able  to  journey 
with  comparative  facility.  The  basin  between  the  two  rivers  is  exceed- 
ingly rich  in  subterranean  water,  and  the  wells  there  are  capable  of  irrigat- 
ing as  many  as  eight  millions  of  date-palms. 

The  other  oases  of  this  part  of  the  Sahara— Tuat,  Gurara,  Tidikelt,  and 
Figig— over  which  Marocco  formerly  claimed  some  authority,  have  lately 
been  brought  under  the  control  of  the  French  in  Algeria. 

STATISTICS  (rough  estimates). 

Area  of  Marocco  in  square  miles         219,000 

Population  of  Marocco estimates  vary  from  3,000,000  to  9,000,000 

Merakish „  60.000 

Tangier „  25,000  to  30,000 

„  Fez  „  24,00010140,000 

ANNUAL  TRADE  (in  pounds  sterling). 

Exports 1,400,000 

Imports       .,        ' 1,500,000 

STANDARD  BOOKS. 

Sir  R.  L.  Playfair  and  R.  Brown.    "A  Bibliography  of  Morocco."    London,  1892. 

Vte.  Ch.  de  Foucauld.    "  Reconnaissance  au  Maroc."     Paris,  1888. 

Joseph  Thomson.  "  Journey  to  Southern  Morocco  and  the  Atlas  Mountains."  London,  1889. 

W.  B.  Harris.    "Tafilet."    Edinburgh,  1895. 

Budget!  Meakin.    "The  Moorish  Empire."    London,  1809.    "  The  Land  of  the  Moors,"  1901. 

"  The  Moors,"  1002. 
J.  Canal.    "  Geographic  General  du  Maroc."    Paris,  1902. 

II— ALGEEIA 

BY  LIEUT. -COL.  SIR  R.  LAMBERT  PLAYFAIR. 

British  Consul-General  in  Algeria. 

Extent  and  Configuration.— The  French  colony  of  Algeria,  bounded 
on  the  west  by  Marocco,  is  comprised  between  2|°  W.  and  8£°  E.  longi- 
tude. Southward,  the  colony  proper  reaches  to  about  32°  N.  latitude,  but 


Algeria  907 


beyond  this  the  Saharan  districts  under  military  rule  stretch  to  about  26°. 
Apart  from  these,  the  area  is  calculated  at  about  184,000  square  miles. 

Politically  it  is  divided  into  three  departments.  Oran,  which  occupies 
the  western  part,  contiguous  to  Marocco.  Algiers,  the  central  and  most 
important  department,  which,  owing  to  its  closer  relations  with  the  countries 
on  the  northern  shores  of  the  Mediterranean,  is  the  centre  of  European 
commerce  and  colonisation.  The  third  is  Constantine,  which  forms  the 
eastern  part  next  to  Tunisia.  The  natural  divisions  of  the  country  also 
are  three  :  the  Tell,  the  High  Plateaux,  and  the  Sahara ;  but  the  political 
divisions  bear  no  relation  to  them. 

The  Tell  is  a  strip  of  undulating,  cultivated  land,  extending  50  to  150 
miles  inland  from  the  sea,  and  forming  the  northern  limb  of  the  Atlas. 
This  range,  covered  with  splendid  forests,  containing  fertile  valleys, 
and  in  some  places  arid  steppes,  stretches  eastward  from  the  ocean  to 
which  it  has  given  its  name,  through  Marocco,  Algeria  and  Tunisia, 
becoming  interrupted  in  Tripoli  and  ending  in  the  beautiful  green 
hills  of  Cyrenaica.  The  best  known  part  of  this  mountain  range  is  the 
district  called  Kabylia,  inhabited  by  a  branch  of  the  Berber  race,  who, 
unlike  the  Arabs,  build  stone  houses,  and  cultivate  their  land  with  the 
care  usually  bestowed  on  market  gardens.  A  less  known  but  even 
more  interesting  region  is  the  Aures  range,  overhanging  the  Sahara, 
enclosing  fertile  plains  and  valleys  of  great  richness.  These  mountains 
are  the  highest  in  Algeria:  Shellia  has  an  altitude  of  7,611  feet  and 
Mahmel  is  nearly  as  high.  Another  mass,  within  the  Tunisian  frontier, 
is  the  wild  and  beautiful  country  of  the  Khomair,  with  great  stretches 
of  oak  forests  interspersed  with  glades  of  cleared  and  cultivated  land. 

The  region  of  the  High  Plateaux,  extending  from  west  to  east,  consists 
of  vast  plains  separated  by  parallel  ranges  of  mountains.  These  terraces 
increase  in  height  as  they  recede  from  the  Tell,  and  again  decrease  as  they 
approach  the  Sahara.  Cultivation  is  only  possible,  within  narrow  limits, 
in  localities  capable  of  irrigation.  It  is  covered  with  alfa  grass  and  abun- 
dance of  delicate  aromatic  herbs  well  suited  for  rearing  sheep  and  goats. 

The  Sahara  consists  of  two  very  distinct  regions  which  may  be  called 
the  Lower  and  Upper  Sahara.  The  Lower  Sahara  is  a  vast  depression  of 
sand  and  clay,  stretching  eastwards  as  far  as  Tunisia ;  the  Upper  Sahara  is 
a  rocky  plateau  frequently  attaining  a  considerable  elevation,  extending  on 
the  west  into  Marocco.  Moving  sand  occupies  an  extensive  zone  in  both 
regions,  but  it  does  not  cover  one-third  of  the  whole  surface.  The  oases, 
or  gardens  of  date-trees  (Fig.  438),  with  which  the  Sahara  is  studded,  exist 
wherever  water  is  found ;  that  only  is  necessary  to  make  the  desert  sand 
•excessively  fecund. 

Geology  and  Minerals. — Space  does  not  admit  of  full  treatment  of 

the  geology  proper  of  Algeria  ;  but  some  notice  is  necessary  of  the  economic 

minerals.    The  ores  of  various  metals  are  found  in  great  abundance  :  lead 

ore,  more  or  less  argentiferous ;  copper,  blende,  calamine,  antimony,  chrome, 

59 


908       The   International  Geography 


manganese  and  iron.  Iron  ore  is  the  most  important,  and  generally  occurs 
so  near  the  surface  that  it  can  be  worked  in  open  quarries ;  nearly  half 
a  million  tons  are  exported  every  year,  principally  from  Beni  Saf,  near  the 
frontier  of  Marocco.  Algeria  is  especially  rich  in  decorative  stones — 
marble,  breccia  and  oriental  alabaster,  some  of  which  is  probably  the 
finest  that  the  world  contains.  It  is  worked  near  Kleber  in  Oran,  and 
also  at  Ain  Smara,  near  Constantine.  Phosphate  of  lime  of  excellent 
quality  and  apparently  inexhaustible  quantity  has  recently  been  dis- 
covered at  Tebessa  and  in  the  south  of  Tunisia,  and  the  industry  has 
been  developed  by  the  energy  and  intelligence  of  British  subjects, 
rousing  much  adverse  comment  from  French  and  Algerian  politicians, 
who  hold  that  foreigners  should  not  be  permitted  to  develop  the  in- 
dustries of  the  country. 

Hydrographic  System. — The  drainage  area  of  the  Tell  is  as 
regular  as  in  other  countries  and  its  streams  all  reach  the  sea.  The 
most  considerable  are  the  Mafrag,  the  Seybus,  the  Wed-el-Kebir,  the 
Makta,  and  the  Shelif,  which,  during  flood-time,  discolour  the  water  for 
several  miles  at  sea,  but  have  not  the  strength  in  summer  to  force  a 
passage  for  themselves  through  the  banks  of  sand  accumulated  in  their 
estuaries.  With  the  streams  descending  from  the  southern  slopes  of  the 
mountains,  however,  it  is  quite  different.  Some  part  of  their  waters  is 
absorbed  by  irrigation  in  summer,  but  after  the  copious  rains  of  winter 
they  reach  the  Sahara,  where  they  either  form  large  open  lakes  called 
shotts,  which,  owing  to  evaporation,  become  salter  than  the  ocean,  or  they 
sink  through  the  permeable  stratum  of  sand  till  they  come  to  an  impermeable 
one  of  clay,  and  thus  form  a  vast  subterranean  reservoir.  From  time 
immemorial  artesian  wells  have  been  sunk  in  this  district,  and  their  waters 
have  everywhere  spread  life  and  wealth.  The  French  have  done  a 

splendid  and  beneficent  work  in  multiply- 
ing these  wells  wherever  there  was  a  pro- 
spect of  success.  Between  1856  and  1890 
no  less  than  794  were  sunk.  In  one  part  of 
the  Sahara,  the  Suf,  this  water  circulates 
close  to  the  surface  of  the  soil,  concealed 
by  a  bed  of  sulphate  of  lime.  One  has  only 
to  penetrate  this  layer  of  gypsum  to  create 
a  well.  When  it  is  intended  to  plant  a  date 
grove  the  Suafa  remove  the  entire  crust 
and  plant  their  palms  in  the  water-bearing 
sand  below. 

Climate. — The  climate  of  Algeria,  for 


r°  tut  Fit.  Hu  *M  MAT.  Ju».  in.  AK.  far  Oer  «o»  Die     "> 

90 
85 
80 
76 
70 
65 
60 
55 
50 
45 
40 
SB 

11' 

10 

0 

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,-v 

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( 

/ 

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/ 

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tan 

•—I 

ALGIERS  

LAGHOUAT  

FlG.  439. — Temperature  and  Rain- 
fall on  the  Coast  and  in  the 
Interior  of  Algeria. 


winter  visitors  at  least,  is  certainly  the  finest  in  the  Mediterranean,  though 
not  without  a  due  proportion  of  wet  and  cold.  The  summer  is  rainless 
and  extremely  hot.  From  an  agricultural  point  of  view  the  seasons  are 
too  variable  :  sometimes  it  is  too  cold,  and  the  tender  crops  are  killed  by 


Algeria  909 


frost,  or  it  is  too  hot  and  a  blast  of  the  sirocco  destroys  the  produce  of  a 
vineyard  in  a  few  hours.  On  the  coast  frost  and  snow  are  exceedingly  rare, 
but  on  the  High  Plateaux  and  on  the  most  elevated  parts  of  the  Tell  the 
frost  is  sometimes  severe  and  snow  lies  long  and  deep  ;  the  highest  peaks 
of  the  Atlas  retain  some  snow  as  late  as  June.  The  extremes  of  climate 
increase  towards  the  arid  Sahara. 

Flora  and  Fauna. — The  flora  and  fauna  of  the  eastern  portion  of 
Algeria  do  not  differ  essentially  from  those  of  Sicily  and  Sardinia,  while 
on  the  west  they  resemble  rather  those  of  Spain.  Of  the  3,000  plants 
found  in  Algeria,  by  far  the  greater  number  are  natives  of  southern 
Europe,  and  less  than  100  are  peculiar  to  the  Sahara,  where  Africa  may 
be  said  to  begin.  Absolutely  the  same  may  be  said  of  the  fauna.  There 
are  many  mammals,  fish,  reptiles  and  insects  common  to  both  sides  of  the 
Mediterranean.  The  fish  of  the  Tell  and  High  Plateaux  belong  exclusively 
to  the  European  system.  Algeria  possesses  twenty-one  species  of  fresh- 
water fish,  of  which  five  are  peculiar  to  itself.  The  Sahara  alone  is  linked 
to  the  African  system  by  its  Chromidae,  which  occur  all  over  Africa  as 
far  as  Mozambique.  It  is  by  no  means  uncommon  for  fish  to  be  ejected  by 
artesian  wells  ;  as  they  are  not  blind,  it  is  concluded  that  they  inhabit  the 
subterranean  reservoir  or  sea,  which  occupies  the  bottom  of  the  Saharan 
depression,  and  that  they  circulate  between  one  open  space  and  another. 

Natural  Productions. — Algeria  is  essentially  an  agricultural  country, 
and  it  is  from  its  soil,  in  a  great  measure,  that  its  riches  and  importance 
proceed.  Owing,  however,  to  the  uncertainty  of  its  seasons,  periodical 
drought  and  increasing  competition  with  more  favoured  regions,  the  cul- 
tivation of  cereals  is  yearly  becoming  less  remunerative,  although  the 
quantity  produced  has  increased,  and  the  area  producing  it  has  risen  from 
five  and  a  half  to  seven  million  acres  in  twenty  years.  Algeria  is  rapidly 
becoming  one  of  the  principal  wine-producing  countries  of  the  world. 
The  vine  prospers  everywhere,  even  on  the  worst  land  and  in  the  driest 
years.  Everywhere,  but  especially  on  the  littoral,  excellent  wine  is 
produced,  of  infinite  variety.  All  that  is  not  consumed  in  the  country 
is  exported  to  France.  One  of  the  most  important  of  the  vegetable 
resources  is  the  Alfa  fibre,  properly  called  Hulfa,  or  Esparto  grass.  This 
grows  spontaneously  over  vast  tracts  of  country  where  cultivation  of  any 
kind  is  impossible.  Ten  million  acres  are  covered  with  it,  yielding 
paper-making  material  equal  to  three-fourths  of  all  the  rags  used 
throughout  the  world.  The  amount  exported,  however,  continues 
steadily  to  decrease,  owing  to  the  increasing  use  of  wood  pulp.  The 
surface  of  forest  land  is  about  seven  and  a  half  million  acres ;  and 
Algeria  thus  occupies  the  sixth  rank  amongst  the  forest  countries  of 
Europe.  The  principal  trees  are  cork-oak,  several  other  kinds  of  Quer- 
cus,  Aleppo  and  maritime  pines,  and  the  Atlantic  cedar  (Pinsapo  Thuya), 
which  yielded  the  far-famed  Citrus  wood  of  the  ancients.  The  most  attrac- 
tive forests  are  those  of  cedar,  a  never-ceasing  source  of  pleasure  to  the 


910      The  International  Geography 

traveller,  but  hitherto  they  have  proved  of  no  very  great  commercial 
importance.  The  cork  forests  have  an  area  greater  than  those  of  Spain, 
though  not  quite  equal  to  those  of  Portugal,  and  much  less  productive. 

People  and  Language. — Numerically  the  most  important  class  of 
the  native  population  are  the  Arabs,  who  date  back  to  the  Arab  occupation 
of  the  country  in  the  twelfth  century  ;  they  took  possession  of  the  most 
accessible  districts  and  drove  the  original  owners,  the  Berbers,  into  their 
mountain  fastnesses.  They  are  essentially  a  nomad  race,  living  in  tents 
which  they  change  from  place  to  place  as  the  pasturage  around  them  is 
consumed.  The  term  Moors,  at  the  present  day,  is  one  of  European 
invention,  and  is  generally  applied  to  Arabs  who  live  in  fixed  habitations. 
The  Arabs  who  reside  within  the  sphere  of  French  influence  have 
acquired  a  certain  varnish  of  civilisation,  but  the  great  mass  of  the 
population  are  now  as  they  were  in  the  days  of  Ishmael,  and  such  are  they 
likely  to  continue  for  generations.  The  Berbers  constitute  a  division  of 
the  great  aboriginal  race  which  inhabited  North  Africa  as  far  as  the  Red 
Sea.  They  live  in  the  more  inaccessible  mountain 
regions.  The  chief  branches  are  the  Kabyles  of  Jur- 
jura,  numbering  about  200,000,  and  the  Shauia  of  the 
Aures,  whose  name  is  derived  from  the  Semitic  root 
Sha,  a  sheep  ;  they  have  few  or  no  cattle,  but  immense 
flocks  of  sheep  and  goats.  The  Jews  are  said  to  have 
established  themselves  in  Algeria  after  the  destruction 


i; ~          7T   of  Jerusalem  by  Titus,  but  it  is  more  probable  that 

Dilation  of  a  square  they  did  so  after  their   expulsion  from  the  various 
mile  of  Algeria.  parts   of    Europe    in   the    fourteenth  and    fifteenth 

centuries.  The  native^Janguages  are  a  more  or  less  corrupt  form  of 
Arabic,  spoken  by  Arabs  and  Jews,  and  Berber  by  the  Kabyles,  Shauia 
and  other  mountain  races.  Berber  is  the  speech  of  over  two-thirds  of 
Marocco,  and  may  be  traced  everywhere  in  the  Sahara  almost  as  far  as 
Senegal.  It  has  no  written  character,  and  all  the  "literature"  it  pos- 
sesses is  transmitted  orally.  The  Shauia  dialect  is  full  of  Latin  words, 
and  in  their  daily  life  the  people  retain  customs  undoubtedly  derived 
from  the  admixture  of  Latin  races  in  their  ancestry.  They  use  the  solar 
instead  of  the  lunar  year,  and  their  names  for  the  months  are  hardly 
different  from  those  in  use  in  Europe. 

Government. — When  the  French  army,  by  a  bold  stroke,  took 
possession  of  Algiers  in  1830,  France  was  as  much  surprised  as  the  rest 
of  the  world.  The  expedition  was  sent  to  avenge  an  insult,  and  no  one 
contemplated  the  creation  of  a  magnificent  colony.  The  first  part  of  the 
modern  history  of  Algeria  was  purely  military,  but  as  security  began  to  be 
established,  European  colonisation  followed  rapidly.  The  government  of 
the  colony  has  undergone  a  complete  transformation  of  late  years.  For- 
merly the  Governor-General  united  in  his  person  the  chief  civil  and  military 
authority.  Now  an  entirely  civil  regime  has  been  introduced.  Each  of  the 


Alge 


ria  911 


three  departments  is  governed  by  a  prefect  as  in  France,  but  under  the 
supreme  authority  of  the  Governor-General,  who  is  assisted  by  a  Council  of 
Government ;  there  is  also  a  superior  Council  to  which  delegates  are  sent 
by  each  of  the  Departmental  Councils.  Each  of  the  three  departments 
sends  one  Senator  and  two  Representatives  to  the  Parliament  in  Paris. 

The  military  forces  consist  of  the  igth  Army  Corps  of  France;  a 
portion  of  territory  in  the  extreme  south  is  still  under  the  government  of 
the  commander-in-chief  of  this  corps. 

Industries  and  Trade.— Algeria  can  hardly  be  said  to  be  a  manu- 
facturing country.  A  few  objects,  such  as  carpets,  blankets  and  pottery, 
are  produced  by  the  Arabs,  principally  for  their  own  use,  but  these  are 
much  sought  after  by  European  residents  and  visitors.  The  breeding  of 
sheep  is  one  of  the  principal  employments  of  the  native  population 
on  the  High  Plateaux.  Although  there  is  abundant  pasturage  for  a 
larger  number,  it  is  impossible  greatly  to  increase  the  stock  owing  to  the 
scarcity  of  water  during  summer. 

The  external  trade  of  Algeria  is  almost  entirely  with  France,  all  other 
countries  together  only  participating  to  the  extent  of  10  per  cent,  of  the 
total.  The  chief  exports  are  cereals,  esparto  grass,  tobacco,  iron-ore,  wine, 
and  cork ;  the  chief  imports  are  manufactured  articles,  coal  and  coffee. 

Algiers  is  an  important  coaling  station  for  vessels  trading  in  the 
Mediterranean,  and  its  value  in  this  respect  is  increasing. 

Communications. — The  railway  system  has  made  rapid  progress  of 
late  years.  The  aim  of  the  administration  is  to  have  a  central  line  from 
Tunis  to  Marocco,  passing  through  the  most  important  points  in  the 
interior,  and  various  subsidiary  lines  joining  this  with  the  sea.  This  has 
been  almost  completely  carried  out.  The  roads  are  magnificent,  such  as 
no  nation  but  the  French  seem  able  to  construct,  and  they  are  nearly  three 
times  the  length  of  the  railways. 

Towns. — Commencing  from  the  frontier  of  Marocco,  the  towns  along 
the  coast  are,  Nemours,  Oran,  the  capital  of  the  province,  with  an  excellent 
harbour,  Arzeu,  Mostaganem,  Tencz,  and  Cherchel.  Algiers  is  the  capital  of 
the  central  province  and  of  the  entire  colony.  The  modern  town  consists 
of  regular  streets  and  squares,  fine  public  buildings  and  excellent  hotels. 
The  old  town,  inhabited  chiefly  by  Arabs,  lies  on  the  steep  hill  behind  the 
modern  one,  in  the  form  of  an  irregular  triangle,  the  apex  of  which  is 
the  old  Turkish  kasba  or  fortress.  The  streets  are  narrow,  tortuous 
and  irregular,  joined  together  by  alleys,  in  some  of  which  it  is  barely 
possible  for  two  men  to  pass.  One  of  the  principal  features  of  these  old 
Arab  houses  is  that,  rising  as  they  do,  one  above  the  other,  and  covered 
with  flat  terraced  roofs,  a  magnificent  view  is  obtained  from  them  of 
the  city,  the  harbour  and  the  distant  mountains.  Under  the  Turkish 
government  the  roofs  were  reserved  for  the  women  alone,  who  used  to  visit 
each  other  by  climbing  over  the  low  parapet  which  divided  the  houses. 
The  inner  harbour  of  Algiers  was  originally  constructed  by  Kheir-ed-din 


912       The  International  Geography 

in  1518,  by 'connecting  the  island  on  which  the  Spanish  lighthouse  stood, 
and  still  stands,  with  the  mainland  by  a  causeway.  The  present  harbour 
is  French  ;  it  is  interesting  as  the  first  ever  constructed  with  blocks  of 
concrete.  The  environs,  especially  Mustapha  Superieur  and  El-Btar,  are 
covered  with  beautiful  villas  and  splendid  hotels,  greatly  frequented 
by  English  and  other  visitors  in  the  winter  season. 

To  the  east  of  Algiers  are  the  towns  of  Delys;  Bougie,  with  a  fine  natural 
harbour,  situated  amidst  magnificent  mountain  scenery ;  Djidjelly;  Collo; 
Philippeville,  one  of  the  ports  of  Constantine,  with  a  splendid  artificial 
harbour  ;  Bone,  the  ancient  Hippo  Regius,  the  home  of  St.  Augustine,  also 
possessing  a  fine  harbour.  Both  the  last  have  railway  communication  with 
Constantine  ;  and  lastly,  La  Calle,  a  town  of  considerable  interest,  as  it  was 
here  that  the  French  first  established  themselves  in  1520. 

The  towns  in  the  interior,  again  commencing  from  the  west,  are 
Tlemcen,  the  Roman  Pomaria,  a  place  not  unlike  and  at  one  time  hardly 
less  celebrated  than  Granada,  or  inferior  to  it  in  beauty  of  situation  or 
architectural  interest.  Next  come  Sidi  Bel  Abbes;  Mascara,  with  its 
memories  of  Abd-el-Kadir ;  Tiaret;  Orleansville,  on  the  line  of  railway  from 
Oran  to  Algiers  ;  Miliana;  Blidaj  Setif,  on  the  High  Plateaux,  and  Con- 
stantine, the  "  Lordly  Cirta,"  always  an  important  natural  fortress,  where 
Syphax  and  Masinissa  reigned,  where  Sophonisba  died  by  her  own  hand, 
where  St.  Cyprian  was  exiled,  and  the  scene  of  the  two  most  important 
operations  of  the  many  undertaken  by  the  French  armies.  In  point  of 
scenic  beauty  and  grandeur,  probably  no  town  in  the  basin  of  the 
Mediterranean  can  equal  it.  South  of  it,  on  the  border  of  the  desert,  is 
Biskra,  now  becoming  very  popular  as  a  winter  station ;  it  is  practically 
rainless,  but  it  has  not  the  beautiful  scenery  and  the  amenities  of  life 
which  make  Algiers  so  pleasant. 

The  most  prominent  fact  that  meets  one  at  every  turn  is  that  France 
has  been  transported  to  Africa  ;  the  whole  country  is  covered  with  French 
towns  and  villages,  and  foreigners  are  held  in  disfavour,  although  the 
foreign  element  has  played  a  most  important  part  in  the  colonisation  of 
the  country,  and  even  now,  if  the  Spanish,  Italian  and  Maltese  elements 
were  eliminated,  work  would  be  at  a  standstill.  Another  fact  that  strikes 
the  stranger  is  the  permanence  and  solidity  that  pervades  everything. 
The  railways  are  constructed  as  well  and  expensively  as  in  France,  the 
roads  are  unsurpassed  in  any  country,  and  the  hydraulic  and  irrigation 
works  are  splendid  in  their  conception. 

STATISTICS. 

1886.  1896.  1901. 

Area  of  Algeria  (square  miles)    . .        . .       184,474        . .  184,474  184,474 


Population 3,817,306        ..        4,429,421 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile. .  21  24 


Population  of  Algiers 
Oran 


Constantine 
Bone 
Tlem<;en   . . 


74.792 
67,681 
44.900 
29,640 
28,204 


(1891) 
82,585 
74-510 
46,581 
30.806 
29.544 


4.739,331 
26 

96,542 
87,801 
4LI38 
32,288 
22,273 


Tunisia  913 

COMPOSITION  OF  POPULATION  OF  ALGERIA. 

1886.  1891. 

French        219,627  271,101 

Jews 42,595  47.5O4 

Algerian  and  Tunisian  Mohammedans        3,269,376  3,554,067 

Maroccans 17.445  18,617 

European  Foreigners 203,153  218,201 

Total    ..        3.805,684        ..       4,109,650 

ANNUAL  TRADE  OF  ALGERIA  (in  pounds  sterling). 

1871-75.                  1881-85.  1891-95. 

Exports 5,800,000        ..        5,900,000        ..  10,200,000 

Imports 7,800,000        ..      12,400,000        ..  9,200,000 

STANDARD  BOOKS. 

Sir  R.  L.  Playfair.   "  Murray's  Handbook  to  Algeria  and  Tunis."     London,  1895. 

"  Bibliography  of  Algeria."     London,  1888  ;  with  supplement,  1898. 

P.  Vuillot.    "  L' exploration  du  Sahara."    Paris,  1895. 
"  Le  Pays  du  Mouton."    Algiers,  1893. 

F.  Foureau.     "  Documents  scientifiques  de  la  Mission  Saharienne."    3  vols.  and  Atlas. 
Paris,  1903-05. 


HI.— TUNISIA 
BY  SIR  HARRY  H.  JOHNSTON,  G.C.M.G.,  K.C.B., 

At  one  time  British  Consul-General  at  Tunis. 

Position  and  Surface. — Tunisia,  the  ancient  Roman  province  of 
Africa  (still  called  "  Ifrigiah  "  by  the  natives),  is  the  most  northerly  pro- 
jection of  the  Dark  Continent.  It  is  the  most  easterly  prolongation  of  true 
North  Africa — that  is  to  say,  of  all  the  temperate,  fairly  well-watered 
regions  north  of  the  Sahara  desert.1  Tunisia  is  divided  into  four  fairly 
distinct  regions— Tell,  Sahel,  high  Tablelands,  and  Sahara  (desert). 
The  Tell  is  the  name  generally  given  to  the  well- watered  and  well- wooded 
mountainous  country  in  the  north  of  Tunisia,  lying  between  the  valley  of 
the  Majerda  and  the  coast  of  the  Mediterranean,  between  the  frontier  of 
Algeria  and  the  Gulf  of  Tunis.  Sahel— literally  coast  lands — is  the  less 
well  watered  but  still  fertile  eastern  littoral  of  Tunisia,  from  Cap  Bon  to 
the  frontier  of  Tripoli.  The  interior  tableland,  of  an  average  altitude  of 
2,000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  lies  to  the  north  of  35^°  N.,  and 
extends  to  the  valley  of  the  Majerda.  This  district  is  watered  by  no 
perennial  stream,  but  has  a  rainfall  usually  sufficient  for  raising  grain  crops 
and  maintaining  pasturage.  The  real  Sahara  desert  lies  to  the  south  of 
this  tableland  and  to  the  west  of  the  narrow  coast  belt.  A  most  important 
and  interesting  region  of  Tunisia  is  that  round  the  dried-up  salt  lakes,  in 
the  south — the  Belad-al-Jerid,  or  Country  of  Date  Palms,  an  Arab  name 
really  restricted  to  a  very  small  portion  of  Tunisia,  but  made  to  cover  a  vast 

1  The  adjoining  vilayet  of  Tripoli,  which  lies  much  further  to  the  south,  is  entirely 
Saharan  in  character,  but  beyond  Tripoli  again  there  is  the  northward  projection  of  Barka 
(the  ancient  Cyrenaica),  which  in  some  degree  reproduces  the  characteristics  of  northern 
Tunis,  Algeria  and  Marocco. 


914       The  International  Geography 

area  of  the  interior  of  Africa  on  maps  of  the  eighteenth  century.  These 
salt  lakes,  which  now  contain  scarcely  any  water,  are  supposed  to  be  a  few 
feet  below  the  level  of  the  Mediterranean,  and  almost  certainly  represent  a 
very  ancient  incursion  of  that  sea.  In  the  vicinity  of  these  lakes  innumer- 
able springs  gush  from  the  limestone  rocks  and  low  hill  ranges  ;  some  of 
them  are  cold  and  salt,  and  others  are  boiling-hot  and  fresh.  Formerly 
no  doubt  these  springs,  which  actually  form  running  rivers,  filled  up  the 
salt-covered  depressions  with  water  ;  but  for  several  centuries  past  the  hot 
fresh  water,  which  predominates  in  quantity,  has  been  almost  entirely 
used  up  for  the  irrigation  of  immense  forests  of  date  palms,  orchards  of 
fruit  trees,  and  plantations  of  vegetables.  There  is  only  one  perennial 
running  river  of  any  importance — the  Majerda  (Makar  of  the  Carthaginians,, 
and  Bagrada  of  the  Romans),  which  rises  in  eastern  Algeria,  and  flows 
right  across  northern  Tunisia  to  the  sea  at  Porto  Farina. 

The  mountains  in  northern  and  western  Tunisia  are  a  prolongation  of 
the  Atlas  Range.  The  greatest  height  attained  is  under  7,000  feet.  A 
rather  isolated  and  notable  mountain  (for  picturesqueness)  is  Mount 
Zaghwan  (5,500  feet),  forty  miles  south  of  Tunis,  and  the  source  of  water 
supply  to  that  town  now,  as  in  Carthaginian  and  Roman  times.  The  rather 
high  mountains  of  the  Tunisian  Sahara  (5,000  feet  at  most)  are  really  the 
remains  of  an  ancient  plateau,  and  are  mostly  table-topped. 

People,  Trade  and  Government. — The  really  native  population 
possibly  reaches  to  1,800,000,  and  consists  mainly  of  Arabs  and  Berbers. 
The  non-Tunisian  or  European  Christian  population  attains  a  total  of 
about  100,000;  50  per  cent,  of  them  are  of  Italian  nationality,  nearly 
30  per  cent.  French  and  the  remainder  chiefly  Maltese,  with  over  1,000 
Greeks. 

The  occupation  of  the  native  population  is  almost  entirely  agricultural 
Wheat  is  grown  in  the  north  and  centre,  barley  in  the  east  and  south. 
Camels,  horses,  cattle,  sheep  and  goats  are  reared  in  large  numbers.  A 
considerable  area  of  the  country  is  planted  with  olive-trees,  the  olive  oil  of 
Tunisia  being  the  finest  in  the  world.  The  extreme  south  also  produces 
the  best  dates  known  to  commerce.  The  forests  of  the  north-west  yield 
cork  of  good  quality,  and  the  steppes  bordering  on  the  Sahara  grow 
quantities  of  esparto  grass.  In  the  towns  are  important  manufactures  of 
carpets,  and  a  little  weaving  of  silk. 

About  60  per  cent,  of  the  total  trade  is  carried  on  with  France  and 
Algeria.  The  United  Kingdom  and  Malta  have  about  13  per  cent,  of  the 
trade,  Italy  about  n  per  cent.,  and  Russia,  Belgium,  Austria,  Tripoli, 
Scandinavia  and  Spain  the  remainder. 

In  the  sixteenth  century  the  native  Berber  dynasty  of  the  Hafsides  was 
displaced  by  Turkish  invasion,  which  gradually  settled  into  the  military 
despotism  of  a  Bey.1  From  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century  the 

1  Bey = Colonel.    The  Bey  was  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  Turkish  garrison. 


Tunisia  915 


TurKish  family  of  Hussein  reigned  over  Tunis  as  hereditary  satraps  of 
Turkey  until  1881,  when  the  country  was  placed  under  the  protectorate 
of  France.  Since  that  time,  although  the  Bey  is  still  maintained  as 
ruler,  the  country  is.  practically  governed  by  France  through  a  Resident- 
General. 

Towns. — The  capital  of  Tunisia  is  Tunis,  a  city  existing  from  before 
the  historical  period,  at  the  head  of  the  gulf  of  that  name.  Tunis  is 
separated  from  the  sea  by  a  shallow  salt 
lake,  originally  the  embouchure  of  the  Ma- 
jerda  River.  Through  this  lake  the  French 
have  cut  a  maritime  canal  which  brings 
Tunis  within  easy  access  of  the  sea.  The 
site  of  Carthage  is  situated  about  twelve 
miles  to  the  north-west  of  Tunis.  The  town 
next  in  importance  is  Sfax,  on  the  south- 
east coast  of  Tunisia.  Btzerta,  in  the  most 

northern  part  of  the  country,  is  at  the  mouth     °  5  miles 

f         ,  ,   ,  ,    ,         ,  FiG.  441. — The  Site  of  Tunis. 

of  a  large   and  deep   lake,   and  has   been 

made  by  the  French  into  a  great  military  port.  An  interesting  city  to 
visit  is  the  formerly  sacred  town  of  Kairwan,  the  original  Mohammedan 
capital,  founded  in  the  eighth  century.  Gafsa,  in  the  south,  is  an  old 
Roman  city  with  wonderful  hot  springs.  Gabes,  at  the  head  of  the  gulf 
of  that  name,  possesses  a  short  but  perennially  running  river,  and  is  sur- 
rounded by  an  oasis  of  extraordinary  fertility  and  beauty.  The  Island  of 
Jerba,  lying  to  the  southward  of  Gabes,  is  supposed  to  be  the  island  of  the 
Lotus  Eaters  of  the  ancient  Greek  poets  and  geographers.  In  the  Gulf  of 
Gabes  the  Mediterranean  exhibits  tidal  influence  to  a  considerable  extent  ; 
in  places  along  the  coast  of  Jerba  the  highest  rise  and  fall  of  the  tide  is 
seven  feet.  Tunisia  is  celebrated,  or  should  be  so,  for  its  wonderful 
Roman  ruins.  These  are  chiefly  remarkable  at  Dugga,  in  the  valley  of  the 
Majerda,  at  Sbeitla  (the  Roman  Suffetula),  at  Feriana,  at  Gafsa,  and  at 
various  other  places  in  the  Jerid,  at  Zaghwan,  and  finally  at  El  Djem, 
which  has  the  second  largest  amphitheatre  in  the  world. 

Railways. — The  Bone-Guelma  Railway  Company  of  Eastern  Algeria 
owns  all  the  railways  in  Tunisia  except  the  line  from  Sfax  to  Gafsa.  The 
main  line  of  the  Bone-Guelma  Railway  runs  from  Suk  Ahras  in  Algeria 
down  the  valley  of  the  Majerda  to  Tunis,  with  a  branch  to  Bizerta,  and 
with  other  branches  to  Zaghwan,  Susa,  Kairwan,  &c.  A  light  mineral  rail- 
way has  also  been  built  connecting  Sfax  with  Gafsa  to  work  important 
deposits  of  phosphates. 

STATISTICS. 

Area  of  Tunisia  (in  square  miles)           5l<°°° 

Population  of  Tunisia,  approximately .         . .        . .        . .  1,900,000 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile 37'2 

Population  of  Tunis           180,000 

Sfax             40.000 

60 


916       The  International  Geography 

APPROXIMATE  COMPOSITION  OF  THE  POPULATION  OF  TUNISIA. 

Berbers  more  or  less  of  pure  race,  say 500,000 

Arabs,  say 500,000 

Mixed  Arab  and  Berber  peoples 500,000 

"  Moors "  (chiefly  the  population  of  the  principal  cities,  of  mixed  Berber, 

Roman,  Spanish-Moor,  and  Christian-slave  races),  say 100,000 

Tews,  say       100,000 

Sudanese  Negroes,  natives  of  Marocco,  Algerians,  and  Turks,  say         . .        . .  100,000 

Europeans,  say        100,000 

AVERAGE  ANNUAL  TRADE  (in  dollars). 

1896-97. 

Exports          7,100,000 

Imports          9,220,000 


IV.— TRIPOLI 

BY  PROF.  JOHN  L.  MYRES. 

Position  and  Surface. — Tripoli  includes  all  the  north  coast  of 
Africa  between  Tunis  and  Egypt,  with  its  hinterland  as  far  south  as  Rhat 
and  Fezzan,  but  the  land  frontiers  are  ill-defined.  The  coast  is  parted  by 
the  Gulf  of  Sert  (the  ancient  Syrtis  major),  into  Tripoli  proper  and  Barka  ; 
in  each  division  a  limestone  plateau  approaches  the  sea,  giving  rise  to 
milder  climate,  greater  rainfall,  and  fertile  coast  plains  of  varying  extent. 
The  plain  of  Tripoli  (Jefara)  narrows  from  70  miles  south  of  Zuara  to  30 
miles  behind  Tripoli,  while  west  of  Khoms  broken  highlands  reach  the 
coast.  The  narrow  Meshiya  belt  round  Tripoli  and  Tajura  is  irrigated 
from  wells,  but  the  rest  is  now  uncultivated,  and  parts  are  sandy  desert. 
East  of  Khoms  the  coast  land  is  more  varied,  but  the  coast  of  the  Gulf  of 
Sert  is  quite  barren.  The  plain  of  Tripoli  is  abruptly  bounded  by  the 
limestone  scarp  of  Jebel  Nefusa,  Yefren,  and  Gharian  (2,000  feet),  and  the 
Tarhuna  plateau.  This  hilly  country  is  intersected  by  dry  river-beds 
running  towards  the  north-east.  The  Hamada  el  Homra,  a  very  level, 
waterless  plateau  of  red  sandstone  (1,500  to  1,650  feet)  separates  Ghadames 
and  Rhat  from  Fezzan.  East  of  the  Hamada  the  volcanic  Jebel  es  Soda 
and  Haruj  es  Sod  divide  the  coast  steppe  of  Sert  from  the  limestone  Heruj 
el  Abiad  of  northern  Fezzan.  To  Fezzan  also  belong  the  oases  of  Jofra 
and  Zella  at  the  northern  foot  of  the  volcanic  range.  Barka  is  a  diversified 
limestone  tableland,  rising  seawards,  and  in  the  west  to  3,300  feet  (Jebel 
Akhdar),  cut  off  from  the  south  by  the  white  desert  (Barka  el  Beida),  and 
fringed  by  coast  plains  of  red  alluvium.  There  are  cavernous  ravines  with 
dense  vegetation  near  Benghazi ;  otherwise  the  ancient  forests  have  disap- 
peared. The  ruins  of  Ptolemais  and  Kyrene  occupy  strong  positions  on 
spurs  of  the  plateau  :  the  "  Fountain  of  Apollo,"  which  fertilised  the  latter, 
still  flows  (Ain  Shehat),  and  similar  streams  from  beneath  the  escarpments 
water  the  gardens  at  Derna.  South  of  the  plateau  lies  a  depressed  area, 
barren  except  for  the  oases  of  Augila,  Faredgha,  the  headquarters  of  the 
Senussi  sect,  and  Siva,  which,  however,  lies  in  Egyptian  territory. 


Tripoli  917 


Climate.— In  the  coast  plains  the  mean  annual  temperature  is  about 
70°  F.  A  daily  sea-breeze  is  experienced,  diversified  by  occasional  storms 
of  rain  from  the  north-west  and  of  sand  from  the  south-east.  The  winter 
storms  make  all  the  ports  unsafe.  In  Barka  the  mean  temperature  is  a 
little  higher,  with  from  14  to  20  inches  of  winter  rain.  In  the  interior  rain 
falls  rarely,  and  the  mean  temperature  rises  to  82°  F.  in  Fezzan,  and  86°  in 
Jofra,  but  with  severe  cold  at  night  and  even  occasional  snow  on  the  hills. 
Heavy  rain  falls  in  early  spring  in  Fezzan,  but  everywhere  the  normal 
water  supply  is  subterraneous. 

The  date-palm  grows  wherever  there  is  water,  olives  in  some  places, 
almonds  at  Ghadames,  and  halfa  (esparto  grass)  on  the  coast  moors. 

People  and  History. — The  population  is  throughout  fundamentally 
Berber,  but  Jews  have  been  numerous  since  Ptolemaic  times  in  the  coast 
towns.  The  Arab  conquest  modified  many  tribes  profoundly  ;  and  Negro 
elements,  due  to  slave  traffic,  predominate  southwards.  Europeans,  chiefly 
Italians  and  Maltese,  are  seen  only  in  the  coast  towns,  and  Turks  only 
in  the  garrisons  and  among  the  higher  officials.  Arabic  is  spoken  every- 
where ;  but  Berber  dialects  survive,  and  Hausa  is  spreading  along  the 
caravan  routes.  Tripoli  is  named  from  the  "  Three  Cities  " — Sabrata  (Zuara), 
Oea  (Tripoli),  Leptis  (Lebda) — which  were  founded  by  the  Phoenicians,  but 
later  came  under  Greek  influences,  and  passed  subsequently  into  the  hands 
of  the  Romans.  In  the  Roman  period  agriculture  flourished  even  inland, 
thanks  to  elaborate  water  storage  in  the  gorges  of  the  plateau,  of  which 
frequent  traces  remain.  Other  Roman  remains  are  numerous,  testifying  to 
the  immense  prosperity  of  the  land  before  the  Arab  conquest.  Tripoli  was 
occupied  by  Spain  under  Charles  V.,  and  the  Arab  dynasty  was  finally 
deposed  by  the  Turks  in  1835.  Barka  entered  into  very  early  relations 
with  Greece.  Kyrene,  the  first  colony,  was  founded  in  631  B.C.,  and  formed, 
with  Barka  and  three  other  towns,  a  "  Pentapolis,"  which  in  the  fifth  and 
fourth  centuries  B.C.  rivalled  Carthage  in  prosperity  ;  then  became  subject 
to  Egypt ;  and  was  bequeathed  to  Rome  in  95  B.C.  But  the  Silphium  plant 
and  the  pastures,  on  which  its  wealth  depended,  were  already  disappearing, 
and  the  Arab  conquest  completed  the  ruin.  * 

Administration  and  Towns. — Tripoli  is  a  Turkish  vilayet,  formerly 
including  Barka,  which,  since  1873,  has  been  administered  separately. 
Tripoli  is  a  walled  town,  the  seat  of  the  Vali  and  the  principal  garrison, 
with  an  open  harbour,  extensive  palm  groves,  and  important  market.  It  is 
the  terminus  of  caravan  routes  across  the  desert — (i)  via  Ghadames  to 
Twat  and  Timbuktu,  and  to  Rhat,  Kano  and  Sokoto  ;  (2)  via  Sokna  or 
Sebha  to  Murzuk,  and  so  to  Bornu,  Wadai  and  Darfur  ;  (3)  via  Sokna  and 
Zella  to  Aujila  and  Siva.  It  imports  manufactured  articles  and  objects  of 
barter  for  the  caravans,  and  exports  ostrich  feathers,  ivory  and  skins  from 
the  Sudan  ;  gold  dust  from  Twat ;  halfa  from  the  coast  hills  ;  dates  and  a 
few  cattle  and  horses  from  the  littoral ;  and  baracans,  goat-cloth  and  other 
textiles.  Benghazi,  the  capital  of  Barka,  has  a  small  trade,  chiefly  with 


9i 8       The  International  Geography 

Malta,  in  wool,  cattle,  corn  (in  good  years),  salt,  sponges  and  a  little  ivory. 
The  sponge  fisheries  are  almost  wholly  in  Greek  hands.  Ghadames 
(ancient  Cydamus),  300  miles  south-west  of  Tripoli,  lies  between  the 
north-west  border  of  the  Hamada  el  Homra  and  the  Algerian  desert,  in  an 
oasis  watered  by  warm  springs,  and  enclosed  by  a  ruinous  rampart.  The 
population  is  Berber  and  devoted  to  trade.  Rhat,  in  a  similar  oasis  south 
of  Ghadames  and  540  miles  from  the  coast,  is  inhabited  mainly  by  the 
Tuareg,  and  is  the  principal  halt  between  Ghadames  and  Kano.  Murzuk, 
a  walled  town  in  one  of  the  central  oases  of  Fezzan,  is  the  principal  halt 
on  the  eastern  route,  and  the  junction  with  a  route  from  Rhat  to  Zella  and 
Aujila. 

STATISTICS  (Estimates). 

Area  in  square  miles         400,000 

Population ca.  800,000 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile           2 

Population  of  Tripoli  city           30,000 

„            Benghazi 15,000 

V.— EGYPT 

BY   W.    F.    HUME,    D.Sc.,    A.R.S.M., 

Egyptian  Geological  Survey. 

Position  and  Extent. — The  political  boundaries  of  Egypt  cannot,  as 
yet,  be  quite  definitely  stated.  To  the  north,  in  latitude  31^°  N.,  the 
Mediterranean  forms  its  natural  frontier ;  to  the  west  it  is  limited  by  an 
indefinite  line,  generally  west  of  longitude  25°  E.  through  the  waterless 
deserts  of  the  Sahara;  to  the  south,  the  provinces  of  the  Sudan,  which 
were  in  revolt  under  the  Khalifa,  extend  to  about  6°  N.  latitude  ;  while  east 
the  Galla  country,  Abyssinia,  Eritrea  and  the  Red  Sea,  form  the  eastern 
border.  To  the  north-east,  the  Gulf  of  Akabah,  and  an  ill-defined  line 
running  from  the  port  of  Akabah  in  longitude  35°  E.,  through  the  Desert 
of  the  Wanderings  to  Wadi  Refah  on  the  Mediterranean,  separate  Egypt 
from  Asiatic  Turkey. 

Thus  Egypt,  in  its  largest  acceptation,  has  a  length  of  over  1,800  miles, 
from  near  Alexandria  to  the  borders  of  Uganda,  and  a  maximum  breadth 
of  800  miles  in  the  latitude  of  Khartum.  Its  northern  half,  as  above 
defined,  belongs  to  the  belt  of  desert  which  stretches  from  West  Africa 
to  the  centre  of  Asia,  while  the  southern  portion  is  occupied  by  grassy 
plateaux  or  wooded  regions  of  enormous  extent,  which  are  watered  by 
numerous  tributaries  of  the  Nile.  Only  between  the  river  and  the  Red 
Sea,  and  in  Sinai,  does  the  height  above  sea-level  much  exceed  2,000  feet, 
the  higher  mountains  of  the  Arabian  desert  attaining  elevations  of  from 
5,000  to  7,000  feet,  while  in  Sinai  the  principal  peaks  are  over  8,000  feet. 

Geology. — The  Egyptian  Sudan  and  Nubian  desert  form  part  of  the 
central  core  of  Africa,  characterised  by  the  presence  of  igneous  and 
metamorphic  rocks,  which,  extending  into  the  Arabian  desert,  give  rise 


Egypt 


919 


to  the  mountainous  region  of  the  Red  Sea  Hills.  The  lower  parallel 
ranges  of  Jebel  Esh  and  Jebel  es  Zeit  on  the  western,  and  a  long  ridge 
on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Red  Sea,  together  with  the  principal  chains  of 
the  Sinai  peninsula,  are  of  similar  character.  The  predominant  rocks  are 
granites,  gneisses,  felsites,  and  dolerites,  the  hills  produced  by  the  first 
mentioned  being  particularly  characterised  by  ruggedness  of  outline  and 
steepness  of  slope.  These  are  in  almost  all  cases  overlaid  by  a  compact 
sandstone  passing  into  softer  sandy  beds  above,  the  Nubian  Sandstone. 
From  Assuan  to  Jebel  Silsileh  the  Nile  cuts  through  this  formation,  which 
rises  in  high  cliffs  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  and  extends  some  distance 
into  both  eastern  and  western  deserts.  Thus  it  is  known  to  the  south- 
west of  the  Khargeh  and  Dakhel  oases,  to  the  east,  and  has  also  been 
worked  by  the  Egyptians  on  the  Kena-Kosseir  road  to  the  west.  To  the 
north  the  sandstone  is  succeeded  by  the  plateau-forming  limestones,  and 
owing  to  their  low  dip  to  the  north-west  younger  and  younger  strata  come 
to  the  surface  in  that  direction  ;  these  are  mainly  of  Eocene  age,  except  in 
the  desert  near  Suez,  where  representatives  of  the  Miocene  and  Pliocene 
are  also  present.  The  western  desert  is  also  largely  Eocene,  but  in  the 
oases  and  on  the  Nile,  near  Esneh,  Upper  Cretaceous  limestones  have  also 
been  recorded.  Contrary  to  the  former  belief,  it  has  lately  been  found  that 
the  Eocene  strata  rest  unconformably  on  the  Cretaceous.  The  same 
succession  of  sandstone  overlying  the  igneous  and  metamorphic  rocks,  and 
succeeded  by  Cretaceous  and  Eocene  limestones,  is  also  observed  in  the 
Arabian  desert  and  in  Sinai.  In  Sinai  and  Wadi  Arabah  the  Nubian 
Sandstone  has  been  found  to  contain  Carboniferous  fossils,  but  the  main 
mass  has  by  different  authors  been  regarded  as  Triassic,  Cretaceous,  and 
Eocene,  the  lack  of  organic  remains  rendering  the  determination  difficult. 
Climate.  —Owing  to  the  diversity  in  its  surface  features,  the  climate 
of  Egypt  is  of  very  varied  character.  In  the  equatorial  lands  of  the 
southern  Sudan  the  rainy  season  lasts  for  ten  months,  and  even  in 
November  and  December,  the  dry  period,  storms  are  not  infrequent.  In 
latitude  8°  N.  the  dry  seasons  are  separated  by  two  rainy  periods,  a  light 
and  a  heavy ;  the  former  lasting  from  March  to  April,  while  the  latter 
begins  about  the  middle  of  May,  and  often  continues  far  into  October. 
But  even  in  the  wet  season  the  thunderstorms  and  showers  do  not  last 
long,  though  recurring  constantly  after  the  midday  heats.  Further  north, 
between  Khartum  and  Shendi,  the  rainy  season  is  much  shorter,  while  in 
Upper  Egypt  and  parts  of  the  western  deserts  rain  is  almost  unknown. 
Thus  there  is  a  transition  from  regions  of  excessive  rainfall  to  those 
of  absolute  rainlessness.  The  presence  of  the  Mediterranean  on  the  north 
and  the  high  mountains  in  Sinai  and  the  Red  Sea  Hills,  to  some  extent 
increase  the  rainfall  in  their  immediate  neighbourhood.  Thus  the  mean 
for  fourteen  years  at  Alexandria  is  eight  inches,  at  Cairo  only  one  and  a-half, 
and  at  Kina  practically  nil,  the  rainfall  thus  obviously  diminishing  with 
distance  from  the  sea. 


920       The  International  Geography 

In  the  Sinai  peninsula  sudden  thunderstorms  are  not  infrequent  in 
December,  January  and  February,  accompanied  by  a  heavy  downpour, 
the  dry  torrent  beds  becoming  suddenly  flooded,  thereby  occasionally 
causing  much  destruction  to  life  and  property  ;  while  on  the  highei 
summits  light  falls  of  snow  and  the  formation  of .  ice  are  frequently 
observed.  This  range  forms  a  protection  to  the  Arabian  desert,  in  whose 
hills  these  sudden  storms  are  rare  and  less  destructive,  no  important  rains 
having  fallen  between  1892  and  1898.  The  air  of  the  desert  is  dry  and 
invigorating,  and  contrasts  with  the  comparatively  damp  atmospheres  of 
Cairo  and  Alexandria,  but  especially  with  the  moist  conditions  of  the  Sudan. 

In  northern  Egypt  the  winds  blow  for  the  greater  part  of  the  year  from 
the  north  and  north-west,  the  latter  sometimes  lasting  for  a  month  without 
intermission,  while  from  February  to  June  south-easterly  and  south- 
westerly winds  are  more  prevalent.  During  these  months  the  Khansin 
— a  sand-laden,  dry  wind— blows  at  frequent  intervals,  and  is  always 
accompanied  by  a  marked  rise  of  temperature.  The  temperature  is  lowest 
from  the  end  of  December  to  March,  the  lowest  recorded  in  the  Delta  being 
35°  F.,  in  Alexandria  40°,  in  Cairo  31°,  and  in  Upper  Egypt  41°  F.  In 
the  desert  the  temperature  frequently  falls  below  freezing  point ;  in  Sinai, 
at  a  height  of  5,000  feet,  15°  of  frost  having  been  recorded,  and  in  the 
Libyan  desert  23°  F.  The  heat  begins  to  increase  in  April,  but  full 
summer  usually  commences  in  June,  when  temperatures  between  80°  and 
90°  F.  are  the  rule,  even  at  midnight.  The  ten  years'  mean  average  for 
the  Delta  and  Cairo  is  58°  F.  in  winter,  78°  F.  in  spring,  83°  F.  in  summer, 
and  66°  F.  in  autumn,  while  during  the  period  of  hot  winds  as  much  as 
114°  F.  in  the  shade  has  been  recorded.  Further  south  109°  F.  in  the  shade 
has  been  observed  in  Upper  Egypt,  while  in  the  oases  and  the  Sudan  the 
temperature  occasionally  rises  to  over  120°  F. 

The  Nile. — The  whole  country  is  watered  by  one  river-system— that 
of  the  Nile.  Rising  between  2°  and  3°  S.,  where  several  branches  unite  to 
form  the  Kagera,  it  flows  through  the  Victoria  Nyanza,  and  entering  the 
northern  end  of  the  Albert  Nyanza  immediately  flows  thence  as  the  Bahr- 
el-Gebel.  In  about  9°  N.  this  river  is  joined  by  the  sluggish  Bahr-el- 
Ghazal,  or  Gazelle  river,  draining  the  Bongo  and  Niam-Niam  countries 
on  the  west,  and  by  the  more  rapid  Sobat,  rising  in  the  Galla  highlands  on 
the  east.  The  joint  streams  form  the  Bahr-el-Abiad,  or  White  Nile, 
which  meanders  northward  through  the  grassy  plains,  or  dense  thickets 
and  forests  of  the  Sudan.  About  16°  N.,  where  Khartum  stands,  it 
receives  one  of  its  most  important  tributaries — the  Bahr-el-Azrak,  or  Blue 
Nile,  a  rapid  and  turbulent  torrent,  descending  from  the  southern  high- 
lands of  Abyssinia.  Still  further  north,  180  miles  below  the  confluence, 
Hie  Nile  is  joined  near  Berber  on  the  east  by  the  Atbara,  which  drains 
fhe  northern  highlands  of  Abyssinia.  From  this  point  onward  the  Nile 
assumes  those  characteristics  which  have  made  it  the  most  remark- 
able of  rivers,  flowing  for  a  distance  of  1,800  miles  without  receiving 


Egypt 


921 


a  single  affluent,  and  running  in  -a  valley  which  is  simply  a  cleft  in  the 
desert  plateau,  the  cliffs  on  both  sides  of  its  alluvial  plain  rising  in  many 
cases  to  a  height  of  over  a  thousand  feet.  The  maximum  breadth  of  the 
river  below  Khartum  is  not  more  than  1,100  yards  (near  Minieh  and  Cairo 
respectively),  except  during  the  period  of  flood,  while  the  "  cultivation,"  or 
land  which  is  subject  to  the  influence  of  its  fertilising  waters,  does  not 
exceed  nine  miles  in  breadth  at  any  point.  The  actual  Nile  valley,  how- 
ever, is  much  broader,  in  parts  of  Egypt  proper  being  over  thirty  miles 
in  width,  but  narrower  in  Nubia,  where  five  to  six  miles  is  a  fair 
average.  The  river  itself  is  navigable  throughout  its  whole  length,  except 
when  it  issues  from  the  Albert  Nyanza  in  a  series  of  rapids  near  Wadelai, 
and  at  the  six  Cataracts,  between  Khartum  and  Assuan,  where  it  has  forced 
its  way  through  granite  and  syenite  barriers. 

The  long,  narrow  valley  terminates  at  Cairo,  where  the  Nile  branches, 


FiG.  442. — The  Ddtu  oj  the  Xiie  and  Suez  Canal. 

mainly  discharging  its  waters  at  the  present  time  through  two  channels, 
named — from  the  towns  where  they  enter  the  Mediterranean — the  Rosetta 
and  Damietta  branches.  The  district  included  between  these  two  arms 
was  called  the  Delta  by  the  Greeks  from  its  resemblance  to  the  Greek  letter 
A,  the  apex  of  the  triangle  being  at  Cairo,  and  the  base  the  Mediterranean 
shore  line  between  Alexandria  and  Port  Said,  over  150  miles  in  length. 
The  area  thus  defined  embraces  the  most  fertile  region  in  all  North  Africa. 
Thus  there  are  three  geographical  divisions  dependent  on  the  character 
of  the  Nile  itself  :— (i)  The  Egyptian  Sudan,  including  all  the  country 
south  of  Khartum  ;  (2)  the  Nile  Valley  ;  and  (3)  the  Delta.  There  are  in 
addition  two  vast  desert  regions,  separated  by  the  Valley  of  the  Nile,  and 


922       The  International  Geography 

standing  in  sharp  contrast  to  one  another  :— (4)  The  Libyan  Desert  on  the 
west ;  and  (5)  the  Arabian  and  Nubian  Deserts  on  the  east. 

The  Nile  Floods. — In  the  Nile  valley  the  seasons  are  determined  by 
the  rise  and  fall  of  the  river,  these  movements  depending  on  the  amount 
of  rain  which  falls  in  the  Abyssinian  highlands.  The  waters  begin  to  rise 
in  the  upper  reaches  in  the  beginning  of  June,  the  rise  being  observed  at 
Cairo  three  weeks  after  it  has  commenced  at  Merawi.  In  early  October 
the  maximum  elevation  is  obtained,  forty-one  feet  above  ordinary  Nile 
level  being  at  present  the  most  favourable  for  agricultural  purposes.  On 
the  annual  occurrence  of  the  inundations  depends  the  existence  of  the 
Egypt  of  history  and  commerce ;  its  prosperity  is  due .  to  the  soil  thus 
brought  down  from  Abyssinia,  which,  distributed  over  the  alluvial  plain,  is 
the  source  of  the  great  fertility  of  this  portion  of  the  country. 

The  insoluble  material  in  Nile  mud  is  remarkable  for  the  uniformity  of  its 
grain,  the  particles  being  very  minute.  The  coarser  minerals,  which  them- 
selves are  minute,  are  mainly  such  as  would  be  derived  from  igneous  rocks — 
viz.,  quartz,  felspar,  hornblende,  and  epidote,  and  recent  borings  have 
shown  that  the  delta  mud,  which  is  itself  of  great  thickness,  is  underlain  by 
thick  beds  of  gravel  containing  pebbles  of  limestone,  granite  and  andesite, 
clearly  indicating  a  period  of  greater  rainfall  and  more  abundant  torrent- 
action  in  the  past.  Indeed,  it  has  been  held  by  many  geologists  that  the 
Nile  was  formerly  a  negative  delta,  or  narrow  arm  of  the  sea,  and  it  is  a 
noteworthy  fact  that  the  deepest  borings  undertaken  in  the  Delta  (375  feet 
at  Zagazig)  have  never  yet  reached  bed-rock. 

The  construction  of  a  great  storage  reservoir  for  the  surplus  flood  waters 
by  building  a  dam  across  the  Nile  valley  above  Assuan  was  completed  in 
1902,  and  so  a  regular  supply  for  irrigation  in  the  lower  valley  and  in  the 
Delta  during  the  period  of  low  Nile  has  now  been  secured. 

Natural  Resources.— For  many  centuries  Egypt  was  practically  the 
granary  of  the  Byzantine  Empire,  and  wheat  still  plays  an  important  part, 
occupying  50  per  cent,  of  the  fields  in  Upper  Egypt  and  30  per  cent,  in  the 
Delta,  and  in  the  extent  of  its  cultivation  rivalling  maize  and  durrah,  or 
Indian  millet.  Clover,  beans  and  barley  are  also  grown,  but  in  recent  years 
cotton  has  tended  to  become  the  one  crop  of  economic  importance.  The 
cereal  crops  are  usually  sown  between  the  middle  of  October  and  end  of 
December,  and  harvested  from  the  middle  of  February  to  the  end  of  April, 
the  seed  time  and  harvest  being  earlier  in  the  southern  than  in  the  northern 
provinces.  Cotton  and  tobacco  are  chiefly  cultivated  in  Lower  Egypt  from 
April  to  August;  cucumbers  and  water-melons  also  form  an  important 
local  staple.  Of  recent  years  rice  and  sugar-cane  have  been  introduced 
with  success,  the  moist  lowlands  of  the  Delta  being  especially  favourable 
to  their  development.  Flax,  henna,  indigo,  and  castor-oil  are  also  produced, 
flax  forming  a  not  unimportant  article  of  export. 

Among  fruit  trees,  the  date  palm  holds  the  first  place,  groves  of  this  tree 
extend  along  the  banks  of  the  Nile  as  far  south  as  Fashoda,  and  it  is  grown  in 


Egypt 


923 


the  oases  and  even  in  the  wild  valleys  of  the  Sinai  peninsula,  but  the  dates 
produced  are  mainly  for  home  consumption.  The  vine,  orange,  mandarin, 
lemon,  melon  and  fig  are  also  plentiful  in  the  Nile  valley,  while  bananas 
are  cultivated  in  the  Sudan.  The  trees  most  common  in  the  Nile  valley  and 
the  oases  are  the  date  palm,  the  Acacia  Nilolica,  or  sunt,  and  the  sycamore. 
In  the  oases  the  two  former  are  present,  and  the  dates  obtained  are  superior 
to  those  of  the  rest  of  Egypt.  The  Sinai  peninsula  is  also  not  so  barren  as 
is  generally  supposed,  the  date  groves  of  the  Wadi  Feiran  being  especially 
striking,  while  tamarisk  bushes  abound  in  the  principal  valleys ;  nor  is  the 
Arabian  desert  devoid  of  vegetation,  tamarisk  and  scattered  examples  of  the 
thorny  acacia  (A.  seyal)  and  Majinga  being  found  in  the  high  mountain 
valleys.  In  the  Sudan,  on  the  contrary,  forests  are  frequent,  but  of  mixed 
character. 

The  chief  domestic  animals  employed  in  transport  are  the  camel,  donkey, 
horse,  buffalo  and  ox,  while  flocks  of  goats  and  sheep,  especially  the  long- 
eared  kharuf,  constitute  an  important  source  of  wealth.  The  lion  and 
leopard  are  now  almost  restricted  to  the  Sudan,  but  a  few  leopards  are  met 
with  in  the  peninsula  of  Sinai.  The  hyaena  and  jackal  lurk  in  the  old 
ruins  and  caves  of  the  plateau  limestone,  while  the  long-eared  fennec  fox 
is  not  uncommon  in  the  desert.  The  ibex  (/.  sinaiticus,  bedan,  or  tetel)  is 
limited  to  the  mountains  of  Sinai  and  the  Arabian  desert,  various  species 
of  antelope  and  gazelle  also  wandering  in  the  lower  desert  valleys.  The 
elephant,  hippopotamus,  chimpanzee  and  other  apes,  and  the  giraffe,  only 
occur  in  the  Sudan,  while  the  crocodile  is  now  very  rare  north  of  Assuan. 
Sand  grouse,  red  partridge,  and  quail  are  of  frequent  occurrence  in 
the  desert,  while  geese,  wild  pigeon,  and  duck  yield  sport  in  the  Nile 
valley.  The  flamingo,  ibis,  sultan  bird,  and  heron  also  breed  in  the  Delta 
and  the  Fayum.  In  the  Sudan  the  ostrich  in  the  desert,  guinea  fowl  in  the 
woods,  waders,  darters,  and  cranes  on  the  upper  reaches  of  the  river,  form 
part  of  the  varied  life  of  the  tropical  regions. 

The  mineral  resources  are  at  present  of  secondary  importance.  Ala- 
baster has  been  quarried  near  Assiut.  But  the  ancient  Egyptians  sought 
most  of  their  monumental  stones  further  to  the  south,  the  sandstones, 
diorites,  &c.,  used  in  many  of  the  large  temples  being  quarried  on  the 
Kena-Kosseir  road  in  the  Arabian  desert,  and  the  granite  from  the  quarries 
near  Assuan.  The  Romans,  too,  busily  searched  this  eastern  desert,  ex- 
ploiting the  beautiful  red  porphyry  of  Jebel  Dokhan  and  granites  of  Mons 
Claudianus,  near  27°  N.  Nor  less  famous  are  the  now  unworked  emerald 
mines  of  Jebel  Zebara,  and  the  turquoise  and  copper  mines  of  Maghera 
and  other  places  in  Sinai,  which  were  once  the  centres  of  an  active  Egyptian 
mining  industry.  In  addition  Jebel  Zeit,  on  the  Red  Sea,  was,  within 
recent  times,  exploited  for  petroleum.  Speaking  generally,  however,  the 
old  mines  at  present  add  nothing  to  the  resources  of  the  country. 

Ancient  History. — The  records  of  Egypt  that  have  been  preserved  on 
monument  and  temple  go  back  to  so  remote  an  antiquity  that  it  might  be 


924       The  International  Geography 

said  the  dawn  of  the  history  of  Egypt  is  the  dawn  of  history  itself.  It  is  a 
remarkable  fact  that  not  only  was  the  Egyptian  Empire  the  most  ancient, 
but  it  was  likewise  the  most  durable  the  world  has  ever  seen,  with  one 
exception  being  unaffected  by  foreign  invasion  over  a  period  exceeding 
two  thousand  years.  The  explanation  of  this  continuity  is  to  be  found 
in  the  geographical  position  of  Egypt  itself,  the  sea  in  the  then  state  of 
navigation  being  an  efficient  protection  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  desert 
an  effectual  barrier  on  the  other. 

Menes,  the  founder  of  the  first  historical  dynasty  (in  4400  B.C.,  accord- 
ing to  Brugsch),  founded  Memphis,  near  the  site  of  modern  Cairo,  which 
occupied  a  strategical  position  commanding  the  Delta  and  the  valley  of  the 
Nile.  Commencing  with  this  monarch,  historians  have  grouped  the 
Egyptian  sovereigns,  as  recorded  on  the  monuments,  into  twenty-six 
dynasties,  lasting  till  the  Persian  invasion.  Civilisation  was  already  highly 
developed,  especially  as  regards  architecture  and  engineering.  Cheops, 
Chephren,  and  Mykerinos,  of  the  later  dynasties,  are  well  known  as  the 
builders  of  the  three  great  pyramids  of  Ghizeh.  Under  the  Xllth  dynasty 
Thebes  became  the  capital,  and  Amenemhat  III.  was  the  first  to  utilise  the 
inundation  of  the  Nile,  by  constructing  Lake  Moeris  in  the  low-lying 
Fayum  ;  it  was  also  at  this  time  that  the  sceptres  of  Upper  and  Lower 
Egypt  were  united  (2466  B.C.,  Brugsch).  The  one  interruption  in  the  long 
line  of  Egyptian  kings  was  a  successful  invasion  by  an  unknown  Eastern 
race,  who  founded  the  two  dynasties  of  the  Shepherd  Kings,  or  Hyksos 
(XV.  and  XVI.),  and  it  is  during  this  period  that  Joseph  is  believed  to 
have  been  in  power.  The  Theban  kings  of  the  XVI Ith  dynasty  ex- 
pelled the  invaders,  but  it  was  during  the  XlXth  that  Egypt  reached  its 
greatest  development,  Rameses  II.,  supposed  to  be  the  Pharaoh  of  the 
Oppression,  extending  his  sway  south  to  Dongola,  and  north  to  Asia  Minor- 

During  the  reign  of  Tirhakah  the  Ethiopian  (XXV.)  Memphis  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  Assyrians,  who  set  up  creatures  of  their  own  in  Lower 
Egypt.  This  was  regained  by  Psammeticus  I.,  founder  of  the  XXVIth 
dynasty,  with  the  aid  of  Greek  mercenaries.  Nevertheless,  this  tem- 
porary foreign  conquest  was  the  first  sign  of  decadence  in  the  old 
empire,  which  in  525  B.C.  fell  under  the  Persian  domination  of  Cambyses. 
A  century  later  the  Egyptians  again  reasserted  their  independence,  but  in 
340  B.C.  the  Persians  gave  the  death  blow  to  the  ancient  monarchy.  The 
renewed  Persian  rule  lasted  but  six  years,  when  Alexander  the  Great  took 
possession  of  the  country  and  founded  Alexandria,  which  soon  became  the 
centre  of  Greek  culture  and  of  the  commerce  of  the  then  known  world. 
On  the  division  of  the  Macedonian  kingdom  at  the  death  of  Alexander, 
one  of  his  generals  founded  the  dynasty  of  the  Ptolemies,  which  lasted  to 
42  B.C.  With  the  death  of  Cleopatra  after  the  battle  of  Actium,  Egypt 
became  part  of  the  Roman  Empire  under  Augustus,  with  which  it  was  con- 
nected from  A.D.  27  to  A.D.  395,  when,  on  the  partition,  it  was  merged  with 
the  Eastern  or  Byzantine  dominions.  The  most  notable  feature  during  the 


Egypt 


925 


Roman  occupation  was  the  rapid  spread  of  Christianity  and  monasticism  in 
the  country,  while  somewhat  later  a  Christian  kingdom  arose  in  Nubia. 

Modern  History. — In  638  A.D..  only  sixteen  years  after  the  flight  of 
the  Hejira,  Amr-ibn-el-Asi  conquered  Egypt  and  started  the  Mohammedan- 
Arab  domination,  which  lasted  for  about  nine  hundred  years,  the  country 
during  the  rule  of  the  Fatimite  sovereigns  (969-1171)  being  in  an  especially 
flourishing  condition.  In  1240  Melik-el-Salah  founded  the  Mameluke 
dynasty,  having  been  placed  on  the  throne  by  the  Mamelukes,  descendants 
of  slaves  who  formed  the  bodyguard  of  the  Caliphs,  but  in  1517,  on  the 
deposition  of  Tuman  Bey,  by  the  Sultan  Selim  I.  of  Constantinople,  Egypt 
became  a  Turkish  pashalik.  The  Mamelukes  still  retained  a  large  share 
of  power  down  to  1798,  when  Napoleon  I.  stormed  Alexandria  and  over- 
threw them  at  the  battle  of  the  Pyramids.  The  defeat  of  the  French  fleet 
at  Aboukir  by  Nelson  obliged  the  French  to  evacuate  Egypt  in  1801, 
Mohammed  Ali,  the  founder  of  the  present  reigning  house,  being  appointed 
Pasha  of  Egypt  in  1811.  Though  still  remaining  nominally  under  Turkish 
rule,  Egypt  then  became  practically  independent,  except  for  the  payment 
of  an  annual  tribute,  and  the  necessity  of  each  succeeding  ruler  receiving 
a  firman  of  appointment  from  the  Sultan.  In  1866  the  Porte  raised  Ismail 
Pasha  to  the  rank  of  Khedive,  or  viceroy,  which  became  hereditary. 
During  the  reigns  of  Said  and  Ismail,  French  influence  was  predominant, 
and  in  1869  the  construction  of  the  Suez  Canal  was  successfully  accom- 
plished by  M.  Ferdinand  de  Lesseps.  Owing  to  the  maladministration  of 
Ismail,  the  public  debt  increased  enormously,  and  in  1879  the  European 
Powers  called  upon  Turkey  to  depose  the  viceroyl  In  1882  as  the  result  of 
a  revolt  against  European  control,  and  upon  France  declining  to  join  the 
United  Kingdom  in  an  armed  demonstration,  the  British  fleet  bombarded 
Alexandria  and  the  British  army  occupied  Egypt.  Some  of  the  effects  of 
the  occupation  have  been  the  reorganisation  of  the  Egyptian  army,  finances, 
and  judiciary,  the  abolition  of  compulsory  labour,  or  the  corvee,  and  the 
carrying  out  of  a  more  perfect  system  of  irrigation,  which  had  already  been 
partly  planned  by  French  engineers.  Meanwhile,  a  rebellion  had  com- 
menced in  the  Sudan  (which  had  only  been  conquered  under  Mohammed  Ali 
and  his  successors),  led  by  a  chief  who  had  taken  the  title  of  Mahdi,  or 
prophet.  After  several  unsuccessful  expeditions  had  attempted  to  quell  the 
revolt,  Khartum  was  captured  by  the  Mahdists  in  1885,  on  the  eve  of  being 
relieved  by  a  British  force,  and  the  Sudan  was  abandoned  for  ten  years. 
In  1898,  after  two  years  of  slow  but  steady  advance  southward,  Lord 
Kitchener  at  last  crushed  the  forces  of  the  Khalifa  (the  Mahdi's  successor) 
by  the  capture  of  Omdurman,  opposite  Khartum.  The  Khalifa  was  finally 
defeated  and  slain  by  Sir  R.  Wingate  in  1899. 

People. — It  appears  probable  that  the  first  civilised  Egyptian  invaders 
were  of  Caucasian  origin,  and  came  from  an  original  home  in  Asia,  but 
of  the  peoples  previously  inhabiting  the  country  no  records  have  at 
present  been  found.  The  Fellahin,  or  peasant  dwellers  on  the  Nile,  are 


926      The  International   Geography 

probably  direct  descendants  of  those  who  were  the  cultivators  in  early 
days.  The  reason  of  their  conservatism  as  regards  habits  and  made  of 
life  is  to  be  sought  in  the  uniformity  of  the  conditions  by  which  they  were 
surrounded,  depending  on  the  regularity  of  the  seasons  determined  by  the 
rise  and  fall  of  the  river.  They  are  of  medium  height  and  of  somewhat 
heavy  build,  with  high  cheek-bones,  receding  forehead,  and  thick  lips,  and 
in  colour  varying  from  light  to  dark  brown,  according  to  the  latitude.  In 
belief  the  fellah  is  a  Mohammedan,  but  his  religion  is  tinged  with  remnants 
of  the  older  Egyptian  worship,  many  of  the  ceremonies  still  savouring 
rather  of  the  cult  of  Isis  than  of  the  creed  of  Islam.  They  number  about 
2,000,000. 

The  Copts,  who  are  the  remnants  of  the  dominant  Egyptian  race,  are 
chiefly  resident  in  the  large  towns,  where  they  are  watchmakers  and 
goldsmiths,  and  are  very  often  possessed  of  considerable  wealth.  They 
are  usually  easily  distinguished,  as  they  wear  a  black  turban,  and  in 
build  are  somewhat  below  middle  height,  with  small  hands  and  feet,  and 
comparatively  fair  complexions.  The  Copts  in  religion  are  professedly 
Christian,  having  many  of  their  rites  identical  with  those  of  the  Greek 
Church.  They  have  preserved  their  faith  in  spite  of  the  many  centuries 
of  Moslem  domination,  still  possessing  a  number  of  large  churches  and 
many  schools.  They  number  at  the  present  time  800,000  souls,  and  the 
teaching  of  the  Coptic  language,  a  modified  dialect  of  the  ancient  Egyptian, 
is  now  compulsory  in  the  schools  supported  by  this  community. 

In -the  desert  wander  the  nomadic  Arab  tribes  generally  classed  together 
under  the  name  of  Bedouin  or  Bedawin,  the  principal  of  these  being  the 
Towarah,  in  Sinai ;  the  Maazeh,  in  the  northern  part  of  the  Arabian  desert 
down  to  lat.  27°  N. ;  the  Ababdeh,  south  of  the  Kena-Kosseir  line  ;  the 
Bisharin,  in  the  deserts  of  Assuan  ;  and  the  Hadendoa,  in  the  direction  of 
Suakin.  Still  further  south  are  wild  tribes  including  the  Baggara,  the 
backbone  of  the  Khalifa's  army,  while  the  Aulad  'Ali  Bedawin  inhabit 
the  western  desert.  All  these  tribes  are  nomadic,  wandering  from  place 
to  place,  and  pitching  their  tents  wherever  food  and  water  supply  are 
favourable.  The  free  life  gives  them  independence  of  character,  and  a 
pride  which  poverty  cannot  erase.  The  western  Bedawin  and  the  Maazeh 
are  often  strict  Mohammedans,  and  the  southern  tribes  were  famous  for 
their  fanatical  support  of  the  Mahdi,  but  the  others  are  very  little  affected 
by  their  nominal  religious  beliefs,  and  the  Towaraji  scarcely  know  anything 
of  Mohammed,  Moses  being  their  chief  prophet.  The  typical  Bedawin  is 
of  slender  build,  with  thin  neck  and  limbs,  and  of  a  dark  brown  com- 
plexion. 

The  Arabs  of  the  towns  are  a  somewhat  indolent  race,  contact  with 
Turks  and  Europeans  having  caused  them  to  lose  the  finer  characteristics  of 
their  desert  neighbours,  though  they  are  often  of  ready  wit,  and  amiable 
in  disposition.  The  great  majority  have  delicate  features,  the  complexions 
being  often  whiter  than  those  of  the  average  European.  Arabic  is  the 


Egypt 


927 


common  language  in  all  the  region  north  of  Khartum,  replacing  Coptic 
after  the  conquest  of  Egypt  by  'Amr  in  640  A.D. 

A  great  part  of  the  Sudan  is  occupied  by  about  twenty  different  negro 
races  of  too  varied  a  character  to  permit  of  further  description  here. 

Government. — The  government  of    Egypt  is  under  the  control  of 
native  Ministers,  themselves  subject  to  the  Khedive, 
there  being  in  addition  a  British  financial  adviser, 
without   whose  permission  no   financial   decision 
can  be  arrived  at,  but  he  is  not  an  executive  officer. 
In  addition,  there  is  a  Legislative  Council  of  thirty 
members,   fifteen    residing   in    Cairo  and    fifteen 
coming  from  the  provinces,  to  whom  all  general 
laws    are    submitted    for    examination ;    while    a      FIG.  443-— The  Egyptian 
General  Assembly  has  to  be  summoned  every  two 

years,  without  the  consent  of  which  no  direct  personal  or  land  tax  can 
be  imposed.  In  addition  the  British  Consul-General  has  large  powers 
of  an  undefined  character. 

Internal  Communications. — The  Nile  is  the  chief  medium  of  com- 
munication from  the  Sudan  to  Alexandria,  while  in  the  Delta  a  system  of 
canals  radiate  in  every  direction.  Railways,  too,  now  run  from  Alexandria, 
Port  Said,  and  Suez  to  Cairo,  whence  another  line  follows  the  Nile  valley 
southward,  and  was  opened  to  Khartum  in  1899.  Communications  with  the 
desert  regions  and  shores  of  the  Red  Sea  are  only  maintained  by  means  of 
camel  caravans  or  steamers  from  Suez. 

Political  Divisions  and  Towns.— Egypt  is  divided  into  Governor- 
ships and  Mudiriehs,  there  being  twelve  of  these  in  Lower  Egypt,  nine  in 
Upper  Egypt  and  one  for  the  Oases.  The  Mudirs  have  wide  powers  over 
internal  administrations,  each  town  and  village  having  in  addition  a  Sheikh- 
el-beled,  or  mayor,  who  is  responsible  to  the  Mudir.  The  two  provinces 
into  which  Egypt,  north  of  the  Sudan,  is  divided  are  of  unequal  size,  Lower 
Egypt  being  the  smaller,  but  containing  the  Delta  and  Cairo,  while  Upper 
Egypt  mainly  consists  of  desert  country  and  the  long  Nile  valley. 

The  principal  town  is  Cairo,  the  largest  city  in  Africa,  occupying  the 
commanding  position  at  the  junction  of  the  valley  of  the  Nile  and  the 
Delta.  It  has  the  Khedive's  palace,  the  usual  government  buildings,  old 
mosques,  picturesque  streets,  and  a  great  museum  of  Egyptian  antiquities. 
On  account  of  its  good  European  hotels  and  its  dry  climate  it  has  become 
a  great  winter  resort  for  wealthy  Europeans  and  the  centre  for  the  tourist 
traffic  on  the  Nile.  Alexandria,  the  principal  port  of  Egypt,  is  a  purely 
commercial  town  trading  with  Europe ;  Tantah,  occupies  an  important 
central  point  in  the  Delta  itself ;  Port  Said  and  Suez  derive  their  impor- 
tance from  being  at  the  northern  and  southern  terminations  of  the  Suez 
Canal.  Assiut,  Naghamadi  Kina,  Assuan,  Wadi  Haifa,  Dongola,  and  Berber 
are  the  principal  towns  on  the  Nile  itself,  while  Khartum  at  the  junction 
of  the  two  Niles,  was,  and  will  again  become  the  centre  of  Egyptian  trade 


928      The    International    Geography 


FlG.  444. — The  Provinces   of  the 
Reorganised  Sudan. 


with  the  Sudan.  A  college  in  memory  of  General  Gordon  has  been  established 
there  as  a  centre  of  education  for  the  natives.  The  Sudan  has  been  re- 
organised under  joint  British  and  Egyptian 
control,  with  a  military  governor  entrusted 
with  very  large  powers. 

The  Suez  Canal.— This  great  water- 
way connecting  the  Mediterranean  and  the 
Red  Seas,  has  become  the  main  channel  of 
communication  between  Europe  and  the 
East  (Fig.  442).  From  Port  Said  to  Suez  it 
has  a  length  of  87  miles  with  surface  breadth 
of  from  65  to  1 20  yards,  and  a  depth  of 
26  feet,  and  runs  for  21  miles  through  the 
Great  Bitter  Lake  and  Lake  Timsah.  Under 
a  special  convention  it  has  been  neutralised 
by  the  Powers  and  is  managed  by  an  inter- 
national commission.  On  the  average  ten 
vessels  pass  through  the  canal  every  day,  and  seven  out  of  every  ten 
are  under  the  British  flag.  The  value  of  the  canal  is  mainly  felt  on  the 
routes  to  India,  China  and  Australia ;  steamers  trading  to  New  Zealand 
find  it  as  economical  to  spend  a  few  more  days  on  their  voyage  out  by  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  home  by  Cape  Horn  as  to  pay  the  heavy  canal  dues. 
The  Libyan  Desert.— Beyond  the  narrow  fertile  belt  nourished  by 
the  Nile,  in  which  the  population  of  Egypt  is  concentrated,  and  on  which 
the  importance  of  the  country  depends,  there  are  vast  deserts  on  either 
side,  many  parts  of  which  are  unexplored.  The  Libyan  desert,  on  the 
west,  is  an  immense  stony  plateau  from  600  to  1,000  feet  above  the  Nile 
level,  and  rising  in  a  series  of  gentle  steps  towards  the  interior,  a  few  isolated 
sandhills  or  low  cliffs  being  the  only  elevations  in  the  apparently  horizontal 
expanse.  A  series  of  deep  depressions,  sharply  defined  by  the  precipitous 
walls  of  the  plateau,  occurs  in  this  desert  more  than  100  miles  from  the 
Nile,  constituting  the  celebrated  oases,  named,  beginning  with  the  southern 
— Khargeh,  Dakhel,  Farafah,  and  Baharieh.  The  last  named  is  connected 
by  a  number  of  minor  uncultivated  depressions  containing  salt  lakes,  with 
Siva,  the  ancient  oasis  of  Jupiter  Ammon,  which  lies  over  300  miles  west 
of  Cairo,  and  is  inhabited  by  the  fanatical  Senussi  Arabs.  South  of  Khargeh 
this  line  of  depression  approaches  the  valley  of  the  Nile.  Owing  to  the 
existence  of  numerous  springs  in  these  districts  certain  portions  are  ex- 
tremely fertile,  and  during  many  centuries  have  been  centres  of  population 
and  cultivation.  To  the  west  of  them  extend  the  unexplored  wastes  of  the 
Sahara,  whose  wind-blown  sands  are  piled  up  into  shifting  dunes  often 
from  300  to  400  feet  in  height. 

The  Arabian  Desert.— The  Arabian  or  eastern  desert  is  of  a  very 
different  character.  To  the  south  of  the  latitude  of  Assuan  it  forms  a  maze 
of  mountains  and  hills  which  have  been  but  little  explored,  while  sandy 


Egypt 


929 


wastes  are  replaced  by  wadis  covered  with  the  angular  debris  derived 
from  the  surrounding  elevations.  To  the  north  of  27°  N.  the  arrangement  of 
valley  and  mountain  is  more  regular,  the  waterless,  steep-sided  limestone 
plateau  (which  extends  in  places  for  over  50  miles  east  of  the  Nile)  being 
separated  from  the  Central  Red  Sea  Chain  by  the  broad  Wadi  Kena,  which 
runs  north-west  for  about  a  degree  of  latitude,  the  mountains  also  trending 
in  the  same  direction.  Lesser  hill  and  valley  systems  run  more  or  less 
parallel  to  each  other,  to  the  main  range,  and  to  the  Red  Sea.  The  flat 
limestone  plateau  is  about  1,200  feet  above  Nile  level,  while  the  Red  Sea 
Hills,  which  are  characterised  by  the  extreme  ruggedness  of  their  outline, 
are  over  6,000  feet  high  in  the  Ghattar  and  Um  Delpha  (Es  Shayib) 
massifs.  At  the  northern  end  of  the  chain,  Jebel  Gharib  nearly  attains  the 
same  elevation.  North  of  28°  45'  N.  the  limestone  plateau  occupies  the 
whole  region,  giving  rise  to  the  desolate,  steep-sided  hills  of  Gallala,  while 
west  of  Suez  and  Ismailia  the  country  consists  of  broken  ridges,  arid 
sand  and  pebble  desert.  This  inhospitable  region  is  traversed  in  29°  N. 
by  the  wide  Wadi  Arabah,  which  runs  east  and  west  from  the  plateau  to 
the  Red  Sea. 

The  Peninsula  of  Sinai. — This  peninsula,  which  is  the  sixth  divi- 
sion, is  closely  connected  with  the  Arabian  desert  system,  and  consists  of 
a  central  mountain  mass  separated  from  the  Red  Sea  by  the  plain  of 
El  Gaah,  and  small  ranges  parallel  to  the  same  sea.  On  the  north,  sandy 
plains  and  lower  sandstone  ranges  intervene  between  the  main  chain  and 
the  desolate  plateaux  of  the  Desert  of  the  Wanderings,  while  on  the  east 
runs  the  deep  Gulf  of  Akabah,  which  forms  part  of  the  great  rift  valley 
extending  from  the  Sea  of  Galilee  to  Lakes  Tanganyika  and  Nyasa. 

STATISTICS. 


Area  of  Egypt  (excluding  Nubia  and  Deserts) 
Population  of  Egypt             „                    „ 

1882. 
10,340 
..    6,575,958 
636 

1897. 
10,340 
9,494,023  « 
918 
570,062 
319,766 
57,208 
42,095 

42  OI2 

368,108 

Alexandria           
Tantah 

.  .       208,755 

33  72  S 

ANNUAL  TRADE  (in  pounc 

is  sterling}. 
1881-85. 
8,000,000 
12,200,000 

CANAL. 

Total  tonnage. 
8,183.313 
12,039,859 

*     1891-95. 

9,000,000 
12,700,000 

British  tonnage. 
7,335.o62 
8,057,706 

Exports            •          .        ..        ..        ..        ..        .. 

TRADE  THROUGH   SUEZ 
Year.                    No.  of  vessels.        British  vessels. 
1888         ..        ..         3,440          ••          2,625 
1896         ..        ..          3,409          ..          2,162 

STANDARD   BOOKS. 


Miss  Broderick  and  A.  H.  Sayce.  "  Murray's  Handbook  for  Egypt."  loth  edit.  Li 
G.  Ebers.  "  ^Egypten  in  Bild  und  Wort."  Stuttgart,  1879.  Translation  in  2  vol 
H.G.Lyons  The  Physiography  of  the  Nile  and  its  Basin."  Cairo,  1906. 


loth  edit.   London,  1902. 
London, 


H.  <_T.  Lyons  ine  fnysiograpny  ot  the  JNile  ana  its  casm.' 
Count  Gleichen.  "  The  Anglo-Egyptian  Sudan."  London,  ic 
Sir  A.  Colvin.  "  The  Making  of  Modern  Egypt."  London,  i 


905- 
1906. 

1  Population  of  Nubia  by  Census  of  1897  =  240,382. 


CHAPTER  L.— EAST  AFRICA 


I— EASTERN  EQUATORIAL  AFRICA 

BY  J.  W.  GREGORY,  D.Sc.,  F.R.S., 

Professor  of  Geology  in  the  University  of  Glasgow. 

Position. — Abyssinia,  Eritrea,  Somaliland,  and  British  East  Africa, 
with  the  off-lying  islands  from  Sokotra  to  Zanzibar,  may  be  con- 
veniently grouped  together  as  Eastern  Equa- 
torial Africa.  This  section  of  the  continent 
is  bounded  to  the  east  by  the  Red  Sea  and 
Indian  Ocean,  to  the  west  by  the  watershed 
separating  the  Congo  and  Lake  Chad  from 
the  Nile,  to  the  north  by  the  deserts  of 
Kordofan  and  southern  Nubia,  and  to  the 
south  by  the  frontier  of  German  East  Africa. 
Configuration  and  Geology.— The 
general  configuration  of  this  area  is  simple. 
The  region  is  part  of  an  ancient  plateau 
which  once  extended  across  tropical  Africa, 
and  was  probably  continuous  with  the  pen- 
insular area  of  India.  The  height  of  the 
country  has  been  increased  in  places  by 
broad  sheets  of  volcanic  rocks,  which  are 
sometimes  piled  up  into  lofty  peaks  and 
craters ;  in  other  places  the  level  has  been 
lowered  by  the  sinking  of  belts  or  broad 
areas  of  land,  as  along  the  coastal  plain,  the 
basin  of  the  Victoria  Nyanza,  and  the  Nile 
and  Entrean  rift-valleys. 

The  arrangement  of  the  river  systems 
has  been  mainly  determined  by  the  lines  of 
subsidence.  The  most  important  river  is  the 
Nile,  of  which  the  Victoria  Nyanza  is  the 
principal  source  ;  this  lake  discharges  north- 
ward by  the  Somerset  Nile,  which  enters 


.FIG.  445.— The  East  African  Rift-    the    northern   end   of   the   Albert  Nyanza. 

There    the  main  Nile  is  increased  by  the 

rainfall  on  both  flanks  of  Ruwenzori  and  by  the  surplus  waters  of  the 
Albert  and  Albert  Edward  Nyanzas.     Leaving  the  former  lake  the  Nile 

93° 


Eastern  Equatorial  Africa          931 

flows  northward,  and  after  a  course  of  500  miles  is  joined  by  the  Bahr-el- 
Ghazal,  which  drains  the  region  north  of  the  Congo  basin  and  east  of  that 
of  Lake  Chad.  On  the  east  bank  the  chief  tributaries  are  the  Sobat,  the 
Blue  Nile  and  the  Atbara,  which  drain  the  highlands  of  Abyssinia.  East 
of  the  Nile  is  a  zone  of  internal  drainage  along  the  Eritrean  rift-valley. 
The  chief  rivers  of  this  system  are  the  H awash  and  Omo  of  southern 
Abyssinia ;  the  Turquell  and  Kerio,  which  flow  into  the  southern  half  of 
Lake  Rudolf,  and  the  Murendat,  which  enters  Lake  Naivasha.  The  third 
set  of  rivers  flow  eastward  into  the  Indian  Ocean,  the  most  important  are 
the  Webi  Shebeyli,  the  Jub,  Tana  and  Sabaki. 

The  lake  system  is  one  of  the  most  striking  geographical  features  of  the 
region.  The  lakes  are  of  two  types,  broad  round  lakes  in  depressions  on 
the  plateaux  such  as  the  Victoria  Nyanza  and  Lake  Tsana,  and  long  narrow 
lakes  in  the  two  rift-valleys.  In  the  western  rift-valley  occur  Tanganyika, 
the  Albert  and  Albert  Edward  Nyanzas  ;  in  the  eastern  or  Eritrean  rift- 
valley  are  Lakes  Dembea,  Abbaya,  Stefanie,  Rudolf,  Baringo,  Losuguta, 
Elmetaita,  Naivasha,  and  the  dried  up  Lake  Suess. 

The  mountains  belong  to  four  groups — (i)  ridges  and  blocks  of  old 
Archaean  rocks,  either  left  standing  above  the  general  level  owing  to  the 
superior  hardness  of  certain  bands,  e.g.,  the  Taita  Mountains,  or  raised  by 
crustal  movements  as  in  the  high  snow-clad  ridge  of  Ruwenzori ;  (2)  lines 
of  volcanic  craters,  e.g.,  the  Kyulu  Mountains  of  Ukamba  ;  (3)  isolated 
volcanic  peaks,  e.g.,  Kenya  (17,000  feet),  Ruwenzori  (18,000),  and  Elgon 
(14,000) ;  (4)  the  scarps  of  fault  lines  such  as  the  Mau  and  Kikuyu  scarps 
of  the  Eritrean  rift-valley,  the  Laikipia  scarp,  east  of  Baringo,  or  the 
eastern  face  of  the  Abyssinian  plateau. 

Geologically,  Eastern  Equatorial  Africa  consists  of  a  plateau  of  Archaean 
rocks  (gneiss,  schists,  amphibolites,  &c.).  On  the  eastern  flanks  of  the 
plateau  are  some  fossiliferous  rocks  ;  some  Permo-Carboniferous  shales 
occur  in  the  Sabaki  valley,  and  some  obscure  older  fossils  have  been  found 
near  Mombasa,  and  a  belt  of  Jurassic  rocks  may  be  traced  from  German 
East  Africa  along  the  coast  and  up  the  Jub  to  Abyssinia,  where  some 
Cretaceous  rocks  have  also  been  found.  Later,  volcanic  action  began  by  the 
eruption  of  some  lavas  (monchiquites)  on  the  coast,  vast  sheets  of  volcanic 
material  were  spread  over  the  plateau  from  the  Athi  plains  to  the  uplands 
of  Abyssinia.  Volcanic  action  continued  for  a  prolonged  period  ;  some  of 
the  craters,  such  as  Longonot  near  Naivasha,  are  quite  recent,  and  some  are 
said  to  be  still  in  eruption.  Fumaroles  and  hot  springs  are  common  in  the 
districts  where  volcanic  fires  lingered  longest. 

Climate. — The  region  lies  wholly  within  the  tropics  and  is  traversed 
by  the  equator,  but  the  heat  is  not  as  a  rule  excessive.  On  the  coastal  plain 
and  at  Zanzibar  the  air  is  very  moist,  and  the  daily  variations  in  tempera- 
ture are  slight.  On  the  plateaux,  and  especially  on  the  bare,  sandy  plains, 
the  Sun's  heat  is  very  powerful  in  the  day,  while  the  nights  are  often  cold. 
The  rain  falls  at  two  seasons,  the  "  big  rains  "  of  the  spring  and  the  "  small 


932       The  International  Geography 

rains  "  of  the  autumn.  The  amount,  however,  is  very  uncertain.  On  the 
sandy  plains  of  the  Nyika  the  rainfall  is  small.  It  is  heaviest  on  the  high 
forest  belts,  where,  moreover,  the  separation  into  wet  and  dry  seasons  is  less 
definite.  Frosts  are  not  uncommon  above  the  height  of  6,000  feet ;  snow 
falls  on  the  higher  mountains  of  Abyssinia  and  Elgon,  and  is  permanent  on 
Ruwenzori  and  Kenya.  The  latter  has  a  system  of  small  glaciers. 

Flora  and  Fauna. — The  character  of  the  flora  varies  largely  with 
the  altitude.  On  the  coastal  plains  and  islands  there  are  palm-groves, 
fruit  orchards,  spice  plantations,  and  common  members  of  the  Indian  flora. 
On  the  sandy  plains  there  is  a  scanty  growth  of  acacia,  thorn  scrub,  scat- 
tered tufts  of  dry  grass,  and  trees  with  succulent  stems  like  the  candelabra- 
shaped  euphorbias  and  the  fibre-yielding  Sanseviera  and  aloe.  Districts 
that  are  better  watered  and  have  richer  soil  are  covered  with  woody 
flowering  shrubs.  On  the  plateau  there  are  belts  of  forest  with  many 
coniferous  trees,  and  above  these  is  a  zone  of  bamboo  jungle  reaching  up 
to  the  level  of  over  9,000  feet.  Still  higher  are  alpine  meadows  with  plants 
belonging  to  Mediterranean  genera  ;  many  of  these  northern  plants,  such 
as  the  groundsel,  lobelia,  and  heath,  which  in  Europe  grow  as  small  low 
herbs,  are  represented  on  the  East  African  mountains  by  tall  woody  trees. 

The  most  conspicuous  features  in  the  animal  life  of  the  region  are  the 
big  mammals,  such  as  the  elephant,  rhinoceros,  hippopotamus  and  giraffe  ; 
antelope  are  numerous,  but  there  are  no  deer.  Crocodiles,  pythons,  cobras, 
and  puff  adders  are  the  most  important  reptiles.  Vast  flocks  of  pink 
flamingoes  on  the  salt  lakes,  and  of  pelicans  on  the  borders  of  the  low-level 
lakes  and  swamps,  weaver  birds  on  the  river  banks,  and  sun-birds  on  the 
high  mountain  meadows  of  Kenya  and  Ruwenzori,  are  the  most  con- 
spicuous of  the  birds. 

Natural  Resources  and  Trade.— In  East  Africa  trade  as  yet  is 
unimportant.  The  soil,  especially  on  the  volcanic  regions  and  alluvial  river 
plains,  is  very  fertile — when  well  watered.  The  lowlands  near  the  coast 
and  the  islands  of  Zanzibar  and  Pemba  grow  spices  and  the  usual  tropical 
products.  The  sandy  plains  support  abundant  fibre-producing  plants.  The 
vines  and  lianas  that  hang  over  the  trees  of  the  lowland  forest  belts  secrete 
india-rubber.  Herds  of  cattle  live  on  the  plains,  but  they  are  periodically 
decimated  by  rinderpest,  and  their  distribution  is  restricted  by  the  tsetse  fly. 
Useful  timber  is  scarce,  but  it  would  grow  in  many  districts  that  have  been 
deforested  by  man  and  prairie  fires.  The  mineral  wealth  has  not  yet  been 
prospected.  Iron  ore  is  universally  distributed,  and  is  often  of  good 
quality,  but  it  is  commercially  useless  owing  to  scarcity  of  fuel.  Gold 
occurs  in  Abyssinia,  some  silver  and  lead  near  Mombasa  ;  but  there  is  no 
proof  that  they  are  abundant,  and  the  general  conditions  do  not  suggest 
more  than  occasional  patches  of  valuable  ores.  In  the  absence  of  mineral 
wealth,  the  economic  value  of  the  country  appears  slight  owing  to  the 
thinness  of  the  population,  irregularity  of  rainfall  and  difficulty  of  internal 
communications.  At  present  the  only  valuable  product  of  the  interior  is  ivory. 


Eastern  Equatorial   Africa          933 

The  main  exports  are  ivory,  rubber,  copra,  hides,  cloves  and  gums.  The 
principal  imports  are  cotton  cloths,  iron  and  brass  wire,  beads,  and,  where 
not  excluded  by  the  enforcement  of  the  Berlin  Act,  guns  and  ammunition. 

There  are  no  manufactures  ;  some  of  the  inland  tribes  can  work  iron, 
procured  either  as  iron-wire  from  trading  caravans,  or  by  collecting  grains 
of  iron  oxide  from  the  streams  ;  most  of  the  people  can  tan  leather,  and  some 
tribes  such  as  the  Waganda  prepare  a  kind  of  cloth  of  bark.  On  the  coast 
lands  grass  mats  and  baskets  are  woven.  The  arts  and  agricultural  methods 
are  extremely  primitive. 

The  usual  native  method  of  internal  communication  is  by  caravans  of 
porters  carrying  loads  on  their  heads  (the  Zanzibari),  or  on  sticks  resting 
on  their  shoulders  (Abyssinians).  Donkeys  are  available  in  some  districts, 
mules  in  Abyssinia,  and  camels  in  Somaliland.  Dug-out  canoes  are  used  by 
the  Pokomo  on  the  Tana,  and  by  the  Shilluk  on  the  Sobat  and  the  Nile  ; 
but  with  the  exception  of  the  Nile  the  rivers  are  of  little  use  as  waterways. 

The  Native  Peoples. — The  natives  belong  to  five  chief  groups. 
The  main  basis  of  the  population  in  the  southern  part  of  the  region  is 
Negro,  of  the  Bantu  division.  Members  of  this  race  occupy  the  islands  of 
Zanzibar  and  Pemba,  and  range  along  the  coast  as  far  north  as  the  Jub  ; 
they  extend  westward  as  far  as  the  eastern  rift-valley,  with  occasional 
outliers  beyond.  The  principal  Bantu  tribes  are  the  Wakamba,  Pokomo, 
Wataita,  Wanyika.  The  members  of  these  tribes  are  copper-coloured, 
have  curly  hair,  thick  lips,  projecting  chins  and  broad  noses.  These 
tribes  are  included  with  most  of  those  of  southern  Africa  in  the  Bantu 
group  owing  to  the  general  grammatical  resemblance  of  their  languages, 
which  are  characterised  by  the  inflexion  of  the  first  syllable,  and  by  the 
use  of  sentences  which  consist  of  several  words  fused  into  one.  The  most 
important  of  the  Bantu  languages  is  Suahili,  which  serves  as  the  lingua 
franca  of  Eastern  Equatorial  Africa.  The  Suahili  occupy  the  coast-lands 
and  islands  between  the  Jub  river  and  Zanzibar.  The  race  is  very  mixed 
and  has  been  formed  by  the  intermarriage  of  Arab  traders  with  the  natives 
of  various  Bantu  tribes.  Similar  mixed  races  occur  on  the  northern  and 
western,  margins  of  the  Bantu  area.  Thus  the  Waganda  are  Bantu  improved 
by  an  infusion  of  H  ami  tic  blood,  due  to  the  conquest  of  Uganda  by  a  band 
of  Wahuma  warriors.  The  Kikuyu  are  probably  a  similar  mixture  of 
Bantu  and  Nilotic  races,  and  are  therefore  to  be  included  among  the 
Negroid  tribes.  The  Nile  basin  is  the  home  of  another  race-group,  the 
Nilotic  ;  the  Bari  of  the  Upper  Nile  is  the  most  representative  tribe  of 
this  group,  of  which  another,  the  Masai,  has  forced  its  way  along  the 
Eritrean  rift-valley  as  far  south  as  German  East  Africa.  Abyssinia  is 
inhabited  by  a  great  mixture  of  races,  Semitic,  Hamitic,  and  Negroid.  At 
one  time  the  dominant  tribe  was  Semitic,  but  at  present  the  Hamitic 
Shoans  hold  the  reins  of  power.  Somaliland  is  occupied  by  Hamites, 
whose  ancestors  crossed  from  Arabia  ;  to  the  south  of  the  Somali  are  the 
remnants  of  the  nearly  allied  and  once  powerful  tribe,  the  Galla.  The 


934       The  International  Geography 

last  group  represented  in  Eastern  Equatorial  Africa  are  the  dwarfs  or 
pygmies,  probably  the  survivals  of  a  once  widely  scattered  race,  now 
almost  extinct.  Typical  "Negrillo"  dwarfs,  similar  to  the  "Akka"  of 
the  Welle,  occur  on  Ruwenzori,  while  hybrid  tribes,  such  as  the  Doko  of 
Laikipia  and  Shoa,  live  in  the  forests  of  the  eastern  plateaux. 

ABYSSINIA 

Configuration. — Abyssinia  (or  Ethiopia)  consists  geographically  of  the 
rugged  plateau  country,  mostly  8,000  feet  above  sea-level,  which  surrounds 
the  head  streams  of  the  Atbara  and  Blue  Nile.  It  is  bounded  to  the 
north  by  the  deserts  of  southern  Nubia,  to  the  east  and  south-east  by  the 
western  wall  of  the  Eritrean  rift-valley,  to  the  west  by  the  Atbara  and 
the  lowlands  of  the  Nile  basin,  and  to  the  south  by  the  angle  between  the 
Omo  and  the  head  streams  of  the  Sobat.  Politically  the  country  is  more 
extensive,  especially  to  the  south-east,  as  since  1887  the  Abyssinians  have 
held  Harrar,  and  a  large  tract  to  the  east  of  the  Eritrean  rift-valley  ;  to  the 
south  Abyssinia  claims  districts  which  are  also  claimed  as  within  the 
British  sphere.  Ethnographically  Abyssinia  is  a  confederation  of  very 
different  and  often  hostile  tribes ;  the  name  of  the  people  Abeshi,  i.e., 
Mixed,  refers  to  this  fact. 

The  configuration  of  Abyssinia,  in  the  geographical  sense,  is  simple ; 
the  country  consists  of  a  block  of  Archaean  gneiss  and  schists,  which  has 
been  intensely  eroded  by  subasrial  agencies ;  it  has  been  capped  by  sheets  of 
lava,  and  is  flanked  by  Jurassic  limestones  ;  in  places  huge  piles  of  volcanic 
debris  form  mountains  reaching  the  height  of  from  15,000  to  16,000 
feet  in  Semien.  In  the  centre  of  the  country  is  a  great  depression 
occupied  by  Lake  Tsana  (1,200  square  miles  in  area),  which  is  the  principal 
source  of  the  Blue  Nile. 

People  and  History. — Unlike  the  other  political  divisions  of  East 
Africa,  Abyssinia  has  a  history,  which  dates  back  to  a  very  remote  period. 
The  country  is  probably  the  Cush  of  the  Scriptures,  and  according  to 
local  belief  it  was  the  home  of  the  Queen  of  Sheba.  The  "emperor" 
claims  his  descent  from  Menelik,  the  son  of  Solomon  by  the  Queen  of 
Sheba ;  and  one  tribe,  the  Falashas,  claim,  though  erroneously,  to  be  of 
Jewish  origin.  The  country  was  early  converted  to  Christianity  by  the 
Coptic  Church  ;  the  language  of  the  Abyssinian  church  is  the  oldest  known 
form  of  Himyaritic,  and  was  once  spoken  in  the  province  of  Tigre. 

Muhammed  Granye, of  Harrar,  invaded  Abyssinia  from  1528  to  1540,  in 
order  to  convert  the  country  to  Mohammedanism,  in  which  he  nearly  suc- 
ceeded. Efforts  to  convert  the  people  to  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  led  to 
the  exploration  of  the  country  by  Portuguese  Jesuits  in  the  i6th  and  iyth 
centuries.  The  Tigrians  were  then  the  dominant  race,  but  when  Bruce 
travelled  through  Abyssinia  at  the  end  of  the  i8th  century,  the  Amharites 
held  supreme  •  power.  The  country  was  invaded  in  1867  by  a  British 
expedition  sent  to  punish  King  Theodore  of  Amhara.  His  successor, 


Eastern  Equatorial  Africa          935 

John,  was  killed  by  the  Mahdists  in  1889,  and  on  his  death,  by  the  aid  of 
the  Italians,  Menelik  of  Shoa  seized  the  sovereign  position  of  Negus 
Negusti,  or  King  of  Kings.  In  1889  the  Italians  proclaimed  a  protector- 
ate over  the  whole  of  Abyssinia ;  but  in  1896,  after  the  destruction  of  an 
Italian  army  by  Menelik  at  Adowa,  this  claim  was  withdrawn,  and  Italy 
confined  to  the  lowlands  of  Eritrea. 

Trade  and  Towns.— The  chief  commercial  products  are  gold  and 
coffee,  but  the  trade  of  the  country  is  at  present  unimportant. 

The  present  capital  is  Addis  Halem,  but  the  position  is  periodically 
changed  when  the  supply  of  firewood  is  exhausted.  Of  the  old  towns  the 
most  important  are  Gondar,  the  capital  of  Amhara,  Adowa,  the  chief  town 
of  Tigre,  Aksum,  the  former  ecclesiastical  centre,  and  Harrar,  an  important 
trade  centre  near  the  Somali  frontier. 

ERITREA 

Eritrea,  or  Erythraga,  a  term  derived  from  the  classical  name  of 
the  Red  Sea,  is  the  Italian  protectorate  at  the  south-western  end  of  the 
Red  Sea.  It  is  a  triangular  tract  of  lowland  which  extends  along  the  Red 
Sea  from  Ras  Kasar  (18°  N.)  to  the  frontier  of  the  French  Somali  Coast 
(12°  N.),  and  stretches  westward  to  the  scarp  of  the  Abyssinian  plateau. 
Most  of  Eritrea  is  a  barren,  sandy  plain,  which  in  places  sinks  below 
sea-level.  The  best  harbour  and  only  important  town  is  Massowa,  situated 
on  a  small  coral  island  connected  with  the  mainland  by  a  causeway.  From 
Massowa  two  short  railways  run  westward  across  the  coast  plain  to  the 
foot  of  the  Abyssinian  hills.  The  only  important  natural  products  are  salt, 
derived  from  a  number  of  dried  lakes  and  lagoons,  and  pearls  which  are 
fished  on  the  Dhalac  Islands  near  Massowa.  Salt  is  valuable  as  the  prin- 
cipal currency  of  southern  Abyssinia. 

Eritrea  is  mainly  inhabited  by  Hamitic  races,  of  which  the  most 
important  tribe  is  the  Danakil.  Italian  political  connection  with  Eritrea 
began  in  1880,  when  Assab  was  transferred  from  a  trading  company  to  the 
Italian  Government.  Massowa  was  occupied  in  1885  on  the  withdrawal 
of  the  Egyptian  garrison.  By  subsequent  treaties  the  whole  of  Eritrea 
was  annexed  and  a  protectorate  proclaimed  over  Abyssinia.  But  after  the 
Italian  defeat  at  Adowa  the  independence  of  Abyssinia  was  recognised, 
and  the  Italian  sphere  limited  to  the  arid  coast  plains.  Except  as  a  trade 
route  to  Abyssinia,  Kassala  and  the  Atbara  region  of  the  Sudan,  the 
country  is  of  little  value,  and  most  of  the  Abyssinian  trade  is  now  being 
transferred  to  the  French  port  of  Jibuti. 

FRENCH    SOMALI    COAST1 

French  Somaliland. — The  old  harbour  of  Obok,  opposite  Aden,  at 
the  entrance  of  the  Red  Sea,  has  been  superseded  since  1896  by  Jibuti  in 
a  better  situation  on  the  south  side  of  the  Bay  of  Tajura.  These  coast 

1  By  M.  Zimmermann. 


936       The   International  Geography 

stations  have  been  augmented  by  a  hinterland  which  forms  the  Protectorate 
of  the  Somali  Coast.  It  acquires  considerable  importance,  not  only  from 
its  position,  but  from  its  proximity  to  Harrar,  in  Abyssinia,  and  from  the 
railway  which  has  been  commenced  from  Jibuti  to  Addis  Abeba,  the 
capital  of  that  country. 

SOMALILAND 

Somaliland. — The  "Eastern  Horn  of  Africa,"  which  projects  into  the 
Indian  Ocean  on  the  south  side  of  the  Gulf  of  Aden,  is  occupied  by  the 
Somali  tribes,  and  is  accordingly  known  as  Somaliland.  The  country 
faces  the  north  with  a  steep  scarp  running  east  and  west  from  Cape 
Guardafui  to  near  Harrar.  East  of  Berbera  the  scarp  is  separated  from 
the  shore  by  a  narrow  belt  of  coastal  plain  and  a  few  foot-hills.  But  west 
of  Berbera  the  coastal  plain  widens  owing  to  the  northward  advance  of  the 
coast.  At  the  summit  of  the  scarp  a  broad  plateau  slopes  gently  to  the 
south  ;  on  its  northern  border  is  a  belt  of  waterless  desert,  the  Haud.  The 
southern  slope  leads  down  to  the  Webi  Shebeyli,  separated  from  which  by 
a  scrub-covered  plain  is  the  River  Jub,  which  divides  Somaliland  from 
British  East  Africa. 

The  natives  are  mainly  Somali,  a  Hamitic  race  of  Mohammedans. 
They  are  a  pastoral,  nomadic  people,  and  have  herds  of  camels,  cattle, 
sheep,  and  horses.  Along  the  Webi  Shebeyli  are  some  Bantu  tribes  of 
Negroes,  while  some  Galla  remain  along  the  southern  and  western  frontiers. 

The  northern  coast  as  far  as  49°  E.  is  a  British  protectorate  under  the 
Foreign  Office.  The  British  sphere  extends  inland  to  the  8th  parallel 
of  N.  lat.  The  rest  of  the  country  was  an  Italian  protectorate  ;  but  since 
1896  Abyssinia  claims  a  large  share  of  Somaliland.  By  the  treaty  of  Addis 
Abeba  in  1896  the  Italian  sphere  was  limited  to  a  strip  180  miles  wide 
along  the  coast;  by  a  treaty  with  the  United  Kingdom  in  1897,  some 
8,000  square  miles  of  British  Somaliland  were  ceded  to  the  Abyssinians, 
who  now  possess  all  except  the  two  coast  protectorates. 

The  principal  towns  in  British  Somaliland  are  Berbera,  opposite  Aden, 
Bulhar,  and  Zaila,  of  which  the  last  is  an  important  starting-place  of 
caravans  for  southern  Abyssinia.  Along  the  Italian  or  Benadir  coast  of 
Somaliland  the  chief  towns  are  Mogadishu,  Barawa  and  Merka.  The  Italian 
administration  has  its  seat  at  the  new  settlement  of  Itala,  about  100  miles 
north-east  of  Mogadishu. 

The  principal  exports  from  Somaliland  are  ivory,  gums,  hides  and  spices, 

SOKOTRA 

Sokotra  is  geographically  and  geologically  a  dependency  of  Somali- 
land,  from  the  eastern  promontory  of  which  it  is  150  miles  distant.  Some 
smaller  islands,  the  Brothers,  help  to  link  Sokotra  to  the  mainland. 

The  island  of  Sokotra  has  an  area  of  about  i  ,500  square  miles,  with  a 
population  of  probably  about  10,000.  Most  of  the  island  is  a  plateau  about 


Eastern  Equatorial  Africa          937 


800  feet  high,  but  it  is  traversed  by  a  mountain  ridge  of  which  the  peaks 
rise  to  a  height  of  over  4,000  feet.  The  natives  are  mainly  descendants  of 
immigrants  from  southern  Arabia  and  of  fugitive  Negro  slaves.  The 
natives  were  once  converted  to  Christianity  by  Portuguese  missionaries, 
but  have  returned  to  Mohammedanism.  Since  1886  the  island  has  been  a 
British  possession.  The  capital  is  Tamarida,  a  village  on  the  north  coast. 
The  trade  is  insignificant. 

BRITISH   EAST   AFRICA 

Surface.— British  East  Africa  is  the  largest  of  the  political  divisions 
of  Eastern  Equatorial  Africa.  It  extends  from  the  coast  of  the  Indian 
Ocean  to  the  Congo  Free  State,  and  from  German  East  Africa  to  an 
undelimited  frontier  on  the  north.  Its  general  configuration  is  com- 
paratively simple.  It  may  be  regarded  as  consisting  of  a  series  of  zones, 
approximately  parallel  to  the  coast.  First  is  the  low  coastal  plain,  fringed 
with  islands  formed  by  beds  of  coral  lime- 
stone or  of  alluvial  deposits,  separated  from 
the  mainland  by  a  series  of  branching  creeks 
and  backwaters.  The  coastal  plain  is  narrow 
opposite  Mombasa,  but  in  the  valleys  of  the 
Sabaki  and  Tana  it  is  of  considerable  width. 
From  the  coastal  plain  a  steep  slope  leads 
up  to  the  inland  plateau,  a  broad  tract  of 
undulating  barren  country  known  as  the 
Nyika ;  it  is  covered  with  acacia  scrub,  has  FlG-  446.— Mombasa  Harbour. 
no  turf,  and  is  in  the  main  waterless.  West  of  the  Nyika  extend  the  grassy 
plains  of  the  volcanic  region.  The  Eastern  or  Eritrean  rift-valley  cuts 
across  this  from  south  to  north,  lowering  a  belt  of  country  now  occupied 
by  a  series  of  lakes  and  rivers  without  outlets  to  the  sea.  Beyond  the 
western  wall  of  the  Eritrean  rift-valley  there  is  a  gradual  slope  downward 
to  the  Victoria  Nyanza  basin  and  the  valley  of  the  Nile. 

People  and  History. — The  coast  lands  and  off-lying  islands  of 
British  East  Africa  were  once  occupied  by  independent  Bantu  tribes. 
Arab,  Baluchi,  and  Hindu  traders  settled  along  the  coast  at  different 
points  at  an  early  period,  and  they  held  their  stations  without  foreign  inter- 
ference until  the  arrival  of  the  Portuguese  at  the  end  of  the  fifteenth 
century.  The  Portuguese  erected  forts  at  Mombasa,  Melindi  and  Lamu 
and  held  the  country  as  an  intermediate  station  on  the  way  to  India. 
With  the  downfall  of  the  Portuguese  empire  in  India  the  East  African 
colonies  became  less  important,  and  the  coast  north  of  Mozambique  again 
fell  under  the  Arabs,  who  had  maintained  throughout  their  rule  in 
Zanzibar.  British  intervention  began  in  1824  by  the  temporary  annexation 
of  Mombasa,  an  act,  however,  repudiated  by  the  home  government.  In 
1879  the  Sultan  of  Zanzibar  offered  the  United  Kingdom  a  protectorate 
over  his  dominions,  which  was  declined.  Germany  in  1884  acquired  a 


938       The  International  Geography 

foothold  on  tlie  coast  opposite  Zanzibar,  and  a  protectorate  over  Witu,  in 
and  near  the  Tana  delta,  in  1885.  The  United  Kingdom,  in  reply,  occupied 
Mombasa,  and  accepted  administrative  rights  over  the  Sultan  of  Zanzibar's 
territory  on  the  mainland,  which  was  entrusted  by 
charter  to  the  British  East  Africa  Company  in  1888. 
This  company  sent  numerous  exploring  expeditions 
through  the  country,  established  stations,  and  occupied 
Uganda.  Exhausted  by  these  expensive  efforts  it 
handed  over  the  administration  of  the  country  to  the 
Crown  in  1895,  and  since  that  time  it  has  been  ruled 
FIG.  447-— The  Bad&  by  the  Foreign  Office.  The  trade  as  yet  is  small  ; 
a-  the  imports  in  1901-2  amounted  to  £421,000,  mainly 
piece-goods  and  food  supplies. 

The  country  now  forms  two  divisions,  the  East  Africa  Protectorate, 
which  extends  from  the  coast  to  the  north-west  shores  of  the  Victoria 
Nyanza,  and  the  Uganda  Protectorate  which  extends  westward  to  the 
western  lakes  and  the  Nile. 

The  British  East  Africa  Protectorate  is  divided  into  seven  pro- 
vinces :  the  Coast  Province,  Ukamba,  Tanaland,  Jubaland,  Kenya, 
Naivasha,  and  Kisumu.  Jubaland  is  imperfectly  explored  and  its 
boundaries  indefinite ;  but  the  main  features  of  most  of  the  rest 
are  known. 

The  Uganda  Protectorate  includes  Uganda  proper,  which  lies  at 
the  north-western  corner  of  the  Victoria  Nyanza,  and  the  adjacent  coun- 
tries of  Unyoro,  Usoga,  part  of  Kavirondo,  Koki  and  Ankole.  The  southern, 
south-western,  and  south-eastern  boundaries  are  defined,  but  to  the  north 
the  limits  are  still  indefinite  on  the  side  of  the  Anglo-Egyptian  Sudan, 
which  includes  the  Bahr-el-Ghazal  and  all  the  lowlands  between  the 
Abyssinian  highlands  and  the  Nile.  Uganda  is  a  small  country  with 
a  population  estimated  at  about  300,000,  which  has  probably  diminished 
during  the  past  twenty  years.  The  country  is  not  very  healthy,  but  its 
strategic  importance  is  great.  A  band  of  Wahuma  invaded  the  country 
from  the  north-east,  settled  and  intermarried  with  the  original  Bantu 
people.  As  a  result  of  this  mixture  of  races  the  Waganda  are  of  unusual 
intelligence.  The  country  was  first  visited  by  Speke  and  Grant  in  1862, 
and  by  Sir  Samuel  Baker  in  1864.  Stanley  reached  Uganda  in  1875-6,  and 
called  attention  to  its  political  importance.  It  was  taken  under  the  pro- 
tection of  the  British  East  Africa  Company  in  1889  ;  after  a  severe  struggle 
the  British  supremacy  was  maintained  by  Lugard  in  1892,  and  in  1894  the 
country  was  taken  over  by  the  British  Government.  A  railway,  completed 
in  1902,  now  connects  the  Victoria  Nyanza  with  the  coast  at  Mombasa, 
and  this  makes  it  possible  to  test  the  economic  value  of  Uganda  ;  the 
cost  of  transport  by  caravans  of  porters  being  £300  a  ton  no  development 
was  formerly  possible. 

The  Protectorate  has  been  divided  into  the  Central,  Uganda,  Western, 
,  and  Rudolf  provinces.   The  native  capital  of  Uganda  is  Mengo,  and  the 


FlG.  448. — Average  pop- 
ulation of  a  square 
mile  of  Zanzibar. 


Eastern  Equatorial  Africa          939 

British  headquarters  at  Entebbe,  on  a  point  running  into  the  lake.   There  is 
little  game  in  the  country,  and  the  main  food  of  Jthe  natives  is  the  banana. 

ZANZIBAR  AND  PEMBA 

Zanzibar  Island  lies  thirty  miles  off  the  coast  of  German  East  Africa 
in  lat.  6°  S.  It  consists  of  layers  of  sand  and  clay 
associated  with  banks  of  coral  limestone  ;  most  of 
it  is  low-lying,  but  in  the  north  some  hills  rise  to  the 
height  of  about  1,000  feet.  The  soil  is  fertile,  and 
nearly  the  whole  island  is  cultivated ;  cloves  and 
coco-nuts  are  the  two  chief  products.  The  popu- 
lation is  dense.  The  natives  are  extremely  mixed 
in  race,  members  of  all  the  East  African  tribes 
having  been  imported  as  slaves ;  they  have  inter- 
married among  themselves  and  with  Arabs,  Persians 
and  Baluchi  traders.  A  few  of  the  original  Bantu 
inhabitants  are  represented  by  some  settlements  of  Wahadimu  in  the  north 
of  the  island.  The  name  Zanzibar,  which  means  "  the  land  of  the  black," 
is  also  given  to  the  chief  town,  which  is  situated  on  the  south  side  of  a 
bay  on  the  west  coast,  and  is  the  principal  commercial  centre  in  Equa- 
torial Africa.  Its  imports  in  1901  were  worth  ;£  1,196,000,  and  its  exports 

;£][, l68,OOO. 

The  importance  of  Zanzibar  has  arisen  from  its  early  adoption  by  the 
Arabs  as  the  capital  of  their  East  African  settlements.  The  Sultanate  was 
long  subject  to  the  Imans  of  Muscat,  but  it  became  independent  in  1856. 

Until  1884  the  Sultan  was  the  acknow- 
ledged ruler  of  the  East  African  coast 
lands  from  Mozambique  to  Somaliland.  In 
1884  the  southern  part  of  his  mainland 
territory  was  acquired  from  him  by  Ger- 
many. In  1890  a  British  protectorate  was 
formally  proclaimed  over  the  remainder. 
The  Benadir  coast,  i.e.,  the  eastern  coast 
of  Somaliland,  was,  however,  transferred 
to  the  protection  of  Italy.  At  present  the 
Sultan  of  Zanzibar  theoretically  rules  the 
coast  belt  of  British  East  Africa,  but  prac- 
tically this  is  administered  from  Mombasa, 
and  is  treated  as  an  essential  part  of  the 
British  sphere. 

Pemba.  —The  adjacent  island  of  Pemba 
is  40  miles  north  of  Zanzibar,  and  is  under 
It  is  40  miles  in  length,  running  parallel 

with  the  coast  of  the  mainland,  at  a  distance  of  60  miles,  from  Pangani 
to  Tanga.     The  soil  is  fertile,  and   the  population  consists  mainly  of 
61 


FlG,  449. — Zanzibar  and  mainland 
ports. 

the  jurisdiction  of  the  Sultan. 


940      The  International  Geography 

slaves  and  freed  slaves  engaged  in  the  clove  and  coco-nut  plantations. 
The  basis  of  the  island  appears  to  consist  of  lines  of  raised  coral  reef. 
The  chief  town  is  Chaki-Chaki,  situated  on  the  east  coast.  The  language 
of  the  aboriginal  inhabitants,  or  Wapemba,  is  a  dialect  of  Suahili. 

STATISTICS 

(Estimates.) 

Density  of  Population 

Area  in  sq.  miles.  Population.  per  sq.  mile. 

Abyssinia  (excluding  Somali  terri- 


tories) 
Eritrea 

French  Somali  Coast 
Somaliland,  British  . . 
Italian  .. 


Sokotra. . 

British  East  Africa  . . 

Zanzibar 

Pemba 


Claimed  by  Abyssin  a      loo.ooo 


300,000  ..  ..  5,000,000  ..  ..  17 

88,000  ..  ..  400,000  ..  ..  4 

8,600  ..  ..  30,000  ..  ..  3 
68,000  \ 

136,000  I  . .  . .  2,000,000  . .  . .  7 


1,500  ..  ..  10,000  ..  ..  7 

350,000  . .  . .  -  5/300,000  . .  . .  14 

625  . .  . .  200,000  . .  . .  320 

360  ..  ..  90,000  ..  ..  250 


STANDARD  BOOKS. 


Sir  S.  Baker.    "  The  Nile  Tributaries  of  Abyssinia."    London,  1867. 

Sir  R.  F.  Burton.    "  The  Lake  Regions  of  Central  Africa."    2  vols.    London,  1860. 

H.M.Stanley.     "Through  the  Dark  Continent."     London,  1878. 

tH.  Speke.    "  Journal  of  the  Discovery  of  the  Sources  of  the  Nile."    Edinburgh,  1863. 
Thomson.     "  Through  Masai  Land."     London,  1886. 
W.  Gregory.     "  The  Great  Rift  Valley."     London,  1896. 
.  W.  A.  Fitzgerald.    "Travels  in  the  Coastlandsof  British  East  Africa,"    London,  1898. 
P.  L.  McDermott.     "  British  East  Africa."     London,  1895. 
G.  F.  Scott- Elliot.    "  A  Naturalist  in  Mid-Africa."     London,  1896. 
A.  d'Abbadie.     "  Geodesic  d'Ethiopie."    Paris,  1860-73. 

• "  Geographic  de  1'Ethiopie."     Paris,  1890. 

G.  Fumagalli.    "  Bibliografia  Etiopica."    Milan,  1893. 

II— GERMAN  EAST  AFRICA 

BY  GRAF  VON  PFEIL. 

Surface  and  Configuration.— The  coast  of  German  East  Africa 
(Deutsch  Ost-Afrika),  about  620  miles  long,  shows  little  morphological 
development,  but  is  not  destitute  of  excellent  harbours,  Tanga,  Kilwa 
Kisiwani,  Lindi,  Mikindani,  and  the  best  and  principal  harbour,  Dar-es- 
Salaam,  deserve  special  mention.  They  all  owe  their  origin  to  small 
rivers  whose  discharge  of  fresh  water  caused  a  break  in  the  growth  of  the 
coral  which  built  up  this  coast.  Three  islands  of  fair  size,  Pemba,  Zanzi- 
bar, and  Mafia,  show  by  the  rocks  of  which  they  are  composed  that 
they  once  formed  part  of  that  zone  of  coral  limestone  which,  together 
with  clay  schists  and  sedimentary  deposits,  forms  a  coastal  plain  of  about 
10  to  30  miles  in  width.  South  of  the  Rufiji,  this  plain,  gradually  rising, 
extends  towards  the  mountains  on  the  eastern  side  of  Lake  Nyasa.  West 
of  the  coast-land  the  high  plateau  is  composed  of  ancient  rocks,  gneiss 
and  mica-schists;  near  the  northern  end  of  Lake  Nyasa  Carboniferous 
sandstone  runs  in  a  southerly  direction  towards  the  Rovuma  river,  near 
which  coal  seams  have  been  discovered.  Igneous  rocks,  basalt,  trachyte, 
andesite,  occur  in  the  northern  part  of  the  protectorate  between  Kiliman- 


German  East  Africa  941 


jaro  and  the  Victoria  Nyanza.  The  great  Unyamwezi  plateau  is  simply 
composed  of  granite.  In  some  spots  lacustrine  deposits  are  found.  In 
a  vertical  sense  East  Africa  shows  comparatively  little  development. 
Along  its  western  border  extends  the  continuation  of  the  great  western 
rift-valley.  The  vast  territory  situated  between  it  and  the  Indian  Ocean 
may  be  broadly  characterised  as  a  tableland.  To  understand  its  con- 
figuration we  might  picture  to  ourselves  that  it  was  suddenly  rent  open 
in  a  direction  nearly  parallel  to  the  coast.  The  cleft  thus  supposed  to  be 
produced  is  called  the  Eritrean  rift-valley,  and  it  divides  the  plateau 
into  two  parts,  each  of  which  has  been  considerably  disturbed  from  its 
original  level.  The  western  portion  retained  its  old  height  in  the  north, 
while  the  western  side  and  southern  end  subsided  ;  the  eastern,  and  much 
narrower  part  of  the  plateau,  retained  its  elevation  along  its  western  border, 
while  the  eastern  side  and  southern  end  were  probably  tilted  up.  By 
whatever  Earth  movements  the  present  configuration  of  the  country  was 
brought  about,  the  result  is  to  give  the  country  its  greatest  elevation  in  the 
region  north  of  Lake  Nyasa,  where  an  altitude  of  about  9,000  feet  is 
attained  by  the  highest  peak.  The  average  level  of  the  plateau  lies  between 
3,000  and  4,000  feet.  The  sides  of  the  rift-valley  are  precipitous,  so  is  the 
drop  of  the  tableland  on  the  east  side  where  it  presents  the  appearance  of  a 
tall  mountain  range  when  seen  from  the  low  coastal  plain.  Where  the  Eri- 
trean rift-valley  crosses  the  northern  boundary  of  German  territory  the 
volcanic  forces,  which  opened  all  the  rents  radiating  from  this  spot,  seem 
to  have  had  their  seat.  From  a  rift  which  branches  off  in  an  easterly 
direction,  Mount  Kilimanjaro  rises,  towering  to  an  altitude  of  19,200  feet. 
From  its  extinct  crater  an  immense  glacier  descends,  from  which  the 
Pangani  river  derives  its  chief  water  supply.  A  longer  rift  called  the 
Wemberre,  extends  in  an  opposite  direction ;  its  northern  portion  is 
occupied  by  a  shallow  lake,  and  several  smaller  lakes  are  situated  in  the 
neighbouring  main  rift.  South-east  of  Kilimanjaro  the  mountains  of  Pare 
and  Usambara  rise  abruptly  from  the  plains,  a  narrow  strip  of  which 
separates  them.  They  approach  much  nearer  the  coast  than  any  other 
mountainous  part  of  East  Africa,  and  they  are  but  loosely  connected 
through  the  mountains  of  Nguru  with  the  central  Plateau.  The  Pare  and 
Usambara  mountains  are  covered  with  tall  primeval  forest.  A  similar 
isolated  group  of  mountains  rises  in  the  more  southern  district  of  Ukami. 
Hydrography. — The  country  east  of  the  great  fissure  sends  its  drainage 
to  the  Indian  Ocean.  The  Pangani  is  the  channel  through  which  Kiliman- 
jaro and  the  Pare  and  Usambara  mountains  discharge  the  rainfall  which 
they  receive  partly  from  the  south-east  monsoon.  The  Wami  rises  in 
the  mountainous  plateau  border,  while  the  Kingani,  rising  in  the  Ukami 
mountains,  belongs  entirely  to  the  littoral  region.  Only  the  Rufiji-Ruaha 
has  its  origin  on  the  plateau,  its  great  tributaries,  the  Ulanga  and  the 
Rovuma,  have  their  sources  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains  east  of  Lake 
Nyasa.  The  Pangani  is  navigable  for  about  12  to  18  miles  the  Rufiji  for 


942      The  International  Geography 

more  than  60  miles  in  its  lower  course,  and  its  tributary,  the  Ulanga,  for 
a  considerably  longer  distance.  The  plateau  west  of  the  fissure,  much 
drier  than  its  eastern  portion,  sends  its  water  through  the  Malagarazi 
river  to  Lake  Tanganyika,  and  thence  to  the  Atlantic.  The  northern 
portion  of  German  East  Africa,  sending  amongst  other  and  smaller  rivers 
the  Kagera  to  the  Victoria  Nyanza,  becomes  tributary  to  the  Nile.  Lakes 
Tanganyika  and  Nyasa  fill  the  deepest  parts  of  the  western  rift-valley 
while  Lake  Eukwa  is  only  a  huge  swamp  formed  by  the  collection  of  local 
waters  in  a  subsidiary  rift,  which  to  some  extent  links  together  the 
disconnected  portions  of  the  main  rift. 

Climate,  Flora  and  Fauna. — The  climate  of  East  Africa  is  influ- 
enced by  the  monsoons ;  the  wet  and  dry  seasons  are  well  marked,  but 
occur  at  different  times  of  the  year  in  different  parts  of  the  country.  On 
the  coast  a  high  temperature  prevails  subject  to  little  change,  with  corre- 
sponding moisture  of  the  air.  The  mountainous  regions  enjoy  a  more 
temperate  climate  with  sometimes  decidedly  cool  mornings  and  evenings. 
The  plateau  has  a  more  continental  climate  with  frequent  hot  winds. 
Malaria  occurs  often,  but  rarely  in  a  serious  form  where  the  comforts  of  a 
civilised  mode  of  life  are  available.  The  vegetation  of  East  Africa  varies 
according  to  the  degree  of  moisture  contained  in  air  and  soil.  Where 
rivers  or  monsoons  supply  moisture  dense  forests  cover  mountain  side  and 
river  bank.  On  the  coast  many  useful  plants  and  trees  from  India,  such 
as  the  mango  tree,  flourish,  while  coco-nut  and  other  palms  are  common. 
The  river  mouths  are  mostly  fringed  with  dense  growth  of  mangrove.  The 
plateau  has  a  steppe  character  :  on  it  various  kinds  of  mimosa  and  the 
baobab  occur ;  grassy  plains  are  also  met  with,  and  the  Marenga  Mkali  and 
Magunda  Mkali  are  arid  deserts  with  next  to  no  vegetation.  The  fauna  is 
very  interesting  through  the  varieties  of  antelope  which  swarm  on  the 
plateau  in  great  numbers.  Giraffe  and  buffalo,  and,  with  the  exception  of 
the  elephant,  most  pachyderms  are  still  plentiful,  so  are  lions  and  other 
beasts  of  prey.  Nearly  all  the  rivers  harbour  a  wealth  of  fish  and  many 
crocodiles.  Birds  are  numerous,  but  only  a  few  are  notable  for  brilliant 
plumage  ;  amongst  running  birds  the  ostrich  stands  foremost.  Of  insects 
ants  deserve  special  notice.  The  white  ant  is  a  common  plague  of  settlers, 
and  the  so-called  "  siafu "  wander  everywhere  in  millions  acting  as 
scavengers.  The  tsetse  fly,  which  brings  death  to  most  domestic  animals, 
infests  certain  localities  of  the  country.  Locusts  have  repeatedly  appeared. 
People  and  Trade. — The  population  of  East  Africa  belongs  chiefly 
to  the  Bantu  race,  which  in  its  migration  from  the  south  met  the 
advance  of  Hamitic  and  Nilotic  tribes  coming  from  the  north.  The 
Bantu  race  is  best  represented  by  the  tribes  round  Lake  Nyasa,  the 
Hamitic  element  by  the  Masai  near  Kilimanjaro.  On  the  coast  live  the 
Suahili  of  mixed  origin,  who  are  remarkable  for  a  degree  of  Asiatic  culture 
and  the  fact  that  they  have  been  able  to  impress  a  knowledge  of  their 
language  upon  almost  all  the  tribes  of  the  interior.  These  native  tribes  are 


German  East  Africa  943 

mostly  ruled  by  despotic  chiefs,  though  small  self-governing  communities 
are  not  uncommon.  Many  tribes,  especially  those  on  the  grass  lands,  rear 
cattle,  but  only  a  few  are  truly  nomads.  Nearly  all  till  the  soil  with  iron 
hoes  of  their  own  manufacture.  Their  productions — ground-nuts  (arachis), 
maize,  rice,  sesame,  beans,  &c.,  together  with  those  they  collect  in  the 
forest,  rubber,  copal,  fibres,  lichens,  &c.,  are  exported  in  yearly  increasing 
quantities.  Of  industry  they  possess  little  ;  unable  to  produce  textiles  beyond 
a  small  attempt  on  the  coast,  they  in  some  parts  work  a  fine  bark  into  cloth. 
Almost  everywhere  they  smelt  iron,  and  forge  fine  spear-heads.  Pottery 
and  wood-carving  are  much  practised.  Payable  minerals  have  not  been 
discovered.  There  is  little  intertribal  trade  ;  people  from  the  interior, 
chiefly  Wanyamwezi,  travel  in  caravans  to  the  coast,  where  they  barter 
their  produce  for  European  goods.  The  staple  article  of  trade  is  calico 
from  Indian  and  American  looms.  The  sale  of  guns,  ammunition  and 
spirituous  liquors  is  subjected  to  severe  control.  Coast  trade  is  chiefly  in 
the  hands  of  Indians,  while  European  enterprise  is  mainly  directed 
towards  plantations,  on  which  only  free  labour  is  employed.  Slave  dealing 
has  been  made  a  penal  crime.  A  special  coin  of  rupee  value  has  been 
introduced,  but  the  old  silver  dollar  is  generally  used  as  a  basis  of  calcula- 
tion where  the  use  of  coin  has  superseded  the  practice  of  barter,  which  is 
still  nearly  universal. 

Government. — East  Africa  was  acquired  by  private  enterprise  in 
November  and  December,  1884,  when  treaties 
were  concluded  with  influential  chiefs  which 
were  sanctioned  by  the  German  Government  in 
February,  1885.  The  colony  is  administrated  by 
a  Governor  with  a  deputy,  who  is  also  commander 
of  the  forces.  Each  department  of  adminis- 
tration is  under  the  charge  of  a  separate  officer.  FIG.  450.— The  Flag  of 
Justice  is  administered  in  two  law  courts,  one  German  East  Africa. 
in  the  Northern  the  other  in  the  Southern  Division.  The  governor,  with 
the  assistance  of  a  judge,  presides  over  an  appeal  court.  The  colony  is 
divided  into  six  coast  divisions,  and  ten  station  districts  in  the  interior,  all 
under  responsible  officers,  whose  chief  duty  is  to  maintain  order  in,  and 
amicable  relations  with  the  natives  of,  their  districts.  They  are  supported 
by  a  police  force.  A  regular  four-weekly  mail  service  exists  between 
Germany  and  the  colony,  in  which  a  number  of  post-offices  provide  for 
postal  communication.  No  less  than  ten  missionary  societies  endeavour  to 
spread  culture  amongst  the  natives — six  of  these  are  German,  three  English, 
one  French  ;  seven  of  them  are  Protestant,  and  three  Roman  Catholic. 

Some  of  the  coast  settlements  quite  merit  the  appellation  of  "  town," 
although  less  than  a  decade  ago  hardly  any  one  of  them  contained  a 
habitable  house.  Now  all  government  and  most  private  buildings  are 
handsome  edifices  ;  those  of  military  character  are  built  very  substantially 
of  coral  blocks,  and  are  capable  of  withstanding  a  siege.  Private  houses 


+  MII. 


944      The  International  Geography 

are  constructed  of  lighter  material,  but  are  replete  with  all  the  comfort 
which  a  thorough  study  of  the  climate  can  suggest.  Foremost,  with 

regard  to  its  appearance  as  in  all  other  re- 
spects, stands  Dar-es-Salaam,  which  is  pro- 
bably the  best  harbour  on  the  whole  east 
coast  of  Africa.  On  entering  the  bay  the  eye 
is  at  once  struck  with  the  air  of  tidiness  which 
pervades  the  place.  All  round  the  bay  runs 
a  broad  street  flanked  on  one  side  by  hand- 
some public  buildings,  all  fronting  the  water. 
The  Governor's  sumptuous  residence  stands 
in  the  midst  of  large  gardens  where  many 
'  ~  FIG.  451.— Dar-es-Salaam.  plants  are  reared  on  trial.  A  number  of  deep 

wells  supply  the  town  with  good  water  for 

drinking,  and  since  they  have  been  dug  a  neighbouring  swamp  has  been 
drained,  so  that  it  has  become  not  only  a  handsome  but  also  a  healthy 
tropical  town. 

STANDARD   BOOKS. 

F.  Stuhlmann.     "  Mil  Emin  Pascha  im  Herz  von  Afrika."     Berlin,  1894. 
O.  Baumann.     "  Usambara."     Berlin,  1891. 

"  Durch  Massailand."     Berlin,  1894. 

P.  Reichardt.     "Deutsch  Ost  Africa."    Leipzig,  1892. 

F.  Fulleborn.     "  Das  Deutsche  Njassa-  und  Ruwuma-Gebiet."     Berlin,  1906. 


Ill— PORTUGUESE  EAST  AFRICA 

BY  CAPTAIN  ERNESTO  DE  VASCON  CELLOS,* 

Portuguese  Royal  Navy. 

Position  and  Extent.— The  Portuguese  possessions  in  East  Africa, 
formerly  known  in  their  entirety  as  Mozambique  (or  Mozambique),  stretch 
along  the  coast  from  the  Rovuma,  io|0  S.,  to  a  short  distance  south  of 
Delagoa  Bay,  almost  in  27°  S.,  with  a  coast-line  of  1,400  miles.  In  the 
north  the  coast  is  much  indented  with  many  islands  lying  off  it,  and  in 
the  south  it  is  low,  beset  with  sandbanks  and  bordered  by  many  sand-hills 
and  lagoons.  The  most  inland  point  in  the  Possession  is  Zumbo  on  the 
Zambezi,  450  miles  from  the  sea,  and  Mocambique  includes  the  eastern 
shores  of  Lake  Shirwa  and  Lake  Nyasa. 

Surface.— The  Zambezi,  which  forms  a  great  delta  on  the  coast, 
divides  the  country  into  two  nearly  equal  parts,  to  the  north  the  province 
of  Mocambique,  to  fiie  south  that  of  Lourenco  Marques.  North  of  the 
Zambezi  granitic  formations  give  rise  to  a  mountainous  country,  in  which 
the  Namuli  mountains  rise  to  8,800  feet,  and  form  a  sort  of  hydrographic 
centre  whence  flow  the  rivers  Likungu  southwards,  Ligonia  eastwards,  and 
Lurio  north-eastwards.  Mount  Mlanje  south  of  Lake  Shirwa,  and  the  Serra 
1  Translated  from  the  Portuguese 


Portuguese  East  Africa  945 

Morumbala,  which  reaches  4,000  feet,  may  also  be  mentioned  ;  but  there 
are  other  important  elements  of  the  orography  which  space  makes  it 
impossible  to  enumerate. 

South  of  the  Zambezi  the  Serra  da  Gorongoza  rises  to  6,500  feet,  send- 
ing its  waters  to  the  Zambezi  and  Pungwe,  and  the  edge  of  the  so-called 
Manika  plateau  runs  southward,  with  Mount  Doe  rising  to  7,900  feet. 
In  the  south  the  well-marked  Libombo  Range  separates  the  Lourenco 
Marques  district  from  the  Transvaal.  There  are  numerous  rivers,  many 
of  which  are  navigable  by  light-draught  vessels.  The  Limpopo,  Save,  and 
Pungwe  are  the  most  important  in  the  south.  The  Zambezi,  however,  is 
the  greatest  waterway  in  East  Africa,  approached  from  the  sea  either 
through  the  winding  Quelimane  branch,  or  the  shorter  and  deeper 
Chinde  mouth.  Its  tributary,  the  Shire,  coming  from  Lake  Nyasa,  is  also 
navigable. 

Climate  and  Resources. — According  to  the  latitude,  there  are 
varieties  of  climate  ;  but  generally  the  low  coastal  plain  is  malarious  and 
unhealthy  owing  to  inundations  from  the  rivers  and  the  formation  of 
swamps.  In  the  interior,  where  the  effects  of  latitude  are  corrected  by 
altitude,  the  climate  is  bearable  and  sometimes  good.  Farther  south,  in 
the  part  beyond  the  tropic  including  Inhambane  and  Lourenco  Marques, 
the  climate  is  generally  better  adapted  to  Europeans.  The  mean 
temperature  in  Lourenco  Marques  is  about  75°  F.,  but  the  minimum  falls 
sometimes  below  65°. 

The  products  are  almost  entirely  derived  from  the  forests  ;  olea- 
ginous seeds,  wax,  gums,  orchil,  coffee,  tobacco,  and  ivory  being  the 
chief. 

People  and  Government. — The  population  is  made  up  of  various 
races  and  tribes.  In  the  north,  between  the  Rovuma  and  Angoche  rivers, 
the  Makwa  people  dwell,  and  farther  in  the  interior  the  Ajaus,  both  belong- 
ing to  the  eastern  branch  of  the  great  Bantu  race.  In  the  ancient  Tete 
district  are  found  the  Maraves,  Sengas,  and  other  tribes ;  south  of  the 
Pungwe  the  Vatwa  race  inhabits  Gazaland.  The  Portuguese  call  the 
various  races  living  near  Inhambane,  who  have  adopted  the  manners 
and  customs  of  the  Vatwas  or  Manguni,  Ladins  ;  the  Tongas  are  people 
of  an  inferior  race  living  on  the  banks  of  the  Motamba  and  around 
Inhambane. 

The  colonial  province  forms  a  Governor-Generalship,  and  is  divided 
into  the  districts  of  Mo9ambique,  LourenQO  Marques,  Inhambane  and 
Zambezia.  A  great  part  of  its  territories  is  under  the  administration  of 
chartered  companies  ;  the  Nyasa  Company  is  supreme  between  Lake 
Nyasa  and  the  Rovuma ;  the  Mozambique  Company  is  developing  the 
gold  and  other  resources  of  Sofala  and  Manika  ;  and  the  Zambezia.  district 
is  managed  by  the  Company  of  the  same  name,  but  without  sovereign 
rights 

Towns  and  Trade.— The  most  active  commercial  town  is  Lourenfo 


946      The  International  Geography 

Marques,  on  the  large  and  safe  harbour  of  Delagoa  Bay  in  the  south.  Its 
importance  rests  on  the  railway  which  runs  for  57  miles  through  Portuguese 
territory  before  entering  the  Transvaal,  and  thus  forms  the  shortest  outlet 
for  that  colony  to  the  sea.  Beira,  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Pungwe,  is  somewhat  similarly  situated, 
the  head  of  navigation  on  the  river  being  con- 
nected by  railway  with  Salisbury  in  Southern 
Rhodesia,  forming  the  shortest  route  to  that 
place  from  the  sea.  Chinde,  on  the  Zambezi 
delta,  and  Quelimane  have  been  developed  by 
the  transport  trade  on  that  river.  The  old 
capital,  Mozambique,  situated  farther  north  on 

an  island  near  the  coast,  has  not  profited  so 
FIG.  452.— Delagoa  Bay.  ,   ,      , , 

much  by  the  recent  development.     Portuguese 

East  Africa  does  not  as  yet  carry  on  much  trade  with  the  mother  country. 
The  commerce  of  its  ports  consists  mainly  of  goods  in  transit,  and  takes 
place  chiefly  with  the  United  Kingdom,  India,  France  and  Germany. 

STATISTICS  (approximate). 

Area  of  Portuguese  East  Africa  in  square  miles       301,160 

Population    „  „          „ 3,120,000 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile 10 

Population  of  Mosambique         8,000 

„  Louren?o  Marques        7i7o° 


IV.— BEITISH   CENTRAL   AFRICA 

BY  SIR  HARRY  H.  JOHNSTON,  G.C.M.G.,  K.C.B., 

Formerly  Commissioner  and  Consul-General  administering  British  Central  Africa. 

Position  and  Boundaries. — British  Central  Africa  is  the  name 
given  officially  to  the  large  territory  under  British  protection  in  South 
Central  Africa,  to  the  north  of  the  Zambezi.  This  designation  is,  on  the 
whole,  the  most  correct  and  the  most  comprehensive,  and  is  that  recognised 
by  the  Foreign  Office,  which  controls  the  administration  of  this  territory. 
Portions  of  British  Central  Africa,  however,  are  sometimes  styled  Northern 
Zambezia,  or  Northern  Rhodesia,  and  Nyasaland. 

British  Central  Africa  includes  within  its  limits  almost  the  whole 
northern  watershed  of  the  river  Zambezi  and  its  affluents  ;  it  further 
extends  to  the  Lualaba  or  Upper  Congo  (which  river  rises  within  this 
territory) ;  to  the  southern  shores  of  Lake  Tanganyika ;  to  the  western 
and  eastern  shores  of  Lake  Nyasa ;  and  to  the  eastern  shores  of  Lake 
Chilwa.  It  covers  the  whole  of  Lake  Bangweolo,  and  a  large  part  of  Lake 
Mweru  within  its  limits.  Further,  it  may  be  said  that  it  is  bounded  on  the 
north  by  the  Congo  Free  State,  on  the  north-east  by  German  East  Africa, 
on  the  south-east  by  Portuguese  East  Africa,  on  the  south  by  the  Zambezi, 
and  on  the  west  by  Portuguese  West  Africa. 


British  Central  Africa  947 

Configuration. — The  physical  configuration  is  that  of  a  vast  plateau, 
deeply  cut  into  on  the  east  by  the  trench  of  Lake  Nyasa  (Lake  Tanganyika 
on  the  north  continuing  the  line  of  this  remarkable  rift),  and  worn  down 
southwards  into  the  valleys  of  the  Shire,  Luangwa,  Kafue,  and  Zambezi. 
Its  principal  rivers  are  the  -Zambezi,1  the  Shire  (the  next  in  importance 
politically,  though  not  as  regards  length  of  course),  the  Kafue,  the  Luangwa, 
the  Kabompo,  and  the  Lungo-e-Bungo.  All  of  these  belong  to  the  Zambezi 
system,  and  have  innumerable  affluents  of  their  own.  The  rivers  joining 
the  Congo  system  which  flow  through  British  Central  Africa  are,  amongst 
others,  the  Chambezi,  the  Luapula,  the  Lohombo,  and  the  Kalungwisi. 
The  river  Saisi,  which  rises  in  the  north  of  British  Central  Africa,  is  the 
principal  affluent  of  the  salt  Lake  Rukwa,  which  lies  beyond  the  territory. 
The  lakes  of  British  Central  Africa  are  :  Tanganyika,  Nyasa,  Bangweolo, 
Mweru,  Moir  Lake,  the  Mweru  Salt  Swamp,  and  Lake  Chilwa.  The  two 
last  are  salt  lakes;  but  there  is  a  tendency  in  Tanganyika  and  Mweru 
towards  brackishness.  The  only  great  lakes,  veritable  inland  fresh  water 
seas  of  great  antiquity  and  relatively  unchanged  in  area,  are  Tanganyika 
and  Nyasa.  Lakes  Bangweolo  and  Mweru  are  shallow  depressions  which 
the  Upper  Congo  has  turned  into  lakes  of  varying  extent.  Lake  Chilwa  is 
likewise  shallow  and  swampy,  and  is  possibly  a  former  gulf  of  Lake 
Nyasa  cut  off  by  the  upheaval  of  a  low  ridge  of  ground.  Lake  Tanganyika 
possesses  actually  a  marine  fauna,  and  it  has  been  conjectured  consequently 
that  it  is  the  relic  of  a  former  extension  of  the  ocean  into  the  heart  of 
Africa  in  the  Cretaceous  period.  Lake  Nyasa  is  a  curiously  formed  trench 
dug  into  the  central  African  plateau,  as  though  a  gigantic  spade  had  been 
driven  eastward  into  the  tableland  at  a  slant,  digging  deep  down  on  one 
side,  and  throwing  up  the  ground  on  the  other  into  the  form  of  the  Living- 
stone Mountains.  The  western  shore  of  Lake  Nyasa  is  shallow,  but  it  deepens 
towards  the  east  coast,  where  its  depths  are  so  profound  that  they  are  in 
many  places  much  below  the  surface  of  the  Indian  Ocean.  Immediately 
above  these  great  depths  along  the  east  coast  rise  the  precipitous  Living- 
stone Mountains,  attaining  heights  of  from  5,000  to  10,000  feet.  The  water 
•  of  Lake  Nyasa  is  absolutely  fresh,  and  its  fauna  has  no  signs  of  marine 
origin.  Tanganyika  drains  intermittently  into  the  Upper  Congo  by  the 
river  Lukuga ;  Lake  Nyasa  drains  into  the  Zambezi  by  the  Shire  river, 
and,  but  for  an  interval  of  sixty  miles  of  rapids,  is  in  direct  water  com- 
munication with  the  Indian  Ocean.  The  tableland  of  British  Central 
Africa  is  tortured  here  and  there  by  Earth  movements  or  by  atmospheric 
agencies  into  lumps  and  ridges  and  tilts  which  are  styled  mountains.  So 
far  as  is  yet  known,  the  highest  altitude  is  attained  at  the  extreme  south- 

1  The  name  of  this  great  river  is  relatively  constant  from  near  its  source  to  its  mouth, 
and  appears  to  be  derived  from  an  old  root — mbiji  or  tnbizi,  which  in  many  Bantu 
languages  means  fish  or  meat — though  this  resemblance  may  be  accidental.  Preceded  by 
various  prefixes  the  name  of  the  river  may  appear  as  Liambiye,  Liambiji,  Diambizi, 
Dombazi,  Dzambezi,  Zambezi  ;  but  on  the  whole  Zambezi,  besides  being  long  since 
sanctioned  by  custom,  is  the  most  generally  recognised  native  name. 
62 


948       The   International  Geography 

eastern  corner  of  the  territory  by  the  beautiful  mountain  of  Mlanje,  an  isolated 
block  of  tableland  which  has  given  rise  to  a  series  of  volcanic  craters  that 
further  add  to  its  height.  The  highest  point  of  Mlanje  is  9,683  feet. 
Along  the  western  versant  of  Lake  Nyasa  the  tableland  occasionally  tops 
altitudes  of  7,000  and  8,000  feet.  An  altitude  of  7,000  feet  is  occasionally 
reached  by  points  on  the  Nyasa-Tanganyika  Plateau  and  in  the  mountains 
to  the  south  of  Lake  Bangweolo. 

Geology. — The  geology  of  British  Central  Africa  appears  relatively 
simple.  The  commonest  formation,  perhaps,  is  a  mixture  of  metamorphic 
rocks,  grauwacke,  clay,  slates,  gneiss  and  schists.  The  principal  mountain 
ranges  consist  mostly  of  granite ;  and  granite  with  its  upper  layers  often 
rotten,  and  even  turned  into  red  ferruginous  clay,  constitutes  the  surface 
soil  of  most  of  the  highlands.  There  is  an  outcrop  of  sandstone  on  the 
north-west  and  north-east  coasts  of  Lake  Nyasa  and  west  of  the  river 
Shire,  at  the  south  end  of  Tanganyika,  round  about  Lake  Mweru,  and  in 
the  countries  adjoining  the  river  Luapula.  Volcanic  lavas  and  tuffs  are 
present  on  the  upper  plateau  of  Mlanje  and  at  the  north  end  of  Lake 
Nyasa.  There  is  a  good  deal  of  quartz  in  the  mountains  to  the  west  of 
Lake  Nyasa.  The  low  flat  hills  in  the  upper  Shire  district  and  on  the 
north-west  coast  of  Lake  Nyasa  are  composed  of  marble.  The  valleys  of 
the  Luangwa  and  the  upper  Zambezi  are  covered  with  alluvial  soil.  Gold 
has  been  found  to  the  west  of  Lake  Nyasa,  and  is  probably  present  in  the 
Shire  highlands.  It  is  found  in  some  abundance  in  the  valleys  of  the 
streams  which  flow  into  the  central  Zambezi.  Iron  is  found  nearly  every- 
where except  in  the  alluvial  river  valleys.  Copper  exists  in  the  Luapula 
basin,  graphite  has  been  found  in  Nyasaland,  and  deposits  of  coal  are 
present  in  most  of  the  sandstone  formations.  The  average  annual  rainfall 
is  about  forty  inches.  The  climate  on  all  the  plateaux  is  very  agreeable. 
It  is  not  the  climate  which  causes  ill  health,  but  the  rank  soil,  which 
requires  to  be  chastened  by  many  years  of  tillage  before  the  cpuntry  is 
fitted  for  permanent  settlement. 

Flora  and  Fauna. — The  whole  of  this  area  is  covered  with  fairly 
abundant  vegetation,  in  some  places  reaching  typical  tropical  luxuriance. 
Nearly  all  the  more  important  or  valuable  trees  of  tropical  Africa  are 
represented,  and  there  are  five  species  of  indigenous  palms,  including  the 
oil-palm  of  West  Africa,  which  extends  its  range  to  the  west  coast  of  Lake 
Nyasa.  There  are  four  kinds  of  rubber  produced  in  the  forests,  and  a 
valuable  article  of  export  is  the  strophanthus  drug.  A  notable  feature  in 
the  flora  of  British  Central  Africa  is  the  possession  of  two  species  of 
conifer  found  growing  on  Mount  Mlanje,  and  possibly  on  a  few  peaks  to 
the  north.  These  are  the  only  conifers  known  to  exist  in  tropical  Africa 
with  the  exception  of  those  found  on  the  mountains  of  Abyssinia  and 
Mount  Kenia.  One  of  these  conifers  is  the  Widdringtonia  whytei,  a  tree 
resembling  the  cedar  in  appearance,  but  really  related  to  the  cypresses. 

The  fauna  of  British  Central  Africa  is  that  of  typical  tropical  Africa. 


British  Central  Africa  949 

It  possesses  some  West  African  species,  but  several  forms  characteristic  of 
South  Africa  and  the  Sudan  are  absent,  such  as  the  ostrich,  any  species  of 
oryx  antelope,  the  aard-wolf,  all  mountain  zebras,  and  the  secretary  vulture. 
The  mass  of  African  antelopes  is  abundantly  represented  —  especially 
notable  in  numbers  are  the  sable  antelope,  the  eland,  the  kudu,  the  pallah, 
the  hartebeest,  and  the  water-buck.  The  African  elephant  is  still  found  in 
considerable  numbers,  and  so  is  the  rhinoceros.  The  low-lying  parts  of 
the  territory  are  infested  with  the  tsetse  fly,  which  there  renders  impossible 
the  keeping  of  horses  and  cattle ;  but  this  pest  is  quite  absent  from  the 
highlands,  and  moreover  tends  to  diminish  in  the  low  country  as  human 
settlement  increases. 

People, — The  native  inhabitants  belong  entirely  to  the  negro  stock, 
and  to  that  section  of  it  which  speaks  Bantu  languages.  There  is,  how- 
ever, not  much  correlation  between  race  and  language  where  the  Bantu 
negroes  are  concerned,  and  the  inhabitants  of  British  Central  Africa 
evidently  arise  from  a  fusing  of  three  negro  stocks  :  the  east  coast  negro, 
physically  more  akin  to  the  tribes  of  the  Eastern  Sudan ;  the  west  coast 
negro  (the  extreme  development  of  the  negro  type) ;  and  an  underlying 
stratum  of  the  Bushman  or  pygmy  race,  which  undoubtedly  inhabited  the 
country  before  it  was  invaded  by  the  big  black  negroes  from  the  north. 
The  tremendous  race  disturbances  in  South  Africa  in  the  early  part  of  the 
nineteenth  century  sent  north-west  across  the  Zambezi  a  Zulu  invasion. 
The  invaders  were  akin  to  the  Matabele,  but  were  known  as  Angoni. 
These  Angoni  constituted  a  ruling  caste  in  the  centre  of  the  territory 
between  Lake  Nyasa  and  the  river  Luangwa.  Similarly  Barutseland,  on 
the  upper  Zambezi,  was  invaded  by  Bechuana  ;  though  later  on  the 
indigenous  race  expelled  its  Bechuana  rulers  and  set  up  a  dynasty  of  its 
own.  The  most-  important  people  of  Nyasaland  are  the  Yao,  invaders 
from  the  east,  who  with  the  aid  of  the  Arabs  would  have  conquered  all 
Nyasaland  but  for  the  intervention  of  the  British.  They  are  physically  a 
very  fine  race,  with  an  undoubted  future  before  them.  The  inhabitants  of 
Nyasaland  proper  are  the  Anyanja,  a  stock  which  furnishes  the  native 
tribes  of  all  but  northern  Nyasaland,  and  of  the  whole  lower  Zambezi. 
The  Barutse  and  kindred  tribes  are  connected  linguistically  with  the  people 
of  Lower  Guinea  and  the  Congo  basin  rather  than  with  the  inhabitants  of 
the  eastern  half  of  this  territory,  who  in  language  approximate  more  to  the 
Zanzibar  group.  The  various  tribes  dwelling  round  the  north  end  of  Lake 
Nyasa  and  the  south  end  of  Tanganyika  and  Lake  Bangweolo,  speak 
languages  which  are  remarkable  for  their  archaic  form  and  their  approxi- 
mation to  the  original  mother  tongue  of  the  Bantu.  The  entire  native 
population  of  this  vast  territory  probably  does  not  exceed  three  millions. 
Before  the  arrival  of  the  Angoni  and  other  recent  invaders,  there  were  a 
few  great  chiefs  of  ancient  lineage,  but  these  are  now  all  swept  away  or 
much  reduced  in  power.  The  only  chief  of  any  importance  and  indepen- 
dence is  the  king  of  the  Barutse.  In  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century 


950      The  International  Geography 

the  eastern  part  of  British  Central  Africa  was  invaded  by  Arabs  and  half- 
caste  Arabs  from  Zanzibar,  who,  but  for  their  quarrel  with  the  British  and 
consequent  defeat,  would  have  succeeded  in  founding  powerful  Arab 
sultanates  round  Tanganyika  and  Nyasa.  Very  few  Arabs  now  remain  in 
the  territory. 

Government  and  Trade. — The  whole  of  British  Central  Africa  was 
brought  under  British  protection  between  1889  and  1891.  The  Chartered 
Company  of  South  Africa  shared  in  the  task,  and  has  been  assigned  the 
central  portion  of  British  Central  Africa  as  a  sphere  for  its  administration, 
Barutseland  remaining  under  the  intelligent  rule  of  its  enlightened  chief, 
and  the  eastern  part  of  the  territory,  where  Europeans  were  chiefly  settled, 
being  controlled  by  a  direct  Imperial  administration  working  under  the 
Foreign  Office.  Little  or  no  commerce  at  present  exists  in  any  other  part 
of  the  protectorate  but  the  last  named.  Here  the  trade  amounts  to  an 
annual  value  of  nearly  $750,000.  The  main  staple  of  export  trade  is 
coffee.  The  coffee-tree  was  introduced  by  Scottish  planters  in  1876 ;  the 
parent  tree  coming  from  the  Botanical  Gardens  in  Edinburgh.  The 
coffee  grown  in  British  Central  Africa  is  equal  to  the  finest  Mocha,  and 
attains  practically  the  same  prices  on  the  London 
market.  The  output  of  coffee  from  the  infant  plan- 
tations in  1897  was  about  450  tons,  and  the  coffee-plant 
has  been  adopted  as  the  colonial  badge.  Other  articles 
of  export  are  ivory,  gold,  strophanthus  drug,  rubber, 
rhinoceros  horns,  wax  and  hides.  The  system  of  in- 
ternal communications  is  mainly  along  the  natural 
FIG.  453.— The  Badge  waterways.  The  country  is  ordinarily  entered  by  the 
Central  Zambezi  at  the  town  of  Chinde  on  the  Indian  Ocean. 
The  Zambezi  is  navigable  all  the  year  round  as  far  as 
its  confluence  with  the  Shire,  and  the  Shire  is  likewise  navigable  all  the 
year  round  as  far  as  Chiromo.  From  this  point  roads,  more  or  less 
carriageable,  have  been  constructed  to  Lake  Nyasa,  and  a  railway  is  in 
contemplation.  Lake  Nyasa  is  navigated  by  several  commercial  steamers, 
and  is  patrolled  by  three  British  gunboats.  There  are  one  British  steamer 
and  several  British  sailing  vessels  on  Lake  Tanganyika.  The  British 
South  Africa  Company  has  sailing  boats  on  Lake  Mweru.  Elsewhere  ofif 
this  main  line  of  road  the  only  means  of  communication  are  the  native 
paths,  which  criss-cross  the  country  in  all  directions.  Transport  along 
these  routes  is  effected  by  native  porterage.  A  telegraph  line  from  South 
Africa  passes  through  the  British  Central  Africa,  and  a  railway  from 
Rhodesia  reaches  far  into  the  interior.  There  are  at  present  no  towns  of 
any  size.  The  largest  settlement  of  Europeans  is  Blantyre ;  the  administra- 
tive capital  of  the  Protectorate  is  Zomba. 

General  Character  and  Statistics.— The  essential  characteristics 
of  British  Central  Africa  are  those  of  a  great  tropical  dependency,  which 
may  in  time  become  peopled  by  many  millions  of  black  men,  but  which 


British  Central  Africa  951 

is  not  suited  any  more  than  India  for  European  colonisation.  Europeans 
can  maintain  fair  health  on  the  more  elevated  districts,  but  the  country 
is  emphatically  not  one  where  the  European  can  make  a  permanent 
home  or  be  anything  more  than  a  temporary  settler  as  planter  or  trader. 
The  country  as  a  whole  is  unhealthy  ;  but  as  money  is  made  very  quickly 
over  coffee  planting,  and  as  there  are  considerable  gold  mining  prospects 
the  European  immigrants  slowly  increase.  The  entire  European  popula- 
tion in  the  year  1898  scarcely  exceeded  450  souls,  of  whom  all  but 
a  few  are  British  subjects.  Nyasaland  is  celebrated  for  its  thriving 
settlers  of  Scottish  race,  who  have  been  the  main  agents  in  bringing  this 
territory  within  the  sphere  of  British  interests.  The  area  of  British  Cen- 
tral Africa  can  only  be  given  approximately  while  the  western  frontier 
with  Portugal  remains  unsettled.  It  may  be  roughly  stated  at  300,000 
square  miles.  The  average  value  of  the  trade  with  Great  Britain  at  the 
institution  of  the  Protectorate  in  1891  was  about  $185,000.  It  has  now 
risen  to  about  $750,000  in  annual  value.  The  revenues  of  the  British 
Central  Africa  Protectorate  during  the  same  period  have  risen  from  nil  to 
about  $110,000  per  annum.  The  deficit  in  the  cost  of  administration  is 
met  by  the  Imperial  Government.  The  responsibility  and  expense  of 
administering  the  Central  Portion  of  British  Central  Africa  are  borne  by 
the  Chartered  Company.  There  are  eight  missionary  societies  —  five 
British,  two  French,  and  one  Dutch — at  work  in  this  field. 

STANDARD  BOOKS. 

Sir  H.  H.  Johnston.    "British  Central  Africa."    London,  1897. 
H.  Drummond.    "  Tropical  Africa."    London,  1888. 


CHAPTER   LI.— WEST   AFRICA 


L— SPANISH  WEST  AFRICA 
BY  EDWARD  HEAWOOD,  M.A. 

Canary  Islands. — The  Canaries  are  a  group  of  volcanic  islands 
upheaved,  between  27°  and  30°  N.,  along  the  north-westerly  slope  of  Africa 
towards  the  Atlantic  depression.  The  five  principal  islands,  Langerote, 
Fuerteventura,  Gran  Canaria,  Tenerife,  and  Palma,  run  in  a  curved  line 
from  east  to  west,  while  Gomera  and  Hierro  (Ferro)  lie  a  little  off  the 
curve  towards  the  south-west.  The  moisture  brought  by  the  trade  winds 
(especially  in  winter  and  to  the  northern  slopes)  make  the  group  less  barren 
than  the  opposite  mainland,  and  the  luxuriance  of  the  vegetation  increases 
towards  the  west ;  but  the  plains  of  basaltic  lava  are  distinctly  arid. 
Perhaps  the  most  characteristic  plants  are  cactus-like  Euphorbias.  The 

famous  Peak  of  Tenerife  (Pico 
de  Teyde),  12,200  feet  high, 
reaches  far  above  the  cloud- 
belt.  The  vines,  bananas  and 
other  fruit  trees  of  the  lower 
slopes  give  place  in  turn  at 
higher  levels  to  forests  of 
laurels,  oaks  and  pines ;  a 

FIG.  4S4-— The  Canary  Islands,  showing  the  assumed   species    of   tree-heath    and    a 
meridian  of  Ferro.  ,     1 

broom  (retama),  grasses,  and, 

highest  of  all,  a  violet  occurs,  but  all  above  10,000  feet  is  barren.  Three 
different  races  inhabited  the  Canaries  in  ancient  times,  the  best  known 
being  the  Guanches,  probably  allied  to  the  Berbers.  Known  vaguely  to 
the  ancients  as  the  Fortunatae  Insulae,  the  group  was  first  conquered  in 
1402  by  the  Norman  De  Bethencourt,  but  in  spite  of  Portuguese  efforts  to 
obtain  a  footing  was  finally  confirmed  to  Spain  in  1479.  The  chief  towns 
are  Santa  Cruz,  in  Tenerife,  the  seat  of  Government,  and  Las  Palmas,  in 
Gran  Canaria,  whose  port,  La  Luz,  has  been  developed  as  a  coaling  station 
for  steamers  on  the  South  African  route.  Wines,  cochineal,  oil,  cereals 
and  tobacco  are  the  chief  products  of  the  group. 

The  meridian  of  Ferro,  the  most  westerly  known  land  in  the  days  of 
Ptolemy,  was  long  accepted  as  the  initial  meridian  for  reckoning  longitude, 
and  on  the  discovery  of  America  was  the  dividing  line  between  the 
"Eastern"  and  "Western"  hemispheres.  In  1634  the  meridian  was 
assumed  to  be  exactly  20°  west  of  Paris  (17°  39'  45"  west  of  Greenwich), 
and  this  is  still  used  as  the  zero  of  longitude  on  some  maps. 

952 


French  West  Africa  953 

Spanish  Sahara. — The  Spanish  Sahara  extends  along  the  west  coast 
of  the  desert  between  Capes  Blanco  and  Bojador,  with  an  average  width 
of  about  170  miles.  It  consists  of  a  granite  plateau  with  vegetation  only 
in  the  depressions,  roamed  over  by  predatory  nomadic  tribes.  While  the 
early  relations  of  the  Portuguese  and  other  nations  with  these  coasts  for 
the  purpose  of  trade  and  fishing  were  confined  chiefly  to  Arguin,  south  of 
Cape  Blanco,  the  Spaniards  of  the  Canaries  established  themselves  in  1476 
at  Santa  Cruz  de  Mar  Pequena,  north  of  that  cape,  and  at  other  posts,  but 
their  fortresses  soon  fell  into  ruins.  In  1878  they  again  turned  their  atten- 
tion to  these  coasts,  and  a  protectorate  was  proclaimed  in  1884,  but  their 
efforts  to  obtain  a  footing  in  the  interior  (Adrar)  have  been  without  result, 
that  country  being  recognised  as  French  in  1900.  The  principal  factory 
is  at  Rio  de  Oro,  a  spot  which  was  known  at  a  very  early  date,  as  it  is 
shown  on  the  Catalan  map  of  1375. 

Spanish  Guinea. — Spain  owns  a  small  area  near  Corisco  Bay,  just 
north  of  the  equator,  but  the  territory  is  almost  valueless  for  trade,  as 
French  expansion  has  entirely  cut  it  off  from  the  interior. 

Fernando  Po. — Fernando  Po  is  the  largest  and  the  nearest  to  the 
coast  of  the  four  volcanic  islands  which  run  in  a  south-westerly  direction 
into  the  Gulf  of  Guinea  in  a  line  with  the  volcanic  peak  of  Kamerun  (Fig. 
465).  It  has  roughly  the  shape  of  a  parallelogram,  of  which  the  northern 
half  is  almost  entirely  filled  by  the  great  peak  of  O-Wassa  or  Santa  Isabel 
(Clarence  Peak),  9,350  feet  high,  an  extinct  volcano  with  a  still  existing 
crater.  It  slopes  steeply  on  all  sides  but  the  south,  where  it  is  joined  by  a 
low  ridge  to  the  basaltic  cordillera  which  runs  east  and  west  through  the 
south  of  the  island.  Most  of  the  surface  is  clothed  with  dense  forest,  but 
there  are  also  some  grassy  uplands.  The  native  inhabitants  are  the  Bubi, 
a  Bantu  tribe.  The  island  was  discovered  by  the  Portuguese,  but  ceded 
to  Spain  in  1778.  Santa  Isabel,  on  the  north  coast  (occupied  early  in  the 
nineteenth  century  by  Great  Britain),  is  the  only  town.  Some  cacao,  coffee 
and  cinchona  are  cultivated,  but  the  climate  is  unhealthy  to  Europeans. 

Annobon,  the  last  of  the  four  islands,  is  also  the  smallest. 

STATISTICS. 

Area  (square  miles)  Population. 

Canary  Islands  2,900        ..  ..        292,000 

Spanish  Sahara  70,000        . .  . .        100,000  (?) 

Spanish  Guinea  9,000        ..  ..  (?) 

Fwnando  Po  and  Annobon  800        . .  . .         30,000 

II.— FRENCH  WEST  AFRICA 

BY   M.   ZlMMERMANN,1 

Of  the  "  Annales  de  Geographic"  Paris. 

History. — The  beginning  of  French  influence  in  West  Africa  may  be 
traced  back  to  the  discoveries  of  Dieppe  sailors  on  the  coast  of  Senegambia 
in  the  fourteenth  century.    The  attractions  of  the  gold  of  Bambuk  and  the 
1  Translated  from  the  French  by  the  Editor. 


954      The  International  Geography 

slave  trade  led  to  the  origin  of  Goree,  near  Cape  Verde,  and  the  first 
attempts  at  penetrating  the  interior,  particularly  those  of  Andre  Brue  from 
1697  to  1723  ;  but  the  real  development  of  French  interests  only  com- 
menced with  the  able  administration  of  Colonel  Faidherbe  (1854-1865), 
He  extended  the  colony  of  the  Senegal  from  the  coast  towards  the  interior 
and  pointed  to  the  upper  Niger  as  the  next  object  of  French  ambition.  In 
1866  France  possessed  only  the  Atlantic  coast  from  Cape  Blanco  to  Sierra 
Leone  (except  Gambia  and  Portuguese  Guinea)  as  well  as  the  upper 
Senegal;  the  vast  expansion  of  this  territory  has  taken  place  since  1880. 
As  Faidherbe  had  conquered  the  Marabout  El  Haj  Omar,  his  military 
successors  overthrew  the  Toucouleur  empire  of  Ahmadou  by  a  series  of 
glorious  victories,  conquered  the  Almamy  Samory,  and  from  1883  to  1894 
pushed  the  French  arms  from  Bammako,  the  first  post  on  the  upper  Niger, 
to  Timbuktu.  Thus  the  colony  of  the  French  Sudan  was  added  to  those  of 
Senegal  and  the  Southern  Rivers  (Casamance,  Pongo,  Mellacoree,  &c.).  The 
French  rights  on  the  Ivory  Coast  have  been  acted  upon  since  1884,  and 
Dahome  was  definitely  conquered  in  1892.  All  of  these  colonies,  including 
Dahome  since  1902,  are  combined  in  the  General  Government  of  French 
West  Africa  (Gouvernement  general  de  FAfrique  Occidentale  Franfaise). 
Since  1895,  when,  in  consequence  of  the  treaty  of  1890  with  the  United 
Kingdom,  France  lost  all  rights  to  the  central  Sudan,  being  confined  to  the 
north  of  a  line  drawn  from  Say  on  the  Niger  to  Barrua  on  Lake  Chad, 
French  exploration  and  conquest  have  mainly  been  directed  towards  the 
unknown  region  lying  within  the  great  bend  of  the  Niger  and  forming  the 
hinterland  of  the  Guinea  Coast  colonies.  The  convention  of  1898  de- 
finitely fixed  the  British  and  French  positions  in  the  Sudan,  modifying  the 
Say-Barrua  line  to  the  advantage  of  France  towards  Sokoto  and  Zinder, 
and  moving  its  starting  point  down  the  Niger  from  Say  to  Ilo.  Inter- 
national rivalry  in  this  region  has  had  at  least  the  one  good  consequence  of 
a  great  increase  in  geographical  knowledge.  The  extent  of  the  equatorial 
forest  and  of  the  bush,  the  course  of  the  coast  rivers  Volta,  Komoe,  Sas- 
sandra,  Bandama,  Kavalle,  the  course  and  the  characteristics  of  the  Niger 
itself,  are  all  definitely  fixed,  and  the  work  of  Hourst,  Toutee  and  their 
fellows,  crowns  the  labours  of  Mungo  Park,  Caillie  and  Earth. 

Configuration. — The  geology  and  the  relief  of  French  West  Africa 
appear  to  be  fairly  simple.  As  far  as  the  Niger  it  forms  an  undulating 
region  of  plains  or  low  plateaux  diversified  occasionally  by  small  granitic 
areas  rising  to  a  greater  height.  In  the  bend  of  the  Niger  the  elevation  of 
3,500  feet  is  rarely  reached  or  surpassed  ;  although  the  peak  of  Komono,  near 
Kong,  reaches  4,600  feet,  and  that  of  Hombori,  in  Masina,  is  between  2,500 
and  3,000  feet.  There  are  no  continuous  mountain  chains  ;  the  hypothetical 
Kong  Range  has  been  effaced  from  the  map  by  the  expeditions  of  Binger, 
but  there  are  great  plateaux  of  ancient  rocks  covered  with  red  ferruginous 
earth  or  laterite.  These  play  an  important  part  in  determining  the  water- 
sheds of  the  vast  surrounding  plains  with  their  gentle  and  undecided  slopes. 


French  West  Africa  955 

By  far  the  most  important  is  the  plateau  of  Futa  Jallon  in  which  the 
Senegal,  the  Gambia,  the  Niger,  and  a  multitude  of  smaller  rivers  take  their 
rise.  It  is  the  great  reservoir  for  the  waters  of  this  part  of  Africa.  With  a 
length  of  about  200  miles  from  north  to  south  it  presents  an  abrupt  face 
towards  the  east,  and  descends  in  a  gentle  slope  to  the  Atlantic  on  the  west. 
The  high  plains  which  compose  it  rarely  reach  elevations  exceeding  2,500 
or  3,000  feet ;  but  it  is  connected  with  the  plateaux  and  mountains  of  from 
3,000  to  4,000  feet  which  form  the  hinterland  of  Sierra  Leone  and  the 
Mandingo  Mountains  east  of  the  Niger.  The  bend  of  the  Niger  contains 
the  plateaux  of  Sikasso,  Kipirsi  and  Mossi,  with  elevations  of  about  2,000 
feet,  and  a  great  number  of  scattered  highlands.  All  the  rest  forms  a  plain 
covered  with  sand  or  clay,  usually  red  in  colour.  The  great  development 
of  Archaean  and  ferruginous  rocks  explains  the  particular  richness  of  all 
West  Africa  in  gold  and  iron.  Gold  has  been  produced  from  a  very 
ancient  time  in  Bambuk,  on  the  Faleme,  and  in  Wangara  ;  and  at  the  pre- 
sent day  it  is  employed  by  natives  in  trade,  and  is  worked  in  Futa  Jallon  at 
Bure,  and  in  various  parts  of  the  Niger  bend. 

Climate,  Hydrography  and  Productions. — In  West  Africa,  as 
indeed  in  the  greater  part  of  that  continent,  climate  is  the  most  important 
element  of  differentiation  between  regions.  Between  the  Sahara  and  the 
Gulf  of  Guinea  it  determines  all  the  zones  of  transition  from  the  arid  desert 
to  the  great  equatorial  forest.  The  northern  border  of  Senegambia  and 
the  Sudan,  although  visited  by  regular  summer  rains,  has  a  very  dry  cha- 
racter ;  it  borders  immediately  on  the  desert  region  from  which  there  is  an 
important  trade  in  typical  products  of  arid  countries — gums  (Acacia  verek), 
ostrich  feathers  and  salt.  Further  towards  the  south  the  rainy  season  is 
longer,  and  the  number  of  rainy  days  increases  from  35  per  annum  on  the 
Senegal  to  84  on  the  Casamance  and  137  on  the  Rio  Nunez  in  French 
Guinea.  The  duration  of  the  storms  increases  also  from  a  few  hours  to 
several  days.  The  arid  northern  desert,  dotted  with  acacias  and  other 
thorny  plants,  and  raising  horses  and  camels,  gives  place  to  the  open 
woods  of  the  Sudan  with  clumps  of  baobabs  and  karite,  cultivated  fields 
yielding  harvests  of  rice,  maize,  millet,  hemp,  cotton  and  sesame,  and 
herds  of  cattle  and  flocks  of  sheep  on  the  plateaux  of  Futa  Jallon  and 
Mossi.  Finally,  south  of  8°  or  9°  N.,  stretching  for  a  breadth  of  from  100 
to  200  miles  to  the  Guinea  Coast,  comes  the  belt  of  tropical  forest,  where 
the  principal  commercial  products  are  all  derived  from  trees,  especially 
from  the  oil-palm  (Elais  Guineensis),  various  woods,  india-rubber,  kola-nuts, 
mahogany,  &c.  The  temperature  of  the  forest  region  of  the  Ivory  Coast 
and  Dahome,  shows  the  typical  equatorial  uniformity,  averaging  from  75° 
to  80°  F. ;  and  the  year  is  divided  into  two  dry  and  two  wet  seasons. 

The  hydrography  corresponds  to  these  divisions.  The  Senegal,  1,000 
miles  in  length,  and  the  Niger,  with  a  length  of  2,500  miles,  draw  the  supply 
of  their  upper  courses  in  a  large  number  of  tributaries  from  the  southern 
Sudan  ;  but  when  they  reach  the  latitude  of  15°  N.  both  begin  to  shrink  in 


956       The  International  Geography 

the  desert  area  where  no  affluents  reach  them.  The  Niger,  however,  re- 
enters  the  equatorial  zone  and  again  receives  notable  tributaries  after  its 
great  sweep  to  the  north.  Unfortunately  neither  of  these  great  rivers  is  so 
valuable  a  means  of  transport  as  could  be  desired.  The  rapids  of  Kayes  on 
the  Senegal,  and  those  of  Bammako,  Ansongo,  and  Bussa  (where  Mimgo 
Park  met  his  death)  on  the  Niger,  putting  a  stop  to  through  navigation. 

Peoples.— The  ethnology  of  French  West  Africa  is  a  confusion  which 
has  not  yet  been  satisfactorily  disentangled.  On  the  Senegal  the  Moors 
(Braknas,  Trarzas,  Duaish)  of  mixed  Hamitic  and  Negro  blood  are  nomads 
devoted  to  stock-raising  and  to  the  trade  in  gums  and  salt.  They  live  on 
the  right  or  Saharan  bank  of  the  river,  and  also  in  the  Sahel  between  the 
upper  Senegal  and  the  middle  Niger.  Towards  Timbuktu  and  the 
northernmost  part  of  the  great  bend  of  the  Niger  the  French  have  to  deal 
with  the  Tuareg  Berbers  (Kel  es  Suk,  Kel  Antassar,  Iregenat)  and  with  the 
Arabs,  both  peoples  living  amongst  laborious  populations  of  Negroes  (Son- 
rhai)  whom  they  have  enslaved.  In  the  Sudan  properly  so  called  and  in 
the  western  colonies  the  dominant  race  is  the  Peulh  or  Fula,  a  pastoral 
people  of  coppery  complexion  and  of  slender  figure,  whose  origin  is 
obscure  ;  and  the  Toucouleurs,  an  enterprising  warlike  and  very  fanatical 
race  of  mixed  Fula  and  Negro  blood.  All  the  peoples  named  above  are 
Mohammedans,  Islam  being  the  sole,  or  at  least  the  dominant,  religion  of 
the  desert,  the  banks  of  the  Niger  below  Segu  and  of  Futa  Jallon.  The 
other  peoples  are  of  Negro  race  and  practice  fetishism  ;  the  chief  are  the 
Mandes  or  Mandingos  (Sarrakole,  Malinke,  Bambara),  who  are  an  agri- 
cultural and  warlike  people  ;  the  Wolof  s  and  Serere  on  the  Senegal  coast ; 
and  the  Susu,  Agni,  and  Ewe  on  the  Guinea  coast.  The  people  inhabiting 
the  bend  of  the  Niger  are  extremely  complicated  in  their  affinities ;  it  is 

sufficient  to  mention  the  Diula,  most  of 
whom  are  small  traders.  Finally  the 
marshes  of  Guinea  and  the  equatorial  forest 
shelter  the  remnants  of  many  conquered 
tribes  approaching  extinction,  people  who 
have  become  degraded  and  lead  a  purely 
savage  life,  being  often  cannibals. 

The  Colony  of  Senegal.— As  the 
oldest  colony,  that  of  Senegal  presents  the 
most  regular  development.  It  is  a  flat 
country  as  far  as  Bakel,  400  miles  up  the 
navigable  river.  The  climate,  although 
tropical  with  summer  rains,  is  subject  to 


FIG. 


455.— The    St. 

Railway. 


Louis-Dakar 


the  influences  of  the  desert,  and  this  in- 
fluence is  also  to  be  seen  in  the  often  bare 
and  burnt  soil,  the  thorny  vegetation,  the  use  of  the  camel,  and  the 
mingling  of  the  Moors  with  the  Fula  and  Toucouleur  elements  of  the 
population.  All  the  ports  of  the  colony,  Goree,  Rufisque,  and  especially 


French  West  Africa  957 


Dakar,  on  a  magnificent  bay,  lie  to  the  south  of  Cape  Verde  and  are 
united  to  the  capital,  St.  Louis,  at  the  mouths. of  the  Senegal,  by  a  railway 
of  140  miles,  with  its  terminus  at  Dakar  (Fig.  455).  St.  Louis  is  one  of 
the  finest  towns  of  West  Africa,  and  also  one  of  the  oldest.  The  trade 
of  Senegal  deals  principally  with  ground-nuts  cultivated  in  the  colony, 
and  gums  coming  from  the  desert. 

French  Guinea. — The  old  colony  of  the  Southern  Rivers  (Rivieres  du 
Sud)  now  called  French  Guinea  (La  Guinee  franfaise)  includes  (with  the 
exception  of  the  three  rivers  of  Portuguese  Guinea)  the  basins  of  the 
numerous  coast  streams  which  flow  from  Futa  Jallon  to  the  Atlantic 
between  the  British  colonies  of  the  Gambia  and  Sierra  Leone.  Since  1897 
Futa  Jallon  and  its  capital,  Timbo,  have  been  occupied  by  the  French. 
The  low  unhealthy  Guinea  coast  peopled  by  the  remains  of  beaten  races, 
Manjaks,  Nalus,  Bagas  and  Jolas,  who  are  being  driven  towards  the  west  by 
the  stronger  Fulas  and  Mandingos,  seems  to  be  one  of  the  most  promising 
parts  of  West  Africa.  It  supplies  a  great  abundance  of  india-rubber  and 
ground-nuts,  and  seems  capable  of  also  yielding  coffee,  cacao,  and  kola-nuts. 
The  port  of  Konakry  has  in  recent  years  acquired  real  importance,  and  is 
attracting  the  trade  of  Futa  Jallon.  French  Guinea  has  also  a  special 
importance  with  regard  to  communication  with  the  Niger,  and  a  road  has 
been  constructed  behind  the  territory  of  Sierra  Leone,  to  bring  the  upper 
Niger  at  Faranna  into  relation  with  the  port  of  Konakry.  The  construction 
of  a  railway  between  these  points  has  also  been  begun. 

The  Ivory  Coast  and  Dahome. — Both  the  Ivory  Coast  (La  Cote 
dlvoire)  and  Dahome  form  parts  of  the  French  establishments  of  the  Gulf 
of  Guinea,  although  they  are  separated  on  the  coast  by  the  British  Gold 
Coast  Colony  and  the  German  Togoland.  The  coast  is  bordered  by  sand- 
bars shutting  in  marshy  lagoons  and  overgrown  by  mangroves  and  dense 
bush.  The  constant  surf  along  the  shore  renders  landing  very  difficult, 
the  rollers  on  the  shallow  margin  of  the  sea  acquiring  tremendous  force. 
A  wharf  has  been  constructed  at  Kotonu  in  Dahome  to  overcome  these 
dangers  as  far  as  possible.  The  special  importance  of  the  Ivory  Coast  lies 
in  its  large  rivers,  the  Sassandra  on  the  west,  the  Bandana  in  the  centre, 
and  the  Komoe  to  the  east.  The  efforts  of  explorers  have  eventually  resulted 
in  establishing  communication  between  the  upper  parts  of  these  rivers  and 
the  Bani-Bagoe,  a  tributary  of  the  upper  Niger  ;  but  unfortunately  all  these 
rivers  are  broken  by  rapids  not  far  from  the  coast.  The  Ivory  Coast  produces 
a  certain  amount  of  gold  at  Baule  and  Attie,  timber,  especially  mahogany, 
palm-oil  and  palm  kernels.  The  old  warlike  and  bloodthirsty  kingdom 
of  Dahome  has  now  been  pacified,  and  its  trade  consists  mainly  of  the 
export  of  palm-oil  and  kernels,  while  its  imports  are  those  of  the  whole 
Guinea  Coast — cloth,  spirits  and  firearms.  The  principal  stations  on  the 
Ivory  Coast  are  Bingerville  (Ajame),  Grand  Bassam,  Assinie  and  Grand, 
Lahu,  each  on  a  sand-bar  separating  a  great  lagoon  from  the  sea,  while 
those  of  Dahome  are  Kotonu,  Agoe,  Great  and  Little  Popo  and  Whyda. 


Sahara 


L.Faguibini 


958       The  International  Geography 

The  Senegambia-Niger  Territories. — These  territories,  formerly 
the  French  Sudan,  are  the  part  of  French  West  Africa  which  has  awakened 
the  liveliest  hopes  and  called  forth  the  greatest  efforts  in  France.  To 
afford  it  an  outlet  to  the  sea  a  railway  was  commenced  in  1880  from  Kayes 
on  the  Senegal,  which  for  a  long  time  had  its  terminus  at  Baf ulabe,  further 
up  the  same  river,  but  has  now  almost  reached  Bammako  on  the  upper 
Niger.  With  the  same  object  the  projects  of  a  trans-Saharan  railway  from 
Algeria,  and  of  a  trans-Nigerian  railway  from  Konakry  have  been  seriously 
brought  forward.  These  are  only  projects,  but  their  magnitude  demon- 
strates the  remarkable  isolation  of  the  Sudan,  shut  in  by  the  plateaux  of 
Futa  Jallon  on  the  west,  the  equatorial  forests  of  the  Guinea  Coast  on  the 
south,  and  the  Sahara  on  the  north,  and  measures  the  importance  of  open- 
ing up  communications  with  that  promising  country.  It  explains  also  the 
enormous  value  of  the  navigable  Niger,  the  upper  and  middle  courses  of 

which,  as  far  as  Ilo,  have  been  con- 
firmed to  France  by  the  Franco- 
British  Convention  of  1898.  The 
hope  of  being  able  to  extend  French 
territory  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
Niger  below  the  rapids  and  so 
secure  direct  communication  with 
the  sea  has  had  to  be  abandoned  ; 
but  the  convention  concedes  the 
principle  of  making  the  Niger  an 
international  waterway  by  creating 
two  French  enclaves  in  the  Niger 
territory  below  Bussa  to  serve  as 
FIG.  456.— The  Surroundings  of  Timbuktu.  river  ports  for  commercial  pur- 
poses. The  convention  also  officially  makes  the  French  colonies  of  the 
coast  continuous  with  the  French  Sudan.  It  now  remains  to  open  up  and 
utilise  this  vast  region,  which  as  yet  is  merely  held  in  military  occupation 
by  small  garrisons  scattered  over  the  country  in  many  places,  including 
Siguiri,  Segu,  Bandiagara,  and  Timbuktu  in  the  upper  Niger  country, 
Wagadugu  and  Nikki  in  the  Niger  bend,  and  Zinder  between  the  Niger 
and  Lake  Chad.  The  native  population  of  the  region  has  been  decimated 
by  long-continued  wars. 

French  Congo.— The  foundation  of  French  Congo  dates  back  to  th*e 
French  settlements  on  the  Gabun  in  1843,  while  its  immense  territorial 
development  is  due  to  the  patient  explorations  and  enlightened  administra- 
tion of  Savorgnan  de  Brazza  since  1875.  Its  area  is  about  three  times  that 
of  France,  and  although  its  boundaries  are  not  yet  all  defined,  it  includes 
the  basins  of  the  Gabun,  Ogowe  (a  river  500  miles  in  length),  and 'the 
Niari-Quillu,  and  stretches  along  the  right  bank  of  the  Congo  from  Stanley 
Pool  to  the  Ubangi.  Since  1890  the  explorations  of  Crampel,  Mizon, 
Maistre,  Clozel,  Gentil  and  Marchand,  have  extended  French  Congo  north- 
wards beyond  the  Sanga  River  to  Lake  Chad,  including  the  basin  of  the  Shari, 


ande 

.Nyangai 
9  ....  so 

Miles. 
E3  Annually  inundated 


Liberia  959 


and  eastwards  to  the  Nile  watershed.  The  convention  of  1898  gave 
France  the  right  to  the  eastern  shore  of  Lake  Chad.  The  right  bank  of 
the  Ubangi,  the  course  of  the  M'bomu  and  of  its  tributaries  are  dotted  with 
French  posts — Bangui,  Bangaso,  Zemio,  Rafai  and  others.  The  great 
difficulty  is  that  of  communications  through  the  forests  of  the  Crystal 
Mountains  from  Loango,  the  chief  seaport  on  the  coast,  to  Brazzaville, 
the  capital  of  the  colony,  situated  on  Stanley  Pool.  A  railway  has  been 
projected,  but  not  commenced.  The  people,  mere  remnants  of  conquered 
tribes,  the  Pongos,  Balumbos,  Ashangos,  or  primitive  dwarf  races  like  the 
Akoas,  are  but  poor  material  for  successful  colonising ;  they  are  besides 
oppressed  by  the  Fans  or  Pahoins,  a  robber  tribe.  Thus  the  colony  yields 
little  save  natural  products,  india-rubber,  ivory  and  wood,  and  a  little  palm- 
oil ;  its  trade  as  yet  is  only  one-quarter  of  that  of  the  Congo  Free  State. 
The  primeval  forests  of  the  Ogowe  are  the  home  of  the  gorilla,  the  largest 
anthropoid  ape. 

STATISTICS. 

(Estimates  only,) 

Trade  in  dollars. 

Area  sq.  miles.      Population.      Imports.       Exports. 
Senegal  and  dependencies       . .        .         96,000  200,000         6,000,000      2,000,000 


French  Guinea 

Ivory  Coast  

Dahome 

French  Sudan,  French  Congo,  &c. 


42,000                     ?  750,000  1,150,000 

106,000 *  1,250,000  750,000  700,000 

143,000 *  2,000,000  1,850,000 

1,000,000?                          ?  2,000,000  110,000 


Total  of  French  West  Africa  ..  1,387,000  ?  ?  11,500,000      5,810,000 

STANDARD   BOOKS. 

L.  G.  Binger.    "  Du  Niger  au  Golfe  du  Guinee  par  le  pays  de  Kong  et  le  Mossi "  (1887-89). 

2  vols.    Paris,  1892. 
F.  Dubois.   "  Tombouctou."    Paris,  1896,  and  translation,  "  Timbuctoo  the  Mysterious." 

London,  1896. 

F.  Foureau.    "  Au  Sahara."    Paris,  1897. 
—  Toutee.    "  Dahome,  Niger,  Touareg."    Paris,  1897. 
P.  L.  Monteil.    "  De  Saint-Louis  a  Tripoli  par  le  lac  Tchad."    Paris.  1895, 


III.— LIBERIA 

BY  EDWARD  HEAWOOD,  M.A. 

Extent  and  Surface. — The  Negro  Republic  of  Liberia  occupies  about 
300  miles  of  the  Guinea  coast  immediately  to  the  west  of  Cape  Palmas,  the 
point  at  which  the  rounding  off  of  the  western  limb  of  Africa  begins.  Sierra 
Leone  lies  to  the  west,  while  the  north  and  east  are  surrounded  by  French 
West  Africa.  Liberia  is  entirely  confined  to  the  basins  of  the  coast 
streams  (the  chief  of  which  is  the  St.  Paul),  nowhere  extending  quite  150 
miles  into  the  interior.  The  coast  is,  as  a  rule,  high,  the  series  of  lagoons  so 
characteristic  of  the  more  eastern  coasts  of  Guinea  being  here  but  slightly 
developed,  owing  possibly  to  the  greater  exposure  to  the  Atlantic  gales. 

1  To  9°  N. 


960      The  International  Geography 

Behind  a  narrow  strip  of  mangrove  and  pandanus  swamps  traversed  by 
the  lower  courses  of  the  streams,  the  country  rises  in  one  or  more  steps 
which  are  marked  by  the  occurrence  of  rapids  in  the  rivers.  The  greater 
part  of  the  surface  appears  to  be  covered  by  forest,  for  as  the  interior 
frontier  is  still  undefined,  it  is  uncertain  whether  the  republic  includes 
any  large  area  of  the  open  plateaux  of  the  Mandingo  country. 

History  and  Government. — Liberia  had  its  origin  in  a  settlement 
of  freed  slaves — named  Monrovia,  in  honour  of  the  United  States  president 
— formed  by  the  American  Colonisation  Society  in  1821.  The  territory  was 
gradually  extended  by  the  incorporation  of  successive  strips  of  coast,  and 
in  1847  the  settlers  were  placed  under  a  republican 
constitution.  Treaties  with  native  chiefs  brought 
large  interior  districts  under  the  nominal  pro- 
tectorate of  the  republic,  but  in  1894  the  territory 
was  curtailed  by  the  agreement  with  France  which 
fixed  the  eastern  frontier  at  the  Cavalli  river. 
The  Manna  river  is  the  boundary  on  the  side  of 
Flag'  Sierra  Leone.  The  official  language  is  English. 
The  well-known  Krumen  are  the  most  important  tribe.  No  white  man  can 
by  law  become  a  citizen.  The  products  are  those  of  the  forests  and  of 
plantations,  including  Liberian  coffee,  palm-oil  and  kernels,  and  sugar. 
Besides  Monrovia,  the  capital,  the  chief  port  is  Great  Bassa. 


STATISTICS  (estimates]. 


Area  of  Liberia  (in  square  miles) 
Population  of  Liberia 

Monrovia 


14,000 
[,000,000 


STANDARD   BOOK. 
Sir  H.  H.  Johnston.     "Liberia."     2  vols.     London,  1006. 


IV.— BRITISH  WEST  AFRICAN  COAST  COLONIES 

BY  SIR  HARRY  H.  JOHNSTON,  G.C.M.G.,  K.C.B., 

At  one  time  Consul  for  the  Niger  Coast  Protectorate  and  the  Cameroons. 

Historical. — The  British  West  African  colonies  include  the  Gambia, 
Sierra  Leone,  the  Gold  Coast,  Nigeria,  the  last-named  being  formed  in  1899 
to  include  Lagos,  the  Niger  Coast  Protectorate,  and  the  territory  formerly 
administered  by  the  Royal  Niger  Company.  The  Gambia  was  an  English 
settlement  in  the  days  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  and  the  Gold  Coast  settlements 
date  back  to  Charles  II.,  in  which  reign  also  the  British  hold  on  the 
Gambia  was  strengthened.  Sierra  Leone  was  founded  towards  the  close 
of  the  eighteenth  century  out  of  purely  philanthropic  reasons  for  the 
repatriation  of  African  slaves.  Lagos  was  taken  in  1860  in  order  to  stop 
the  slave  trade.  The  Niger  Coast  Protectorate  was  acquired  between 


The  Gambia  961 

1884  and  1888  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  British  markets  from  absorp- 
tion by  Germany  and  France.  About  1883  all  these  West  African  colonies 
were  on  the  point  of  being  connected  almost  without  break  of  continuity 
along  the  coast,  but  the  British  Government  shrank  from  the  responsi- 
bility of  supporting  the  zealous  local  officials,  consular  and  colonial.  The 
gaps  thus  left  open  were  promptly  filled  by  France  and  Germany,  and 
therefore  the  British  West  African  colonies  at  the  present  day  are  scattered 
and  of  relatively  small  extent. 

THE    GAMBIA 

Position  and  Surface. — The  colony  of  the  Gambia  (and  in  esti- 
mating the  area  of  these  colonies  the  foolish  and  fine  distinction  between 
colony  proper  and  protectorate  or  sphere  of  influence  is  ignored)  consists 
of  a  narrow  strip  along  the  banks  of  the  river  Gambia  from  its  mouth  to 
the  cessation  of  navigability  at  a  point  about  220  miles  from  the  sea. 
Much  of  the  land  is  low-lying  and  swampy,  though  above  McCarthy 
Island  the  country  along  the  banks  becomes  a  little  more  hilly.  The  river 
Gambia  is  one  of  the  few  really  satisfactory  African  rivers  as  regards 
navigability  ;  there  is  never  less  than  twenty-six  feet  of  water  on  the  bar  at 
extreme  low  tide.  Why  it  is  not  more  highly  rated  as  one  of  the  few  good 
harbours  of  the  west  coast  of  Africa  the  writer  is  at  a  loss  to  understand. 

Climate,  People  and  Resources. — This  colony  possesses  a  fairly 
healthy  climate  for  West  Africa  ;  it  is  far  less  insalubrious  than  any  other 
British  West  African  possession.  Lying  much  further  north  than  the 
other  colonies  it  has  an  appreciable  winter,  and  from  November  till  March 
the  climate  is  actually  good.  The  rainfall  is  not  more  than  44 
inches  per  annum,  and  is  restricted  mainly  to  the  summer  months.  The 
resources  of  the  country  are  entirely  agricultural,  and  the  principal 
product  is  the  ground-nut  (Arachis).  Other  articles  of  export  are  hides, 
bees-wax,  palm  kernels,  india-rubber  and  rice.  The  flora  and  fauna 
belong  more  to  the  Ethiopian  sub-region  than  to  the  West  African  ;  there 
are  no  anthropoid  apes,  but  most  of  the  big  African  mammals,  such  as  the 
giraffe  and  the  larger  antelopes,  are  present. 

The  natives  chiefly  belong  to  three  different  stocks,  the  Wolof,  Felup 
and  Mandenga  (or  Mandingo).  There  are  also  a  few  Fulas  in  the  north. 
The  Wolof  are  the  handsomest  of  all  negro  races,  very  black,  but  with 
almost  European  features.  The  Mandenga  and  Felup  are  of  light  brown 
complexion,  with  hair  which  tends  to  be  long  and  wavy  rather  than  closely 
curled.  They  are  evidently  negroid  rather  than  negro,  and  in  a  greater 
degree  than  the  Wolof  exhibit  Hamitic  affinities.  The  Felup,  on  the  other 
hand,  belongs  to  a  marked  and  ugly  negro  type.  The  languages  which 
they  speak  seem  to  offer  a  far-off  resemblance  in  structure  to  the  Bantu 
languages  of  central  and  southern  Africa.  The  Felup  are  chiefly  pagans  ; 
but  most  of  the  other  negro  and  negroid  peoples  of  the  Gambia  are 
Mohammedans. 


962       The  International  Geography 

Besides  agriculture,  cotton  is  grown,  woven  and  dyed  by  the  natives, 
and  these  manufactures  are  often  exported  to  other  parts  of  West  Africa. 
"  Gambia  cloths  "  enjoy  great  local  renown. 

The  system  of  intercommunication  is  almost  entirely  by  water.  A 
Government  steamer  runs  weekly  to  and  from  the  capital,  Bathurst,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  river,  to  McCarthy  Island,  about  150  miles  inland.  Bathurst 
is  the  one  town  of  any  importance.  The  trade  of  the  Gambia  has 
diminished  of  late  years,  and  less  than  half  is  with  the  British  Empire. 

SIERRA    LEONE 

Boundaries,  Surface  and  Climate.— Sierra  Leone  is  bounded 
on  the  north  and  west  by  French  West  Africa,  and  on  the  east  and 
south-east  by  Liberia.  The  northern  half  of  the  territory  is  moderately 
mountainous,  the  hills  even  extending  to  the  coast  at  the  Sierra  Leone 
peninsula.  The  southern  part  is  low  and  swampy,  especially  in  the 
Sherbro  district.  The  climate  of  all  Sierra  Leone  is  unhealthy,  but  the 
coast  decidedly  so ;  yet  some  improvement  is  discernible,  and  there  is 
less  loss  of  life  amongst  Europeans  at  Freetown  than  in  former  days, 
when  it  was  called  "  the  white  man's  grave."  The  all-year-round  tem- 
perature is  high,  averaging  83°  F. ;  and  the  rainfall  heavy,  said  to  reach 
the  extraordinary  average  of  138  inches  at  Freetown,  but  diminishing 
considerably  in  the  interior,  where  it  probably  does  not  exceed  50  or 
60  inches  per  annum.  The  country  is  traversed  by  a  good  many  rivers, 
the  more  important  of  which  are  the  Great  and  Little  Scarcies,  the  Rokel, 
and  the  Bamopamo  or  Sherbro  river,  many  parts  of  which  are  unexplored. 
The  Rokel  is  navigable  for  40  miles  from  the  sea,  and  the  Sherbro 
river  for  about  twenty  miles.  Other  means  of  communication  are  simply 
the  narrow  African  paths  and  human  porterage,  though  there  is  a  good 
deal  of  canoe  navigation  on  the  lagoons  and  creeks  which  break  up  the 
indefinite  coast  line  in  the  south.  Horses  are  in  use  amongst  the  natives 
of  the  far  interior,  but  will  not  thrive  on  the  coast.  The  highest  mountain 
is  Mt.  Daro,  4,396  feet  in  height.  On  the  northern  versant  of  the  range 
from  which  these  mountains  rise  the  Niger  takes  its  source. 

Flora,  Fauna  and  People.— The  flora  and  fauna  of  the  coast  belt 
of  Sierra  Leone  are  typically  West  African.  The  chimpanzee  is  still  found 
in  the  Sherbro  district,  the  only  part  of  West  Africa  where  anthropoid 
apes  are  known  west  of  the  Cameroons.  The  vegetation  along  the  coast 
is  extremely  luxuriant ;  in  the  mountains  of  the  interior,  however,  where 
the  rainfall  is  less,  the  land  is  much  barer  and  forest  only  exists  in 
patches. 

The  native  population  is  entirely  negro  or  negroid,  belonging  to  the 
Mandenga  and  Timne  stocks.  The  Mandenga  form  the  bulk  of  the  races 
in  the  north-eastern  part  of  the  colony,  but  have  pushed  their  way  to  the 
coast  in  various  places  through  the  more  truly  negro  peoples,  with  whom 


Gold  Coast  963 

they  are  now  to  a  great  extent  mixed.  The  Timne,  Bulom,  and  other  allied 
peoples  are  absolute  negroes,  belonging  to  a  stock  which  forms  the  main 
coast  population  between  the  river  Gambia  and  the  borders  of  Liberia. 
They  speak  languages  which  in  structure,  though  not  in  vocabulary,  offer  a 
striking  resemblance  to  the  Bantu  family.  At  Freetown  and  one  or  two 
other  points  on  the  coast  there  are  large  settlements  of  Krumen,  a  race 
probably  indigenous  to  Liberia.  The  coast  peoples  are  pagan  or  nominally 
Christian,  and  those  of  the  interior  are  Mohammedans,  many  of  them 
using  Arabic  characters  for  writing. 

Government  and  Trade. — Patches  of  territory  along  the  coast  are 
directly  administered  by  the  Cokmial  Government. 
The  interior  still  remains  under  the  rule  of  native 
chiefs  supervised  by  travelling  commissioners.  There 
are  few  or  no  manufactures,  and  agriculture  is  much 
neglected.  Trade  chiefly  takes  place  in  the  wild  pro- 
ducts of  the  country,  such  as  palm-oil,  kola-nuts, 
india-rubber,  copal,  oil-seeds  and  ginger.  Hides  are 
exported,  and  also  cattle  to  a  slight  extent.  A  small  FIG.  458-— The  Badge 
trade  is  done  in  tropical  fruits  such  as  pineapples,  °* Sierra  Leone' 
which  are  exported  to  Great  Britain.  The  only  town  of  any  importance  is 
Freetown,  the  capital  at  the  mouth  of  the  Rokel  river,  with  the  best  harbour 
in  all  West  Africa. 

THE   GOLD   COAST 

Surface  and  Climate. — The  British  possessions  on  the  Gold  Coast 
are  bounded  on  the  west  and  north  by  French  territory,  and  on  the  east 
by  the  German  colony  of  Togoland.  The  country  is  generally  low-lying, 
with  the  exception  of  a  range  of  hills  stretching  north-west  from  the  lower 
Volta  into  Ashanti.  It  is  doubtful  whether  the  land  anywhere  reaches  a 
height  exceeding  2,000  feet.  The  principal  river  is  the  Volta,  navigable  by 
small  boats  not  more  than  60  miles  from  its  mouth,  and  rising  very  far  in 
the  interior,  right  up  in  the  bend  of  the  Niger,  in  two  long  streams,  the 
Black  and  the  White  Volta.  The  river  Ankobra  is  navigable  for  about  50 
miles.  The  Pra  was  long  remarkable  as  the  boundary  between  Ashanti 
and  the  rest  of  the  Gold  Coast  in  its  upper  waters.  The  rainfall  varies 
extraordinarily  ;  in  the  western  districts  near  the  coast  probably  exceeding 
100  inches  per  annum  ;  in  Ashanti  and  other  interior  districts  ranging  from 
50  to  70  inches.  The  eastern  part  of  the  colony  is  much  dryer,  though  its 
low-lying  and  swampy  nature  makes  it  equally  unhealthy.  Round  about 
Accra  there  is  a  remarkable  dry  patch  in  which  the  annual  rainfall 
scarcely  reaches  18  inches.  The  climate  everywhere  seems  to  be  terribly 
unhealthy  for  Europeans  ;  the  two  chief  maladies  are  black-water  fever 
and  dysentery.  The  mean  temperature  for  the  year  is  85°. 

Flora  and  Fauna. — The  fauna  and  flora  are  those  of  the  typical 
West  African  region.  As  far  as  is  known  there  are  no  anthropoid  apes. 


964       The  International  Geography 

The  antelopes  are  chiefly  represented  by  the  genus  Cephalophus,  a  low  and 
primitive  type  of  antelope.  A  guinea  fowl  (Agdastes),  also  of  low  type, 
exists,  and  there  is  a  great  abundance  of  monkeys  and  baboons,  including 
the  Diana  and  Colobus  (the  latter  furnishing  the  monkey  skins  of  com- 
merce), and  the  great  Mandrill  baboon.  The  flora  of  the  Gold  Coast 
is  very  little  known,  and  would  probably  yield  surprising  results  if  in- 
vestigated. 

People  and  Government.— The  natives  are  a  fairly  homogeneous 
type  of  West  African,  except  in  the  north,  where  there  has  been  some  slight 
intermixture  with  a  higher  negroid  race.  The  stock  to  which  the  inhabi- 
tants belong  is  related  linguistically  (except  in  the  extreme  west)  to  the 
races  of  the  Lower  Niger,  and,  in  an  extremely  distant  way,  to  the  Bantu 
group.  In  the  west  the  people  have  more  affinity  to  the  Kru  tribes  of 
Liberia. 

The  coast  belt,  and  now  Ashanti  also,  are  directly  administered  by 
the  Imperial  Government.  Elsewhere  in  the  interior  the  people  are 
governed  by  their  native  chiefs  under  the  supervision  of  travelling  com- 
missioners. The  Gold  Coast  Colony  is  the  best  governed  and  most  pros- 
perous of  British  West  African  possessions  ;  and  though  it  is  disastrous  in 
the  loss  of  life  it  entails  to  Europeans,  it  is  of  great  importance  to  British 
commerce. 

Trade  and  Towns, — There  are  almost  no  manufactures,  nor  is 
agriculture  much  developed  ;  nevertheless  trade  in  the  wild  products  of 
the  country  is  considerable.  The  chief  articles  of  export  are  :  india-rubber, 
palm-oil,  gold,  kola-nuts,  monkey  skins,  ivory  and  timber.  In  the  eastern 
part  of  the  Gold  Coast  poultry  of  all  kinds  thrive  remarkably,  and  are 
exported  as  provisions  for  ships,  mainly  at  Kwita.  The  rivers  of  the 
western  part  of  the  colony  roll  down  from  the  mountains  the  gold  dust 
which  for  centuries  has  given  this  country  the  name  of  the  Gold  Coast. 
Gold  mining  might  be  carried  on  to  a  more  considerable  extent  were  it 
not  for  the  climate.  The  most  important  town  is  the  capital,  Accra,  and 
other  trading  towns  are  Cape  Coast,  Elmina,  Kwita,  and  Axim.  Native 
towns  where  there  are  no  European  settlers  vary  so  much  from  year  to 
year  in  extent  or  existence  that  they  are  hardly  worth  enumerating ;  but 
the  capital  of  Ashanti,  Kumasi,  will  probably  remain  the  administrative 
centre  of  that  district.  Salaga,  an  important  native  city  of  an  entirely 
Mohammedan  character,  came  definitely  under  British  influence  in  1899, 
when  the  mountainous  country  to  the  north  of  the  Volta,  formerly  a  neutral 
zone,  was  divided  between  the  Gold  Coast  and  German  Togo. 

Means  of  communication  are  very  bad.  The  rivers  are  mostly  unnavi- 
gable,  or  only  navigable  by  means  of  native  canoes.  The  vegetation  is 
extremely  luxuriant,  and  even  the  native  paths  are  frequently  blocked.  In 
the  dry  and  open  country  of  the  far  interior  horses  are  in  use,  and  in 
the  eastern  districts  they  can  be  kept  in  good  health  and  condition  near 
the  coast. 


The  Niger  Coast 


965 


LAGOS   AND  THE    NIGER  COAST   PROTECTORATE 

Position,  Boundaries  and  Surface. — Lagos  and  the  Niger  Coast 
Protectorate  may  be  appropriately  considered  together,  for  they  are 
naturally  conterminous  and  geographically  similar,  and  though  separate 
for  some  purposes,  they  form  part  of  Nigeria  as  one  administration. 
They  are  bounded  on  the  west  by  the  French  possessions  of  Dahome 
and  Porto  Novo,  on  the  north  by  the  part  of  Nigeria  formerly  the  Royal 
Niger  Company's  territory,  and  on  the  east  by  the  German  colony  of 
Kamerun.  Lagos  lies  entirely  to  the  west  of  the  course  of  the  main  branch 
of  the  Niger,  while  the  Niger  Coast  Protectorate  occupies  most  of  the  rest 
of  the  delta. 

Much  of  this  land  on  the  Niger  delta  is,  of  course,  flat  and  swampy  ; 


FIG.  459. — The  Niger  Delta.     Creeks  not  accurately  surveyed  are  dotted. 

but  high  land  is  not  very  far  away  from  the  coast  regions.  There  are  hills 
rising  to  over  1,000  feet — even,  it  is  said,  in  places  to  3,000  feet — in  the 
protected  States  at  the  back  of  the  limits  of  the  actual  colony  of  Lagos. 
There  are  mountains  of  perhaps  6,000  feet  at  the  extreme  east  of  the  Niger 
Coast  Protectorate,  within  the  loop  of  the  Cross  River,  which,  under  the 
name  of  the  Rumbi  Range,  are  connected  with  the  great  volcanic  peak  of 
Kamerun  just  outside  British  territory.  To  the  north  of  the  Cross 
River  the  land  is  undulating,  and  probably  rises  into  hills  before  the 
territories  of  the  Royal  Niger  Company  are  reached.  A  great  deal  of 
the  land  of  the  Niger  delta,  though  only  a  few  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
sea,  is  free  from  marsh,  and  has  even  an  exceedingly  pleasant  aspect,  as  in 
the  well-cultivated  Ibo  country.  The  river  system  is  mainly  composed 
of  the  Niger  river  and  its  well-nigh  innumerable  offshoots  or  their 


966       The   International  Geography 

independent  tributaries,  and  of  the  Cross  River  which,  except  near  its 
estuary,  is  quite  separate  from  the  Niger  system.  From  the  borders  of 
the  Kamerun  district  to  the  east  of  Dahome — almost  to  the  Gold  Coast 
on  the  west — there  is  a  system  of  intercommunicating  lagoons  and  creeks 
all  along  the  coast-line.  If  certain  narrow  creeks  were  annually  cleared  of 
vegetation,  it  would  be  possible  to  pass  in  a  native  canoe  from  the  German 
Kamerun  to  the  eastern  border  of  the  Gold  Coast  colony  without  going 
out  to  sea  (Fig.  459).  Over  all  this  territory  the  network  of  deltaic  branches 
affords  the  most  remarkable  facilities  for  transport  by  water.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  movements  of  any  land  force  are  seriously  impeded,  and  the  native 
paths  through  the  jungle  are  little  used,  except  in  the  Cross  River  region, 
a  dry  and  fairly  elevated  country.  Some  of  the  mountainous  region  on  the 
eastern  frontier  of  the  Niger  Coast  Protectorate  appears  to  be  of  volcanic 
origin  ;  elsewhere  the  hills  are  masses  of  granite  and  disintegrated  granite, 
forming  the  hard,  red  soil  which  is  the  formation  of  the  higher  land,  the 
remainder  of  the  country  being  purely  alluvial,  and  formed  by  the  detritus 
brought  down  by  the  Niger. 

Climate,  Flora  and  Fauna.— The  climate  of  all  this  region  is 
excessively  unhealthy  ;  it  is  perhaps  the  unhealthiest  part  of  Africa.  Yet  the 
natural  products  are  so  rich,  and  trade  is  so  profitable,  that  there  is  probably 
a  much  larger  proportion  of  Europeans  here  than  in 
other  West  African  possessions,  and  life  is  more  com- 
fortable and  in  some  respects  more  civilised.  The 
mean  annual  temperature  is  about  84°,  and  it  is  very 
rarely  indeed  that  the  thermometer  in  the  lowlands  goes 
below  75° ;  while  the  rainfall  is  seldom  less  than  100 
inches  annually,  and  sometimes  reaches  130  inches. 
FIG.  460.— The  Badge  In  the  districts  along  the  upper  Cross  River  a  far  more 
pleasant  climate  is  attained,  with  cool  nights,  and 
even  an  appreciable  cold  season.  The  rainfall  there  is  not  so  heavy — 
possibly  not  more  than  70  or  80  inches  per  annum.  With  the  hot  sun 
and  abundant  rainfall  the  forests  are  beautiful  to  a  degree  of  luxuriance 
scarcely  equalled  elsewhere  in  Africa,  except  possibly  in  parts  of  the 
Gabun.  The  banks  of  the  rivers  within  reach  of  the  tidal  influence 
are  bordered  with  gigantic  mangroves,  which  rise  in  a  tropical  forest 
of  great  density,  singularly  beautiful  in  places,  and  magnificent  in  its 
scenic  effects.  The  tree  of  trees  of  the  Niger  delta  is  the  oil-palm. 
This  district  produces  the  best  palm-oil  in  all  Africa.  The  fauna  is 
more  disappointing  to  the  eye,  though  the  abundance  and  variety  of  the 
lower  forms  of  life  makes  up  for  the  comparative  scarcity  of  mammals 
and  birds.  The  elephant  still  lingers  in  the  uninhabited  parts,  even 
quite  near  to  the  coast,  and  I  have  more  often  seen  wild  elephants  in  the 
Niger  Coast  Protectorate  than  in  any  other  part  of  Africa,  even  on 
the  river  Congo.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  doubtful  if  anthropoid  apes  are 
found  anywhere  in  the  lower  Niger.  A  remarkable  lemur  (the  Potto)  is 


The  Niger  Coast  967 

peculiar  to  this  district.  The  most  prominent  birds  are  the  grey  parrot 
and  the  large  blue  plantain  eater  (Schizoris). 

People.— The  inhabitants  belong  to  several  distinct  stocks.  They  are 
all  absolute  negroes,  yet  on  the  upper  Cross  River,  people  with  finely-cut 
features  may  be  met  with  from  time  to  time,  and  here,  as  among  the  Efik 
people  of  Old  Calabar,  the  skin  is  yellow-brown  rather  than  black.  Some 
of  the  tribes  in  the  almost  unexplored  parts  of  the  Niger  delta  are  singu- 
larly savage-looking — black-skinned  and  low-browed,  seeming  to  represent 
some  stranded  stratum  of  very  old  type.  Cannibalism  is  extraordinarily 
prevalent  except  where  European  influence  has  long  prevailed.  The 
people  of  the  upper  Cross  River  fatten  slaves  for  months  before  killing 
them.  A  rough  classification  distinguishes  :  (i)  The  Yoruba-Jekri  stock, 
which  would  also  include  the  Jebus  and  other  peoples  round  Lagos ;  (2) 
The  Bini  stock,  or  the  people  of  Benin  and  Sobo  ;  (3)  The  Ijos,  or  the 
people  of  the  central  Niger  delta  near  the  coast  (Bonny  and  Brass),  who, 
like  the  Bini,  appear  to  have  been  the  earliest  settlers  in  the  delta  ;  (4)  The 
Kwos  of  the  district  between  Opobo  and  Old  Calabar  ;  (5)  The  I  bo  of 
the  districts  between  the  Lower  Niger  and  the  Cross  River ;  (6)  The  Efik 
people  of  Old  Calabar  ;  (7)  The  tribes  of  the  upper  Cross  River  ;  (8)  The 
Akwa,  between  the  Cross  River  and  the  Kamerun  watershed  (the  last 
five  groups  speak  what  may  almost  be  called  semi-Bantu  languages)  ;  and 
(9)  the  few  tribes  speaking  Bantu  languages  on  the  extreme  south-eastern 
border  of  the  Niger  Coast  Protectorate.  This  district  appears  to  have  been 
very  populous  in  times  past,  so  much  so  that  the  struggle  for  existence 
created  a  gigantic  traffic  in  slaves,  which  attracted  Europeans,  and  even 
produced  a  certain  amount  of  half -indigenous  civilisation.  The  kingdom 
of  Benin  was  a  State  of  some  antiquity  which  had  apparently  acquired 
some  knowledge  of  art  and  industry  from  the  Niger  districts,  which  in 
their  turn  had  been  partially  civilised  by  Mohammedan  influence.  The 
civilisation  of  Yoruba  is  entirely  Mohammedan,  and  almost  all  the  people 
of  that  country  belong  to  that  religion  ;  which  also  exists  at  Lagos,  but 
elsewhere  in  the  Niger  delta  is  quite  unknown.  The  Yoruba  people  are 
ordinarily  amply  clothed,  and  this  style  of  Mohammedan  clothing  has  also 
extended  in  some  degree  to  the  town  of  Lagos  ;  but  where  untouched  by 
Islam  the  people  are  extraordinarily  nude,  even'  when  to  some  extent 
civilised  by  contact  with  Europeans.  In  the  eastern  part  of  the  pro- 
tectorate women  go  entirely  nude  before  they  are  married,  and  do  not 
wear  any  appreciable  clothing  afterwards.  Men  were  formerly  so  careless 
on  this  score  that  chiefs  of  considerable  wealth,  even  able  to  read  and 
write  English,  have  had  to  be  rebuked  by  the  writer  for  appearing  at  his 
consular  court  without  a  particle  of  clothing  except  a  peaked  cap.  Where 
Mohammedanism  does  not  prevail  the  religion  is  a  form  of  Fetishism. 
Human  sacrifices  are  the  order  of  the  day,  and  the  religion  is  probably 
more  bloody  and  cruel  than  anywhere  else  in  savage  Africa. 

Trade.— The  total  value  of  the  annual  trade  of  Lagos  and  the  Niger 


968       The  International  Geography 

Coast  Protectorate  is  probably  about  twice  as  great  as  that  of  the  other 
British  colonies  on  the  coast  taken  together.  The  principal  exports  are 
palm-oil  and  palm-kernels,  rubber,  kola-nuts,  copal,  gum,  shea-butter,  a 
little  coffee  and  a  little  ivory.  With  the  exception  of  leather  work,  and 
the  weaving  and  dyeing  of  cotton  garments  in  Yoruba  and  Lagos  colony, 
there  are  practically  no  native  manufactures  in  the  country.  The  people 
of  Old  Calabar,  however,  have  a  pretty  taste  for  carving  ivory  and  decora- 
ting brass  plates,  and  these  articles  are  sometimes  exported  as  curiosities. 

Administration  and  Towns. — As  regards  political  divisions  :  the 
Government   of  Lagos  in    1898   included    the    colony   proper,   which   is   a 
small  strip  of  coast  between  Porto  Novo  and  Benin,  a 
number  of  small   adjacent    kingdoms,   treated   as   pro- 
tected   States,    and    a    sphere    of   influence    which    in- 
cluded  the   large   countries   of  Abeokuta   and  Yoruba. 
Lagos  is  a  crown  colony  under  a  governor,  assisted  by 
an   executive   legislative   council.      Southern   Nigeria  is 
under  the  charge  of  a  High  Commissioner,  whose  seat 
FIG.   461.— The   Pro-    of  government  is   at  Asaba.      Other  important   towns 
teciorate  Badge.         are    Jdd^    ^^    thfi    boundary    of    Northern    Nigeria, 

and  Akassa  at  the  Nun  mouth  of  the  Niger. 

The  principal  towns  of  the  Niger  delta  are  Lagos,  Brass,  in  the  eastern 
division  of  the  Niger  Coast  Protectorate,  Bonny,  Opobo,  Old  Calabar. 
There  are  also  the  following  trading  stations  where  Europeans  reside  : — 
Badagry,  Leki,  Akorodu,  New  Benin,  Forcados,  Kwo-ibo,  and  New  Calabar 
(no  connection  with  Old  Calabar).  In  addition,  towns  of  importance,  either 
for  historical  association  or  for  trade,  are  Epe,  Abeokuta,  Ibadan,  Odeondo, 
Benin,  Bende,  Oguta,  and  Awn.  The  population  of  these  towns  varies 
from  100,000  to  5,000  according  to  local  circumstances,  such  as  the 
goodness  or  badness  of  their  rulers,  the  state  of  trade,  or  the  influence  of 
Europeans.  None  of  them,  except  perhaps  Abeokuta  and  Benin,  are 
of  any  permanence  in  the  way  of  buildings.  A  railway  has  been  con- 
structed from  Lagos  to  Abeokuta,  a  distance  of  50  miles. 

STATISTICS. 

(Estimates  for  the  most  part.) 

Area 

(square  miles).  Population.   Europeans.   Exports.  Imports. 

The  Gambia         ..        ..         2,700  150,000  50  $750,000  $600,000 

Sierra  Leone         . .        . .        30,000  3,500,000  250  $2,250,000  $2,250,000 

Gold  Coast            . .        . .        53,000  2,000,000  800  $4,250,000  $4,250,000 
Lagos  and  Niger   Coast 

Protectorate      ..        ..        80,000  (?)  6,000,000  1,000  $8,000,000  $8,000,000 

POPULATION    OF   TOWNS  (estimated). 
In  the  Gambia  : — Bathurst,  6,000. 
In  Sierra  Leone  : — Freetown,  30,000. 

In  Gold  Coast : — Accra,  16,000  ;  Cape  Coast,  11,600  ;   Elmina,  10,500. 
In  Lagos  and  the  Niger  Coast  Protectorate  :— Lagos.   30,000  ;    Old  Calabar,   15,000 ; 
Brass,  10,000  ;   Opobo,  10,000  ;   Bonny,  6,000. 


Nigeria  969 


STANDARD  BOOKS 

Miss  Kingsley.    "  West  African  Studies."    London,  1899. 

H.  Bindloss.    "  In  the  Niger  Delta."    Edinburgh,  1899. 

J.  K.  Trotter.     "The  Niger  Sources."    London,  1897. 

A.  B.  Ellis.    "  History  of  the  Gold  Coast  of  West  Africa."    London,  1893. 

Various  Works  on  the  Peoples  of  the  West  African  Coast.    London,  1887  to 

1894. 
E.  D.  Morel.    "  Affairs  of  West  Africa."    London,  1902. 

V.— NORTHERN  NIGERIA 

BY   LlEUT.-COLONEL  A.   F.   MOCKLER-FERRYMAN 

Position  and  Extent. — That  portion  of  the  south-western  Sudan 
in  the  Niger  basin  which  was  developed  by  the  Royal  Niger  Company 
had  a  coast-line  extending  from  the  Forcados  River  on  the  west,  to  the 
Nun  mouth  of  the  Niger  on  the  east,  a  distance  of  100  miles,  being 
wedged  in  between  the  various  districts  of  the  Niger  Coast  Protectorate. 
Inland  the  boundaries  were  less  clearly  denned,  though  its  limits  north- 
wards have  been  fixed  by  the  Anglo-French  Agreement  of  1898  as  a  line 
drawn  from  a  point  ten  miles  above  Ilo  on  the  Middle  Niger  to  the  point 
of  intersection  of  the  I4th  parallel  of  north  latitude  with  the  meridian 
passing  35'  east  of  the  centre  of  the  town  of  Kuka,  on  Lake  Chad,  such 
line  being  so  traced  as  to  include  within  the  Niger  Company's  territories 
the  whole  of  the  Empire  of  Sokoto.  On  the  west,  the  area  was  bounded 
by  the  colony  of  Lagos,  and  by  the  hinterland  of  French  Dahome, 
while  its  north-eastern  boundary  to  the  south  of  Lake  Chad  runs  with 
the  western  boundary  of  the  German  Kamerun  colony  as  determined  by 
the  Anglo-German  Agreements  of  1885  and  1893.  The  tract  of  territory 
described  thus  roughly — for  the  actual  boundaries  have  not  so  far  been 
surveyed — includes  an  area  of  some  500,000  square  miles,  with  a  population 
approximately  estimated  at  thirty  millions,  within  which  there  naturally 
exists  a  great  variety  of  country  and  of  inhabitants.  Practically  there 
were  two  well-marked  zones,  separated  by  the  parallel  of  7°  N.,  the 
southern  part  being  now  united  with  the  Coast  Protectorate  under  the  name 
of  Southern  Nigeria ;  it  is  low-lying,  swampy  and  unhealthy,  with  pagan 
inhabitants.  The  northern  part,  now  Northern  Nigeria,  is  an  undulating, 
dry  and  healthy  region,  peopled  principally  by  Mohammedans. 

The  River  Niger.— The  river  system  of  this  part  of  West  Africa  is 
simple,  for,  if  we  except  the  portion  of  Hausaland  and  Bornu  which  lies 
on  the  edge  of  the  basin  of  Lake  Chad,  the  whole  of  Nigeria  is  drained 
by  the  river  Niger  and  its  numerous  tributaries.  After  flowing  past 
Timbuktu,  the  Niger  enters  the  territory  to  which  it  has  given  its  name 
at  its  junction  with  the  Dallul  Mauri,  about  11°  45'  N.,  from  which  point, 
until  it  eventually  empties  itself  into  the  Atlantic,  it  receives  many  minor 
rivers  and  streams,  none  of  which,  however,  add  much  to  its  volume  except 
during  the  rains.  The  fall  of  the  river  from  its  source  to  its  mouths  averages 
barely  a  foot  per  mile,  and  in  the  dry^months,  even  its  largest  tributary,  the 


970       The   International  Geography 

Benue,  is  unnavigable  by  vessels  drawing  more  than  two  feet  of  water. 
The  principal  tributaries  of  the  great  river  in  its  course  from  Ilo  down- 
ward, are,  on  the  left,  the  Mayo-Kebbi,  or  Sokoto  River,  from  Sokoto  and 
its  neighbourhood,  and  the  Kaduna  through  Nupe  ;  while  on  the  right  the 
small  rivers  that  drain  the  countries  of  Borgu  and  Ilorin  flow  in,  the 
watersheds  in  each  case  lying  outside  the  limits  of  Nigeria.  At  Lokoja, 
in  8°  N.,  the  Benue  river  joins  the  Niger,  which  in  the  very  wet  season 
it  rivals  in  size.  Taking  its  rise  in  the  Bubanjidda  mountains,  this 
magnificent  waterway  flows  west  and  south-west,  receiving  throughout  its 
course  of  some  700  miles  such  lesser  rivers  as  the  Faro,  Tarabba,  Donga 
and  Katsena  from  the  south,  and  the  Kedara  and  innumerable  small 
streams  from  the  north.  From  the  Niger-Benue  confluence  to  the  sea  is  a 
distance  of  about  300  miles.  The  Niger  descends  in  one  large  stream 
until  it  reaches  the  town  of  Abo  in  5^°  N.,  at  which  point  the  delta 
commences,  and  the  river  splits  into  innumerable  interlacing  channels, 
the  more  important  mouths  being  those  of  Forcados  (Warri),  Nun  (the 
principal),  Brass,  New  Calabar  and  Bonny  (Fig.  459).  The  large  Lake 
Chad,  to  which  the  north-east  angle  of  Nigeria  reaches,  receives  only  one 
river  of  any  size  flowing  from  the  territory,  this  is  the  Yobe  or  Yeou,  which 
rises  some  450  miles  west  of  the  lake. 

Surface  and  Productions. — The  land  is  everywhere  fertile,  and 
produces  vast  crops  with  the  minimum  of  cultivation,  while  many  articles 
of  commercial  value  are  found  among  the  natural  products.  Of  these, 
palm-oil,  rubber,  shea-butter,  kola-nuts,  various  fibres,  oil  seeds  and 
spices  may  be  mentioned.  Valuable  timber  trees  grow  in  the  southern 
forests,  iron  in  abundance  is  forthcoming  in  many  parts,  tin  and  galena 
have  been  found  in  the  Benue  districts,  and  ivory  is  still  offered  for  sale  in 
considerable  quantities.  Of  the  fauna  it  is  sufficient  to  say  that  the 
hippopotamus  is  met  with  in  all  the  large  rivers  ;  that  herds  of  elephants 
roam  the  forests,  most  abundantly  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Lake  Chad, 
and  in  the  country  to  the  south  of  the  Benue ;  that  various  species  of 
antelope  are  found  everywhere ;  while  lions,  wolves,  hyaenas,  civet  cats, 
and  many  varieties  of  monkeys  abound  in  Upper  Nigeria. 

People. — The  inhabitants  may  be  classified  as  members  of  two  main 
families,  Negroes  who  are  still  pagans  and  Fulas  who  are  Mohamme- 
dans, with  a  cross  between  the  two  known  as  Negroids,  and  also  of 
Mohammedan  faith.  The  aborigines  were  probably  pure  negroes,  and 
the  Fula  element  is  an  introduction  of  recent  times,  while  the 
negroids  are  the  result  of  Mohammedan  conquest  and  subsequent 
intermarriage.  The  Idzo,  I  bo,  and  Igara  on  the  Lower  Niger,  the  Borgu 
on  the  Middle  Niger,  and  the  Igbiri,  Mitshi,  and  Juko  on  the  Benue  are 
amongst  the  most  important  of  the  many  tribes  of  pagan  negroes,  either 
wholly  independent  or  only  partly  under  the  influence  of  the  Mohammedan 
Fulas.  The  languages  spoken  by  these  tribes  are  all  different  and  abso- 
lutely distinct,  though  merging  into  one  another  on  the  borders.  The 


Nigeria  971 


remainder  of  Nigeria,  and  certainly  the  most  valuable  part,  is  inhabited 
by  the  Yorubas,  Fulas,  Hausas,  and  Bornus,  with  languages  of  their  own 
and,  two  centuries  ago,  forming  separate  nations. 

Occupations  and  Trade.— The  pagans  are  for  the  most  part 
agriculturists,  though  cultivating  only  to  an  extent  sufficient  to  supply 
their  own  wants ;  fishing  and  hippopotamus-hunting  are  indulged  in  by 
the  tribes  dwelling  on  the  river  banks,  and  elephant-hunting  by  those 
inhabiting  the  more  inland  parts.  The  collection  and  manufacture  of 
palm-oil  and  rubber  occupy  the  attention  of  the  bulk  of  the  coast 
population;  north  of  the  limits  of  the  oil-palm,  the  European  traders 
encourage  the  collection  of  various  gums,  fibres,  oil  seeds  and  spices. 
The  Nupes  and  northern  Yorubas,  though  mainly  occupying  themselves 
with  husbandry,  are  far-famed  among  Sudan  tribes  as  blacksmiths,  workers 
in  brass,  leather  and  glass,  as  weavers,  and  as  canoe-builders  ;  while  the 
great  Hausa  nation  furnishes  the  merchant  and  industrial  classes  of  the 
western  and  central  Sudan.  Hausa  merchants  convey  their  wares  to  all 
parts  of  central  Africa,  to  the  Mediterranean,  to  the  Atlantic,  and  even 
into  the  countries  bordering  on  the  Upper  Nile,  the  chief  articles  of 
commerce  being  cotton-cloth  and  tobes  woven  at  Kano  (the  Hausa  capital), 
leather-work,  embroideries,  and  kola-nuts.  The  Fulas  are  warriors  and 
slave-raiders,  but  their  original  occupation  of  peaceful  herdsmen  is  still 
followed  by  a  proportion  of  the  people,  who  wander  throughout  the 
country  with  their  herds  and  flocks.  The  numerous  waterways  afford 
excellent  communications  in  the  delta,  while  Northern  Nigeria  is  intersected 
by  regular  caravan  routes,  which  are,  however,  merely  narrow  tracks  trodden 
down  by  the  native  carriers  and  beasts  of  burden.  The  trading  steamers  of 
the  Royal  Niger  Company  ply  on  the  main  Niger  and  Benue  for  a  distance 
of  several  hundred  miles  from  the  sea,  and  good  roads  have  been  made  in 
the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  trading  stations. 

Native  Kingdoms.— The  various  native  kingdoms  are  governed  by  their 
own  rulers,  who  in  all  cases,  in  return  for  an  annual  subsidy,  acknowledge 
British  suzerainty.  In  the  Niger  delta  the  semi-independent  chiefs  are 
innumerable,  but  Northern  Nigeria  consists,  besides  the  minor  kingdom  of 
Borgu  and  such  few  pagan  tribes  as  have  not  as  yet  been  conquered  by 
the  Fulas,  of  the  two  great  empires  of  Sokoto  and  Bornu  (capital  Kuka, 
population  50,000).  The  Sokoto  or  Fula  Empire,  which  comprises  the 
old  Hausa  States  and  the  once-independent  kingdom  of  Gando,  contains 
seventeen  provinces,  including  Adamawa,  Kano,  Nupe,  Yoruba  (Ilorin),  and 
Lafia — the  last  three  owing  allegiance  to  Gando  as  well  as  to  Sokoto.  Each 
of  these  provinces  is  governed  by  an  emir,  who  is  virtually  the  sovereign 
of  a  small  kingdom,  though  liable  to  be  deposed  at  the  will  of  the  Sultan  of 
Sokoto.  The  system  of  government  and  inspection  is  thoroughly  organised, 
with  a  complete  scheme  of  taxation  for  each  province,  the  inspecting  officer, 
being  responsible  that  the  emirs  pay  their  annual  tribute,  which  usually  con- 
sists of  slaves. 
63 


97-2       The  International  Geography 

Government  and  Towns  of  Nigeria.  — The  government  of 
Northern  Nigeria  passed  from  the  hands  of  the  Royal  Niger  Company 
into  those  of  a  High  Commissioner  acting  directly  for  the  British  Govern- 
ment in  1900.  The  seat  of  administration  is  Zungeru,  on  the  Kaduna. 
At  the  confluence  of  the  Niger  and  Benue  is  the  small  native  town  of 
Lokoja,  whose  central  situation  caused  it  to  be  selected  as  the  military 
headquarters  of  the  Royal  Niger  Company  and  provisionally  of  the  new 
Imperial  forces.  On  the  middle  Niger  the  only  towns  worthy  of  notice 
are  Egga,  Rabba,  and  Bussa,  while  Ilorin,  the  northern  Yoruba  capital,  lies 
about  seventy  miles  south  of  Rabba  on  the  great  trade  route  between 
Hausaland  and  Lagos.  The  Benue  towns,  with  the  exception  of  Yola> 
the  capital  of  Adamawa  (population  10,000),  are  small  and  unimportant, 
the  principal  being  Loko,  the  port  of  Nassarawa,  and  Ibi,  which  is  the 
Benue  headquarters  of  the  Royal  Niger  Company,  with  populations  con- 
siderably under  6,000.  The  chief  towns  of  the  Fula  Empire  are  the 
capitals  of  the  several  provinces,  of  which  may  be  mentioned  Sokoto  (popu- 
lation 15,000),  Wurno  (5,000),  Gando  (6,000),  Bida  (15,000),  Zaria  (30,000), 
Nassarawa  (10,000),  Kano  (70,000),  and  Bauchi  or  Yakoba  (100,000),  the 
estimated  population  in  all  cases  being  a  mere  approximation,  and  the 
relative  importance  of  each  depending  on  its  situation  with  regard  to 
the  main  trade  routes  of  the  country.  There  are  no  statistics  of  Nigeria 
which  can  be  looked  on  as  definite,  the  organisation  of  the  country  having 
been  too  recently  undertaken  to  admit  of  complete  surveys  or  censuses 
being  attempted. 

STANDARD   BOOKS. 

A.  F.  Mockler- Ferryman.    "  Up  the  Niger."    London,  1892. 

"  Imperial  Africa."    London,  1898. 

C.  H.  Robinson.     "  Hausaland."     London,  1896. 

J.  Thomson.     "  Mungo  Park."    (World's  Great  Explorer  Series.)    London,  1890. 

S.  Vandeleur.    "  Campaigning  on  the  Upper  Nile  and  Niger."     London,  1898, 

VI,— GERMAN  WEST  AFRICA 
BY  GRAF  VON  PFEIL.' 

Togo. — The  colony  of  Togo  has  not  quite  60  miles  of  coast,  which,  run- 
ning almost  east  and  west  near  the  west  end  of  the  Bight  of  Benin,  consists 
of  a  narrow  low  strip  of  yellow  sand.  Behind  this  a  belt  of  forest  separates 
the  sea  coast  from  the  long  lagoon  which  runs  parallel  to  nearly  the  whole 
length  of  it.  Some  distance  further  inland  there  is  a  lake,  which  must  be 
considered  as  belonging  to  the  lagoon  system.  There  is  no  harbour  on 
the  coast  and  landing  is  rather  difficult  through  the  heavy  surf,  the 
"  Kalema,"  which  breaks  upon  the  coast  all  the  year  round.  Togo  has  a 
number  of  rivers  ;  two,  which  nearly  form  the  eastern  and  western 

1  Having  no  personal  knowledge  of  Togo  the  author  has  consulted  mainly  the 
"  Mittheilungen  aus  den  Deutschen  Schutzgebieten,"  and  other  works  cited  at  the  end. 


German  West  Africa  973 

boundaries,  the  Mono  and  Volta,  are  of  considerable  size,  and  the  latter  is 
navigable  in  some  part  of  its  upper  course.  Two  ranges  of  mountains 
traverse  Togo  from  south-west  to  north-east,  and  form  the  hilly  southern 
border  of  the  plateau  of  the  western  Sudan.  The  plateau  is  an  undulating 
prairie  with  a  slight  incline  towards  the  west,  and  with  little  vegetation 
beyond  tall  grass.  Vegetation  on  the  coast  is  remarkable  for  the  oil-palm, 
wild  coffee,  shea-butter  tree,  rubber  plants,  baobab 
and  a  very  good  quality  of  ebony.  The  climate  is 
not  healthy;  it  possesses  the  character  of  the 
southern  hemisphere,  the  hottest  months  being 
December  and  January,  the  least  warm  July  and 
August.  There  are  no  people  of  Bantu  race  in  this 
colony,  whose  inhabitants  belong  exclusively  to  the 

Sudanese  tribes.     On  the  coast  fetishism  is  preva-    I* 

FIG.  462.— The  Flag  of  the 
lent,  while  in  the  north  Mohammedanism  is  rapidly       German  Protectorates. 

gaining  ground.     The  people  are  agriculturists  and 

good  traders  ;  on  the  plateau  they  are  warlike  and  constantly  at  feud  with 
each  other.  Togo  is  a  German  colony,  with  a  governor,  a  staff  of  officers, 
and  a  police  corps  of  150  natives,  a  court  of  law  and  a  hospital.  The 
governor's  residence  is  Sebbe,  and  there  are  two  government  stations  in  the 
interior,  namely,  Kratji  and  Misahohe.  Bismarckburg  is  also  a  trading  station. 
Kamerun. — Position  and  Surface.— The  German  colony  of 
Kamerun  (the  Cameroons)  has  only  about  190  miles  of  coast  on  the  Bight  of 
Biafra,  which  is  deeply  indented  by  the  outlets  of  a  comparatively  large 
number  of  rivers  (Fig.  466).  All  these  have  one  peculiarity  in  common,  the 
lowest  part  of  their  course  turning  in  a  north-westerly  direction.  The  reason 
for  this  is  found  in  the  "  Kalema,"  a  deep  sea  swell  which  breaks  with 
great  force  upon  the  coast  all  the  year  round.  The  largest  indentation  is 
Kamerun  Bay,  which  is  an  excellent  harbour.  The  coast  forms  a  strip  of 
very  low  land,  narrow  in  the  south  and  widening  to  about  30  miles  near 
the  bay.  East  of  this  the  country  rises  gradually  and  forms  a  range  of 
mountains  with  meridianal  direction,  a  valley  separates  them  from  a 
second  steeper  rise,  the  ascent  to  the  main  plateau  of  the  African 
continent,  which  here  presents  the  form  of  undulating  grassy  plains.  The 
plateau  extends  to  about  8°  N.,  where  it  abruptly  descends  to  the 
valley  of  the  Benue  river,  to  which  its  northern  slope  gives  birth.  The 
Kamerun  Peak  rises  from  a  volcanic  rift  which  reaches  nearly  .to  Lake 
Chad  as  indicated  by  the  two  mountain  ranges,  Chebchi  and  Mandara  ;  its 
altitude  is  about  12,480  feet.  At  the  foot  of  the  peak  rise  two  gaseous 
springs,  while  further  up  hardly  any  water  is  retained  by  the  porous  lava, 
of  which  the  mountain  is  composed.  The  greater  part  of  the  Kamerun 
coast  is  taken  up  by  mangroves,  which  fringe  some  of  the  estuaries 
far  inland ;  further  south,  the  Batanga  coast  is  grassland.  The 
mountains  are  covered  with  dense  forest,  in  which  the  oil-palm,  rubber 
plants,  kola-nut,  ebony  and  the  wild  coffee  tree  occur  frequently.  The 


974       Tta  International  Geography 

Kamertm  Peak  is  dotted  with  the  same  forest  up  to  8,300  feet,  beyond 
which  vegetation  diminishes  gradually,  and  ends  with  short  grass,  which 
covers  the  summit.  The  fauna  is  that  which  is  peculiar  to  tropical  Africa, 
but  is  remarkable  for  its  anthropoid  apes,  the  chimpanzee  and  gorilla. 
A  number  of  rivers,  some  of  them,  for  instance  the  Nyong  and  Lokunja, 
navigable  for  steam  launches  for  a  number  of  miles  never  exceeding 
thirty,  run  into  Kamerun  Bay.  The  Lokunja,  though  the  smaller,  is 
navigable  for  some  distance  above  the  rapids,  which  intersect  all  the  rivers 
where  they  break  through  the  range  of  mountains  west  of  the  steep 
plateau  border,  whence  all  the  Kamerun  rivers  descend  in  high  cascades, 
forming  insuperable  barriers  to  navigation.  The  only  river  likely  to  prove 
navigable,  even  on  the  plateau,  is  the  Sannaga,  which  joined  by  the 
Mbam,  forms  the  main  water-course  of  Kamerun.  The  northern  part 
of  the  country  sends  its  water  west  to  the  Benue  or  east  through  the 
Shari  to  Lake  Chad. 

People  and  Government  of  Kamerun.— Among  the  inhabitants 
two  groups  may  be  distinguished,  the  Bantu  and  the  Sudanese. 
The  former  live  mainly  to  the  south  of  7°  N.,  the  latter  as  a 
rule  north  of  that  parallel  in  the  State  of  Adamawa.  The  Bantu  are 
great  traders,  the  Sudanese  agriculturists,  who  imported  from  the 
north  the  horse  and  horned  cattle.  There  is  little  industry  beyond 
carving  in  wood  and  the  smelting  of  iron.  For  purposes  of  administration 
Kamerun  is  divided  into  three  districts,  with  leading  officials  subordinate 
to  the  Governor.  There  are  two  courts  of  law,  and  a  number  of  colonial 
troops  are  garrisoned  in  various  stations  throughout  the  country,  of 
which  Mpini,  Victoria,  Buea,  and  Yaunde  deserve  special  notice.  Rio 
del  Rey,  Bibundi,  Little  and  Great  Batanga,  and  Kribi  are  ports  of  call. 
Kamerun  (now  known  as  Duala),  the  chief  harbour,  is  also  the  seat  of  the 
Landeshauptmann,  or  Governor ;  it  has  a  custom  house,  post,  and  tele- 
graph. In  a  good  hospital  colonial  officials  and  missionaries  receive 
medical  and  other  attention  gratuitously. 

STATISTICS   (Estimates). 

Area  (square  miles).  Population. 

Togo  23,160       ..        ..       2,500,000 

Kamerun 191,130        ..        ..        3,500,000 

STANDARD  BOOKS. 

E.  Zintgraff.    "  Nord- Kamerun."    Berlin,  1895. 
S.  Passarge.    "Adamaua."    Berlin,  1895. 

VII.— CONGO    FEEE    STATE 

BY  SIDNEY  LANGFORD  HINDE, 

Formerly  Captain  in  the  Congo  Free  State  Forces. 

Position  and  Boundaries.— The  Congo  Free  State  (L'Etat  Inde- 
pendent du  Congo),  occupies  the  heart  of  Central  Africa,  and  is  crossed  by 
the  equator.  The  great  river,  the  mouth  of  which  was  formerly  known  as 


Congo  Free  State  975 


the  Zaire,  received  its  name  of  Congo  from  the  chief  of  a  small  tribe  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Boma,  the  Portuguese  supposing  him  to  be  king  of  the 
whole  country.  The  Congo  is  not  so  called  by  the  natives  in  any  part  of 
its  course,  but  is  known  to  them  by  different  names  according  to  the 
district  through  which  it  flows.  Except  for  a  narrow  strip  at  the  mouth 
of  the  river,  giving  access  to  the  Atlantic,  the  western  boundary  of  the 
State  is  the  Congo  itself,  and  its  great  northern  tributary,  the  Ubangi, 
separating  the  Free  State  from  French  Congo.  The  river  Mbomu  is  the 
northern  boundary.  Eastwards,  on  the  Upper  Nile,  the  State  occupies  a 
district  on  lease  from  Great  Britain  ;  and  further  south  the  boundary  is 
the  Central  African  Rift  Valley  and  the  eastern  shores  of  Lakes  Albert, 
Albert  Edward  and  Tanganyika,  separating  the  State  from  British  and 
German  East  Africa.  The  southern  boundary,  towards  British  Central 
Africa  and  Portuguese  West  Africa,  is  irregular,  not  following  definite 
physical  features,  and  in  some  parts  undecided.  The  range  in  latitude 
is  from  5°  N.  to  13°  S. ;  and  in  longitude  from  17°  to  30°  E. 

Physical  Features. — The  vast  country  coincides  roughly  with  the 
basin  of  the  Congo,  excluding  only  the  tributaries  on  the  right  bank  from 
Manyanga  to  the  mouth  of  the  Ubangi,  the  northern  tributaries  of  the 
Ubangi  and  Mbomu,  the  eastern  tributaries  of  Luapula,  before  it  enters 
Lake  Mweru,  and  the  head  waters  and  western  tributaries  of  the  Kassai. 
The  Congo  river,  which  is  about  2,500  miles  long,  is  called  at  its  source 
the  Chambezi,  and  drains  consecutively  the  four  great  lakes  Bangweolo, 
Mweru,  Tanganyika,  and  Leopold  II.  There  is  some  reason  to  suppose 
that  the  drainage  from  Tanganyika  by  the  Lukugu  into  the  Congo  is  of 
recent  date.  The  main  river,  at  Matadi  only  a  few  hundred  yards  wide, 
is  very  broad  in  its  middle  reaches  and  studded  with  myriads  of  islands. 
In  the  section  between  Basoka  and  Bangala  (Nouvelle  Anvers),  it  varies  in 
width  from  fifteen  to  over  thirty  miles.  Many  of  its  tributaries  form  ex- 
cellent waterways  for  hundreds  of  miles,  and  vary  in  width  from  one  to  ten 
miles  in  the  navigable  portions.  Of  these  the  Kassai,  Ubangi,  and  Lomami 
are  larger  in  every  respect  than  any  rivers  in  Europe.  Generally  speaking, 
all  the  rivers  of  the  Congo  system  have  a  different  native  name  after 
passing  some  large  physical  feature,  such  as  a  cataract  or  lake,  a  fact 
possibly  due  to  these  natural  barriers  separating  native  races  or  kingdoms. 

Taken  as  a  whole  the  Congo  basin  consists  of  flat,  high-lying  table- 
lands. There  are  mountains  only  to  the  eastward  where  the  river 
approaches  the  Atlantic,  and,  cutting  through  them,  falls  by  cataracts 
to  the  level  of  the  coast  plains.  In  the  interior  of  the  Congo  Free  State 
there  are  no  mountain  ranges.  More  than  half  of  the  State  may  be  said 
to  consist  of  continuous  forest,  probably  the  largest  tree-clad  area  in  the 
world,  not  excepting  even  the  Amazon  and  the  Malay  Archipelago. 
Throughout  the  forest,  india-rubber  trees  grow  in  larger  quantity  than  in 
any  other  known  region.  As  far  as  is  yet  known  there  are  only  two  large 
lakes,  Leopold  II.  and  Matumba  actually  within  the  Congo  Free  State; 


976       The   International  Geography 

but  the  western  shores  of  Albert  Edward,  Tanganyika  and  Mweru  form 
part  of  the  eastern  boundaries.  Many  points  as  to  the  geography  of  the 
interior  are  still  very  indefinite.  Rumour  has  placed  a  large  lake  between 
the  Lomami  and  Lake  Leopold  II.,  but  it  has  not  yet  been  discovered  or 
localised.  Much  of  the  country  is  unapproachable  by  rivers  in  which 
canoe  navigation  is  possible,  and  has  therefore  not  yet  been  visited  by 
Europeans. 

In  almost  every  part  of  the  State  iron  is  found  in  workable  quantities. 
Copper  is  less  profusely  distributed,  but  the  copper  mines  in  the  west 
between  the  Kassai  and  the  Atlantic,  and  in  Katanga  to  the  south,  are 
extremely  rich.  The  iron  and  copper  are  worked  by  the  natives,  but 
up  to  the  present  time  there  has  been  no  search  for  the  noble  metals, 
though  the  rocks  which  fringe  the  Congo  basin  on  every  side  may 
eventually  prove  a  fruitful  field  for  the  prospector. 

Climate. — From  the  standpoint  of  European  colonisation,  the  climate 
of  the  Congo  is  bad  :  all  forms  of  malarial  disease  are  rife  owing  to  the 
moist  heat.  But  with  a  better  knowledge  of  tropical  diseases,  and  of  the 
precautions  necessary  to  guard  against  them,  such  as  the  choice  of  sites  for 
houses  and  stations,  it  may  be  possible  for  Europeans  to  settle  in  the 
country.  Hitherto,  the  State  officials  and  others  have  had  to  live  in  a 
most  primitive  manner  since,  owing  to  the  difficulties  of  transport,  luxuries, 
comforts,  or  even  medicines,  have  been  almost  unobtainable.  The  high 
death-rate  of  Europeans  in  the  Free  State  should  therefore  not  be  taken  as 
an  argument  against  the  attempt  to  develop  the  country.  The  temperature 
averages  about  80°  in  the  shade  over  the  greater  part  of  the  country,  and 
during  several  months  in  the  year  violent  storms  or  tornadoes  of  short 
duration  are  very  prevalent,  which  sometimes  cause  a  fall  of  30°  or  40°  in 
temperature  in  half  an  hour. 

Flora  and  Fauna. — The  flora  and  fauna  differ  in  many  respects 
from  those  of  any  other  country  within  the  same  degrees  of  latitude.  In 
the  forest  are  found  ebony,  teak,  oil-palm  and  mahogany  of  good  quality, 
besides  many  other  useful  and  ornamental  woods.  Wild  coffee,  india- 
rubber,  creepers  and  cotton  abound  throughout  the  whole  forest  region  ; 
as  do  also  yams,  plantains,  papaw  and  pine-apples.  The  vegetables  culti- 
vated in  the  country  are  cassava,  maize,  rice,  pea-nuts,  sweet  potatoes, 
bananas,  beans,  sorghum  (Kaffir  corn),  tobacco  and  coffee.  Immense 
herds  of  elephant  are  found  in  every  part  of  the  Congo  Free  State,  and 
leopards,  buffalo  and  wild  cattle  inhabit  the  plains.  A  great  variety  of 
fish,  as  well  as  hippopotami  and  crocodiles  swarm  in  all  the  rivers. 

People. — There  are  at  present  over  100  tribes  recognised  in  the 
Congo  basin,  but  it  is  possible  that  as  many  more  are  to  be  found  in  the 
yet  unexplored  regions.  Nearly  all  speak  Bantu  dialects,  and  most  of  them 
have  been,  or  are  cannibals.  None  of  the  tribes  are  so  dark  in  colour  as 
the  Sudanese.  Each  tribe  or  race  is  governed  by  a  chief  whose  power  is 
absolute  ;  and  large  tribes  are  divided  into  sections  under  petty  chiefs,  who 


Congo  Free  State 


977 


have  complete  control  in  their  own  districts,  but  are  subservient  to  the 
great  chief  who  holds  the  power  of  life  and  death  over  them  in  common 
with  all  his  subjects.  Some  tribes  have  absolutely  no  form  of  religion, 
while  among  the  more  superstitious  races  fetish  worship,  or  propitiation  of 
evil  powers,  exists.  As  a  consequence  the  "  witch  doctor "  is  a  power 
amongst  them  second  only  to  the  chief.  The  natives  in  several  parts  of  the 
country  are  clever  workers  in  iron,  copper  and  wood.  In  certain  districts 
such  as  the  Kassai,  they  weave  beautifully  ornamented  cloths  from  the 
palm  and  other  fibrous  plants. 

Means  of  Communication  and  Trade.— The  great  rivers  on  the 
plateau  have  become  the  highways  of  trade,  the  numerous  steamers 
employed  being  supplied  with  wood  for  fuel  from  the  forests  on  the  banks. 
The  cataracts  of  the  Congo  have  been  the  chief  obstacle  to  the  develop- 
ment of  the  country,  since  transport  on  the  road  constructed  around 
them  was  both  difficult 
and  costly.  As  a  result 
of  many  years  labour  in 
the  face  of  the  greatest 
difficulties,  a  railway,  250 
miles  in  length,  has  been 
built  from  the  extremity 
of  the  navigable  portion 
of  the  lower  river,  at 
Matadi,  to  Leopoldville 
on  Stanley  Pool,  the  base 
from  which  the  internal  FlG"  ^-The  Congo  Railway' 

trade  is  carried  on.  After  Stanley  had  opened  the  way,  the  Arab  trading 
chiefs  of  the  east  coast — who  dealt  mainly  in  ivory  and  slaves— led  many 
expeditions  into  the  Congo  basin,  using  porterage  for  transport,  the  native 
porters  each  carrying  a  load  of  about  60  Ibs.  The  river  trade  by  steamers 
and  canoes  now  carries  practically  the  whole  available  export  produce 
of  the  State  to  the  west  coast.  These  exports  are  ivory,  rubber,  palm-oil, 
orchilla-weed,  several  kinds  of  gum,  pepper  and  coffee.  Steamers  on 
the  Lower  Congo  carry  on  direct  trade  with  Antwerp  and  Liverpool. 

History  and  Government.— All  efforts  to  explore  the  Congo  from 
the  sea  or  to  discover  whence  its  vast  volume  of  water  was  derived  were 
without  effect,  and  the  existence  of  the  great  inland  course  of  the  river  was 
unknown  until,  in  1876,  Sir.  H.  M.  Stanley  struck  its  upper  waters  in  East 
Africa  and  followed  the  river  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  On  the  initiative  of 
Leopold  II.,  King  of  the  Belgians,  a  society  called  Comite  d'Etudes  du  Haul 
Congo  was  formed  in  Brussels  in  November,  1878,  with  the  object  of  ex- 
ploring and  exploiting  the  basin  of  the  river  Congo,  the  vast  size  and 
importance  of  which  had  just  been  revealed.  In  1879,  Stanley,  accom- 
panied by  fifteen  Europeans,  returned  to  the  Congo,  his  first  aim  being 
to  make  a  practicable  road  through  the  cataract  region  to  the  upper  river. 


<V* 


978       The  International  Geography 

At  Vivi,  the  highest  point  of  the  river  navigable  from  the  sea,  he  estab- 
lished a  station  directly  below  the  last  of  the  cataracts,  and  made  his  road 
along  the  right  bank  nearly  due  north  to  Isanghila,  after  which  it  took  an 
eastward  course,  following  the  river  as  closely  as  possible  to  Manyanga, 
where  he  crossed  and  proceeded  up  the  left  bank  to  Stanley  Pool.  Here 
he  established  the  station  now  known  as  Leopoldville.  At  Stanley  Pool  a 
steamer  was  soon  launched,  and  the  difficulty  of  communication  with  the 
interior  was  thus  greatly  reduced,  since  from  Stanley  Pool  to  Stanley 
Falls,  i, coo  miles  further  up  the  main  river,  steamers  of  comparatively 
large  size  can  voyage  in  safety  at  all  seasons  of  the  year.  Mr.  Stanley 
spent  five  years  in  the  work  of  exploration,  and  soon  after  his  return  to 
Europe  the  society  became  merged  in  the  Association  Internationale 
Africaine.  In  1885  the  Berlin  Congress  guaranteed  the  Congo  Free  State 
as  a  Sovereign  Power,  and  the  King  of  the  Belgians— who  had  borne  all 
the  expense  from  the  commencement — was  proclaimed  sovereign.  Five 
years  later  the  Belgian  government  advanced  a  small  loan  to  the  embryo 
State,  reserving  the  right  of  annexing  it  as  a  Belgian  colony  at  a  future 
date.  The  Arab  slave-traders,  who  raided  the  western  part  of  the  country, 
had  for  many  years  rendered  the  position  of  the  few  Europeans  at  remote 
stations  exceedingly  dangerous;  and  the  military  forces  of  the  State 
were  obliged  to  carry  on  a  campaign  against  them  before  the  evil  in- 
fluence exercised  on  the  more  peaceful  natives  was  destroyed. 

The  administration  of  the  Congo  Free  State  is  carried  on  by  a  Governor, 
two  Vice-governors,  three  Inspectors,  and  sixteen 
Sub-commissioners — one  for  each  of  the  sixteen 
districts  into  which  the  country  is  divided.  These 
are  -Banana,  Boma,  Matadi,  the  Cataracts  and 
Stanley  Pool  on  the  lower  river ;  and  on  the  upper 
river  and  its  great  tributaries,  Kassai,  Equator, 
Bangala,  Ubangi,  Aruwimi,  Welle,  Stanley  Falls, 
FIG.  464.— The  Flag  of  the  Kwango,  Lualaba,  Arab  Zone,  Kasongo  and 
Luluaberg.  Boma,  the  seat  of  the  administrative 

government,  is  an  active  seaport ;  and  Leopoldville  on  Stanley  Pool  is 
its  commercial  complement  as  a  river  port.  Many  of  the  native  villages 
in  the  interior  straggle  for  miles  along  the  river  banks ;  but  anything 
like  a  correct  estimate  of  their  population  is  as  yet  impossible.  The 
total  population  of  the  State  has  been  variously  estimated;  but  since  a 
great  part  of  its  vast  area  has  not  yet  been  explored  it  is  hardly  possible  to 
say  more  than  that  the  Congo  Free  State  is  well  peopled. 

STATISTICS. 

(Rough  Estimates.) 

Area  of  the  Congo  Free  State  (square  miles)         900,000 

Population        „        , 30,000,000 

European  population  (1897) 1,474 

Population  of  Boma       10,000 


Cape  Verde  Islands  979 

ANNUAL  TRADE  OF  THE  CONGO  STATE  (in  dollars). 

Exports  (1895-96) 2,800,000 

Imports       „        2,800,000 

STANDARD  BOOKS. 

H.  M.  Stanley.    "  The  Congo  and  the  Founding  of  its  Free  State."    2  vols.   London,  1885. 

Sir  H.  H.  Johnston.    "  The  River  Congo."    London,  1895. 

A.  Chapaux.    "  Le  Congo,  Historique,  Diplomatique  et  Coloniale."    Brussels,  1894. 

A.  J.  Wauters.    "  Bibliographic  du  Congo  "  (1880-95).    Brussels,  1896. 

S.  L  Hinde.    "  The  Fall  of  the  Congo  Arabs."     London,  1897. 


VIII.— PORTUGUESE    WEST    AFRICA 

BY  CAPTAIN  ERNESTO  DE  VASCONCELLOS/ 

Portuguese  Royal  Navy.. 
CAPE  VERDE  ISLANDS 

Position  and  Surface. — The  Cape  Verde  archipelago  is  situated  in 
the  North  Atlantic,  400  miles  off  the  west  coast  of  Africa  between  12°  and 
15°  N.  It  is  composed  of  fourteen  islands  and  islets,  divided  into  two 
groups,  which,  owing  to  the  prevailing  north-east  trade  winds,  are  named 
respectively,  Windward  (Barlavento)  and  Leeward  (Sotavento).  The  Wind- 
ward group  includes  the  islands  of  Santo  Antao  (St.  Antony),  Sao  Vicente 
(St.  Vincent),  Santa  Luzia,  Sao  Nicolao,  Boavista,  and  Sal  ;  the  Leeward 
islands  are  Sao  Thiago  (Santiago),  Mayo,  Fogo  and  Brava.  The  islands 
present  an  arid  aspect  from  the  shore,  but  in  the  interior,  along  the  banks 
of  the  streams,  there  is  a  fairly  rich  vegetation,  especially  in  rainy  years. 
The  islands  are  volcanic  and  all  contain  craters  and  recent  eruptive  rocks. 
The  volcano  on  Fogo,  10,560  feet  in  height,  which  was  last  in  eruption  in 
1857,  the  volcanic  plateau  of  St.  Antony  whence  a  peak  of  7,550  feet  rises, 
and  the  Antonia  Peak  of  4,870  feet  on  Santiago,  are  the  most  remarkable 
features. 

Climate  and  Resources. — The  climate  is  better  than  might  be 
expected  from  the  latitude.  The  archipelago  is  situated  in  the  trade  wind 
zone  ;  the  north-easterly  wind  blows  from  November  to  July,  the  Tempo 
das  Brizas  (Time  of  Breezes)  and  naturally  the  healthiest  season.  From 
August  to  October  the  Tempo  das  Aguas,  or  rainy  season,  prevails,  and 
this  is  the  hottest  and  least  healthy  part  of  the  year.  During  the  breezy 
season  the  temperature  is  about  73°,  and  in  the  rainy  season  about  79°. 
Coffee  is  the  most  important  product  of  the  Cape  Verde  plantations  ;  the 
physic-nut  (Jatropha  Curcas)  is  more  productive  here  than  in  America, 
and  grows  on  all  the  islands  ;  cereals  and  sugar-cane  are  cultivated. 
Salt,  coral,  and  dried  fish,  are  also  of  some  importance.  In  the  fauna 
there  are  neither  wild  animals  nor  venomous  reptiles.  Most  of  the 
vertebrates  were  introduced  by  the  Portuguese  colonists.  The  only 

1  Translated  from  the  Portuguese, 


980       The  International  Geography 

industries  worth  mentioning  are  the  making  of  straw  articles  in  Brava, 
and  embroideries  and  lace  in  Fogo. 

People  and  History. — The  Cape  Verde  Islands  were  discovered  by 
Cadamosto  in  1456,  and  first  peopled  in  1640  by  the  servants  and  retainers 
of  the  Infante  D.  Fernando,  who  took  there  colonists  from  Alemtejo  and 
Algarve  and  obtained  negro  labourers  from  Guinea.  These  elements  form 
the  foundation  of  the  present  mixed  population  containing  more  or  less 
European  blood.  The  colony  is  under  a  Governor  appointed  by  the 
central  government  in  Lisbon.  There  is  a  subordinate  administration  in 
each  island.  The  principal  town  is  Praia  on  Santiago,  the  residence  of 
the  Governor,  and  capital  of  the  colonial  province.  Mindello,  inside  Porto 
Grande  on  St.  Vincent,  which  is  considered  the  second  town  of  the 
archipelago,  has  an  excellent  harbour,  and  is  a  very  important  coaling 
station.  Both  of  these  are  placed  in  connection  with  the  Atlantic  sub- 
marine cables. 

STATISTICS. 

1896. 

Area  of  the  Cape  Verde  Islands  in  square  miles        1,480 

Population    „          „           „         114,000 

Density  of  Population  per  square  mile 77 

Population  of  Praia 4,000 

„            Mindello 4,200 

PORTUGUESE  GUINEA 

Position  and  Surface. — Portuguese  Guinea  is  an  enclave  in  the 
French  West  African  possessions  some  distance  south  of  the  Gambia  River. 
The  littoral  is  formed  by  lowlands  cut  up  by  numerous  water-courses  and 
inlets  of  the  sea.  Laterite  is  formed  on  the  barriers  near  the  coast,  and  the 
whole  possession  consists  of  undulating  country  nowhere  becoming 
mountainous.  The  Geba  and  the  Grande  are  the  principal  rivers  falling 
into  a  wide  estuary  from  which  a  remarkable  tidal  bore  ascends  the  Geba, 
and  in  the  mouth  of  which  lie  many  islands,  the  most  important  being  the 
Bijuga  or  Bijagos  group.  These  and  most  of  the  other  Guinea  rivers  are 
navigable.  On  their  banks  there  are  forests  of  valuable  timber  trees, 
including  mahogany. 

Climate  and  Resources. — The  climate  is  generally  unhealthy  for 
Europeans,  especially  during  the  April  and  November  rains,  when  the 
mean  temperature  is  about  90°  F. ;  the  more  favourable  dry  season  lasts 
from  December  to  the  beginning  of  March.  Portuguese  Guinea  is  an 
agricultural  and  commercial  colony.  In  the  littoral  zone,  rice  and  maize 
are  grown  as  the  principal  food  of  the  natives,  who,  with  the  exception 
of  a  few  warlike  and  nomadic  tribes,  are  employed  in  agricultural  pursuits. 
The  most  important  products  are  pea-nuts,  india-rubber,  wax,  tobacco, 
indigo  and  cotton.  The  kola  tree  (Sterculia  accuminata)  occurs  on  the 
banks  of  the  Geba.  Coffee,  palm-trees,  and  all  leguminous  plants  flourish. 
The  fauna  includes  antelopes,  the  elephant,  panther  and  many  monkeys, 
while  termites  abound  and  are  destructive  to  buildings.  Cattle,  sheep, 


Sao  Thome  and  Principe          981 


goats  and  pigs  are  kept  as  domestic  animals.  The  natives  of  Guinea 
belong  to  ten  different  races,  which  are  subdivided  into  many  tribes. 
The  highest  races  are  the  Fula,  Mandingo,  and  Biafada,  who  are  con- 
stantly engaged  in  war  with  each  other.  The  history  of  the  movements 
of  these  people  is  given  elsewhere.  As  a  general  rule  the  Fulas  are  the 
most  numerous  and  bravest  of  all  the  Guinea  tribes.  The  Bijagos  inhabit 
the  Bijagos  Islands  between  the  Orango  and  Geba  channels  ;  and  live 
as  a  rule  on  the  produce  of  the  sea.  The  capital  of  Portuguese  Guinea 
is  Bolama,  on  one  of  the  islands,  but  Bissao,  on  the  shore  of  the  great 
estuary,  is  the  commercial  centre.  There  are  about  67,000  inhabitants  in 
the  possession. 

PORTUGUESE  ISLANDS  IN  GULF  OF  GUINEA 

Sao  Thome  and  Principe.—  The  islands  of  Principe  and  Sao 
Thome  (Princes  Island  and  St.  Thomas),  lie  in  a  straight  line  with 
Fernando  Po  and  the  Peak  of  Kamerun,  almost  bisecting  the  Bight  of 
Biafra.  They  constitute  a  province  under  a  Portuguese  Governor.  Sao 
Thome  is  nearly  on  the  equator,  150  miles  west  by  north  of  Cape  Lopez. 
It  has  an  area  of  320  square  miles,  with  a 
population  of  22,000.  The  littoral  zone, 
covered  by  dense  tropical  vegetation,  leads 
up  to  remarkable  mountain  peaks  of  volcanic 
origin,  rising  in  Sao  Thome  Peak  to  7,020 
feet.  The  only  commercial  port  is  Anna  de 
Chaves,  where  the  town  of  Sao  Thome  is 
situated.  The  dry  season  lasts  from  June  to 
September,  and  is  the  best  of  the  year  ;  the 
rainy  season  occurs  between  September  and 
June.  In  the  lowlands  the  temperature 
ranges  from  66°  to  81°  F.  ;  in  the  middle 
zone  from  57°  to  68°  F.,  while  on  the  highest 
cultivated  land  the  cold  is  felt  to  be  un-  FIG.  465.—  The  islands  of  the  Gulf 
pleasant.  The  people  inhabiting  these 

islands  are  a  mixture  of  the  ancient  Portuguese  colonists  named  Creoles, 
speaking  a  language  somewhat  similar  to  the  Cape  Verde  Creole,  and 
labourers  under  contract  from  various  parts  of  the  African  continent.  The 
Angolares,  inhabiting  the  south-east  coast  of  the  island  near  Angra  de  Sao 
Joao,  were  originally  the  survivors  from  an  Angola  ship  lost  on  the  Sete 
Pedras  Bank. 

The  island  of  Principe,  90  miles  north-east  of  Sao  Thome,  has  an  area 
of  only  44  square  miles  and  a  population  of  2,700.  It  is  covered  by  even 
more  luxuriant  vegetation  than  Sao  Thome,  but  does  not  possess  the  alpine 
species  of  that  island,  as  the  greatest  elevation,  the  Peak  of  Principe,  only 
reaches  2,720  feet.  There  are  two  natural  harbours,  of  importance  on 
account  of  their  size,  Santo  Antonio,  the  commercial  port  and  seat  of  the 


982       The  International   Geography 

custom  house  and  local  government,  and  the  Bay  of  Agulhas  on  the  west 
coast,  which  has  not  yet  been  utilised.  The  climate  is  warmer  than  that  of 
Sao  Thome  and  with  a  greater  rainfall. 

The  products,  which  make  this  colony  one  of  the  best  in  West  Africa, 
are  :  cacao,  coffee,  cinchona,  vanilla,  india-rubber  and  balsam-trees.  The 
species  yielding  timber  are  varied  and  rich.  Commerce  is  entirely  carried 
on  by  Portuguese  ships  with  the  mother  country. 

ANGOLA 

Position  and  Extent. — The  colonial  province  of  Angola,  exposed  to 
the  South  Atlantic,  has  a  stretch  of  coast  line  of  1,020  miles  from  the  Congo 
to  the  river  Cunene.  It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  French  Congo  and 
the  Congo  Free  State,  the  latter  also  forming  the  boundary  on  the  east  ; 
on  the  south  by  German  South-West  Africa,  and  on  the  south-east  by 
British  Central  Africa.  It  is  the  largest  of  the  Portuguese  colonial 
possessions. 

Surface. — The  coast  lands  are  low  in  the  north  crossed  by  hill-spurs, 
and  high  in  the  south  where  the  edge  of  the  African  plateau  approaches  the 
sea.  There  are  numerous  natural  harbours,  some  of  which,  such  as  Loanda, 
Lobito,  Mossamedes,  Port  Alexander,  and  Bahia  dos  Tigres  (Great  Fish 
Bay)  are  particularly  good.  Angola  is  an  elevated  territory,  the  great 
mountain  ranges  of  the  edge  of  the  plateau  following  the  curves  of  the 
coast.  On  the  north  an  extensive  mountain  range  forms  the  watershed 
between  the  numerous  rivers  flowing  west  to  the  Atlantic  and  those  flow- 
ing north  to  the  Congo,  including  the  great  streams  of  the  Kwango  and 
Kassai.  The  south  of  Angola  is  a  great  plateau  descending  abruptly 
towards  the  sea,  forming  the  "  Chella  "  whence  numerous  torrents  swell 
the  rivers  flowing  to  the  ocean.  The  plateau  of  southern  Angola  has  an 
altitude  of  between  6,500  and  5,000  feet ;  the  highest  peaks  are  found  in  the 
Bailundo  regions  south  of  the  Kwanza,  where  the  Lovili  mountains  reach 
7,800  feet  and  the  Elonga  mountains  7,500.  The  geological  features  of 
Angola,  as  far  as  known,  include  the  sandstones  of  the  Congo  basin  and  a 
part  of  the  ancient  schistose  zone  of  West  Africa.  Cretaceous  strata  occur 
between  Great  Fish  Bay  and  the  river  Dande,  with  some  exposures  of 
Tertiary  (Miocene)  rocks.  Eruptive  rocks  occur  in  the  Mezas  mountains 
in  Mossamedes.  The  province  is  crossed  by  numerous  rivers,  many  of 
which  are  navigable  on  their  lower  and  middle  courses.  They  belong  to 
five  great  hydrographic  basins  :  that  of  the  Congo  draining  the  interior 
of  the  northern  half  ;  the  Kwanza  entirely  within  the  colony  ;  the  Cunene, 
which  forms  the  southern  boundary  and  drains  most  of  the  healthy 
Benguela  and  Mossamedes  plateau  ;  the  Cubango  in  the  south,  which  flows 
to  the  inland  Lake  Ngami ;  and  finally  the  Zambezi,  draining  the  entire 
south-east  of  the  colony  up  to  the  Katima  rapids. 

Climate,  Resources  and  Trade. — The  cool  ocean-current  flowing 


Angola  983 


along  the  coast  from  the  south,  together  with  the  regular  sea  breeze, 
modify  the  heat  natural  to  the  latitude,  especially  in  the  south  of  the  colony. 
In  the  north  and  centre,  on  the  coast  lowlands  and  along  the  rivers,  malaria 
is  endemic  ;  but  on  the  highlands  of  the  interior  comparative  comfort  is 
enjoyed,   and   on    the  Benguela  and  Mossamedes  plateau  the  climate  is 
similar  to  that  of  the  south  of  Europe.     At  Sao  Salvador  do  Congo  in  the 
north  of  the  province,  at  an  altitude  of  1,800  feet,  the  mean  temperature 
observed  during  four  years  was  73°  F.     In  Loanda  the  mean  temperature 
during  eleven  years  was  74*5°,  and  in  Caconda,  on  the  plateau,  about  67°. 
The    cool   season    (Cacimbo),  lasting    from  June  to  September,   is    the 
pleasantest  part  of  the  year ;  the  rains  begin  in  October  and  reach  their 
maximum  in  April,  severe  thunderstorms  being  common  during  the  last 
three  months  of  their  duration.    The  prevailing  sea  winds  from  the  west- 
south-west  are  called  "  viracao,"  in  distinction  to  the  land  winds  which 
are  called  "  terraes."     In  the  north,  as  far  as  the  Kwanza  valley,  the  chief 
characteristic  of  the  vegetation  is  a  mixture  of  savannas  and  groves  of  oil 
palms  (Elceis  Guineensis) ;  the  savanna  region  proper  occupies  the  river 
valleys  and  the  plateaux ;  and  finally  there  is  a  coast  strip  of  poor  and 
scanty  vegetation  and  an  arid  zone  near  Mossamedes,  in  the  south,  where  a 
desert  flora  is  found.     In  all  these  regions  up  to  an  altitude  of  3,500  feet, 
and  on  the  river  banks,  the  baobab  is  found  ;  and  the  sea  is  fringed  with 
the  mangrove  (Rhizophora  Mangle).    Angola  exports  the  produce  of  its 
numerous  plantations,  especially  vegetable  oils,  india-rubber,  wax,  coco- 
nuts and  coffee.     Its  commerce  is  carried  on  with  Portugal  and  other 
Portuguese  colonies. 

People  and  History. — It  is  not  as  yet  easy  to  give  the  necessary 
data  for  the  study  of  the  people  of  Angola,  but  it  seems  that  the  first 
people  who  inhabited  the  country  were  the  Bushmen,  successors  of  the 
Pygmies  now  represented  by  the  Ba-cancale  ,  Ba-cuisso,  Ba-coroca  and 
others  mentioned  by  Capello,  Ivens,  and  Serpa  Pinto.  They  are  met  with, 
living  in  isolated  communities,  in  the  south  of  the  province.  In  the  centre 
and  north  are  the  Jagas,  invading  tribes  from  the  north-east  represented 
by  the  Bangalas  ;  but  the  Angola  Bantu  may  be  divided  into  Fiotes  in  the 
north,  from  Chiloango  to  the  Dande  ;  the  Bundas  from  the  Dande  to  the 
Kwanza,  and  the  N'Bundos  in  the  south  up  to  the  heights  of  Mossamedes. 
Angola  was  discovered  by  the  Portuguese  explorers  of  the  fifteenth 
century  ;  the  mouth  of  the  Congo  was  reached  by  Diogo  Cao  in  1482 ; 
and  Diaz,  in  1488,  sailed  along  the 
whole  coast.  By  the  beginning  of 
the  sixteenth  century  the  Portu- 
guese had  important  settlements  at 
several  points. 

Government  and  Towns. — 
The  colonial  province  of   Angola,       Fl<5-  466.— The  Loanda-Ambaca  Railway. 
under  a  Governor-General,  is  divided  into  the  districts  of   Congo  north 


984      The  International  Geography 

and  south  of  the  Congo  river,  Loanda,  Benguela,  and  Mossamedes, 
bordering  the  coast,  and  Lunda  in  the  extreme  north-east.  The  capital 
is  the  city  of  Sao  Paulo  de  Loanda,  usually  known  as  Loanda,  a  great 
seaport,  with  a  railway  running  inland  through  rich  plantations  for  200 
miles  to  Ambaca.  The  principal  towns  besides  the  capital  are  Cabinda 
in  the  Congo  district,  Ambnz,  Benguela,  and  Mossamedes,  all  on  the 
coast. 

The  extent  of  the  trade  carried  on  between  Portugal  and  the 
Portuguese  possessions  along  the  west  coast  of  Africa  may  be  judged  from 
the  statistics  of  1895,  which  show  $9,850,000  of  colonial  exports  to  the 
mother  country,  and  $8,700,000  of  imports  from  it 

STATISTICS  (approximate). 

Area  of  Angola  province  in  square  miles         4S7,5oo 

Population    „        „  2,000,000 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile 4-4 

Population  of  Loanda       14,000 

STANDARD  BOOKS. 

T.  T.  Monteiro.    "  Angola  and  the  River  Congo."    2  vols.    London,  1875. 

J.  P.  Oliveira  Martins.    "  Portugal  em  Africa."    Oporto,  1891. 

E.  J.  de  Vasconcellos.    "As  Colonias  Portuguezas."    Lisbon,  1897. 


CHAPTER  LII.— SOUTH  AFRICA 

I— THE  COLONY  OF  THE  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE 

BY  THOMAS  MUIR,  C.M.G.,  LL.D.,  F.R.S., 

Superintendent-General  of  Education  for  Cape  Colony, 

and  F.  C.  KOLBE,  D.D. 

Position. — The  outline  of  the  continent  of  Africa  being  familiarly 
compared  to  a  leg  of  mutton,  Cape  Colony  may  be  said  to  occupy  the 
shank  end  of  it :  indeed,  "  the  shank  end  "  is  a  common  nickname  for  the 
south-western  corner  in  which  Cape  Town  stands.  The  northern  boundary 
of  the  colony  was  until  recently  the  natural  line  of  the  Orange  River,  but 
now  the  territory  stretches  northward  into  Bechuanaland,  between  the 
German  possessions  on  the  west  and  the  two  Boer  colonies  on  the  east. 
By  means  of  this  extension,  and  by  means  of  the  Bechuanaland  Pro- 
tectorate to  .the  north  of  it,  and  Rhodesia  still  further  north,  the  trade 
route  to  the  interior  lies  entirely  within  British  territory.  Basutoland  and 
Natal,  lying  eastward  of  the  Orange  River  Colony,  complete  the  north- 
eastern boundary.  Separated  from  the  rest  of  the  colony,  and  almost 
surrounded  by  German  territory,  is  a  small  tract  of  land  around  Walfish 
Bay,  the  only  natural  harbour  of  any  importance  between  Angola  and  the 
Orange  River. 

Coasts.— The  seaboard  is  strangely  inhospitable  :  the  harbours  are 
mostly  unprotected,  and  the  river-mouths  are  choked  by  sand-bars.  The 
one  good  natural  harbour  on  the  west— Saldanha  Bay— has  hitherto  lacked 
fresh  water,  though  it  is  proposed  to  bring  a  supply  from  a  distance,  and 
so  develop  the  port.  At  the  south-western  corner  the  Cape  Peninsula 
is  a  striking  feature,  consisting  of  Table  Mountain  facing  north,  buttressed 
by  a  range  running  southwards,  and  separated  from  the  mainland  by  a 
strip  of  sandy  plain  (Fig.  471).  In  front  of  Table  Mountain,  to  the  north, 
lies  Table  Bay,  a  port  which  has  been  robbed  of  its  terrors  by  a  break- 
water and  capacious  docks ;  and  eastwards  from  the  peninsula  stretches 
False  Bay,  in  a  snug  corner  of  which,  named  Simon's  Bay,  there  is  a 
British  naval  station.  The  only  other  important  harbours  are  (in  order) 
Mossel  Bay,  Algoa  Bay  and  East  London.  Algoa  Bay,  in  spite  of  being 
an  open  roadstead,  is  yet  so  favourably  situated  for  the  main  trade  route, 
has  so  thriving  a  province  immediately  behind  it,  and  is  so  well  equipped 
for  the  receipt  and  discharge  of  goods,  that  its  town,  Port  Elizabeth, 
justly  claims  the  title  of  "  the  Liverpool  of  South  Africa." 

Configuration. — The  direction  of  the  mountain  range  which  forms  the 
main  watershed  of  South  Africa  may  be  roughly  indicated  by  a  line  drawn 

985 


986       The  International  Geography 


parallel  to  the  coast  about  150  miles  inland.  Inland  of  this  line  the  great 
continental  slope  trends  to  the  west,  as  is  indicated  by  the  many  tributaries 
which  go  to  swell  the  Orange  River ;  and  on  the  coast  side  of  the  range 
countless  rivers  and  torrents  (when  there  is  rain)  struggle  through  the 
minor  mountain  denies  on  a  short  and  rapid  journey  to  the  sea.  During 
the  greater  part  of  the  year,  when  there  are  no  heavy  rains,  many  of  these 
rivers  are  without  water,  and  only  dry  beds  may  be  seen.  The  minor 
mountain  ranges  are  also  regularly  distributed,  running  east  and  west,  one 
of  them  half  way  and  the  other  three-quarters  of  the  way  between  the 
watershed  and  the  coast ;  and  these  too,  of  course,  give  origin  to  their  own 
little  streams.  Thus  the  rise  to  the  continental  plateau  is  by  well-marked 
stages  ;  first  the  shore-slope,  then  the  Little  Karroo,  then  the  Great  Karroo, 

and  finally  the  High  Veldt. 
25  Generalising  widely,  it  may 
be  said  that  the  west  coast 
region  consists  of  barren 
and  rainless  tracts  of  sand ; 
that  a  wide  band  lying 
along  the  eastern  edge  of 
this  tract,  and  having  its 
base  from  Cape  Town  to 
Port  Elizabeth,  stretches 
first  through  fertile  moun- 
FlG.  467.— The  Mountain  System  of  South  Africa.  tams  ancj  valleys,  then 

through  wide  plains  of  scrubby  bush,  and  finally  across  immense  grassy 
prairies  which  merge  insensibly  into  the  forests  of  northern  Bechuanaland 
and  Rhodesia  ;  and  that  on  the  east  of  this  band  the  verdant  undulations 
of  Kaffraria  stretch  over  and  beyond  the  Kei  for  hundreds  of  miles,  and 
break  up  eventually  into  the  tumult  of  the  Basutoland  hills  and  the 
diversified  surface  of  Natal. 

Geology. — Geologically  South  Africa  may  be  regarded  as  consisting  of 
a  central  basin  of  younger  rocks  surrounded  by  a  belt  of  older  formations, 
which  is  incomplete  on  the  eastern  coasts.  The  older  rocks  comprise  a 
vast  series  of  slates  and  schists  with  much  intrusive  granite  in  the  south- 
west and  to  the  north,  separated  by  a  distinct  unconformity  from  succeed- 
ing sandstones,  quartzites,  and  shales.  The  Table  Mountain  sandstone  is 
the  most  important  formation  of  this  series,  as  it  forms  all  the  chief  moun- 
tain ranges  in  the  south-west  of  the  colony,  while  the  auriferous  con- 
glomerates of  the  Transvaal  are  usually  assigned  to  it.  The  Central 
Basin  is  bounded  by  a  curious  series  of  conglomerates  collectively  known 
as  the  Dwyka  conglomerate,  which  contains  striated  boulders  probably 
of  glacial  origin.  Within  the  conglomerate  belt  lies  a  vast  thickness  of 
gently  folded  shales  and  sandstones,  the  lowest  known  as  the  Ecca  beds, 
to  which  succeed  the  Karroo  and  Stormberg  beds.  The  Karroo  beds 
are  interesting  as  yielding  peculiar  reptilian  remains  and  having  a 


"AN!BECHUANALAN 
S.W.AFRICA1 


Cape  Colony 


987 


considerable  number  of  diamantiferous  pipes,  especially  near  the  border 
of  Cape  Colony  and  the  Orange  River  Colony,  while  the  Stormberg  beds 
are  conspicuous  as  the  South  African  coal-bearing  formation. 

The  whole  of  the  peripheral  area  is  much  contorted,  flexured,  and 
faulted  ;  and,  as  a  result  of  one  of  the  faults  on  the  south,  an  area  built  up 
of  the  younger  Ecca  beds  remains,  which  points  to  a  former  much  greater 
extension  of  the  more  recent  central  formations.  The  entire  region  has 
suffered  enormous  denudation ;  and,  as  many  of  the  formations,  especially 
towards  the  interior,  consist  of  beds  lying  almost  horizontally,  table-like 
mountains  are  extremely  common.  ^ 

Climate. — The  variation  of  climate  in  Cape  Colony  is  dependent  on 
rain  rather  than  on  temperature,  the  latter  having  a  comparatively  mode- 
rate range.  Thus  along  the  sea-coast  the  thermometer  averages  60°  F.  in 
the  coldest  month  and  70°  in  the  hottest.  During  the  colder  season  the 
isothermals  run  east  and  west,  in  the  summer  time  north  and  south. 

There  seem  to  be  three  regions  of  rainfall :  the  Eastern,  which  gets  its 
rain  in  the  hot  season  ;  the  South-western,  with  its  rainfall  in  the  winter  ; 
and  the  North-western,  with  practically  none 
at  all.  This  arrangement  may  be  explained 
by  the  direction  of  the  prevailing  winds  and 
of  the  mountain  ranges.  The  chief  wind 
in  summer  is  the  south-eastern,  which  is  the 
rear-guard  of  the  trade  wind  strengthened 
by  the  monsoon  effect  of  the  hot  cen- 
tral regions.  In  the  south-west  there  is 
little  to  check  its  career  as  it  hurries  with 

its  moisture  to  the  tropics  and  reveals  itself    FIG.  468.— Temperature  and  Rainfall 

as  a  rain  wind  only  by  clouds  on  the  of  Cape  Town  and  Durban. 
mountain  tops.  In  the  east,  however,  it  has  to  ascend  over  the  watershed 
and  much  moisture  is  precipitated  in  the  process.  In  winter,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  winds  are  from  the  north-west,  and  those  that  come  directly  from 
the  sea  drop  their  rain  at  the  south-western  barrier  of  mountains,  while 
those  that  reach  the  east  get  there  unladen.  The  high  and  dry  air  of  the 
Karroo,  and  the  regularity  and  moderate  character  of  the  seasonal  changes, 
have  caused  Cape  Colony  to  be  increasingly  regarded  as  a  desirable  health 
resort, -though  some  complain  that  long  residence  has  a  slightly  enervating 
effect. 

Resources  and  Industries. — The  chief  farm  products  are  wool, 
mohair,  skins,  grain  (wheat,  mealies,  Kafir  corn,  &c.),  wine,  and  brandy, 
with  a  minor  yield  of  ostrich  feathers  and  tobacco.  Fruits  of  all  kinds 
grow  readily,  but  they  have  only  lately  begun  to  be  systematically  culti- 
vated. At  the  census  of  1891  there  were  in  the  country  2\  million  cattle, 
23  million  sheep  and  goats,  and  155,000  ostriches.  In  that  year  the  yield  of 
wheat  was  2\  million  bushels,  and  of  mealies  and  other  grain  4^  million 
bushels.  Tobacco  was  produced  to  the  extent  of  11,000,000  Ibs.,  but 


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988       The  International  Geography 

it  has  not  yet  reached  a  high  level  of  excellence.  The  total  yield  of 
wine  was  6  million  gallons,  and  of  brandy  i£  million ;  the  latter  is,  as  a 
rule,  very  inferior,  and  but  little  of  the  former  recommends  itself  to 
connoisseurs.  The  facts  that  Cape  grapes  have  a  very  large  proportion  of 
sugar  and  that  the  pressing  has  to  be  done  in  the  hottest  time  of  the  year, 
militate  against  success  in  the  production  of  high-class  wines. 

The  mineral  wealth  of  the  country  consists  predominantly  of  diamonds. 
The  seventy  square  miles  at  Kimberley,  owned  by  the  De  Beer's  Company, 
form  the  richest  diamond  mine  in  the  world,  with  an  output  of  some  3^ 
million  carats  per  annum,  representing  a  value  of  about  $22,500,000.  There 
are  also  valuable  and  interesting  copper  mines  in  Namaqualand  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Orange  River.  A  fair  supply  of  serviceable  coal  is  found  at 
the  northward  bend  of  the  watershed.  Of  other  metals  and  minerals  there 
are  samples  enough  to  raise  many  hopes. 

Flora. — South  Africa  is  peculiarly  rich  in  plant  life,  about  one-sixth  of 
the  genera  of  the  whole  world  being  found  in  it,  and  142  natural  orders 
are  represented.  European  gardens  have .  been  enriched  by  many  pelar- 
goniums, heaths,  proteas,  irises,  lilies,  and  orchids  native  to  the  Cape. 
There  seem  to  be  five  different  floral  regions  in  Cape  Colony,  between 
which  the  watershed  is  the  dominant  dividing  line.  To  the  south  of  it 
there  are  two,  one  in  the  south-west  and  south  of  the  Colony,  and  one 
stretching  almost  from  Port  Elizabeth,  through  the  Transkei  and  Natal 
into  tropical  Africa.  On  the  other  side  of  the  watershed  there  are  the 
Karroo  region  and  the  Kalahari  region,  both  centrally  situated,  and  a  Com- 
posite region  towards  the  north-east. 

The  South-western  region  is  the  special  home  of  what  is  known  every- 
where as  Flora  Capensis,  including  all  the  flowering  plants  enumerated 
above.  The  silver  tree  and,  among  orchids,  the  Disa  grandiflora  are 
famous,  and  everlasting  flowers  form  a  notable  export.  The  arum  lily 
is  the  commonest  wild  flower.  The  aloe  grows  freely,  and  in  the  south 
central  forests  many  valuable  timber  trees  are  found,  such  as  the 
yellow-wood  and  Cape  mahogany.  Oaks,  pines,  and  many  other  trees 
have  been  introduced,  and  are  easily  cultivated,  but  the  pine  is  almost 
the  only  tree  that  holds  its  own  without  help  against  the  native  plants. 
The  region  has  a  remarkable  affinity  to  south-western  Australia,  and 
many  Australian  trees,  especially  gums,  have  been  successfully  introduced. 

The  Tropical  region  is  characterised  by  dense  bush  and  forest,  such  as 
the  Addo  bush  in  the  Eastern  Province.  Here  the  whole  country  is  greener 
and  more  luxuriant,  and  many  trees  have  splendid  foliage  and  showy 
flowers.  Euphorbias  are  common,  and  the  palm  begins  to  appear. 

The  Karroo  region,  being  one  of  great  dry  ness  and  subject  to  extremes 
of  heat  and  cold,  presents  a  general  appearance  of  scattered  shrubs  on 
bare  or  stony  soil.  A  species  of  acacia  is  the  only  tree  in  the  whole  region, 
and  even  that  is  not  very  abundant.  Yet  after  a  heavy  rainfall  the  appear- 
ance of  the  country  improves  with  astonishing  rapidity,  and  its  occasional 


Cape  Colony 


evanescent  beauty  has  to  be  seen  to  be  believed.  The  plants,  having  to 
struggle  for  existence,  protect  themselves  from  drought  by  succulence  and 
by  thorniness  from  seekers  after  food. 

The  Composite  region  slopes  to  the  north-east  into  the  Orange  River 
Colony.  It  consists  of  vast  treeless  plains  of  dry  moorland  and  heath,  with 
grassy  patches  here  and  there.  It  gets  its  name  from  the  extraordinary 
predominance  of  composite?  in  its  flora. 

The  Kalahari  region,  in  Bechuanaland,  is  principally  a  grass  country, 
with  isolated  shrubs  and  trees. 

Fauna.  —  The  fauna  of  Cape  Colony  has  been  reduced  by  human 
agency  to  a  mere  remnant  of  what  it  formerly  was,  and  it  was  never  much 
differentiated  from  that  of  the  rest  of  the  continent.  The  physical  aspect 
of  the  country  accounts  for  the  predominance  of  the  ungulates  among 
mammals  :  the  elephant,  the  rhinoceros,  the  hippopotamus,  the  zebra,  the 
giraffe,  the  buffalo,  and  more  than  thirty  kinds  of  antelope,  once  occupied 
the  land,  and  were  preyed  upon  by  the  lion,  the  leopard,  and  other  hunting 
animals.  Most  of  the  native  animals  have  now  been  driven  to  the  north  or 
killed  out  ;  the  quagga  is  quite  extinct,  and  the  "  white  "  rhinoceros  nearly 
so.  The  birds  are  more  remarkable  for  plumage  than  for  song.  Birds  of 
prey  are  well  represented.  The  stately  secretary  bird  is  strictly  protected 
on  account  of  its  services  against  snakes.  The  ostrich  has  been  domesti- 
cated. Of  snakes  there  are  not  many  varieties,  but  they  are  fairly  plentiful, 
and  the  very  worst  vipers  (e.g.,  the  puff-adder)  are  among  them.  Scorpions 
and  spiders  abound,  and  the  insect  world  is  of  great  and  often  unpleasant 
interest.  Thanks  to  the  cold  current  along  the  Agulhas  Bank,  there  is  an 
excellent  supply  of  fish,  which  is  being  more  and  more  utilised  every  year. 
Cured  fish  and  tinned  lobster  are  now  articles  of  export. 

Native  Races.  —  As  far  as  can  be  ascertained,  the  first  inhabitants 
of  South  Africa  were  the  stunted,  yellowish-brown  Bushmen,  who  lived 
by  hunting  only,  a  pursuit  in  which  they  trusted  to  poisoned  arrows  and  to 
cunning  rather  than  to  strength.  Their  language  abounded  in  clicks  and 
deep  gutturals.  They  were  monogamists,  but  their  cohesive  power  as  a 
people  was  of  the  slightest.  They  were  apparently  proof  against  civilisa- 
tion, and  were  it  not  that  they  have  shown  some  signs  of  feeling  for  art  in 
their  rude  cave-paintings,  one  would  be  inclined  to  assign  them  to  the  lowest 
grade  of  humanity.  They  have  dwindled  away  before  the  progress  of  the 
white  man,  and  now  practically  no  longer  exist  as  a  people.  The  second 
arrivals,  the  Hottentots,  brought  hairy  sheep  and  a  kind  of  cattle  with 
them.  The  first  Europeans  found  them  living  along  the  west  coast  and 
the  Orange  River.  The  race  is  nearly  all  mixed  now,  but  in  their  original 
state  they  were  a  flat-nosed,  yellow  people  of  medium  height,  pastoral  but 
not  agricultural  ;  with  clicks  in  their  language  like  the  Bushman,  but  not 
harsh  gutturals  ;  using  poisoned  arrows  too,  but  with  assegais  and  knobkerries 
as  well.  The  present  dominant  native  races  of  South  Africa  are  of  Bantu 
stock,  and  generally  known  as  Kafirs.  They  have  gradually  made  their  way 


99°*      The  International  Geography 

southward  within  historical  times.  These  people — the  Zulus,  Basutos,Fingos, 
Pondos  and  Bechuanas — are  taller,  stronger,  and  better  formed  than  the 
earlier  races,  except  on  the  west  of  the  Kalahari  desert,  where  the  Damaras, 
who  are  Bantu,  are  inferior  to  the  Namaquas,  who  are  Hottentots.  They  have 
a  high  organisation  of  law,  government,  and  discipline  ;  they  add  agricul- 
ture to  their  main  occupation  of  keeping  cattle  ;  they  use  clubs,  axes,  and 
shields  as  well,as  assegais  and  kerries  ;  and  their  languages  are  not  only 
free  from  clicks  (unless  these  have  been  introduced), 
but  are  governed  by  intricate  grammatical  rules  and 
by  principles  of  harmony  of  sound.  The  Bantu  are 
amenable  to  civilisation,  and  some  individuals  among 
them  have  reached  a  high  grade  of  education. 

Settlement. — While  the  southward  movement  of 
unsettled  races  was   still  going  on  by  land,  a  com- 


FIG.  ^.-Average  pop  Petitive  movement  of  Europeans  began  by  sea.  It 
uiation  of  a  square  was  almost  a  chance  whether  the  Portuguese,  or 
mile  0}  Cape  Colony.  the  Dutch,  or  the  English  should  first  settle  at  the 
southern  extremity  of  Africa.  The  Portuguese  arrived  first,  rounding 
the  Cape  under  Bartholomew  Diaz  in  1488,  in  the  search  for  the  sea- 
route  to  India.  Not  foreseeing  that  it  would  not  always  be  necessary 
to  hug  the  shore  on  the  voyage  to  the  East,  they  thought  they  were 
gaining  the  best  chance  of  a  monopoly  by  establishing  themselves  well 
to  the  north  on  the  east  coast.  Some  pioneer  Englishmen  claimed  the 
Cape  peninsula  for  the  rule  of  James  I.,  in  the  year  1620,  but  the  Home 
Government  was  not  alive  to  the  importance  of  such  a  base  for  trade,  and 
the  Dutch  seized  the  neglected  opportunity.  They  arrived  in  1652,  and 
under  such  wise  rulers  as  Van  Riebeek  and  Van  der  Stel  the  little  nucleus 
of  a  colony  gradually  pushed  out  its  borders.  In  1688  Huguenots,  driven 
out  of  France  by  the  Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  arrived  in 
sufficient  numbers  and  with  sufficient  energy  to  bring  about  a  permanent 
change  in  the  new  country.  This  blend  of  French  with 
Dutch  has,  in  the  course  of  two  centuries,  resulted  in 
the  formation  of  a  perfectly  distinct  nationality  which 
loves  to  call  itself  Afrikander,  and  it  has  developed 
out  of  the  original  Dutch  language  a  colloquial  dialect 
known  as  Kaapsche  Hollandsch.  The  typical  Afrikander 
— the  South  African  Boer — is  characterised  by  sturdy 
and  courageous  independence,  a  somewhat  sensitive  FIG.  tfo.—The  Arms 
pride,  a  warm-hearted  hospitality,  and  great  attach- 
ment  to  old  religious  and  domestic  customs.  He 
defends  himself  from  the  consequences  of  want  of  reserve  by  a  quality 
which  is  too  genial  to  be  called  cunning,  but  which  he  himself  calls 
"  slimness." 

In  1806  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  passed  into  British  hands.     In  1820 
the  arrival  of  English  settlers  laid  the  foundations  of  prosperity  in  the 


Cape  Colony  ggi 

eastern  division  of  the  colony.  Subsequently,  various  collisions  with  the 
indomitable  Afrikander  spirit,  such  as  that  which  arose  from  the  mis- 
management of  the  Slave  Emancipation  Act,  resulted  in  the  great "  trek  " 
of  emigrant  Boers,  which  laid  the  foundations  of  the  lately  suppressed 
South  African  Republics.  In  1872  Responsible  Government  was  con- 
ferred on  the  Colony,  and  under  this  freedom  the  various  races  may  in 
time  settle  into  equilibrium,  though  the  process  has  been  impeded  by  the 
feelings  once  more  aroused  during  the  late  war. 

Railway  System.— Since  Cape  Colony  has  no  navigable  rivers,  and 
canals  are  out  of  the  question,  and  even  roads  present  serious  difficulties,  and 
since  the  centres  of  population  are  far  apart,  the  development  of  a  good 
system  of  railway  communication  is  of  the  very  first  importance.  This  is 
still  more  evident  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  Cape  is  largely  dependent  on 
its  trade  with  the  interior.  From  a  purely  topographical  standpoint  one 
would  expect  that  commerce  would  find  its  way  to  Rhodesia  and  the 
Transvaal  through  ports  on  the  west  or  east  coasts,  approximately  in  the 
same  latitudes  as  these  districts ;  but  the  development  of  Africa  has  pro- 
ceeded on  such  lines  that  hitherto  the  Cape  has  had  the  advantage  of  the 
worn  channels  of  trade.  One  contributory  cause  is  the  unhealthiness  of 
the  tropical  seaboard.  The  routes  of  the  main  railway  lines  have  conse* 
quently  been  determined  by  the  necessity  of  keeping  these  channels  open  ; 
so  that  from  Cape  Town,  from  Port  Elizabeth,  and  from  East  London  lines 
run  northwards,  intercommunicating  by  branches  near  the  coal  district, 
and  then  running  in  two  parallel  lines,  one  through  the  Orange  River 
Colony  to  the  gold  fields  of  the  Transvaal,  and  one  past  the  diamond  fields 
of  Griqualand  West  through  Bechuanaland  to  Rhodesia  and  the  Zambezi, 
with  a  promise  of  early  extension  to  Lake  Tanganyika.  Other  lines  bring 
Grahamstown,  the  city  of  the  settlers  in  the  east,  and  also  Aliwal  North, 
into  communication  with  the  main  lines ;  and  a  longer  loop  diverges  so 
as  to  join  Port  Elizabeth  to  Graaff-Reinet,  "  the  Gem  of  the  Karroo."  Near 
Cape  Town,  a  side  branch  runs  to  Malmesbury,  the  wheat  district ;  and  in 
the  north-west  a  small  line  serves  the  copper  mines  of  Namaqualand 
(Fig.  437).  Other  lines,  now  being  made,  will  connect  the  east  with  the 
west. 

Much  of  the  trade  of  the  colony,  and  of  the  shipping  at  Cape  Town,  is, 
in  normal  times,  concerned  with  the  transport  of  material  to  the  Transvaal 
and  the  export  of  gold  from  the  mines. 

Divisions  and  Towns.— 1The  political  divisions  of  Cape  Colony  are 
not  of  much  importance  as  such,  but  the  broad  distinction  between  East 
and  West  is  more  than  merely  nominal.  The  stream  of  English  immigra- 
tion, finding  the  West  already  occupied,  was  diverted  chiefly  to  the  East,  thus 
largely  altering  the  balance  of  nationalities.  From  time  to  time,  indeed; 
there  has  been  much  agitation  in  the  East  for  separation,  but  the  feeling 
of  common  interest  has  up  till  now  carried  the  day,  and  in  spite  of  a 
little  natural  jealousy  the  claim  of  Cape  Town  to  remain  the  capital  of  the 


992       The  International  Geography 

whole  country  is  everywhere  admitted.  In  population,  Cape  Town  main* 
tains  its  historical  lead,  being  equal  in  this  respect  to  the  next  three  towns 
together,  namely,  Kimberley,  Port  Elizabeth  and  Grahamstown.  Besides 

being  the  seat  of  government,  it 
has  the  advantage  of  unrivalled 
residential  charms  in  its  suburbs  ; 
its  situation  at  the  foot  of  Table 
Mountain,  flanked  by  the  Devil's 
Peak  on  one  side  and  the  Lion 
Mountain  on  the  other,  entit- 
ling it  to  rank  among  the  most 
beautifully  placed  cities  in  the 
world.  Its  population  is  very 
diversified ;  Dutch  as  well  as 
English  is  freely  spoken  among 
the  European  inhabitants,  and 

FIG.  471.— -The  Site  of  Cape  Town. 

races  there  are  some  ten  thou- 
sand "  Malays,"  descendants  of  Asiatics  originally  imported  as  coolies. 

Kimberley,  founded  as  a  mining  camp  in  1870,  depends  for  its  impor- 
tance entirely  on  the  diamond  mines.  Its  site  was  originally  of  the  most 
unpromising  kind,  and  Kimberley  fever  had  for  a  time  an  unpleasant 
notoriety.  But  now  the  town  is  well  built,  efficiently  drained,  and 
abundantly  supplied  with  water.  Like  Mafeking,  further  north,  it  sus- 
tained a  protracted  siege  during  the  war.  Port  Elizabeth  had  likewise  to- 
overcome  the  niggardliness  of  nature ;  its  low  hills  were  formerly 
covered  with  scanty  bush  or  bare  sand,  but  water  has  been  brought 
from  a  distant  river,  and  now  its  parks  and  tree-lined  streets  are 
pleasant  to  look  upon.  Grahamstown,  once  the  chief  town  of  what 
was  called  the  Frontier,  has  lost  much  of  its  importance.  It  is  neither 
a  great  centre  of  trade,  nor  has  it  mineral  wealth  in  its  vicinity.  It  is, 
however,  beautifully  situated  in  an  amphitheatre  of  hills,  and  its  climate 
is  unrivalled. 

The  district  of  Kaffraria,  between  the  Great  Kei  and  Natal,  may  be 
separately  mentioned  as  being  still  in  a  transitional  state  of  govern- 
ment. Most  of  the  land  is  in  the  hands  of  the  natives,  who  are  some- 
what paternally  ruled  over  by  special  magistrates.  Pondoland,  the 
south-eastern  portion  of  this  region,  was  not  annexed  to  the  colony 
until  1894. 

Basutoland  formed  part  of  Cape  Colony  from  1871  until  1884.  The 
natives,  who,  like  many  mountain-dwellers,  are  high-spirited  above  the 
average,  revolted  in  1879  >  and  although  the  colonial  government  was  able 
to  maintain  its  authority,  the  subsequent  friction  was  so  great  that  the 
Imperial  government  found  it  best  to  turn  the  territory  into  a  Crown 
Colony.  Basutoland  is  sometimes  called  the  Switzerland  of  South 
Africa. 


Natal 


993 


STATISTICS   OF  CAPE  COLONY. 


Area  of  Cape  Colony,  square  miles 


1875- 
191,416 


Population  : —  Europeans. 

Census  of  1875  (whole  Colony  as  then  constituted)    236,783 

r^c,,*  r.t  T«OT  J  Colony  as  in  1875 336,938 

Census  of  1891 1  Whole  Colony        3?6  ^ 


1891. 
221,311 

Blacks. 

484,201 

619.547 

1,150,237 


1808. 
276,947 

Total. 

720,984 

956,485 

1,527,224 


ANNUAL  TRADE  (in  poitnds  sterling). 

1873-77.           1883-87.  1893-97. 

Imports 5,400,000          5,100,000  14,400,000 

Exports   ..        . .  '     5,400,000          7,000,000  16,000,000 


Export  of  Diamonds1 
Export  of  Golds 
Other  Exports  3 


1,550,000         3,160,000         4,140,000 

25,000  33.000          7,925,000 

3,825,000          3,807,000          3,935,000 


DESTINATION  OF  ONE  YEAR'S  IMPORTS. 

Rhodesia  and  Orange  Free 

Merchandise     entered  For  Cape  S.A.        B.  Bechuana-      State  and 

for   consumption  in          Total.  Colony.         Republic.  land.  Basutoland.. 

1897     ..        ....     £16,095,000      £9,870,000      £4,600,000        £570,000  £1,055,000 


STANDARD  BOOKS 

John  Noble.    "  Illustrated  Official  Handbook  of  The  Cape  and  South  Africa.' 

Town,  1893. 

"The  Guide  to  South  Africa,"  published  for  the  Castle  Line.    London. 
J.  Whiteside.    "  A  New  Geography  of  South  Africa."     Cape  Town. 
G.  M.  Theal.    "  History  of  South  Africa,  1486-1872."    5  vols.     London,  1888-9 
R.  Wallace.    "The  Farming  Industries  of  Cape  Colony."     London,  1896. 
E.  and  O.  Reclus.    "  L'Afrique  australe."    Paris,  1901. 
W.  Bleloch.    "The  New  South  Africa."    1901. 


Cape 


II.— NATAL 

BY  THE  RIGHT  HON.  JAMES  BRYCE,  O.M.,  F.R.S. 

Position  and  Divisions. — The  British  colony  of  Natal  lies  on  the 
coast  of  the  Indian  Ocean,  between  Cape  Colony  and  Basutoland  on  the 
west  and  the  Portuguese  territories  on  the  north-east,  being  bounded  on 
the  north  by  the  Orange  River  and  Transvaal  Colonies.  Apart  from  an 
area  lately  detached  from  the  latter,  it  consists  of  three  districts — Natal 
proper,  Zululand,  and  Tongaland,  which  it  is  more  convenient  to  describe 
separately,  as  their  economic  and  social  conditions  differ . 

Natal  Proper. — Natal  proper  is,  with  the  exception  of  the  level 
strip  along  the  coast,  only  a  few  miles  wide,  a  hilly  country,  nearly 
all  of  which  is  over  2,000  feet  above  sea-level,  while  some  of  the 
mountains  attain  7,000  feet.  On  the  frontier  of  Basutoland  a  few 
points  are  still  loftier,  approaching  11,000  feet.  The  ground  rises 
pretty  uniformly  from  the  coast  northward,  and  along  the  line  of  the 
Orange  River  Colony  it  touches  the  central  watershed  of  South  Africa, 
which  is  here  the  outer  or  south-eastward  rim  of  the  great  central 
plateau.  Except  on  the  Basuto  frontier  the  mountains  are  usually  rounded 


i  The  staple  export  of  the  Colony.  2  In  transit  from  the  Transvaal. 

3  Illustrating  the  stationary  condition  of  all  exports  of  the  Colony  except  gold  and  diamonds. 


994      The  International  Geography 

in  their  outlines,  and  covered  with  grass.  The  valleys  are  often  wide  and 
open,  but  there  is  very  little  level  ground,  and  no  extensive  plains,  such  as 
are  met  with  on  the  great  inland  plateau,  or  along  the  shore  of  the  ocean 
further  north.  The  climate  is  damp  along  the  coast,  but  becomes  con- 
stantly drier  as  one  goes  inland ;  for  nearly  the  whole  of  the  rainfall  comes 
from  the  south-east,  and  most  of  it  is  received  by  the  hills  towards  the 
ocean.  The  rainfall,  which  is  42  inches  at  Durban,  on  the  sea  (Fig.  468), 
diminishes  to  30  inches  in  the  highlands  of  the  north  close  to  the  Trans- 
vaal border.  The  heat  of  the  coast  strip,  moderated  by  the  south-east 
trade-wind  which  blows  steadily  for  most  of  the  year,  is  somewhat  greater 
than  the  latitude  would  explain,  and  seems  to  be  largely  due  to  the 
influence  of  the  warm  Mozambique  current.  The  climate  is  on  the 
whole  a  very  healthy  one,  for  its  dryness  prevents  the  heat  from  being 
enervating  to  Europeans,  and  the  winters  are  cool ;  indeed  in  the  northern 
highlands  they  are  sometimes  severe,  and  heavy  snow-falls  are  not 
uncommon. 

Resources  of  Natal.— The  fauna  of  Natal  differs  little  from  that  of 
the  eastern  parts  of  Cape  Colony.  The  flora  resembles  that  of  the  eastern 
region  of  Cape  Colony  rather  than  that  of  the  more  lofty  and  arid  Trans- 
vaal and  Orange  River  Colonies.  It  is  only  on  the  coast  strip  that  vegetation 
is  luxuriant,  and  such  crops  as  sugar,  rice,  bananas,  and  pine-apples  can 
be  grown.  But  the  rainfall  is  sufficient  to  give  herbage  on  the  moun- 
tains, so  that  the  proportion  of  arid  desert  land  is  small.  The  valleys, 
especially  in  the  southern  and  western  districts,  are  often  well  wooded, 
while  in  the  northern  highlands  few  trees  are  seen,  except  stunted  acacias 
and  willows.  Probably  no  part  of  South  Africa  has  so  large  a  proportion 
of  its  surface  available  either  for  tillage  or  for  pasture.  Nearly  all  of  it  is 
now  in  pasture,  and  the  chief  occupation  is  the  rearing  of  cattle  and  sheep. 
This  is  owing  partly  to  the  thinness  of  the  white  population,  partly  to  the 
fact  that  in  many  of  the  inland  valleys  costly  irrigation  works  are 
desirable,  if  not  absolutely  necessary  as  a  security  against  the  droughts. 
Tea  is  grown  on  the  hills  towards  the  coast,  while  cereals,  especially 
maize,  and  tobacco  do  well  in  the  inner  valleys. 

Gold  has  been  found,  but  the  reefs  are  little  worked,  and  silver,  copper 
and  lead  also  exist.  The  mineral  of  most  importance  is  coal,  of  which 
there  are  extensive  beds.  It  is  largely  worked  round  the  villages  of  New- 
castle and  Dundee.  In  point  of  quality  it  is  inferior  to  the  best  European 
or  American  coal,  but  equal  to  any  that  has  been  found  in  Africa.  Con- 
siderable deposits  of  iron  exist  close  by,  and  promise  a  successful  develop- 
ment of  iron  industries  whenever  it  becomes  cheaper  to  make  iron  goods 
than  to  import  them.  There  are  at  present  no  manufacturing  industries 
of  any  importance,  and  no  places  large  enough  to  be  called  towns 
except  Durban,  practically  the  only  seaport,  and  Pietermaritzburg,  the 
capital. 

People  of  Natal.— Of  the  white  inhabitants  fully  two-thirds  are  of 


Natal 


995 


British,  and  less  than  one-third  of  Dutch  origin.  Nearly  all  can  speak 
English,  but  Dutch  is  used  to  some  extent,  especially  in  the  North.  The 
native  Kafirs  are  mostly  heathen,  live  under  their  own  headmen,  and  pre- 
serve most  of  their  native  customs.  They  are  now  usually  quiet  and 
peaceable.  Few  can  speak  any  language  but  their  own,  the  Zulu  tongue 
being  that  of  the  majority.  Indians,  who  are  largely 
Mohammedans,  have  recently  immigrated  either  from 
Zanzibar  and  other  ports  on  the  East  African  coast  or 
from  the  western  provinces  of  India.  Many  are  gar- 
deners, cultivating  fruit  farms  on  the  south  coast; 
others  are  indentured  coolies,  at  work  on  the  sugar 
plantations  for  a  term  of  years,  and  others  have 


become  mechanics  or  small  shopkeepers  in  the  towns.   FlG        —Average  pof>- 
A  law  has  been  passed  for  the  exclusion  of  all  immi-      uiation  of  a  square 
grants  unable  to  write  a  letter  in  European  characters.      mile  °fNatal- 
There  is  little  or  no  intermarriage  between  the  black  and  white  races, 
who,  however,  live  quietly  together. 

History  and  Government. — Natal  was  discovered  by  Vasco  da 
Gama  on  his  voyage  to  India  in  1497,  and  received  its  name  because  it 
was  first  seen  on  Christmas  Day.  The  Portuguese,  however,  did  not 
claim  it,  and  it  remained  untouched  by  Europeans  till  a  few  Englishmen 
established  themselves  at  the  harbour  then  called  Port  Natal  (now  Durban) 
about  1824.  The  British  Government  was  at  that  time  unwilling  to  acquire 
new  African  territory  which  might  involve  them  in  fresh  wars.  The 
ferocious  Chaka,  king  of  the  Zulus,  had  shortly  before  ravaged  the 
country,  slaughtered  a  large  part  of  the  native  inhabitants,  and  left  most 
of  it  vacant.  This  fact,  together  with  its  reported  advantages  of  soil  and 
climate,  came  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Boer  emigrants  who  had  quitted 
Cape  Colony  (in  disgust  at  the  proceedings  of  the  British  Government)  in 
1836,  and  led  a  large  body  of  them  to  cross  (in  1838)  the  passes  from  the 
great  interior  plateau  and  occupy  the  valleys  in  the  centre  of  Natal.  They 
defeated  the  Zulus  and  set  up  a  republic— which  they  called  Natalia,  and 
built  the  town  of  Pietermaritzburg.  The  British  Government,  however, 
following  the  advice  of  the  Governor  of  the  Cape,  conceived  that  no 
independent  State  ought  to  be  suffered  to  establish  itself  on  the  coast,  and 
accordingly  dispatched  to  Port  Natal  a  force,  which,  after  a  short  war, 
compelled  the  Boer  emigrants  to  leave  or  submit.  At  first  a  dependency 
of  Cape  Colony,  Natal  was  created  a  separate  colony  in  1856.  Meanwhile 
immense  numbers  of  Kafirs  flocked  in,  especially  from  the  north  and 
east,  and  though  the  number  of  whites  increased  steadily,  the  proportion 
of  Kafirs  to  whites  has  continued  to  be  about  ten  to  one.  Zululand  was 
conquered  in  a  war  with  the  native  king  Cetewayo  in  1879,  and  in  1887 
(after  a  part  of  it  had  been  occupied  by  freebooters  from  the  Transvaal, 
and  detached  from  the  rest  of  the  country)  was  declared  to  be  British 
territory.  In  1893  responsible  government  was  granted  to  the  colony,  and 


996      The  International  Geography 

in  1896  Zululand  and  Tongaland  were  incorporated  with  it.  The  northern 
part  of  the  colony  was  the  scene  of  important  military  operations  during 
the  earlier  part  of  the  Boer  War  (1899-1902),  the  chief  feature  of  which 
was  the  defence  and  ultimate  relief  of  Ladysmith.  The  government  isr  as 
in  the  other  self-governing  British  colonies,  in  the  hands  of  a  Governor 
sent  from  home  (whose  functions  resemble  those  of  a  constitutional  king), 
and  of  a  legislature  with  a  Cabinet  responsible  to  it.  There  are  two 
Chambers — a  Legislative  Council  of  eleven,  and  an  Assembly  of  thirty* 
seven  members  ;  the  former  appointed  by  the  Governor 
for  ten  years,  the  latter  elected  for  four  years  by  the 
people  on  a  franchise  which  is  (for  whites)  almost 
universal.  All  Kafirs  and  Indians  are  unenfranchised. 

The  customs  tariff  is  lower  as  regards  most  articles 
of  import  than  that  of  the  South  African  Customs  Union, 
which  Natal  has  not  entered.  The  chief  exports  are  wool, 
FIG.  473.— The  Badge  sugar,  hides  and  maize.  The  railway  lines  (600  miles 
in  length)  belong  to  the  State,  and  run  through  from 
Durban  to  the  Transvaal  and  Orange  River  Colonies.  Elementary  education 
is  provided  by  the  State  for  all  white  people,  and  by  the  mission  schools  for 
a  certain,  though  relatively  small,  part  of  the  blacks.  There  is  no  university. 
Zululand. — Zululand  is  divided  by  the  Tugela  River  from  the  rest  of 
Natal,  of  which  it  now  legally  forms  a  part.  The  population  is  nearly  all 
Kafir.  Except  a  plain  along  the  coast,  which  is  hot  and  generally  unhealthy, 
it  is  a  high  country,  though  hilly  rather  than  mountainous,  with  no  point 
reaching  5,000  feet,  and  very  little  land  above  3,000.  The  higher  parts 
are  grass-covered,  and  furnish  some  of  the  best  pasture-land  in  South 
Africa.  Gold  has  been  found,  and  the  reefs  are  believed  to  be  very 
promising,  but  neither  they  nor  the  other  mineral  deposits  thought  to 
exist  (including  coal,  iron  and  silver)  have  as  yet  been  carefully  examined. 
The  natives  live  under  their  tribal  chiefs,  preserving  their  primitive  usages, 
and  though  brave  and  warlike,  they  have  of  late  years  been  quiet. 

Tongaland. — Tongaland  is  a  strip  of  country  mostly  flat,  and  in 
many  places  marshy  and  unhealthy  (since  the  heat  is  great),  which  stretches 
along  the  coast  northward  from  Zululand  to  the  frontier  of  the  Portuguese 
territories,  between  Swaziland  and  the  Indian  Ocean.  It  consists  of 
several  petty  principalities  under  native  chiefs,  who  have  at  various  times 
within  the  last  few  years  (the  last  of  them  in  1894)  been  brought  under 
British  protection.  The  Tongas  are  a  branch  of  the  Bantu  family,  who 
speak  a  language  quite  different  from  that  of  their  neighbours  the  Zulus 
and  Swazis  (the  latter  being  near  of  kin  to  the  Zulus).  They  are  less 
martial  than  the  Zulus,  but  generally  similar  in  their  customs.  They  are 
nearly  all  heathen,  and  no  whites,  except  a  very  few  missionaries,  live 
among  them.  So  far  as  is  known  their  country  has  no  great  economic 
value,  and  it  has  no  deep-water  port.  The  people  have  been  studied  most 
in  the  adjoining  parts  of  Portuguese  East  Africa,  where  the  Ba-Ronga  are 
a  Tongan  tribe. 


Southern  Rhodesia  997 

STATISTICS   OF  NATAL. 

Area  of  Natal,  square  miles  (estimate) 21,150        ..  32500 

f°P.ulation     • 36i,587        . .  724,283 

White  population 22,654        •  •  47  888 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile 17        .'.  '23 

Population  of  Durban        17,127(1884)  25,512 

Pietermaritzburg 14,231     „  17,500 

ANNUAL  TRADE  (in  ponnds  sterling). 

1871-75.  1881-85.  1891-95. 

Imports . .        940,000        . .        1,900,000        . .        2,920,000 

Exports 815,000        ..          900,000        ..        1,323,000 

STANDARD   BOOKS. 

J.  Bird.    "Annals  of  Natal,  1495  to  1845."    2  vols.    Pietermaritzburg,  1888. 

R.  Russell.    "  Natal,  the  Land  and  its  Story."    Pietermaritzburg.    5th  edit.    1897. 

H.  Junod.     "  Les  Ba  Ronga."     Neuchatel,  1898. 

HI— SOUTHERN  RHODESIA  AND   BECHTTANALAND 

BY  F.  C.  SELOUS. 

British  South  Africa. — The  British  possessions  on  the  great  table 
land  of  South  Africa,  outside  the  two  self-governing  colonies  of  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope  and  Natal,  and  the  recently  annexed  Boer  colonies,  extend 
northward  to  the  boundaries  of  the  Congo  State  and  the  southern  shore  of 
Lake  Tanganyika,  with  the  Transvaal,  Portuguese  East  Africa  and  British 
Central  Africa  on  the  east,  and  German  South-West  Africa  and  Portuguese 
West  Africa  on  the  west.  The  territory  may  be  divided  into  Southern  and 
Northern  Rhodesia,  separated  by  the  Zambezi,  in  the  east  and  north,  both 
under  the  charge  of  the  British  South  Africa  Company ;  and  the  Bechuana- 
land  Protectorate  in  the  south-west.  Northern  Rhodesia  has  been  referred 
to  under  British  Central  Africa. 

SOUTHERN   RHODESIA 

Position  and  Boundaries. — Southern  Rhodesia  lies  immediately 
to  the  north  of  the  Transvaal  Colony,  from  which  it  is  separated  by 
the  Limpopo  or  Crocodile  River,  which  forms  its  southern  boundary. 
Northwards  it  extends  to  the  Zambezi.  Its  eastern  boundary  with 
Portuguese  East  Africa  was  denned  by  the  Anglo-Portuguese  Agree- 
ment of  June  n,  1891,  as  the  edge  of  the  Manika  plateau.  To  the  west  it 
is  bounded  by  a  line  running  south  and  east  from  the  junction  of  the 
Chobi  with  the  Zambezi,  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Shashi,  and  thence  along 
the  course  of  that  river  to  the  Limpopo ;  practically  the  old  line  of 
demarcation  between  the  territories  of  Khama  and  Lo  Bengula.  It  lies 
entirely  within  the  tropics,  extending  in  latitude  from  22°  S.  to  16°  S.  and 
in  longitude  from  26°  E.  to  33°  E. 

*  Includes  Zululand. 


99 8       The  International  Geography 

Surface. — Through  this  territory  there  runs  an  elevated  region  which 
extends  from  the  source  of  the  Shashi  on  the  west,  north-eastwards  to  the 
source  of  the  Hanyani  or  Manyami  River,  and  thence  trends  south-eastwards 
to  the  sources  of  the  Odyi  and  Pungwe.  Along  this  elevated  backbone 
runs  the  watershed  between  the  Zambezi  and  Limpopo  drainage  areas,  in 
the  western  and  central  portions  of  the  territory,  and  between  the  Zambezi 
and  Sabi  further  east.  The  whole  country  along  the  watershed  exceeds 
4,000  feet  above  sea-level,  rising  gradually  from  about  4,000  feet  at  the 
source  of  the  Shashi  in  the  west  towards  the  north-east,  where  it  reaches 
5,400  feet  at  the  source  of  the  Hanyani  River.  In  the  Inyanga  plateau, 
where  the  Ruenya,  Odyi,  and  Pungwe  rivers  take  their  rise,  it  culminates 
in  an  altitude  of  over  7,000  feet,  and  sinks  abruptly  to  the  east.  The 
surface  of  the  elevated  belt  consists  of  open  undulating  grassy  downs.  To 
the  north  and  west  they  slope  gradually  towards  the  Zambezi  and  the 
northern  Kalahari  desert,  little  or  no  broken  country  being  met  with  near 
the  watershed,  but  the  open  grass-land  gradually  gives  place  to  continuous 
forest  on  the  lower  slopes.  On  all  other  sides  the  high  plateaux  are  bounded 
by  a  belt  of  broken  country  which  varies  in  breadth  from  20  to  50  miles. 
In  the  south-west  (Matabeleland)  this  belt  may  be  described  as  hilly,  and 
there  is  a  fall  of  some  700  or  800  feet  in  a  distance  of  from  20  to  30  miles  ; 
but  in  the  east  (Mashunaland)  the  descent  to  the  low  plaii~  TVU;"VI  Border 
the  east  coast,  and  extend  up  the  valley  of  the  Zambezi,  becomes  abrupt 
and  of  a  mountainous  appearance.  From  the  Inyanga  plateau  to  the  lower 
valley  of  the  Pungwe  there  is  a  fall  of  over  5,000  feet  in  less  than  100 
miles. 

Hydrography. — The  highest  portions  of  the  plateau  are  granite,  but  on 
the  slopes  to  the  north,  north-west,  south,  and  south-west,  ranges  of  hills 
of  different  formation  run  through  the  granite,  and  amongst  them  numerous 
gold-bearing  quartz-reefs  occur.  On  the  value  of  these  reefs  the  speedy 
development  of  the  country  must  largely  depend.  The  whole  of  the  high 
plateau  is  well  watered,  the  more  easterly  portions  being  intersected  in 
every  direction  by  innumerable  small  streams,  which  are  fed  from  springs 
welling  out  from  the  head  of  almost  every  valley  on  the  open  downs. 
Most  of  these  never  run  dry  even  in  the  driest  seasons,  being  probably 
supplied  from  underground  reservoirs  in  the  granite,  in  which  great 
quantities  of  water  are  yearly  stored  during  the  rains.  Anomalous  as  it 
may  seem,  the  highest  portions  of  the  plateaux  of  Southern  Rhodesia  are 
thus  the  best  watered,  though  they  are  not  dominated  by  mountain  ranges. 
The  innumerable  small  streams  of  the  highest  part  of  the  downs  gradually 
collect  into  brooks,  and  these  converge  to  the  main  rivers  which  drain  the 
country,  and  finally  reach  the  Zambezi,  the  Limpopo  or  the  Sabi.  Follow- 
ing the  watershed  across  the  open  downs  which  lie  between  the  sources  of 
the  Hanyani  and  the  Umniati  rivers,  where  the  altitude  is  between  5,000 
and  6,000  feet,  a  little  stream  of  running  water  will  be  met  with  at  nearly 
every  mile.  But  crossing  from  the  Hanyani  to  the  Umniati,  some  2,000 


Southern  Rhodesia 


999 


feet  lower  down  the  slope,  all  these  are  found  to  be  collected  into  a  few 
small  rivers,  and  stretches  of  country  occur  perhaps  20  miles  wide 
without  a  single  stream.  Down  still  farther  in  the  Zambezi  valley  not  a 
single  stream  of  water  flows  into  the  river  between  the  mouth  of  the 
Hanyani  and  that  of  the  Umniati  (there  called  the  Sanyati),  a  distance  of 
perhaps  150  miles,  the  intervening  country  being  entirely  waterless  during 
the  dry  season. 

The  Zambezi,  which  divides  Southern  Rhodesia  from  British  Central 
Africa,  is  one  of  the  largest  rivers  in  Africa.  It  is  navigable  by  steamers 
of  light  draught  from  its  mouth  for  300  miles  to  the  Kuroa  Basa  rapids  above 
Tete  ;  whilst  a  steamer  placed  on  the  river  above  those  rapids  might  reach 
the  mouth  of  the  Gwai,  600  miles  farther,  if  it  could  make  its  way  against 
the  strong  current  which  rushes  through  the  narrow  defile  of  Kariba. 
From  the  mouth  of  the  Gwai  onwards 
a  succession  of  rapids  and  two  large 
waterfalls  make  the  Zambezi  unnavi- 
gable  for  any  long  distance  without  a 
break.  The  fall  known  as  Mosi-a-tunya 
(smoke-sounding)  by  the  natives,  which 
was  discovered  by  Dr.  Livingstone  in 
1851,  and  named  by  him  the  Victoria 
Falls,  is  second  to  none  in  the  world  in 
magnificence,  for  although  I  will  not 
say  that  it  is  finer  than  Niagara,  it  yet 
surpasses  that  stupendous  cataract  in 
some  respects,  and  as  a  whole  appeals 
quite  as  powerfully  to  the  imagination. 
The  magnitude  of  these  falls  will  be 
understood  from  the  bald  statement 
that  they  are  2,000  yards  in  width  and 
450  feet  in  perpendicular  height.  The 
vast  volume  of  water  falls,  not  into  an 
open  gorge  like  Niagara,  but  into  a  narrow  rift,  whence  the  escape  is  by  a 
still  narrower  zigzag  ravine  through  a  mass  of  hard  rock.  The  falls  are 
about  225  miles  distant  from  Bulawayo,  in  a  direct  line,  and  the  railway 
which  crosses  the  river  just  below  the  falls  was  opened  in  1905.  The  falls  of 
Oonye  on  the  Upper  Zambezi,  though  not  to  be  compared  to  the  Victoria 
Falls,  are  yet  very  beautiful.  They  are  also  in  British  territory,  being 
situated  on  that  section  of  the  Zambezi  which  flows  through  Northern 
Rhodesia,  the  central  division  of  British  Central  Africa. 

Climate  and  Resources. — The  climatic  conditions  of  a  territory 
which  includes  the  low-lying  valleys  of  the  Zambezi  and  the  Limpopo,  as 
well  as  the  high  open  plateaux  of  Matabeleland  and  Mashunaland,  are 
naturally  very  diverse.  In  the  low  parts  of  the  country  the  heat  is  often 
very  oppressive  ;  malarial  fever  of  a  severe  type  is  prevalent  at  certain 


FiG.  474.— The  Victoria  Falls  on  the 
Zambezi. 


iooo      The  International  Geography 

times  of  the  year,  and  such  districts  are  not  suited  for  European  colonisa- 
tion. But  the  climate  of  the  high  plateaux,  above  the  fever  limit,  is  very 
fine  and  bracing,  and  the  whole  of  Southern  Rhodesia  which  lies  above 
4,000  feet  seems  destined  soon  to  be  settled  by  Europeans,  whilst  the  area 
may  possibly  be  extended  in  the  couse  of  time  to  a  somewhat  lower  level, 
as  the  cultivation  and  drainage  of  the  land  proceed.  On  the  high  plateaux 
the  heat  even  in  the  hottest  weather  is  not  excessive,  the  shade  temperature 
seldom  exceeding  90°  in  the  higher  parts  of  eastern  Mashunaland  ;  in 
western  Matabeleland,  where  the  heat  is  greater,  100°  F.  in  the  shade  is 
very  exceptional,  and  at  an  altitude  of  5,000  feet  these  temperatures  are 
not  very  trying.  On  the  plateau  the  nights  are  cool  the  whole  year  round  ; 
during  the  winter  months  of  May,  June,  July  and  August,  they  even 
become  cold  and  frosty.  At  that  season  the  days  are  always  bright  and 
clear,  pleasantly  warm  but  not  too  hot.  During  the  months  of  November, 
December,  January,  February  and  March,  heavy  rains  may  be  expected, 
with  thunderstorms  during  October  and  April,  and  occasionally  a  little 
light  rain  during  the  winter  months.  The  season  of  continuous  rain 
sometimes  sets  in  early  in  November,  at  other  times  not  until  late  in 
December,  and  as  a  rule  the  heaviest  rains  take  place  after  Christmas. 
The  rainfall  is  heavier  in  the  east  than  in  the  west.  The  average  is 
probably  about  40  inches  in  the  former  district  and  25  in  the  latter  ;  but 
observations  are  not  yet  sufficiently  numerous  to  enable  one  to  speak 
definitely.  In  the  rainy  season  which  ended  in  April,  1891,  a  rainfall  of 
53  inches  was  recorded  in  Salisbury,  Mashunaland,  but  the  following  year 
the  rainfall  was  under  25  inches. 

Agricultural  Prospects.— It  is  clear  that  the  most  valuable  portions 
of  Rhodesia,  those  best  fitted  for  agriculture  and  pasturage,  are  the  districts 
lying  on  the  broad  back  of  the  plateau  along  which  the  watershed  runs. 
With  few  exceptions  the  lower  one  descends  towards  the  valleys  of  the 
Zambezi  and  the  Limpopo,  the  drier  and  more  desolate  the  country 
becomes.  For  stock  farming  no  portion  of  South  Africa  is  better  suited 
than  the  high  plateaux  of  Rhodesia,  in  evidence  of  which  when  the  forces 
of  the  British  South  Africa  Company  entered  Matabeleland  in  1893,  there 
were  over  200,000  head  of  horned  cattle  in  that  territory  alone.  Further 
eastward,  too,  cattle  do  equally  well.  A  small  flock  of  merino  sheep  was 
introduced  into  the  country  a  few  years  ago  and  has  thriven  well,  and  it  is 
quite  possible  that  in  the  not  distant  future  sheep  farming  may  become  as 
profitable  as  in  any  other  part  of  South  Africa.  All  European  vegetables 
and  many  kinds  of  fruit  do  well ;  in  fact,  if  a  supply  of  water  is  assured 
either  as  rain  or  by  irrigation  during  the  dry  season,  almost  everything 
required  by  civilised  man  can  be  grown.  Excellent  crops  of  wheat  and 
oats  may  be  raised  all  over  Rhodesia  during  the  dry  season  by  irrigation, 
but  if  sown  during  the  rainy  season  they  are  liable  to  suffer  from  rust. 

Big  Game. — Elephants,  once  very  plentiful  throughout  the  greater 
portion  of  Rhodesia,  had  become  so  much  reduced  in  numbers  by  constant 


Southern   Rhodesia  1001 

hunting  and  the  indiscriminate  slaughter  of  females  and  calves  as  well  as 
males,  by  hordes  of  natives  armed  with  good  guns  and  rifles,  and  a  few 
Boer  and  British  hunters,  that  the  export  of  ivory  from  Matabeleland  in 
anything  but  very  small  quantities  had  practically  ceased  before  the 
country  was  taken  possession  of  by  the  white  men,  in  1893.  There  are  still, 
however,  a  good  many  elephants  wandering  about  over  the  vast  unin- 
habited tracts  of  country  lying  between  the  high  plateaux  of  Matabeleland 
and  Mashunaland  and  the  Zambezi.  As  the  natives  of  the  country  have 
now  been  disarmed,  or  if  possessed  of  firearms,  have  no  means  of  obtain- 
ing ammunition,  and  as  the  elephants  are  now  so  scattered  and  so  wild 
that  it  would  not  pay  a  European  to  hunt  them,  and  as,  moreover,  it  is  now 
a  penal  offence  to  shoot  one,  it  may  be  hoped  that  these  fine  animals 
will  again  gradually  increase  in  numbers  in  those  districts  of  Rhodesia, 
which  are  unfitted  for  European  settlement. 

All  other  classes  of  game,  especially  giraffes  and  many  species  of 
antelopes,  which  have  been  spared  by  the  recent  visitation  of  rinderpest,, 
are  too,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  natives  have  been  disarmed,  and  in 
spite  of  the  increase  of  the  European  population,  undoubtedly  on  the 
increase.  Buffaloes,  elands  and  koodoos  have  suffered  so  seriously  from 
rinderpest  that  it  is  possible  that  they  may  become  extinct.  Lions  are 
still  numerous,  and  commit  serious  depredations  upon  the  settlers'  live 
stock.  They  are  therefore  destroyed  whenever  it  is  possible  to  do  so. 

History. — But  little  is  known  of  the  ancient  history  of  Southern 
Rhodesia.  Rock  paintings  of  a  character  identical  with  those  found  in  the 
mountain  caves  of  Cape  Colony  and  the  Orange  Free  State  seem  to  show- 
that  the  country  was  once  inhabited  by  Bushmen.  This  pygmy  race  must, 
however,  have  been  destroyed,  or  driven  into  the  western  deserts  at  a  very 
remote  period.  Remarkable  ruins  of  stone-built  fortifications  and  temples, 
curiously  carved  and  containing  evidence  that  the  builders  worked  in  gold, 
are  scattered  over  the  plateau.  They  point  to  the  early  possession  of  the 
country  by  a  civilised  people,  possibly  the  Sabaeans  from  Arabia,  and 
some  believe  that  Southern  Rhodesia  contained  the  Ophir  of  Solomon. 
The  Bantu  races  spread  over  the  whole  land,  and,  though  divided  into 
several  sections,  all  the  various  clans  spoke  dialects  of  one  language. 
Early  in  the  nineteenth  century  Rhodesia  was  invaded  by  two  Zulu  tribes, 
the  Abazwang  indaba  and  the  Abagaza,  who,  after  devastating  large  areas  of 
country,  fought  with  one  another,  and  the  Abazwang  indaba  being  defeated 
crossed  the  Zambezi  and  now  live  on  the  plateau  to  the  west  of  Lake 
Nyasa  under  '  the  name  of  Angoni,  while  the  Abagaza  settled  in  the 
highlands  near  the  Sabi  river.  In  1837  another  Zulu  clan,  under  the  chief 
Umziligazi,  left  the  Transvaal  and  settled  in  the  west  of  Rhodesia,  now 
known  as  Matabeleland.  For  over  fifty  years  they  preyed  upon  the 
surrounding  peoples  genetically  known  as  Mashunas,  and  depopulated 
enormous  areas  of  country.  In  1890  the  Rhodes  pioneer  expedition  occupied 
the  east  of  the  country,  which  had  suffered  greatly  from  the  Matabele, 


1002      The  International   Geography 

Towns  and  Railways. — The  township  of  Salisbury  was  established 
in  1890,  and  subsequently  townships  were  laid  out  at  Victoria,  Umtali  and 
Melsetter.  Salisbury  is  most  easily  reached  from  the  east  coast  by  railway 
through  the  excellent  seaport  of  Beira  in  Portuguese  territory.  As  a  result  of 
the  war  of  1893  Matabeleland  was  definitely  added  to  the  territory  of  the 
British  South  Africa  Company.  Early  in  1894  the  European  township  of 
Bulawayo  was  established,  some  three  miles  distant  from  the  old  native 
kraal,  near  the  top  of  the  plateau  close  to  the  watershed.  This  town,  which 
has  already  become  an  important  place,  has  been  connected  with  Cape  Town 
(a  distance  of  1,600  miles)  and  with  Salisbury.  Lines  have  also  been  con- 
structed from  Bulawayo  to  the  Victoria  Falls  vid  the  Wankie  coal-fields 
and  to  the  Gwanda  gold-fields ;  and  from  Gwelo  (one  of  the  most  impor- 
tant of  the  more  recent  townships)  to  the  Selukwe  district ;  while  another 
will  shortly  be  made  from  Salisbury  to  the  Mazoe  district  in  the  north-east. 

THE    BEGHUANALAND   PROTECTORATE 

Position  and  Surface.— North  of  British  Bechuanaland,  which 
is  now  under  the  government  of  Cape  Colony,  lies  the  Bechuanaland 
Protectorate,  containing  the  territories  of  several  native  chiefs,  of  whom 
the  most  important  are,  Batheon,  Sebele  (the  son  of  Sechele),  Linschwe 
and  Khama.  The  southern  portion  of  the  Protectorate  lies  to  the 
north  of  Bechuanaland  proper,  and  extends  west  of  the  Transvaal 
for  an  indefinite  distance  into  the  Kalahari  desert.  In  this  part  of  the 
territory  the  natives  live  in  large  villages,  most  of  which  are  situated 
on  the  headwaters  of  the  Notwani  and  its  tributaries  flowing  to  the 
Limpopo.  Before  the  terrible  plague  of  rinderpest  passed  through 
the  country  in  1896  these  people  possessed  large  herds  of  cattle  which, 
though  spread  over  the  country  during  the  rainy  season,  were  all  collected 
along  the  rivers,  round  wells,  or  wherever  there  was  permanent  water, 
during  the  long  dry  season.  The  great  waterless  wastes  of  the  Kalahari 
desert  which  lie  to  the  west  of  the  settlements  are  used  as  hunting  grounds 
and  are  only  permanently  inhabited  by  a  few  scattered  families  of  a  people 
of  Bantu  origin,  known  as  Bakalahari  (i.e.,  they  of  the  desert),  who  live  near 
the  few  permanent  wells,  and  collect  skins  and  ostrich  feathers  for  their 
Bechuana  masters. 

The  Bechuanaland  Protectorate  lies  mainly  on  the  western  slope  of  the 
high  plateaux  of  South  Africa,  and  almost  the  whole  of  it  has  an  altitude 
of  about  3,500  feet.  It  is  for  the  most  part  dry  and  arid,  but  good  crops  of 
maize,  native  corn  (Holcus  sorghum)  and  pumpkins  are  grown  during  the 
rainy  seasons  by  the  Bechuanas.  Cattle,  sheep  and  goats  thrive  well  all 
over  the  country  wherever  there  is  water,  as  the  pasturage  is  everywhere 
plentiful,  and,  except  along  the  courses  of  the  rivers,  where  fever  is  rife  during 
the  rainy  season,  the  country  is  healthy  for  Europeans. 

Khama' s  Country.— By  far  the  largest  portion  of  the  Protectorate  is 
ruled  over  by  the  well-known  and  enlightened  chief  Khama,  whose  lands 


Bechuanaland 

extend  from  latitude  23°  30'  S.  in  the  south,  where  they  march  with  Sebele's 
country,  to  the  junction  of  the  Chobi  with  the  Zambezi  in  latitude  17°  50'  S. 
.On  the  east  they  are  bounded  by  the  Transvaal  and  Southern  Rhodesia, 
whilst  to  the  west  they  extend  in  the  southern  portion  for  an  indefinite 
distance  into  the  Kalahari  desert,  and  further  north  are  divided  by  an 
undefined  line  from  the  country  of  Moremi,  a  chief  whose  principal  settle- 
ment is  on  the  Okovango  River  to  the  north  of  the  desolate  Lake  Ngami. 
Both  Khamaand  Moremi  claim  jurisdiction  over  the  country  lying  along  the 
southern  bank  of  the  Chobi  to  the  east  of  Linyanti ;  although  this  strip  of 
country  has  been  assigned  to  Germany— by  an  Anglo-German  convention 
without  reference  to  either  chief.  Almost  the  whole  of  Khama's  country 
is  very  sparsely  peopled  or  entirely  without  permanent  inhabitants ; 
the  vast  majority  of  his  tribe  live  together  in  the  town  of  Palapye,  the 
largest  native  town  in  South  Africa,  and  the  remainder  are  occupied  in 
tending  the  great  herds  of  cattle  which  graze  along  the  banks  of  the 
Limpopo  and  other  rivers.  Before  the  visitation  of  rinderpest  Khama  and 
his  people  were  very  rich  in  cattle  and  also  possessed  large  herds  of 
fat-tailed  sheep,  and  goats  of  a  fine,  large  breed. 

North- Western  District.-— The  great  desert  wastes  lying  between 
the  Botletlie  River  and  Southern  Rhodesia,  and  extending  to  the  Chobi 
in  the  north,  are  uninhabited  save  by  a  few  families  of  half-starved 
Masarwa  Bushmen,  wandering  savages,  who  build  no  huts,  do  not  till 
the  ground,  nor  keep  any  kind  of  domestic  animals  save  jackal-like  dogs, 
but  live  on  roots  and  honey,  frogs  and  tortoises,  with  an  occasional 
feast  when  they  succeed  in  killing  a  large  animal  in  a  pitfall  or  with  a 
poisoned  arrow.  The  Bechuana  tribes  inhabiting 'the  Protectorate  are  a 
branch  of  the  great  Bantu  family  who  people  South  Africa,  to  the  east  of 
the  Kalahari  desert.  South  of  the  Zambezi  the  Bantu  race  may  be  divided 
linguistically  into  three  branches,  viz.,  that  formed  by  the  tribes  speaking 
Zulu  and  cognate  dialects,  those  which  speak  Chiswina  or  dialects  of  that 
language,  and  those  which  speak  Sechuana  or  Sasuto.  All  these  languages 
and  dialects  have  been  derived  from  one  parent  language  probably  at  no 
very  distant  period  in  the  past,  as  they  are  still  all  nearly  allied. 

A  strip  of  country  along  the  Transvaal  frontier  is  reserved  to  the 
British  South  African  Company,  and  along  it  the  railway  to  Bulawayo  which 
now  runs  beyond  the  Zambezi  is  carried. 

STATISTICS  (estimates). 

Area  square  miles.       Populatioa 

Southern  Rhodesia 141,000        . .        450,000 

Bechuanaland  Protectorate         213.000        ..        200,000 

STANDARD  BOOKS. 

F.  C.  Selous.    "  Travel  and  Adventure  in  South-East  Africa."    London,  1893. 

"Sunshine  and  Storm  in  Rhodesia."    London,  1896. 

J.  Bryce.     "  Impressions  of  South  Africa."     London,  1897. 

D.  Randall-Maclver.     "  Medieval  Rhodesia. "     London,  1906. 

S.  Passarge.     "  Die  Kalahari."     Berlin,  1904. 

65 


IOO4    The  International  Geography 

IV.— THE  ORANGE  KIVER  COLONY 

BY  THE  RIGHT  HON.  JAMES  BRYCE,  O.M.,  F.R.S. 

Position  and  Surface.— The  Orange  River  Colony  is  part  of  the 
great  plateau  of  South  Africa,  and  is  not  marked  off  by  any  natural 
boundaries  of  the  first  rank  from  the  territories  which  border  it  on  the 
north,  west,  and  south.  On  the  north  and  north-west  it  is  divided  from 
the  Transvaal  by  the  Vaal  River,  a  stream  of  small  volume  except  after 
rains,  and  from  Cape  Colony  on  the  south  by  the  Orange,  but  the  physical 
character  of  the  country  on  both  sides  of  these  rivers  is  similar.  The  surface 
is  mostly  level  or  gently  undulating,  with  some  ridges  of  hills  and  many 
isolated  and  frequently  flat-topped  eminences  (kopjes),  often  bold  in  outline, 
but  seldom  rising  more  than,5oo  to  700  feet  above  the  surrounding  country. 
The  whole  plateau,  however,  has  an  elevation  of  from  4,000  to  5,000  feet 
above  the  sea.  The  scenery,  though  in  some  places  pleasing,  cannot  be 
called  fine  except  along  the  river  Caledon,  where  the  views  of  the  lofty 
Maluti  Mountains  in  Basutoland  are  often  very  striking.  During  and 
immediately  after  the  rains  of  early  summer  (November  and  December) 
the  wide  plains,  dressed  in  fresh  verdure,  have  an  expansive  beauty  of 
their  own  under  the  brilliant  air,  but  for  the  rest  of  the  year  they  are  arid 
and  monotonous,  and  the  landscape  is  somewhat  dreary.  The  only  con- 
siderable rivers  are  the  Vaal  on  the  north-east,  the  Caledon  on  the  south- 
east, and  the  Orange,  which  forms  the  south-west  boundary  and  carries 
the  water  of  the  other  two  to  the  Atlantic.  They  are  not  navigable. 

Climate,  Flora  and  Fauna. — The  climate  is  the  normal  one  of  the 
plateau,  practically  rainless  during  eight  months  of  the  year,  with  frequent 
heavy  showers  during  the  summer  months  of  November,  December, 
January  and  February,  but  a  low  annual  rainfall.  No  part  of  South  Africa 
is  more  healthy  and  bracing.  Although  snow  seldom  falls  and  soon  dis- 
appears when  it  has  fallen,  the  winter  cold  is  severe  in  the  higher  and 
more  exposed  spots.  In  no  part  of  South  Africa  is  the  want  of  wood 
more  felt ;  there  are  no  forests,  and  few  trees  are  found  except  thorny 
acacias  on  the  open  plains  and  willows  along  the  watercourses.  The  wild 
animals,  which  were  once  very  common,  have  now  become  comparatively 
rare  ;  but  large  herds  of  the  beautiful  springbok  are  still  met  with. 

Resources. — The  mineral  resources  of  the  Colony,  so  far  as  they 
have  been  explored,  are  much  inferior  to  those  of  the  Transvaal.  Very 
little  gold  has  been  found,  but  there  is  one  important  diamond  mine  at 
Jagersf  ontein,  in  the  western  part  of  the  Colony  near  the  Vaal  River.  Coal 
is  found  in  the  Kronstad  and  Heilbron  districts  in  the  north,  but  the  coal 
deposits  have  not  yet  proved  to  be  large  in  extent  nor  of  high  quality. 
Tillage  is  at  present  practically  confined  to  the  strip  of  fertile  land 
which  lies  along  the  right  bank  of  the  Caledon  between  Ficksburg 
and  Wepener.  This  is  one  of  the  best  agricultural  districts  in  South 


Orange  Free  State  1005 


Africa,  producing  heavy  crops  of  cereals  without  irrigation,  for  the  rain- 
fall there  is  comparatively  good,  as  the  mountains  of  Basutoland  are  not. 
far  distant.  Other  places  might  be  cultivated  if  a  larger  neighbouring 
market  encouraged  the  construction  of  irrigation  works,  and  if  capital 
were  available  for  the  purpose.  The  main  reliance  of  the  inhabitants  is 
in  cattle-breeding,  and  farms  are  large,  for  the  pasture,  though  thin  in 
the  hilly  districts,  is  good,  and  (save  in  exceptionally  dry  seasons)  water 
can  be  found  almost  everywhere.  Since  the  great  outbreak  of  cattle 
plague  in  1895  and  the  war  of  1899-1902  the  number  of  cattle  has  been 
greatly  reduced.  There  are  no  manufactures. 

History. — When  the  country  which  is  now  the  Orange  River  Colony 
was  first  explored  (1800-1830)  by  hunters,  and  afterwards  by  mission- 
aries and  wandering  traders  from  Cape  Colony,  much  of  it  was 
uninhabited,  and  large  parts  were  in  the  hands  of  nomad  Bushmen. 
There  were  considerable  tribes  of  Kafirs  of  the  great  Bantu  family,  some 
of  which  had  fled  thither  to  escape  the  attacks  of  the  Zulus,  while  some 
few  Griquas,  a  mixed  race  of  Dutch  and  Hottentot  blood  who  lived  chiefly 
by  hunting,  had  moved  eastward  from  Cape  Colony  and  dwelt  in  the 
extreme  west  near  the  Orange  river.  About  1830  the  cattle  farmers  in 
the  outer  part  of  the  Colony  began  to  drive  their  herds  at  certain  seasons 
across  the  Orange  river  for  change  of  pasture,  and  in  1836  the  "Great 
Trek,"  an  emigration  en  masse  of  some  thousands  of  Dutch  farmers  from 
the  Colony,  brought  a  considerable  white  population  for  the  first  time  into 
these  regions.  These  emigrants  desired  to  escape  from  the  sovereignty  of 
the  British  Crown,  and  were  for  some  years  permitted  to  live  in  practical 
independence.  They  did  not,  however,  either  eject  the  Kafir  tribes  or  main- 
tain any  regular  government  among  themselves  ;  and  their  frequent  quarrels 
with  the  natives,  inducing  trouble  on  the  borders  of  the  Colony,  ultimately 
induced  the  British  Government,  which  had  always  continued  to  claim 
their  allegiance,  to  move  forward.  In  1846  a  British  fort  was  erected  and 
a  garrison  placed  at  Bloemfontein,  and  in  1848  the  territory  between  the 
Orange  and  Vaal  rivers  was  annexed  under  the  name  of  the  Orange  River 
Sovereignty.  The  Dutch  settlers,  aided  by  those  who  had  settled  north- 
east of  the  Vaal,  rose  in  arms  and  were  defeated  by  Governor  Sir  Harry 
Smith,  but  troubles  presently  broke  out  with  the  Basuto  Kafirs  living  to 
the  south  of  the  Sovereignty,  and  in  1854  the  British  Government  (which 
had  two  years  previously  renounced  its  authority  over  the  emigrant  Boers 
who  lived  beyond  the  Vaal)  withdrew  from  the  Sovereignty,  considering 
that  it  involved  more  expenditure  and  trouble  than  it  was  worth.  The 
Sovereignty  was  recognised  as  independent,  under  the  name  Orange  Free 
State,  on  undertaking  never  to  permit  slavery  or  the  slave  trade.  In  1899 
war  broke  out  between  the  Free  State  (allied  with  the  Transvaal)  and  the 
United  Kingdom,  and,  although  Bloemfontein  was  occupied  by  the  British 
army  early  in  1900,  was  prolonged  for  two  years  more,  the  supremacy  of 
the  British  Crown  being  finally  recognised  by  the  peace  of  May  31,  1902. 


ioo6    The  International  Geography 


IG.  475.— The  Flag  of  the 
former  Orange  Free  State. 


During  the  existence  of  the  Orange  Free  State  the  government  was 
vested  in  a  popular  assembly  called  the  Volksraad,  and  in  a  President 
assisted  by  an  Executive  Council.  This  system  worked  smoothly,  and 
the  history  of  the  Free  State  from  1854  to  1899  was,  on  the  whole,  free 
from  trouble  or  excitement.  The  most  important 
events  were  the  successive  wars  with  the  Basuto 
Kafirs,  in  one  of  which  the  fertile  territory  along 
the  north  bank  of  the  Caledon  river  was  con- 
quered from  that  tribe,  and  the  dispute  with  the 
British  Government  over  the  district  in  which  the 
town  of  Kimberley  now  stands,  where  diamonds 
were  discovered  in  1869.  Although  sympathising 
with  their  kinsfolk  in  the  Transvaal  Republic,  the 
people  of  the  Orange  Free  State  never  assisted  them  against  the  British 
power  until  the  war  of  1899-1902.  Before  the  war,  about  four-fifths  of 
the  white  population  were  of  Dutch  origin,  and  the  Dutch  language  —  or 
rather  a  South  African  dialect  of  it  —  was  generally  spoken,  except  in 
Bloemfontein,  the  capital,  and  the  only  place  large  enough  to  deserve  the 
name  of  a  town,  where  nearly  everybody  knew  something  of  both  Dutch 
and  English.  In  1890  there  were  about  130,000  natives,  some  living  in  a 
tribal  state  and  cultivating  the  land  or  keeping  cattle,  but  the  majority 
in  the  employment  of  the  whites.  Nearly  all  the 
whites  and  a  great  part  of  the  Kafirs  belonged  to 
the  Dutch  Reformed  Church,  which  received  a 
grant  from  the  public  treasury.  One  line  of  rail- 
way, forming  part  of  the  trunk  line  which  runs 
from  Cape  Town  to  Johannesburg  and  Pretoria, 
passes  through  the  colony  from  end  to  end,  and 

several  branches  have  been  constructed,  while  others    . 

FIG.  476.  —  Average  pop- 
are  either  under  construction   or  contemplated,   in-       ulation  of  a  square 


eluding  one  to  join  the  main  line  with  the   Natal 

system  vid   Harrismith.      The  colony  was  granted 

responsible  government  in  1907  with  a  constitution  similar  to  that  of  the 

Transvaal. 


STATISTICS. 

1880. 

Area  of  Orange  Free  State,  square  miles  (estimate) . .  48,326 

Population I33,5i8 

White  Population 61,022 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile 3 

Population  of  Bloemfontein        2,567 


ANNUAL  TRADE  (in  pounds  sterling)  1891-95. 


Imports 
Exports 


1890. 

48,326 

207,503 

77,716 

4 

3,459 


1,000,000 
1,500,000 


The  Transvaal  1007 


,  V.— THE  TEANSVAAL  COLONY 

BY  THE  RIGHT  HON.  JAMES  BRYCE,  O.M.,  F.R.S. 

Position  and  Surface. — The  Transvaal  Colony,  formerly  the  South 
African  Republic,  and  now  (since  1894)  including  the  dependent  native 
territory  of  Swaziland,  is  bounded  on  the  east  by  Portuguese  East  Africa 
and  the  British  territories  of  Tongaland  and  Zululand,  on  the  south  by 
Natal  and  the  Orange  River  Colony,  on  the  west  by  Cape  Colony  and  the 
British  Bechuanaland  Protectorate,  on  the  north  by  territories  of  the  British 
South  Africa  Company.  About  one-sixth  of  its  area  lies  within  the  tropics. 
Physically  it  consists  of  two  regions.  The  larger  part  belongs  to  the  great 
South  African  plateau,  and  has  an  average  altitude  of  from  4,000  to  5,500 
feet,  some  valleys  sinking  to  3,000,  and  a  few  eminences  rising  to  6,000 
feet.  Like  the  rest  of  that  great  plateau,  this  part  is  bare  and  arid,  covered 
with  thin  grass,  and  here  and  there  with  a  still  scantier  growth  of  thorny 
trees  and  shrubs.  It  goes  by  the  name  of  the  High  or  Grass  Veldt.  About 
one-third  of  the  area,  forming  the  northern  portions  of  the  country  and  a 
long  but  comparatively  narrow  strip  along  the  eastern  border  are  much 
lower,  from  1,000  to  3,000  feet  above  sea-level,  and  much  hotter ;  they  are 
in  most  places  well  wooded,  and  are  called  the  Bush  Veldt.  The  most 
considerable  range  of  mountains  runs  nearly  north  and  south,  forming  the 
eastern  edge  of  the  great  plateau  to  which  the  High  Veldt  belongs. 
This  range  is  a  part  of  the  great  chain  which  bears  the  name  of  Drakens- 
berg  or  Quathlamba,  and  some  of  its  summits  reach  7,000  feet.  The 
smaller  range  of  the  Magaliesberg  runs  westward  from  Pretoria,  dividing 
the  basin  of  the  Vaal  river  from  that  of  the  Limpopo.  The  only  large 
rivers  are  the  Vaal,  which  forms  the  southern  boundary  of  the  Transvaal, 
the  Olifants  (Elephant's)  river,  and  the  Limpopo,  which  rises  near  Pre- 
toria, flows  first  north-westward  to  the  Bechuanaland  frontier,  then  turns 
north  and  east,  and  forms  for  a  long  distance  the  northern  boundary. 
None  of  these  is  navigable. 

Climate. — The  physical  aspects,  climate,  fauna  and  flora  of  the 
High  Veldt  region  are  those  typical  of  the  South  African  Plateau.  The 
rainfall  is  largest  on  the  eastern  mountain  range,  exceeding  there  30  inches 
in  the  year,  while  on  the  western  plains  it  is  perhaps  only  15  inches. 
As  all  the  rain  falls  during  the  summer  months,  and  nearly  all  of  it  in 
December,  January,  and  February,  the  surface  is  very  dry  and  parched 
during  the  rest  of  the  year.  The  summer  heat  is  intense,  although  tempered 
by  strong  south-easterly  breezes ;  while  the  winter  cold  is  severe  only  in  a 
few  of  the  highest  districts,  such  as  the  ridge  of  the  Witwatersrand.  There 
is,  however,  little  frost  and  practically  no  snow,  because  of  the  dryness  of 
the  cold  weather.  The  High  Veldt  is  as  a  rule  healthy,  owing  to  its  dry- 
ness  ;  but  malarial  fevers  occur  in  the  lower  grounds  on  the  banks  of  streams. 
On  the  other  hand  the  Bush  Veldt  region,  being  comparatively  low  and 


ioo8      The  International  Geography 

in  many  places  marshy,  covered  with  long  grass  and  often  with  thick  wood, 
is  very  feverish,  particularly  in  the  Limpopo  valley  and  along  the  Portuguese 
frontier.  In  these  woody  regions  the  largest  number  of  wild  animals 
remain.  The  elephant  and  rhinoceros,  together  with  the  buffalo  and  many 
of  the  large  antelopes,  may  still  be  killed  in  the  north-eastern  districts  ;  the 
lion,  though  growing  rarer,  is  not  yet  extinct,  and  the  leopard  is  still 
abundant.  All  the  larger  and  some  even  of  the  smaller  rivers  are  full  of 
crocodiles,  and  the  hippopotamus  is  found  in  the  Limpopo. 

Agricultural  Resources.— Many  parts  of  the  lower  grounds  are  well 
suited  for  tillage,  having  a  rich  soil  and  a  sufficient  rainfall,  but  owing  to  the 
sparseness  of  the  population  and  the  prevalence  of  fever,  only  a  trifling 
area  is  as  yet  under  the  plough.  Cotton  and  sugar  might  be  raised,  as  well 
as  maize,  which  is  at  present  practically  the  only  crop.  Artificial  irrigation 
is  necessary  in  most  parts  of  the  dry  High  Veldt,  where  the  tillage  as  yet  is 
mostly  of  the  market-gardening  kind  along  the  streams.  Excellent  tobacco 
is  raised,  which  might  be  made  an  important  article  of  export.  All  the 
surface,  except  those  lower  parts  of  the  Bush  Veldt  which  are  infested  by 
the  tsetse-fly,  and  some  parts  of  the  High  Veldt  where  the  soil  is  excep- 
tionally poor  and  stony,  is  fit  for  live  stock  ;  and  the  keeping  of  cattle  or 
sheep  was,  until  the  discovery  of  gold,  practically  the  only  occupation  of 
the  people.  The  grass  is  in  most  places  so  thin  that  the  pastoral  farms  are 
very  large,  and  it  is  the  custom  of  the  farmers  to  drive  their  herds  in  winter 
to  the  lower  grounds  of  the  Bush  Veldt,  and  in  summer  to  the  High  Veldt, 
where  good  fresh  grass  springs  up  after  the  rains  of  November  and  Decem- 
ber. The  cattle  were  enormously  reduced  in  number  by  the  plague  which 
'appeared  in  1896  ;  but  the  country  is  capable  of  supporting  a  much  larger 
number  than  it  has  ever  yet  had. 

Mineral  Resources. — In  minerals  the  Transvaal  is,  so  far  as  we  yet 
know,  far  richer  than  any  other  part  of  South  Africa.  It  has  large  deposits 
of  coal,  though  not  of  the  best  quality ;  the  output  for  1897  was  returned  at 
1,667,000  tons.  Associated  with  the  coal  there  are  extensive  beds  containing 
iron.  Copper,  silver  and  lead  have  also  been  found,  but  are  little  worked. 
There  are  three  districts  in  which  diamond-mines  are  worked,  though  on  a 
comparatively  small  scale.  The  gold  which  has  made  the  country  famous 
occurs  in  three  forms,  viz.,  alluvial  deposits,  quartz  reefs,  and  beds  of  con- 
glomerate rock.  The  alluvial  deposits  occur  in  the  valleys  of  the  eastern 
mountain  range,  and  do  not  seem  to  be  important.  The  quartz  reefs  also 
occur  chiefly  in  these  mountains  on  the  edge  of  the  plateau.  Some  of  them 
have  been  worked  for  more  than  twenty  years,  and  many  exist  which  have 
not  yet  been  fully  explored.  They  would  receive  more  attention  but  for  the 
superior  attraction  of  the  conglomerate  beds  where  the  gold  is  found,  not 
in  "pay-shoots"  here  and  there  along  the  line  of  a  quartz  reef,  but  uniformly 
diffused  through  the  sandy  and  clayey  matter  of  the  beds.  The  conglomerate 
is  called  "  banket,"  the  Dutch  name  for  almond  toffee,  on  account  of  its 
appearance,  fragments  of  quartz  being  imbedded  in  the  arenaceous 


The  Transvaal 


1009 


matter.  These  auriferous  beds  occur  along  the  edge  of  a  geological 
basin  about  46  miles  long  and  15  broad  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
republic.  The  northern  rim  of  this  basin  is  formed  by  the  long  rocky 
ridge  called  the  Witwatersrand,  and  the  gold-field,  first  discovered  in 
1884,  is  hence  known  as  The  Rand. 
Before  the  war  it  produced  about 
;£  16,000,000  worth  of  gold  annually, 
and  the  Transvaal  ranked  as  the  first 
gold-supplying  country  of  the  world. 
The  large  mass  of  rock  which  is  known 
to  contain  gold,  and  the  generally 
uniform  diffusion  of  the  metal  through 
it,  gives  gold-mining  on  the  Rand  a 
certainty  found  nowhere  else,  and 
make  it  worth  while  to  expend  large  FlG'  477--r*<  Rand. 

sums  on  sinking  shafts  and  establishing  costly  machinery.  The  draw* 
backs  are  the  difficulty  of  securing  sufficient  labour,  as  the  hard  work  must 
be  done  by  Kafirs,  who  dislike  underground  toil,  and  are  moreover  uncer- 
tain labourers  (especially  prone  to  drink),  and  the  heavy  cost  of  machinery 
and  of  food. 

People. — The  Transvaal  as  a  whole  is  very  thinly  peopled,  and  many 
parts  of  it,  especially  in  the  north-east,  have  no  fixed  white  inhabitants,  the 
cattle  farmers  being  really  nomadic  in  their  habits.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  Witwatersrand  mining  district  has  in  Johannesburg  the  largest  town  in 
South  Africa,  and  is  studded  with  smaller  towns.  More  than  half  of  the 
white  population  live  on  or  near  the  Rand.  Of  the  whites  in  1899  pro- 
bably one  third,  or  75,000,  were  descendants  of  the  Dutch  emigrants  from 
Cape  Colony,  most  of  them  speaking  only  the  South  African  dialect  of 
Dutch.  These  figures  have,  of  course,  changed  since  the  late  war,  both 
absolutely  and  relatively.  The  remainder,  numbering  probably  150,000 
(though  no  exact  figures  are  obtainable),  had  been  drawn  to  the  country  by 
the  gold-mines,  and  include  English  or  Dutch  speaking 
colonists  from  the  Cape  and  Natal,  natives  of  Great 
Britain,  of  Australia,  of  North  America,  and  of  Ger- 
many, with  a  few  Frenchmen  and  Italians,  as  well  as 
Russians.  A  great  many  are  Jews.  The  great 
majority  of  the  new-comers  speak  English,  and  they 
form  the  trading  and  artisan  part  of  the  population, 
as  well  as  the  skilled  miners.  The  natives  are  either 
(i)  tribal  Kafirs  living  under  their  own  chiefs  in 
Swaziland  and  in  the  northern  and  eastern  districts, 


FlG.  478. — Average  pop- 
ulation of  a  square 
mile  of  the  Transvaal. 


(2)  domesticated  servants  of  white  masters,  or  (3)  comparatively  wild 
Kafirs  who  have  come  to  the  mines  to  work  for  a  few  weeks  or  months 
only,  and  then  return  with  their  wages  to  their  remote  homes. 

History.— The   history  of    the    Transvaal    Colony,  although   short, 


io i o      The  International  Geography 

has  been  chequered  and  troublous.  In  1836  a  large  number  of  -Boers 
(i.e.,  farmers  of  Dutch  extraction),  left  Cape  Colony  in  disgust  at  the 
wrongs  which  they  held  themselves  to  have  suffered  at  the  hands  of  the 
British  Government.  Many  of  them  settled  to  the  north-east  of  the  Vaal 
river,  and,  defeating  the  natives  who  attacked  them,  formed  several  small 
self-governing  communities  which  ultimately  coalesced  into  one  republic. 
The  British  Government  continued  to  claim  the  Boers  as  its  subjects  till 
1852,  when,  by  the  Sand  River  Convention,  it  recognised  the  South  African 
Republic  as  independent.  During  the  twenty  years  that  followed,  the 
communities  were  involved  in  serious  trouble  with  the  natives.  The  con- 
dition of  the  Republic  became  so  serious  that  the  British  Government 
feared  that  its  colonies  might  also  be  involved  in  native  wars,  the  inquiries 
it  made  led  it  to  believe  that  annexation  would  not  be  unwelcome  to  the 
people,  as  this  would  ensure  their  protection  against  the  Kafirs  and  im- 
prove their  material  interests.  Accordingly  the  country  was  annexed  in 
April,  1877.  The  Boers  were,  however,  more  strongly  attached  to  their 
independence  than  the  British  had  supposed,  and  some  grave  mistakes 
made  by  the  government  increased  the  spirit  of  resistance.  In  the  end  of 
1880  it  broke  out  in  insurrection,  the  few  British  troops  were  compelled 
to  surrender  or  were  cooped  up  in  the  forts  ;  and  the  Boers  who  marched 
to  the  Natal  frontier  inflicted  three  defeats  on  the  small  British  army 
which  was  preparing  to  recover  the  country.  Convinced  that  the  annexa- 
tion had  been  a  mistake,  made  in  ignorance  of  the  sentiments  of  the 
people,  and  fearing  that  a  general  war  of  races  might  break  out  in  South 
Africa  if  the  conflict  were  prolonged,  the  British  Government  recalled  the 
large  force  which  it  had  sent  out,  and  which  could  easily  have  crushed 
all  resistance,  and  in  1881  concluded  a  convention  whereby  the  autonomy 
of  the  Transvaal  was  recognised  subject  to  the  suzerainty  of  the  British 
Crown  and  to  certain  conditions,  which  were  modified  by  the  Conven- 
tion of  London  in  1884.  The  Republic  enlarged  its  boundaries  by  acquiring 
(in  1888)  one  of  the  best  regions  of  Zululand,  and  in  1894  it  was  allowed 
to  annex  Swaziland,  the  territory  of  a  small  native  tribe  lying  on  its 
eastern  border.  In  1885  the  wealth  of  the  banket  (conglomerate)  gold- 
bearing  beds  of  the  Witwatersrand  became  generally  known,  and  the 
immigration  of  foreign  miners  suddenly  and  immensely  swelled.  By 
1895  there  were  probably  about  100,000  of  these  new-comers,  and  they 
outnumbered  the  whole  of  the  Boer  population.  Being  excluded  from 
political  rights,  they  set  on  foot  an  agitation  to  obtain  a  share  of  power, 
and  in  December,  1895,  a  body  of  mounted  police  in  the  service  of  the 
British  South  Africa  Company  entered  the  Republic  in  order  to  support 
the  agitation.  The  invading  force  was,  however,  defeated  and  obliged  to 
surrender. 

In  October,  1899,  war  broke  out  between  the  South  African  Republic 
and  the  United  Kingdom.  Johannesburg  and  Pretoria  were  occupied  by 
the  British  troops  in  June,  1900,  but  the  Boers  protracted  the  struggle 


The  Transvaal 


ion 


until  May  31,  1902,  when  a  treaty  of  peace  was  signed,  by  which  the 
country  came  under  the  British  Crown.  The  colony  was  granted  re- 
sponsible government  in  1906,  and  is  administered  by  an  elected  house 
of  representatives  and  an  upper  house  nominated  by  the  Governor. 
The  Boers  belong  to  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church,  but  all  sects  have 
been  tolerated,  although  Roman  Catholjcs  and  Jews  were  until  re- 
cently subject  to  political  disabilities.  Education  has  hitherto  been  in 
a  backward  state,  especially  among  the  pastoral  and  semi-nomadic  popu- 
lation ;  and  there  are  no  manufactures,  nor,  in- 
deed, any  handicrafts  except  those  connected 
with  mining. 

The  railways  in  the  Transvaal  belonged,  before 
the  war,  to  a  corporation  called  the  Netherlands 
Railway  Company,  but  have  now  been  taken 
over  by  the  Government,  and  are  known  as  the 
"  Central  South  African  Railways."  They  radiate 
from  Pretoria  and  Johannesburg  to  the  coast  at 


FIG.  479.— The  formtt 
Transvaal  Flag. 


Delagoa  Bay  on  the  east,  to  Cape  Town  through  the  Orange  River 
Colony  in  the  south,  and  to  Durban  through  Natal  in  the  south-east.  There 
are  also  one  or  two  branch  lines,  and  a  trunk  line  to  the  north  has  been 
carried  as  far  as  Pietersburg.  Pretoria  is  the  seat  of  the  legislature, 
public  offices,  and  law  courts,  but  Johannesburg,  the  centre  of  the 
Rand  gold-field,  is  by  far  the  largest  and  wealthiest  town.  English  is 
now  spoken  by  the  majority  of  the  inhabitants,  but  Dutch  is  still  the 
language  generally  spoken  by  the  rural  population.  The  vast  majority 
of  the  native  Kafirs  are  heathen  and  speak  only  their  own  languages ;  a 
few,  however,  understand  Dutch. 


STATISTICS.    (Estimates.) 


Area  of  the  Transvaal  (including  Swaziland),  square  miles 

Population  , 

White  Population 

Density  of  population  per  sq.  mile 4 

Population  of  Johannesburg 40,215 

„  Pretoria  (white)        5,000 


1800. 
113,642 
479,128 
119,128 


1898. 
"9J39 
867,897 
245.397 

102,078 

10,000 


ANNUAL  TRADE  (in  pounds  sterling). 


Imports 

Exports  (including  gold) 


1881-85.  1891-95.  1896. 

700,000    ..    5,726,000    ..     14,000,000 
500,000    ..    5,000,000    ..          — 


STANDARD  BOOKS. 


W.  L.  Distant.    "  A  Naturalist  in  the  Transvaal."    London,  1892. 

F.  H.  Hatch  and  J.  A.  Chalmers.    "The  Gold  Mines  of  the  Rand."    London,  1895. 
C.  T.  Alford.    "  Geological  Features  of  the  Transvaal."    London,  1891. 

G.  M  Theal.    "  History  of  South  Africa."    5  vols.    London,  1888. 
J.  Bryce.    "  Impressions  of  South  Africa."    London,  1897. 

66 


io 1 2       The  International  Geography 

STANDARD  BOOKS. 

W.  L.  Distant.    "A  Naturalist  in  the  Transvaal."    London,  1892. 

F.  H.  Hatch  and  J.  A.  Chalmers.    "  The  Gold  Mines  of  the  Rand."    London,  1895. 
C.  J.  Alford.    "  Geological  Features  of  the  Transvaal."    London,  1891. 

G.  M.  Theal.    "  History  of  South  Africa."    5  vols.    London,  1888. 
J.  Bryce.    "  Impressions  of  South  Africa."    London,  1897. 

VI— GEBMAH  SOTTTH-WEST  AFRICA 

BY  GRAF  VON  PFEIL. 

Position  and  Surface. — The  coast  of  German  South- West  Africa, 
about  800  miles  long,  possesses  no  important  harbours.  Angra  Pequena 
and  Walfish  Bay  are  gradually  being  filled  with  sand  by  the  north-running 
coast  current.  Swakopmiinde  is  likely  to  become  useful  with  artificial 
aid.  South-West  Africa  may  be  termed  the  western  part  of  the  Kalahari 
plateau,  which  rises  gradually  and  reaches  its  highest  elevation  in  a 
region  indicated  by  a  line  drawn  from  Mount  Omatoko  to  the  Awas 
Mountains,  with  an  altitude  of  8,500  and  6,900  feet  respectively.  The 
west  end  of  the  plateau  is  precipitous,  forming  a  mountain  range  with 
meridianal  direction,  and  approaches  in  Namaland  nearer  to  the  coast 
than  in  the  northern  part  of  the  country.  West  of  Windhoek  the 
Mountains  develop  into  ranges  with  more  independent  character.  From 
its  central  and  most  elevated  part  the  plateau  slopes  to  the  north  and 
south  as  indicated  by  its  river  system.  The  Nosob,  Awob  and  Fish  rivers 
rise  in  the  central  mountainous  district,  and  run  south  and  east.  Herero- 
land  sends  the  Uomatako  in  a  north-east  direction  to  the  Okovango. 
The  precipitous  western  border  of  the  Kalahari  and  also  the  adjacent 
district  called  the  Kaoko,  send  their  scanty  waters  through  a  number 
of  rivers  to  the  Atlantic  ;  but  only  the  Swakop  and  Kuiseb  are  important. 
The  Cunene,  which  for  some  distance  forms  the  northern  boundary 
of  the  protectorate,  does  not  belong  to  its  river  system ;  the  Orange 
River,  which  forms  the  entire  southern  boundary,  only  belongs  to  it  in 
so  far  as  it  is  the  recipient  of  all  the  rivers  with  a  southerly  course.  With 
the  exception  of  these  two  streams  and  the  Okovango  no  South-West 
African  river  is  perennial.  After  heavy  rains  they  fill  suddenly,  and  run 
for  a  short  time  ;  but  water  can  as  a  rule  only  be  obtained  by  digging  in 
the  sand  which  fills  their  beds.  The  so-called  pans,  Etosa  and  others,  are 
remarkable  remnants  of  a  lacustrine  formation.  Parallel  with  the  coast 
runs  a  sandy  desert  belt,  about  35  miles  broad  in  the  south,  and  narrow- 
ing to  a  point  in  the  north.  East  of  this  belt  a  strip  of  mimosa  bush 
extends  to  the  foot  of  the  mountains,  which  together  with  the  Kalahari 
plateau  form  excellent  grazing  land.  The  porous  calcareous  sandstone 
which  nearly  everywhere  composes  the  tableland,  and  covers  the  under- 
lying gneiss  and  granite,  retains  a  large  portion  of  the  yearly  rains, 
and  yields  water  readily  when  dug  into.  Numerous  hot  springs  exist. 
The  climate  is  nowhere  malarious  except  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the 


South  Atlantic  Islands  1013 

Okavango    and    Zambezi.      In    the    mountainous    districts   ice   occurs 
frequently. 

People  and  Government.— Bushmen  and  Bergdamaras  are  pre- 
sumably the  primitive  inhabitants.  Bantu  tribes,  Hereros  and  Ovampos, 
immigrated  from  the  north.  The  Hottentots  came  from  south  of  the 
Orange  River.  The  Bantu  tribes  differ  in  languages  and  customs, 
and  live  under  influential  chiefs.  The  Hottentots,  with  but  one  com- 
mon tongue,  are  divided  into  many  clans  ruled  by  small  but  sometimes 
warlike  chiefs.  The  Bergdamaras  live  in  insignificant  communities 
without  chieftains.  The  Bastards,  the  progeny  of  Boers  and  Hottentots, 
are  nearly  all  Christians,  and  form  communities  with  tribal  habits  and 
rulers.  The  Bushmen  roam  in  the  Kalahari  in  yearly  decreasing  numbers. 
Vegetation  is  scanty ;  the  littoral  district  produces  simply  mimosas,  the 
desert  north  of  Swakop  the  welwitschia,  on  the  banks  of  the  rivers 
occurs  the  arra  tree,  on  the  sandy  dunes  the  nara.  Rare  specimens  of 
elephant,  rhinoceros,  giraffe  and  buffalo  still  exist ;  antelopes  are  plentiful. 
South- West  Africa  was  declared  a  German  possession  in  August,  1884, 
after  Liideritz  of  Bremen  had  previously  bought  the  land  by  private 
contract  from  native  chiefs.  For  purposes  of  administration  the  pro- 
tectorate is  divided  into  three  main  districts,  each  the  seat  of  a  court  of 
law,  of  an  administrative  officer  and  garrison  for  a  number  of  colonial 
troops.  Windhoek,  the  largest  and  most  central  settlement,  is  the  residence 
of  the  military  governor.  A  railway  has  been  made  to  it  from  the  coast 
at  Swakopmund. 

STANDARD  BOOKS. 

F.  J.  von  Biilow.    "  Drei  Jahre  im  Lande  Hendrik  Witboois."    Berlin,  1806. 
K.  Dove.    "  Deutsch  Siid-west  Afrika."    Gotha,  1896. 


VII,— ISLANDS  OF  THE  SOUTH  ATLANTIC 

BY  EDWARD  HEAWOOD,  M.A. 

Ascension. — The  island  of  Ascension,  eight  miles  in  length,  rises  in  8°S. 
from  the  longitudinal  ridge  which  divides  the  South  Atlantic  into  an  eastern 
and  western  trough.  It  is  entirely  composed  of  extinct  volcanic  cones, 
and  except  on  Green  Mountain  (2,820  feet)  in  the  south-east,  the  surface  is 
parched  and  barren,  water  being  scarce,  but  the  climate  is  very  healthy. 
Land  crabs  roam  all  over  the  island,  and  turtles  frequent  the  shores  in  large 
numbers  in  the  breeding  season.  Ascension  was  discovered  by  the  Portu- 
guese in  1501,  but  was  long  unoccupied.  It  was  garrisoned  by  Great 
Britain  in  1815,  and  is  entirely  under  naval  rule,  being,  in  fact,  treated  as  a 
man-of-war.  The  anchorage  is  on  the  north-west  coast,  where  is  the  small 
settlement  of  Georgetown.  Landing  is  difficult  on  account  of  the  rollers. 

St.  Helena.— The  island  of  St.  Helena,  in  16°  S.,  800  miles  south-east 
of  Ascension,  is  an  isolated  volcanic  cone  rising  from  the  depths  of  the 


1014       The  International  Geography 

eastern  Atlantic.  It  is  bounded  by  precipitous  cliffs,  and  is  composed  of 
rugged  ridges  and  plateaux,  the  highest  ground  (2,700  feet)  forming  a  semi- 
circle concave  to  the  south.  When  first  visited, 
the  island  was  covered  with  a  rich  vegetation, 
but  the  introduction  of  goats,  coupled  with  the 
destruction  wrought  by  man,  ruined  the  red- 
wood and  ebony  forests,  and  the  soil  has 
since  been  in  great  part  washed  away  by 
rain,  leaving  the  slopes  barren.  Willows,  pop- 
lars, and  other  plants  of  the  temperate  zone, 
FIG.  48o.-S*.  Helena.  havg  been  introduced)  and  the  native  flora 

remains  only  in  the  most  inaccessible  parts. 

St.  Helena  was  discovered  in  1502,  and,  lying  in  the  track  of  ships 
carried  homewards  from  the  Cape  by  the  trade  winds,  soon  became  an 
important  place  of  call.  Occupied  by  the  East  India  Company  in  1651,  it 
became  a  Crown  Colony  in  1834,  but  its  importance 
has  greatly  declined  since  the  introduction  of  steam 
navigation  and  the  opening  of  the  Suez  Canal.  It 
is  famous  as  the  place  of  exile  of  the  first  Napoleon 
(1815-21).  The  settlement  of  James  Town  occupies 
the  mouth  of  a  narrow  valley  on  the  north-west  or 
lee  side  of  the  island,  debouching  on  James  Bay. 
The  natural  resources  of  the  island  are  not  great ;  but  FIG.  481.— The  Badge 
the  fisheries  off  the  coast  are  capable  of  development.  of  st  Hdena- 

Tristan  da  Cunha,  with  a  few  neighbouring  islets,  rises  from  the 
southern  end  of  the  same  ridge  as  Ascension,  in  37°  S.  It  is  bleak  and 
inhospitable,  being  exposed  to  storm  and  rain  for  nine  months  in  the  year. 
Its  highest  summit — a  rounded  cone  rising  from  a  plateau  ending  in  a  cliff 
— is  snow  clad  except  in  mid-summer.  The  one  species  of  tree,  Phylica 
arborea,  stunted  but  fairly  plentiful,  is  almost  confined  to  the  group. 
Tristan  was  occupied  by  Great  Britain  in  1816-17,  and  the  present  popu- 
lation (which  has  lately  fallen  to  about  fifty)  consists  of  the  descendants  of 
a  few  of  the  garrison  who  remained,  reinforced  by  settlers  of  various 
nationalities.  They  look  to  the  British  Government  for  protection,  and  are 
dependent  on  the  occasional  visits  of  men-of-war  for  communication  with 
the  rest  of  the  world 

STATISTICS  (approximate). 

Ascension  (area  in  square  miles) 58 

Population- of  Ascension 200 

St.  Helena  (area  in  square  miles)            47 

Population  of  St.  Helena 4,000 

Tristan  da  Cunha  (area  in  square  miles)           45 

Population  of  Tristan  da  Cunha . .  50 

STANDARD  BOOKS. 

A.  B.  Ellis.    "  West  African  Islands."     London,  1885. 

J.  C.  Melliss.     "St.  Helena,  a  Physical  and  Topographical  Description  of  the  Island.1* 

London,  1875. 
Mrs.  D.  Gill.    "  Six  Months  in  Ascension."    London,  1878. 


CHAPTER    LIII.— ISLANDS    OF  THE   WESTERN 
INDIAN    OCEAN 

I— MADAGASCAR 

BY  REV.  JAMES  SIBREE, 

Antananarivo. 

Position  and  Exploration.— Madagascar  is  situated  in  the  Indian 
Ocean,  about  230  miles  distant  (at  its  nearest  point)  from  the  south-east 
coast  of  Africa,  and  is  nearly  twice  as  large  as  the  United  Kingdom.  It 
extends  from  12°  to  25°  S.,  and  from  43°  to  50^°  E. ;  its  length,  from 
north  to  south,  is  980  miles,  the  main  axis  of  the  island  running  north-north- 
east and  south-south-west.  Its  broadest  portion  is  near  the  centre,  where 
it  is  350  miles  across  ;  from  this  part  of  the  island  its  northern  half  forms 
a  long,  irregular  triangle,  while  south  of  it  the  average  breadth  is  250 
miles.  Although  known  to  Arab  merchants  for  more  than  a  thousand 
years  past,  and  frequently  visited  by  Europeans  since  the  beginning  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  Madagascar  is  still  but  imperfectly  explored  ;  since  the 
year  1865,  however,  numerous  journeys  have  been  made  in  the  interior, 
and  every  year  sees  some  fresh  portion  of  the  country  mapped  more  or 
less  accurately.  Conspicuous  in  this  work  have  been  missionaries,  both 
Protestant  and  Roman  Catholic  ;  of  the  former  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Mullens, 
whose  large  map  (1879)  embodied  all  that  was  known  up  to  that  date  ;  and 
of  the  latter,  Pere  D.  Roblet,  S.J.,  whose  fine  map  (1889)  includes  not  only 
his  own  and  other  surveys,  but  also  the  discoveries  of  the  distinguished 
French  traveller  and  scientist,  M.  Alfred  Grandidier,  whose  great  work  on 
the  island,  which  is  to  include  over  fifty  quarto  volumes,  was  commenced 
in  1875  and  is  still  (1903)  in  progress. 

Configuration. — Madagascar  has  a  very  regular  and  compact  form, 
with  but  few  indentations,  considering  its  great  length  of  shore-line.  More 
than  half  of  the  eastern  coast  runs  in  an  almost  perfectly  straight  line  ;  but 
the  north-west  portion  is  broken  up  by  a  number  of  spacious  inlets,  some 
of  them  land-locked  and  of  considerable  area.  The  island  consists  of  two 
great  natural  divisions,  (i)  an  elevated  interior  region,  raised  from  3,000  to 
5,000  feet  above  the  sea  ;  and  (2)  a  comparatively  level  country  surrounding 
the  high  land,  and  not  much  exceeding  600  feet  in  altitude,  narrow  on  the 
east,  but  wide  on  the  west  and  south  ;  it  is  broken  up  towards  the  west  by 
three  prominent  ranges  of  hills  running  north  and  south. 

1015 


io 1 6      The  International  Geography 

The  elevated  region  is  composed  chiefly  of  gneiss  and  other  crystalline 
rocks,  with  enormous  quantities  of  red  clay-like  earth  consisting  of  decom- 
posed gneiss.  It  is  a  mountainous  region,  there  being  very  little  level  ground, 
except  the  river  valleys,  and  some  extensive  and  fertile  plains,  occupying  the 
beds  of  ancient  lakes.  The  general  face  of  the  interior  country  consists  of 
bare  rolling  moors,  from  which  the  unstratified  rocks  protrude  and  form  the 
highest  parts  of  the  hills  ;  these  have  mostly  a  rounded  dome  or  boss-like 
outline,  but  in  some  districts  present  a  very  varied  and  picturesque  appear- 
ance, resembling  titanic  castles,  cathedrals,  pyramids,  and  spires.  This 
interior  highland  comprises  about  half  the  total  area  of  the  island,  and  is 
not  exactly  central,  the  watershed  running  down  the  eastern  side  of  the 
island  at  no  great  distance  from  the  coast.  Ankaratra,  probably  an 
ancient  volcano,  with  summits  nearly  9,000  feet  above  sea-level,  is  the 
highest  mountain  of  Madagascar. 

The  lower  region  is  fertile  and  well-wooded,  especially  on  the  eastern 
side  of  the  island,  which  is  bathed  by  the  constant  rains  brought  by  the 
south-east  trade-winds.  The  western  and  north-western  portions  consist 
principally  of  Secondary  strata,  of  the  Jurassic  and  Cretaceous  periods, 
with  some  Eocene  and  Quaternary  beds.  From  the  south-east  to  the 
north-west  and  north  groups  of  extinct  volcanic  craters  occur,  as  well  as 
streams  and  sheets  of  lava.  These  old  cones  and  vents  are  very  numerous 
near  Lake  Itasy  (19°  S.,  47°  E.),  in  the  Betafo  district,  about  50  miles 
further  south,  and  to  the  north  on  the  island  of  Nosibe,  and  adjacent 
coast.  Hot  springs  are  found  in  many  parts  of  the  island,  and  slight 
earthquake  shocks  are  felt  every  year. 

Hydrography.— Owing  to  the  slope  of  the  high  land  almost  all 
the  chief  rivers  of  Madagascar  flow  to  the  west  coast,  crossing  three- 
fourths  of  the  breadth  of  the  island.  The  Betsiboka,  the  Tsiribihina,  the 
Mangoky,  and  the  Onilahy  are  the  largest  and  most  important,  and  some  of 
them  can  be  ascended  by  vessels  of  light  draught  for  a  hundred  miles  or 
so,  until  rocky  bars  stop  navigation.  The  eastern  rivers,  the  largest  of 
which  is  the  Mangoro,  cut  their  way  through  the  ramparts  of  the  high 
land  by  magnificent  gorges  amidst  dense  forests,  descending  by  a  suc- 
cession of  rapids  and  cataracts.  The  largest  lake  is  the  Alaotra,  in  the 
Antsihanaka  province.  A  remarkable  chain  of  lagoons  extends  for  about 
300  miles  along  the  east  coast,  south  of  Tamatave,  forming  a  natural  water- 
way, which  has  been  improved  by  the  cutting  of  canals  where  necessary. 

Climate. — The  climate  of  the  high  interior  districts  is  temperate  and 
healthy,  with  no  intense  heat ;  but  that  of  the  coasts  is  much  hotter,  espe- 
cially on  the  west ;  and  from  the  large  area  of  marsh  and  lagoon,  malarial 
fever  is  prevalent  and  frequently  fatal.  The  seasons  are  two,  the  hot  and 
rainy  season,  from  November  to  April,  and  the  cool  and  dry  season  during 
the  rest  of  the  year.  Rain,  however,  falls  almost  all  the  year  round  on  the 
eastern  coast,  but  is  much  less  frequent  on  the  western  side.  No  snow  is 
known,  but  hail  showers  and  terrific  thunderstorms  are  frequent  in  the  hot 


Madagascar  1017 


season,  and  hurricanes  occur  every  few  years.  The  average  yearly  rainfall 
at  Antananarivo  for  16  years  was  53  inches  ;  at  Tamatave,  90  to  100  inches, 
at  Mojanga,  on  the  north-east  coast,  50  inches ;  while  average  mean 
annual  temperature  at  the  same  places  was  respectively  62°,  75°,  and  79°  F. 

Flora  and  Fauna. — All  round  the  island  is  a  nearly  unbroken 
belt  of  dense  forest,  varying  from  10  to  15  miles  across,  but  most 
largely  developed  in  the  north-east.  The  flora  is  therefore  very  rich  and 
varied,  and  contains  large  numbers  of  trees  producing  valuable  timber, 
as  well  as  numerous  species  of  palm,  bamboo,  tree-fern,  pandanus,  baobab, 
tamarind,  and  euphorbia.  The  flora  is  divided  by  Rev.  R.  Baron  into 
three  regions— eastern,  central  and  western.  Among  the  most  cha- 
racteristic forms  of  vegetation  are  the  traveller' s-tree,  the  Rofia  palm,  the 
Madagascar  spice-tree,  the  Casuarina,  and  the  Tangena ;  and  also  the 
curious  lace-leaf  plant,  as  well  as  numerous  species  of  orchids  and  ferns. 
Many  trees  have  large  and  showy  flowers.  Three-fourths  of  the  species 
and  one-sixth  of  the  genera  of  the  plants  are  endemic,  showing  that  the 
island  is  of  immense  antiquity.  About  4,000  indigenous  species  are  known, 
and  there  is  one  natural  order,  Chlaenaceae,  with  24  species,  confined  to  the 
island. 

The  fauna  contains  several  exceptional  and  ancient  forms  of  life,  com- 
prising many  species  and  even  genera  known  nowhere  else  ;  but,  considering 
its  proximity  to  Africa,  the  country  is  markedly  deficient  in  the  larger 
carnivora  and  in  ungulate  animals.  Madagascar  is  specially  the  home  of 
the  Lemuridae,  there  being  38  known  species  of  this  and  allied  families  of 
Quadrumana,  and  also  the  very  curious  aye-aye  (Cheiromys).  It  is  the 
chief  habitat  of  the  chameleons,  about  half  of  all  the  known  species  being 
found  here.  Of  land-birds,  38  genera  and  125  species  are  peculiar  to  the 
island,  many  of  them  being  unlike  any  other  living  forms.  The  remains 
of  many  species  of  extinct  struthious  birds  (^Epyornithidae)  are  found  in 
recent  deposits,  some  of  them  being  of  gigantic  size  (over  ten  feet  high), 
and  laying  the  largest  known  egg  (12^  in.  by  9^  in.).  Fossil  remains  of 
immense  tortoises,  saurians,  and  lemuroids  have  also  been  discovered.1 

People. — The  Malagasy  people  appear  to  be  mainly  derived  from 
the  Malayo-Polynesian  stock,  and%  they  have  also  numerous  points  of 
connection  with  the  Melanesian  tribes,  from  which  the  darker  element 
of  the  Malagasy  is  probably  derived.  There  is  also  an  admixture  of 
African  blood,  especially  in  the  western  regions  ;  and  there  is  an 
Arab  element  both  on  the  north-west  and  south-east  coasts.  The 
Hova,  the  most  advanced,  civilised  and  intelligent  Malagasy  tribe, 
inhabiting  the  central  province  of  Imerina,  and  the  dominant  race  for  the  last 
century,  are  probably  the  latest  immigrants  and  the  most  purely  Malayan 
in  origin.  Other  important  tribes  are  the  Betsileo  (southern  central),  Bara 
(further  south-west),  Tanala  (south-eastern  forests),  Betsimisaraka  (east 

i  A  decree  of  the  Governor-General  in  1898  reserves  to  Frenchmen  alone  the  right  of 
collecting  or  searching  for  these  fossils. 


ioi8       The  International  Geography 

coast),  Sihanaka  (north-east  central),  and  Sakalava  (nearly  the  whole  west 
coast).  All  the  coast  peoples,  who  are  much  subdivided,  appear  to  be 
closely  connected  with  each  other  in  language ;  and,  although  there  are 
many  dialectal  differences,  the  language  of  the  whole  country  is  substan- 
tially one,  and  is  nearly  allied  to  Malayan  and  Melanesian.  The  Malagasy 
not  having  had  their  language  reduced  to  writing  until  the  early  part  of 
the  nineteenth  century,  have  no  ancient  literature,  but  their  numerous 
proverbs,  songs,  fables  and  folk-tales,  and  their  oratorical  gifts,  as  well  as 
the  copiousness  of  their  language,  prove  their  intellectual  acuteness.  In 
their  heathen  state  they  are  immoral,  untruthful  and  cruel  in  war ;  but 
they  are  also  courageous,  affectionate  and  firm  in  friendship,  kind  to  their 
children  and  their  aged  and  sick  relatives,  law-obeying  and  loyal,  very 
courteous  and  polite,  and  most  hospitable.  While  retaining  some 
traditions  of  a  Supreme  Being,  they  practised,  and  in  parts  of  the  island 
still  practise,  a  kind  of  fetishism,  together  with  divination,  curious  ordeals 
and  ancestor-worship. 

History.— Madagascar  was  first  mentioned  under  its  present  name  by 
Marco  Polo  (1300),  but  the  Portuguese  navigator  Diogo  Diaz  was,  in  1500, 
the  first  European  to  see  the  island.  Colonies  were  subsequently  formed 
on  the  coast  by  the  Portuguese,  the  Dutch,  the  English,  and  the  French,  but 
none  of  these  were  maintained  for  long ;  although  the  French  held  the 
islands  of  Ste.  Marie  and  Nosibe,  until  the  war  of  1883-85  resulted  in  their 
obtaining  the  protectorate  of  the  whole  country,  and  the  war  of  1895 
gained  for  them  the  sovereignty  of  Madagascar.  The  island  is  now  a 
French  colony,  ruled  by  a  Governor-general,  with  subordinate  officers  at 
all  the  principal  towns  and  ports,  and  native  officials  acting  under  French 
authority. 

Up  to  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century  Madagascar  was  divided 
into  a  number  of  independent  chieftaincies.  About  that  time,  however, 
the  Sakalava,  a  warlike  tribe  on  the  south-west  coast,  conquered  the 
whole  western  side  of  the  island,  and  founded  two  powerful  king- 
doms. Early  in  the  nineteenth  century  the  Hova,  under  Andrianam- 
poinimerina  (died  1810)  and  his  son  Radama  I.,  threw  off  the  Sakalava  yoke 
and  gradually  made  themselves  masters  of  all  the  northern  half  of  the 
island,  and  of  much  of  the  interior  and  the  eastern  seaboard.  Radama 
abolished  the  export  slave-trade  and  gave  encouragement  to  English 
missionaries,  who  commenced  work  at  his  capital  in  1820.  They  reduced 
the  language  to  a  written  form,  translated  the  Holy  Scriptures,  formed 
numerous  schools,  founded  Christian  churches,  and  introduced  many  of 
the  arts  of  civilised  life.  The  accession  of  Queen  Ranavalona  I.  in  1828 
stopped  progress ;  a  severe  persecution  of  the  native  Christians  ensued, 
until  the  accession  of  Radama  II.  in  1861  reopened  Madagascar  to 
Europeans.  Thenceforward  continuous  progress  has  been  made  in 
commerce  and  civilisation.  Under  Queen  Ranavalona  II.  (1868-83) 
Christianity  was  outwardly  accepted  by  the  peoples  of  the  central 


Madagascar  1019 


provinces.  In  1895  there  were  1,600  Protestant  Christian  congregations, 
with  280,000  adherents,  but  the  Roman  Catholic  influence,  then  much 
smaller,  has  largely  increased  owing  to  the  methods  adopted  by  the 
Jesuit  missions.  Several  colleges  and  high  schools,  as  well  as  hospitals, 
dispensaries,  leper  asylums  and  orphanages,  have  been  established ; 
and  the  mission  presses  issue  250,000  copies  annually  of  various  publi- 
cations. . 

Trade  and  Communication. — The  things  made  in  Madagascar 
are  literally  "  manu  "-factures,  since  all  are  made  by  hand.  The  Malagasy 
are  skilful  in  the  weaving  of  cloths  or  Idmba  for  their  own  use,  of  silk, 
cotton,  hemp  and  rofia  fibre,  from  which  cloths  called  rabannas  are  made 
and  exported  to  Mauritius  and  Reunion.  They  also  plait  a  great  variety  of 
strong  and  beautiful  mats  of  different  vegetable  fibres  ;  many  thousand 
mat  bags  are  sent  to  the  Mascarene  Islands  for  packing  sugar,  and  fine 
straw  hats  are  made,  and  are  the  usual  head-covering  of  the  Hova  and 
other  tribes.  The  principal  exports  of  Madagascar  are  cattle,  hides,  gum- 
copal,  india-rubber,  bees-wax  and  rice,  and,  more  recently,  ebony  and 
other  valuable  woods  ;  coffee,  tea,  sugar  and  vanilla  are  also  being 
cultivated  by  Europeans.  The  chief  imports  are  cotton  goods,  iron- 
mongery, crockery,  tinned  provisions  and  rum.  The  principal  trade  is  from 
the  eastern  ports  to  Mauritius  and  Reunion,  and  also  with  Europe,  India, 
America  and  South  Africa,  but  France  takes  a  preponderating^share.  The 
whole  foreign  trade  was  estimated  in  1901  at  about  £1,650,000,  of  which 
sum  imports  (mainly  cottons)  accounted  for  about  £1,300,000.  The  soil 
of  the  coast  plains,  especially  of  the  east  side,  is  fertile,  and  could  supply 
quantities  of  most  tropical  productions.  Iron  is  abundant,  especially  as 
magnetite,  and  also  as  haematite  and  ironstone  ;  and  the  Malagasy  are 
skilful  in  the  working  of  this  and  all  other  metals.  Other  mineral  pro- 
ductions are  copper,  galena  (lead),  sulphur,  and  gold  in  considerable 
quantities.  Until  the  French  occupation  there  were  no  roads  in  the 
country,  but  these  have  now  been  constructed  between  the  principal 
towns,  while  a  railway  has  been  made  from  Tamatave  to  the  capital,  and 
others  are  projected.  Telegraph  lines  have  also  been  opened.  Away 
from  the  main  routes  the  chief  means  of  conveyance  is  a  kind  of  light 
palanquin,  carried  by  four  bearers,  and  all  merchandise  and  produce 
is  carried  on  men's  shoulders.  The  rivers  are  largely  used  by  native 
canoes. 

Towns. — The  towns  are  few  and  of  no  great  size,  the  largest  being 
the  capital,  Antananarivo  (French,  Tananarive)  originally  a  tribal  chief 
village,  then  the  Hova  capital,  and  finally  the  chief  town  of  Madagascar. 
It  is  built  on  the  summit  and  slopes  of  a  long,  rocky  ridge  rising  about 
700  feet  above  the  surrounding  valleys.  It  doubtless  owes  its  position  to 
its  situation  on  the  edge  of  a  magnificent  and  extensive  rice-plain,  watered 
by  the  river  Ikopa  and  its  tributaries,  which  also  supports  several  hundred 
neighbouring  villages.  It  contains  many  large  and  handsome  buildings — 


1020       The  International  Geography 

palaces,  churches,  public  offices,  colleges  and  schools,  and  private 
residences  of  brick  and  stone.  The  only  other  inland  town  of  importance 
is  Fianarantsoa,  the  capital  of  the  Betsileo  province,  also  near  a  fine  rice- 
plain,  and  with  many  handsome  buildings.  The  chief  ports  are  Diego- 
Suarez  in  the  extreme  north,  Tamatave,  Vatomandry,  Mahanoro,  Mananjara 
and  Fort  Dauphin  on  the  east  coast,  and  Majunga  in  the  north-west. 


STATISTICS. 

f  These  figures  are  estimates  only.) 

Area  of  Madagascar  (square  miles) 230,000 

Population  of  Madagascar          4,000,000 

„           „  Antananarivo        60,000 

„           „  Tamatave 12,000 

*          „  Fianarantsoa 10,000 

STANDARD   BOOKS. 

A.  Grandidier.     "  Histoire  Physique,  Naturelle  et   Politique  de  Madagascar."    Many 

volumes.    Paris,  1876  (in  progress). 

E.  F.  Gautier.     "  Madagascar,  Essai  de  Geographic  Physique."    Paris,  1902. 
J.  Sibree.     "The  Great  African  Island."     London,  1880. 
"  Madagascar  before  the  Conquest."    London,  1896. 

II— SMALLER  ISLANDS  OF  THE  INDIAN  OCEAN 

BY  THE   EDITOR.1 

Islands  of  Indian  Ocean.— The  British  colony  of  Mauritius  is  an 
island  in  the  western  Indian  Ocean,  in  20°  S.,  and  about  500  miles  east  of 
Madagascar.  Several  distant  groups  and  scattered  islands  are  attached  to  it 
politically.  The  principal  are  the  Seychelles,  Rodriguez,  the  Amirantes 
and  the  Oil  Islands,  the  latter  including  the  Chagos  Group,  of  which  Diego 
Garcia  is  the  most  important.  The  islands  of  Mauritius  and  Reunion 
crown  a  small  rise  of  the  ocean  floor  everywhere  surrounded  by  depths 
exceeding  2,000  fathoms,  and  Rodriguez  and  the  Chagos  archipelago  are 
similarly  isolated.  The  other  islands,  however,  and  some  extensive  banks 
are  all  based  on  the  great  sickle-shaped  rise,  the  western  arm  of  which 
is  occupied  by  Madagascar,  as  shown  in  the  sketch-map  (Fig.  482). 
These  islands  are  particularly  interesting,  from  the  biological  point  of  view, 
on  account  of  the  singular  character  and  distribution  of  some  of  their 
animals  and  plants. 

Mauritius — Physical  Features. — The  coasts  of  Mauritius  are 
generally  low,  with  several  deep  openings,  and  fringed  by  coral  reefs. 
There  are,  however,  only  two  good  harbours — Port  Louis,  in  the  north- 
west, and  Grand  Port,  in  the  south-east ;  but  the  latter,  being  exposed 
to  the  south-east  trade  wind,  is  now  little  used.  The  central  part  of 
the  island  consists  of  a  plateau,  rising  into  three  principal  groups  of 
mountains ;  that  in  the  south-west  containing  the  highest  summit  in  the 

1  Assisted  by  E.  J.  Hastings. 


Islands  of  the  Indian  Ocean       1021 


island,  Piton  de  la  Riviere  Noire,  which  reaches  2,700  feet.  The  Port 
Louis  group,  in  the  north-west,  culminates  in  the  remarkably  shaped  peak 
of  Mount  Peter  Botte.  The  north  is  low,  and  in  part  jungle-covered. 
There  are  numerous  streams,  tor- 
rents during  the  rainy  season,  but 
at  other  times  of  small  volume.  Vol- 
canic rocks  predominate,  but  Coral 
rock  also  occurs.  The  forests,  which 
formerly  covered  a  great  part  of  the 
island,  are  now  represented  by  a 
narrow  coast  belt  of  trees,  known  as 
the  Pas  Geometriques,  and  some  other 
Government  reserves  in  different 
parts.  Ebony  was  formerly  abun- 
dant, the  coco-nut  flourishes,  and 
amongst  special  forms  may  be  noted 
a  species  of  pandanus,  the  fibres  of 
which  are  used  for  the  manufacture 
of  sugar  sacks,  and  the  Ravenala, 
or  travellers'  tree,  found  on  the 
plateaux.  The  only  indigenous  mam- 
mal is  the  fruit-eating  bat;  the 
numerous  monkeys,  deer  and  hares 


m.SoverlOOO  fm.Q  underlOOOfm.Olan<| 
lOOfmliha. 


„,,  FIG.  482.— Islands  of  Western  Indian  Ocean. 

have   been   introduced.     The  dodo 

and  a  large  land  tortoise  which  abounded  on  the  island  when  the  first 
European  visitors  arrived  are  now  quite  extinct.  The  climate  is,  on 
the  whole,  healthy,  but  epidemics  of  malarial  fever  have  occurred,  and 
it  appears  now  to  be  endemic  amongst  the  native  population.  The 

average  rainfall  may  be  taken  for  the  lower 
parts  at  about  50  inches,  but  in  the  high 
plateaux  (at  Curepipe)  it  exceeds  130  inches. 
Hurricanes  sometimes  occur,  and  cause  great 
destruction. 

History  and  Government  of  Mau- 
ritius.— The  island  was  discovered  in  1505 
by  Mascarenhas,  a  Portuguese  navigator,  and 
by  him  named  Cerne,  the  supposed  ancient 
name  of  Madagascar ;  in  1598  a  Dutch  captain 
landed  at  Grand  Port,  and  gave  the  island 
its  present  name  in  honour  of  Prince  Maurice. 
In  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century  the 
Dutch  attempted,  unsuccessfully,  to  make  a 


FlG.  483.— Mauritius. 


settlement  at  Grand  Port ;  many  of  the  slaves  whom  they  brought  from 
Madagascar  escaped  to  the  woods,  and  later  these  Marons  caused  much 
trouble  to  the  colonists.  In  1715,  the  Dutch  having  abandoned  the  island, 


1022      The  International  Geography 

it  was  taken  by  the  French  East  India  Company.  Mahe  de  Labourdonnais, 
who  arrived  as  governor  in  1735,  proceeded  with  energy  and  success  to 
develop  the  resources  of  the  island,  establishing  Port  Louis  as  the  seat  of 
government,  introducing  the  sugar  industry,  and  encouraging  the  culti- 
vation of  cotton  and  indigo.  The  colony  continued  to  flourish,  and  even 
acquired  a  degree  of  local  independence,  but  at  the  same  time  it  was 
active  in  its  hostility  to  British  interests  an* commerce  in  the  east.  It  was 
accordingly  captured  by  a  British  expedition  in  1810,  and  its  cession  was 
formally  acknowledged  by  the  Treaty  of  Paris,  when  Reunion,  which 
had  also  been  taken,  was  restored  to  France.  The 
present  government  is  that  of  a  Crown  Colony,  the 
entire  administration  being  vested  in  the  Governor  ; 
various  modifications  have,  however,  been  effected  at 
different  times,  the  most  important  being  that  of  1885, 
when  a  representative  element  was  introduced.  The 
population  at  the  time  of  the  British  occupation  con- 
FIG.  484.— The  Badge  sisted,  besides  the  French  settlers,  chiefly  of  negroes, 
most  of  whom  had  been  brought  in  as  slaves.  On  the 
abolition  of  slavery  Indian  coolies  were  imported  to  supply  labour,  and 
this  has  resulted  in  a  great  predominance  of  Indians,  who  now  form 
two-thirds  of  the  population. 

Trade  and  Towns  of  Mauritius. — Agriculture  is  the  only 
important  industry,  and  sugar-cane  is  the  staple  crop.  Almost  all  the 
necessaries  of  life  have  to  be  imported  from  India,  Australia,  Cape 
Colony  and  the  United  Kingdom.  The  principal  export  is  sugar,  which 
forms  nine-tenths  of  the  total.  Two  lines  of  railway  run  through  the 
island.  There  is  regular  communication  with  Marseilles  and  Ceylon. 

Port  Louis,  the  capital  and  chief  town,  is  situated  on  the  north-west 
coast.  It  is  enclosed  on  the  land  sides  by  mountains,  which  cut  it  off  from 
the  prevailing  south-east  winds,  and  thus,  in  part,  account  for  its  rather 
unhealthy  character.  The  houses  are  built  on  the  slopes  of  the  hills,  and 
there  is  a  good  water  supply.  The  harbour  is  defended  by  fortifications, 
and  concentrates  the  foreign  trade  of  the  island.  Curepip?,  on  the  interior 
plateau,  at  an  elevation  of  over  1,800  feet,  enjoys  a  cool  and  healthful 
climate,  and  is  now  the  principal  sanatorium.  There  are  important  botanic 
gardens  and  a  well-equipped  observatory  to  the  north-east  of  Port  Louis. 

Amongst  the  small  dependencies  of  Mauritius  which  cannot  be  further 
noticed  are  the  St.  Brandon  Isles,  Aldabra,  noted  for  its  large  land  tor- 
toises, and  the  Amirantes  Islands,  yielding  coco-nut  oil. 

STATISTICS. 

1881.  1891.  1901. 

Area  of  Mauritius  Island  (in  square  miles)      . .        . .          705  . .  705  . .  705 

Population  of  Mauritius 360,411  ..  370,934  ..  378,195 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile 511  ..  526  ..  536 

Population  of  Port  Louis  (with  suburbs)        . .        . .      70,000  . .  62,046  . .  52,740 


Islands  of  the   Indian  Ocean        1023 

ANNUAL  TRADE  OF  MAURITIUS  (in  dollars). 

I87I-75-  1881-85.  1891-95- 

Imports 11,965,000        ..      13,440,000        ..      15,950,000 

Exports 15,280,000        ..      18,870,000        ..      13,335,000 

The  Seychelles. — The  Seychelles  archipelago  lies  930  miles 
north  of  Mauritius,  in  about  4°  S.  The  group  consists  of  thirty-four 
islands,  many  of  which  are  merely  uninhabited  rocks.  They  are  moun- 
tainous, composed  of  volcanic  rock,  and  rising  to  nearly  3,000  feet,  well- 
watered  and  fertile,  with  groves  of  coco-nut  palms  and  fine  timber  trees, 
and  capable  of  producing  all  kinds  of  tropical  plants.  The  characteristic 
product  of  the  group  is  the  coco  de  mer,  a  kind  of  double  coco-nut,  which 
grows  only  in  two  of  the  islands  (Praslin  and  Curieuse),  and  is  found 
nowhere  else  in  the  world.  Coco-nut  oil  is  the  staple  product,  and  vanilla 
is  an  important  culture.  The  islands  are  surrounded  by  coral  reefs.  The 
climate  is  excellent.  Mane,  the  principal  island,  has  on  the  north-east 
Port  Victoria,  the  small  capital,  with  a  fine,  sheltered  harbour. 

The  islands,  said  to  have  been  discovered  by  the  Portuguese  in  1505, 
were  explored,  by  direction  of  Labourdonnais,  in  1743,  and  a  few  years 
later  were  annexed  by  France.  In  1794  they  were  taken  by  the  British. 
The  majority  of  the  inhabitants  are  of  African  descent;  the  few  whites  are 
chiefly  of  French  origin. 

Rodriguez.— Rodriguez  lies  350  miles  east  of  Mauritius  in  19°  40'  S. 
It  is  of  volcanic  origin,  mountainous  (rising  to  1,760  feet),  exceedingly 
picturesque,  and  possessing  in  the  south-west  beautiful  stalactite  caverns. 
It  is  well-watered,  fertile  and  enjoys  a  good  climate.  Maize,  fruits  and 
vegetables  of  various  kinds  are  cultivated  ;  cattle  and  goats  are  reared, 
and  fishing  is  an  important  industry.  The  inhabitants  are  chiefly  African. 
The  island  was  discovered  early  in  the  sixteenth  century  by  a  Portu- 
guese, Diego  Rodriguez.  In  the  eighteenth  century  it  was  occupied  by 
the  French,  and  in  1809  seized  by  the  British  as  a  base  of  operations 
against  Mauritius. 

The  Chagos  Archipelago. — Oil  Islands  is  the  general  name  given 
to  various  scattered  groups,  which  have  no  physical  connection,  lying 
between  6|°  and  10°  S.,  and  between  77°  and  48°  E.,  including  the  Chagos, 
Eagle  or  Trois  Freres,  and  Cosmoledo  Island.  They  are  mainly  used  for 
the  production  of  coco-nut  oil,  and  are  for  the  most  part  exploited  by 
Mauritian  proprietors.  The  inhabitants  are  few,  chiefly  African  and 
Malagasy,  and  are  under  the  jurisdiction  of  a  travelling  stipendiary  magis- 
trate, representing  the  Mauritius  government.  Diego  Garcia,  one  of  the 
Chagos  group,  in  7°  S.,  is  a  coral  atoll  enclosing  a  fine  harbour,  of  special 
importance  as  a  coaling  station  on  the  routes  between  the  Red  Sea  and 
Western  Australia,  and  between  Mauritius  and  Ceylon. 


1O24      The  International  Geography 

III.— REUNION. 

BY   M.   ZlMMERMANN. 

Reunion. — The  island  of  Reunion,  formerly  called  Bourbon,  situated 
in  21°  S.  and  55^°  E.,  near  Mauritius,  is  one  of  the  Mascarene  group  lying  420 
miles  to  the  east  of  Madagascar  (Fig.  482).  It  is  entirely  volcanic,  although 
there  are  no  longer  active  volcanoes  in  the  north-western  part  where  the 
eroded  cliffs  of  lava  surround  great  corries,  or  cirques,  formed  by  subsi- 
dence, and  rise  in  rugged  peaks  over  6,500  feet  in  height.  The  Piton  des 
Neiges  attains  an  altitude  of  10,070  feet.  Volcanic  activity  still  manifests 
itself  in  the  south-east,  where  the  Piton  de  la  Fournaise  reaches  the  height 
of  8,200  feet.  Most  of  the  inhabitants  live  near  the  coast,  on  which  there 
are  many  small  towns,  while  in  the  interior,  more  than  2,500  feet  above 
the  sea,  the  sanatoria  of  Salazie  and  Hellbourg  are  situated  on  the  wind- 
ward, or  north-eastern,  side  of  the  island.  The  mean  annual  temperature 
on  the  coast  at  St.  Denis  is  78°  F.,  and  the  rainy  season  lasts  from 
December  to  April.  The  island  was  occupied  by  the  French  in  1664, 
and,  thanks  to  the  richness  of  the  coffee  plantations,  it  was  one  of  the  most 
successful  of  the  colonies  of  the  early  period.  In  the  nineteenth  century 
the  place  of  coffee  as  a  staple  production  was  taken  by  sugar,  and  the 
planters  prospered  greatly  for  a  time,  although  now  the  competition  of 
beetroot  sugar  has  almost  ruined  the  island.  The  production  fell  from 
82,000  tons  of  sugar  in  1860  to  34,000  in  1894 ;  in  the  same  period 
the  trade  of  the  colony  diminished  to  one-fifth  of  its  former  amount, 
and  the  population  is  also  falling  off.  In  addition  the  suppression  of 
slavery  and  the  institution  of  universal  suffrage  have  transferred  political 
power  from  the  whites  to  people  of  colour  :  Chinese,  Malays,  Hindus  and 
Arabs.  A  railway  runs  from  St.  Benoit  on  the  north-east  coast  to  the 
capital,  St.  Denis,  in  the  north,  and  continues  round  the  coast  to  St.  Pierre 
on  the  south-west ;  it  is  remarkable  for  the  number  and  length  of  its  tunnels. 

Remote  Dependencies. — The  lonely  volcanic  islets  of  St.  Paul  and 
Amsterdam,  situate  about  37°  S.  in  the  Indian  Ocean,  midway  between 
Africa  and  Australia,  and  the  desolate  island  of  Kerguelen  in  50°  S.  and 
70°  E.,  are  recognised  as  French  possessions.  The  islands  have  hitherto 
been  little  visited,  except  occasionally  by  sealing  and  whaling  ships. 
Kerguelen  has,  however,  been  touched  at  by  various  scientific  expeditions, 
including  those  of  the  Challenger  and  Valdivia,  of  the  astronomers  who 
observed  the  Transit  of  Venus  there  in  1874,  and  the  German  Antarctic 
Expedition,  which  kept  up  a  magnetic  observatory  during  1902. 

STATISTICS  (about  1895). 

Area  of  Reunion,  in  square  miles        ..        065 

Population 172,000 

Density  of  population  per  square  mile         178 

Population  of  St.  Denis 26,000 

STANDARD  BOOK. 

M.  Mounier.    "  Crags  and  Craters  ;  Rambles  in  the  Island  of  Reunion."    London,  1896. 


BOOK  VII.— THE  POLAR  REGIONS 


CHAPTER  LIV.— THE  NORTH  POLAR  REGIONS 

I.— THE   AECTIC   RECORD 

BY  SIR  MARTIN  CONWAY. 

Arctic  Exploration.— The  earliest  venture  in  Arctic  exploration  was 
the  voyage  of  Pytheas  beyond  the  British  Islands  about  B.C.  300,  when  the 
first  rumours  of  the  frozen  sea  and  the  Arctic  night  were  heard.  The 
voyage  of  the  Norseman  Othere,  who  about  A.D.  840  rounded  the  North 
Cape  and  reached  the  White  Sea,  is  of  special  interest,  as  being  recorded 
by  King  Alfred  the  Great  in  a  note  on  his  translation  of  Orosius'  History 
of  the  World  ;  this  was  the  first  record  of  geographical  discovery  in  the 
English  language.  A  new  period  of  exploration  was  introduced  by  the 
desire  to  find  a  northern  passage  to  Asia  under  the  stimulus  of  the  voyages 
of  Columbus,  Vasco  da  Gama,  and  Magellan  ;  this  led  to  the  development 
of  an  extremely  valuable  trade  in  cod,  seals  and  whales,  which  introduced 
the  period  of  whaling  voyages,  and  the  associated  cruises  of  men-of-war 
sent  north  by  various  governments  to  assist  vessels  in  distress  or  to  explore 
and  protect  the  fishing  grounds.  A  period  of  great  scientific  expeditions 
next  ensued,  sent  out  by  governments  for  the  purpose  of  investigating 
terrestrial  magnetism  and  conditions  of  climate,  which  merged  into  the  still 
current  period  of  small  private,  or  semi-private  expeditions  animated  by 
scientific  or  adventurous  motives,  and  each  usually  dependent  on  some 
definite  theory  or  plan. 

The  Search  for  a  Northern  Passage. — The  voyage  of  Cabot  in 
1497  was  the  first  which  set  out  with  the  intention  of  finding  a  way  to  the 
Indies  by  the  North-west.  It  resulted  in  the  discovery  of  the  Newfound- 
land fisheries  and  the  continent  of  North  America.  In  1553  the  expedition 
of  Willoughby  and  Chancellor,  and  in  1580  that  of  Pet,  to  find  a  passage 
round  the  north  of  Asia  failed  to  get  beyond  the  entrance  of  the  Kara  Sea,, 
but  opened  up  the  profitable  trade  of  the  Muscovy  Company  with  the  White 
Sea.  Meanwhile  Sir  Martin  Frobisher  made  a  dashing  cruise  to  the  west- 
ward, and,  misled  like  all  the  voyagers  in  northern  seas  of  his  period  by 
the  errors  of  the  map  of  the  Zeni,  believed  that  he  had  discovered  the 
beginning  of  the  passage  in  the  deep  bay  which  now  bears  his  name.  In 
1578  Sir  Francis  Drake,  finding  it  prudent  after  a  privateering  voyage 
against  the  Spanish  ports  on  the  Pacific  coast  of  South  America  to  return. 

1025 


1026       The  International  Geography 

to  England  by  an  unfrequented  route,  spent  some  time  in  a  vain  search  for 
the  hypothetical  Strait  of  Anian  from  the  Pacific  side. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century  the  merchants  of  London 
and  of  Holland  took  up  the  question  of  a  North-west  or  North-east  Passage 
very  seriously.  John  Davis  was  sent  out  successively  in  1585,  1586,  and 
1587,  and  as  a  result  of  his  explorations  he  pointed  to  the  entrance  of 
Hudson's  Bay  as  one  possible  route,  and  passing  northwards  up  Davis 
Strait  he  reached  72°  N.  on  the  west  coast  of  Greenland,  where  he  reported 
"  no  ice  to  the  north,  but  a  great  sea,  free,  large,  very  salt  and  blue  and 
of  an  unsearchable  depth."  He  named  the  headland  at  which  he  turned 
"  Sanderson  his  hope  of  a  North-west  Passage  to  India,"  and  Sanderson's 
Hope  it  remains  to-day.  Barents,  a  heroic  Dutch  pilot,  made  three  great 
voyages  between  1595  and  1597,  which  cannot  be  better  summarised 
than  in  the  title-page  of  the  English  translation  of  his  story  : — 

"The  True  and  Perfect  Description  of  three  voyages  so  strange  and 
woonderful  that  the  like,  hath  never  been  heard  of  before.  Done  and 
performed  three  yeares,  one  after  the  other,  by  the  ships  of  Holland 
and  Zeland,  on  the  north  sides  of  Norway,  Muscovia,  and  Tartaria,  towards 
the  Kingdomes  of  Cathaia  and  China  :  shewing  the  discoverie  of  the 
straights  of  Weigates,  Nova  Zembla,  and  the  country  lying  under  80° ; 
which  is  thought  to  be  Greenland,1  where  never  any  man  had  bin  before  : 
with  the  cruell  Beares  and  other  monsters  of  the  Sea,  and  the  unsupport- 
able  and  extreame  cold  that  is  found  to  be  in  those  places.  And  how  that 
in  the  last  voyage  the  shippe  was  so  enclosed  by  the  Ice  that  it  was  left 
there,  whereby  the  men  were  forced  to  build  a  house  in  the  cold  and  desart 
country  of  Nova  Zembla,  wherein  they  continued  ten  monthes  together, 
and  never  saw  nor  heard  of  any  man,  in  most  greate  cold  and  extreame 
miserie ;  and  how  after  that,  to  save  their  lives,  they  were  constrained  to 
sail  over  350  Dutch  miles  which  is  above  1000  miles  English,  in  little  open 
boates,  along  and  over  the  maine  Seas,  in  most  great  daunger,  and  with 
extreme  labour,  unspeakable  troubles  and  great  hunger." 

Barents,  brave  and  cheerful  to  the  end,  died  on  the  boat  voyage,  the 
first  of  a  long  series  of  Arctic  victims. 

Hudson  in  1607  sailed  due  north  between  Greenland  and  Spitsbergen 
in  the  attempt  to  reach  Japan  across  the  pole.  He  reached  the  farthest 
north  so  far  attained,  80°  23'.  In  1613,  when  following  up  Davis's  western 
route,  he  was  cast  adrift  by  a  mutinous  crew  in  the  bay  which  perpetuates 
his  name.  Baffin,  the  most  successful  of  the  many  who  sought  for  a 
passage  from  Davis  Strait  in  those  years,  traced  the  outline  of  that  gulf 
north  to  770  35',  pointing  out  and  naming  the  entrances  of  Smith  and  Jones 
Sounds,  and  as  he  believed  it  to  be  closed  to  the  northward  it  came  to  be 
called  Baffin  Bay.  For  236  years  no  other  navigator  went  so  far  in  that 
direction ;  and  attempts  to  find  a  North-west  or  North-east  Passage  were 

*  This  was  Spitsbergen. 


The  Arctic  Record  1027 

gradually  given  up.  Russian  travellers  traced  out  the  north  coast  of  Asia 
on  land  ;  Dezhneff  in  1648,  and  Vitus  Bering  in  1728  made  pioneer  sea- 
excursions  through  Bering  Strait.  The  employes  of  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company  subsequently  performed  the  same  service  for  the  north  coast  of 
America,  Mackenzie  tracing  the  Mackenzie  River  to  the  sea  in  1798. 

The  Whaling  Cruises. — During  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth 
centuries  and  the  first  thirty  or  forty  years  of  the  nineteenth,  large  whaling 
fleets  visited  the  seas  east  of  Greenland  and  Davis  Strait  every  year,  and 
many  of  the  ships  sailed  far  to  the  north.  Two  of  the  British  government 
expeditions  in  the  eighteenth  century  are  specially  memorable  ;  that  under 
Phipps  in  1773  (accompanied  by  the  great  Nelson  as  a  midshipman),  which 
reached  80°  48'  north  of  Spitsbergen,  and  that  under  Captain  Cook  on  his 
third  voyage  in  1776,  when  he  tried  in  vain  to  force  a  way  first  eastward 
and  then  westward  from  Bering  Strait. 

The  greatest  of  the  whalers  was  Scoresby,  a  master  in  his  craft  and  one 
of  the  most  fortunate,  an  earnest  student  of  nature  and  a  keen  explorer. 
He  traced  out  much  of  the  almost  inaccessible  east  coast  of  Greenland  and 
in  1806  he  carried  his  ship  to  the  farthest  north  of  the  period,  81°  30'.  In 
connection  with  whaling  many  government  expeditions  were  sent  out 
to  investigate  the  conditions  of  ice-navigation,  to  relieve  distressed  and 
shipwrecked  crews,  or  to  search  for  new  and  profitable  whaling 
grounds. 

In  one  of  the  few  expeditions  which  set  out  with  the  avowed  purpose 
of  trying  to  reach  the  pole  Sir  Edward  Parry,  in  1827,  sailed  north  of 
Spitsbergen,  and  by  sledging  over  the  ice-floes  succeeded  in  reaching  the 
remarkable  latitude  of  8aP  45'.  He  continued  to  struggle  on  until  he  found 
the  southward  drift  of  the  floes  in  the  East  Greenland  current  carried  him 
more  miles  to  the  south  in  one  day  than  his  men  were  able  to  drag  the 
sledges  northward.  During  the  previous  century  the  Arctic  seas  had 
become  familiar  to  seafaring  men  to  an  extent  that  it  is  now  difficult 
to  realise,  and  it  was  a  common  thing  for  many  vessels  to  winter  in 
the  ice. 

The  Achievement  of  the  Northern  Passages.— Scoresby' s  dis- 
coveries revived  the  dormant  interest  in  Arctic  exploration,  and  in  1818  Sir 
John  Ross  was  sent  out  by  the  British  government  to  search  for  a  North- 
west Passage  by  sea.  Ross  explored  Baffin  Bay,  but  failed  to  find  its 
northern  opening,  although  he  met  and  for  the  first  time  described  the 
most  northerly  tribe  of  Eskimo.  Mistaking  Lancaster  Sound  for  a  closed 
bay,  he  returned  without  adding  to  the  knowledge  of  the  north-west.  In 
the  following  year  Sir  Edward  Parry  was  sent  out  with  the  Hecla  and 
Griper,  and  succeeded  in  penetrating  Lancaster  Sound,  threading  the 
channels  of  the  Arctic  archipelago  to  the  entrance  of  Banks  Strait,  and 
thus  earned  a  reward  of  £5,000  offered  by  the  British  government  to  the 
first  Arctic  explorer  who  passed  110°  W.  Several  subsequent  voyages  led 
to  no  advance  on  this  journey.  In  1829,  on  a  private  expedition  under  Sir 


1028      The  International  Geography 

John  Ross,  his  nephew,  Sir  James  Clark  Ross,  fixed  the  position  of  the 
North  Magnetic  Pole  on  the  peninsula  of  Boothia  Felix  in  70°  5'  N.  and 
96°  44'  W.  For  ten  years  small  parties  under  conditions  of  extraordinary 
hardship  continued  to  trace  out  the  Arctic  coast  of  North  America  by  land, 
Sir  John  Franklin,  Sir  George  Back,  Sir  John  Richardson,  and  Mr.  T. 
Simpson  won  fame  from  their  heroic  and  successful  efforts  in  this  field. 

In  1845  a  finely-equipped  expedition  sailed  from  England  in  the  Erebus 
and  Terror, -which  had  just  returned  from  their  successful  Antarctic  voyage, 
and  Sir  John  Franklin,  although  fifty-nine  years  of  age,  insisted  on  taking 
command.  His  instructions  were  to  use  every  effort  to  reach  the  Pacific 
from  Lancaster  Sound.  On  July  26,  1845,  the  vessels  were  spoken  by  a 
whaler  in  Davis  Strait  :  they  were  never  seen  again.  In  1848  anxiety 
as  to  the  explorers  became  acute,  and  vigorous  efforts  were  made  by 
land  and  sea,  through  government  and  private  expeditions,  to  discover  their 
fate.  As  a  result  no  part  of  the  Arctic  regions  has  been  so  minutely 
explored  as  that  to  the  north  of  America.  Ships  were  sent  out  both  by 
Lancaster  Sound  or  Hudson  Bay  and  by  Bering  Strait  with  orders  to  leave 
nothing  undone  which  might  throw  light  on  the  fate  of  the  Erebus  and 
Terror  and  their  crews.  McClure  in  the  Investigator  entering  Bering  Strait 
in  1850,  made  his  way  eastward  to  Barrow  Strait,  where  the  ship  grounded, 
and  after  wintering  two  years  the  party  left  it  and  travelling  over  the  ice 
returned  to  England  by  a  vessel  from  Baffin  Bay.  The  North-west  Passage 
was  not  made  again  until  1905,  by  Amundsen.  The  numerous  naval 
expeditions  sent  out  through  the  straits  leading  off  Baffin  Bay  encountered 
an  almost  unparalleled  succession  of  misfortunes,  but  many  magnificent 
pieces  of  exploration  resulted,  amongst  them  the  sledging  journeys  of 
Sir  Leopold  McClintock,  which  have  never  been  surpassed.  In  1854 
Dr.  John  Rae  on  a  land  journey  learned  from  the  Eskimo  that  a 
great  disaster  had  occurred,  and  that  the  Franklin  expedition  was  totally 
lost.  In  the  following  year  the  British  Admiralty  gave  up  the  search, 
which  was,  however,  pursued  with  increased  energy  by  private  effort 
directed  by  the  determination  of  Lady  Franklin.  In  1857  Sir  Leopold 
McClintock  sailed  in  the  steam  yacht  Fox,  was  beset  by  ice  in  Melville 
Bay  and  drifted  1,200  miles  to  the  southward  in  the  Arctic  current  before 
getting  free ;  but  the  voyage  was  at  once  resumed  and  finally  crowned 
with  success.  In  the  spring  of  1859  he  discovered,  in  a  cairn  on  King 
William  Land,  the  only  document  relating  to  the  Franklin  expedition  ever 
found.  It  stated  that  Franklin  died  in  June,  1847,  and  that  the  ships 
had  been  deserted  in  April,  1848,  off  the  north  coast  of  King  William 
Land,  after  having  been  beset  in  the  ice  for  eighteen  months,  the  crews 
intending  to  retreat  over  the  ice  to  the  mainland  of  North  America. 
Not  one  survived,  and  the  tragic  story  remains  shrouded  in  mystery. 
Yet  these  men  had  "forged  the  last  link  of  the  North-west  Passage 
with  their  lives,"  for  the  ships  had  reached  waters  navigable  to  the 
Pacific. 


The  Arctic   Record  1029 

In  curious  contrast  to  the  sufferings  in  the  North-west,  the  record  of 
the  single  achievement  of  the  North-east  passage  is  one  of  unclouded 
success.  Baron  A.  E.  Nordenskiold  sailed  from  Tromso  with  a  Swedish 
expedition  in  the  Vega  in  June,  1878,  passed  through  the  Kara  Sea,  rounded 
Cape  Chelyuskin,  and  was  stopped  by  the  winter  ice  when  within  120 
miles  of  Bering  Strait,  which  was  entered  in  July,  1879,  and  so  tne  first 
and  last  voyage  to  Eastern  Asia  by  way  of  the  Arctic  Sea  was  accom- 
plished. 

Expeditions  of  the  "Alert  "and  "Discovery." — Between  1852  and 
1860  Sir  Edward  Inglefield,  Dr.  ElishaKent  Kane,  and  Dr.  Isaac  J.  Hayes,. in 
the  British  and  American  Franklin  Search  expeditions,  explored  Smith  Sound 
to  the  northward,  and  Hayes  believed  that  he  had  seen  a  great  open  Polar 
sea.  In  1870  another  American  expedition  under  Hall  went  still  further,  and 
penetrated  in  the  Polaris  to  82°  n',  where  Robeson  Channel  widens  into  the 
Arctic  Sea.  So  promising  did  this  route  appear  that  in  1875  a  great  Polar 
expedition  was  fitted  out  by  the  British  government  in  the  Alert  and 
Discovery,  and  placed  under  the  command  of  Sir  George  Nares,  who  was 
recalled  from  the  scientific  circumnavigation  of  the  Challenger  for  this 
purpose.  Making  his  way  through  Smith  Sound  and  the  northern  channels 
with  much  difficulty,  for  the  ice  was  un- 
favourable, Nares  wintered  in  82°  25'  N., 
on  the  edge  of  the  Palaeocrystic  Sea,  as  he 
termed  the  hummocky  ice-blocks  which 
beset  the  margin  of  the  Arctic  Sea.  His 
sledging  parties  traced  out  the  extreme 
northern  coast-lines  for  hundreds  of  miles, 
and  on  one  expedition  Commander  (now 
Rear-Admiral)  Albert  Hastings  Markham 
succeeded  in  reaching  83°  20',  a  higher 

north  latitude  than  had  ever  before  been  FlG"  &-The  Smith  Sound 
obtained  ;  but  the  sledge  parties  suffered  terribly,  scurvy,  the  bugbear 
of  Arctic  travellers,  having  appeared.  Scientific  observations  of  great  value 
in  geology,  natural  history,  and  especially  in  meteorology  and  on  the  tidal 
conditions  of  the  Arctic  Sea,  were  made  continuously. 

International  Circumpolar  Observations. — Shortly  after  the 
return  of  the  expedition,  and  of  Payer  and  Weyprecht  from  their  dis- 
covery of  Franz  Josef  Land,  a  scheme  was  set  on  foot  by  the  German 
government  for  the  systematic  and  simultaneous  international  study  of 
the  physical  conditions  round  the  whole  border  of  the  unknown  polar 
areas.  The  plans  were  settled  at  two  International  Polar  Conferences 
held  at  Hamburg,  under  the  presidency  of  Dr.  George  Neumayer,  in 
1879,  and  at  Bern  in  1880  ;  they  included  complete  meteorological  and 
physical  observations  at  special  stations  situated  as  far  north  as  possible  for 
a  full  year,  with  simultaneous  observations  at  a  number  of  permanent 
observatories  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  The  stations  which  were  ultimately 


1030      The  International  Geography 

established  are  enumerated  with  various  particulars  in  the  accompanying 
table,  and  it  is  to  be  noted  that  French  and  German  expeditions  were  sent 
at  the  same  time  to  Tierra  del  Fuego  and  South  Georgia  to  obtain  similar 
records  for  the  Antarctic  area. 

THE    INTERNATIONAL    CIRCUM-POLAR    STATIONS. 


£at.  N. 
78028' 
69056' 
67024' 
720  25' 
710  o' 
73023' 
71016' 
620  39' 
81044' 
66"36' 
640  ii' 
700  o' 

Long.                 Place.                      Duration 
16°  E.     ...    Spitsbergen       July,  i882-Aug.,  1883 
230  E.     ...     Bossekop     ...    June,  i882-Aug.,  1883 
26°36'E.      Sodankyla   ...     Aug.,  i882-Sept..|i883 
520  44'  E.      Novaya  ZemlyaAug.,  i882-July,  1883 
64°  (approx.)  Kara  Sea     ...     Sept.,  i882-Sept,  1883 
124°  E.  ...     Lena  delta  ...    Aug.,  i882-July,  1884 
158°  40'  W.   Pt.  Barrow...     Sept.,  i88i-Aug.,  1883 
1150  44'  W.   Fort  Rae      ...     Sept.,  i882-Aug.,  1883 
64°45'W.     Grinnell  Land    Aug.,  i882-July,   1883 
670  192'  W.   Kingawa  Fjord  Aug.,  i882-Aug.,  1883 
510  40'  W.    Godthaab     ...    Aug.,  i882-Aug.,  1883 
8028'W.      Jan  Mayen  ...    July,  i882-Aug.,  1883 

Leader. 
Ekholm 
Steen 
Lemstrom,  &c. 
Andreyeff    ... 
Hovgaard    ... 
Jurgens 
Ray 
Dawson 
Greely 
Giese 
Paulsen 
Wohlgemuth 

Nationality. 
Swedish. 
Norwegian. 
Finnish. 
Russian 
Danish. 
Russian. 
United  States. 
British  and  Canadian. 
United  States. 
German. 
Danish. 
Austro-Hungarian. 

The  most  remarkable  of  these  expeditions  was  that  led  by  Lieutenant 
(now  General)  A.  W.  Greely,  of  the  United  States  Army.  In  additioriTo  carry- 
ing out  the  programme  of  the  international  observations  at  the  most  northerly 
station,  he  and  his  party  explored  Grinnell  Land  and  other  lands,  and  made 
long  sledge  journeys  towards  the  Pole,  the  highest  latitude  attained  by 
Lieutenant  Lockwood  and  Sergeant  Brainard  being  83°  24',  about  four 
miles  beyond  Markham's  farthest.  The  expedition  sent  to  bring  Greely' s 
party  home  failed  through  mismanagement,  and  his  retreat  was  one  of  the 
most  disastrous  and  heroic  in  the  annals  of  Arctic  travel.  Most  of  his  men 
died  of  disease  or  starvation,  and  the  surviving  six  were  only  rescued  when 
at  the  last  extremity. 

The  "Tegetthof"  Expedition.— In  1872  an  Austro-Hungarian  ex- 
pedition was  sent  out  by  the  generosity  of  Count  Wilczek  under  the  com- 
mand of  Lieutenant  Weyprecht  for  sea  service  and  Lieutenant  Payer  for 
land  exploration,  with  the  object  of  attempting  to  cross  the  Polar  area  from 
the  neighbourhood  of  Novaya  Zemlya.  Off  that  island  in  August,  1872,  their 
ship,  the  Tegetthof,  was  beset  in  the  ice  in  76°  22'  N.,  and  drifted  with  the 
wind  and  currents  on  the  whole  northward  and  westward  for  a  year. 
Thus  they  were  carried  in  August,  1873,  to  an  unknown  archipelago  (Franz 
Josef  Land),  where  the  helpless  vessel  remained  fast  for  nearly  another 
year.  Payer  made  extensive  explorations  with  dog- sledges,  and  reached 
Cape  Fligely,  82°  5'  N.,  as  his  farthest  point.  The  expedition  abandoned 
the  Tegetthof  in  May,  1874,  and  returned  safely  in  boats  to  Novaya  Zemlya. 
Mr.  Leigh  Smith,  in  the  Arctic  yacht  Eira,  succeeded  in  reaching  Franz 
Josef  Land  easily  in  1880,  and  extended  the  explorations  ;  but  on  returning 
in  the  following  year  the  Eira  was  lost,  and  Mr.  Smith  and  his  party  passed 
the  winter  in  an  improvised  hut  as  bravely  as  Barents  three  centuries 
before,  escaping  during  the  next  summer  by  a  daring  boat  journey  across 
the  open  sea  to  Novaya  Zemlya.  Another  British  expedition,  fitted  out  by 
Mr.  A.  C.  Harmsworth,  under  the  leadership  of  Mr.  F.  G.  Jackson,  spent 


The  Arctic  Record  1031 

three  years  in   Franz  Josef    Land    in    1894-97,   accumulating  scientific 
observations. 

The  Drift  of  the  "Jeannette"  and  of  the  "  Fram."— Wrangell 
Land,  discovered  by  an  American  whaler  to  the  north-west  of  Bering 
Strait  in  1867,  was  at  first  believed  to  stretch  far  towards  the  Pole.  In 
1879  Captain  W.  G.  De  Long,  of  the  United  States  Navy,  passed  through 
Bering  Strait  in  the  Jeannette,  intending  to  winter  on  this  land ;  but 
his  vessel  was  caught  in  the  ice  and  drifted  north-westward,  passing 
north  of  Wrangell  Land,  which  proved  to  be  a  small  island.  For  nearly 
two  years  the  Jeannette  drifted  northward  and  westward,  but  was  crushed 
by  the  pack  ice,  and  sunk  in  June,  1881,  when  in  77°  15'  N.  The  crew 
retreated  over  the  ice  with  boats  and  sledges  to  the  New  Siberian  Islands, 
and  thence  to  the  Siberian  coast,  where  the  leader  and  most  of  his 
company  perished  from  hardship  and  starvation.  In  June,  1884,  some 
objects  were  found  on  an  iceberg  off  Julianehaab,  in  the  south-west  of 
Greenland,  which  appeared  to  belong  to  the  lost  Jeannette.  Some 
authorities  believed  that  the  relics  did  not  come  from  that  ship,  but 
others,  including  Dr.  Fridtjof  Nansen,  maintained  that  the  ice  had  really 
drifted  across  the  Polar  area  and  out  into  the  East  Greenland  current 
Confirmed  by  other  pieces  of  evidence,  Dr.  Nansen  concluded  that  there  is 
a  regular  drift  across  the  Pole  from  the  Asiatic  to  the  Greenland  side,  and 
he  planned  an  expedition  to  take  advantage  of  it.  Scurvy,  the  curse  of  most 
previous  Arctic  journeys,  he  proposed  to  avoid  by  the  scientific  com- 
position of  the  food  carried  ;  the  risk  of  his  ship  being  crushed  in  the  ice 
ivas  to  be  evaded  by  the  form  of  the  vessel,  which  would  cause  it  to  be 
lifted  out  of  the  water  by  the  pressure  of  ice  on  its  sides  ;  there  was  to  be 
no  battling  against  drifting  ice  or  hostile  currents  because  he  was  to  "  take 
a  ticket  with  the  ice,"  running  into  the  pack  near  the  place  where  the 
Jeannette  sank.  If  these  arguments  and  expedients,  suggested  by  the 
history  of  Arctic  voyages  and  disasters,  were  correct  and  sufficient,  he 
•expected  to  return  in  three  years.  In  August,  1893,  with  twelve  com- 
panions, Nansen  sailed  in  the  Fram  ("  Forward  "),  coasted  the  north-west 
of  Asia,  and  entered  the  ice-pack  in  78°  45'  north  of  the  New  Siberian 
Islands  in  autumn.  In  the  summer  of  1895,  when  the  ship,  resting 
securely  on  the  surface  of  the  ice,  had  drifted  to  84°  N.,  Nansen  and  one 
-companion,  Lieutenant  Johansen,  left  her  and  travelled  northward  on  ski 
with  dog-sledges  until  compelled  to  turn.  The  "  Farthest  North"  attained 
on  the  sea-ice  was  86°  14',  a  point  within  250  miles  of  the  Pole.  They 
reached  one  of  the  islands  of  the  Franz  Josef  Land  group,  in  time  to  pass 
the  winter  of  1895-96  in  a  shelter,  half-cave  half-hut,  living  on  the  flesh  of 
polar  bears  and  walruses.  In  the  early  spring  they  met  Mr.  Jackson,  and 
returned  in  his  steamer  in  August,  1896.  By  the  most  remarkable 
coincidence  in  Arctic  history,  the  Fram  broke  out  of  the  ice  north  of 
Spitsbergen  on  the  very  day  when  Nansen  arrived  at  Vardo ;  she  had 
drifted  exactly  in  the  manner  foreseen,  and  the  fortunate  thirteen  returned 


1032       The  International  Geography 

to  Christiania  in  perfect  health  on  the  uninjured  Fram.  Scientific  results 
of  the  highest  importance  had  been  obtained,  and  an  advance  made  of  3° 
of  poleward  progress. 

Other  recent  Expeditions.  Nansen  crossed  the  ice-covered  plateau 
of  Greenland  from  east  to  west  for  the  first  time  in  1888.  Mr.  R.  E. 
Peary,  civil  engineer  in  the  United  States  Navy,  landed  in  1891  on  the 
west  coast  of  Greenland,  north  of  Melville  Bay,  where  he  wintered,  and 
in  1892  made  a  splendid  journey  across  the  northern  edge  of  the 
inland  ice  to  Independence  Bay  on  the  north-east  coast,  a  distance  of 
600  miles,  afterwards  returning  to  his  base.  In  1895  he  succeeded  in 
again  reaching  Independence  Bay  in  very  bad  conditions  of  weather, 
with  the  loss  of  all  his  stores,  and  only  the  timely  discovery  of  musk 
oxen  saved  him  and  his  companion  from  starvation ;  but  the  further 
advance  he  had  hoped  to  make  was  impossible.  With  extraordinary 
perseverance  he  continued  to  spend  year  after  year  in  the  far  north 
endeavouring,  though  without  much  result,  to  train  the  native  Eskimo  for 
long  journeys  over  the  frozen  sea,  and  although  he  came  home  in  1902, 
his  plans  were  not  abandoned.  In  1896  and  1897  the  writer  explored  the 
interior  of  Spitsbergen,  and  crossed  it  for  the  first  time  ;  and  in  1898 
Professor  Nathorst  circumnavigated  that  island  group,  and  definitely 
established  the  geography  of  the  region  between  it  and  Franz  Josef  Land. 
An  attempt  by  the  Swedish  engineer  Andree  to  cross  the  North  Polar 
area  in  a  balloon  must  be  classed  with  the  mysterious  tragedies  of  explora- 
tion. On  July  u,  1897,  ne  ascended  in  the  north  of  Spitsbergen  with  two 
companions,  and  drifted  away  to  the  north.  Pigeon  messages  dated  two 
days  later  showed  that  the  direction  of  progress  had  been  north-easterly ; 
no  trustworthy  news  has  since  been  received.  The  Duke  of  the  Abruzzi 
with  a  well-equipped  expedition  in  the  Stella  Polare  wintered  to  the  north 
of  Franz  Josef  Land  in  1899-1900,  and  one  of  his  staff,  Captain  Cagni, 
succeeded  by  a  splendid  sledge  journey  in  reaching  86°  34'  N.  on  the 
frozen  sea,  the  farthest  north  yet  attained.  An  American  expedition  to 
the  same  region  in  1902  led  to  no  advance  in  knowledge,  but  prepared 
the  way  for  future  exploration.  Captain  Sverdrup  spent  the  years  1898- 
1902  exploring  the  Arctic  Archipelago  west  of  Smith  Sound,  and  Commander 
Peary  attained  the  "  farthest  north  "  of  87°  6'  in  the  Roosevelt  in  1906. 

There  is  no  reason  to  fear  a  cessation  of  enterprise  in  this  direction 
until  the  North  Pole  is  reached,  and  that  sentimental  incentive  withdrawn. 
If  this  consummation  is  delayed  for  many  years,  the  exploration  of  the 
Arctic  regions  will  probably  be  much  more  thorough,  and  eventually  more 
complete  than  if  some  fortunate  adventurer  quickly  succeeds  in  reaching 
the  coveted  latitude  of  90°.  The  commercial  motive  to  Polar  exploration 
has  practically  gone  with  the  collapse  of  the  whaling  industry,  and  only 
science  and  adventure  continue  to  tempt  men  into  the  unknown  remoteness 
of  "  the  white  North." 


The  Arctic  Regions  IO33 

STANDARD  BOOKS. 

A.  W.  Greely.    "  Handbook  of  Arctic  Discoveries."    New  York  and  London,  1896. 

Sir  C.  R.  Markham.    "  The  Threshold  of  the  Unknown  Regions."     2nd  ed.    London,  1876. 

^-^— — — ^—    "  Life  of  John  Davis  the  Navigator  "  (includes  historical  references). 

London,  1889. 
A.  Chavanne  and  others.  "  Die  Literatur  iiber  die  Polar-Regionen  der  Erde  "  (over  6,000 

titles).    Vienna,  1878. 
Sir  John   Barrow.     "Chronological  History  of  Voyages  into  the   Arctic  Regions." 

London,  1818. 
"  Voyages  of  Discovery  and  Research  within  the  Arctic  Regions  from 

the  year  1818  to  the  present  time."    London,  1846. 
A.  H.  Markham.    "Life  of  Sir  John  Franklin"  (Includes  a  summary  of  the  Franklin 

Search).    London,  1891. 
Note. — A  very  full  list  of  narratives  of  voyages  will  be  found  in  Greely's  "  Handbook." 


II— THE  ARCTIC  REGIONS 

BY  DR.  FRIDTJOF  NANSEN,  G.C.V.O., 

Norwegian  Minister  in  London. 

Definition. — The  Arctic  circle,  in  66°  32'  N.,  forms  the  southern  limit 
of  the  circumpolar  region,  inside  which  the  Sun  does  not  set  during  some 
part  of  the  summer  (giving  the  perpetual  Polar  day  with  the  midnight 
Sun),  and  where  the  Sun  does  not  rise  some  part  of  the  winter  (giving  the 
Arctic  or  Polar  night).  This  region  is  called  the  Arctic  or  North  Polar 
region.  As  the  distance  of  the  Arctic  circle  from  the  pole  is  1,408  geo- 
graphical miles,1  the  diameter  of  this  region  is  2,816  miles ;  and  its  total 
area  is  8,201,883  square  miles,  more  than  one-fourth  of  which  is  still  un- 
known. Taking  it  as  probable  that  this  unknown  region  is  principally 
sea,  it  must  strike  one  upon  looking  at  a  circumpolar  map  of  the  Arctic 
region  how  by  far  the  greater  part  of  this  area  is  covered  by  sea,  whilst 
the  land  principally  forms  a  circular  fringe  along  its  outer  margin,  being 
the  northern  terminations  of  the  two  great  continental  masses  of  the 
world — the  European-Asiatic  and  the  American-Greenland.  Thus  the 
Arctic  circle,  which  is  8,640  miles  long,  passes  about  four-fifths  of  its 
distance  over  land  and  only  about  1,800  miles  over  water  ;  the  principal 
parts  of  this  water  are  the  Norwegian-Greenland  Sea  (the  broad  gap 
between  Norway  and  Greenland),  Davis  Strait,  and  Bering  Strait  which 
are  the  three  entrances  from  the  open  ocean  into  the  Polar  Sea. 

The  Arctic  Sea. — The  Polar  or  Arctic  Sea  must  be  considered  as 
a  branch  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean ;  it  is  a  large  gulf  extending  as  a  deep 
depression  northwards  between  Norway  and  Greenland.  The  width  in 
its  narrowest  part,  between  the  Lofoten  Islands  (Norway)  and  Shannon 
Island  (east  coast  of  Greenland),  is  about  700  miles  ;  but  further  north  it 
broadens  out  to  cover  the  whole  central  part  of  the  Arctic  region.  On 
the  other  side  of  the  Pole,  just  opposite  Norway,  it  has  a  quite  narrow 
communication  with  the  Pacific  Ocean  through  Bering  Strait,  49  miles 
broad  and  only  27  fathoms  deep.  The  Polar  Sea  is  quite  shallow  along 

1  The  geographical,  nautical,  or  sea-mile  used  throughout  this  article  is  one-sixtieth  of 
an  equatorial  degree. 


1034       The   International  Geography 


its  whole  margin,  a  shallow  submarine  plateau  extending  some  distance 
northwards  from  the  continents  on  both  sides.  These  plateaux,  or 
drowned  plains,  evidently  mark  an  old  extension  of  these  continents, 
remnants  of  which  still  exist  as  the  Arctic  lands,  Spitsbergen,  Novaya 
Zemlya,  Franz  Josef  Land,  the  New  Siberian  Islands,  and  the  American 
Arctic  Archipelago.  Between  Spitsbergen  and  Norway  this  plateau  is 
in  the  deepest  part  260  fathoms  under  the  sea-surface  ;  in  the  Barents 
Sea,  between  Spitsbergen,  Franz  Josef  Land,  and  Novaya  Zemlya,  the 
depth  is  about  100  to  160  fathoms.  The  deepest  depression  on  this 
plateau,  400  fathoms,  occurs  just  east  of  Vaigach  Island  in  the  Kara  Sea. 
Along  the  whole  Siberian  and  American  coasts  its  depth  is  less  than  100 
fathoms.  Its  northern  limit  is  not  known  on  the  American  side.  On  the 

Siberian  side,  east  of 
the  New  Siberian  Is- 
lands, it  still  exists  in 
77°  N.  or  350  miles  from 
the  main  land,  with  no 
greater  depth  than  80 
fathoms,  and  generally 
much  less.  North  of 
the  New  Siberian  Is- 
lands the  plateau,  with 
depths  of  50  fathoms 
or  less,  extends  a  similar 
distance  north  from  the 
mainland  to  nearly  79° 
N.,  where  the  bottom 
suddenly  sinks  to  form 
a  deep  sea,  with  depths 
of  2,000  fathoms.  The 
northern  and  eastern 
extension  of  this  sea  is 
still  unknown,  but  west- 


Unknown 


FIG.  486.— The  Arctic  Regions. 


ward  we  know  it  extends  north  of  Franz  Josef  Land  and  Spitsbergen, 
with  depths  of  more  than  1800  fathoms  (probably  much  more),  and 
the  plateau  on  which  these  lands  are  situated  probably  sinks  abruptly 
not  very  far  to  the  north  of  the  known  land.  In  84^°  N.  north-east  of 
Franz  Josef  Land  (about  75°  E.)  the  depth  is  2,020  fathoms.  From  the 
north-west  corner  of  Spitsbergen  a  submarine  ridge  with  depths  of  400 
and  430  fathoms  extends  for  an  unknown  distance  in  a  north-westerly 
direction.  It  may  separate  the  great  depths  of  the  Arctic  Sea  from  those 
in  the  Greenland  and  Norwegian  Sea,  the  deepest  part  of  which  is  the 
Swedish  Deep  of  2,650  fathoms,  west  of  Spitsbergen  (78°  N.).  This  de- 
pression is  separated  from  the  great  depths  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean  by  the 
shallow  Faeroe-Icelandic  (or  Wyville  Thomson)  submarine  ridge  (250  to 


The  Arctic  Regions  IO35 


300  fathoms  deep),  passing  from  Scotland  by  the  Faeroes  and  Iceland  to 
Greenland. 

West  of  Greenland  there  is  another  gulf,  extending  from  the  Atlantic 
Ocean  for  1,170  miles  northward  into  the  Arctic  region,  in  its  southern  part 
called,  Davis  Strait,  in  its  northern,  Baffin  Bay.  Like  the  Arctic  Sea,  it  has 
a  submarine  ridge  or  barrier  in  the  south,  whilst  it  is  very  deep  further 
north.  Davis  Strait  is  in  its  narrowest  part,  between  Holstenborg,  in 
Greenland,  and  Cumberland  Peninsula  (Baffin  Land),  160  miles  broad, 
and  only  about  120  fathoms  deep.  Baffin  Bay,  somewhat  broader  and 
very  deep,  is  in  communication  with  the  Polar  Sea  by  the  narrow 
channels  of  Smith,  Jones,  and  Lancaster  Sounds. 

Circulation  of  the  Arctic  Sea.— The  circulation  is  very  much  the 
same  in  both  these  branches  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  On  the  right  hand  or 
eastern  side  a  comparatively  warm  current  runs  in ;  on  the  left  hand  or 
western  side  a  cold  current  runs  out.  This  condition  is  to  a  great  extent 
caused  by  the  rotation  of  the  Earth.  A  part  of  the  Gulf  Stream  runs 
through  the  strait  between  the  Faeroes  and  Scotland,  northward  along  the 
north-west  coast  of  Norway  and  the  west  coast  of  Spitsbergen,  into  the 
Polar  basin.  The  depth  of  the  channel  between  the  Faaroes  and  Scotland 
is  between  400  and  500  fathoms,  which  determines  the  depth  of  the 
current.  The  northern  branch  of  the  Gulf  Stream  keeps  the  same 
depth  even  far  north  in  the  Polar  Sea.  On  the  west  coast  of  Spits- 
bergen it  is  found  to  be  about  no  miles  broad,  and  400  to  500  fathoms 
deep.  The  temperatures  of  the  water  are  between  32°  and  38°  F. 

The  course  of  the  Gulf  Stream  drift  inside  the  Polar  basin  is  not 
well  known  ;  probably  it  runs  north-east  and  east,  north  of  Spitsbergen 
and  north  of  Franz  Josef  Land.  As  the  cold  surface  water  is  diluted  by 
additions  of  fresh  water  from  the  Siberian  and  American  rivers  running 
northward  into  the  Polar  Sea,  it  is  less  saline  and  lighter  than  the  warmer, 
but  more  saline  Gulf  Stream  water,  which  consequently  sinks  under  the 
cold  surface  layer.  In  the  sea  north  of  Spitsbergen,  in  about  84°  N.,  the 
warm  Gulf  Stream  water  is  found  filling  the  space  between  100  fathoms 
and  490  fathoms  depth,  with  temperatures  above  32°  (from  32°  to  34°  F.). 
The  current  consequently  reaches  to  the  same  depth  as  further  south. 
North  of  Franz  Josef  Land,  in  85^°  N.  and  60°  E.,  the  temperature  of  the 
water  between  100  fathoms  and  450  or  500  fathoms  is  also  above  32°.  As 
far  east  as  north  of  the  New  Siberian  Islands,  in  81°  N.  and  130°  E.,  we 
find  almost  the  same  thing  :  between  120  fathoms  and  380  fathoms  depth 
the  temperature  of  the  water  is  above  32°  (32°  to  33°).  How  the  conditions 
are  in  this  respect  in  the  rest  of  the  Polar  basin  is  unknown.  It  receives 
another  though  comparatively  insignificant  contribution  of  warm  water 
through  Bering  Strait,  where  the  temperatures  are  from  37°  to  48°  F.  The 
water  running  out  of  the  Polar  basin  is  mostly  very  cold.  The  water  of 
the  East  Greenland  Polar  current  running  southward  along  the  east  coast  of 
Greenland  has  temperatures  between  31*8°  and  29*3°,  only  quite  near  the 
67 


1036      The  International  Geography 

Greenland  coast  there  is  a  thin  layer  of  warmer  water  in  about  100  fathoms 
depth,  with  temperatures  from  32°  to  32'8°. 

If  we  consider  the  Barents  Sea  separately  we  find  in  it  the  same  con- 
ditions as  in  the  Greenland  Sea,  a  warm  current  forming  a  branch  of  the 
Gulf  Stream  running  in  on  the  right  hand  (i.e.,  the  southern  side)  east- 
ward round  the  North  Cape  in  Norway,  and  a  cold  current  running 
out  on  the  left  hand  (i.e.,  the  northern  side)  along  the  south  coast  of 
Franz  Josef  Land  and  the  south-east  coast  of  Spitsbergen.  Whether 
much  of  the  warm  water  actually  enters  the  Polar  basin  through  the 
opening  between  Novaya  Zemlya  and  Franz  Josef  Land  may  be  con- 
sidered as  doubtful. 

In  Davis  Strait  a  current  runs  north  on  its  east  side  along  the  west 
coast  of  Greenland,  consisting  partly  of  warm  Atlantic  water,  partly  of 
water  from  the  East  Greenland  Polar  current  which  rounds  Cape  Farewell 
and  runs  west  and  north-west  along  the  western  coast,  carrying  drift  ice 
with  it  for  some  distance,  until  the  floes  are  broken  up  and  melt,  exposed 
to  the  warmer  Atlantic  water  ;  and  they  seldom  come  further  north  than 
Godthaab,  in  about  64°  N.  On  the  west  side  of  Davis  Strait  a  cold 
.Polar  current  flows  out  from  Baffin  Bay  southward  along  the  east  coast 
of  Baffin  Land,  carrying  much  drift-ice  as  well  as  Greenland  icebergs  out 
past  Newfoundland.  This  polar  current  is  not  only  formed  by  the  water 
running  north  on  the  east  side  of  Davis  Strait,  but  it  receives  also  con- 
tributions through  Smith  Sound,  Jones  Sound,  and  Lancaster  Sound, 
where  the  currents  run  into  Baffin  Bay. 

Ice  Conditions  of  the  Arctic  Sea.— The  warm  and  cold  currents 
of  the  Arctic  Sea  naturally  determine  the  formation  and  distribution  of 
the  sea-ice  or  drift-ice.  Where  warm  currents  run  in  northwards  there  is 
but  little  ice  formed,  and  the  ice  is  carried  away  northward  ;  thus  we  find 
no  ice  on  the  north  coast  of  Norway,  comparatively  little  on  the  west 
coast  of  Novaya  Zemlya,  and  generally  none  in  summer  on  the  west  coast 
of  Spitsbergen,  and  comparatively  little  even  in  winter.  As  may  be  ex- 
pected, it  is  in  this  region  that  open  sea  is  found  furthest  north  >  in  favour- 
able seasons  open  water  may  occur  at  least  as  far  as  82°  N.  north  of 
Spitsbergen.  In  Davis  Strait  and  Baffin  Bay  the  conditions  are  not  so 
favourable,  but  in  good  seasons  the  west  coast  of  Greenland  is  nearly  free 
of  ice  as  far  north  as  Smith  Sound.  West  and  north-west  of  the  New 
Siberian  Island  there  is  much  open  water  in  summer,  extending  at  least  to 
79°  N.  On  the  East  Siberian  and  Alaskan  side  of  the  Polar  basin  there  is 
comparatively  little  open  water.  North  of  Bering  Strait  it  seldom  extends 
much  higher  than  73°  N. 

Where  the  cold  polar  currents  run  out  or  southward  we  generally 
find  much  ice,  which  is  constantly  being  carried  out  of  the  Polar  Sea,  and 
often  far  south.  Thus  the  south  coast  of  Franz  Josef  Land,  the  east  and 
south-east  coasts  of  Spitsbergen  are  blockaded  most  part  of  the  year  by 
drift-ice.  The  same  is  the  case  along  the  whole  east  coast  of  Greenland, 


The  Arctic  Regions  IO37 

where  the  ice  is  carried  south  of  Cape  Farewell.    Along  the  east  coasts  of 
Baffin  Land  and  Labrador  masses  of  floe-ice  are  carried  still  further  south. 

The  distribution  of  the  ice  varies  during  the  year,  not  only  because  of 
the  difference  in  the  melting  on  account  of  the  variation  of  solar  heat  in 
summer  and  winter,  but  also  to  a  great  extent  on  account  of  the  seasonal 
changes  in  the  winds  and  currents.  Observations  are,  however,  lacking  on 
this  subject.  The  interior  Polar  Sea  or  the  Polar  Basin  is  mostly  covered 
with  floating  ice,  which  does  not  form  a  continuous  or  unbroken  ice- 
sheet,  as  it  is  always  being  broken  up  into  floes  by  the  winds  and 
tidal  currents.  This  ice  is  in  constant  motion,  mainly  on  account  of 
the  winds.  The  winds  often  change  their  direction,  and  before  the 
direction  of  the  drift  of  the  ice  can  be  changed,  the  result  may  be  heavy 
ice  pressures,  breaking  and  piling  up  the  ice  in  ridges  and  hummocks. 
Such  pressures  also  arise  from  the  changing  tide-currents,  especially  at 
spring-tide.  This  is  principally  the  case  near  the  outskirts  of  the  Polar 
Sea.  The  average  direction  of  the  winds  during  the  year  is  from  the 
Siberian  and  Bering  Strait  side  towards  the  Greenland  side  of  the  Polar 
Basin.  The  drift  ice  is  consequently  yearly  being  carried  across  the  Polar 
Sea  in  this  direction,  and  is  either  carried  southwards  along  the  east  coast 
of  Greenland,  or  is  choked  up  against  the  north  coast  of  Greenland, 
Grinnell  Land,  and  the  American  Arctic  Archipelago,  perhaps  at  last  to 
find  its  way  out  through  some  of  the  channels. 

Icebergs. — Icebergs  are  quite  different  in  their  origin  and  formation 
from  the  sea-ice  or  floe-ice,  and  occur  only  in  the  outskirts  of  the  Arctic 
Region,  especially  in  Greenland  and  Labrador  waters.  While  the  floe-ice  is 
formed  on  the  surface  of  the  sea,  icebergs  originate  from  the  glaciers,  and 
are  formed  on  land.  Their  height  above  the  sea  may  be  200  feet  or  more, 
about  eight  times  the  bulk  of  ice  seen  above  water  is  submerged,  thus  the 
weight  of  a  single  berg  may  be  millions  of  tons.  Most  of  them  are  formed 
in  the  glacier-fjords  on  the  east  and  west  coast  of  Greenland.  By  the 
Polar  current  they  are  carried  southward  along  the  east  coast,  round  Cape 
Farewell.  On  the  west  coast  they  drift  northward  until  they  are  all 
carried  across  Davis  Strait  or  Baffin  Bay  into  the  Labrador  current,  which 
floats  them  southward  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  where  they  form  a  well- 
known  danger. 

Climate. — The  physical  condition  of  the  Arctic  regions  is  mainly 
affected  by  the  climatic  conditions,  but  our  knowledge  in  this  respect  is 
still  so  deficient  that  it  is  very  difficult  to  make  any  useful  generalisation. 
The  atmospheric  pressure  and  the  wind  regulate  the  movements  of  the 
currents  and  drift-ice.  These  conditions  regulate  the  temperature  and  the 
precipitation,  which  again  regulate  the  formation  of  ice  and  the  accumu- 
lation of  snow  into  glaciers  and  ice-caps.  At  the  same  time  the  tempera- 
ture, the  currents  and  the  distribution  of  ice  affect  the  winds. 

Arctic  Winds. — The  winds  of  the  Arctic  regions  taken  as  a  whole, 
cannot  be  said  to  be  very  strong,  neither  can  the  Arctic  region  as  a  whole 


1038      The  International  Geography 

be  said  to  be  very  windy.  But  on  the  outskirts  in  such  places  as  Franz 
Josef  Land,  Novaya  Zemlya,  Spitsbergen,  and  also  Greenland,  where  there 
is  an  immense  expanse  of  ice-covered  sea  or  land  on  one  side,  whilst  the 
open  sea  is  not  far  off  on  the  other,  the  climatic  conditions  are  un- 
settled, and  strong  gales  may  be  very  frequent,  especially  in  winter. 
These  gales  also  bring  sudden  changes  of  temperature,  and  rises  of  more 
than  35°  F.  in  less  than  a  day  are  not  uncommon.  Remarkably  warm 
winds  sometimes  occur  on  the  coast  of  Greenland  ;  they  are,  however,  mere 
local  phenomena  akin  to  the  fohn  of  the  Alps.  Fogs  and  precipitation  are 
frequent.  In  the  interior  of  the  Polar  Basin  the  climate  is  quite  different. 
Over  these  extensive  plains  of  ice-covered  sea  the  climatic  conditions  are 
very  uniform  and  have  great  stability.  Gales  are  comparatively  rare,  and 
are  never  strong.  The  same  clear  weather,  especially  in  the  winter,  with 
comparatively  little  wind  may  last  almost  continuously  for  weeks  or  even 
months.  The  temperature  varies  very  little,  though  a  strong  wind  nearly 
always  brings  a  rise  of  temperature.  Fogs  are  only  formed  in  the  late 
summer,  when  there  is  much  fresh  water  in  ponds  on  the  top  of  the  ice, 
and  many  open  channels  between  the  floes. 

Arctic  Temperature. — The  temperature  is  mainly  influenced  by  the 
winds  and  currents,  and  by  the  distribution  of  ice  and  land.  Extensive 
land-masses  will,  on  account  of  the  radiation  of  heat,  cause  a  very  low 
winter-temperature,  and  also  a  comparatively  low  annual  temperature ;  this 
will  be  still  more  the  case  if  the  land  is  covered  by  a  snow  or  ice  sheet. 
An  extensive  sea  will,  even  when  it  is  covered  by  floating  ice,  cause  a  com- 
paratively high  annual  temperature  and  reduced  extremes  both  of  summer 
and  winter.  On  account  of  the  peculiar  distribution  of  land  and  water  in 
the  Arctic  regions  we  can  therefore  understand  that  the  lowest  temperature 
is  not  to  be  sought  near  the  geographical  pole,  but  near  the  great  land- 
masses.  The  lowest  temperature  ever  observed  on  the  Earth  is  — 90°  F. 
( — 68°  C.)  in  Verkhoyansk,  in  East  Siberia,  only  some  fifty  miles  north 
of  the  Arctic  circle,  whilst  the  lowest  temperature  observed  during  three 
winters  in  the  Polar  Basin  as  far  north  as  between  85°  and  86°  N.  was 
only  —63°  F.  Instead  of  one  pole  of  cold  there  are  two,  or  rather  three ; 
one  in  north-eastern  Siberia  (north  of  Yakutsk),  one  in  the  north  of  America 
(north  of  the  Parry  Islands),  and  a  third  in  the  interior  of  Greenland. 
The  highest  annual  temperatures  inside  the  Arctic  regions  are  to  be 
found  along  the  north  coast  of  Norway  and  the  west  coast  of  Spitsbergen, 
where  the  Gulf  Stream,  with  much  open  and  warm  water,  exercises  a 
remarkable  warming  effect. 

Arctic  Flora.— The  distribution  of  the  vegetation  in  the  Arctic  region 
is  greatly  influenced  by  the  temperature  of  the  summer,  the  winter  tem- 
perature is  not  of  much  importance.  Thus  the  line  of  forest  can  be  said  nearly 
to  follow  the  July  isotherm  of  50°  F.  Forests  of  pine  trees  or  larch  go 
farthest  north  in  the  north  of  Norway,  and  along  the  Siberian  rivers,  where 
on  the  Khatanga  they  reach  the  farthest  point,  nearly  73°  N.  North  of 


The  Arctic  Regions  IO39 

the  line  of  forest,  dwarf  birches,  willows,  and  other  low  shrubs  grow, 
besides  a  quantity  of  Arctic  flowers,  grasses,  mosses,  and  lichens.  In 
Greenland  there  are  no  forest,  or  real  trees,  but  in  the  south  the  dwarf 
birch,  the  juniper,  the  alder  (olnus),  and  especially  the  willow  may  form 
small  low  woods,  which  in  sheltered  places  may  even  reach  the  height  of 
a  man  or  more.  In  north  Greenland  only  creeping  dwarf  willows  are 
found.  In  Arctic  America  there  is  a  somewhat  similar  distribution  of 
bushes  and  shrubs.  In  Spitsbergen  the  only  bushes  found  are  rare 
dwarf  birch  and  some  dwarf  willows.  In  Franz  Josef  Land  there  are  no 
bushes  or  shrubs,  the  vegetation  consists  only  of  the  most  Arctic  plants 
and  flowers,  including  Saxifraga  oppositifolia,  Draba  alpina,  Cochlearia  fenes- 
trata,  and  the  Arctic  poppy  (Papaver  nudicaule). 

Arctic  Fauna. — The  distribution  of  animals  is  perhaps  less  influenced 
by  the  climate.  In  the  Arctic  Seas  there  is  an  abundance  of  lower  animal 
life  on  the  bottom  as  well  as  at  intermediate  depths,  even  in  very  high 
latitudes,  though  it  decidedly  decreases  with  the  latitude  or  perhaps  rather 
with  the  distance  from  the  open  sea.  Fishes  are  not  very  numerous  far 
north,  some  species  of  cottus,  a  small  species  of  codfish  (Gadus  polaris) 
and  a  few  others,  are  probably  the  most  Arctic  of  all.  The  Polar  shark 
(Scymnus  borealis)  also  seems  to  go  very  far  north  into  the  ice-covered  sea. 

Birds  do  not  occur  in  a  large  variety  of  species  in  the  Arctic  regions, 
but  there  is  often  a  great  abundance  of  individuals,  and  the  bird-rocks  or 
rookeries  of  Spitsbergen,  Franz  Josef  Land,  and  Greenland,  with  thousands 
of  guillemots,  dovekies,  little  auks,  kittiwakes,  fulmars  or  mollymawks,  and 
various  species  of  Arctic  gulls,  form  a  very  characteristic  feature  of  Arctic 
scenery.  In  summer  straggling  birds  may  probably  be  found  everywhere 
inside  the  Polar  Basin. 

Mammal  life  is  found  on  most  of  the  Arctic  lands  as  well  as  in  the  sea. 
Of  land  mammals  the  polar  bear  and  the  polar  fox  are  most  widely  dis- 
tributed ;  they  are  found  straggling  over  land  and  sea  almost  everywhere 
inside  the  Arctic  circle.  The  reindeer  has  also  a  great  circumpolar 
distribution  ;  it  occurs  in  all  Arctic  Europe,  Siberia,  Arctic  America,  Green- 
land (on  the  west  coast  and  on  the  north-east  coast),  Spitsbergen,  and 
Novaya  Zemlya,  but  not  in  Franz  Josef  Land,  though  post-glacial  reindeer 
antlers  have  been  found  there.  The  reindeer  does  not  go  so  far  north  as  the 
musk  ox,  which  now,  however,  only  occurs  on  the  north-east  coast  and 
the  north  coast  of  Greenland  and  in  Arctic  America,  though  in  earlier 
periods  it  had  a  quite  circumpolar  distribution.  In  the  Arctic  Seas  there  is 
more  mammal  life  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  ocean,  and  here  we  even 
find  some  of  the  largest  animals  which  ever  lived,  the  whales.  The  best 
known  whale  by  name  is  the  Greenland  whale  or  the  right  whale,  which 
is  very  valuable  on  account  of  its  long  whalebone.  It  was  once  abundant 
and  had  a  wide  distribution,  but  is  now  nearly  extinct ;  it  does  not  go  far 
into  the  ice-covered  seas.  There  are  several  other,  but  less  valuable,  large 
species  of  whales,  besides  a  good  many  smaller  ones.  The  most  Arctic  of  all 


1040       The  International  Geography 

whales  is  the  narwhal  or  sea-unicorn,  which  goes  far  into  the  ice-covered 
sea,  and  occurs  in  the  Polar  Basin  as  far  north  as  85°  N.,  and  probably 
much  further.  The  walrus  is  a  circumpolar  Arctic  animal,  but  is  now 
nearly  extinct  in  a  good  many  places,  where  quantities  were  killed  in 
earlier  times.  Of  seals  there  are  several  more  or  less  Arctic  species — the 
bladdernose  (hood  seal),  the  saddle  back  (harp  seal),  the  bearded  seal 
( Phoca  barbatd),  and  others.  The  most  Arctic  species  is  the  ringed  seal 
(  Phoca  fcetida  or  hispida),  which  straggles  far  north  into  the  Polar  Basin  at 
least  north  of  85°  N. 

Arctic  People. — The  human  race  is  distributed  along  the  whole  fringe 
of  European,  Asiatic,  and  American  land  inside  the  Arctic  circle.  There 
are  a  good  many  distinct  tribes.  In  Arctic  Norway  the  original  Arctic 
people  are  the  Lapps.  In  Arctic  Russia  and  Siberia  there  are  various  tribes 
of  Samoyeds,  Zyryans,  Tunguses,  Yakuts,  Chukches,  and  others.  The 
greater  part  of  the  Arctic  Siberian  coast  is  not,  however,  inhabited.  In 
Spitsbergen  and  Franz  Josef  Land  there  have  never  been  any  permanent 
habitations,  but  in  Novaya  Zemlya  a  few  families  of  Samoyeds  live.  The 
most  polar  of  all  people  are  without  doubt  the  Eskimo. 

GREENLAND 

Greenland  is  the  largest  and  also  in  many  respects  the  most  inte- 
resting Arctic  land.  From  59°  45'  N.  it  extends  over  more  than  twenty-three 
degrees  of  latitude  to  north  of  83°  N.,  its  northern  termination  being  still 
unknown.  The  greatest  breadth  is  in  77°  30'  N. — about  690  miles.  Its 
area  has  been  estimated  to  be  512,000  square  miles.  The  whole  interior  of 
this  land,  or  more  than  320,000  square  miles,  is  completely  buried  under  an 
enormous  glacier  ice-sheet,  or  inland  ice,  which  only  leaves  exposed  a  more 
or  less  narrow  belt  of  barren,  rocky  ground  along  the  shore,  cut  into  by 
deep  and  narrow  fjords,  very  much  like  those  of  Norway.  The  broadest 
exposed  strip  is  100  miles  wide  on  the  west  coast,  in  the  district 
of  Holstenborg,  67*  N.,  and  60  miles  in  the  district  of  Godthaab,  about 
64^°  N.  Elsewhere  it  is  quite  narrow,  and  the  margin  of  the  inland-ice 
approaches  the  outer  sea  coast.  The  same  is  the  case  along  most  of  the 
east  coast,  except  in  the  northern  part,  between  70°  N.  and  74°  N.,  where 
the  margin  of  the  true  inland-ice  appears  to  be  situated  in  some  place  at 
a  distance  of  about  130  miles  or  more  inland  from  the  sea ;  but  the  land 
outside  is  partly  covered  by  local  glaciers.  The  northern  part  of  Green- 
land, north  of  82°  N.,  does  not  seem  to  be  covered  by  the  inland-ice  or  by 
glaciers. 

Configuration  and  Glaciers. — Greenland  is  unusually  mountainous. 
Wherever  the  coast  is  seen  it  is  rocky  and  jagged,  with  high  peaks  and 
mountains  and  deep  valleys  and  fjords.  Along  the  whole  of  the  east  coast 
mountains  between  5,000  and  8,000  feet  are  quite  common,  often  not  far 
from  the  sea.  The  highest  peak  known  is  Petermann  Peak,  near  Franz 
Josef  Fjord,  which  is  estimated  at  11,000  feet.  On  the  west  coast  the 


The  Arctic  Regions  1041 

mountains  are  not  so  high,  but  even  there  peaks  of  5,000  or  6,000  feet 
are  not  uncommon.  We  know  nothing  of  mountains  in  the  interior,  as 
they  are  entirely  covered  by  the  inland  ice,  but  if  the  ice-sheet  were 
removed  it  is  highly  probable  that  the  surface  of  the  land  would  resemble 
that  exposed  near  the  coasts.  The  fjords  were  once  filled  with  glaciers 
coming  from  the  inland  ice  and  discharging  into  the  sea  to  throw  off 
icebergs.  Many  of  them  are  still  partly  filled  with  glaciers  in  this  way, 
and  most  of  them  have  glaciers  discharging  into  them,  and  thus  pre- 
venting us  from  tracing  them  in  their  whole  length.  Along  the  coast 
there  are  numerous  islands,  the  largest  known  being  Disco  Island,  in  about 
70°  N.  on  the  west  coast.  There  is  probably  no  other  land  of  the  same 
size  which  has  such  an  enormous  coast-line  compared  with  its  area.  The 
largest  fjords  on  the  west  coast  are  Umanak  Fjord,  North  and  South 
Strom  Fjord  (both  about  90  miles  long),  and  Godthaab  Fjord.  On  the 
east  coast,  amongst  others,  Scoresby  Fjord  is  about  160  miles  long,  and 
Franz  Josef  Fjord  probably  of  similar  length.  These  are  longer  than 
any  in  Norway,  and  are  probably  the  largest  typical  fjords  in  the 
world. 

There  are  still  some  parts  of  the  Greenland  coast  which  have  not  been 
explored,  especially  the  north-east  coast  between  Cape  Bismarck  and 
Independence  Bay  (81°  37'  N.),  on  the  east  coast,  and  between  the  latter 
and  Cape  Washington,  on  the  north-west  coast.  The  east  coast,  be- 
tween 66°  and  69°  N.,  also  still  waits  to  be  explored. 

Geology. — The  geological  structure  of  Greenland  is  naturally  little 
known,  as  we  can  only  judge  from  the  exposed  rocks  seen  along  the  coast. 
According  to  these  it  is  probable  that  by  far  the  greater  part  of  the  rocky 
surface  of  the  present  Greenland  consists  of  Archaean  formations  principally 
.gneiss  and  other  crystalline  rocks.  In  the  middle  parts  of  the  country,  about 
latitude  70°  to  73°  N.,  there  is  a  flow  of  basalt  over  great  parts  of  the  west 
coast  at  Disco  Island,  Nugsuak  Peninsula,  and  Svartenhuk  Peninsula,  as 
well  as  of  the  east  at  Scoresby  Sound  and  further  north.  These  basalts, 
which  probably  are  of  Tertiary  origin,  cover  considerable  layers  of  the 
Tertiary  and  partly  also  the  Cretaceous  formations,  which  they  have  thus 
prevented  from  being  destroyed ;  and  on  Disco  and  the  Nugsuak  Peninsula 
there  are  some  of  the  most  famous  localities  for  Tertiary  plant-fossils 
in  the  world.  Jurassic  strata  are  found  in  several  places  on  the  east 
coast  (about  70°  N.  and  75°  N.).  They  are  perhaps  of  the  same  for- 
mation as  in  Franz  Josef  Land,  Spitsbergen,  Ando  in  Norway,  and  in 
Russia. 

Greenland  does  not  seem  to  have  much  mineral  wealth.  Cryolite  is 
the  only  mineral  mined,  and  is  a  speciality  for  Greenland.  There  is 
only  one  mine,  at  Ivigtut,  on  the  south-west  coast  (in6i°  10'  N.).  Native 
iron  is  found  in  several  places,  the  most  remarkable  find  is  the  iron  of 
Ovifak  (or  Uifak),  on  Disco  Island— several  large  masses,  the  largest 
of  which  is  calculated  at  twenty  tons.  This  iron  is  evidently  of  telluric 


1042      The  International  Geography 

origin,  and  has  originally  been  included  in  the  basalts.  In  1897  a  stilf 
larger  mass  was  brought  back  from  Cape  York,  in  North  Greenland,  which 
is  estimated  to  weigh  ninety  tons,  and  is  believed  to  be  of  meteoric 
origin. 

The  Inland  Ice. — Instead  of  river  systems  we  find  in  Greenland  the 
great  inland  ice,  and  instead  of  great  rivers  we  find  the  moving  glaciers, 
the  prolongations  or  outlets  of  the  inland  ice,  slowly  moving  into  the  sea, 
and  thus  chiefly  effecting  the  drainage  of  the  country.  The  greater  part 
of  the  precipitation  in  Greenland  is  not  rain,  but  snow  which,  to  a  great 
extent,  does  not  melt,  but  is  accumulated  on  the  surface  of  the  inland  ice, 
and  by  the  pressure  of  its  weight  gradually  becomes  transformed  into- 
glacier  ice.  This,  being  a  plastic  or  viscous  mass,  is  pressed  out  to  the 
sides  by  the  pressure  inside  the  ice  mass,  and  it  slowly  flows  outward,  as  a 
lump  of  pitch  or  wax  which  is  placed  on  a  table.  The  pace  with  which  it 
moves  is  regulated  by  the  pressure — the  higher  pressure  or  the  greater 
mass  added  on  the  top  the  quicker  is  the  motion.  Thus  the  inland  ice 
sends  out  glaciers  through  the  valleys  and  into  the  fjords,  the  ice  at  the 
end  of  some  glaciers  being  from  1,000  to  2,000  feet  thick.  The  rate 
at  which  the  glaciers  advance  into  the  sea  differs  much,  and  to  a 
great  extent  depends  on  the  extension  and  thickness  of  that  part  of  the 
inland  ice  for  which  they  form  the  "outlet"  or  "drainage."  The  highest 
rate  of  glacial  motion  ever  known  is  that  of  the  Upernivik  Glacier, 
on  the  west  coast,  73°  N.,  which  in  summer  advances  99  feet  every 
twenty-four  hours.  The  Jacobshavn  Glacier,  and  other  known  glaciers, 
move  about  50  to  60  feet  daily  in  the  summer  time.  In  winter  the 
motion  is  somewhat  slower.  The  actual  amount  of  ice  discharged  into 
the  sea  from  Greenland  may  be  estimated  at  1,000,000,000  tons  annually 
at  least. 

The  drainage  of  Greenland  is  not,  however,  effected  by  this  outflow  of 
solid  ice  only.  A  great  deal  more  is  accomplished  by  running  water.  On 
the  surface  of  the  inland  ice  there  is  much  melting  going  on  during 
summer  near  its  outer  margins.  The  water  thus  produced  finds  its  way 
as  small  brooks  down  through  the  enormous  ice-sheet  to  the  bottom,  and 
runs  as  sub-glacial  rivulets  from  under  the  glacier-covering  into  the  sea. 
Where  the  ice-sheet  is  very  thick,  the  temperature  of  the  ice  is  probably 
near  its  melting  point  at  the  bottom,  on  account  of  the  internal  heat  of  the 
Earth.  Some  melting  is  therefore  probably  also  going  on  from  this  cause, 
producing  water  which  joins  the  sub-glacial  rivers. 

The  inland  ice  covers  the  whole  interior  of  Greenland,  extending  as  a 
regular  shield  from  coast  to  coast.  Its  surface  forms  a  smooth  snow-plain, 
arching  high  above  the  irregularities  of  the  underlying  ground,  and  sloping 
quite  slowly  and  gradually  from  the  highest  ridge  in  the  interior  towards 
the  coast  on  all  sides.  The  highest  ridge  is  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
country,  somewhat  nearer  the  east  coast  than  the  west,  and  has,  between 
64°  and  65°  N.,  a  height  of  9,000  feet  above  the  sea-level.  How  these 


The  Arctic  Regions  IO43 

conditions  are  in  the  interior  further  north  where  the  inland  ice  is  broadest 
is  still  unknown.  What  the  thickness  of  the  ice-sheet  is  we  cannot  know 
so  long  as  the  heights  of  the  mountains  underneath  are  unknown,  but  as 
the  bottom  of  the  valleys  are  not  probably  on  the  average  more  than  2,000 
— or  let  us  say  3,000— feet  above  sea-level,  the  thickness  of  the  ice  must  at 
any  rate  in  some  places  be  above  6,000  feet.  A  sufficiently  cold  climate 
is  not  the  only  condition  necessary  to  produce  an  inland  ice  ;  it  also 
depends  on  the  quantity  of  precipitation.  The  precipitation  in  the  most 
northern  part  of  Greenland  does  not  seem  to  be  sufficient  for  its  forma- 
tion, and  therefore  the  land  north  of  82°  N.  is  probably  not  covered 
by  continuous  ice. 

People  of  Greenland. — The  hardy  Eskimo  race  extends  along  the 
whole  Arctic  coast  of  America  and  Labrador,  along  the  coasts  of  the  eastern 
islands  of  the  American  Arctic  Archipelago,  and  along  the  coast  of  Green- 
land as  far  north  as  Smith  Sound  (about  78°  or  79°  N.).  A  small  Eskimo 
tribe  is  also  found  on  the  Asiatic  side  of  Bering  Strait.  The  Eskimo  live 
mainly  by  hunting  and  fishing  on  the  sea,  and  are  therefore  bound  to  be  a  coast 
people.  In  the  summer  they  go  hunting  and  fishing  in  their  small  boats  or 
kayaks,  made  of  drift-wood  covered  with  sealskin.  In  the  winter  they  travel 
over  the  frozen  sea  in  their  sledges  with  dogs,  which  are  their  only  domestic 
animals.  They  are  a,  far  and  quick-travelling  people,  and  traces  are  found 
of  them  over  vast  tracts  of  country  where  they  do  not  live  at  present.  In 
the  summer  they  live  in  tents  made  of  skins,  in  the  winter  they  live  in  low 
stone  huts,  or,  where  stone  is  not  available,  they  build  snow-huts  of  a  peculiar 
shape,  resembling  beehives.  They  are  a  gifted  and  hardy  race,  and  with 
admirable  skill  they  have  known  how  to  make  their  ingenious  weapons  out 
of  pieces  of  driftwood,  bones,  skin,  and  stone,  partly,  also  of  native  iron — the 
only  means  which  a  barren  nature  originally  gave  them  :  now  they  have 
of  course  got  iron,  as  well  as  firearms  from  the  Europeans,  but  these  gifts 
have  not  been  wholly  to  their  advantage. 

In  Greenland  there  is  altogether  a  population  of  about  10,000  Eskimo, 
and  a  few  hundred  Danes  who  administer  the  country.  The  Greenland 
Eskimo  are,  however,  no  longer  a  pure  race,  but  are  greatly  mixed 
with  European  blood.  The  contact  with  European  civilisation  has  there, 
as  elsewhere,  been  of  very  doubtful  advantage  to  the  natives,  who  show 
a  slow  but  certain  decadence. 

The  Eskimo  and  half-breeds  of  southern  Greenland  are  to  some  extent 
grouped  around  the  Danish  settlements,  all  trade  with  which  is  a  Govern- 
ment monopoly  of  Denmark.  Some  of  the  principal  administration  and 
trading  centres  are  Julianehaab,  the  most  southerly  (60°  40'  N.),  Godthaab, 
and  Upernivik,  the  most  northerly,  in  72°  48'  N.  The  Eskimo  of  Smith 
Sound,  a  small  tribe,  have  no  dealings  with  the  Danish  settlements,  The 
principal  settlement  on  the  east  coast  is  Angmagsalik  in  65°  30'  N.,  where 
there  are  a  few  hundred  Eskimo,  and  lately  a  Danish  mission  has  been 
established. 
68 


IO44      The  International  Geography 

ARCTIC  ISLANDS 

Franz  Josef  Land.— Franz  Josef  Land  is  a  group  of  numerous 
comparatively  small  islands  situated  in  about  80°  to  82°  N.,  and  extending 
from  longitude  42°  E.,  eastward,  probably  beyond  62°  E.,  but  the  eastern 
extension  is  still  unknown.  Land  was  reported  further  north  and  named 
Oscar  Land  and  Petermann  Land,  but  recent  explorations  seem  to  have 
proved  that  they  do  not  exist.  Some  of  the  islands  of  Franz  Josef  Land 
are  comparatively  low  and  flat,  but  the  highest  are  2,000  to  3,000  feet 
above  the  sea-level,  consisting  of  basalt,1  partly  resting  on  a  thick  forma- 
tion of  Jurassic  clay.  The  islands  are  with  few  exceptions  completely 
ice-capped,  the  ice-covering  sloping  regularly  into  the  sea  on  all  sides, 
allowing  the  basaltic  rocks  to  project  only  here  and  there  along  the 
coasts.  These  islands  therefore  have  a  more  glacial  aspect  than  any 
other  Arctic  land ;  they  are,  however,  much  too  small  to  form  the  base 
of  any  glaciers  or  ice-sheets  of  importance.  Icebergs  are  formed  in  a 
good  many  places,  but  they  are  few  and  small  compared  with  those  of 
Greenland,  and  they  do  not  travel  far,  for  round  Franz  Josef  Land  the 
water  is  too  shallow  to  float  icebergs  of  any  size 

Spitsbergen. — Spitsbergen  is  a  group  of  islands  situated  between 
76°  and  8o£°  N.,  and  between  10°  and  32°  E.  The  principal  islands  are 
West  Spitsbergen,  which  is  the  largest,  North  East  Land,  Barents  Land, 
Edge  Land  (or  Stans  Foreland) ;  on  the  west  coast  is  Prince  Charles  Fore- 
land, and  to  the  east  is  Wiche  Land  (or  King  Karl's  Land) ;  to  the  south- 
east is  Hope  Island.  Besides  these  there  are  many  small  islands,  the  most 
northern  being  the  small  Seven  Islands  (80°  48'  N.).  To  the  east  of  North 
East  Land  land  was  seen  in  1702,  and  called  Gilles  Land.  It  is  perhaps 
this  island  which  Norwegian  walrus-hunters  believe  they  have  seen  several 
times,  and  which  they  have  called  White  Island  or  New  Iceland.  In  the  sea 
between  Spitsbergen  and  Norway  there  is  a  small  island  called  Bear  Island. 

The  margin  of  Spitsbergen  is  a  typical  glaciated  coast,  much  like  that  of 
Greenland  and  Norway.  It  is  deeply  cut  and  intersected  by  long  and  narrow 
fjords  and  sounds.  Though  comparatively  small  as  the  island  of  West 
Spitsbergen  is,  it  has  fjords  of  considerable  length — Ice  Fjord,  on  the  west 
coast,  is  60  miles  long  ;  Wiide  Bay,  on  the  north  coast,  is  50  miles  long ; 
Bell  Sound,  on  the  south-west  coast,  is  30  miles ;  Hinlopen  Strait,  between 
West  Spitsbergen  and  North  East  Land,  is  a  narrow  channel,  100  miles 
long,  with  the  character  of  a  typical  fjord. 

Spitsbergen  is  a  mountainous  country  with  peaks  and  valleys,  but  the 
mountains  do  not  rise  to  great  heights,  as  a  rule  no  more  than  2,000  to  4,000 
feet.  The  most  important  mountain-ranges  with  more  alpine  forms  are 

1  Though  basalts  and  lavas  of  comparatively  recent  geological  origin  (Tertiary  and 
perhaps  Jurassic)  occur  in  many  places  in  the  Arctic  regions,  there  is  only  one  active 
volcano  known  north  of  the  Arctic  circle,  viz.,  the  little  island  Jan  Mayen,  east  of  Green- 
land in  the  Greenland  Sea,  with  the  Beeren  Berg  (7,000  feet). 


The  Arctic  Regions  IO4S 

situated  near  the  west  coast.  Eastward  the  land  is  lower,  and  the  mountain 
are  generally  more  rounded.  The  highest  peaks  known  in  Spitsbergen 
are  Horn  Sunds  Tinder,  near  South  Cape  (76°  55'  N.),  about  5,000  feet. 

The  snow  and  ice  seem  in  Spitsbergen  to  have  a  tendency  to  accumulate 
and  cover  the  land  more  in  the  east  part  of  the  country  than  in  the  west — 
a  condition  similar  to  that  in  the  south  part  of  Greenland. 

The  interior  of  West  Spitsbergen  is  not  covered  by  a  genuine  inland  ice, 
like  that  of  Greenland,  overflowing  the  whole  area  and  drowning  all  the 
valleys  and  mountains.  In  various  parts  of  the  island,  however,  extensive 
local  glaciers,  or  a  glacier-covering,  exist  in  the  interior,  which  is  not  mighty 
enough  to  drown  the  main  features  in  the  orographical  configuration  of  the 
underlying  land.  They  resemble  the  great  ice  fields  of  Norway,  and  discharge 
glaciers  down  through  the  valleys  into  the  ends  of  the  fjords,  where  the 
ice  breaks  off,  but  the  pieces  are  not  large  enough  to  be  called  icebergs. 

The  greater  part  of  North  East  Land  is  covered  by  an  ice-sheet,  which 
may  be  called  a  small  inland-ice.  The  height  of  its  smooth,  regularly 
curved  surface,  gradually  sloping  downwards  towards  the  coasts,  is  more 
than  2,000  feet  above  the  sea  in  its  highest  part.  On  the  east  and  south 
coast  this  inland  ice  descends  into  the  sea,  whilst  the  west  and  north  coast 
is  not  covered  by  ice. 

Spitsbergen  consists  mostly  of  primitive  rocks.  Some  districts,  especially 
in  the  eastern  part,  are  overflowed  with  basalt,  probably  of  Jurassic  or 
Tertiary  origin,  and  perhaps  similar  to  the  great  basalt  flow  of  Franz  Josef 
Land.  In  some  parts  of  West  Spitsbergen  there  are  Tertiary  formation 
with  interesting  plant  fossils. 

The  mineral  wealth  does  not  seem  to  be  of  much  importance,  though 
in  some  places  there  are  beds  of  tolerably  good  coal. 

Novaya  Zemlya. — Novaya  Zemlya,  which  is  divided  into  two  large 
islands  by  the  narrow  sound,  Matochkin  Shar,  is  a  quite  Arctic  land,  and  its 
whole  character  resembles  that  of  Spitsbergen.  The  land  is  mountainous, 
and  the  coast  is  intersected  by  fjords,  which  are  not  very  long.  In  the 
north  there  are  extensive  glaciers  in  the  interior,  probably  similar  to  that  of 
West  Spitsbergen,  and  glaciers  discharge  into  the  ends  of  the  fjords. 

Arctic  Siberia. — Arctic  Siberia  is  to  a  great  extent  low  and  barren 
undulating  plains,  the  tundra  intervening  between  the  northern  forest 
limit  and  the  desolate  Polar  shores,  and  intersected  by  great  rivers.  The 
most  mountainous  part  of  Arctic  Siberia  seems  to  be  Taimyr  Land,  where 
there  appear  to  be  several,  though  not  very  high,  mountain  ranges.  The 
north  coast  of  Siberia,  which  is  as  a  rule  very  low  and  flat,  is  not  so  much 
intersected  by  fjords  or  bays  as  the  coasts  of  most  Arctic  lands.  An  excep- 
tion is  perhaps  to  be  found  in  the  little-known  but  somewhat  mountainous 
coast  between  the  mouth  of  the  Yenisei  and  the  Taimyr  Bay,  where  there 
probably  are  fjords,  and  where  there  are  a  good  many  islands  lying 
scattered  in  the  shallow  sea  outside. 

Arctic  Siberia  has  no  glacial  covering,  and   here  are  not  even  any  local 


1046      The  International  Geography 

glaciers  known.  If  such  exist,  almost  the  only  place  where  they  can  be  is 
the  Chelyuskin  Peninsula  (the  most  northern  point),  and  even  there  they 
must  be  very  small.  The  reason  of  this  is  that  the  climate  is  too  dry  to 
allow  of  any  yearly  accumulation  of  snow.  Along  the  northern  coasts  there 
are  only  patches  of  snow  in  the  depressions  and  small  valleys,  which  do  not 
vanish  in  summer.  One  of  the  most  interesting  features  of  Arctic  Siberia 
is  that  the  soil  is  frozen  for  great  depths  below  the  surface,  with  inter- 
vening layers  of  real  blue  ice,  called  rock-ice  or  ground-ice.  On  the  top 
of  this  rock-ice  there  may  be  a  layer  of  soil,  a  foot  thick  or  more,  on 
which  forests  of  larch  and  other  trees  grow.  Frozen  remains  of  the 
mammoths  and  other  animals,  which  have  lived  there  probably  later  than 
the  Ice  Age,  are  found,  and  in  some  cases  the  frozen  corpses  of  mammoths 
still  retain  their  flesh,  skin,  and  hair. 

New  Siberian  Islands. — The  New  Siberian  Islands,  north  of  the 
Siberian  coast,  are  surrounded  by  a  very  shallow  sea,  and  are  compara- 
tively low  with  rounded  forms.  They  contain  Silurian  and  Tertiary 
formation,  the  latter  with  a  highly  interesting  fossil  flora  (the  "  wood- 
hills  "  of  New  Siberia).  On  some  of  them,  especially  the  southern  one, 
Great  Liakhoff  Island,  there  are  important  finds  of  mammoth  remains 
and  valuable  mammoth  tusks.  To  the  north  of  these  islands  are  San- 
nikoff  Land  and  Bennett  Land  ;  the  size  of  these  is  unknown,  but  they  are 
probably  not  very  large. 

Arctic  America. — Arctic  North  America  is  in  character  much  like 
Arctic  Siberia,  but  is  somewhat  more  mountainous.  North  of  the  continent 
the  numerous  islands  of  the  Arctic  Archipelago  are  comparatively  low,  and 
have  generally  more  or  less  rounded  mountain  forms.  There  is  nowhere 
sufficient  precipitation  to  form  an  inland  ice,  though  on  some  of  them, 
especially  in  the  east,  there  are  great  local  glaciers,  e.g.,  Baffin  Land, 
North  Devon,  Ellesmere  Land,  and  Grinnell  Land.  The  last  named,  the 
northern  part  of  which  is  also  called  Grant  Land,  is,  besides  Greenland,  the 
most  northern  land  visited  by  man.  It  rises  to  elevations  of  2,000  and 
3,000  feet.  In  this  land  (in  Lady  Franklin  Bay,  81°  45'  N.)  is  found  the 
most  northern  deposit  of  coal,  with  a  fossil  Tertiary  flora,  including  thirty 
species  of  plants,  pines,  birch,  poplar,  elm,  and  hazel. 

STANDARD  BOOKS. 

(The  titles  of  descriptions  of  exploring  expeditions  are  too  numerous  to  be  recorded— 
See  lists  in  Greely's  Handbook,  and  works  by  Nansen,  Peary,  Con  way, 
Jackson,  the  Duke  of  the  Abruzzi,  Sverdrup  and  others,  published  since 
I895-) 

"Manual  of  the  Natural  History,  Geology,  and  Physics  of  Greenland  and  adjacent 
regions."  Published  by  the  British  Admiralty.  London,  1875. 

"  Meddelelser  om  Gronland."     16  vols.    Copenhagen,  1879-85. 

A.  E.  Nordenskiold.    "  Studien  und  Forschungen  im  hohen  Norden."    Leipzig,  1885. 

H.  Mohn  and  F.  Nansen.    "  Durchquerung  von  Gronland."    Gotha,  1893. 

Reports  of  the  International  Circumpolar  Observations  of  1882-83  in  31  quarto  volumes 
in  various  languages. 


CHAPTER  LV.— THE  ANTARCTIC  REGIONS 


BY  SIR  JOHN  MURRAY,  K.C.B.,  F.R.S., 

Director  oj  the  Reports  of  the  "  Challenger  "  Expedition. 

The  Antarctic.—  The  term  Antarctic  is  applied  to  that  region  of  the 
Earth's  surface  surrounding  the  South  Pole.  The  Antarctic  Ocean  is, 
strictly  speaking,  bounded  to  the  north  by  the  Antarctic  circle,  but  the 
term  is  usually  applied  to  the  great  circumpolar  ocean  which  is  affected  by 
floating  pack  ice.  The  whole  of  the  Southern  Ocean  may,  indeed,  be  at 
times  affected  with  ice,  Antarctic  icebergs  being  frequently  encountered 
north  of  lat.  45°  S.  in  the 
southern  parts  of  the 
Pacific,  Atlantic,  and 
Indian  Oceans. 

History  of  Explo- 
ration. —  After  the  tor- 
rid or  fiery  zone  of  the 
ancients  was  crossed  to- 
wards the  end  of  the 
fifteenth  century,  the 
vague  conception  of  a 
vast  continent  towards 
the  South  Pole  was  wide- 
spread among  geog- 
raphers and  explorers, 
and  New  Guinea  and 
parts  of  the  land  about 
Magellan  Strait  were  be- 
lieved to  be  portions  of 


FlG' 


—™«  Antarctic  Regions  and  Southern  Ocean. 

it.  With  the  progress  of  exploration  the  outlines  of  this  southern  con- 
tinent became  more  and  more  circumscribed.  Tasman,  in  1642,  showed 
that  Australia  and  Tasmania  were  surrounded  by  water  to  the  south,  but 
New  Zealand,  which  he  visited,  was  believed  to  be  part  of  the  Austral 
continent,  even  up  to  the  time  of  Cook's  first  voyage,  when  New  Zealand 
was  proved  to  be  an  island.  In  1772  Kerguelen  went  to  explore  the  land 
reported  to  the  south  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  sighted  Kerguelen 
Island,  which  he  supposed  to  be  a  part  of  the  great  southern  land. 

At  last,  in  1772,  Cook  was  dispatched  on  his  second  voyage  with  the 
express  object  of  finally  settling  the  question  of  the  existence  of  the 
reported  southern  continent,  and  he  proved  that  if  it  existed  it  did  not 

1047 


1048      The  International  Geography 

extend  beyond  the  Antarctic  circle.  Cook  pushed  as  far  south  as  lat.  71°  10 
S.  in  long.  107°  W.,  while  two  later  explorers  attained  even  higher  southern 
latitudes,  viz.,  Weddell,  who  in  1823  penetrated  as  far  as  lat.  74°  15'  S. 
southwards  of  South  Georgia,  and  Sir  James  Clark  Ross,  who  in  1842 
reached  lat.  78°  10'  S.,  discovering  Victoria  Land,  and  landing  upon 
Possession  and  Franklin  Islands.  Of  other  explorers  we  may  mention  : 
Smith  (1819),  Bellingshausen  (1820),  Powell  (1821),  Morrell  (1823),  Biscoe 
(1830),  Kemp  (1834),  Balleny  (1839),  D'Urville  (1839-40),  Wilkes  (1839-40), 
and  Moore  (1845).  More  recently  Dallman,  in  1873-4,  visited  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Graham  Land  ;  in  1874  the  Challenger  Expedition  penetrated 
beyond  the  Antarctic  circle  on  the  voyage  from  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope 
to  Australia.  Between  1893  and  1895  whalers  from  Scotland  and  Norway 
visited  the  Antarctic  regions,  landings  being  effected  on  Seymour  Island 
by  Larsen,  and  on  Victoria  Land  at  Cape  Adare  by  Kristensen.  The 
Belgica,  under  Gerlache,  explored  Hughes  Bay  in  the  Antarctic  summer 
of  1898-99,  penetrated  the  ice-pack  and  reached  71°  36'  S.  in  87  £°  W. 
The  ship  remained  fast  in  drifting  ice  for  a  whole  year,  and  her  crew 
were  the  first  to  winter  south  of  the  Antarctic  circle.  The  German  Deep- 
Sea  Expedition,  under  Chun,  visited  the  Antarctic  seas  in  1898,  reaching 
64°  14'  S.  north  of  Enderby  Land.  A  British  expedition  in  the  Southern 
Cross  was  sent  out  in  1898  by  Sir  George  Newnes,  under  Borchgrevink, 
who  wintered  at  Cape  Adare  in  1899,  and  in  1900  succeeded  in  reaching 
78°  50'  S.,  to  the  east  of  Mount  Erebus.  On  January  i,  1903,  Captain 
R.  F.  Scott,  sledging  southward  from  the  Discovery,  which  had  wintered  in 
Macmurdo  Strait,  carried  the  British  flag  to  82°  17'  S,  the  highest  south 
latitude  yet  attained.  His  expedition  sailed  for  the  Antarctic  regions  in 
1901,  simultaneously  with  a  German  expedition  on  the  Gauss  under  Dr.  E. 
von  Drygalski,  which  entered  the  ice  south  of  Kerguelen.  A  Swedish 
expedition,  under  Dr.  Otto  Nordenskiold,  spent  the  years  1902-3  south  of 
the  Falkland  Islands ;  and  the  Scotia,  under  the  command  of  Mr.  W.  S. 
Bruce,  explored  Weddell  Sea  in  1903,  and  discovered  a  snowy  coast  named 
Coats  Land.  Mr.  Shackleton  in  the  Nimrod  resumed  exploration  in  1907. 
Antarctic  Land. — Looking  upon  the  land  sighted  or  explored  at 
various  points  (Victoria  Land,  Wilkes  Land,  Kemp  Land,  Enderby  Land, 
Graham  Land,  and  Alexander  I.  Land),  as  forming  part  of  one  and  the 
same  land-mass,  it  has  been  estimated  that  the  Antarctic  continent  (Antarc- 
tica) has  an  area  greater  than  that  of  Australia,  or  nearly  four  million  square 
miles.  The  form  and  structure  of  the  Antarctic  icebergs  show  that  they 
have  been  formed  on  large  land-surfaces,  and  the  rock  fragments  and 
debris,  scattered  over  the  floor  of  the  Southern  Ocean  as  these  icebergs 
melt  while  floating  towards  the  north,  belong  to  lithological  types  charac- 
teristic of  continental  land,  including  gneiss,  granite,  mica-schist,  quartz- 
iferous  diorite,  grained  quartzite,  sandstone,  limestone,  and  shale.  D'Urville 
descibes  rocky  islets  off  Adelie  Land  composed  of  granite  and  gneiss; 
Wilkes  found  on  an  iceberg  near  the  same  place  boulders  of  red  sandstone 


The  Antarctic  Regions  1049 

and  basalt ;  Chun  dredged  up  a  mass  of  red  sandstone  weighing  5  cwt. 
north  of  Enderby  Land.  Borchgrevink  and  Bull  brought  home  fragments 
of  mica-schist  and  other  continental  rocks  from  Cape  Adare  in  1895 ; 
Donald  brought  back  from  Joinville  Island  pieces  of  'red  jasper  or  chert ; 
while  Larsen  brought  from  Seymour  Island  pieces  of  fossil  coniferous  wood 
and  fossil  Molluscan  shells  closely  resembling  species  from  the  lower  Ter- 
tiary of  Britain  and  Patagonia.  All  these  geological  finds  indicate  conti- 
nental land.  The  ranges  of  mountains  and  peaks  discovered  by  Ross  in 
JVictoria  Land  appear  to  be  formed  of  ancient  crystalline  rocks,  with 
volcanic  cones  towards  the  south,  7,000  to  15,000  feet  in  height,  Mount 
Erebus  (160  miles  to  the  west  of  which  Ross  believed  the  south  magnetic 
pole  to  be  situated)  being  in  active  eruption  at  the  time  of  his  visit ;  Lar-sen 
visited  one  of  several  active  volcanoes  to  the  south  of  Cape  Horn. 

Antarctic  Ice. — The  icebergs  of  the  Antarctic  differ  entirely  from 
those  of  the  Arctic  regions.  When  observed  near  their  origin,  they  are 
found  to  be  huge,  flat-topped,  perpendicular-sided,  floating  ice-islands, 
sometimes  many  miles  in  length,  having  a  thickness  of  from  1,200  to  1,500 
feet,  of  which  about  one-sixth  or  one-seventh  projects  above  the  level  of 
the  sea,  the  great  mass  of  the  berg  being  below  sea-level.  They  have 
frequently  a  stratified  or  laminated  structure,  and  have  undoubtedly  been 
broken  off  and  floated  away  from  a  great  ice-barrier  or  ice-wall,  like  that 
along  which  Ross  sailed  for  300  miles  about  lat.  78°  S.  This  ice-barrier  is 
evidently  the  sea-face  of  an  enormous  glacier  or  ice-cap  creeping  slowly 
over  the  low-lying  lands  of  the  Antarctic  continent  towards  the  sea.  When 
this  ice-cap  is  pushed  into  depths  of  200  or  300  fathoms  portions  are 
broken  off  and  form  the  table-shaped  icebergs,  which  on  being  floated  to 
the  north  and  becoming  disintegrated  may  assume  various  shapes.  Where 
the  coasts  of  the  Antarctic  continent  are  occupied  by  high  mountain  ranges, 
as  for  instance,  off  the  east  coast  of  Victoria  Land,  the  seaward  face  of  the 
pack-ice  is  only  10  to  20  feet  high,  and  at  Cape  Adare  a  landing  was 
effected  on  a  pebbly  beach,  occupied  by  a  penguin  rookery,  where  no 
land-ice  descended  to  the  sea.  There  have  been  many  speculations  about 
the  thickness  of  the  ice  over  the  Antarctic  continent  towards  the  South 
Pole,  Croll  believing  that  it  might  be  as  much  as  12  to  24  miles.  It  is, 
however,  extremely  improbable  that  ice  of  this  thickness  exists. 

Atmospheric  Pressure  and  Temperature. — Our  knowledge  of 
the  atmospheric  conditions  in  the  Antarctic  is  very  meagre,  being  derived 
from  few  observations  mainly  during  the  southern  summer,  but  these 
seem  to  indicate  that  there  is  a  girdle  of  low  atmospheric  pressure, 
south  of  the  45th  parallel  of  south  latitude,  and  outside  of  the  ice-bound 
region,  with  a  mean  pressure  of  less  than  29  inches,  accompanied  by 
strong  westerly  and  north-westerly  winds  and  large  rainfall.  The  extreme 
south  polar  area  appears  to  be  occupied  by  a  vast  permanent  anticyclone, 
much  more  extensive  in  winter  than  in  summer,  out  of  which  south-easterly 
winds  blow  from  the  pole  towards  the  girdle  of  low  pressure.  Ross's 


'1050       The  International   Geography 

barometric  observations  indicate  a  gradual  rise  in  the  pressure  south  of 
lat.  75°  S.  As  regards  the  temperature  of  the  air,  it  is  evidently,  even  in 
summer,  extremely  low,  the  mean  of  all  the  observations  taken  by  Ross  to 
the  south  of  lat.  63°  S.  being  28.7°  F.,  and  his  maximum  43.5°  F.  The 
winter  minimum  reported  at  Cape  Adare  or  by  the  Belgica  in  71°  30'  S. 
was  — 45°  F.,  but  the  Discovery  found  —62°.  The  atmosphere  is  apparently 
dry  over  the  ice-covered  land,  the  moisture  separating  in  the  form  of  small 
snow-crystals,  while  farther  north  the  air  is  often  near  the  point  of  satu- 
ration, and  more  moisture  is  precipitated. 

The  Antarctic  Ocean. — The  temperature  of  the  surface  waters  of 
the  Antarctic  Ocean  appears  to  be  higher  in  summer  than  that  of  the  air. 
Thus  Ross's  observations  south  of  lat.  63°  S.  give  a  mean  daily  temperature 
of  29.8°  F.  (compared  with  28.7°  F.  for  the  air),  varying  from  27.3°  to 
33.6°  F.  Below  the  surface  of  the  sea  the  Challenger  observations  show 
that  in  summer  there  is  a  wedge-shaped  stratum  of  cold  water  sand- 
wiched between  warmer  water  at  the  surface  and  at  the  bottom.  This 
stratum  was  traced  from  65°  to  53°  S.,  and  had  a  temperature  at  the 
southern  thick  end  of  the  wedge  of  28°  F.,  and  at  the  northern  thin  end  of 
32.5°,  while  that  of  the  overlying  water  varied  from  29°  F.  in  the  south  to 
38°  F.  in  the  north,  and  that  of  the  underlying  water  from  32°  to  35°  F. 
In  fact  the  whole  of  the  water  in  the  greater  depths  of  the  Antarctic 
Ocean  has  a  temperature  of  32°  to  35°  F.,  being  pretty  much  the  same  as 
the  temperature  of  the  deepest  bottom  water  throughout  the  great  ocean 
basins,  even  in  the  tropics.  The  Valdivia  found  in  64°  S.  a  mass  of  com- 
paratively warm  water  of  high  salinity  sandwiched  between  colder  layers 
of  deep  and  superficial  water.  The  annual  range  of  temperature  in  the 
waters  within  the  pack-ice  area  never  appears  to  exceed  10°  F. 

The  available  data  for  the  depth  of  the  Southern  and  Antarctic  Oceans 
indicate  a  gradual  shoaling  from  deep  water  towards  the  Antarctic  conti- 
nent, although  between  the  latitudes  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  of 
Kerguelen  depths  ranging  from  2,500  to  3,100  fathoms  were  found  by  the 
Valdivia  between  55°  and  64°  S.  To  the  south-east  of  South  Georgia,  Bruce 
showed  that  Ross's  sounding  of  4,000  fathoms  was  erroneous ;  but  south  of 
Australia  the  Challenger  found  depths  of  2,600  and  1,950  fathoms,  and 
nearer  the  Antarctic  circle  depths  of  1,800,  1,300,  and  1,260  fathoms.; 
Wilkes  sounded  in  500  and  800  fathoms  off  Adelie  Land ;  Ross  had 
soundings  of  100  to  500  fathoms  off  Victoria  Land ;  and  depths  of  164 
to  480  fathoms  have  been  recorded  east  of  Joinville  Island.  The  Belgica 
found  depths  under  200  fathoms  in  the  pack  west  of  Palmer  Land. 

Our  knowledge  of  the  Antarctic  marine  deposits  is  derived  from  the 
Challenger  soundings,  the  observations  of  Hooker  with  Ross's  expedition, 
and  the  soundings  of  the  Valdivia.  The  deposit  in  the  far  south,  surround- 
ing the  Antarctic  continent,  is  Blue  Mud,  containing  glauconite,  composed 
mostly  of  land-detritus,  mixed  with  remains  of  pelagic  and  bottom-living 
organisms.  To  the  north  of  this  Blue  Mud,  there  is  apparently  a  con- 


The  Antarctic   Regions  1051 

tinuous  circumpolar  band  of  Diatom  Ooze,  made  up  principally  of  the 
frustules  of  diatoms  which  lived  in  the  surface  waters,  along  with  pelagic 
shells  and  some  land-debris  dropped  by  floating  icebergs.  This  Diatom 
Ooze  when  dried  is  usually  pure  white  or  cream  coloured,  and  looks  not 
unlike  chalk.  Northwards  of  the  Diatom  Ooze  the  deposit  is  Globigerina 
Ooze,  consisting  mostly  of  the  shells  of  pelagic  Foraminifera,  passing  in 
very  deep  water  into  the  characteristic  deep-sea  deposit  Red  Clay,  asso- 
ciated with  manganese  nodules,  sharks'  teeth,  and  ear-bones  of  whales. 

Marine  Fauna  and  Flora. — Marine  life,  in  the  surface,  intermediate 
and  bottom  waters  of  the  south  Polar  sea,  is  very  prolific.  Pelagic  Algae, 
especially  Diatoms,  abound  in  the  upper  layers  to  the  depth  of  50  fathoms, 
forming  an  abundant  food  supply  for  the  pelagic  animals,  such  as  Copepods, 
Amphipods,  and  Molluscs,  &c.,  and  for  the  animals  living  at  the  bottom. 
Pelagic  calcareous  organisms,  like  the  Pteropods  and  Foraminifera,  which 
are  so  numerous,  both  in  species  and  individuals,  in  the  surface  waters  of 
the  tropics,  become  less  and  less  abundant  towards  the  Polar  seas. 

Of  the  shallow-water  bottom-living  (benthonic)  fauna  of  the  Antarctic, 
we  have  information  only  in  the  case  of  the  more  northerly  islands, 
like  Kerguelen,  Bouvet,  and  South  Georgia,  but  the  available  observations 
seem  to  indicate  that  in  the  shallow  waters  around  Antarctic  lands,  in 
depths  less  than  25  fathoms,  life  is  not  so  abundant  as  in  depths 
of  TOO  fathoms  and  more.  The  deep-sea  fauna  of  the  Antarctic 
region  has  been  shown  by  the  Challenger  to  be  exceptionally  rich,  a  much 
larger  number  of  species  having  been  obtained  than  in  any  other  region 
visited  by  that  expedition,  and  the  Valdivia's  dredgings  in  1898  confirm 
this.  In  the  cold  waters  of  the  Antarctic  there  is  a  very  feeble  develop- 
me.nt  of  shells  and  other  calcareous  structures  in  marine  organisms  when 
compared  with  what  obtains  in  tropical  waters.  As  with  the  pelagic 
organisms,  so  in  the  case  of  the  benthonic  fauna,  a  great  many  species 
and  genera  are  recorded  from  the  colder  waters  towards  both  the  north 
and  south  Polar  seas  which  are  unknown  in  the  intervening  tropical 
area.  The  pelagic  larvae  of  benthonic  animals  are  almost  unknown  in 
Polar  waters,  where  most  of  the  bottom-living  species  appear  to  have  a 
direct  development ;  this  has  been  directly  observed  in  several  species 
of  Echinoderms  and  Crustaceans  in  the  cold  waters  of  both  hemispheres. 

Antarctic  Mammals  and  Birds. — There  are  many  whales  in  the 
great  Southern  and  Antarctic  oceans,  some  of  which  appear  to  be  closely 
allied  to  if  not  identical  with  those  in  the  Arctic  seas.  The  right  whale 
(Balcena  mysticetus)  is  not  found  in  the  south,  but  a  small  whalebone 
whale  which  has  been  described  under  the  names  B.  australis  and  B.  novce- 
zealandice  seems  to  be  identical  with  Balcena  biscayensis  of  the  northern 
hemisphere.  The  humpback  and  rorqual  whales  appear  to  be  identical 
with  those  in  northerns  seas,  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  the  grampuses, 
pilot  whales,  ziphioid-whales,  and  dolphins.  Thirteen  species  of  seals  are 
known  from  the  Antarctic.  Of  these  Macrorhinus  leoninus  is  supposed  by 


1052       The  International  Geography 

some  naturalists  to  be  identical  with  the  Macrorhinus  from  the  coasts  of 
California.  The  sea  lion  (Otaria  jubatd]  is  widespread  in  the  Antarctic, 
but  is  now  much  less  abundant  than  formerly.  The  fur  seals  belong  to 
the  same  genera  as  the  North  Pacific  species.  The  penguins  are  the  most 
characteristic  birds  of  the  Antarctic,  and  some  species  exist  in  prodigious 
numbers — their  rookeries  being  found  on  nearly  all  the  islands  and  points 
of  land  free  from  land  ice.  The  discovery  of  a  penguin  rookery  at  Cape 
Adaie  is  most  important  for  the  future  of  Antarctic  exploration,  for  it 
shows  that  there  is  open  water  every  year,  and  an  abundant  supply  of  food 
and  fuel.  The  peculiar  sheath-bill  (Chionis)  is  usually  found  in  all  penguin 
rookeries.  The  albatrosses  and  other  Procellaridae  are  most  abundant  and 
breed  in  almost  all  the  Antarctic  Islands,  together  with  terns,  skuas,  and 
gulls.  The  southern  skua  (Stcrcorarius  antarcticus)  appears  to  be  identical 
with  the  Arctic  species.  On  Kerguelen  a  small  teal  (Querquedula  eaioni)  is 
most  abundant.  Fishes  have  nowhere  been  observed  in  abundance  in 
the  waters  of  the  Antarctic,  although  fish  remains  are  most  frequent  in  the 
stomachs  of  penguins  and  seals.  The  naturalists  of  the  Belgica  and  of  the 
Southern  Cross  collected  a  few  insects  as  well  as  mosses  or  lichens  in  the 
most  southerly  lands.  It  is  unlikely  that  any  land  mammals  exist  on  the 
Antarctic  continent. 

What  Remains  to  be  Done. — From  a  geographical  point  of  view 
much  remains  to  be  done  in  defining  the  topography  of  the  land  and  the 
sea-floor  within  the  Antarctic  circle.  This  is  by  far  the  largest  abso- 
lutely unknown  area  now  remaining  on  the  Earth.  Our  knowledge  of 
the  physical  and  biological  conditions  of  high  southern  latitudes  is  most 
fragmentary,  and  it  is  satisfactory  to  know  that  the  exploration  of  this  great 
unknown  region  is  now  being  seriously  undertaken  by  civilised  and  pro- 
gressive nations.  It  cannot  be  doubted  that  a  successful  exploration  of 
the  Antarctic  would  make  a  great  advance  in  the  philosophy  of  terrestrial 
science. 

STANDARD  BOOKS  AND  PAPERS. 

James  Cook.    "  Voyage  toward  the  South  Pole  and  Round  the  World."    London,  1777. 

J.  Weddell.     "  Voyage  towards  the  South  Pole,  1822-24."     London,  1827. 

J.  Dumont  D'Urville.    "Voyage  au  pole  sud  et  dans  1'Oceanie,  1837-40. '    Paris,  1842-54 

C.  Wilkes.    "  United  States  Exploring  Expedition,  1838-42."    5  vols.     1845. 

J.  C.  Ross.    "  Voyage  of  Discovery  and  Research  in  the  Southern  and  Antarctic  Regions 

1839-43.'     2  vols.     London,  1847. 
Sir  John  Murray.    "  On  the  Deep  and  Shallow-water  Marine  Fauna  of  the  Kerguelen 

Region  of  the  Southern  Ocean,"  1  rans.  Roy.  Soc.,  Edin.,  vol.  xxxiii.,  1896. 
H.  R.  Mill.     "  The  Siege  of  the  South  Pole  "  (a  History  of  Antarctic  Exploration). 

London,  1905. 

.  G.  von  Neumayer.     "  Auf  zum  Siidpol."     Berlin,  1901. 

K.  Fricker.   "Antarktis."  Berlin,  1898.  Translated  as  "  The  Antarctic."  London,  1900. 
A.  Rainaud.     "  Le  Continent  austral."     Paris,  1893. 

C.  E.  Borchgrevink.     "  First  on  the  Antarctic  Continent."     London,  1900. 
L.  Bernacchi.     "To  the  South  Polar  Regions."     London,  1901. 
A.  de  Gerlache.     "  Voyage  de  la  Belgica."    Paris,  1902. 


1905. 
R.  C.  Mossman  (and  others).     "  The  Voyage  of  the  Scotia."    Edinburgh,  1906. 


INDEX 


AACHEN    (Aix-la-ChapeUe), 
282,  288 

Aalborg,  210 

Aar,  river,  258 

Aarau,  264 

Aargau,  264 

Aarhuus,  210 

Ab-i-Panja  river,  465 

Ababdeh  tribe,  926 

Abaca,  803 

Abagaza,  people,  1001 

Abancay,  839 

Abazwang  indaba,  people,  1001    .. 

Abbaya,  take,  931 

Abbazia,  315 

Abdesh-Shems,  453 

Abeokuta,  968 

Aberdeen,  157  ;  fisheries,  149 

Abo,  412 

Aborigines  of  Brazil,  868  ;  Central 
America,  787 ;  Dutch  New 
Guinea,  644 ;  North  America, 
676  ;  New  South  Wales,  596 ; 
Porto  Rico,  800 ;  Queensland, 
590  ;  South  America,  822  ;  South 
Australia,  616 ;  Tasmania,  612  ; 
Victoria,  604 ;  W.  Australia,  623 

Abruzzi,  364  ;  Appennines  of,  356 

Abruzzi.  Duke  of,  in  Arctic,  1032 

Abyla,  378 

Abysmal  Area,  46,  91 

Abyssinia,  934,  935 

Acadia,  687 

Acajutla,  788 

Acampsis  river,  440 

Acapulco,  781 

Acarai  mountains,  879 

Acatenango,  Mount,  783 

Acclimatisation,  98 

Accra,  964 

Accrington,  173 

Achaia,  349 

Achill  Island,  187 

Achin,  see  Atjeh 

Aconcagua  mountain,  816,  850 

Acores  Archipelago,  384 

Acroa,  people,  869 

Adalia  (Attalia),  444' ;  Bay  of,  439 

Adam,  Mount,  863 

Adam's  Bridge,  504  ;  Peak,  504 

Addis  Halem  935 

Adana,  443 

Adamawa,  971 

Adare,  Cape,  1049 

Adelaide,  619 ;  Climate,  615  ; 
Foundation  of,  585  ;  river,  615 

Adelie  Land,  1050 

Adelsberg,  303 

Aden  454  ;  harbour,  map,  455 

Adenara  islet,  572 

Adige  river,  303,  304,  306,  355 

Adirondack  mountains,  668,  671, 
727,  734 

Adjacent  Isles  of  the  Philippines, 
559  ;  of  Portugal,  384 

Adjustment  of  rivers  to  land,  59 

Adowa,  935 

.Adrar,  953 

Adrianople,  343  ;  basin.  332 
Adula,  259 
Adur,  river,  180 

JEgadian  islands,  353 


,  348 

^Etolia,  348 

Afghanistan,  464-468 

Aflaj  district,  456 

Africa,  Configuration,  map,  890 ; 
Continent  of,  889-903  ;  Popula- 
tion of,  103  ;  Vegetation  map  of, 
895 

Afridi  people,  467 

Afrikander  people,  990 

Agassiz,  Lake,  695,  743,  750, 

Agaua,  656 

Agave,  in  Bahama,  803  ;  in  Central 
America,  786 

Aggraded  =  filled  up,  672 

Agni,  people,  956 

Agoe,  957 

Agra,  489 

Agram.  323 

Agri,  River,  357 

Aguadilla,  800 

Agulhas,  Bay,  982  ;  Bank,  Cur- 
rents on,  70  ;  Fisheries  on,  989 

Ahmedabad,  492 

Aidin  (Tralles),  443 

Ailao,  517 

Aimore  people,  869 

Ainiak  people,  467 

Ain  Safra,  906  ;  Shehat,  916  ; 
Smara,  908 

Aintab,  451 

Ainu  people,  108,  549 

Air,  Action  of  ocean  on,  71 ;  Tem- 
perature of,  72 

Aire  valley,  170 

Airolo,  265 

Altoff,  D.,  Russian  Empire,  386-421 

Aix,  253 

Aix-la-Oiapelle,  288 

Ajau  people,  945 

Ajudhia,  489 

Ak-Hissar  (Thyateira),  443 

Akabah,  gulf,  452,  629 

Akaroa,  628 

Akassa,  968 

Akhtuba  river,  390 

Aki,  553 

Akkerman,  409 

Akoa  people,  959 

Akorodu.  968 

Aksu  river,  397 

Aksum,  935 

Akureyri,2i3 

Akwa  people,  967 

Akyab,  496 

Alabama,  745 ;  Coastal  Plain, 
Map,  746 ;  river,  746 

Alagoas,  875 

Alagoez  Mountain,  395 

Alai  Mountains,  396 

Xlands  islands,  197 

Alaotra  lake,  1016 

Alashehr  (Philadelphia),  443 

Alaska,  667,  677,  770  ;  Acquisition 
of,  711 

Ala-tagh  mountains,  396 

Alatau  mountains.  398 

Alausi  basin,  831 

Albania,  343 

Albanians,  334 

Albany.  N.Y.,  729,  731,  736; 
Western  Australia,  625 

1053 


Alba  Realls,  322 

Albemarle  Island,  658 

Albert-Edward,  Mount,  635  ; 
Nyanza,  931 

Albert  Nyanza,  931 ;  Discovery 
of,  901 

Alberta,  701,  702 

Albury,  New  South  Wales,  600 

Alcacer  do  Sal,  381 

Aldan,  river,  400,  426 

Alder  ney,  186 

Alemtejo,  380 

Alen?on,  251 

Aleppo,  449,  451 

Aleutian  islands,  667,  770 

Alexander,  Archipelago,  770 

Alexander  the  Great,  8  ;  in  Afghan- 
istan, 467  ;  in  Asia  Minor,  441 ; 
in  Egypt,  924  ;  in  India,  480 

Alexandretta,  451 

Alexandria,  927 

Alexandrina  Lake,  614 

Alexandropol,  409 

Alexandrovo,  418 

Alexandrovsk,  407,  412 

Alfa  fibre,  909 

Alfurs,  644 

Algarye,  382 

Algeria,  900,  906-913 

Algiers,  911;  department,  907; 
Temperature  and  Rainfall,  908 

Algoa  Bay,  985 

Algonkian  (Algonquian)  tribe,  106, 
683 

Alicante,  377 

Alice  Springs,  Climate,  615  ;  Tem- 
perature and  Rainfall,  581 

Aliwal  North,  991 

Allahabad,  488 

Allan  valley,  157 

Allegheny  Mountains,  670,  671 ; 
Structure  of,  40  ;  Plateau,  671, 
721,  727,  731,  732  ;  river,  734 

Allemanni,  260 

Allen,  Lough,  189 

Aller  river,  271 

Alligator  river,  615 

Alluvial  fan,  57  ;  plain,  56 

Alluvium,  56  ;  Geological  position 
of,  51 

Almaden,  374 

Almeria,  377 

Along  bay,  519 

Alpaca,  821 ;  in  Peru,  837 

Alpine  Foreland,  284 ;  of  Ger- 
many, 267  ;  of  Austria,  304 

Alpine  Provinces  of  Austria,  302 

Alps,  125,  256,  353  ;  Divisions  of, 
126  ;  Eastern,  299  ;  Geological 
divisions  of,  129 ;  Glaciers  of, 
126 ;  of  Germany,  267  ;  Italian, 
354  ;  Passes  of,  126  ;  Map  of 
Chief  Passes,  127 ;  Relative 
extent  of,  396  ;  Section  acros*. 
257  ;  Western,  237 

Alsace,  241 

Alsace-Lorraine,  287 

Altai  mountains,  398 

Altenburg,  290 

Altitude,  definition,  15 

Alto  Peru,  840 

Altona,  295 


1054        The  International  Geography 


Altos,  788 

Altvater  mountain,  292,  309 

Altyn  Tagh  mountains,  539 

Aluta  river,  327 

Alvarado  in  Central  America,  787 

Amacura  river,  878 

Amadeus,  Lake,  615 

Amager  island,  210 

Amain,  359,  361,  365 

Amanus,  Mons,  448 

Amapala,  788 

Amatique  bay,  783 

Amazon  basin,  865;  river,  816, 
873  ;  valley,  868 

Amazonas,  Peru,  839  ;  Brazil,  873 

Amazonian,  Region  of  Peru,  835  ; 
Slope  of  Ecuador,  831 ;  States  of 
Brazil,  873 

Ambaca,  984 

Ambala,  490 

Ambalema,  828 

Ambato,  833 

Amberno  river,  642,  643 

Amboyna  island,  571 

Ambriz,  984 

Ambrym  island,  647 

America,  Name  of,  n ;  North 
and  South  contrasts,  664  ;  Struc- 
ture of,  40 

American  or  Red  Race,  Classifi- 
cation of,  102,  106 

Amiens,  249 

Amida,  448 

Amisus,  443 

Ammeberg,  203 

Ammer,  lake,  272 

Amoy,  535 

Ampanam,  572 

Amraoti,  493 

Amritsar,  490 

Amsterdam,  222 

Amsterdam  islet,  1024 

Amu-daria  river  (Oxus),  396,  397 

Amur  river,  399,  400, 539 

Anaa  island,  657 

Anahuac  plain,  776 

Anamalai  hills,  494 

Anatolia,439-445;  railway  map,443 

Ancachs,  837 

Ancohuma,  Mount,  817 

Ancona,  364 

Ancyra,  443,  444 

Andahuaylas,  839 

Andai,  643 

Andalusia,  374,  376 

Andalusian  mountains,  369,  370 

Andaman  islands,  499 

Andean,  Basins  of  Ecuador,  map, 
830;  Countries,  824-848;  Pro- 
vinces of  Argentina,  855;  Region 
of  Peru,  834 

Anderlecht,  228 

Andermatt,  263 

Andes,  mountains,  816;  of  Argen- 
tina, 850 ;  of  Bolivia,  840  ;  of 
Chile,  843  ;  of  Colombia,  824  ; 
of  Ecuador,  829 ;  of  Peru,  834 

Andorra,  377;  la  Vieja,  378 

Andree,  explorer,  1032 

Androscoggin  river,  725 

Anegada,  807 

Aneto,  371 

Angara,  river,  400,  426 

Angers,  251 

Angkor-wat,  ruins,  518 

Angles,  people,  144 

Anglesea,  164 

Anglo-Parisian  Basin,  235 


Angmagsalik,  1043 

Angola,  982-984 

Angolare  people,  981 

Angoni  people,  949,  1001 

Angora  (Ancyra),  443,  444 

Angora^goat,  441 

Angouleme,  245 

Angra,   Pequena,    1012 ;    de    Sao 

Joao,  981 ;  do  Heroismo,  384 
Anguilla  Island,  808 
Anian,  Strait  of,  1026 
Animals  and  Plants,  distribution 

of,  82 ;    Pelagic,    90 ;   See  also 

Fauna  and  Flora 
Animals,  Land,  groups  of,  90 
Ankaratra,  1016 
Ankobra  river,  963 
Ankole,  938 
Ann,  Cape,  722 
Anna  de  Chaves,  981 
Annam,  516 
Annamite  people,  517 
Annan  river,  160 

Annapolis,  Md.,  731 ;  Valley,  686 
Annatom  island,  647 
Annobon,  953 
Anping,  554 
Ansariyeh  mountains,  449 ;  people, 

450 

Ansitan,  539 
Ansoes,  644 
Ansongo  rapids,  956 
Antananarivo  (Tananarive),  1019 
Antarctic,     Land,    1048;     Ocean, 

1047,     1050 ;     Ocean,    Position 

of,    61 ;      Regions,     1047-1052  ; 

map,  1047 
Antarctica,  1048 
Antecedent  rivers,  732 
Anthracite  in  Pennsylvania,  727; 

in  South  Wales,  150 
Anthropogeographical    relations, 

99 


Anthropogeography,  definition,  5 
Mountains,    331 ; 
Lebanon  Mountains,  449;  Tau- 


Anti-    Balkan     Mountains, 


rus  Mountains,  439 

Anticline,  definition,  53 

Anticosti  Island,  689 

Antigua  (Guatemala),  783,  789; 
Island,  807 

Antillean  mountain  system,  667 

Antioch,  451 

Antioquia,  827;  mountain,  825 

Antipodes  Island,  627 

Antis  people,  822 

Antisana,  mountain,  830 

Antivari,  337 

Antofagasta,  846 

Antonia  Peak,  979 

Antrim,  Co.,  189,  193 

Antumey  (Annatom)  Island,  647 

Antwerp  (Anvers),  229 

Anyanja  people,  949 

Anzin,  249 

Aomori,  551 

Aorangi,  mountain,  628 

Aosta,  126 

Apache  tribe,  779 

Apamea,  443 

Aphelion,  72 

Apia,  654 

Apian  "  Cosmographia,"  2  ;  Maps 
of,  31 

Apollonia  (Valona),  344 

Appalachian,  Belt,  715 ;  Moun- 
tains, 670,  681 ;  Northern  con- 
tinuation of,  690 


Appennine  Foreland,  357 

Appennines,  125,  352,  355 

Appenzell,  canton,  263 

Apple  Tree  (Yablonovyi)  Moun- 
tains, 398 

Apsheron,  394 

Apulia,  364 ;  (Le  Murgie),  358 

Apulum,  323 

Apure  river,  885 

Apurimac,  839  ;  river,  835 

Aquitaine,  236 

Arab  Geographers  of  Middle  Ages, 
10 

Arab  Zone  province,  978 

Arabah  depression,  449 

Arabia,  451-456  ;  Petrsea,  453 

Arabian  region,  433 

Arabs,  437,  453,  898,  910,  914,  917, 
926,  937,  939,  956,  978 

Arad,  322 

Arafura  Sea,  577 

Araguaya  river,  874 

Aragon,  373,  377 ;  river,  370 

Arakan,  472,  496 

Aral,  Lake,  396,  425 

Aralo-Caspian  basin,  395 

Aram-Naharaim,  447 

Arapey  river,  857 

Ararat  mountain,  395,  440 

Ararat,  Victoria,  609 

Aras  river,  457 

Araucanian  people,  822,  845 

Arawak  people,  800 

Arawary  river,  883 

Araxes  river,  395 

Arcadia,  349 

Archaean  rocks,  Geological  posi- 
tion of,  51 

Archangel,  411 

Archipelago  Vilayet,  444 

Arco,  306 

Arctic,  America,  1046 ;  Archi- 
pelago, 703,  1027, 1046  ;  Record, 
1025-1033  ;  Regions,  1033-1046  ; 
Regions,  map,  1034 ;  Sea,  41,  62, 
1033 ;  Siberia,  1045 

Arctoga-ic  Realm,  88 

Arden,  Forest  of,  174 

Ardennes,  224,  237 

Arecibo,  800 

Ared  district,  456 

Arequipa,  838 

Arfak  mountains,  643 

Argaeus,  Mount,  439 

Argau,  264 

Argentina,  849 

Argentine  Republic,  849-856 

Argos,  349 

Argovia,  264 

Arguin,  953 

Argun  river,  400 

Arguni  bay,  642 

Argyll,  156 

Arhuaco  people,  827 

Arid,  climates,  80;  regions  and 
river  work,  57 

Aristotle,  8 

Arizona,  765 

Arkansas  Highlands,  753 

Arkhangelsk  (Archangel),  411 

Arklow,  189 

Arlberg  tunnel,  262,  306 

Armenian  nation,  436;  plateau 
395,  4.27 

Armenians,  403,  442 

Armidale,  N.S.W.,  600 

Armorican  region,  235 

Arnawi,  466 


Index 


1055 


Arnhem,  222 

Arnhem  Land,  576,  578 

Arno  river,  356 

Aroa,  887 

Aron,  968 

Arrowsmith,  31 

Arroyo,  800 

Arta  gulf,  346 

Artesian  wells  in  Atlantic  States, 
721;  in  Queensland,  591;  in 
Sahara,  908  ;  in  S.  Australia,  618 

Aruba  island,  806 

Arun,  river,  180 

Arundel,  180  • 

Aruwimi  province,  978 

Arya  tribes,  478 

Aryan  languages,  132 

Arzeu,  911 

Asaba,  972 

Asama-yama  volcano,  546 

Ascension  island,  1013 

Ashango  people,  959 

Ashanti,  964 

Ashford,  180 

Ashio,  548 

Asia,  Continent,  422-438  ;  Moun- 
tain systems,  map,  427 ;  Minor, 
plateau,  425 ;  Minor,  see  Anatolia 

Asiatic  Turkey  and  Arabia,  439-456 

Askhabad,  417 

Askja,  volcano,  213 

Asosan,  volcano,  546 

Asphalt  in  Trinidad,  811 

Aspromonte,  357 

Ass,  Wild,  540 

Assab,  935 

Assam,  473,  495 ;  Forests,  477 

Assiniboia,  702 ;  District,  701 

Assinie,  957 

Assiut,  927 

Assuan,  922,  927 

Assyria,  450 

Assyrian  Empire,  447 

Astorga,  376 

Astrakhan,  414 

Astrolabe  bay,  639 

Asturias,  371,  376 

Asuncion,  862 

Atacama  desert,  821 

Atbara  river,  920 

Atel,  414 

Athabasca,  district,  702;  Lake, 
681 ;  river,  681,  698,  703 

Athapascan  people,  106 

Athens,  348 

Atjeh,  565,  566 

Atjinese  people,  557 

Atlantic,  City,  718 ;  Coastal  Plain. 
718  ;  Coastal  Plain  (map),  720 

Atlantic  Ocean,  currents  of,  69; 
configuration  of  bed,  60  ;  origin 
of,  36, 41 ;  position  of,  61 ;  Salinity 
of,  64;  Shore  Line  of  United 
States,  717 

Atlas  mountains,  41,  370,  890,  904, 
907 

Atmosphere,  3,  4;  and  climate, 
72-82  ;  Effects  of  heat  on,  74  ; 
Pressure  of,  76 

Atoll,  62  ;  Map  of  typical,  657 

Atolls  in  Pacific,  649 

Atrato  river,  824,  828 

Atrek  river,  457 

Attalia,  444 

Attica,  347 

Attie,  957 

Attopeu,  517 

Atures  rapids,  884 


Auburn,  Me.,  725  ;  N.Y.,  736 

Auckland,  634  ;  Islands,  627 

Augila,  916 

Augsburg,  284 

Augusta,  Me.,  723 

Aulad  'Aly  Bedawin,  926 

Aullagas,  lake,  840 

Aurangabad,  498 

Aures  range,  907 

Aussig,  308 

Austin,  Tex.,  755 

Austral  plant  division,  88 

Australia,  Continent  of,  575-586  ; 
Fauna  of,  87  ;  Felix,  605  ;  Felix, 
extinct  Volcanoes  of,  579 

Australian,  Alps,  594,  602 ;  Cor- 
dillera, 588 ;  people,  104 ;  region, 
87  - 

Austria,  302-315  ;  statistics,  325 

Austria-Hungary,  298-301 ;  Origin 
of,  136  ;  Provinces  of,  301 

Austrian,  Alps,  302  ;  Gap,  303 

Austro-Hungarian  Monarchy,  298- 
326 

Auvergne,  239 

Aux  Cayes,  802 

Avalon  Peninsula,  705 

Avars,  319 

Avenches  (Aventicum),  264 

Aventicum,  264 

Avignon,  253 

Avila,  376 

Avon  river,  166,  174,  176,  179 

Awas  mountains,  1012 

Awe,  Loch,  156 

Awob  river,  1012 

AT,  377 

Axar  fjord,  213 

Axim,  964 

Axis  (Espigao)  mountain  of  Brazil, 
866 

Ayacucho,  839 

Aylesbury,  Vale  of,  179 

Aymara  people,  822,  841 

Ayplas,  Juan  de,  in  Paraguay,  862 

Azimuth,  definition,  15 

Azoques,  833 

Azores,  see  Azores,  384 

Azov  sea,  407 

Aztecs,  779 

Aztlan,  779 

Azuay  province,  833 

Azure  Coast,  253 

BA-    CANCALE    People,  983: 
Coroca  people,  983  ;  Cuisso 

people,  983  ;  Ronga,  996 
Bab  el-Mandeb  strait,  425, 
Baba,  Cape,  422 
Babylonia,  447 
Back,  Sir  George,  Arctic  Voyage, 

1028 
Backbone  (Epinhaco)  of   Brazil, 

866 

Bactria,  467 

Bad  Lands  of  Dakota,  758 
Badagry,  968 
Badaioz,  376 
Badakhshan,  397,  465 
Baden,  Grand  Duchy,  286 ;  near 

Vienna,  306 
Baer,  Von,  56 
Baf  ulabe,  958 
Baffin,  Arctic  Voyage,  1026 ;  Bay, 

1035  ;  Land,  1046 
Baggara  tribe,  926 
Baghdad,  448 
Bagneres-de-Luchon,  252 


425,  452 


Bagrada  river,  914 

Bahama  islands,  667, 803  ;.climate, 

792 

Baharieh  oasis,  928 
Bahia,  870,  875  ;  Blanca,  849  ;  dos 

Tigres  (Great  Fish  Bay),  982; 

Honda,  798 
Bahr-el-Abiad,  920  ;  Azrak,  920 ; 

Gebel,  920  ;  Ghazal,  920 
Bahrein  islands,  452 
Baikal  lake,  400,  401,  426 
Bailundo  regions,  982 
Baillie,  Alexander  F.,  Paraguay 

859 ;  Uruguay,  856 
Baines,  I.  A.,  India,  469 
Baixas  do  Sorraia,  380 
Bajan  people,  567 
Bakalahari  people,  1002 
Bakel,  956 

Baker,  Sir  Samuel,  explorer,  901 
Baku,  416 
Bala  lake,  165 

Balabac  island,  559  ;  strait,  566 
Batata  in  Dutch  Guiana,  882 
Balaton-Fiired,  318 
Balaton  (Platten)  lake,  318 
Bald  Mountain,  688;  (Lysa  Gora), 

A392 

Bale,  canton,  264 
Balearic  islands,  370,  377 
Bali  island,  564 
Balkh  (Bactria),  467 
Balkan     mountains,    331,     338; 

Peninsula,  330-335 ;  Peninsula, 

reorganisation  of,  136 
Balkhash,  lake,  396 
Ballarat,  608 

Balleny  in  Antarctic,  1048 
Balsam  lake,  694    • 
Baltic  Sea,  407  ;  Circulation  of,  67 
Baltimore,   Md.,  site,  720;    as  a 

seaport,  715 
Baltistan,  499 
Baluchistan,  499 
Balumbo  people,  950 
Bambara  people,  956 
Bamberg,  285 
Bamboo  in  Africa,  896  ;  in  China, 

526  ;  in  Colombia,  826 ;  in  India, 

477 

Bammako,  958  ;  rapids,  956 
Bamopamo  river,  962 
Banana,  978 

Bananas  in  Jamaica,  804 
Banda  islands,  571 
Banda-neira  island,  571 
Bandana  river,  957 
Bandar  Abbas,  463  ;  Maharani,  515 
Bandjermassin,  568 
Banff  County,  156 
Bang  Pa  Kong  river,  508 
Bangala  people,  983  ;  province,  978 
Bangalore,  498 
Bangaso,  959 
Bangkok,  510 
Bangor,  Me.,  723 
Bangui,  959 
Bangweolo,  lake,  947 
Bani-Bagoe  river,  957 
Banka  island,  565,  566 
Banks  Peninsula,  628 
Bann,  river,  193 
Bantam,  562,  563 
Bantu  in  East  Africa,  933 ;  people, 

898 ;    speech,     104 ;    in    South 

Africa,  989 

Baobab  trees  in  Africa,  896 
Bara  people,  1017 


1056        The  International  Geography 


Baraba,  steppe,  398 

Baracoa,  795,  798 

Baranof  island,  770 

Barawa,  936 

Barbados  island,  810;  tart  810 

Barbary  States,  904 

Barbuda  island,  807 

Barcelona,  377  ;  (Venezuela),  887 ; 
Gulf  of,  885 

Barcelonnettes,  243 

Bareli,  489 

Barents  Land,  1044 

Barents,  W.,  voyage  of,  1026 

Bari,  365 ;  Bari  people,  933 

Baringo  lake,  931 

Barma  river,  879 

Barisan  mountains,  564 

Barito  river,  567,  568 

Barka,  916,  917 

Barkul,  540 

Barmen,  288 

Baroda,  497 

Barotseland,  see  Barutseland 

Barquisimeto,  887 

Barrancas  of  Mexico,  776  ;  Vene- 
zuela, 884 

Barranquilla,  828 

Barren  grounds,  89 ;  Lands,  682, 

Barrier  Mountains,  N.S.W.,  594  ; 
reef,  62  ;  reef,  map  of,  587 

Barrow-in-Furness,  163 

Barrow  river,  193 

Barry  Dock,  151,  165 

Earth,  explorer,  901 

Bartica,  881 

Barton,  C.  H.,  Australia,  575 ; 
Queensland,  587 

Barutse  people,  949 

Barutseland,  949,  950 

Barwan  river,  594 

Basel,  canton,  264 

Bashan,  449 

Bashgul  valley,  466 

Basilicata,  The,  364 

Basin,  49  ;  Ranges,  Rocky  Moun- 
tains, 765 

Basque  Province,  371,  374-  37$ 

Basques,  133,  240,  372 

Basra,  448 

Bass  Strait,  576,  610 

Basse  Terre,  Guadeloupe,  809 

Bassenthwaite  lake,  163 

Basseterre,  St.  Kitts,  808 

Bastard  people,  1013 

Basuto  people,  990 

Basutoland,  992 

Batabano,  797 

Batang-hari  river,  564,  566 

Batalha-Reis,  J.,  Brazil,  865 

Batanga  coast,  973 

Batavia,  562 

Bath,  177 

Bathurst,  Gambia,  962 ;  N.S.W., 
598,  600  ;  Island,  614 

Batjian  island,  570 

Baton  Rouge,  La.,  750 

Battak  people,  557,  565,  566 
•  Battambong  river,  509 

Batticalao,  504 

Batum,  416 

Baule,  957 

Bautzen,  276 

Bavaria,  284 

Bavarian  Palatinate,  286 

Bavarians,  276,  300 

Bawean  Islands,  563 

Bay,  50  ;  Islands,  784  ;  of  Fundy, 


Tides  of,  65  ;  of  Islands,  New 
foundland,  705  ;  Verte,  686 

Baymen  of  British  Honduras,  790 

Beachy  Head,  180 

Bear  Island,  1044 

Beam,  Province,  252 

Bear-Paw  Mountains,  756 

Beauce,  235,  251 

Beaucaire,  253 

Beaumont,  Elie  de,  37,  42 

Bechuana  people,  990 

Bechuanaland,  1002-1003  ;  Pro- 
tectorate, 1002-1003 

Bedawin  tribes,  926 

Bedford, 178 

Bedouin,  926 

Bek-Pak-Dala,  desert,  396 

Beechworth,  Victoria,  609 

Beeren  Berg,  1044 

Beetroot  in  France,  243  ;  in  Ger- 
many, 281 

Behaim's  Globe,  35 

Bei-Kem  river,  400 

Beira,  946 

Beireuse  mountains,  380 

Beirut,  451 

Beja,  380  ;  people,  898 

Belad-al-Jerid,  913 

Belaya  river,  418 

Beled-es-Sudan,  897 

Belem,  873 

Belep  Islands,  644 

Belfast,  193 

Belgae  in  Britain,  143 

Belgica,  ship,  1048 

Belgica  prima,  231 

Belgique,  223 

Belgium,  223-230  ;  Origin  of,  136 

Belgrade,  336 

Belik  river,  447 

Belize,  790  ;  river,  789 

Bell  Sound,  1044 

Bellary,  495 

Belle  Isle  Strait,  704 

Bellenden  Ker  Mountains,  589 

Bellingshausen,  explorer,  1048 

Bellinzona,  265 

Bello  Horizonte,  875 

Belts  of  Denmark,  208 

Belyi  Klyuch,  390 

Ben  Lomond,  Tasmania,  611 ; 
Macdhui,  156;  Nevis,  141,  156 

Benadir  coast,  936 

Benares,  488 

Benches=river  terraces,  55 

Bend  of  the  Niger,  954 

Bende,  068 

Bendery,  409 

Bendigo,  608 

Bengal,  486 

Bengali  language,  479 

Bengawan  valley,  562 

Benghazi,  916,  917 

Benguela,  984  ;  current,  70 

Beni,  842  :  river,  841 

Beni  Saf,  908 

Benin,  968 ;  Bight  of,  972  ;  people, 

Benkoolen,  562,  565 
Bennett  land,  1046 
Benue  river,  970 
Beothuk  people,  706 
Bequia  island,  810 
Berar,  493 

Berber,  927  ;  race,  907 
Berbera,  936 

Berbers,  898  ;  in  Algeria,  910  ;  in 
Portugal,  382  ;  in  Tripoli,  917 


Berbice,  881 ;  river,  879 

Berezina,  river,  390 

Bergdamara  people,  1013 

Bergen,  207 

Berici  Monti,  355 

Bering  sea,  423  ;  strait,  85, 423, 103$ 

Bering  Vitus  Arctic  Voyage,  1027 

Berlenga  Islands,  379 

Berlin,  295 ;  Temperature  and 
rainfall  of,  273  ;  Treaty  of,  136 

Bermejo  river,  841,  850 

Bermuda,  708-709 

Bermudez,  887 

Bern,  canton,  264 

Bernard,  Augustin,  New  Cale- 
donia, 644 

Bernese  Oberland,  258 

Bernina  mountains,  259 

Berry,  province,  251 

Bertrand  Alejandro,  Chile,  843 

Berwick,  160,  109  ;  county,  160 

Besancon, 252 

Beskids,  313  ;  passes,  311 

Bessarabia,  416 

Betafo  district,  1016 

Bethencourt,  Explorer,  952 

Betsiboka  river,  1016 

Betsileo  people,  1017 

Betsimisnraka  people,  1017 

Bhagalpur,  488 

Bhamo,  496  « 

Bhoten,  see  Bhutan 

Bhutan,  503 

Biafada  people,  981 

Biafra,  Bight  of,  973 

Biainas  people,  441 

Bibundi,  974 

Bicameral = with  two  Houses  of 
Parliament,  632 

Bida,  972 

Bidassoa  river,  233 

Biddeford,  Me.,  725 

Bielefeld,  289 

Bienne,  (Biel),  264 

Biferno  Fortore,  river,  357 

Big  Game  in  Rhodesia,  loco 

Big  Horn  Basin,  762 

Bihar,  474  ;  plain,  487 

Bijagos  island,  980 

Bijuga  island,  896 

Bilbao,  376 

Bileton  island,  566 

Bima,  572 

Biminis,  The,  803 

Bingen,  288 

Bingerville,  957 

Bingeul  Dagh  mountain,  440 

Binghampton,  N.Y.,  736 

Bini  people,  967 

Biobio  river,  848 

Biogeography,  83-95 ;  Definition,  4 

Biological  transition  areas,  87 

Bionomic  Relations,  85 

Biosphere,  4 

Bird  of  Paradise  in  Dutch  New 
Guinea,  643  ;  in  the  Moluccas, 
570  ;  in  New  Guinea,  637,  640 

Birkenhead,  172 

Birmingham,  175  ;  and  the  Black 
Country,  Map  of,  175  ;  Ala.,  7aC 

Bisaya,  559 

Bischoff,  Mount,  611 

Biscoe,  explorer,  1048 

Bisharin  people,  898,  926 

Bishop,. Mrs.,  Korea,  542 

Biskra,  912 

Bismarck  Archipelago,  640 

Bismarck,  N.  Dak.,  757 


Index 


Bismarck  range,  636,  639 
Bismarckburg,  973 
Bissao,  981 
Bitlis,  444 
Bitolia,  343 
Bitter  Lakes,  928 
Biwa,  lake,  547,  552 
Bizerta,  915 

Black  Country,  175;  Earth  Region 
405 ;    Earth  Region  of   Russia 
390,   402 ;    Forest,    269 ;    Hills, 
673;   Hills,    U.S.,    757;   Moun- 
tains, 164,  603,  670 ;  Mountains 
(Austria),  311  ;  Mountains,  N.C. 
716  ;  Sea,  407  ;  Sea,  Circulation 
of,     67 ;    Sea,    Origin  of,    41  ; 
Stream  of  Japan,  70 
Blackburn,  173 
Blackfoot  tribe,  683 
Blackpool,  174 
Blackwater  river,  188,  194 
Blaeu,  cartographer,  u 
Blanc,  Mont,  126,  237 
Blanche  Bay,  641 
Blanco,  Cape,  953 
Blantyre,  B.C.A.,  950 
Bleiberg,  305 
Blida,  912 

Bligh,  Governor,  597 
Blizzard,  756 
Bloemfontein,  1006 
Blomidon,  Cape,  686 
Blue  Grass  Country,  733  ;  Gum 
Tree,  603  ;    Mountains,    India, 
472 ;  Mountains,  Jamaica,  803  ; 
Mountains,    N.S.W.,  594,   596 ; 
Mountains,  Wash.,   764;   Nile, 
920 ;  Ridge,  721 
Bluefields,  788 
Bluff,  The,  628 
Boavista  Island,  979 
Bober  valley,  292 
Bocca  Serriola,  356 
Bodegas  de  Babahoyo,  833 
Bodenbach-Zetschen,  308 
Bodensee,  lake,  257 
Bodmin  moor,  167 
Bodo,  207  ;  Rain  and  temp,  curves 

for,  200 
Boeotia,  348 

Boere,  990  ;  in  Transvaal,  1010 
Boeroboedur,  563 
Bog,  89 

Boghaz  Keui,  441 
Bognor,  181 
Bogong  mountain,  602 
Bogota,  828 
Bogs  of  Ireland,  142 
Bohemia  (Bohmen),  306 
Bohemian-Saxon  Switzerland,  291 
Bohmen,  306 
Boian  lands,  299,  305 
Bois-le-Duc,  222 
Bojador,  Cape,  953 
Bokhara,  408,  417 
Bolama,  981 
Bolan  pass,  467,  499 
Bolivar,   province,  827,  833;  the 

Liberator,  827 
Bolivia,  840-843 
Bolivian  Plateau,  817 
Bologna,  363 
Boloven,  517 
Bolton,  173 
Boma,  978 
Bombay,  491,  492  ;  Longitude  of, 

31 
Bomst,  Vioeyards  at,  21? 


Bonaca  island,  784 

Bonavista  bay,  705 

Bonaire  island,  806 

Bone,  912 

Bonifacio,  strait,  358 

Bonin  islands,  545 

Bonn,  288 

Bonneville  Lake  in  Utah,  map,  766 

Bonney,  T.  G.,  37 

Bonny,  968 

Boothia  Felix  peninsula,  1028 

Bora  wind,  314,  319 

Borchgrevink  in  Antarctic,  1048 

Bordeaux,  252 

Borderland,  Hungarian,  323 

Borders,  definition,  112 

Boreal  plant  division,  88 

Borgu,  971  ;  people,  970 

Borneo,  566 

Bornholm,  211 

Bornu  people,  971 

Borrowdale,  163 

Bosna  Serail,  324 

Bosnia  and  Herzegovina,  324 

Bosporus,  330,  341 

Boston,  179 

Boston,  Mass.,  722  ;  as  a  seaport, 
715  ;  Harbour  islands,  724 

Botany  Bay,  584,  597 

Bothnia,  Gulf  of,  197 

Botletlie  river,  1003 

Botocudo  people,  869 

Botosani,  329 

Bougainville  Island,  647,  648 
Bougie.  912 

Boulder  clay,  Origin  of,  57 
Boulogne,  249,  250 
Boundaries,  112;  Maps,  113;  be- 
tween British  Guiana  and  Vene- 
zuela, map,  878 ;  of  Colombia, 
824  ;  in  South  America,  823 ;  of 
States,  712 

Boundary  at  the  Great  American 
Lakes,  737 ;  of  Maryland,  718 ; 
between    United     States     and 
Canada,  113;  of  Virginia,  718 
Bounty  Bay,  659 ;  Island,  627 
Bourbon  island,  1024 
Bourges,  251 
Bourke,  600 
Bournemouth,  181 
Bowen,  591,  592 
Boyaca,  827 
Boyne,  River,  192 
Bozen,  306 
Brabant,  221 

Bradford,  170 ;  on-Avon,  177 
Bradano  Baseuto,  river,  357 
Brahmaputra  river,  471,  486,  495, 

Brahui  people,  499 

Braila,  329 

Brainard,  Sergeant,  Arctic  Explo- 
ration, 1030 

Brakna  people,  956 

Branco,  Cape,  813 

Brandenburg,  292,  293 

Brandon,  696 

Branholme,  6n 

Bras  d'Or,  686 

Brass,  968 

Braunschweig,  293 

Brava  island,  979 

Brave  West  Winds,  70,  78 

Bray  Head,  187 

Brazil,  865-877 ;  Configuration, 
865  ;  Geology,  867  ;  Highlands, 


Brazilian  Island,  865,  874 
Brazza,  Savorgnan  de,  958 
Brazzaville,  959 
Brda,  337  ;  mountains,  307 
Breakers,  67 
Breccias,  52 
Brecon  Beacons,  164 
Breda,  222 
Breidafjordur,  212 
Bremen,  294 
Brenner  Pass,  127,  302 
Breslau,  293 
Brest,  251 
Brest-Li  tovsk,  409 
Breton,  Cape,  686 
Brick-tea,  529 
Bridgetown,  Barbados,  8ll 
Brieg,  265 
Brier  island,  686 
Bright,  609 
Brighton,  181 
Brindisi,  365 
Brionian  islands,  314 
Brisbane,  590,  591,  592 
Bristol,  166 

British  Borneo,  559-560 ;  Central 
Africa,  946-951  ;  Columbia,  697- 
700;  East  Africa,  937-940  ;  East 
African  Protectorate,  938  ;  Em- 
pire, def.,  138;  Empire,  Extent 
of,   146  ;  Empire,   Statistics  of, 
196;  Guiana,  878-881;  Honduras, 
787,  789;  Isles.  Climate  of,  140; 
Isles,    Configuration    of,    139 ; 
Isles,   Discovery    of,    8;    Isles, 
Fauna  of,  143 ;  Isles,  Flora  of, 
142;  Isles,  Population  of,  148; 
New  Guinea,  635-638;    North 
America,  679?  North    Borneo, 
559 ;  Occupation  of  Egypt,  925 ; 
Pacific    Islands,   651;    Peoples, 
History  of,  143  ;   South  Africa, 
997  ;  Sudan,  969  ;  West  African 
Coast  Colonies,  960-969 
Brittany,  251 
Brno  (Briinn),  309 
Broads  of  Norfolk,  182 
Brocken,  290 
Brockton,  U.S.,  726 
Brody,  313 
Broken  Hill,  601 
Brooklyn,  730 

Brooks,  W.  K.,  on  pelagic  fauna,  94 
Broome,  626 
Brothers  island,  936 
Brown  Willy,  167 
Bruce,  James,  explorer,  900 
Bruce  Peninsula,  694 
Bruce,  W.  S.,  explorer,  1048 
Brue,  Andre,  954 
Bruges,  225 
Brugg,  264 
Brunei,  560 
Bruni  island,  613 
Briinn  (Brno),  309 
Brunswick,  duchy,  293 
Brusa  (Prusa),  443,  444 
Brussels,  228 
Bruxelles,  228 
Briix,  307 

Bryce,  James,  Natal,  993  ;  Orange 
River  Colony,  1003  ;  Transvaal, 
1007 

Brythonic  tribe,  162 
Buache,  Philip,  contour  lines,  31 
Bubanjidda  Mountains,  970 
Bubi  people,  953 
Budapest,  321 


1058        The  International  Geography 


Buddhism,  528 

Buddhists  in  Tibet,  541 

Budweis,  308 

Buea,  974 

Bueleng,  564 

Buen  Ayre  (Bonaire)  island,  806 

Buena  Ventura  gulf,  824 

Buenaventura,  828  ;  rainfall,  819 

Buenos  Aires,  849,  853 ;  tempera 
ture  and  rainfall,  819 

Buffalo,  N.Y.,  site,  738 

Buffaloes  in  United  States,  758 

Buffavente  Mountain,  445 

Bug  river,  271,  391,  415 

Bugi  people,  569 

Buitenzorg,  563 

Bujis  Island,  384 

Bukarest,  329 

Bukovina,   300,    311;   derivation 
312 

Bulangan  river,  567 

Bulawayo,  1002 

Bulgaria,  338-339 

Bulgarian  Foreland,  331 

Bulgarians,  334 

Bulhar,  936 

Bulom  people,  963 

Bunda  people,  983 

Bundaberg,  591,  592 

Bundelkhand,  497 

Bunter,  Geological  position  of,  51 

Burdekin  river,  591 

Bure,  955 

Burgas,  339 

Burgos,  376 

Burgundians,  260 

Burgundy  Gate,   125 ;    province 
252 

Burhanpur,  493 

Burin  peninsula,  705 

Burlington,  I.,  744 

Burma,  472,  495  ;  geology,  473 

Burrna-Sunda  mountains,  428 

Burnet's  Theory  of  the  Earth,  37 

Burnley,  173 

Burntisland,  158 
Burrard  Inlet.  697,  700 
Burslem,  175 
Burton,  Sir  R.  F.,  901 

Burton-on-Trent,  Brewing  at,  176 
Buru.  Cape,  Malay  peninsula,  422 
New  Guinea,  642 ;  island,  570 
Bury,  173 
Bush  Veldt,  1007 
Bushire,  463 
Bushmen,  898  ;  in  German  S.W. 

Africa,  1013 
Bussa,  972  ;  rapids,  956 
Bussaco  Mountains,  379 
Butte  City,  761 
Butung  Island,  569 
Butter  in  Denmark,  209 
Buttermere,  163 
Buxton,  169 
Byzantine  Empire,  134 
Byzantium,  342 

/^AAGUAZU,  Cordilleras  of,86o 
\*^    Cabanas,  798 
Cabinda,  984 
Cabo  de  la  Nao,  370 
Cabot,  John,  10,  706;  Voyage  of, 

1025  ;  Strait,  704 
Cabral,  Pedro  Alvares,  discoverer, 

870 

Cabralia  bay,  870 
Cacao  in  Dutch  Guiana,  882  ;  in 
Ecuador,  833;  in  Grenada,  810; 


in  Trinidad  812  ;  in  Venezuela 
887 

Caconda  climate,  983 
Cactus,  766 
Cactuses,  89 

Cadabona,  Pass  of,  125,  356 
Cadamosto,  discoverer,  980 
Cader  Idris,  164 
Cadiz,  376 
Caen,  251 
Caesarea,  444 
Cagliari,  365 
Cagni,  Captain,  1032 
Caia,  river,  381 
Caiapo  people,  869 
Caicos  islands,  805 
Caillie,  explorer,  900 
Cairns,  591,  592 
Cairo,  111.,  750  5  Egypt,  92? 
Caithness,  155 
Calabria,  39,  357,  364 
Calais,  249 
Calcutta,  487 ;  Temperature  an 

rainfall  of,  474 
Caldas  da  Rainha,  382 
Caldera,  656;  of  Crater  Lake,  76 
Caledon  river,  1004 
Caledonian  Canal,  156 
Calem,  502 

Cali,  Farrallones  of,  824 
Calicut,    494,    495  ;  Temperatun 

and  rainfall  of,  474 
California,    765 ;   Acquisition    o 
711  ;   Gulf  of,  668,774;  Valley 
of,  668,  768 

Calisaya  Cinchona,  842 
Callao,  838 ;  gold  mines,  884 
Calle-Calle  river,  848 
Callejon  da  Huaylas,  835.  837 
Calpe,  378 

Calycadnus  river,  440 
Cambodia,  517;  river,  508 
Cambodians,  518 
Cambrian  Formation,  Geologica 

position  of,  51 
Cambridge,  179 ;  Gulf,  620 ;  Mass. 

73i 

Camden,  600 
Cameron,  Capt.  V.   L.,  explorer 

901 

Cameroons  (Kamerun),  973 
Camel  in  Africa,  897 ;  in  N.S.W. 
595 1  in  W.  Australia,  621 ;  Wild, 
540 

Campania,  364 
Campaspe  river,  602 
Campbell  island,  627 
Campbellton,  155 
Campbelltown,  N.S.W.,  600 
Campeche,  774,  781 
Camperdown,  609 
Campos  in  Argentina,  851 ;  region 

of  Brazil,  820 
Campsie  Fells,  157 
Canada,  Dominion  of,  679 ;  boun- 
dary with  United  States,  113, 
723 ;  Geological  map,  680 
Canar,  833  ;  (Naranjal)  Basin,  831 ; 

Province,  833 
Canara,  502 
anary  Islands,  377,  952 
Dandia,  350 
Canea,  350 
Dannes,  253 
3anso,  Gut  of,  686 
Cantabrian  Mountains,  371 
Canterbury,  180  ;  Plains,  N.Z.,  629 
Canton,  535  ;  climate,  526 


Canuku  Mountains,  879 
Cao,  Diogo,  discoverer,  983 
Cape  Breton  Island,  685 ;  Coast, 
964 ;  Colony,  985-993  ;  Colony, 
Railway  system  of,  991  ;  of 
Good  Hope,  Discovery  of,  10; 
Haitien,  802  ;  River  Goldfield, 
592  ;  Town,  992  ;  Town,  Longi- 
tude of,  31  ;  Town,  temperature 
and  rainfall,  987  ;  York  Penin- 
sula, 576,  587  ;  York  Peninsula 
Geology,  578;  Verde  Islands, 
979-980 

Capiberibe  river,  875 
Caprera  Island,  358 
Captaincies  in  Brazil,  873 
Capture  of  rivers,  55,  59 
Caracas,  887 

Caramulo  Mountains,  379 
Caravan  routes  of  Tripoli,  917 
Caravaya,  839 
Caraya  people,  869 
Carboniferous    Formation,    Geo- 
logical position  of,  51 
Carchi,  province,  833 
Cardenas  bay,  797 
Cardiff,  151,  165 
Cardigan  Bay,  164 
Carenero,  887 
Cariaco  Gulf,  887 
Caribbean  depression,  Origin  of, 
41  ;    Rs,rl-[e,    887  ;    Sea,    813  ; 
Sea,  currents  of,  69 
Caribbees,  792,  805 
Cariboo' district,  699 
Carib  people  (Carahibs),  800,  822, 
869  ;  at  St.  Vincent,  792,  810  ; 
in  British  Honduras,  790 
Carinthia  Duchy,  304 
Carlisle,  160,  169  ;  Bay,  Barbados, 

811 

Carljohansvaern,  206 
Carlsborg,  205 
Carskrona,  204 
Carlsruhe,  286 
Carmel,  Mount,  448 
Carnarvon,  164 
Carnegie,  Hon.  David  W.,  Western 

Australia,  620 
Carnic  Alps,  316 

Carniola  (Krain),  Duchy,  304,  305 
Caroline  Archipelago,  655 
Carolina  bight,  720 
Carpathia,  388,  391 
Carpathian  foreland,  311  ;  Lands, 
311  ;  Mountains,  299,  308,  327, 
331 

Carpentaria  Gulf,  577.  578,  587 
Carpentarian  plain,  589 
Carpets  in  Persia,  461  ;  in  Turkey, 

34L  442 

3arrantuohill,  194 
^arriacou  island,  810 
Darrickfergus,  189 
Darron  Loch,  155 
Carse    Clays,    101  ;  -lands,    153 ; 

of  Cowrie,  157 
Cartagena,  Spain,  377  ;  Colombia, 

828 

Cartago,  784, 789 ;  (Costa  Rica),  783 
Cartailhac,  M.,  102 
Carthage,  915 
Cartier,  Jacques,  691 
Cartography,  Development  of,  12 
^aaupano,  888 
Casa-Blanca,  905 
Cascade  Mountains,  672,  764,  767 
Cascaes,  383 


Index 


1059 


Cashel,  194 

Caspian  Sea,  396 

Cassini  de  Thury,  29 

Cassiquiare  river,  816,  866,  884 

Castile,  373,  376 

Castletown,  186 

Castries,  809 

Castro-vireyna,  839 

Cat  Island,  803 

Catalan  language,  240 

Catalonia,  374,  377 

Catalonian  dialect,  373 

Catamarca,  855 

Catania,  365 

Cataract  Hills,  613 

Cataracts  in  Africa,  891 ;  of  the 
Nile,  921 

Catingas  region,  820 

Catorce,  780 

Catskill  Mountains,  671,  732,  734 

Cattaro,  315  :  bay,  337 

Cattle  in  Argentina,  853  ;  in 
Bechuanaland,  1002  ;  on  the 
Great  Plains,  U.S.,  755 ;  in 
India,  477  ;  on  the  Prairies,  739 ; 
in  Rhodesia,  1000  ;  in  Trans- 
vaal, 1008  ;  in  Uruguay,  857; 
in  Venezuela,  885;  rearing  in 
Africa,  899 

Cauca,  province,  827  ;  river,  824, 
828 

Caucasic  or  White  Race,  102; 
Classification  of,  107 

Caucasus,  416 ;  Configuration, 
394  ;  Mountains,  388 

Gausses,  Plateaux  of,  239 

Cauterets,  252 

Caves,  Fauna  of,  93  ;  Formation 
of,  54 

Cavalli  river,  960 

Cavite,  559 

Cawnpore,  488 

Caxamarca,  838 

Cayambe  Mountain,  830 

Cayenne,  883 

Cayman  Islands,  805 

Cays  of  Cuba,  793;  in  West 
Indies,  791 

Cayo  Romano,  797 

Gear*,  874 

Cedars  of  Lebanon,  450 

Celebes,  555,  568 

Celestial  Equator,  definition,  15 

Celtica,  240 

Cenis,  Mont,  tunnel,  247 

Central  Alps,  126  ;  America,  782- 
790 ;  America,  Climate,  785 ; 
Rivers,  784  ;  Belt  of  India.  472 ; 
Cordillera  of  the  Andes,  835  ; 
Guatemala  Mountains,  783  ; 
Lowlands  of  Ireland,  189;  Plain 
of  England,  171,  174  ;  Plateau 
of  France,  233,  237  ;  Provinces 
of  India,  493  ;  Ranges  of  Aus- 
tralia, 579 ;  Russia,  configura- 
tion, 389 

Cephalonia  Island,  349 

Ceram  (Serang)  Island,  570,  571 

Cerro  Cotzic,  783  ;  de  Apisco,  775  ; 
de  Pasco  ;  836, 838  ;  Duida,  884  ; 
Munchique,  824  ;  Quemado, 
783 

Ceryin,  Mont,  258 

Cetinje  (Cettigne),  337 

Cette,  253 

Cettigne,  337 

Ceuta,  377 

Cevennes,  233 


Ceylon,  503-50? 
Chachapoyaa,  839 
Chaco,  820,  860  ;  territory,  856 
Chad,  Lake,  892.  958,  970 
Chagos  Archipelago,  1023 
Chaix,  Prof.  Emile,  Switzerland 

256 

Chaki-Chaki.  940 
ChaJcidice  peninsula,  330 
Chaldea,  436 
Chaleur  Bay,  688 
Chalk  Country  of  England,  178  ; 

Escarpment,    177 ;     Geological 

position  of,  51 
Chalons-sur-Marne,  249 
Challenger,    Cruise    of,    12  ;    in 

Antarctic,  1050 
Chama  river,  886 
Chambal  valley,  497 
Chambezi  river,  947,  975 
Chamorro  people,  655 
Cbamperico,  788 
Champion  bay,  625 
Champlain,  lake,  728 
Chancay,  838 

Chancellor,  Arctic  Voyage,  1025 
Chanchamayu,  839 
Chanchan  river,  831 
Chandernagore,  503 
Changkiakou,  532 
Changsha,  533 
Chauia  people,  910 
Channel  Islands,  186 
Ch'ao-sien,  542 
Chapala  .ike. 7^6 
Charcas,  841 
Charente,  river,  252 
Charing-nor  lake,  541 
Charles  Louis  mountains,  643 
Charlemagne  (Charles  the  Great), 

135.  3op 
Charleroi,  225 
Charleston,  S.C.,  site,  720 
Charlestown,  Nevis,  808 
Charleville,  591 
Charlotte    Amalie,    806;   Town, 

Dominica,  807 
Charlottenburg,  296 
Charlottetown,  687 
Charnwood  Forest,  174,  176 
Chartered  Company,  119 
Charters  Towers  GoldfieW,  592 
Charts,  23,  34 
Chat  Moss,  172 
Chatham  Islands,  627 
Chattisgarh,  493 
Chats  Rapids,  693 
Chatyr  Dagh,  394 
Chaudiere    Falls,    Ottawa,    695; 

river,  691 

Chaux-de-fonds,  264 
Chebchi  Mountains.  973 
Chechs  (Czechs),  308 
Chekiang,  535 

Chellia  (Shellia)  mountain,  907 
Cheltenham,  177 
Chelyuskin,  Cape,  422  ;  peninsula, 

1046 

Chemnitz,  291 
Chemulpo,  543 
Chengte,  532 
Chengtu,  534 
Cherbourg,  251 
Cherchel,  911 
Cherchen  oasis,  540 
Chernagora,  337 
Chernoziom     (black     earth     of 

Russia),  405 


Cherry  Creek,  760 

Cher  well,  river,  177 

Chesapeake  bay,  731 ;  river,  718 

Cheshire,  171,  174  ;  plain,  165,  174 

Chester,  166,  174 

Cheviot  hills,  168 

Chibcha  people,  822,  827 

Chicago,  740  ;  site,  738 

Chichen-Itza.  779 

Chichester,  180 

Chidley,  cape,  679 

Chiem,  lake,  272 

Chifu,  533 

Chignecto  bay,  686 

Chile,  843-848 

Chili  (China),  531 

Chillagoe,  592 

Chilian,  848 

Chiltern  hills,  178 

Chilwa  lake,  947 

Chimbo,  833  ;  river,  831 

Chimborazo  mountain,  830  ;  pro- 
vince. 833 

Chimbote,  837 

China-clay,  167  ;  grass,  529 

China  Proper,  521-536 

Chinamen  in  British  Columbia 
700  ;  in  Dutch  East  Indies,  561  f 
in  French  Cochin-China,  518; 
in  New  Zealand,  633  ;  in  Siam, 
510  ;  in  Straits  Settlements,  512  ; 
in  Trinidad,  812  ;  in  U.S.,  769 

Chinandega,  789 

Chincha  islands,  836 

Chinde,  946  ;  mouth,  945 

Chinese  Central  Asia,  539;  Empire, 
521-542  ;  Empire,  Provinces  of, 
538  ;  language,  527  ;  people,  527 

Chinook  wind,  80 

Chios  island,  444 

Chippewa  river,  743 

Chiquimula,  789 
Chiquito  people,  841 
Chiriqui     mountains,    824  ;    vol- 
cano, 784 
Chiromo,  950 
Chisholm,  *G.   G.,   Europe,    123; 

Chinese  Empire,  521 
Chiswina  language,  1003 
Chita,  419 
Chitral,  499 
Chittagong,  487 
Chittim,  445 
Chivril,  443 
Chixoy  river,  785 
Chobi  river,  1003 
Choiseul  island,  648  ;  sound,  864 
Chong,  people,  510 
Chontales,  784 
Chorillos,  838 
Chorography  =  description      of 

places,  2 

Chorokh  river,  395 
Choruk  Su  (Acampsis)  river,  440 
Choshi,  547 

Christchurch,    N.Z.,    634 ;    Tem- 
perature and  rainfall  of.  630 
Christiania,  206  ;  Longitude  of,  31 
Christiansand,  206 
Christiansted,  806 
Christiansund,  207 
Christmas  Island  (Indian  Ocean), 

514;  (Pacific),  658 
Chronometer,  n,  18 
Chrysopolis,  443 
3hu  river,  397 

Chubut  river,  850  ;  territory,  856 
Chudskoye,  or  Peipus,  128 


1060        The  International  Geography 


Chun,  Prof.,  in  Antarctic,  1048 

Chungking,  534 

Chunnenugga  ridge,  746 

Chuqui-apu,  842 

Chuquisaca,  842 

Chur  (Coire),  127,  263 

Churchill  river,  701 

Chusovaya  river,  414 

Chutia  Nagpur,  473,  487 

dales,  799 

Cibao  mountains,  801 

Cienfuegos,  796,  797,  798 

Cilento  mountains,  357 

Cilician  plain,  439 

Cimbrian  peninsula,  208 

Cimone,  Monte,  356 

Cinchona  in  Ceylon,  505  ;  in  Peru, 
837  ;  in  Ecuador,  832 

Cincinnati,  737,  744 

Cintra,  383 

Circumdenudation,  Mountains,  55 

Cirque =corry,  50 

Citara,  Farrallones  of,  824 

Citlaltepetl,  775 

City,  definition,  162 

Ciudad  Bolivar,  884,  885 

Clapperton,  Explorer,  900 

Clare  Co.,  194 

Clarence  peak,  953  ;  river,  600 

Clay,  Weathering  of,  54 

Clays,  52 

Clermont-Ferrand,  251 

Cleveland,  O.,  site,  738  ;  Hills, 
177  ;  iron  ore,  150 

Clew  Bay,  189 

Cliff,  definition,  49 

Climate,  definition,  72  ;  diagrams, 
explanation  of,  82  ;  of  Africa, 
893 ;  of  Antarctic  Regions,  1049  ; 
of  Arctic  Regions,  1037  ;  of  Asia, 
401,  429 ;  of  Australia,  579 ;  of 
Central  America,  785;  of  Europe, 
129  ;  of  North  America,  673  ;  of 
South  America,  818  ;  of  West 
Indies,  792 

Climatic  areas,  77 

Clontarf,  190 

Clouds,  75 

Cloves  in  Zanzibar,  939 

Clyde,  151  ;  river,  159,  160  ;  Firth 
of,  15? 

Coahuila  desert,  765 

Coal  in  Austria,  305,  307,  309 ;  in 
Belgium,  224,  225  ;  in  Brazil, 
867 ;  in  Canada,  687,  699,  702  ; 
in  China,  525  ;  at  Dover,  181  ; 
in  France,  149,  244  ;  in  Ger- 
many, 149,  282  ;  in  India,  473  ; 
in  N.S.W.,  506  ;  in  New  Zealand, 
633 ;  in  Orange  Free  State, 
1004  ;  in  Pennsylvania,  733 ; 
in  Transvaal,  1008  ;  in  United 
Kingdom,  149  ;  in  United  States, 
149  ;  in  Victoria,  604  ;  in  Wales, 
164  ;  Measures,  Geological  posi- 
tion of  51  ;  Importance  of,  52  ; 
river,  61 1 

Coalbrookdale,  164 

Coast-line  and  development  of  a 
country,  no 

Coast  range,  B.C.,  697,  698 

Coatbridge,  159 

Coati,  island,  840 

Coatzacoalcos,  781 

Coban,  789  ;  rainfall,  785 

Cobequid  Mountains,  686 

Coblentz,  288 

Cobre,  797 


Coburg,    290  ;    peninsula,   614  ; 

-Gotha  duchy,  290 
Coca  in  Peru,  837 
Cochabamba,  842 
Cochin,  498 
Cochin-China,  517 
Cochineal     insect    in     Central 

America,  788 

Cochrane,  Lord,  in  Chile,  846 
Cockburn  Harbour,  805 
Cockscomb  mountains,  789 
Coco  de  mer,  1023 
Coconada,  495 
Cocos  (Keeling)  islands,  514 
Cod,  Cape,  726 

Cod-fishing  in  Newfoundland,  706 
Coffee  in  Arabia,  453  ;  in  Brazil, 

872;  in  British  Central  Africa, 

r;  in  Central  America,  788  ; 
Ceylon,  505  ;  in  Colombia, 
828 ;  in  Cuba,  796 ;  in  Dutch 
East  Indies,  561  ;  in  Dutch 
Guiana,  882  ;  in  Jamaica,  804 ; 
in  India,  494,  498  ;  in  Mexico, 
780  ;  in  New  Caledonia,  646  ;  in 
Porto  Rico,  799 ;  in  Reunion, 
1024  ;  in  Venezuela,  888 

Cofre  de  Perote  (Nauhcampate- 
petl),  775 

Cognac,  252 

Coileque,  502 

Coimbra,  381  ;  Temperature  and 
rainfall  at,  372 

Coire  (Chur  :  Curia  Rhaetorum), 
127,  263 

Cojedes  river,  885 

Col = pass,  50 

Colac,  609 

Colchester,  182 

Cold  Wall  current,  69 

Cole,  Grenville,  A.  J.,  Ireland  187 

Coleraine,  193 

Colla  people,  841 

Collie,  626 

Collo,  912  ;  dell'Altare,  125 

Colne,  estuary,  182 

Coloane  Island,  538 

Cologne  (Koln),  295 

Colombia,  824-829 

Colombo,  506 

Colon  territory,  888 

Colonia,  859  ;  do  Sacramento,  871 

Colonies,  Forms  of,  119 

Colonisation,  118 

Colorado,  757,  760,  762  ;  Canyons 
of,  55,  672  ;  Plateaux,  763  ;  river, 
703,  765  :  river  (Argentina),  850 

Columbia,  S.C.,  site,  720  ;  District 
of,  map.  731  ;  Plateaux,  764  ; 
river,  698,  764,  765 

Columbus,  10 ;  at  Haiti,  801 ;  at 
Trinidad,  812 

Comanche  tribe,  779 

Comayagua,  789 

Combaconam,  495 

Comino  islet,  306 

Cominetto  islet,  366 

Commercial  Geography,  120  ; 
definition,  5 

Commodities,  120 

Como,  lake,  127,  354 

Compass  charts,  26 

Comstock  Lode,  767 

Concepcion,  848 

Conception  bay,  705 

Conchagua,  volcano,  784 

Conchaguita,  volcano,  784 

Conchos,  Rio,  776 


Congrehoy  peak,  784 

Conglomerates,  52 

Congo  basin,  892 ;  basin,  explora- 
tion, 901 ;  discovery,977 ;  district, 
Angola,  983 ;  Free  State,  974-978 ; 
railway  map,  977 

Congress  of  Vienna,  136 

Conical  projections,  22 

Conn,  Lough,  193 

Connaught,  193 

Connecticut,  723,  725  ;  valley, 
723 

Conococha  lake,  835 

Consequent  rivers,  definition,  58 

Constance,  286  ;  Lake,  257 

Constantine,  912 ;  department,  907 

Constantsa,  329 

Constantinople,  342 ;  foundation 
of,  134 

Constitucion,  848 

Contas  river,  875 

Continent,  48;  and  Ocean,  Per- 
manence of,  38 

Continental  area,  46  ;  climate,  81  ; 
climate  in  Africa,  894 ;  Core  of 
Asia,  map,  423 ;  form,  sym- 
metry in,  37  ;  islands,  48  ; 
islands,  definition,  62  ;  plateau, 
47  ;  shelf,  47,  62  ;  slope,  47 

Contour  lines,  32 

Convection-currents  in  air,  75  ;  in 
sea-water,  63 

Conway.  Sir  W.  Martin,  The 
Arctic  Record,  1025 

Cook,  Captain  James,  n,  584, 
605,  612  ;  in  Antarctic,  1048; 
Arctic  voyage,  1027;  in  Hawaii, 
661  ;  in  New  Zealand,  632 

Cook  islands,  656;  Mount,  628; 
strait,  627 

Cook's  bay,  659 

Cooktown,  591,  592 

Coolgardie,  625  ;  goldfields,  623 

Co-ordinates,  18 

Coorong,  lagoon,  614 

Coosa  river,  728 

Copacabana  peninsula,  840 

Copenhagen,  210 

Copiapo,  847 

Coppename  river,  862 

Copper  in  Peru,  836  ;  in  S. 
Australia,  618  ;  Mountains,  703  ; 
smelting  at  Swansea,  165 

Coppermine  river,  703 

Copra  in  Samoa,  653 

Copts  in  Egypt,  9*6 

Coquimbo,  848 

Coral  Islands,  classes  of,  62; 
Darwin's  Theory  of,  41,  44 ; 
Distribution  of,  66  ;  Theories  of, 
62 

Coral  reefs  in  Cuba,  793  ;  reefs  in 
Florida,  748 ;    reefs   in    Porto 
Rico,  799 
Corbeil,  245 

Cordillera  of  Australia,  593 ;  of 
Bogota,  825 ;  del  Choco,  824  ; 
of  Ecuador.  824 ;  of  Merida, 
885  ;  of  Perija,  825 

Cordoba,  376,  780  ;  Argentina, 
854 

Corentyne  river,  878,  879,  882 

Corfu  Island,  349 

Corinth,  349;  Ship  Canal  (map), 

344 

Corinto,  788 
Corio  Bay,  602 
Corisco  Bay,  953 


Index 


106 


Cork,  194 

Cork  in  Algeria,  91 1 ;  inlPortugal, 
382 ;  in  Tunisia,  914 

Corn,  see  Maize,  739 

Cornwall-Devon  peninsula,  166 

Cornwall,  Jamaica  804 

Coro,  886  ;  mountains,  886 

Corozal  river,  799 

Corrib,  Lough,  193 

Corrientes,  854 

Corry,  definition,  50 

Cortez  in  Central  America,  787 

Corunna,  376 

Corvo  Island,  384 

Coseguina  volcano,  784 

Cosmography,  2, 

Cosmoledo  Island,  1023 

Costa  Rica,  789;  physical  geo- 
graphy, 784  ;  seaports,  788 

Cote  d'Or,  strait,  236 

Coteau  of  the  Missouri,  755 

Cotentin  peninsula,  251 

Cctopaxi  volcano,  830 

Cots  wold  Hills,  177 

Cottbus,  276 

Cotton  in  India,  484 ;  in  Egypt, 
922  ;  in  United  States,  715 ; 
-spinning  in  Lancashire,  173 

Coventry,  176 

Cracow  (Krakow),  313 

Cradle,  Mount,  611 

Crag  and  Tail  formation,  52 

Craiova,  329 

Crates  of  Mallos,  35 

Crater  lake,  Oregon,  768 

Crater-lakes,  54 

Crati,  river,  357 

Crazy  mountains,  756 

Cree  tribe,  683 

Cremona,  363 

Creoles  in  Central  America,  787  ; 
in  Porto  Rico,  800 

Cretaceous  Formation, Geological 
position  of,  51 

Crete,  350-351 

Creux,  Cape,  371 

Crimea,  388,  393 

Cripple  Creek,  761 

Croagh  Patrick,  188 

Croatia-Slavonia,  321,  323 

Cromarty  firth,  155 

Cronstadt,  409,  411 

Crooked  Island,  803 

Cross  river,  965 

Crossfell,  168 

Crow's  Nest  Pass,  699 

Croydon,  591 

Crummock  lake,  163 

Crustal-movements,  53 

Crust-block  mountains,  53 

Crust  Blocks,  40,  41 

Cryptozoic  Fauna,  93 

Crystal  mountains,  959 

Csallokoz  Island,  317 

Csepel  Island,  317 

Cuba,  793-798  ;  railway  map,  797 

Cubango  river,  982 

Cuchillas,  794 

Cuckmere  river,  180 

Cucos,  382 

Cucuta,  886 

Cue.  625 

Cuenca,  833  ;  basin,  830 

Cuestas,  definition,  752 

Cuilcagh  moors,  189 

Cuitzeo  lake,  776 

Culebra  island,  800 

Cullarin  mountain,  594 


Culminating  Area,  47 

Cumana,  887 

Cumbel,  825 

Cumberland  mountain,  U.S.,  732  ; 
plateau,  U.S.,  732  ;  tableland, 
671 ;  valley,  Pa.,  728 

Cumnock,  159 

Cundinamarca,  827 

Cunene  river,  982,  1012 

Cunnamulla,  591 

Curepipe,  1022 

Curia  Rhaetorum  (Coire),  127 

Curieuse  island,  1023 

Cupang,  573 

Cuprija,  336 

Cuyul,  Rip,  799 

Currants  in  Greece,  347 

Currents  of  Atlantic  Ocean,  69 

Cush,  934 

Cuttack,  488 

Cuyaba,  874 ;  rainfall  and  tempera- 
ture, 868 

Cuyuni  river,  879 

Cuzco.  839 

Cyclade*.  345.  349 

Cycle  of  Erosion,  58 

Cyclone  tracks,  79 

Cyclops  mountains,  643 

Cydamus,  918 

Cymry,  162 

Cynon  Valley,  165 

Cypress  hills,  702 

Cyprus,  445-446 

Cythera  island,  349 

Czernowitz,  313 

Czestochowa,  413 

Czornahora  (Black  Mountain),  311 

DAHOME,  957 
Daiman  river,  857 
Dakar,  957 

Dakhel  oasis,  919,  928 
Dallman,  Capt.,  in  Antarctic,  1048 
Dallul  Mauri  river,  969 
Dalni,  407,  419,  539 
Damara  people,  990 
Damietta  mouth.  921 
Danakil  tribe,  935 
Danes,  209  ;  in  Greenland,  1043 
Dar-el-Beida,  905 
Dar-es-Salaam,  944  ;  harbour,  940 
Daro,  Mount,  962 
Darwin  harbour,  864 
Date   palm    in    Egypt,    923  ;    in 

Tunisia,  914 

Davis,  John,  Arctic  voyages,  1026 
Davis  Strait,  1035,  1036 
D'TJrville  in  Antarctic,  1048 
De  Grey  river,  621 
De  Long,  Captain  W.  G.,  Arctic 

exploration,  1,031 
Dead  Sea,  449 
Debreczen,  322 
Dede  Agach,  343 
Dee,  river,  156,  165 
Deerfield,  724 
Defile,  50 

Degree,  Length  of.  19, 15 
Degree-net,  5 

Dekkan,  429,  471,  49L  497,  49» 
Dekkan,  geology,  473 
Delagoa  Bay,  map,  946 
Delaware,  718  ;  river,  718 
Delft,  223 
Delhi,  490 
Deli,  566 
Delineation  of  ground  on  maps, 


Delta,  Formation  of,  56 

Deltaic  islands,  63 

Delys,  912 

Demarcation  Point,  679 

Demavend  mountain,  438 

Dembea  lake,  931 

Demerara,  881  ;  river,  879 

Dempo,  Mount,  566 

Dendre  river,  225 

Denham,  Explorer,  900 

Deniliquin,  601 

Denizli,  443 

Denmark,  208-211  ;  railway  and 
steamer  routes,  209 

Denver,  760 

Deposits,  Classes  of  oceanic,  64 

Depressed  Area,  47 ;  lands,  defini- 
tion, 48 

Derbent,  416 

Derby,  170 

Derbyshire  Coalfield,  150 

Derna,  916 

Derwent,  river,  171 ;  Tasmania, 
611 

Derwentwater.  163 

Desaguadero,  river,  840 

Desertas  island,  384 

Deserts  of  Asia,  4324  of  Egypt, 
919 

Desirade  island,  809 

Desna,  river,  390 

Despoblados,  375 

Dessau,  293 

Desterro,  876 

Detmold,  289 

Detroit,  Mich.,  site,  738 

Dettifoss  waterfall,  213 

Deutsche  Bund,  277 

Development  of  countries,  115 

Deventer,  222 

Deveny,  316 

Devil's  peak,  992 

Devon,  166 

Devonian  Formation,  Geological 
position  of,  51  ;  Strata,  name 
of,  166 

Devonport,  167 

Dezhneff  Arctic  voyage,  1027; 
Cape  (East  Cape),  309,  422 

Dhahr  el  Kosdib  Mountain,  449 

Dhalac  Islands,  935 

Dhofar,  455 

Dhuspas,  444 

Diagonal  Furrow.  332,  342 

Diahot  river,  645 

Diano,  Vallo  di,  357 

Diamond  head,  662 

Diamonds  in  Brazil,  867  ;  in  Cape 
Colony,  988 ;  in  Orange  Free 
State,  1004 

Diaphragm  or  first  parallel,  26 

Diarbekr,  448 

Diatom  Ooze,  65 

Diaz,  Bartholomew,  discoverer, 
ooo 

Dicaearch,  26 

Dickson,  H.  N.,  Atmosphere  and 
Climate,  72 

Diego  Garcia,  1024 ;  Suarez,  1020 

Dieppe,  251 

Dijon,  252 

Dikhtau  mountain,  394 

Diluvium = Boulder- clay,  Geologi- 
cal position  of,  51 ;  Origin  of,  57 

Dilli,  573 

Dimbpvitsa  river,  329 

Dinaric  lands,  313  ;  region,  333 

Dindings,  514 


1062        The  International  Geography 


Dineir  (Apamea),  440,  443 
Dingwall,  155 

Dip  slope,  59  ;  definition,  55 
Dirk  Hartog  island,  620 
Disco  island,  1041 
Discovery,  ship,  1048 
Dismal  Swamp,  721 
Dispersal,  Means  of,  84 
Distances,      measurements     on 

maps,  27 

Distribution,  Factors  in,  86 
Diu,  502 

Diula  people,  956 
Divide  =  water-shed,    definition, 

.59 


Djokdjokarta,  563 
Djidjelly,  912 


Dnieper  river,  390,  414 

Dniester,  river,  312,  392 

Doab,  720 

Dobruja,  327,  328,  329 

Doce  river,  875 

Doe,  Mount,  945 

Dogs,  The,  807,  808 

Doko  people,  934 

Doldrums,  78 

Dolomites,  306 

Dombes  plateau,  253 

Dominion  of  Canada,  679-704 

Dominion  Land  Survey  in 
Canada,  684 

Dominica  island,  807 

Don,  river,  391 ;  river,  Ontario, 
695  ;  river,  Yorkshire,  170 

Donegal,  193 

Donets  river,  389,  391 

Dongala,  569 

Dongola,  927 

Donnai  river,  517 

Dora  Baltea,  126 ;  Riparia,  126, 353 

Dorah  Pass,  466 

Dordrecht,  223 

Dorei,  643,  644 

Dorking,  180 

Dorsal  (Stanovoi)  mountains,  398 

Dorset  downs,  178 

Dorylaeum,  443 

Douglas,  186 

Douro  river,  368,  380 

Dover,  121,  152 

Downing,  Dr.  A.  M.  W.,  Mathe- 
matical Geography,  14 

Drainage-area,  definition,  50 

Drakensberg  mountains,  891, 1007 

Drammen,  206 

Drave  river,  303 

Dravidian  people.  480 

Drenthe,  218,  221 

Dresden,  291 

Drift-ice,  1036 

Drin  river,  333 

Drina  river,  335 

Drogheda,  192 

Drohobycz,  312 

Drowned  valley,  50 

Drude's  plant  regions,  88 

Drumlins  in  New  England,  724 

Druse  people,  451 

Drygalski,  Dr.  E.,  explorer,  1048 

Du  Fief,  J.,  Belgium,  223 

Duaish  people,  956 

Duala,  975 

Dublin  City,  190,  192 

Dubuque,  I.,  744 

Ducos,  646 

Dufourspitze,  126 

Duke  of  York  Islands,  640 


Dulcigno,  337 

Dumfries,  160 

Duna  river,  317,  391,  411 

Dunaburg,  409 

Dunamiinde,  409 

Dundas,  Mount,  6ll 

Dundee,  158  ;  Natal,  994 

Dunedin,  634 

Dunes,  57  ;  in  Denmark,  208 ;  in 
Germany,  269 ;  in  Holland,  216 ; 
in  Nebraska,  758  ;  in  Peru,  834  ; 
in  the  Sahara,  928  ;  in  theTarim 
basin,  540  ;  in  Western  Aus 
tralia,  662 

Dungannon,  189 

Dungeness,  181 

Dunkirk,  249 

Dunwich,  592 

Dupian-Triel  and  contoured 
maps.  32 

Duran,  833 

Durani  people,  467 

Durazzo,  344 

Durban,  994;  temperature  and 
rainfall,  987 

Durham  city,  170  ;  coalfield,  150, 
169 

Dusseldorf,  295 

Dutch  Antilles,  806;  Colonies- 
Statistics,  223 ;  East  Indies. 
560 ;  Guiana,  882  ;  language, 
220  ;  New  Guinea,  642-644 ; 
West  Indies,  806  ;  in  Brazil,  871  ; 
in  Guiana,  878,  880 ;  in  Mauri- 
tius, 1021 ;  in  South  Africa,  990 

Dux,  307 

Dvinak,  409 

Dyak  people,  557,  567 

Dyke  of  igneous  rock,  54 

Dyle  river,  225 

Dyrrhachion  (Durazzo),  344 

Dzungaria,  539 

EAGLE  Island,  1023 
Eaglehawk,  608 
Earn,  Loch,  156 
Earth-folds,  Theory  of,  38 
Earth,  The,  Form  of,  14,  18  ;  Plan 

of,  36-45  ;  Surface,  extent  of,  61 ; 

Tetrahedral  Theory  of,  42 
Earthquakes,     54 ;     in     Central 

America,   783  ;    in  Japan,  545  ; 

in  Scotland,  156 
East  Africa,  930-946 
East  Anglian  Heights,  178 
East  Cape,  422 ;  (Dezhneff  Cape), 

399  ;  East  Cape,  N.Z.,  628 
East  India  Company,  481,  512 
East  Prussia  province,  293 
East  river,  730 
Eastbourne,  181 
Easter  island,  659 
Eastern  Empire,  342  ;  Equatorial 
j   Africa,    930-940 ;     Ghats,    472 ; 
c  Rumelia,  332,  338  ;  Turkestan, 

539 

Ebbw  valley,  165 
Ebro  river,  369,  370 
Echuca,  609 
Ecuador,  658,  820-833 
Ecuadorian  Andes,  817 
Eden  river,  163,  168 
Eder  river,  288 
Edessa,  448 
Edge  Land  (Stans  Foreland  ,  1044 
Edinburgh,  158 
Edmonton,  702 
Edom,  449 


Edward  river,  6oi 

Efik  people,  967 

Eger,  307 

Egga,  972 

Egmont,  mountain,  628     . 

Egypt,  918-929 ;  Organisation  of. 

119 

Eidavold,  205 
Eifel,  268,  287 
Eighty-mile  beach,  621 
Eindhoven,  222 
Einsiedeln,  263 
Eisenach, 290 
Eisenerz,  305 
Eisling,  231 
El-Arish,  Wadi,  448 
El-Araish,  905 
El-Biar,  912 
El  Djem,  915 
El-Erg  basin,  god 
El  Gaah,  929 

El  Potrerillo  Mountain,  794 
Elba  island,  353 
Elbe  river,  270,  291,  307 
Elberfeld,  288 
Elbeuf,  245 

Elbruz  mountain,  394,  395 
Elbiirz  range,  458 
Elche,  371 
Eldorado,  820 
Electricity     and      Geographical 

conditions,  147 
Elephant  in  Africa,  896  ;  in  Congo 

Free  State,  976  ;  in  India,  477  ; 

in  Niger  delta,  966 ;  in  South 

Africa,  1000 
Eleuthera  island,  803 
Eleutherus  river,  448 
Elevation  and  Subsidence,  40 
Elgin,  county,  156 
Elgon  mountain,  931 
Elis,  349 

Ellesmere  Land,  1046 
Ellice  (Lagoon)  Islands,  654 
Ellichpur,  493 
Elmetaita  lake,  931 
Elmina,  964 
Elmira,  N.Y.,  736 
Elonga  mountains,  982 
Elsinore,  210 
Elster  river,  291 
Elswick  Works,  170 
Elvas,  381 
Ely,  1 80 

Embakh,  river,  393 
Emden,  294 
Emilia,  363 
Emmenthal,  264 
Ems  river,  270 
Enclosed  Seas,  Circulation  of,  66  ; 

definition,  61 

Endeavour  river,  592  ;  strait,  587 
Enere,  lake,  392 
Engadine,  263 

England  and  Wales,  161-187 
England,  Population  of,  148 
English  people,  162 
Engler's  plant  distribution,  88 
Enkeldoorn,  1002 
Enns  river,  303 
Ensenada  Honda,  800 
Entebbe,  939 
Entre  Rios,  854 
Environment,  2, 4  ;  Adaptation  tO^ 

98  ;  and  Man,  115 
Enzeli,  458 

Eocene  Formation,  51 
Epe,968 


Index 


1063 


Ephesus,  443 

Epping  Forest,  182 

Equator,  definition,  15  ;  province, 

978 

Equatorial  Belt,  Climate  of,  78 
Equidistant  projection,  21 
Erathosthenes,  26 
Erdely  (Transylvania),  322 
Erebus,  Mount,  1049 
Erfurt,  290 
Erh-hai  lake,  535 
Ericht,  Loch,  156 
Erie  canal,  736 ;  lake,  old  eutlet, 

740  ;  lowland,  737 
Eritrea,  935 

Eritrean  rift-valley,  931,  937,  941 
Erjes  river,  381 
Ermenistan,  440 
Erne,  Lough,  193 
Erodi,  Dr.  Bela,  Hungary,  315 
Erosion,  Cycle  of,  58 ;    Features 

due  to,  54 
Errigal,  188 
Erythraea,  935 
Erzerum,  443,  444 
Erzgebirge,  291,  306 
Escaut,  river,  224 

Escarpment,  55,  59  ;  definition,  49 
Esdraelon  plain,  449 
Esk  river,  Tasmania,  611 
Eskimo,    106,   1043;  in  Canada, 

684 

Eskishehr  (Dorylaeum),  443 
Esmeraldas      river,     830,     831 ; 

province,  833 
Esparto  grass  in  Algeria,  909  ;  in 

Spain,  372  ;  in  Tunisia,  914 
Espichel,  Cape,  380 
EspigSo  Mountains,  866 
Espinha90  mountains,  866 
Espirito  Santo,  875 
Espiritu  Santo,  647 
Esquimalt,  B.C.,  700 
Esquipulas,  788 
Essen,  288 

Essequebo,  881  ;  river,  879 
Essex,  name,  144 
Es  Shayib  mountain,  929 
Essonnes,  245 
Estoril,  383 

Estrella  mountain,  380 
Estremadura,  374,  376,  380 
Estuary,  definition,  50 
Esztergom,  322 
Et-Taif,  453 
Et-Tih,  desert,  449 
Eten,  837 
Etive,  Loch,  156 
Etna  bay,  642  ;  Mount,  358 
Eton,  182 
Etheridge,  592 
Ethiopia,  934 
Ethiopian    region,    87;     Faunal 

Region,  896 
Ethiopic  or    Negro    Race,  .1012 ; 

Classification  of,  103 
Etosa  Pan,  1012 
Etruscan  Appennines,  356 
Etruscans,  133,  360 
Etsch  river,  303 
Etterbeek,  228 
Eubcea  Island,  348 
Eucalyptus  in  Australia,  580  ;  in 
'  Victoria,  603 
Euganei,  Colli,  355 
Euphrates,  river,  440,  447 
Euphorbia  in  Africa,  896 


Eurasia,  44,  123;  Resemblance 
with  N.  America,  665  ;  Structure 
of,  40 

Euripus  strait,  348 

Europe,  123-421 ;  Continent  of, 
123-137 ;  Glaciated  Area,  map 
of,  129 ;  Highland  region,  map 
of,  124  ;  Railway  map  of,  137  ; 
Rainfall  map  of,  130 

European  Countries,  Origin  of, 
135 

Euskarian  language,  240 

Evans,  Sir  J.,  100 

Evaporation,  75 

Everglades,  747 

Evolution,  3,  12,  95  ;  centres,  84 

Ewa,  602 

Ewarton,  804 

Ewe  people,  956 

Exe,  river,  166 

Exmoor,  166 

Exploits  river,  705 

Eyarbakki,  213 

Eyre,  Explorer,  617  ;  lake,  615  ; 
peninsula,  579,  614 

FAIDHERBE,  Colonel,  954 
Faizabad,  489 

Fajardo,  800 

Fakarava  Island,  657 

Falasha  tribe,  934 

Falcon,  State  of,  886 

Falkland  Islands,  863-864 

Fall  line  in  Canada,  690 

Fall  River,  Mass.,  725 

Falmouth,  167 

False  Bay,  985 

Falster,  island,  210 

Falun,  203,  204 

Famagusta,  446 

Fan  people,  959 

Fanning  Island,  658 

Farafah,  oasis,  928 

Faredgha,  916 

Faro,  380,  383 

Faroes,  211 

Farra,  466 

Farrallones  of  Call  and  Cltari,  824 

Fars,  457,  463 

Fas  (Fez),  905 

Faults,  definition,  53 

Fauna,  Antarctic  Arctic,  1039 ; 
Fresh  water,  92 ;  of  Africa, 
896  ;  of  Asia,  434  ;  of  Australia, 
582  ;  of  the  British  Islands,  143  ; 
of  Canada,  683  ;  of  Europe,  131 ; 
of  Madagascar,  1017  ;  of  Shore, 
91 ;  of  South  America,  821 

Faxafloi,  212 

Fayal  Island,  384 

Fayum,  924 

Fear,  Cape,  720 

Feathertop  Mountain,  602 

Fellahin  people,  925 

Felup  people,  961 

Fen-ho  river,  523 

Fenland  of  England,  179 

Ferahan,  461 

Ferencz  Jozsef  Peak,  316 

Ferghana  province,  395 

Ferguson,  John,  Ceylon,  503 

Feriana,  915 

Fernando  de  Noronha  island,  875 

Fernando  Po,  953 

Ferrara,  363 

Ferrel's  Law,  56,  68 

Ferro,  island,  31,  952  ;  Meridian 
of,  map,  952 


Ferrol,  376 

Ferto  (Neusiedler)  lake,  316,  318 

Fetishism  in  W.  Africa,  967 

Fez  (Fas),  905 

Fezzan,  918 

Fianarantsoa,  1020 

Ficksburg,  1004 

Fife.  158 

Figig,  oasfs,  006 

Figuera  de  Foz,  381 

Fiji  Islands,  651-653  ;  map,  652 

Filfila  rock,  366 

Fingal  river,  611 

Fingo  people,  990 

Finisterre  Mountains,  New 
Guinea,  639 

Finke,  River,  615 

Finland,  408,  412 

Finlay  river.  68 1 

Finno-Tartar  language,  132 

Finns,  201,  403 

Finsteraarhorn,  258 

Fiote  people,  983 

Firenze,  364 

Firth,  definition,  50 

Fischer,  Dr.  Theobald,  Italy,  352  ; 
Spain,  368 

Fish  river,  1012 

Fiume,  323 

Fjord,  definition,  50 

Fjords  of  South  America,  814 ;  of 
British  Columbia,  697;  of  Green- 
land, 1040  ;  of  Spitsbergen, 
1044 

Flags,   Scheme    of   colour    for. 

Flax  in  Egypt,  922 

Flemish  language,  225 

Flinders  Range,  578,  579,  615 

Floe-ice,  1037 

Flood  plain,  definition,  56 

Floods  of  the  Nile,  922  ;  of  the 
Ohio  region,  744  ;  of  the  Yellow 
River,  521 

Flora,  Arctic,  1038;  of  Africa, 
895 ;  of  Asia,  432 ;  of  Aus- 
tralia, 580  ;  Capensis,  988 ;  of 
the  British  Islands,  142  ;  of 
Canada,  682 ;  of  Europe,  131  ; 
of  Madagascar,  1017 ;  of  Mexico, 
777 ;  of  South  America,  820 

Florence  (Firenze),  364 

Florianopolis  (Desterro),  876 

Flores  island,  384,  572 

Florida,  747  ;  Acquisition  of,  711 ; 
Strait,  69 

Floridsdorf,  310 

Flower,  Sir  W.,  96 

Fly  river,  635,  636 

Flysch,  51 

Fojfo,  island,  979 

Fohn  wind,  80, 259, 304 ;  in  Green- 
land, 1038 

Fokien,  535 

Fold  Mountains,  44,  53  ;  Map  of. 

Folding  of  rocks,  40  • 

Folkestone,  152 

Fonseca  gulf,  783,  784 

Fontana,  lake,  850 

Forbes,  Dr.  H.  O.,  Malay  Archi- 
pelago, 555 

Forcados,  968  ;  river,  969 

Fore  Alps,  126 

Forest  Carpathians,  311 ;  of  Dean, 
164  ;  of  Wyre,  164 

Forests,  89;  and  Rainfall,  131; 
Destruction  of.  115 ;  of  Africa 


1064        The  International  Geography 


895  ;  of  Asia,  432  ;  of  British 

Friesland,  220,  222 

Columbia,  699  ;  of  Brazil,  868  ; 

Frigid  Zone.  78 

of  Canada,  682  ;  of  Germany, 

Fringing  Sea,  61  ;  reef,  62 

274;    of    India,   476;    of   New 

Frisches  Haff,  270,  294 

Brunswick,  688;  of  Paraguay, 

Frisian  islands,  270,  293 

861  ;  of  Russia,  403 

Frisians    in    Germany,  276  ;    in 

Forez,  plain,  234 

Holland,  220 

Formigas  islet,  384 

Frobisher,  Sir  Martin,  1025 

Formosa,  552,    553  ;    (Argentina) 

Fu,  Meaning  of,  532 

territory,  856 

Fuchou,  535 

Fort    Augustus,    156  ;     Benton, 

Fuego,  volcano,  783 

Mont.,  757  ;     Dauphin,   1020  : 

Fuegian  people,  822 

Dearborn,   740  ;    Dubus,   644  ; 

Fuerteventura  island,  952 

George,  156  ;  Marlborough,  565  ; 
William,   156;   William,  Tem- 

Fujikawa river,  546 
Fuji-san,  mountain,  546 

perature  and  rainfall,  141 

Fukien,  535 

Fortaleza,  874 

Fukuoka,  553 

Forth  Bridge,  157,  159  ;  Ports,  151  : 

Fula  Empire,  971  ;   people,  956, 

River,  158 

970,  981 

Fortresses   and    Frontiers,  map, 

Fulda,  289;  river,  288 

114 

Funafuti,  654 

Fortunata  Insulae,  952 

Funchal,  384 

Fortune  bay,  705 

Funcho  mountain,  384 

Fossils,  51 

Fundy,  Bay  of,  686,  688 

Foulness,  182 

Fiinen  island,  210 

Foveaux  strait,  628,  629 

Funing,  535 

Foyers,  Falls  of,  156 

Funiu-Shan  mountains,  523 

Foyle,  river,  193 
"  Fram,"  Drift  of  the,  1031 

Furneaux,  Captain,  605  ;  Islands, 
610,  612 

Framlingham,  609 
France,  233-255  ;  Central  position 

Futa  Jallon,  957  ;  plateau,  955 
Fyen  Island,  210 

of,  150  ;  Coal  production,   149  ; 

Fyne,  Loch,  156 

General    geography,    239-255  ; 
Origin  of,  135  ;  Physical  geo- 
graphy,    233-239    ;     Physical 

GABES,  915  ;  Gulf  of,  889 
Gabet   and    Hue  in  Lhasa, 

structure  of,  map,  234  ;  Rivers 

54i 

and  canals  of,  245  ;  Total  trade 

Gabr  people,  463 

of,  151 

Gabun,  958 

Francia,  Dr.,  in  Paraguay,  861 

Gadara,  450 

Frankenwald,  268 

Gaelic  language,  145 

Frankfort-on-the-Main,  286 

Gafsa,  915 

Prankish  Empire,  277 

Gairdner,  lake,  615 

Franks,  276  ;  in  Holland,  220 

Galapagos  islands,  658  ;  climate, 

Franklin,  Sir  John,  Arctic  voyage, 

70 

1028  ;  Lady,  and  Arctic  explora- 

Galashiels, 160 

tion,  1028  ;  District,  702  ;  Terri- 

Galata, 342 

tory,  703 

Galatz,  329 

Franzensbad,  308 

Galdhopiggen,  198 

Franz-Joseph,  Fjord,  1041  ;  Land, 
1044  ;  Land,  discovery,  1030 
Fraser  island  (Hervey  Bay),  579 

Galicia,  300,  311,  375 
Galilee,  449 
Galla  people,  898.  933 

Fraser  river,  68  1,  698 

Gallala  Mountains,  929 

Fray  Bentos,  858 

Galle,  506 

Fremantle,  625 
Frome,  177 

Gallegos  people,  373  ;  river,  850 
Gallery  Forests  of  Africa,  896 

Frontier,  def.,  114  ;  Changes  of,  6  ; 

Gallipoli,  342 

see  also  Boundaries 

Galloway,  160 

Fruit  in  Western  Australia,  621 

Galtee  mountains,  189 

Fredericia,  210 

Galveston,  754 

Fredericton,  689 

Gal  way,  193 

Frederikshald,  206 

Gama,  Vasco  da,  900 

Frederikstad,  206 

Gambia,    961-962  ;    origin,    960  ; 

Frederiksten,  Fortress  of,  206 

river,  802 

Freetown,  963  ;    Climate,  962 
French,  Colonies,    119  ;    Congo, 

Gambier  Islands,  658  ;  Mount,  615 
Gando,  971,  972 

958  ;  Guiana,  883  ;  Guinea,  957  ; 

Ganges  river,  471,  488 

India,  503  ;   Indo-China,  515- 

Garda,  Lago  di,  354 

520  ;  Pacific  Islands,  651  ;  Pos- 

Gargano, Monte,  358 

sessions,    Statistics     of,    255  ; 

Ganbalo  Mountain,  395 

Shore,     Newfoundland,    708  ; 

Garigliano,  river,  356 

Somaliland,  935  ;  Sudan,  958  ; 

Gaspe  peninsula,  690 

West    Africa,  953-959  ;    West 

Gastein,  306 

Indies,  808  ;  in  Cape  Colony, 

Gateshead,  170 

990  ;  in  Quebec,  691 

Gauhati,  495 

Friaulians,  360 

Gauls,  240 

Fribourg,  canton,  264 
Friedrich  Wilhelmshafen,  641 

Gault,  geological  position  of,  51 
Gauss,  ship,  1048 

Friendly  Islands,  653 

Gawler,  619  ;  range,  615 

Gaya,  487 

Gazaland,  945 

Gazelle  Peninsula,  640 

Geba  river,  980 

Gediz  Chai  (Hermus)  river,  440 

Geelong,  609 

Geelvink  bay,  642 

Geest,  219,  270 

Gefle,  204 

Gelderland,  222 

Gellivara,  202,  204 

Gemma  Frisius,  2 

General  Range  (Serra  Geral)  of 
Brazil,  866 

Geneva  canton,  264 ;  lake,  258 

Genevra  pass,  126 

Genoa  (Geneva),  361,  362,  363 

Genoffa,  Mount,  643 

Geodesy = Science  of  measure- 
ment of  the  Earth,  3 

Geographical  Cycle,  57;  mile, 
definition,  27  ;  Discovery,  his- 
tory of,  7-12;  Names,  Ortho- 
graphy of,  33;  Societies,  12 

Geography,  Political  and  Applied 
109-121 ;  Definition,  2  ;  Depart- 
ments of,  3,  6 ;  Practical  value 
of,  7 ;  Principles  and  Progress, 
1-13 

Geoid,  46 

Geological  Formations,  Table  of, 
51 ;  Maps,  34  ;  Record,  84 

Geology,  relation  to  Geography,  50 

Geomorphological  theories,  37 

Geomorphology=the  Science  of 
the  forms  of  the  Earth's  sur- 
face, 2 

George,  lake,  594 

Georgetown,  Ascension,  1013 ; 
Demerara,  881 

Georgia  strait,  697 

Georgian  bay,  693,  742 

Georgians,  403 

Gera,  291 

Geraldton,  625 

Gerez,  380 

Gerlache  in  Antarctic,  1048 

Gerlachfalva  (Ferencz  Jozsef 
Peak),  316 

German  colonies  in  Brazil,  870, 
876  ;  Chile,  848  ;  Confederation, 
277  ;  Empire,  266-297  :  East 
Africa,  940-044  ;  Foreign  Pos- 
sessions Statistics,  297  ;  New- 
Guinea,  639-641 ;  Pacific  Islands, 
651  ;  Races,  108,  275  ;  South- 
West  Africa,  1012-1013,  West 
Africa,  972-974- 

Germany,  266-297  ;  Coal  Produc- 
tion, 149 ;  Map  of  natural 
divisions  of,  267 ;  Origin  of, 
135  ;  Total  trade  of,  151 

Geuk  Su  (Calycadnus)  river,  440 

Geysir,  213 

Ges  people,  822 

Ghats,  471 

Ghadames  (Cydamus),  918 

Gharian,  916 

Ghattar  mountain,  929 

Ghazni,  467 

Ghent,  229 

Ghilzai  people,  467 

Ghizeh,  pyramids  of,  924 

Ghogra  river,  471,  489 

Giant's  Causeway,  193;  Moun» 
tains  (Austria),  306 

Giaour  Dagh  (Mons  AmanusX 
448,  450 


Index 


1065 


Gibara,  798 
Gibaros,  800 
Gibraltar,  378-379 
Gibson  Desert,  622 
Giedeser,  210 
Gijon,  376 

Gilbert  (Kingsmill)  Islands,  654 
Gilead,  449 
Gilolo  Island,  570 
Ginger  in  Jamaica,  804 
Ginseng  in  Korea,  544 
Gippsland  district,  602 
Gira  river,  638 
Girgenti,  365 
Girin,  539 
Girishk,  466 

Gironde  estuary  (map),  252 
Glacial    Action,    57  ;    in    British 
Islands,  139;  in  Canada,  689, 
693,  695  ;  in  Germany,  269  ;  in 
New  England,  724 
Glaciation  of  Europe,  map,  129 

of  North  America,  map,  669 
Glaciers    of    the    Alps,    126  ;    of 

Greenland,  1042 
Gladstone,  591,  592 
Glamorgan,  164 

Glarus,  Alps  of,  258 ;  canton,  263 
Glasgow,    151,  159 ;    Growth  of, 

116 

Glatz,  292 
Gleichenberg,  306 
Glen  More,  156 
Glenelg,  S.A.,  619 ;  river,  603 
Glenfarg,  157 
Glittertind,  198 

Globes,  35  ;  Measurement  of  dis- 
tance on,  27  ;  Use  of,  19 
Globigerina  ooze,  65 
Globular  projection,  21 
Glommen  river,  199,  205 
Gloucester,  166,  177  ;  Mass.,  722 
Gneiss,  51 

Gnomonic  projection,  34 
Goa,  502 

Gobi  desert,  539  ;  region,  433 
Godavari,  river,  472  ;  valley,  473 
Godowns=warehouses,  563 
Godthaab,  1040,  1043 
Goeschenen,  263 
Gogola,  502 
Goitaca  people,  869 
Golconda,  431 
Gold  Coast,  963-964 
Gold  in  Asia,  431  ;  in  Brazil,  867, 
872  ;  in  British  Columbia,  699  ; 
in    British    Guiana,    880  ;    in 
French  Guiana.  883  ;   in  Gold 
Coast,  964  ;   in  India,  473 ;  in 
New  Guinea,  638  ;  in  Mexico, 
780  ;  in  Rhodesia,  998  ;  in  Trans- 
vaal, 1008  ;  in  Venezuela,  884 
in  Victoria,  603,  605  ;  in  Wesi 
Australia,  623,  625;  in  Yukon 
703 

Gold  Mountains,  B.C.,  698 
Golden    Belt  of    Brittany,    243 

Horn,  342 
Goldsmid,  Sir  Frederic  J.,  Persia, 

457 

Golfo  Dulce,  783,  785 
Gomera  island,  952 
Gonave  island,  802 
Gondar,  935 
Gondwana  rocks,  473 
Gondwanaland,  41,  429 
Gonye  falls,  999 
Goodenough  island,  635 


Goree,  954,  956 

Gorge,  50 

Goro  (Karo)  Sea,  652 

Gota  canal,  203 

Gotaelf,  river,  200 

Gotaland,  204 

Goteborg  204 

Gotha,  290 

Gothenburg,  204 

Gothland  island,  198,  199,  205 

Gottingen,  289 

Goulburn,  600  ;  river,  602,  603 

Gourock  mountains,  N.S.W.,  594 

Goyaz,  866,  874 

Gozo  Island,  365 

Graaff-Reinet,  091 

Graben= rift-valleys,  53 

Graciosa  Island,  384 

Grafton,  N.S.W.,  600 

Grahamstown,  991,  992 

Grampian  Mountains,  Victoria, 
603 

Grampians,  156 

Gran,  322 

Gran  Canaria  Island,  952  ;  Chaco, 
820,  860  ;  Sasso  d' Italia,  356 

Granada,  377  ;  Nicaragua,  789 

Grand  Bank,  Newfoundland,  69, 
706,  708  ;  Bassam,  957  ;  Canal 
of  China,  530  ;  Canyon,  district, 
54  ;  Cayman,  805  ;  Coulee,  765  ; 
(McLean)  Falls,  701  ;  Falls, 
New  Brunswick,  688 ;  Lahu, 
957  ;  Prairie,  755  ;  Rapids, 
Mich.,  737  ;  Soufriere,  807  ; 
Turk  Island,  805 

Grande  river,  980  ;  Terre  Guade- 
loupe, 809 

Grandidier,  Alfred,  1015 

Grane,  452 

Grangemouth,  151 

Granite,  weathering  of,  54 

Grant,  explorer,  901  ;  Land,  1046 

Grass  Veldt,  1007 

Grassy  vegetations,  89 

Graubiinden,  Alps  of,  259 

Graz,  305 

Great,  Appalachian  Valley,  728  ; 
Austral  Plain  of  Australia,  577  ; 
Australian  Bight,  576,  578,  614  ; 
Bahama  Island,  803 ;  Barrier 
Reef,  map,  587 ;  Basin  Area  of 
South  America,  815  ;  Bassa 
960  ;  Batanga,  974  ;  Bear  Lake 
68 1  ;  Belt,  208  ;  Bras  d'Or,  686 
circle  courses,  23;  circles,  defini- 
tion, 20  ;  Divide  of  Australia,  577, 
578  ;  Divide  in  Queensland,  588  ; 
Dividing  Range,  602  ;  Dividing 
Range  of  Australia,  593  ;  Falls, 
Mont.,  757  ;  Fish  Bay,  982  ; 
Glen,  156;  Lakes  of  North 
America,  692,  736 ;  Liakhofl 
Island,  1046  ;  Plains  of  Kansas, 
759 ;  Karroo,  086 ;  Kei  river, 
992  ;  Plains  of  North  America, 
673  ;  Plains  of  U.S.,  755-760  ; 
Popo,  957  ;  Powers  of  Europe, 
136  ;  Russians,  404  ;  St.  Bernard 
Pass,  126  ;  Salt  Lake,  766  ;  Salt 
Lake,  Animals  of,  83  ;  Scarcies 
river,  962  ;  Slave  Lake,  681,  703 
Syrtes,  889 ;  Wall  of  China,  521 
53i 
Greater,  New  York,  730;  Sunda 

Islands,  561-568 
Greco-Italic  language,  132 
Greece,  344~349 


Greeks,  442  ;  Civilisation  of,  133  ; 

in    Anatolia,    442 ;    in    Balkan 

peninsula,  334 
Greely,  General  A.  W.,  1030 
Green,  J.  R.,  115  ;  Lowthian,  37,  42 
Green  Mountain,  Ascension,  1013  ; 

Mountains,     722,    724  ;    River 

Basin,  763 
Greenland,  666, 1040-1043  ;  People 

of,  1042  ;  Sea,  Currents  in,  1036 
Greenock,  159 
Greenwich,  184  ;  Temperature  and 

rainfall,  141 
Gregory,   Dr.  J.  W.,   Plan  of  the 

Earth,  36 ;  Eastern  Equatorial 

Africa,  930 
Greiz,  290 

Grenada  island,  810 
Grenadine    Confederation,     827 ; 

Islands,  810 
Grenoble,  245 
Gretna  Green,  161 
Grey  Mountains,  N.S.W.,  594 
Greytown,  786,  789 
Grijalva  river,  776 
Grimsby,  151,  179  ;  fisheries,  149 
Grindelwald,  258 
Grinnell  Land,  1030,  1046 
Griqua  people,  1005 
Griqualand  west,  991 
Grisebach's  plant  areas,  88 
Grisons,  canton,  263  ;  Alps  of,  259 
Groningen,  218,  221,  222 
Gross  Glockner,  mountain,  302 
Ground-nuts  in  Gambia,  961 ;  in 

West  Africa,  957 
Griinwald,  forest,  231 
Gruyere,  264 
Guadalajara,  780 
Guadalcanar  island,  648 
Guadalquivir  river,  369,  370 
Guadeloupe  island,  809 
Guadiana  river,  368,  381 
Guajira  peninsula,  886 
Guajiro  people,  827 
Guallabamba  river,  830 
Guam  island,  656 
Guamanga,  839 
Guanajuato,  780 
Guanape  island,  836 
Guanches  people,  952 
Guanchos  of  Uruguay,  858 
Guanica,  800 
Guano,  in  Peru,  836 
Guantanamo,  798 
Guap  Island,  655 
Guaranda,  833 

Guarani  people,  107,  862,  869 
Guardafui  Cape,  936 
Guatemala,    789  ;     people,    787  ; 
physical  geography,  783;  sea- 
ports, 788 

Guatemala  city,  rainfall,  785 
Guayacuru  people,  869 
Guayaquil,  833  ;  Gulf,  831 ;  Rain- 
fall, 819 

Guayas  province,  833  ;  river,  831 
Guaykuru  people,  822 
Gudbrandsdal,  199 
Guebre,  see  Gabrs,  463 
Guernsey,  186 
Guiana,    Colonies    of,    878-883  ; 

Highland,  815 

Guildford,  180  ;  Gap,  maps  of,  32 
Guinea,  Gulf  of,  889,  981 ;  Islands 

of,  map,  981 
Gujarat,  491 
Gujarati  language,  479 


io66        The  International  Geography 


Gulf  Stream,  69,  708  ;  Stream 
drift,  141  ;  Stream  drift  in 
Arctic  Sea,  1035 

Gulhak.  462 

Gunong,  Agong  mountain,  564; 
Api,  island,  571 ;  Tahan,  moun- 
tain, 515 

Gurabo,  799 

Gurara,  oasis,  906 

Gurkhas,  503 

Gwadar,  499 

Gwai  river,  999 

Gwalior,  496,  497 

Gwelo,  1002 

Oyger,  Map  by,  31 

Gympie,  591,  592 

Gyulafehervar  (Karlsburg),  323 

HAAR,  287 
Haarlem,  222 
Haase  river,  271 
Hadendoa  tribe,  926 
Hadramut    (Hazarmaveth),    453 

Hague,  The,  223 

Haida  people,  684 

Haidrabad  (Dekkan),  497  ;  Sindh 

491 

Haiphong,  520 
Haiti  and  Santo  Domingo,  801- 

802 

Hakodate,  553 
Hal-la-san,  542 

Halifax,  170  ;  Nova  Scotia,  687 
Halle-a-S.,  290 

Halmaheira  (Gilolo)  island,  570 
Halmstad,  204 
Halys.  river,  440 
Hamada  el  Homra,  916,  918 
Hamar,  207 
Hamburg,  294;    as  a  free  port 

118;  temperature  and  rainfal 

of,  273 
Kami,  539 
Hamilton,    159;    Bermuda,  709 

Ontario,  695  ;  river,  701 
Hamitic    people,    107,    898  ;    in 

Africa,  897 
Hammam  Ali,  447 
Hammerfest,  207 
Hampshire,  186;  Tertiary  basin 

181 
Han  river,  523,  530,  532  ;  (Korea) 

543 

Hand  hills,  702 
Hang-kiang,  536 
Hanga  river,  659 
Hangchou,  535  :  Bay,  533 
Hankow,  530,  531,  534 
Hanley,  175 
Hanoi,  520 

Hanover,  294  ;  province,  289 
Hansag,  316 

Hanseatic  League,  112,  205,  207 
Hanyang,  534 
Hanyani  river,  998 
Haparanda,  204 
Haram,  454 
Harbour  Grace,  707 
Harbour  Island,  803 
Harfleur,  250 
Hari-rud  river,  465 
Harhngen,  222 
Harmsworth.    Mr.    A.    C.,    and 

Arctic  Exploration,  1030 
Harra  (lava  beds),  453 
Harran,  448 
Jiarrar,  935  , 


•larrat  el-'Aue,  453 

tf  arrat  Khaibar,  453,  456 

Ei  arris,  explorer,  906 

fiarrisburg,  Pa.,  727,  731 

Harrogate,  169 

Hartford,  Conn.,  723 

Hartlepool,  170 

Hartz,  268.  290 

Haruj  es  Sod,  916 

Haruk  Mountain,  456 

Haruku  island,  571 

Harvard  mountain,  760 

Harwich,  152,  182 

Haslemere,  181 

Hassa.  453,  456 

Hastings,  181 

Hatchings  (hachures),  31 

Hatteras.  Cape.  720 

Haud  desert,  936 

Hausa  people,  971  ;  States,  971 

Havana,  798  ;  Climate,  794  ;  har 

bour,  map,  793  ;  province,  795 
Havel  river,  271 
Havre,  250 
Hawaii,  660-662 
Hawaiian  Chain  of  Islands,  651 
Hawash  river,  931 
Hawke  Bay,  629 
Hawkesbury  river,  597 
Hay,  600 
Hayes,  Dr.  Isaac  J.,  Arctic  Voyage, 

1029 

Hazara  people,  467 
Hazarmaveth,  455 
Heart's  Content,  705 
Heaths,  89 
Heawood,  Edward,  Continent  of 

Africa,  889;  Islands  of  the  South 

Atlantic,    1013 ;    Liberia,    959 

Spanish  West  Africa,  952 
Hebrides,  154 
Hebron,  449,  451 
Hecataeus,  26  ;  Map  by,  8 
Hedin,  Dr.  Sven,  540 
Heidelberg,  286 
Heilbron,  1004 

Heilprin,  Prof.  A.,  Mexico,  774' 
Hejaz,  453,  454 
Hekla,  volcano,  213 
Helder,  The,  219,  222 
Helderbergs  Escarpment,  736 
Helena,  Ark.,  750,  754 
Helgoland,  293 
Hellbourg,  1024 
Hellenic  people,  346 
Hellespont,  330 
Helmand  river,  457,  458,  466 
Helsingborg,  204 

Helsingfors,  412  ;  Longitude  of,  31 
Helsingor,  210 
Helvellyn,  163 
Helvetians,  260 
Hemihedral  form  of  Earth,  42 
Hengchou,  530 
Henry  the  Navigator,  10,  900 
Henry  mountains,  763 
Herat,  465.  466 
Herbert,  Mount,  639 
Herberton,  592 
Herbertshohe,  641 
Herbertson.  Dr.  A.  J.,  Asia,  422 

Continent  of   South   America 

813 

Herculaneum,  365 
Hercynian  strike,  definition,  268 
Hereford,  164,  166 
Hereroland,  1012 
Herero  people,  1013 


Hermon,  Mount,  449 
Hermoupolis,  349 
Hermus  river,  440 
Hernosand,  204 

Herodotus  and  the  three  Conti- 
nents, 8 
Hersfeld,  289 
Heruj  el  Abiad,  916 
Hervey  bay,  579 
Herzegovina,  324 
Hesse,  286,  288 

Hesse-Nassau  province,  286,  288 
Hessians,  276 
Hetch-hetchy  valley,  767 
Hida-Echu  Mountains,  546 
Hierro  (Ferro)  island,  952 

High  plain,  definition,  49  ;  Tatra 
(Magas  Tatra),  311,  316  ;  Veldt, 
986,  1007 
Highland  Rim,  U.S.,  733 

Highlands,  definition,  48;  of 
Scotland,  154 

High  wood  mountains,  756 

Hikurangi  mountain,  628 

Hildesheim,  289 

Hill,  Robert  T.,  Cuba,  793  ;  Porto 
Rico,  798 

Hills,  definition,  49 

Himalaya,  Geology  of, 472;  moun- 
tains, 41,  470 

Himalayan  States,  503 

Himyaritic  language,  934 

Hinde,  S.  L.,  Congo  Free  State, 
974 

Hindi  language,  479 

Hindki  people,  467 

Hindu  Kush  mountains,  465,  489 

Hindu  people,  478 

Hindus  in  Java,  562 

Hindustan,  469 

Hinlopen  strait,  1044 

Hinterland,  119 

Hipparchus,  26 

Hippo  Regius,  912 

Hiroshima,  553 

Hispaniola,  801 

Hit,  447 

Hittites,  441,  450 

Hjelmar  Lake,  200 

Hobart,  605,  613 

Hobson  Bay,  602,  606 

Hodeida,  454 

Hogolu  islands,  655 

Hog's  Back,  180 

Hokitika,  Temperature  and  rain* 
fall  of.  630 

Hokkaido,  552 

Holarctic  region,  87 

Holder  ness,  coast,  179 

Holland,  see  Netherlands,  2x6 

Hollow,  definition,  49 

Holstein,  Duchy,  209 

Holstenborg,  1040 

Holy  Roman  Empire,  135 

Holyhead,  164 

Honan,  533 

Honda,  828 

Hondo  river,  789 

Honduras,  789  ;  Gulf,  782;  Moun- 
tains, 784;  Physical  geography, 
784  ;  Seaports,  788 

Honfleur,  250 

Hongay,  519 

Hongkong  (Hang-kiang),  536 

Honolulu,  662 

Hood,  Mount,  767 

Hope  island,  1044 

Horizon,  definition,  15 


Index 


1067 


Horn,  Cape,  813 

Horn  Scientific  Expedition,  617 

Horn  Sunds  Tinder,  1045 
Horse  latitudes,  78 
Horse,  Wild,  540 
Horsens,  210 

Horsham,  Victoria,  606,  609 
Horta,  384 

Horten,  206 
Hortobagy  puszta,  322 
H  or  ton  Plains,  504 

Hoskold,  H.  D.,  Argentine  Re- 
public, 849 

Hot  Lakes  District,  N.Z.,  628  ; 
winds  of  Kansas,  760 

Hottentots,  898,  989  ;  in  German 
S.W.  Africa,  1013 

Hour-Angle,  definition,  15;  -Cir- 
cles, definition,  15 

Hova  people,  1017 
Hualalai,  662 

Huallaga  river,  835,  838 

Huancavelica,  839 

Huanchaco,  837 

Huanuco,  838 

Huaqui,  lake,  840 

Huaraz,  837 

Hubli,  492 

Hue  and  Gabet  in  Lhasa,  541 

Huddersfield,  170 

Hudson,  Arctic  voyage,  1026 

Hudson  Bay,  666, 679, 692,  693,  700, 
701  ;  river,  728,  729  ;  Valley,  728 

Hudson  Bay  Company,  696 

Huelva,  374 

Huertas  in  Spain,  374 

Hughenden,  591 

Hugli  river,  487 

Huila  mountain,  825 

Huleh  lake,  449 

Hull,  151,  171 ;  Canada,  692 

H  umber,  151  ;  river,  Newfound- 
land, 705  ;  river,  Ont.,  695 

Humboldt,  A.  von,  12  ;  Bay,  642  ; 
Current,  70,  659  ;  Current  and 
climate  in  Chile,  845 ;  Mont, 
645 

Humboldt's  Plant-groups,  88 

Hume,  W.  F.,  Egypt,  918 

Humidity,  75  ;  Relative,  76 

Humirida  mountains,  879 

Hunan,  525,  533 

Hungarian  Borderland,  323;  gate, 
309  ;  Plains  (Kis-Alfold),  316  ; 
Sea,  318 

Hungarians,  319 

Hungary,  315-323  ;  Statistics,  325 

Hunger  Steppe,  396 

Hunsriick,  287 

Hunte  river,  293 

Hunter  Island,  610  ;  river,  600 

Hunza,  499 

Huo  Island,  657 

Huon  Gulf,  639  ;  river,  611 

Hupe,  534 

Huron,  Lake,  692 

Huronian  rocks,  693 

Hwai  river,  533 

Hwang-ho  river  521,  532,  533, 
541  ;  Floods  in,  57 

Hwangho,  424 

Hyderabad,  see  Haidrabad 

Hydra,  island,  349 

Hydrography  and  Development 
of  a  Country,  1 1 1 ;  of  Africa,  891 
of  Europe,  128  ;  of  Rhodesia 
998  ;  see  also  Rivers 

Hydrosphere  =  Collective  waters 

69 


of  the  Earth.  3,  4,  36  ;  Divisions 
of,  6 1 ;  Extent  of,  60;  Tempera- 
ture zones  of,  66 

Hylacomilus  (Waldseemuller),  35 
Hy^psographic  Curve,  46, 47 

T  BADAN,  968 

1     Ibarra,  833  ;  Basin,  830 

Iberian  meseta,  368  ;  peninsula, 
368,  385 

Iberians,  360,  372 

Ibi,  972 

Ibicui  river,  877 

Ibiza  Island,  370 

I  bo  people,  967,  970 ;  country, 
965 

Icaria  island,  444 

Ice  Age,  128  ;  in  Great  Britain, 
139  ;  see  also  Glacial  Action 

Icebergs,  63 ;  and  Gulf  Stream, 
69 ;  of  the  Antarctic,  1049  ;  of 
Arctic  Region,  1037 

Ice  Fjord,  1044  ;  of  the  Arctic  Sea, 
1036 

Ice-sheet  of  America,  666 ;  of 
Antarctica,  1048  ;  of  Europe, 
128, 666  ;  of  Greenland,  1040 

Iceland,  212-215 

Ichang,  526,  530 

Iconium,  443,  444 

Ida,  Mount,  350 

Idaho,  764 

Idda,  972 

Idria,  305 

Idzo  people,  970 

Igara  people,  970 

Igbiri  people,  970 

Ighli,  906 

Iglau,  309 

Igneous  rocks,  52,  54 ;  Weather- 
ing of,  £7 

§su  river,  876 
ople,  967 
river,  1019 
er,  540 

Iliyats,  460 

Illampu,  mountain,  817 

Illimani  mountain,  817,  840 

Illinois,  739 

Illyrians,  334,  360 

Ilmen,  lake,  393 

Iloilo,  559 

Ilopango,  lake,  784 

Ilorin,  971,  972 

Imatra  cataract,  392 

Imbabura,  province,  833 

Imerina,  1017 

Inagua  island,  803 

Inca  Indians,  836 

Incas,  Empire  of  the,  829;  of 
»  Cuzco,  822 

Independence  bay,  1032 

India,  Climate  of,  474-476;  Em- 
pire of,  469-502 ;  People  of, 
478  ;  Railway  map,  485 

India-rubber  in  Bolivia,  842  ;  in 
Brazil,  872  ;  in  Congo  Free 
State,  975 ;  in  French  Guinea, 
957 ;  in  Gold  Coast,  964  ;  in 
Nigeria,  970  ;  in  Sierra  Leone, 
963 

Indian  desert,.47i  ;  Ocean,  circu- 
lation of,  68  ;  Ocean,  currents 
in,  70  ;    Ocean,  origin  of,  41 
Ocean,     position     of,    61 ;     or 
Oriental  Regions,  87  ;  Territory, 


India 


Indiana,  739 


Indians  in  America,  711  ;  in 
Canada,  683;  in  Mauritius,  1022; 
of  North  America,  676 

Indie  people,  108 

Indigirka,  river,  426 

Indigo  in  Central  America,  788  ; 
in  India,  484 

Indo- African  Continent.97 ;  -Aryan 
people,  480 ;  -China,  508-520  ; 
-European  Telegraph,462;  -Gan- 
getic  plain,  origin  of,  41 

Indonesian  people,  108 

Indrigiri  river,  564 

Indus  delta,  491  ;  river,  470,  476. 
489 

Inglefield,  Sir  Edward,  Arctic 
voyage,  1029 

Ingul  river,  415 

Ingur  river,  395 

Inhambane,  945 

Inland- ice  of  Greenland,  1040- 
1042 

Inland  Sea,  definition,  61 

Inn  river,  303  ;  valley,  127,  263 

Innsbruck,  305 

Innerste  river,  289 

Innuits  in  Canada,  684 

Insolation,  74 

Interlaken,  264 

Interment  basin,  49 ;  basins  in 
Rocky  Mountains,  762 

Internal  Drainage,  Basins  of,  63  ; 
Old  World  Region  of,  426 

Inverness,  155,  156 

Invierno  in  Central  America,  785  ; 
in  Colombia,  826 

Inyanga  plateau,  998 

Iodine  in  Chile,  846 

Ionian  Islands,  349 

Iowa,  751 

Ip oh,  514 

Ipswich,  182  ;  Queensland,  593 

Ipurina  people,  869 

Iquique,  847 

Iquitos,  839 

Iraklion,  350 

Iran,  Countries  of,  457-468 

Iranian  desert  region,  433 

Iranic  people,  108 

Irawadi  river,  472,  486,  496 

Irazu,  volcano,  784 

Iregenat  people,  956 

Ireland,  187-194;  Bogs  of,  142; 
Mountain  Axes  of,  188  ;  Rain- 
fall of,  142 

Iris,  River,  440 

Irish  language,  145 

Irkutsk,  418 

Iron  Gates,  331 ;  Map  of,  317 

Iron  Mountain,  Mo.,  753 

Iron  ore  in  Algeria,  908  ;  in  Cuba, 
797  ;  in  France,  244 ;  in  Ger- 
many, 282  ;  in  Spain,  376 ;  in 
United  Kingdom,  149  ;  in 
United  States,  734 

Iroquoian  people,  106 

Iroquois  people,  684 

Irrigation,  in  ;  on  the  Great 
Plains,  U.S.,  757 

Irtysh,  river,  399,  400 

Isabel  island,  648 

Ischia,  island,  353 

Iser  mountains,  292 

Ishikari-gawa  river,  547 

Ishmaelite  people,  453 

Iskanderun  (Alexandretta),  451 

Isker,  river,  331 ;  valley,  339 

Islam  hi  Africa,  899 


io68         The  International  Geography 


Islands,  48  ;  Classes  of,  62  ;  Con- 
tinental, 48,  62  ;  of  the  South 
Atlantic,  1013-1014  ;  of  the  Wes- 
tern Indian  Ocean,  1020-1024 

Isle  of  Man,  186  ;  of  Pines,  Cuba, 
795  ;  of  Wight,  181 

Ismid  (Nicomedia),  443 

Isobars,  77 

Isonzo  river,  314 

Ispahan, 463 

Issyk-kul,  lake,  306 

Istria  peninsula,  313 

Itala,  936 

Italian  peninsula,  352 

Italians,  360  ;  in  Brazil,  869 

Italy,  352-365  ;  Origin  of,  135 

Itapicuru  river,  875 

Itasca,  lake,  743 

Itasy,  lake,  1016 

Itatiaia  (Mantiqueira)  mountain, 
865 

Itenez  river,  841 

Ithaca,  island,  349 

Itil,4i4 

Ivan&rod,  409 

Ivigtut,  1041 

Iviza  island,  370 

Ivory  Coast,  957 

Ivory  Nuts  in  Colombia,  826 

Ixelles,  228 

Ixtaccihuatl,  775 

Izalco,  volcano,  784 

T  ABALPUR,  493 

J     Jackson,  Mr.  F.  G.,  and  Arctic 

Exploration,  1030 
acobshavn  Glacier,  1042 
acobites,  447 
ade  in  Kashgaria,  540 
ade  Gate,  China,  523 
affna,  506 
aga  people,  983 
agersfontein,  1004 
aguaribe  river,  874 
aipur,  406,  497 
alapa,  rainfall,  777 
alisco,  774 

aluit  Trading  Company,  655 
amaica,  803  ;  climate,  792 
ambali,  Canal  de,  831 
ambi,  565,  566 
ames    Bay,   1014 ;    Range,  615 ; 

River,  U.S.,  756  ;  Town,  1014 
ammu,  499 
amna  river,  471,  488 
an  Mayen,  1044 
anina,  344 
apan,  545-554 
apen  Island,  642,  644 
arrah  trees,  621 
assy,  329 
at  people,  467 
auja,  838 
ava,  561 ;  People  of,  562 ;  Sea, 

563 

Jaxartes,  River,  397 
"  Jeannette,"  Drift  of  the,  1031 
Jebel  Akhdar,  455,  916 ;  Dokhan, 

923  ;  es  Soda,  916  ;  es  Zeit,  919  ; 

Esh,  919  ;  Gharib,  929 ;  Nefusa, 

916 ;  Silsileh,  919 ;  Sinjar,  447  ; 

Zeit,  923 
ebu  people,  967 
edda,  454 
efara,  916 

efferson  City,  Miss.,  752 
ehol,  532 
elalabad,  466 


elebu,  514 

enolan  Caves,  600 

equitinhonha  river,  875 

erba,  915 

erid,  915  • 

ersey,  186,  187 

erusalem,  451 

ervis,  Cape,  614  ;  island,  658 

esuits  in  Brazil,  871 ;  in  Para- 
guay, 862 
Jevero  people,  832 
Jews  in  Algeria,  910 ;  in  Balkan 
Peninsula,  335  :  in  Europe,  133  ; 
in  Galicia,  312  ;  in  India,  479 ; 
in  Russia,  403  ;  in  Tripoli,  917 
Jibuti,  935 

igger,  Spread  of,  86 

ihun  gorge,  439 

ihun     (Amu-daria)    river,    397 ; 

(Pyramus)  river,  397,  440 
Tishm  island,  452 
Jodhpur,  497 
Jofra,  916 

Johannesburg,  ion 
Johansen,  Lieutenant,  1031 
Johnston,  Sir  Harry— British  Cen- 
tral Africa.  946  ;   British  West 
Africa,  960  ;  Tunisia,  913 

ohor,  515  ;  Bharu,  515 

oktanite  People,  453 

okulsa  river,  213 

ones  Sound,  1035 

onkoping,  204 

cost  Van  Dyke  Island,  807 

ordan  river,  449 

orullo  mountain,  775 

ostedalsbras,  199 

otunheim,  198 

owf  oasis,  456 
'<  uan  de  Fuca,  Strait,  697 
Juan  Fernandez  Islands,  658 

uanacatlan,  Fall  of,  776 

ub  river,  892,  931 

ubaland,  938 

ubones  basin,  831 

ucuapa  (Salvador),  783 

udaea,  449 

ujuy,  856 

uko  people,  970 

ulfa,  463 

ulian  Alps,  316 

ulianehaab,  1043 

ulius  Caesar,  143 

umna,  see  Jamna 

ungfrau,  258  ;  railway,  263 

ungles  in  Asia,  433 

unin,  838 

unki  de  Baracoa,  794 

upiter,  Ammon  oasis,  928 

ura,  mountains,  237,  256,  259,  285 

urassic  Belt  of  England,    176  ; 

Formation,  position  of,  51 
Jute  in  India,  484 
Jutland,  208,  210 
Jyland,  208 

KABIN,  508 
Kabompo  river,  947 
Kabul,  467* 
Kabyles  people,  910 
Kabylia,  007 
Kadesh,  450 
Kadiac  island,  770 
Kaduna  river,  970 
Kaffraria,  992 
Kafir,   people  of  Kafiristan,  467 ; 

of  Natal,  995  ;  in  South  Africa, 

089 


Kafiristan,  468 

Kafue  river,  947 

Kaga,  553 

Kagera  river,  942 

Kagoshima,  551 

Kahlengebirge,  310 

Kaifeng,  533 

Kaikoura  range,  628 

Kaikouras,  629 

Kam,  461 

Kaingaroa  plains,  630 

Kaiping.  531 

Kairwan,  915 

Kaisariyeh  (Caesarea),  444 

Kaiser  Wilhelm  Canal,  283,  294 

Kaiser  Wilhelms  Land,  639 

Kaiserin  Augusta  river,  639 

Kajeli,  571 

Kalahari,     1012;    Desert,     1002; 

Region,  989 
Kalgan,  532 

Kalgurli,  626  ;  Goldfields,  623 
Kalmuk  people,  403 
Kalungwisi  river,  947 
Kalymna  island,  444 
Kama,  river,  390,  414 
Kamchatka,    309,  429 ;    Climate, 

70 
Kamerun  (Cameroons),  973,  974  ; 

Bay,  973  ;  Peak,  973 
Kamiab,  465 
Kamilaroi  language,  584 
Kamisa  tribe,  459 
Kampala,  939 
Kampar  river,  564 
Kamyshin,  389 
Kan,    Dr.    C.    M..    Dutch    New 

Guinea,  642  ;  The  Netherlands, 

216 

Kan-Kiang  river,  530,  533 
Kanakas,  647 
Kanara,  491 

Kanarese  language,  479,  492 
Kanawha  river,  732 
Kanazawa,  551,  553 
Kandahar,  467 
Kandy,  506 
Kane,    Dr.    Elisha    Kent,    Arctic 

Voyage,  1029 
Kang-won,  543 
Kangaroo  Island,  614 
Kangaroos  in  Australia,  582  ;  in 

the  Moluccas,  570 
Kangeang  Island,  563 
Kano,  971,  972 
Kansas,  751 ;  City,  759 ;  plains  of, 

759 

Kansu,  532 
Kaoko,  1012 
Kapuas  river,  567,  568 
Kapunda,  619 
Kara-daria,  river,  397 
Kara  Sea,  423 
Kara  Su  river,  449 
Karachi,  491 

Karakoram  mountains,  465 
Karashahr,  540 
Karen  people,  510 
Kariba  defile,  999 
Karikal,  503 

Karimon  Java  island,  563 
Karlsbad,  307,  308 
Karlsburg  (Apulum),  323 
Karnten,  304 
Karo  Sea,  652 
Karpas,  445 
Karpathos  island,  445 
Karri  trees,  621 


Index 


1069 


Karroo,  986  ;  beds,  893  ;    region, 

988 

Kars,  409 
Karst,    305,   337;    Map    of,  314; 

phenomena.      54,      303,      356; 

phenomena  in  Cuba,  794  ;  pla- 
teau, 303 
Karufa  river,  642 
Karun  river,  458 
Kas,  people.  510 
Kashgar,  540 
Kashgaria,  539 
Kashkai  tribe,  459 
Kashmir,  489,  498 
Kasim,  456 

Kasongo  province,  978 
Kasos  island,  445 
Kassa,  322 
Kassai  province,  978  ;   river,  975, 

982 

Kassel,  289 
Katar  coast,  452 
Kathiawar,  497 ;  peninsula,  478 
Katif,  456 
Katima  rapids,  982 
Katla,  volcano,  213 
Katrine,  Loch,  160 
Kattegat,  197 
Kauai  Island,  662 
Kaulun,  537  ;  peninsula,  536 
Kauri  pine,  631 
Kavari  river,  472,  495 
Kavirondo,  938 
Kawhia,  629 
Kayan  people,  567 
Kayes,  958  ;  rapids,  956 
Kazan,  414  ;  river,  684 
Kazbek  mountain,  395 
Ke  Island,  570,  571 
Keane,    A.    H.,    Distribution    of 

Mankind,  96 

Kebnekaise,  mountain,  198 
Kebra  Basa  Rapids.  099 
Kedah  State,  509 
Keeling  or  Cocos  Islands,  514 
Keewatin,  701 
Keilberg,  291 
Kel  Antassar  people,  956 
Kel  es  Suk  people,  956 
Kelantan  State,  509 
Kelat,  see  Khalat 
Keltic  clans,  144 ;  language,  132, 

240 
Keltic,  Dr.  J.  Scott,  Political  and 

Applied  Geography,  109 
Kelto-Iberians,  107 
Kelts,  360 
Kelung,  554 
Kema,  569 

Kemp  in  Antarctic,  1048 
Kennebec  river,  723 
Kennet,  river,  179 
Kent,  148 

Kentucky  caverns,  732 
Kenya  mountain,  891,  931 
Keppel  bay,  588 
Kerbela,  448 
Kerch  strait,  394 
Kerguelen  island.  1024 
Keria  oasis,  540 
Kerio  river,  931 
Kermadec  islands,  60,  627 
Kerman,  461,  463 
Kerry  Co.,  194 
Keswick,  163 
Keuper,  Geological   position   of, 

toy  West.  748 


Keys  (Cays)  in  West  Indies,  791 

of  Cuba,  793 
Khabur,  river,  447 
Khaibar  Pass,  467,  490 
Khalat,  499 
Khamar-Daban,  398 
Khama's  Country,  1002 
Khan  Tengri  mountain,  387 
Khania  (Canea),  350 
Khansin  wind,  920 
Kharbin,  419 
Khargeh  oasis,  919,  928 
Kharkov,  415 
Khartum,  927 
Khas  tribe,  518 
Khasia  hills,  495 
Khazr  river,  447 
Kherson,  415 
Khingan    mountains,    399,    539 ; 

river,  400 

Khita  (Hittites),  450 
Khiva,  408,  418 
Khmer  people,  517,  518 
Khomair,  907 
Khone  rapids,  516 
Khorasan,  461,  463 
Khotan,  540  ;  oasis,  540, 
Khulm,  467 
Kiakhta.539 
Kialing-kiang,  river,  534 
Kiangsi,  533 
Kiangsu, 533 
Kiau  river,  538 
Kiauchou,  538  ;  Bay,  533 
Kieff,  406,  414 
Kiel,  210,  294 

Kikuyu  people,  933  ;  scarp,  931 
Kilauea,  662 

Kilia  mouth  of  Danube,  328 
Kilimanjaro  mountain,  891,  941 
Killarney  lakes,  194 
Kilmarnock,  159,  161 
Kimberley,  992  ;  W.A.,  621 
Kina,  927 

Kinabalu  mountain,  567 
King  George  Sound,  620,  625 
King  Island,  610  ;    Karl's   Land, 

1044  ;  Sound,  620 
Kingani  river.  941 
King's  County,  193  ;  Lynn,  179 
Kingsmill  Islands,  654 
Kingston,    Jamaica,    804 ;    Qnt, 

695 
Kingstown.     Dublin,     192  ;     St. 

Vincent,  810 
Kingtechen,  533 
Kinsha-kiang  river,  534 
Kinta,  514 
Kinzig  valley,  287 
Kipirsi,  plateau,  955 
Kircher,  Athanasius,  34 
Kirchhoff,    Dr.    Alfred,    German 

Empire,  266 
Kirghiz  people,  403 
Kirin  (Girm),  539 
Kirishima-yama,  volcano,  54 
Kiriwina  Island,  635 
Kirk,  Sir  John,  901 
Kirkcaldy,  151,  158 
Kirkwall,  155 
Kirunga  volcano,  891 
Kis-Allold.  316 
Kishinev,  416 
Kishon  valley,  449 
Kisogawa  river,  547 
Kitaigorod,  413 
Kitakamigawa  river,  547 
Kiti,  (355 


Kitium,  446 

Kittatinny  valley,  728 

Kiukiang,  533 

Kiyev  (Kieff),  406,  414 

Kizil  Irmak  (Halys)  river,  440 

Kibbenhavn,  210 

Klagenfurt,  305 

Klamath  river,  768 

Klang  river,  514 

Klarelf,  river,  199 

Klausenburg,  322 

Kleber,  908 

Kling  people,  512 

Klondike,  Gold  in,  771  ;  river,  703 

Klosterneuburg,  310 

Klyuchev,  Mount,  399 

Knivskjelodden,  197 

Kobdo,  539 

Kobe,  553 

Kokan,  417 

Koki,  938 

Kola,  in  Portuguese  Guinea,  980  ; 

river,  412  ;  nuts  in  Gold  Coast, 

964  ;  nuts  in  Niger  Delta,  968 ; 

nuts  in  Nigeria,  970 ;  nuts  in 

Sierra  Leone,  963 
Kolarian  people,  480 
Kolbe,  Dr.  F.  C.,  Cape  Colony,  985 
Kolding,  211 
Koln,  295 
Kolomea,  313 

Kolozsvar  (Klausenburg),  321,  322 
Kolyma,  river,  426 
Komoe  river,  957 
Komono  mountain,  954 
Konakry,  957 
Kong  range,  954 
Kongsberg,  205 
Konia  (Iconium),  443,  444 
Konigsau,  river,  266 
Konigsberg,  293,  294 
Konigsee,  lake,  272 
Konkan,  491 

Konstanz  (Constance),  286 
Kooringa,  619 
Kootenay   district,    699;    people, 

684 

Kopais,  lake,  348 
Kopaonik  mountains,  336 
Kopjes,  1004 
Korat  plateau,  509 
Korea,  542-544 
Koreans,  543 
Korintji    lake,    564 ;    mountain, 

5$6 

\orsor,  210 
Korsovo,  343 
Kos  island,  444 
Sosciusko,  Mount  594 
Soshtantau,  mountain,  394 
£ota-raja,  566 
Kotonu,  957 
Kotsuke,  547 
Soweit  (Grane),  452 
{owloon,  see  Kaulun 
Kra,  509 
£rain,  304 
{rakatao,  563 
Crakow,  313 
Crapf,  explorer, 
Krasnoyarsk,  418 
Crat  hills,  510 
Kratji,  973 
Crefeld,  295 
Cremenets,  392 
Temlin,  413 

ems,  303 
Kribi,  974 


1070        The  International  Geography 


Krishna,  river,  472 

Kriti,  350 

Kronstad,    Orange    Free    State, 

1004 
Krumen,  960;  in  Sierra  Leone, 

963 

Kuban  river,  395 
Kuchar,  540 
Kuching,  560 
Kuiseb  river,  1012 
Kuku-nor  Lake,  541 
Kulja,  540 
Kulpa,  river,  330 
Kuma,  river,  395 
Kumamoto,  553 
Kumasi,  964 
Kunene  river,  892 
Kupei-kow  Gate,  532 
Kura  river,  395,  416 
Kuram  valley,  466 
Kurdistan,  440,  461 
Kurds,  403,  442 

Kurile  (Chishima)  islands,  429, 554 
Kurisches  Haff,  272 
Kurna,  447 

Kuroshiwo  current,  70,  547 
Kurt  Dagh  mountain,  449 
Kus,  river,  904 
Kushk,  417  ;  railway,  465 
Kustenji,  329 
Kuyunjik  (Nineveh),  448 
Kwakioor  people,  684 
Kwala  Kangsa,  514  ;  Klang,  514 ; 

Lampur,  514  ;  Pilah,  515 
Kwango  prov.,  978  ;  river,  982 
Kwangchow,  535 
Kwangsi,  535 
Kwang-tri,  517 
Kwangtung.  535,  536 
Kwanza  river,  892 
Kwei  river,  524 
Kweichow,  534 
Kweiyang,  534 
Kwen-lun    mountains,    428,   522, 

539 

Kwita,  964 
Kwo-ibo,  968 
Kwo  people,  967 
Zymmene  Elf,  392 
Kyoto,  551,  552 
Kyrene,  916,  917 

Kyrenia  mountains,  Cyprus,  445 
Kyulu  mountains,  931 
Kyushu,  546,  553 

LA  BREA,  811  ;  Calle,  912 ; 
Ceiba,  886  ;  Condamine, 
31  ;  Guaira,  887 ;  Guaira  to 
Caracas,  railway  map,  887  ; 
Guayra  Falls,  860 ;  Maddalena, 
358  ;  Mancha,  372 ;  Pallice, 
252  ;  Paz,  842  ;  Plata,  854.  849  ; 
Plata,  Bolivia,  842  ;  Plata  river, 
815,  850  ;  Rioja,  855  ;  Rochelle, 
252 ;  Sagittaria,  656  ;  Saona 
island.  802  ;  Serena,  848  ; 
Superga,  355  ;  Union,  788  ; 
Vaux,  264 

Laaland  Island,  210 

Labrador,  Climate,  674  ;  Current, 
69,  1037  ;  Peninsula,  700 

Labuan  island,  559 

Lacerda,  J.  de,  explorer,  900 

Laccoliths,  54  ;  in  Colorado,  761 

Lachlan  river,  594 

Laconia  (Sparta),  349 

Ladakh,  409 


Ladinos,  787 

Ladins  in  East  Africa,  945 

Lado,  temperature  and  rainfall, 
894 

Ladoga,  lake,  128,  392 

Ladrone  islands,  44,  655 

Lady  Franklin  bay,  1046 

Laeken,  228 

Lafia,  971 

Laghouat,  temperature  and  rain- 
fall, 908 

Lagoa  das  Sete  Cidades,  384 

Lagoon  islands,  654 

Lagoons  on  South  American 
coast,  814 

Lagos,  968  ;  origin,  960 

Lahontan,  lake,  map,  766 

Lahore,  490 

Laibach,  305 

Laikipia  scarp,  931 

Laing,  explorer,  900 

Lajta  river,  316 

Lakadiv  islands,  500 

Lakeba  islands,  652 

Lake  District  of'  England,  163 ; 
Rainfall  of,  142 

Lake  of  the  Woods,  113,  694  ; 
Region  of  Russia,  388,  392  ; 
Superior,  navigation,  684 

Lakes,  and  land  development, 
55  ;  formation,  49  ;  use  of,  in  ; 
of  the  Alps,  128  ;  of  Argentina, 
850 ;  of  Germany,  272 ;  of 
Mexico,  776  ;  of  New  England, 
724 ;  of  North  America,  669, 
692  ;  of  Tasmania,  611  ;  of 
West  Australia,  622 

Lambayeque,  837 

Lammas,  Mount,  648 

Lammcrmoor  hills,  157 

Lampedusa  island,  353 

Lampong  islands,  565 

Lanark,  159 

Lancashire,  168 ;  coal-field,  150, 
171 

Lancaster  sound,  1035 

Lancerote  island,  952 

Lanchow,  532 

Land,  Climatic  influence  of,  79  ; 
forms,  46-59 ;  Forms,  classifi- 
cation of,  48 ;  Plants,  Groups 
of,  88;  and  People,  116;  and 
Sea  Breezes,  79  ;  and  Sea,  pro- 
portions of,  61  ;  and  Water, 
48  ;  and  Water,  Effects  of 
Heat  on,  75  ;  and  Water,  Ter- 
tiary distribution  of,  97 

Land's  End  peninsula,  167 

Lander,  explorer,  900 

Landes,  236 

Landshut,  292 

Lang  Son,  520 

Langres,  237 

Langdale,  163 

Langeland,  210 

Languages  of  Europe,  132  ;  of 
India,  479  ;  of  Switzerland, 
map,  260 

Langue  d'Oc,  240 ;  d'Oil,  240 

Lao  country,  517,  519  ;  Kay,  519 

Laon,  249  ;  Globe,  35 

Lapparent,  Prof.  A.  de,  Physical 
Geography  of  France,  233-239 

Lapps,  201,  403 

Lapworth,    C.,  Fold  Theory,  38, 

Lara  State,  887 
Laraich  (El-Araish),  905 


Larantuka,  572 

Larapinta  land,  615 

Larat  island,  573 

Larnaka,  446 

Larne,  193 

Larsen,  Capt.,  in  Antarctic,  1048 

Larut,  514 

Las  Casas  in  Central  America,  787 ; 
in  Cuba,  796  ;  Las  Palmas,  952 

Latacunga,  833 

Latacunga  basin,  830 

Lateral  valley,  definition,  50 

Laterite,  Origin  of,  57  ;  in  Asia, 
432  ;  in  South  America,  820 

Latitude,  definition,  15  ;  Deter- 
mination  of,  16  ;  Origin  of  term, 
9  ;  and  Longitude  as  boun- 
daries, 114 

Lauderdale,  Africa,  temperature 
and  rainfall,  894 

Lauenburg  (Duke  of  York)  is- 
lands, 640 

Launceston,  Tasmania,  613 

Laurentian,  Highlands,  668,  734  ; 
Plateau.  680  ;  Plateau  in  Mani- 
toba, 695;  Plateau  in  Ontario, 
693 ;  Plateau  in  Quebec,  689 ; 
Uplands,  671 

Laurentide  mountains  690 

Lauricocha  lake,  835 

Laurion,  347 

Lausanne,  264 

Lausitzer  mountains,  293 

Lava-plains,  54 

Lawrence,  Mass.,  725 

Lazi,  people,  442 

Lazistan,  440 

Le  Locle,  264  ;  Mans,  251  ; 
Murgie,  358 

Lea  marshes,  183  ;  river,  182 

Leadville,  761 

Lebanon,  Mount,  449 

Lebda,  917 

Lee.  river,  194 

Leeds,  170 

Leeuwarden,  222 

Leeward  Islands  (British),  807  ; 
name,  813 

Leghorn  (Livorno),  364 

Lehmann,  map  shading,  32 

Lei-Chu,  520 

Lei  river,  525 

Leicester,  176 

Leicestershire,  174 

Leiden,  223 

Leine,  river,  289 

Leinster,  192 

Leipzig,  291 

Leiria,  379,  382 

Leith,  151, 159 

Leitha  (Lajta)  river,  316 

Lek  river,  218 

Leki,  968 

Leman,  lake,  258 

Lemberg  (Lwow),  313 

Lemnos  island,  444 

Lempa,  Rio,  784 

Lena  basin,  426  ;  river,  39$ 
400 

Lens,  249 

Leon,  376  ;  Province,  Ecuador, 
833  ;  (Nicaragua),  783,  789 

Leonardo  da  Vinci,  Maps  of,  31 

Leontes  river,  449 

Leopold  II.  lake,  975 

Leopold  range,  622 

Leopoldville,  978 

Lepini  Mountains,  357 


Index 


1071 


Leptis  (Lebda),  917 

Lerma,  Rio  (Santiago),  776 

Lerma,  valley  855 

Leros  island,  444 

Lerwick,  155 

Les  Eboulements,  690 

Lesbos  island,  444 

Lesseps,  Ferdinand  de,  925 

Lesser     Antilles,     805  ;     Sunda 

islands,  571-573 

Lett  people,  275  ;  language,  132 
Letto-,  Lithuanians,  403  ;  -Slavs, 

108 

Leuk,  alluvial  fan  at,  57 
Leukas  island,  349 
Leukerbad  (Loueche),  265 
Leusitz,  291 
Levant,  346 

Levees  of  the  Mississippi,  750 
Leven,  Loch,  157 
Levkosia,  446 
Levuka,  653 
Lewes,  180 
Lewis,  island,  155 
Lewiston,  Me.,  725 
Lezirias,  380 
Lhasa,  541 
Liard  river,  698 
Lias,  Geological  position  of,  51 
Liau  river,  538 
Liautung,  538 
Liberia,  959-960 
Libertad,  789,  837 
Libombo  Range,  945 
Libyan  Desert,  928 
Lichens,  89 
Liddesdale,  161 
Lidkoping,  205 
Liebana,  valley,  371 
Liechtenstein,  304 
Lief  Ericsen,  686 
Liege,  225,  229 
Liffey  river  192 
Lif  u  island,  645 
Ligonia  river,  944 
Liguria,  363 

Ligurian  Appennines,  356 
Ligurian  people,  107,  360 
Liim  fjord,  210 
Likungu.  river,  944 
Lille,  249 
Lima,  837 
Limagne,  252 
Limagne,  Plain  of  234 
Limay  river,  850 
Limburg,  218 
Limerick,  190,  194 
Limestone  Alps,  302 
Limestones,  52 ;  Weathering  of ,  54 
Limnoplankton,  definition,  92 
Limoges,  245,  252 
Limpopo  river,  892,  945,  1007 
Lincoln,  178 
Lincolnshire  Wolds,  178 
Linga,  463 
Linggi,  river,  514 
Linnaeus,  96 
Linth  river,  257 
Linz,  305 

Lion  mountain,  992 
Lions  in  Rhodesia,  1001 
Lipari  islands,  353 
Lippe,  principality,  289 
Lisbon,  383  ;  Longtitude  of,  31 
Lissa,  315 

Litany  (Leontes)  river,  449 
Lithosphere=solid  crust  of  earth, 
3,4,36;  Areas  of,  46 


Lithuanian  language,  132  ;  people, 
275 

Little  Batanga,  974  ;  Belt,  208 ; 
Don,  river,  391  ;  Karroo,  986  ; 
Popo,  957  ;  Rock,  Ark.,  754 ; 
Rocky  Mountains,  756;  Russians, 
404  ;  St.  Bernard,  126  ;  Scarcies 
river,  962  ;  Syrtes,  889 

Littoral  Area  of  the  Sea,  91; 
Fauna,  94 

Liverpool,  151,  172 ;  Mountains, 
N.S.W.,  594 

Livingston,  Guatemala,  788 

Livingstone,  David,  12,  900 

Livingstone  mountains,  947 

Livorno,  364 

Lizard  Head,  167 

Llama  in  South  America,  821 

Llano  Estacado,  673,  754,  759 

Llanos,  821  ;  in  Colombia,  82 

Lloro,  828 

Loanda,  984 ;  Ambaca  railway 
map,  983  ;  climate,  983  ;  dis- 
trict, 984 

Loando,  temperature  and  rain- 
fall, 893 

Loango,  959 

Lob  (Lop)  Nor  lake,  540 

Lobos  island,  836 

Lobsters  in  Newfoundland,  706 

Locarno,  265 

Lochy,  Loch,  156 

Lockwood,  Lieutenant,  Arctic 
exploration,  1030 

Loddon  district,  602  ;  river,  607 

Lodz,  413 

Loess,  Origin  of,  57 ;  in  China, 
522  ;  of  Mississippi,  738 

Lofoten  islands,  198,  199 

Lofty  Mount,  614,  619 

Logan,  Mount,  672,  681 

Logwood  in  British  Honduras, 
790 ;  in  Central  America,  787  ; 
in  Cuba,  795 

Lohombo  river,  947 

Loire,  river,  235,  245,  251 

Lois  river,  573 

Loja,  830,  «32,  833 

Loko,  972 

Lokoja,  972 

Lokunja  river,  974 

Loma  Tina  mountain,  801 

Lomami  river,  975 

Lomas,  definition,  834 

Lombardy,  363  ;  plain,  354 

Lomblen  islet,  572 

Lombok-Ombay  Islands,  572 

Lombok  Strait.  572 

Lomnicz,  316 

Lomond,  Loch,  157 

London,  182  ;  Growth  of,  115 ; 
Maps  of,  28,  29  :  Plan  of,  184 ; 
Port  of,  150  ;  Tertiary  Basin, 
182  ;  Ont.,  695 

Londonderry,  191,  193 

Long-cheou,  520 

Long  Island,  726  ;  Range,  705 

Longitude,  definition,  16 ;  Deter- 
mination, 17  ;  origin  of  term,  9 

Longitudinal  valley,  definition,  50 

Longonpt  mountain,  931 

Lontar  island,  571 

Look-out:  Cape,  720 

Lop  Nor  lake,  540 

Lord  Howe  island,  601 

Loreto,  839 

Lorient,  251 

Lorraine,  241,  287 


Los,  Angelos,  768  ;  Rios  province, 
833 

Losuguta,  lake,  931 

Loueche,  265 

Louisiania,  754  ;  Acquisition,  711 

Louisville,  Ky.,  744 

Lourenc.o  Marques,  945 

Louviers,  245 

Lovat  river,  391,  393 

Lovili  mountains,  982 

Low,  Archipelago,  657  ;  Countries, 
The,  216-232  ;  plain,  definition, 
49 

Lowell,  Mass.,  725 

Lower,  Austria,  304  ;  California, 
774  ;  Greensand,  Geological 
position  of,  51  ;  Tunguska 
river,  400,  426 

Lowlands,  definition,  48  ;  of  Scot- 
land, 157 

Loxa,  sec  Loja 

Loyalty  Islands,  645 

Lozere,  Mont,  234 

Lualaba  province,  978 ;  river, 
946 

Luang  Prabang,  516,  510, 

Luangwa  river,  948 

Luapula  river,  947 

Liibeck,  294 

Lubiana,  305 

Lublin,  413 

Lucerne,  canton,  264  ;  lake,  258 

Luchu  islands,  553 

Lukuga  river,  947 

Lucknow,  489 

Lugano,  265 

Lugnaquillia,  193 

Lulea,  204 

Luleaberg  province,  978 

Lund,  204 

Lunda  district,  984 

Lune  valley,  169 

Luneburg  heath,  293 

Lungo-e-Bungo  river,  947 

Lurio  river,  944 

Lusitanian  language,  382 

Lussinpiccolo,  315 

Lutheran  Church,  214  ;  in  Den- 
mark, 209 

Luxemburg,  230-232 

Luzon  Island,  558 

Lwow  (Lemberg),  313 

Lyell,  C.,  Theories,  38 

Lyell,  Mount,  611 

Lynn,  Mass.,  726 

Lyons,  253 

Lyonesse,  167 

Lys  river,  225 

Lysa  Gora  mountain,  392 

Lyttelton,  628 

MAAS,  River,  216,  224 
Maastricht,  219 
Maazeh  tribe,  926 
Macabi  Island,  836 
Macao,  538 
Macassar  strait,  566 
McCarthy  Island,  961 
Macchie,  131 

McClintock,  Sir  Leopold,  1028 
MacCluer  Gulf,  642 
McClure,  Arctic  voyage,  1028 
Macdonnell  range,  615 
McDouall  Stuart,  explorer,  617 
Macedonia,  338,  343 
Macedonians,  334 
Macgillicuddy's  Reeks,  194 


1072        The  International   Geography 


Macgregor,  Sir  William,   British 

New  Guinea,  635 
Mackay,  591,  592 
Mackenzie,  Alexander,    explorer, 

699 
Mackenzie    district,   702 ;    Plain, 

629  ;  river,  681 ;  river  navigation, 

685 

McLean  Falls,  701 
Macquarie  river,  Tasmania,  611 
Mactan  island,  559 
Madagascar,  889,  1015-1020 
Madeira  Archipelago,  384 ;  river, 

873 

Madjopait,  ruins,  563 
Madras,  494  ;  longitude  of,  31 
Madrid,   376 ;    longitude   of,   31  ; 

Temperature  and  rainfall  at, 372 
Madura,  495  ;  people,  562 
Mseander  river,  440 
Mafra,  383 
Mafrag  river,  908 
Magahesberg  mountains,  1007 
Magallanes  territory,  848 
Magas  Tatra,  316 
Magdalen  islands,  689 
Magdalena,  827,  838  ;  river,  824, 

828 

Magdeburg,  294 
Magellan,   10,  558  ;    Strait,    814 ; 

map,  843 

Maggiore,  Lago,  127,  354 
Maghera,  923 
Magnesia,  Anatolia,  443 
Magnesian  Limestone,  Geological 

position  of,  51 
Magra  river,  356 
Magunda  Mkali,  942 
Magyarorszag,  315 
Magyars,  320 
Mahanadi,  river,  471 
Mahanpro,  1020 
Mahavillaganga  river,  504 
Mahe,  503  ;  island,  1023 
Mahmel  mountain,  007 
Mahogany  in  British  Honduras, 

790  ;   in  Cuba,  795 ;  in   Ivory 

Coast,  957 
Mahon,  377 
Mahra,  455 
Mahren,  308 
Mahrisch  Ostrau,  309 
Maidanpek,  336 
Maidstone,  180 
Maimachin,  539 
Main,  River,  285  ;  valley,  286 
Maine,  723,  725 
Mainz  (Mayence),  286 
Maipo  river,  847 
Maipure  people,  869 
Maiquetia,  887 
Maitland,  N.S.W.,  600 
Maize  in  United  States,  739 
Majerda  river,  913,  914 
Majorca  island,  370 
Majunga,  1020 
Makachinga,  Mount,  398 
Makalla,  455 
Makar  river,  914 
Makassar,  569 
Makri  harbour,  439 
Makta  river,  908 
Makwa  people,  945 
Mala  Island,  648 
Malabar,  Coast,  494  ;  foiests,  477 
Malabrigo  Island,  836 
Malacca,  512,  513  ;  strait,  564 
Malaga,  372,  377 


Malagarazi  river,  942 
Malagasy  people,  1017 
Malaita  (Mala)  island,  648 
Malar  lake,  200,  203 
Malaria  in  Italy,  map,  359 
Malaspina  glacier,  770 
Malay  Archipelago,  555  ;  penin- 
sula, 509  ;  people,  557  ;  States, 

511 

Malayans,  105 

Malayo-Polynesian  people,  105 
Maiden  island,  658 
Malditos,  Monies,  371 
Maldiv  islands,  500 
Malinche  (Matlalcueyatl),  775 
Malinke  people,  956 
Mallee  country,  607  ;  scrub,  595, 

603 

Mallorca  island,  370 
Malmesbury,  Cape  Colony,  991 
Malmo,  204 
Malstrom  current,  199 
Malta,  365-367 
Malta  group  of  islands,  353 
Malte-Brun,  geographer,  12 
Maluti  mountains,  1004 
Malvern  hills,  164 
Malwa  plateau,  497 
Mammoth  Cave  of  Kentucky,  93, 

732  ;  remains  in  Siberia,  1046 
Mamore  river,  841 
Man  and    Environment,  4,  115  ; 

primitive,  99  ;  struggle  for  exist- 
ence, 97 

Manabi  province,  833 
Managua,  789  ;  lake,  784,  785 
Manaos,  873 
Mai.anjara,  1020 
Manapouri  lake,  629 
Manar,  Gulf  of,  504 
Manaro  mountains,  594 
Manasarowar  lakes,  541 
Manchester,  172  ;  district,  map  of, 

173  ;  Ship  Canal,  172  ;  N.H.,  725 
Manchuria,  538 
Mandal  pass,  466 
Mandalay,  496 
Mandara  mountains,  973 
Mandenga  people,  961,  962 
Mandes,  people,  956 
Mandingo       mountains,       955  ; 

people,  956,  981 
Manga  Reva,  658 
Mangalore,  494 
Mangoky  river,  1016 
Mangoro  river,  1016 
Mangroves  in   East  Africa,  942  ; 

on    Kamerun    Coast,    973  ;   in 

Yucatan,  778 
Manihiki  islands,  658 
Manika  plateau,  945,  997 
Manila,  559 
Maniototo  plain,  629 
Manisa  (Magnesia),  443 
Manitoba,  695-696  ;    escarpment, 

696,  701  ;  lake,  696 
Manitoulin  island,  694 
Mankind,  Distribution  of,  96-108  ; 

Divisions  of,  102  ;  table  of  chief 

divisions,  103 
Manna  river,  960 
Mannheim,  286 
Manning,  Mr.,  in  Lhasa,  541 
Manomet  hills,  726 
Mansinam,  644 

Mantiqueira  mountain,  865,  876 
Mantse  people,  527 
Mantua,  363 


Manyami  river,  998 

Manych,  as  boundary,  123  ;  river 
395 

Manzanillo,  781,  798 

Maori  people,  632 

Map  projections,  20-23 

Maps  and  Map  reading,  26-35 ; 
general,  30  ;  geological,  34 ; 
measurement  of  distances  on  of 
areas,  28 ;  scale  of,  27  ;  topo- 
graphical, 29;  of  the  World, 
value  of,  13 

Mapocho  river,  847 

Mar  Chiquita,  lake,  850 

Mar  da  Palha  (Straw  Sea),  381 

Maracaibo,  886 ;  lagoon,  813 
lake,  886 

Maranon  river,  816,  835 

Maranhao,  874 

Marathas,  481 

Marathi  language,  479,  491 

Marave  people,  945 

Marble,  52 

March  river,  291,  308 

Marches,  def.,  112  ;  Italy,  364 

Marco  Polo,  travels,  9 ;  in 
Sumatra,  565 

Marcy,  Mount,  734 

Mare  island,  645 

Mareb,  454 

Maree,  Loch,  155 

Marenga  Mkali  desert,  942 

Margaret  island,  322  ;  river,  639 

Margarita  island,  888 

Margate,  181 

Margalong  river,  602 

Marianne  islands,  655 

Marie  Galante  island,  808 

Marienbad,  308 

Marinus,  geographer,  26 

Maritime  Cordillera  of  the  Andes, 
835 

Maritsa  river,  332 

Mark,  definition,  112 

Markets,  121 

Markham,  Admiral  Albert  Hast- 
ings, 1029;  Sir  Clements  R., 
Bolivia,  840,  Ecuador,  829,  Peru, 

834 

Marlborough,  179 

Marlborough  Downs,  178 

Marmarice,  harbour,  439 

Marmora  (Propontis)  Sea,  330 

Marocco,  904-906  ;  City,  905 

Maronite,  people,  451 

Maros,  322 

Marowyne  river,  882,  883 

Marquesas  islands,  658 

Marsden,  Samuel,  in  New  Zea- 
land, 632 

Marseilles,  253 

Marshall  islands,  654 

Martapura,  568 

Martha's  Vineyard  island,  726 

Martigny,  265 

Martinique  island,  809 

Mar  war,  496 

Mary  river,  592 

Maryborough,  591,  592 

Maryland  State,  731 ;  boundary, 
718 

Masai  people,  898,  933 

Masandam,  Cape,  452 

Masarwa  Bushmen,  1003 

Masaya,  789 

Mascara,  912 

Mashad,  463 

Mashuna  people,  1001 


Index 


1073 


Mashunaland,  998 

Masiiia,  954 

Mask,  Lough,  193 

Mason,  W.  B.,  Japan,  545 

Massachusetts,  722 

Massape  soil,  867,  875 

Massowa,  935 

Masulipatam,  495,  503 

Matabeleland,  998 

Matadi,  978 

Matagalpa,  784 

Matanzas,  798 ;  province,  795 

Mataram,  572 

Matavai  bay,  657 

Matchedash  bay,  693 

Matese  mountains,  356 

Mathematical  Geography,  14-25  ; 
definition,  3 

Matlalcueyatl,  77 

Matlock,  169 

Mato  Teepee,  758 

Matochkin  Shar,  1045 

Mattas  Virgeus,  868 

Matterhorn,  258 

Matto  Grosso,  820,  873  ;  Moun- 
tains, 866 

Matupi  island,  641 

Maturin,  888 

Mau,  scarp,  931 

Maui  island,  662 

Maule  river,  844 

Maulmain,  496 

Mauna,  Haleakla,  662 ;  Kea,  660, 
062  ;  Loa,  660,  062 

Mauritius,  1020 ;  map,  1021  ; 
structure  of,  41 

Maya-Quiche  language,  779 

Mayaguana  Island,  803 

Mayaguez,  800 

Mayence,  286 

Mayo  Co.,  193  ;  Island,  979  ;  Kebbi 
river,  970 

Mayon,  Mount,  559 

Maypures  rapids,  884 

Mazagan,  905 

Mazama,  Mount,  768 

Mazamet,  245 

Mazaruni,  879 

Mazatlan,  781 

Mbomu  river,  975 

Mecca,  453,  454 

Mecklenburg-,  Schwerin,  293 ; 
Strelitz,  293 

Medain  Salih,  453 

Medanos,  definition,  834 

Medina,  453,  454 

Mediterranean,  civilisation,  7  ; 
flora,  131 ;  Origin  of,  41 ;  plant- 
region,  433  ;  region,  rainfall 
of,  130  ;  Temperature  and 
depth  of,  66 

Medway,  river,  180 

Meerut,  489 

Megalokastrom  (Candia),  350 

Meimngen,  290 

Me'jico,  774 

Mekenes,  905 

Me  Klawng,  River,  508;  Kong 
river,  508,  509,  516,  517,  541  ; 
Nam  Chao  Praya  river,  508 

Mekran,  457 

Melanchroi,  people,  107 

Melanesia,  635-648 

Melanesian  Chain  of  Islands,  651 ; 
Islands,  646  ;  people,  557 

Melanesians,  104 

Melbourne,  605,  608 

Melilla,377     ' 


Melrose,  161 

Melsetter,  1002 

Melville  island,  614  619 

Memel  river,  270 

Memphis,  924  ;  Tenii.,  750 

Menado,  569 

Menai  Strait,  164 

Mendana  islands.  658 

Mendere  Chai  (Maeander)    river, 

44° 

Mendoza,  855  ;  river,  850 
Mengo,  938 

Menorca  island,  370,  377 
Mentawi  islands,  557,  566 
Menzies,  625 
Meos  tribe,  518 
Merakish,  905 
Meran,  306 
M  creator,  n 
Mercator's  projection,  22 
Meridian,  definition,  15 
Meridians,  Initial,  31 
Merim,  lake,  857 
Merka,  936 
Merkusoord,  644 
Merrick,  Mount,  160 
Merrimack  river,  723,  725 
Mersey  estuary,  172 
Mersina,  443,  444 
Merthyr-Tydfil,  165 
Merv,  397,  417 
Mesa  Toar,  794 
Mesas  in  United  States,  673 ;  in 

Venezuela,  885 
Meseta  of  Spain,  368 
Meshiya,  916 
Meskineh,  448 
Mesopotamia,  436,  447-448 
Mesorea,  plain,  445 
Mesozoic  Formations,  Geological 

position  of,  51 
Messenia,  349 
Messina,  Strait  of,  358 
Mestizos,  787 

Meuse  (Maas)  river,  224,  229 
Mexcala  river,  776 
Mexican  Cordilleras,  775 ;  Indians, 

779  ;  (Nahuatl  Aztec)  language, 

779 
Mexico,  774-781  ;   City,  776,  781  ; 

City  rainfall,  777  ;  valley,  map, 

776  ;   Longitude  of,  31 
Mezas  mountains,  982 
Mezen,  393 

Miautse  or  Mantse  people,  527 
Michigan,  Lake,  old  outlet,  740 
Micronesia,  Origin  of,  41 
Micronesian    Islands.     653-656 ; 

Chain  of  Islands,  651 
Middle  Tunguska  river  426 
Middlesbrough,  177 
Middlesex,  name,  144 ;  Jamaica, 

804 

Mies,  307 

Migrations  of  Mankind,  97 
Mikados  of  Japan,  550 
Milan,  362,  363 
Mildura,  607 
Milford  Haven,  164 
Miliana,  912 
Mill,Dr.H.R.-England  andWales, 

161;  Geography,  Principles,  and 

Progress,  i  ;    Land  Forms,  46  ; 

The  Oceans,  60  ;  Scotland,  152  ; 

United  Kingdom,  138 
Millstone    grit,    165 ;    Geological 

position  of,  51 
Milwaukee,  site,  738 


Min  river,  524,  535 

Minahassa,  569 

Minas  Geraes,  866,  875 

Mindanao,  559 

Mindellp,  980 

Minho  river,  368,  380 

Minneapolis,  743 

Minnesota,  750,  751  ;  river,  743, 
750 

Minorca  island,  370 

Minsk,  403 

Miocene  Formation,  Geological 
position  of,  51 

Miquelon,  708 

Mira  river,  830 

Miranyas  people,  869 

Mirira  lake,  877 

Mirzapur,  489 

Misahohe,  973 

Mischabelhorner,  258 

Misery,  Mount,  808 

Misipnes,  territory,  854,  856 

Mississippi  delta,  749 ;  floods  in, 
57  ;  flood  plain,  749  ;  river,  743, 
748  ;  river  as  boundary,  712 

Missolonghi,  348 

Missouri,  751  ;  Coteau,  701  ;  high- 
lands, 752 ;  river,  756 

Mist.  76 

Misti,  volcano,  838 

Mitla,  779 

Mitreyitza,  341 

Mitshi  people,  970 

Mitta  Mitta  river,  602 

Mitylene  Island,  444 

Mixteco-Zapoteca  language,  779 

Mlanje,  Mount,  944, 948 

Moab,  449 

Mobile,  Ala.,  746 

Mozambique,  944,  945,  946 

Mockler-Ferryman,  Major  A.  F, 
Nigeria,  969 

Modling,  310 

Moen  Island,  210 

Mceris,  Lake,  924 

Moero  Lake,  see  Mweru 

Mogadishu,  936 

Mogador,  905 

Mog.^al  Empire,  480 

Mohammed  Ali,  925 

Mohammedanism  in  Asia,  437  ;  in 
Egypt,  926  ;  in  Europe,  134  :  in 
Niger  delta,  967;  in  Nigeria, 
970  ;  in  Persia,  460  ;  in  West 
Africa,  956 

Mohawk,  as  ancient  outlet  of 
Lake  Michigan,  742  ;  valley,  736 

Mohilev,  390 

Moi  tribe,  518 

Mok-po  river,  543 

Moiasse,  51 

Moldau  river,  307 

Moldavia,  province,  327 

Mole,  river,  180 

Molenbeek,  228 

Molise,  364 

Molocath  river,  904 

Mologa,  river,  389 

Molokai  island,  662 

Moluccas  islands,  570 

Mombasa  harbour  map,  937 

Mona  island,  800 

Mona  passage,  80 1 

Monadnocks,  59,  716 

Monastir,  341 

Monch,  mountain,  258 

Moncprvo,  382 

Moncton,  689 


1074        The  International  Geography 


Mondega,  cape,  382 

Mondego,  river,  381 

Mong-tse,  520 

Monghyr,  488 

Mongolia,  539 

Mongolia  or  Yellow  Race,  102, 105 

Mongols,  105 

Monmouth,  163,  164 

Mono  lake,  767 

Monoclinal  fold,  53 

Monongahela  river,  734 

Monrovia,  960 

Mons,  225 

Mons  Jovis  pass,  126 

Monsoon  region,  79  ;  of  Asia,  431 

Monsoons,  78 ;  and  ocean  cur. 
rents,  68  ;  of  India,  474 

Montagne  Noire,  234 

Mont  Cenis  pass,  126 

Montana,  756 

Monte  Rosa,  258 

Montego  bay,  804 

Montenegro,  337 

Monterey,  777 

Montevideo,  858,  859 

Montferrato  hills,  355 

Monti  Cristi  mountains,  801 

Montmorency  Fall,  690 

Montpellier,  253 

Montreal,  691  ;  temperature  and 
rainfall,  682 

Montreux,  264 

Montserrat,  807,  808 

Moonta,  619 

Moors  in  Algeria,  910  ;  in  Senegal, 
956  ;  in  Spain,  373 

Moore,  Mr.  J.  S.,  on  Lake  Tan- 
ganyika, 93 

Mooroopna,  609 

Moquegua,  838 

Moradabad,  489 

Morant  Cays,  805 

Morar,  Loch,  155 

Morava  valley,  332,  336 

Moravia,  308 

Moravian  Gate,  291 

Morawhanna,  88 1 

Morecambe  bay,  163 

Moreton  bay,  590 

Morlaix,  251 

Mormons,  766 

Mormugao,  502 

Morne  a  Garou,  810 

Morne  Diablotin,  807 

Morocco,  see  Marocco,  904 

Morro  Punti,  795 

Morvan,  234 

Moscow,  413 ;  Rainfall  and  tem- 
perature, 401 

Mosel,  River,  287 

Moseley,  Prof.  H.  S.,  94 

Mosi-a-tunya  Fall,  999 

Moskeneso,  199 

Moskva  river,  413 

Mosquito  Indians,  787 

Mossamedes,  984 

Mosses,  89 

Mossi  plateau,  955 

Mostaganem,  911 

Mostar,  324 

Mosul,  448 

Motala,  204  ;  river,  199 

Motatan  river,  886 

Motril,  372 

Moulmein,  see  Maulmein 

Mount  Desert,  723  ;  Gambier,  619 ; 
Morgan,  593  ;  Morgan  gold- 
mine, 592  ;  Royal,  690 


Mount's  Bay,  167 

Mountain  Chains,  53  ;  chains, 
origin  of,  37  .  Climates,  81  , 
Papuans  (Alfurs),  644  ;  defini- 
tion. 49 ,  and  Climate,  no ; 
Rainfall  on,  80 

Mourne  mountains,  188,  193 

Moravian  Gap.  308 

Moxo  people,  841 

Mozambique,  see  Mozambique, 
944  ;  Channel,  currents,  70 

Mpini,  974 

Msta,  River,  391,  393 

Muang-Tai  (Siam),  508 

Muar,  515 

Mudania,  443 

Mud  line,  definition,  95 

Muhlhausen,  287 

Muir,  Glacier,  770 

Muir,  Dr.  Thomas,  Cape  Colony, 
985 

Mukden,  538 

Mulattoes  in  Central  America,  787 

Mulde  district,  291  ;  river,  291 

Muldraughs  hill,  733 

Mull,  155 

Mullens,  Rev.  Dr.,  1015 

Miiller  Range,  622 

Multan,  490;  Temperature  and 
rainfall  of,  474 

Muluia  river,  904 

Miinchen,  284 

Munden,  288 

Munich  (Munchen),  284 

Munich,  Longitude  of,  31 

Muniong  mountains,  594 

Munster,  193 

Miinster,  294 

Munster's  "  Cosmographia,"  II 

Mur,  river,  303,  305 

Murchison  district,  W.A.,  625 

Murcia,  373,  377  ;  province,  371 

Murendat  river,  931 

Murghab  river,  397 

Murman  coast,  412 

Murray,  Sir  John — Antarctic  Re- 
gions, 1047  ;  Divisions  of  Earth's 
crust,  46  ;  on  the  mud-line,  95  ; 
The  Oceans,  60-71  ;  Theory  of 
coral  islands,  63 

Murray  district,  602  ;  river,  577, 
578,  594, 603,  609 

Murrumbidgee,  601 ;    river,    594, 

Murshidabad,  488 

Murua  Island,  635 

Murzuk,  918 

Muscat,  452,  456 

Muschelkalk,  Geological  position 

of,  51 

Muscovy  Company,  1025 
Mush,  444 
Musk    Ox   in    Arctic,    1039  ;    in 

Canada,  683 

Muskhogean  people,  106 
Muss  Alia  mountain,  332 
Mustapha  Superieur,  912 
Mustique  island,  810 
Muzo,  828 
Mweru,  lake,  947 
Myres,  J.  L.— Tripoli,  916 
Mysore,  473,  498 
Mytho,  519 


NADA  Island,  635 
Nadir,  definition,  15 
Nafa.  553 


Nagar,  499 

Nagar-Avely,  503 

Nagasaki,  553 

Naghamadi,  927 

Nagoya,  547,  552 

Nagpur,  493 

Naguabo,  800 

Nahr  el-Kebir  (Eleutherus)  river, 

448 

Nahr  ez-Zerka,  river,  450 
Nahua  tribe,  779 
Nahuatl  Aztec  language,  779 
Nahuel-Huapi.  lake,  850 
Naiguata  mountain,  887 
Nairn,  156 
Naivasha,  lake,  931 
Nak-tong  river,  543 
Nam,  Ing  river,  509  ;  Kok  river, 

509  ;  Loe  river,  509  ;  Mun  river, 

509  ;  Nan  river,  508 
Namaland,  1012 
Nam  aqua  people,  990 
Namuli  mountains,  944 
Nan-shan  mountains,  524,  533 
Nanchang,  533 
Nancowrie,  500 
Nancy,  250 
Nandi,  938 
Nangamessi,  572 
Nanking,  533 
Nankow  pass,  532 
Nansen,    Dr.    Fridtjof,  12,  1031 ; 

The  Arctic  Regions,  1033 
Nanshan,  mountains,  523 
Nantes,  251 
Nantucket,  726 

Naples  (Nappli),  364 ;  Tempera- 
ture and  rainfall  of,  359 
Napo  river,  831 
Napoli,  364 
Naranjal  basin,  831 
Narbada  river,  471 ;  valley,  473, 493 
Narellan,6oo 

Narenta.  324  ;  river,  313,  333 
Nares,  Sir  George,  Arctic  Voyage, 

1029 

Narev  river,  391 
Naricual,  887 
Narova,  river,  393 
Narragansett  bay,  723 
Nashville  basin,  733 
Nassarawa,  972 
Nassau,  803 

Natal,  993-997  ;  Brazil,  874 
Natalia,  995 
Natchez,  La,  750 
Nathorst,  Professor,  1032 
Nations,  definition,  109,  117 
Nauhcampatepetl,  775 
Naurouse,  Passage  of,  125 
Nauta,  816 
Navigation,  23 
Navigator  Islands,  653 
Naxos,  347,  349 
Naze,  The,  182 
N'Bundo  people,  983 
Neagh,  Lough,  188,  193 
Neapolitan  Appennines,  356 
Nearctic  region,  87 
Nebraska,  751,  759 
Neckar  basin,  285 
Nederlandsch  Oost  Indie,  560 
Nefuds,  452 
Negapatam,  494,  495 
Negri  Sembilan,  514 
Negritoes,  104 
Negro,  or  Ethiopic    Race,    102 ; 

river,  873 


Index 


1075 


Negroes  in  Africa,  897  ;  in  Central 
America,  787  ;  in  Nigeria,  970  ; 
in  Porto  Rico,  800 ;  in  South 
America,  822  ;  in  United  States, 
map,  747 

Neisse  river,  292 

Nejd,  452,  456 

Nejef,  448 

Nejran,  453 

Nekton,  definition,  90 

Nemours,  Algeria,  911 

Neogceic  Realm,  88 

Neolithic  Ages,  100 

Neotropical  region,  87 

Nepaul,  see  Nipal 

Nepean  river,  600 

Nerchinsk,  419 

Neritic  region,   definition  of  the, 

Nerone,  Monte,  356 

Ness,  Loch,  156 

Nestorians,  442 

Netherlands,  The,  216-223  ;  Con- 
figuration, map,  217  ;  History 
of,  136 

Netherlands  India  (Nederlandsch 
Oost  Indie),  557,  560 

Netze  river,  271 

Neuchatel,  canton,  264 

Neuhausen,  263 

Neuilly.  250 

Neu-Pommern  (New  Britain),  640 

Neuquen    river,    850  ;    territory, 

Neusiedler  lake,  316,  318 

Neva  river,  393,  410 

Nevada,  765 

Nevado  de  Colima,  775  ;  de 
Toluca,  775 

Nevis  island,  807,  808 

New  Almaden,  768  ;  Amsterdam, 
881  ;  Bedford,  725  ;  Benin,  968  ; 
Britain,  640  ;  Brunswick,  688- 
689  ;  Calabar,  968  ;  Caledonia, 
644-646 ;  Castile,  376  ;  Chaman, 
466,  467  ;  England,  721  ;  Eng- 
land mountains,  N.S.W.,  594 ; 
Forest,  181  ;  Georgia  Island, 
648  ;  Grenada,  827 ;  Guinea  or 
Papua,  635  ;  Hampshire,  723  ; 
Haven,  Conn.,  723  ;  Hebrides, 
646  ;  Holland,  584  ;  Ireland, 
640  ;  Kanawha  river,  728  ; 
Mexico,  762  ;  Orleans,  715,  749  ; 
Orleans,  site  map,  750 ;  Orleans, 
temperature  and  rainfall,  675  ; 
Providence,  803  ;  Ross,  193  ; 
Siberian  Islands,  1046 ;  South 
Wales,  593-601  ;  South  Wales, 
rabbit-proof  fences  map,  595  ; 
Spain,  780  ;  Westminster,  B.C., 
700 ;  Westminster,  temperature 
and  rainfall,  682  ;  World,  36 ; 
York,  727,  729  ;  York  City,  715, 
730 ;  York,  temperature  and 
rainfall,  675  ;  Zealand,  627-634  ; 
Zealand,  railway  map  of,  633 

Newara  Eliya.  504 

Newburgh,  N.Y.,  736 

Newcastle- on -Tyne,  151,  169; 
Natal,  994  ;  N.S.W.,  596,  600 

Newchwang,  538 

Newer  Appalachian  Belt,  717,  727 

Newfoundland,  704-707  ;  Grand 
Banks  of,  69,  722 

Newhaven,  180 

Newnes.Sir  George,  and  Antarctic 
Exploration,  1048 

70 


Newport,  Mon.,  165  ;  R.I.,  723 

Ngami  Lake,  1003 

Nganhwei,  533 

Nganking,  533 

Ngansichou.  539 

Ngauruhoe  mountain,  628 

Nguru  mountains,  941 

Niagara,  735  ;  Escarpment,  694  ; 
Gorge,  742  ;  and  the  Great 
Lakes,  741:  river,  681 

Niaouli  tree,  645 

Niari-Quillu  river,  958 

Nicaragua,  789  ;  Lake,  784,  785  ; 
physical  geography,  784;  sea- 
ports, 788  ;  ship  canal,  785 

Nice,  241,  253 

Nickel,  in  Canada,  694 ;  in  New 
Caledonia,  646 

Nicomedia,  443 

Nicosia  (Levkosia),  446 

Nicoya  Gulf,  783 

Nictheroy,  876 

Nielsen,  Prof.  Yngvar — The  Scan- 
dinavian Peninsula,  197-202 

Niger  basin,  892  ;  Coast  Protec- 
torate, 965-968;  delta,  climate, 
966  ;  delta,  map,  965  ;  river, 
QOO.  954.  955.  958,  969 

Nigeria,  969-972 

Nihon  (Nippon),  545 

Niigata,  547,  55L  553  :  Tempera- 
ture and  rainfall  of,  547 

Nijmegen,  222 

Nikki,  958 

Nikko,  548 

Nikobar  islands,  500 

Nikolayev,  409, 415 

Nile,  basin,  892  ;  delta,  map,  921 ; 

-    river,  920,  930 

Nilotic  peoples,  933 

Nilgiri  hills,  472,  494 

Nimes,  253 

Nimrud  Dagh  mountain,  440 

Nineveh,  448 

Ningpo,  535 

Nipal,  503 

Nipe,  798 

Nipigon,  lake,  694 


Nippon,  545 
Nish,  336 


336 

Nisyros  island,  444 

Nithsdale,  160 

Nitrate  of  soda  in  Chile,  844,  846 

Niuchwang  (Newchwang),  538 

Nizarites,  453 

Nizhnii- Novgorod,  406,  414 

IVonni  river,  539 

Nordenfjeldske,  district,  206 

Nordenskiold,  Baron  A.  E.,  1029 ; 
Sea,  423  :  Dr.  O.,  explorer,  1048 

Nore  river,  193 

Norfolk,  U.S.,  729  ;  Va.,  site,  720  ; 
Island,  boi 

Norge,  205 

Noric  Alps,  316 

Norman  Conquest,  144 

Normandy,  250 

Normanton,  591 

Norrkoping,  204 

Norrland,  204 

North  America,  climate,  673 ; 
America,  configuration  map, 
670  ;  America,  Continent  of, 
664-678  ;  America,  map  of 
glaciation,  669 ;  Carolina  shores, 
720  ;  Dakota,  750  ;  Devon, 
Arctic  America,  1046  ;  Downs, 
180;  -East  Land,  1044;  -East 


Passage,  n,  1026,  1029 ;  Ger- 
man Low  Plain,  292  ;  Island, 
N.Z.,  627,  629;  Magnetic  Pole, 
1028  ;  Mountains,  686  ;  Polar 
Regions,  1025-1046  ;  Sea,  Circu- 
lation of,  67  ;  Shields,  151,  170  ; 
-West  Passage,  11,1026,1028; 
-West  Provinces  of  India,  488  ; 
-Western  Territories  of  Canada, 
702 

Northern,  Dvina  river,  399  ; 
Rhodesia,  946  ;  Territory,  South 
Australia,  614,  619;  Zambezia, 
946  «» 

Northers  of  Texas,  755 

Northam,  W.A.,  626 

Northampton,  178 

Northumberland,  coal-field,  150, 
169  ;  county,  168 ;  Strait,  686, 
687 

Northumbria,  153 

Northwich,  174 

Norway,  205-207 

Norwegian,  language,  214  ;  Sea,  61 

Norwich,  182 

Nosibe  island,  1016 

Nosob  river,  1012 

Notogceic  Realm,  88 

Notre-Dame,  Bay,  705  ;  Moun- 
tains, 690 

Nottingham,  170  ;  coal-field,  150  ; 
county,  171,  174 

Notwani  river,  1002 

Nou  island,  646 

Noumea,  645,  646 

Nouvelle  Caledonie,  644 

Nova  Goa,  502 

Nova  Scotia,  685-687 

Novaya  Zemlya,  423,  1045 

Novgorod,  392 

Novi-Bazar,  343 

Novo-Georgievsk,  409 

Nu-Aruak  people,  822,  869 

Nuevitas,  798 

Nuevo  Leon,  777 

Nuka-Hiva  island,  658 

Nupe,  people,  971  . 

Nuremberg,  286 

Niirnberg  (Nuremberg),  286 

Nusa-laut  island,  571 

Nutmeg  in  the  Moluccas,  571 

Nutrias,  885 

Nuyts  Land,  617 

Nyasa,  Lake,  942,  947  ;  discovery, 
901 

Nyasaland,  946 

Nyborg,  210 

Nyika,  937 

Nyong  river,  974 


OAHU  Island,  662 
Oases,  of  Libyan  Desert,  928; 
of  the  Sahara,  map,  905 

Oats  in  United  Kingdom,  148 

Ob  river,  397,  398 

Ob-Irtysh  region,  426 

Obidos,  873 

Obsequent  rivers,  definition,  59 

Ocean,  Basins,  General  form  of 
60 ;  Basins,  Permanence  of,  65 
boundary,    113 ;    current,    68 
depth,  greatest,  60  ;   drift,   68 
functions  of,  71  ;  as  a  highway, 
71 ;  river,  8  ;  surface  tempera- 
ture, 65 

Oceania,  649 

Oceanic,  climate,  81 ;  civilisation, 


1076        The  International  Geography 


8  ;  deposits,  64  ;  islands,  defini- 
tion, 62 ;  plateau,  47 

Oceans,  60-71  ;  Circulation  of,  68  ; 
origin  of,  41  ;  in  political  geo- 
graphy, 1 20 ;  salinity  of,  63 

Ochil  Hills,  157 

Ocos,  788 

Ocreza  river,  381 

Odenae,  210 

Odeondo,  968 

Oder  river,  270,  291,  294,  308 

Odessa,  415 

Odyi  river,  998 

Oea  (Tripoli),  917 

Oesterreich  (Austria),  300 

Oetanata  river,  643 

Oetzthal,  306 

Ofanto,  River,  357 

Ofoten  fjord,  204 

Ogasawara-jima,  545 

Ogowe  river,  892,  958 

Oguta,  968 

O'Higgini,     General,    in     Chile, 

Ohio,  region,  735 ;  region,  glacial 
action  in,  738  ;  river,  732,  737, 
744  ;  river  as  boundary,  712 

Oich,  Loch,  156 

Oil,  Islands,  1023  ;  palm  in  Niger 
delta,  966  ;  seeds  in  India,  484 
Oiibwaya  tribe,  683 

Oka  river,  390,  414 
Okavango  river,  1003,  1012 

Oker  river,  293 

Okhotsk,  Sea  of,  398,  424 

Okhvat,  lake,  391 

Okinawa  island,  553 

Okinawa-ken,  553 

Oklahoma,  759 

Oland,  Island,  199 

Olekma,  river,  400 

Oleleh,  566 

Old,  Calabar,  967  ;  Castile,  376  ; 
Red  Sandstone  formation,  Geo- 
logical position  of,  51  ;  Servia, 
343 

Old,  World,  36  ;  World,  Structure 
of,  40 

Oldenburg,  293 

Older  Appalachian  belt,  717,  722 

Oldham,  173 

Olifant's  river,  1007 

Oligocene  Formation,  Geological 
position  of,  51 

Olinda,  875 

Olive  trees  in  France,  244  ;  in 
Italy,  360  ;  in  Palestine,  450  ;  in 
Spain,  374  ;  in  Tunisia,  914 

Olfusa,  river,  213 

Olmiitz,  309 

Olonets,  392 

Olten,  264 

Orympus,  345;  Mount,  439 
mountain,  Cyprus,  445 

Omaha,  759 

Oman,  455  ;  district,  453 

Omatoko,  Mount,  1012 

Ombay  islet,  572 

Omdurman,  925 

Omi,  547 

Omo  river,  931 

Omotepe  volcano,  784 

Omsk,  418 

Onega,  Lake,  128,  393 

Onetapu  plains,  630 

Onilahy  river,  1016 

Onin,  642 

Ontake  mountain,  546 


Ontario,  692-695  ;  during  the  Ice 

Age,  742  :  peninsula,  693 
Oolite,  Geological  position  of,  51 
Oolitic  Escarpment,  161,  177 
Oozes,  Oceanic,  38 
Opium  in  China,  526;  in  India, 

484 

Opobo,  968 
Oporto,  381,  384 
Orsefajokull,  213 
Oran,  911  ;  department,  907 
Orange,  253  ;  N.S.W.,  600 ;  basin, 

892 ;  Free  State,   1005  ;    River, 

986,  1004,  1012  ;  River  Colony, 

1004-6 ;  River  Sovereignty,  1005 
Oranges  in  Jamaica,  804 
Oranienbaum,  411 
Orbe,  river,  258 
Orchids,  epiphytic,  93 
Ordnance  Survey,  29 
Ordovician  Formation,  Geological 

position  of,  51 
Oregon,  764,  765 ;  acquisition  of, 

711 

Orellana,  871 
Orenburg,  416 
Oresund,  197 
Orfordness,  182 
Oriental,  or  Indian    region,   87 ; 

province  of  Ecuador,  833 
Oring-nor,  lake,  541 
Orinoco,  delta,  813  ;  river,  816,  884 
Orissa,  486,  487 
Orizaba,  mountain,  775 
Orkney,  155 
Orleans,  251 
Orleansville,  912 
Ormuz,  strait,  425 
Oro  province,  833 
Orontes  river,  448,  449 
Ortelius,  cartographer,  n 
Orthographic  projection,  221 
Orthography     of     Geographical 

names,  33 

Ortler  mountain,  302 
Oruro,  842 
Osage  river,  753 
Osaka,  552 
Oscar,  Frederiksborg,  204 ;  Land, 

1044 

Oshima  island,  553 
Osnabriick,  289 
Osterdal,  199 
Qstergotland,  204 
Ostersund,  204 
Ostrich,  in  Africa,  897  ;  feathers 

in  Cape  Colony,  987 
Ostro-Goths,  260 
Otaheite,  656 
Othere,  Voyage  of,  1025 
Otomi  language,  779 
Ottawa,  695 

Ottilia  (Ramu)  river,  639 
Ottoman,   Empire,    340 ;    Turks, 

436 

Otway,  Cape,  602 
Ouachita    Mountains,    753,    759 ; 

ridges,  673 
Oudh,  488 
Ourique,  380 
Ouro  Preto,  875 

Ouse,  river,  171,   180 ;    as  boun- 
dary, 162 
Ovalu  Island,  653 
Ovampo  people,  1013 
Ovens  river,  602 
Overysel,  222 
Oviedo,  374,  376 


Ovifak  (Uifak),  1041 

Ovis  Poli,  403 

Owari,  552 

O-Wassa  mountain,  953 

Owen  Stanley  range,  635 

Owhyhee  (Hawaii),  661 

Oxford,  177 

Oxus  river,  397,  465 

Oyapok  river,  883 

Ozark  Plateau,  752,  753 

PACARAIMA  Mountains,  879 
Pacaya,  volcano,  783 

Pachitea,  839 

Pacific,  Islands,  649  ;  Ocean,  Cur- 
rents of,  70 ;  Ocean,  Origin  of, 
41  ;  Ocean,  Position  of,  61 ; 
Slope  of  Siberia,  398  ;  Slope  of 
United  States,  767-771 ;  Tides 
of,  65  ;  Volcanic  Area,  425 

Padang,  566 ;  highlands,  565 

Padre  Island,  Tex.,  754 

Padua,  363 

Pago-pago,  island,  654 

Pahang,  515 

Pahoin  people,  959 

Paijanne,  lake,  392 

Paik-u-san,  543 

Paisley,  159 

Paloearctic  region,  87 

Palaeocrystic  Sea,  1029 

Palaeolithic  Ages,  100 

Palaeozoic  Formations,  Geological 
position  of,  51 

Palapye,  1003 

Palatinate,  Bavarian,  286 

Palatines,  276 

Palawan,  island,  559 

Palembang,  566  ;  river,  564 

Palenque,  779 

Palermo,  365 

Palm-oil,  in  Gold  Coast,  964  ;  in 
Ivory  Coast,  957 ;  in  Niger 
Delta,  968  ;  in  Nigeria,  970 ;  in 
Sierra  Leone,  963 

Palma,  377  ;  Island,  952 

Palmas,  Cape,  959 

Palmer  gold-field,  591,  592 

Palmerston,  619 

Palms  in  Egypt,  922 

Palmyra  island,  658 

Palti  (Yamdok-tso)  lake,  541 

Pamirs,  49,  396,  427,  464,  470, 
540 

Pamlico  sound,  718 

Pampa,  820  ;  region,  South  Ame- 
rica, 815 

Pampas,  89,  852;  territory,  856 

Pamplona,  376 

Pan  Guajaibon,  794 

Panama,  828  ;  isthmus,  824  ;  pro- 
vince. 827 . 

Panaro  river,  356 

Panay  Island,  558,  559 

Pangani  river,  941 

Pangkar  islands,  514 

Panic,  Mont,  645 

Panikotta,  502 

Panjab,  471,  489  ;  climate,  476 

Panjabi  language,  479 

Panjim,  502 

Panes  (people),  869 

Pantar  islet,  572 

Papeete,  657 

Papua  (New  Guinea),  635;  Gulf 
of,  636 

Papuan  people,  637 

Papuans,  104,  644 


Index 


1077 


Para,  873  ;  temperature  and  rain- 
fall, 819 

Paraguassu  river,  875 

Paraguay,  859-862 ;  river,  850,  860 

Parahiba,  do  Norte,  874 ;  river, 
874 

Parallax,  definition,  14 

Paramaribo,  882 

Paramillo,  824 

Paramos  in  Andes,  826 

Parana,  854 ;  State,  876 ;  river, 
850,  860,  874,  876 

Paranagua,  876 

Paranapanema  river,  876 

Paraguana  peninsula,  886 

Pardo  river,  875 

Pare,  mountain,  941 

Paria,  lake,  840 

Parima,  Point,  834 

Paris,  246,  250 ;  longitude  of,  31  ; 
Tertiary  Basin,  235,  236 

Parit  Jawa,  515 

Park,  Mungo,  Explorer,  900 

Parks  in  Rocky  Mountains,  763 

Parnahyba  river,  874 

Parnassus,  345 

Parnkalla  language,  584 

Paros,  island,  349 

Parramatta,  600 

Parry,  Sir  Edward,  Arctic  Voyage, 
1027 

Parsi,  people,  479 

Pasir,  568 

Pass,  definition,  50 

Passes  of  the  Mississippi,  749 

Pastaza  river,  830 

Pasterze  glacier,  304 

Pasto,  mountain,  824 

Patagonia,  850  ;  Pampa  Area,  815 

Patagonian,  people,  822;  platform, 

Patani,  State,  509 

Patmos,  island,  444 

Patna,  487 

Patos,  lake,  877 

Patras,  349 

Patzcuaro,  lake,  776 

Pau,  252 

Pauillac,  252 

Paumotu  Island  Chain,  651,  657    , 

Paute,  river,  830 

Pavia,  363 

Pavlovsk,  411 

Payer,  Lieutenant,  1030 ;   Arctic 

Voyage,  1029 
Pays  de  Caux,  250 
Paysandu,  857,  859 
Payta,  837 
Peace  river,  681,  698 
Peak,  district  of  Derbyshire,  168  ; 

of  Tenerife  (Picode  Teyde),  952 
Pearl  river,  535 
Peary,  Mr.  R.  E.,  Arctic  explorer, 

1032 

Pechili,  531 
Pechora  river,  399 
Pecos  river,  759 
Pedro  Cays,  805 
Pedrotalagalla,  504 
Peel,  186 ;  river,  600 
Pegnitz  river,  286 
Pegu,  496 

Pei-ho  (Southern)  river,  531,  535 
Peipus,  128 ;  Lake,  393 
Pekan,  515 

Peking,  531 :  climate,  526 
Pelagic,  definition,  90 ;  deposits, 

64 ;  fauna,  origin  of,  95  j 


Pelasgians,  107 

Pelee,  Mont,  809 

Peleponnesus,  348 

Pelew  islands,  655 

Peloritanian  mountains,  358 

Pelvoux,  Mont,  237 

Pemba  Island,  939 

Pembroke,  164 

Penang,  513 

Penck,  Prof.  A  ,  48  ;  Austria,  302  ; 
Austria-Hungary,  298  Bosnia 
and  Herzegovina,  324 

Pendactylon  mountain,  445 

Peneplain,  definition,  58,  59 

Peniche  peninsula,  379 

Peninsula,  Cape,  985 

Pennine  Alps,  258 ;  Chain,  163, 
168 

Pennsylvania.  718,  727,  733 

Penobscot  river,  723 

Pentapolis,  917 

Pentland  Firth,  155  ;  Hills,  157 

Penrhyn  island,  658 

Penzance,  167 

Pepper  in  Sumatra,  566 

Pera,  342 

Peradeniya,  506 

Perak,  514 

Perdu,  Mont,  371 

Perihelion,  72 

Per ipli= Compass  Charts,  26 

Perim  island,  452,  455 

Perm,  414 

Permian  Formation,  Geological 
position  of,  51 

Pernambuco,  874 

Persia,  457-463  ;  Telegraph  map, 
462 

Persian  Gulf,  Origin  of,  41 

Perth,  157 ;  county.  156,  157 ; 
W.A.,  625  ;  W.A.,  Temperature 
and  Rainfall,  580 

Peru,  834-840  ;  railways,  map, 
837 

Perugia,  364 

Pescadores  islands,  553 

Peschel,  Otto,  geographer,  12 

Peshawar,  467,  490 

Pest,  321 

Pet,  Arctic  Voyage,  1025 

Peten,  lake,  785  ;  plain,  783,  786 

Peter  Botte  mountain,  1021 

Peter's  Island,  807 

Peterborough,  178 

Peterhead,  156 

Peterhof,  411 

Petermann,  Land,  1044 ;  Peak, 
1040 

Petherick,  Edward  A.— New  South 
Wales,  593;  South  Australia, 
614  ;  Victoria,  602 

Petit  Codiac  river,  689 

Petriu,  508 

Petrokow,  405 

Petroleum  in  Caucasus,  416 ;  in 
Pennsylvania,  733 

Petropolis,  875 

Peulh  people,  956 

Peunong  tribe,  518 

Pevensey,  181 

Pezo  da  Regua,  381 

Pfeil,  Graf  von— German  East 
Africa,  940 ;  German  New 
Guinea,  639 ;  German  South- 
West  Africa,  1012  ;  German 
West  Africa,  972  ;  Kiau-chou, 
538  ;  Marshall  Islands,  654 

Phanar.  342 


Philadelphia,   Pa.,  715,  720,  730; 

Anatolia,  443 
Philippeville,  912 
Philippine  islands,  558-559 
Philippopolis.  339 
Philippson,  Dr.  A.— Danubian  and 

Balkan  States,  327-351 
Phillip,  Governor,  507 
Phipps,  Arctic  voyage,  1027 
Phlegraean  fields,  357 
Phoenician  colonies,  118,  917 
Phosphate    in    Algeria,    908 ;    in 

Florida,  747 ;  in  Redonda,  807 
Phu-lang-thuong,  520 
Physical    Geography,    definition, 

Physiography,  definition,  2 

Phyto-Geographical  regions,  88 

Fiacenza,  363 

Piauhi,  874 

Pichincha,  mountain,  830;  pro- 
vince, 833 

Pico  de  Penalara,  369  ;  de  Teyde. 
952  ;  de  Vara  Mountain,  384 ; 
del  Turguino,  794  ;  Island,  384 ; 
Mountain,  384  ;  Ruivo,  384 

Picos  de  Europa  (Torre  de  Cer- 
redo),  371 

Pictou  Harbour,  686 

Picts,  people,  144,  153 

Piedmont,  355,  363 

Pietermaritzburg,  994 

Pilatus,  mountain,  258 

Pilcomayo  river,  841,  850 

Pile-dwellings,  Lacustrine,  101 

Pillars  of  Hercules,  378 

Pillau,  294 

Pilot  Knob,  Mo.,  753 

Pilsen,  308 

Pinar  del  Rio,  797  ;  province,  795 

Pindus,  district,  348  ;  range,  345 

Pine-apples,  in  Cuba,  797 

Pine,  Creek,  619 ;  forests  of  Gulf 
States,  745;  ridges,  786 

Pinega  river,  399 

Pines,  Isle  of,  Cuba,  794  ;  New 
Caledonia,  644 

Pinzon,  Vicente  Janez,  Dis- 
coverer, 870 

Piraeus.  348 

Piranhas  river,  874 

Pisa,  361,  364 

Pisco,  838 

Pitcairn  island,  659 

Pitch  lake,  Trinidad,  8n 

Piton,  de  la  Fournaise,  1024 ;  de 
la  Riviere  Noire,  1021 ;  des 
Neiges,  1024 

Pitons,  mountains,  809 

Pitt  river,  767 

Pittsburg,  Pa.,  734 

Piura,  837 

Piz  Kesch,  259 

Pizarro  in  Peru,  836 

Placentia  Bay,  705 

Plains,  Kinds  of,  49 

Plankton,  definition,  90 

Plans,  28 

Plants  and  Animals,  Distribution 
of,  83 

Plateau,  definition,  49 

Plate  river,  857 

Platte  river,  758,  759 

Platten  lake,  318 

Playa,  800 

Playas,  definition,  766 

Playfair,  Sir  R.  Lambert— Aden, 
454  ;  Algeria,  906  ;  Cyprus,  445  ; 


1078        The  International  Geography 


Gibraltar,  37»-379 ;  Malta,  366, 
367  ;  Marocco,  904 ;  Perim,  455 

Plaza  Almanzor  mountain,  369 

Pleffer  on  Shore  fauna,  91 

Pleisse  river,  291 

Pleistocene  Formation,  Geolo- 
gical position  of,  51 

Plenty,  Bay  of,  627 

Plevna.  339 

Pliocene  Formation,  Geological 
position  of,  51 

Ploesci,  329 

Plutonic  rocks,  52 

Plymouth,  167 ;  Mass.,  722,  726  ; 
Montserrat,  808 

Po,  River,  355,  363 ;  Valley  of, 
125 

Podgoritza,  337 

Podolian  plateau,  311,  312 

Poik  river,  303 

Poitiers,  252 

Poitou,  Strait  of,  235 

Pokomo  people,  933 

Pola,  315 

Poland,  276, 300,  313,  412  ;  History 
of,  136 

Polar  Eddy,  Atmospheric,  81 

Polar  Regions,  The,  1025-1052  ; 
Regions,  Climates  of,  81 

Polarity,  3 

Polders,  definition.  217 ;  at  Am- 
sterdam, 222 

Poles  of  Earth,  definition,  15 

Poles,  people,  312;  in  Germany, 
276 

Political  Geography,  109-121  ; 
definition,  5 

Polino,  Monte,  357 

Polynesia,  Origin  of,  41;  Southern, 
656 

Pomaks,  343 

Pomarao,  381 

Pomaria,  912 

Pomerania,  294 

Pomeroon  river,  879 

Pomona  island,  155 

Pompeii,  365 

Pomponius  Mela,  Map  of,  8 

Ponapi  Island,  655 

Ponce,  800  ;  de  Leon,  798 

Pondicherry,  503 

Pondo  people,  990 

Pondoland,  992 

PongodeManseriche,835;  people, 
959 

Ponta  Delgada,  384 

Pontevedra,  376 

Pontianak,  568 

Pontic  Coast  range,  439 

Ponupo,  797 

Ponza,  island,  353 

Poona,  492 

Poopo  lake,  840 

Popocatepetl,  mountain,  775 

Population,  maps,  34;  of  Asia, 
435  •  of  the  World,  108 

Porta  Westfalica,  289 

Portas  do  Rodam,  381 

Port,  Adelaide,  619  ;  Albert,  602  ; 
Antonio,  804  ;  Arthur,  409,  419, 
539  ;  -au- Prince,  802  ;  Augusta, 
S.A.,  614,  619  ;  aux  Basques,  707  ; 
Blair.soo;  Chalmers,  628;  Curtis, 
588  ;  592  ;  Darwin,  619;  Darwin, 
(Falkland),864  ;Darwin,tempera- 
ture  and  rainfall,  580  ;  Dickson, 
515 ;  Elizabeth,  985,  991,  992  ; 
Essington,  619;  Fairy,  609; 


Jackson,  599 ;  Lincoln,  S.A.,  614 
619 ;  Louis,  Mauritius,  1022  ; 
Melbourne,  608  ;  Moresby,  636, 
638;  Natal,  995;  Nicholson, 
627  ;  of  Spain,  812  ;  Phillip,  585, 

602  ;    Phillip,   map,  608  ;   Pirie, 
619  ;    Royal,    804  ;    Said,    927  ; 
Simpson,    697 ;    Victoria,  Sey- 
chelles, 1023  ;  Weld,  514 

Portage  la  Prairie,  696 

Portages,  690 

Portland,  177  ;  Bay,  605  ;  District, 

603  ;  Me.,  723  ;  Ore.,  769 ;  Vic- 
toria, 609 

Porto,  Alegre,  877  ;  Grande,  980 ; 

Rico,  798-801  ;  Santo  Island,  384 
Portrush,  193 
Portsmouth,  181  ;  Dominica,  807  ; 

N.H.,  723 

Portugal,  379-385 ;  Origin  of,  135 
Portuguesa  river,  885 
Portuguese,  Colonies,    Statistics, 

385  ;      East     Africa,    944-946  ; 

Guinea,    980-981  ;    India,   502- 

503  ;  Timor,  573  ;  West  Africa, 

979-984 ;    in    Africa,    900  ;    in 

East  Africa,  937 
Posen,  292,  293 

Position,  Determination  of,  18 
Post-Tertiary = Quaternary,  51 
Potatoes  in  Germany,  280 
Poti,  416 

Potomac  river,  718,  729 
Potosi  mines,  820,  842 
Potteries,  The,  175 
Poty  river,  874 
Poughkeepsie,  N.Y.,  736 
Powell  in  Antarctic,  1048 
Poyang  Lake,  524,  530,  533 
Pozsony  (Pressburgj,  322  ;  basin, 

3i6 

Pozzuoli,  364 
Pra  river,  963 
Praga,  Poland,  412 
Prague  (Prag,  Praha),  308 
Praia,  980 
Prairie,    as    a    misnomer,    757 ; 

Steppe,  695 
Prairies,  89,  673  ;  and  population, 

737  ;  and  trees,  739 
Praslin  island,  1023 
Prayag,  488 
Prealpi,  126 
Precipitation,  76 
Pregel  river,  294 
Prehistoric  Age,  101 
Presidios,  377 
Pressburg,  322 
Preston,  173 
Pretoria,  ion 
Pribilof  Islands,  770 
Prince,  Charles  Foreland,   1044  ; 

Edward  Island,  687  ;  of  Wales' 

Island,    513 ;     Rupert's    Town, 

807 

Princes  island,  981 
Princess  Royal  Harbour,  620,  625 
Princeton,  mountain,  760 
Principe  (Princes)  island,  981 
Pripet  river,  313,  390 
Prisrend,  343 
Progreso,  781 

Projection  for  maps,  20-23 
Propontis,  330 
Provence,  239 
Providence,  R.I.,  723,  726 
Province,  of  South  Australia,  614  ; 

Wellesley,  513 


Provincetown,  Mass.,  726 
Provincial  Districts  in  New  Zea- 
land, 634 
Prusa,  444 
Prussia,  278,  293 
Prussians,  275 
Pruth  r.ver,  313,  327,  329 
Przemysl,  313 

Przhevalski,  Col.,  explorer,  540 
Przibram,  307 
Pskov,  Lake,  393 
Ptolemais,  916 
Ptolemy,  26,  584  ;  Editions  of,  n  ; 

Maps  of,  9 
Fuern  tea,  535 
Puerto,  Barrios,  788  ;  Cabello,  887  ; 

Colombia,    828  ;    Cortez,    788  ; 

Limon,  788  ;  Montt,  848  ;  Plata, 

802 ;     Prado,  839 ;     Princessa, 

559  ;    Principe   Province,   795 ; 

Real  de  Cabo  Rojo,  800  ;  Villa- 

mizar,  886 
Puget  sound,  768 
Pulkova,  Longitude  of,  31 
Pulkovo,  411 
Pulo  Pertj  a,  565 
Pulque,  778 
Puma  in  Chile,  845 
Puna,  definition,  834  ;  island,  831 ; 

region,  821 

Pungwe  river,  945,  998,  1002 
Punjab,  see  Panjab 
Puno,  836,  839 
Punta,  Arenas,  Chile,  848  ;  Arenas 

(Costa  Rica),  788  ;  Gallinas,  813  ; 

Parina,  813 

Purace,  mountain  825 
Purari  river,  636 
Pygmies  in  East  Africa,  934 
Pyramids  of  Ghizeh,  924 
Pyramus  river,  440 
Pyrenean-Cantabrian  mountains, 

369 ;  Region  of  France,  235 
Pyrenees,  235,  237,  371  ;  Relative 

extent  of,  396 ;  ranges,  Brazil, 

874 ;  Victoria,  602 
Pytheas,    143  ;    explorations,   8 ; 

Voyage  of,  1025 


gLJANG-TRI  (Kwang-tri)  517 
Quarnero,  Gulf,  323 
tzite,  52 
ernary    Formations,   Geolo- 
gical position  of,  51 
Quathlamba  mountains,  1007 
Quebec,  city,  692  ;  province,  689- 
692 

euechuan  people,  107 
ueen,  Charlotte  sound,  697  ;  Vic- 
toria desert,  622 
ueen's  channel,  614 

nborough,  152 
ueenscliH,  609 
ueensland,  587 
ueenstown,  194 
ueguay  river,  857 
uelimane  branch,  945 
uelpart,  543 
ueretaro,  780 
tta,  466,  499 
tzal,  786 
uezaltenango,  785,  789 
zaltepeque,  volcano,  784 
iche,  787 
uichua,  in  Bolivia,  841 ;  language 
in  Ecuador,  832  :  language  in 
Peru,  836  ;  people,  822 


Index 


1079 


Qumcy,  111.,  744 
Quindiu  pass,  826 
Quirinal,  The,  364 
Quito,  833 ;  basin,  830 ;  tempera 
ture  and  rainfall,  819 

RABAT,  905 
Rabba,  972 

.Rabbit-proof  fences  of  New  South 
Wales,  map,  595 

Rabcza  river,  316 

Races  of  mankind,  102 ;  in  Africa, 
map,  897  ;  of  the  world,  108 

RadaK,  atolls,  654 

Rae,  Dr.  John,  Arctic  Exploration, 
1028 

Rafai.  959 

Raffles  Bay,  619 

JRaffles,  Sir  Stamford  and  Singa- 
pore, 512 

Ragatz,  263 

Ragged  Island,  803 

Railways  in  Africa,  map,  902  ; 
in  Argentina,  map.  853  ;  of 
Australia,  map,  585  ;  of  Belgium, 
map,  227  ;  of  Britain,  map,  185  ; 
of  China,  531  ;  of  Cuba,  map, 
797  ;  of  Europe,  137  ;  of  France, 
246,  247  ;  of  India,  map,  485  ;  of 
New  Zealand,  map,  633 ;  of 
North  America,  map,  677  ;  of 
Peru,  map,  837  ;  on  the  Prairies, 
738  ;  of  Victoria,  609 

Rainfall,  76  ;  Influence  of  Moun- 
tains on,  785  ;  of  Africa,  894  ; 
map  of  Australia,  580  ;  of 
Europe,  map,  130  ;  of  India, 
maps,  475;  of  South  America, 
818 

Rainier,  Mount,  767 

Raipur,  493 

Raised-beaches,  39 ;  Scotland,  153 

Rajputana,  496 

Rakan  river,  564 

Raleigh,  N.C.,  site,  720 

Ralik,  atolls,  654 

Ralum,  641 

Rameswaram  islands,  504 

Ramsay,  186 

Ramsgate,  181 

Ramu  river,  639 

Ranau,  566  ;  lake,  564 

Rand,  Transvaal,  map,  1009 

Rangoon,  496 

Rannoch,  Loch,  156 

Rapa  Nui  island,  659 

Raratonga  islands,  656 

Ras  el-Hadd,  452 

Ras  Kasar,  935 

Ratisbon,  285 

Raveneau,  Prof.  L. — General  Geo- 
graphy of  France,  239-255 

Ravenna,  363 

Ravenstein,  E.  G. — Maps  and  Map 
Reading,  26 

Ravenswood  gold-field,  592 

Ravi  river,  490 

Rawalpindi,  490 

Rawlinson  mountains,  New  Gui- 
nea, 639 

Razorback,  Mount,  614 

Reaction  Currents,  67 

Reading,  179 

Rebmann,  Explorer,  900 

Recent  Formation,  Geological 
position  of,  51 

Recife,  875 

Reclus,  Elisee,  12 


Red,  Basin  of  China,  522,  532, 534  ; 
Clay,  65  ;  River  of  the  North, 
696,  750  ,  River  Rafts,  754  ; 
River  Settlement,  696  ;  River 
of  Tongking,  516  ;  Sea,  circula- 
tion of,  64,  66  ;  Sea  Hills,  929 

Redjang  river,  567 

Redon,  251 

Rednitz  river,  285 

Redonda  island,  807 

Re-entrant  =  incurve  of  the  coast, 
668 

Reeves,  Hon.  W.  P.— New  Zea- 
land, 627 

Regel,  Dr.  Fritz,  Colombia,  824 

Regensburg  (Ratisbon),  285 

Regina,  702 

Reichenberg,  308 

Reims,  245,  249 

Reindeer  in  Ar  ctic,  1039 

Reka  river,  303 

Relict  mountai  ns,  55 

Relief  maps,  34 

Religion    in    Germany,  278 

Religions  of  Asia,  437;  ofSwitze 
land,  map,  261 

Reloncavi,  Gulf,  848 

Remscheid,  288 

Renfrew,  159 

Renmark,  618 

Rennell  island,  648 

Rennes,  251 

Reno,  river,  356 

Republica,  May  or  de  Centroame- 
rica,  787  ;  One  ntal  del  Uruguay, 
856 

Reservoir  on  the  Nile,  922 

Rethymnon,  350 

Reunion,  1024 

Reuss,  290  ;  river,  258 

Rewah,  497 

Reykjavik,  215 

Rhat,  918 

Rhaetic  Formation,  geological 
position  of,  51 

Rheingau,  287 

Rhine,  Highlands,  268,  287  ;  Pro- 
vince, 294  ;  river,  216,  257,  270, 
285;  valley  of,  125 

Rhodanian  depression,  236 

Rhode  Island,  723 

Rhodes,  island,  444 

Rhodesia,  997 

Rhodope,  338  ;  mountains,  332, 340 

Rhon  mountain,  288 

Rhondda  valley,  165 

Rhone,  river,  245,  258  ;  valley,  57, 

!25 

Ria,  definition,  50 

Riam-Kina  river,  568 

Ribble,  river,  173  ;  valley,  168 

Rice,  in  India,  484  ;  in  Indo-China, 
518  ;  in  Siam,  510 

Richardson,  Dr.,  Explorer,  901  ; 
Sir  John,  Arctic  voyage,  1028 

Richmond,  Va.,  site,  720 

Rideau  Canal,  695 

Riesengebirge  (Giant's  Mount- 
ains), 267,  292 

Rift-valleys,  53  ;  of  East  Africa, 
map,  930 

Riga,  409,  411 

Righi,  mountain,  258 

Rikuchu,  547 

Rikuzen,  547,  553 

Rilodagh  mountain,  332,  338 

Rimac  river,  838 

Rimini,  364 


Rinjani  mountain,  572 

Rio,  Chico,  887  :  Chixoy,  783  ;  del 
Rey,  974  ;  Grande,  754,  762,  774. 
776,  841 ;  Grande  do  Norte,  State. 
874  :  Grande  do  Sul,  877  ;  Negro, 
816,  850,  857,  884  ;  Negro  terri- 
tory, 856  ;  Patia,  824 ;  Tinto. 
374  ;  Tocuyo,  886  ;  de  Janeiro, 
871,  875,  876 ;  de  Janeiro, 
longitude  of,  31 ;  de  Janeiro, 
rainfall  and  temperature,  868  ; 
de  Oro,  953  ;  de  la  Pasion,  785  ; 
de  la  Plata  Countries,  849-862  ; 
de  las  Balsas  (Mescala),  776 

Riobamba,  830,  833 

Rion  river,  395 

Riow  islands,  565,  566 

Risdon,  612 

Ritter,  Karl,  12 

Riva,  306 

Rivas  (Nicaragua),  783 

River,  Capture,  55,  59  ;  Terraces, 
55, 56  ;  Work— Constructive,  56  ; 
Work — Destructive,  55 

Rivers,  and  Boundaries,  112  ;  and 
Canals  of  France,  245  ;  Classifi- 
cation of,  58  ;  of  North  German 
Plain  (map),  271 ;  use  of,  in 

Riverina  district,  594 

Rivieres  du  Sud,  957 

Road  Town,  807 

Roads,  in  Algeria,  911  ;  in  China, 
531  ;  Roman,  133 

Roanne,  245 

Roaring  forties  in  New  Zealand, 
630 

Roatan  island,  784 

Robertson,  Sir  G.  S.— Afghanistan, 
464 

Roblet,  Pere  D.,  1015 

Roca,  Cape  da,  379 

Rochdale,  173 

Rochefort,  252 

Rochester,  N.Y.,  736 

Rockhampton,  592 

Rockport,  Mass.,  722 

Rocks,  Order  of  the,  51 ;  Sedi- 
mentary, 51;  and  Weathering.st 

Rocky  Mountains,  671,  697,  760- 
767 

Rode  Bay,  808 

Rodriguez,  1023 

Rodway,  J.— Colonies  of  Guiana, 
878  ;  Haiti  and  Santo  Domingo, 
801  ;  West  Indian  Colonies, 
803  ;  West  Indies,  791 

Roebuck  Bay,  625 

Rofia  fibre,  1019 

Rogachev,  390 

Rokel  river,  962 

Rollers,  67 

Roman  Roads,  133 

Romans  in  Britain,  144  ;  in  Eu- 
rope, 133  ;  in  Spain,  372 

Romanshorn,  263 

Rome,  364;  Influence  of,  133; 
longitude  of,  31 

Romerbad,  306 

Romney  Marsh,  181 

Ronne,  211 

Roon,  644 
Roper  river,  615 
Roraima,  mountain,  879,  884 
Roros,  205 

Rosa,  Monte,  126,  258 
Roseau,  807 

Roses  in  Bulgaria,  339 ;  in  Euro- 
pean Turkey,  341 


io8o        The  International  Geography 


Rosetta  mouth,  921 

Ross  and  Cromarty,  155 

Ross,  Sir  James  Clark,  60  ;  Arctic 

voyage,  1028 ;  Sir  James  Clark, 

in  Antarctic,  1048 
Ross,  Sir  John,  Arctic  voyage,  1027 
Rossland,  B.C.,  116,  700 
Rostov,  416 
Rotation,  14 ;  of  Earth,  Effects  of, 

56,  68,  72,  76,  78 
Rotoava,  657 
Rotterdam,  223 
Rotti,  572 

Rotuma  island,  652 
Roubaix,  249 
Rouen,  245,  250 
Rovuma  river,  941 
Roxburgh,  county,  160 
Roy,  General,  29 
Royal  Geographical  Society,  Rules 

for  Orthography,  33 
Royal  Niger  Company,  969 
Royat,  252 

Rubies  in  Burma,  474 
Ruapehu  mountain,  628 
Rudersdorf,  269 
Rudolf,  Lake,  931 
Rudolstadt,  290   > 
Ruelle,  245 
Ruenya  river,  998 
Ruiiji  river,  892 
Rufiji-Ruaha  river,  941 
Rufisque,  956 
Riigen,  275,  269 

Ruhr,  Coal-field,  288  ;  valley,  282 
Ruiz  mountain,  825 
Rukwa  (Rikwa)  Lake,  942,  947 
Rum  Cay,  803 
Rum  in  Jamaica,  804 
Rumania,  327-330 
Rumanians,  320 
Rumbi  mountains,  965 
Rupel,  river,  225 
Rushchuk,  339 
Russia,    Lake    region    of,     388  ; 

Density    of    population,    map, 

404 ;  Railway  map,  419 
Russian,  Empire,  386-421;  Climate 

of,  401 ;  Map  of  Resources,  406; 

Plain,  388 
Russell  island,  648 
Ruthenians,  312,  313 
Rutherglen,  Victoria,  609 
Ruwenzori  mountain,  891, 931 
Rye,  seaport,  181 

SAALE  river,  290 
Saba  island,  806 
Sabaeans,    447,    453 ;    in    South 

Africa,  1001 
Sabaki  river,  931 
Sabanilla,  828 
Sabi  river,  998 
Sable  Island,  686 
Sabrata  (Zuara),  917 
Saco,  Me.,  725  ;  river,  725 
Sacramento,  768  ;  river,  767 
Sacsahuaman,  hill,  839 
Sado  river,  380.  381 
Safed  Koh,  mountains,  466 
Safi,  905 

Safid-rud  river,  458 
Saf  ra,  453 

Sage  brush,  764,  766 
Sagua,  798  ;  la  Grande,  797 
Sahara,   953 ;    climate,   894 ;    in 

Algeria,  907 ;  in  Tunisia,  913 
Saharan  Oases,  oo« 


Sahel  in  Tunisia,  913 

Sahyadri  (Ghats),  471 

Saigon,  520 

Saihut,  455 

Saikyo,  552 

Saima.  Lake,  392 

St.,  Andrews,  158  ;  Anthony,  743  ; 
Antony,  Cape  Verdes,  979; 
Benoit,  1024;  Christopher's  Is- 
land, 807,  808  ;  Clair,  Lake, 
Tasmania,  611 ;  Canzian,  caves, 
303;  Catherine,  Mount,  810 ; 
Croix  island,  805;  Dems,  250; 
Denis,  Reunion,  1024 ;  Elias 
Alps,  671;  Elias,  Mount,  672, 
681,  770  ;  Etienne,  245,  253 ; 
Eustatius  island,  806 ;  Francois 
Mountains,  753;  Gall,  Canton, 
263 ;  George,  mouth  of  Danube, 
328;  Georges,  Grenada,  810; 
Gilles,  228 ;  Gothard  mountains, 
258;  Gothard  Pass,  127;  Go- 
thard railway  (map),  262; 
Helena  Island,  1013;  Helena 
(map),  1014  ;  Helena,  Moreton 
Bay,  592  ;  Helens,  173  ;  Helens, 
Mount,  767  ;  John,  N.B.,  689 ; 
John  island,  805  ;  John  river, 
688,  689 ;  John's,  Antigua,  807  ; 
John's,  Newfoundland,  707  ; 
Josse  -  ten  -  Noode,  228  ;  Kitt's 
Island,  807,  808 ;  Lawrence, 
Gulf  of,  679;  Lawrence  Plain, 
in  Ontario,  693;  Lawrence 
Plain,  in  Quebec,  690;  Law- 
rence river,  68 1,  689,  728 ; 
Lawrence  river  navigation,  684  ; 
Lawrence  river  systt-m,  665  ; 
Lazarus  Islands,  558 ;  Leon- 
ards, 181 ;  Louis-Dakar  rail- 
way map,  956  ;  Louis,  French 
Guiana,  883 ;  Louis,  Miss.,  749 ; 
Louis,  Senegal,  957;  Louis,  Miss., 
site,  map,  751;  Lucia,  809; 
Malo,  251 ;  Martin's  island,  806; 
Mary's  Bay,  705 ;  Moritz,  263 ; 
Nazaire,  251 ;  Ouen,  250  ;  Paul 
islet,  1024  ;  Paul,  Liberia,  959; 
Paul,  Minn.,  743  ;  Petersburg, 
410  ;  Pierre,  708,  809  ;  Pierre- 
les-Calais,  249  ;  Pierre  and 
Miquelon,  707-708  ;  Pierre, 
Reunion,  1024 ;  Quentin,  249 ; 
Thomas,  Island,  805;  Thomas 
Island,  West  Africa,  981  ;  Vin- 
cent, Cape,  380  ;  Vincent,  Cape 
Verdes,  979  ;  Vincent  Gulf,  614 ; 
Vincent,  W.I.,  810 

Ste.  Croix,  264 

Saisi  river,  947 

Sajama  mountain,  840 

Sakai,  people,  510,  512 

Sakalava  people,  1018 

Sakaria  (Sangarius)  river,  440 

Sakhalin,  island,  399 

Sakkar,  491 

Sal  island,  979 

Sal  (timber)  in  India,  476 

Sala,  203 

Salaga,  964 

Salama,  rainfall,  785 

Salamanca,  376 

Salaier  island,  569 

Salaverry,  837 

Salawati,  644 

Salazie,  1024 

Saldanha  bay,  085 

Sale,  Victoria,  609 


Salem,  495  :  Mass.,  722,  725 

Salerno,  359,  365 

Salford,  172 

Salgir,  river,  394 

Salisbury,  179 ;  Plain,  179  ; 
Rhodesia,  1002 

Salish  people,  684 

Salinity,  and  Circulation,  67  ;  of 
Oceans,  63 

Sallee  (S'la),  905 

Salmon  in  British  Columbia,  699 

Salonica,  343 

Salt,  in  Bahama,  803  ;  in  Cuba,. 
797  ;  in  Eritrea,  935  ;  in  Ger- 
many, 282;  in  India,  474 

Salt  Cay,  805  ;  Island,  807  ;  Lake 
City,  767  ;  Lakes,  origin  of,  63  ; 
lakes,  position,  49 ;  Lakes  of 
Tunisia,  914 ;  range,  Pan  jab, 
472 

Salta,  855 

Salto,  857,  858,  859 

Saltwater  river,  608 

Salvador,  789 ;  physical  geog- 
raphy, 783  ;  seaports,  788 

Salzach  river,  303,  305 

Salzburg,  305 ;  duchy,  304 ;  val- 
ley, 306 

Salzkammergut,  306 

Samang,  people,  510,  512 

Samar,  559 

Samara,  300,  418 

Samarai,  636,  638 

Samarang,  563 

Samaria,  449 

Samarcand,  409,  417 ;  province, 
395 

Samoa,  653 

Samos  island,  444 

Samoyeds,  403 

Samsun  (Amisus),  443 

San  river,  391 

San,  Bias,  781 ;  Bias  mountains, 
824  ;  Cristobal,  886  ;  Christoval 
island,  648  ;  Diego,  Cal.,  768  ; 
Domingo,  381,  802  ;  Fernando, 
812  ;  Fernando  de  Apure,  885  ; 
Francisco,  Cal.,  675,  715,  768, 
769  ;  Francisco  mountain,  763  ; 
German,  800;  Jose  (Guate- 
mala), 788 ;  Jose  (Uruguay), 
859  ;  Jose  river,  857  ;  Jose 
de  Costa  Rica,  789 ;  Juan, 
Argentina,  855  ;  Juan,  Porto 
Rico,  800 ;  Juan,  Rio,  824  ;  Juan 
river,  784,  785,  850;  Juan  del 
Norte  (Greytown),  788  ;  Juan 
dol  Sur,  788  ;  Luis,  855  ;  Luis 
de  Apra,  656 ;  Luis  Valley,  762  ; 
Miguel,  789 ;  Miguel  de  Piura, 
837  ;  Miguel  volcano,  784 ; 
Pablo  lake,  830  ;  Salvador,  783, 
789 ;  Sebastian,  376  ;  Vicente, 
789 

Sanaa,  454 

Sand,  dunes,  57  ;  in  Central  Asia, 
431,  540  ;  in  Africa,  895  ;  hills 
in  Nebraska,  758 

Sandakan,  560 

Sanderson's  Hope,  1026 

Sandhurst,  608 

Sandstones,  52 

Sandwich  Islands  (Hawaii),  660 

Sangai  mountain,  830 

Sangarius  river,  440 

Sanghir  islands,  569 

Sangke  river,  509 

Sannaga  river,  974 


Index 


1081 


Sannikoff  land,  1046 

Sanpu  river,  471 

Santa,  Ana,  789;  Ana,  volcano, 
784 ;  Catharina,  876 ;  Clara, 
province,  795  ;  Cruz,  647  ;  Cruz, 
Tenerife,  952  ;  Cruz  de  la  Sierra, 
842  ;  Cruz  de  Mar  Pequena, 
953  ;  Cruz  Island,  806  ;  Cruz 
river,  850  ;  Cruz  territory,  856  ; 
Fe,  854  ;  Isabel,  953 ;  Isabel 
mountain,  825,  953  ;  -Lucia  hill, 
847 ;  Lucia  river,  857  ;  Luzia 
Island,  979;  Maria,  island,  384  ; 
Martha  mountains,  Brazil,  874  ; 
river,  835  ;  Rosa,  859 

Santander,  376,  827,  828 

Santani  Lake,  643 

Santarem,  873 

Santiago  (Argentina),  855 ;  pro- 
vince, 795  ;  river,  776 ;  Cape 
Verdes,  979 ;  de  Chile,  847 ; 
de  Chile,  longitude  of,  31  ;  de 
Cuba,  796,798 ;  de  Cuba,  climate, 
795  ;  del  Estero,  855  ;  de  Com- 
postela,  376 

Santo  Antao  (St.  Antony),  979  ; 
Antonio,  981 ;  Domingo,  re- 
public, 802 

Santorin  (map),  349 

Santos,  876 

Sanyati  river,  999 

Sauerland,  287 

Saugor,  493 

Sao,  Francisco  river,  866,  875  ; 
Luiz,  874  ;  Marcos  Bay,  874  ; 
Nicolao  island,  979 ;  Paulo,  870, 
876  ;  Paulo  de  Loanda,  984  ; 
Roque,  Cape,  874  ;  Salvador  da 
Bahia,  875  ;  Salvador  do  Congo, 
983  ;  Thiago  (Santiago)  Island, 
979  ;  Thome  (St.  Thomas)  island, 
981 ;  Vicente,  870  ;  Vicente,  Cape 
(Cape  St.  Vicente),  380  ;  Vicente 
(St.  Vincent),  979 

Saone  river,  236 ;  and  Rhone, 
valley  of,  125 

Saparua  island,  571 

Sapper,  Dr. Carl — Central  America, 
782 

Sapote  forests  of  Yucatan,  778 

Saracens  and  the  Crusades,  134 
in  Africa,  900 

Sarajevo,  324 

Saramacca  river,  882 

Saratov,  414 

Sarawak,  560 

Sardinia,  358,  364 

Sarjektjokko,  mountain,  198 

Sarrakole  people,  956 

Sarstoon  river,  789 

Sarus  river,  440 

Saskatchewan,  702  ;  district,  701  ; 
-Nelson  river,  681  ;  river,  701 
river  navigation,  685 

Sassak  people,  572 

Sassandra  river,  957 

Sassari,  365 

Sassnitz,  203 

Sasuto  language,  1003 

Satlaj  river,  471 

Satpura  range,  471 

Sault  St.  Marie,  692,  735 

Saxon  Switzerland,  291,  307 

Saxons,  144  ;  in  Germany,  276  ;  in 
Holland,  220 

Saxony,  kingdom,  291  ;   province 

2QO    2<M. 

Savannas,  89 ;  in  Angola,  983 ;  in 


Africa,  896 ;  in  Asia,  433  ;  in 
Brazil,  820,  868,  874  ;  in  Central 
America,  786  ;  in  Colombia,  825  ; 
of  Venezuela,  884 

Savannah,  Ga.,  site,  720 

Save  river,  303,  945 

Savoy,  241 

Savu  islet,  572 

Sawatch  mountains,  760 

Sayan  mountains,  398,  400 

Sbeitla  (Suffetula),  915 

Scafell  Pike.  163 

Scandinavia,  197-211 ;  Geology  of, 
128  ;  highland  region  of ,  124 

Scandinavian  peninsula,  197-202 

Scandinavians,  108 

Scania,  203,  204 

Scarboro'  Heights,  Ont.,  695 

Scarborough,  177  ;  Tobago,  812 

Scarp,  definition  49 

Scenery,  dependent  on  nature  of 
rocks,  52 

Schaerbeek,  228 

Schaffhausen,  Canton,  263 

Schaumburg-Lippe,  principality, 
289 

Schelde  river,  224,  229 

Schenectady,  N.Y.,  736 

Schiedam,  223 

Schist,  51 

Schlesien,  Germany,  292  ;  Austria, 
308 

Schleswig,  294  ;  duchy,  209 

Schneekoppe,  267,  306 

Schollengebirge  =  crust  -  block 
mountains,  53 

Schollenland,  definition,  268 

Schuylkill,  730 

Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt,  290  ; 
-Sondershausen,  290 

Schweinfurth,  Explorer,  901 

Schweiz  (Switzerland),  256 

Schwerin,  293 

Schwyz,  Alps  of,  258  ;  canton, 
263 

Scilly  islands,  167 

Scirocco  wind,  314 

Sclater,  Dr.  P.  L.,  Zoological 
regions,  87 

Scoresby,  expl.,  1027  ;  Fjord,  1041 

Scotia,  ship,  1048 

Scotland,  152-161 ;  Earliest  people 
of,  101 ;  raised  beaches  in,  39, 153 

Scots,  153  ;  of  Ireland,  190 

Scott,  Capt.  R.  F.,  explorer,  1048 

Scottish  Coal-fields,  150 ;  High- 
lands, rainfall  of,  142 

Scratchley,  Mount,  635 

Scree,  definition,  57 

Scugog,  Lake,  694 

Scutari,  342,  343  ;  Lake,  337 

Scythians,  479 

Sea,  Island  cotton,  720  ;  -level,  46  ; 
-level,  changes  in,  39  ;  -level,  un- 
certainty of,  39 ;  -lochs,  defini- 
tion, 50  ;  Mountains  (Serras  do 
Mar)  of  Brazil.  866 ;  -water,  63 

Seaports  of  United  Kingdom,  150 

Seasons,  72  ;  cause  of,  23 

Seattle,  769 

Sebang-hien,  517 

Sebastea,  444 

Sebbe,  973 

Sebekar  bay,  642 

Sebele's  Country,  1003 

Sechuana  language,  1003 

Sechwan,  525,  534 


Sedan,  245 

Sedeir  district,  456 

Sedimentary  rocks,  51 

Sediments,  51 

Seeland,  210 

Segovia,  376,  784 

Segre  river,  370 

Seihun,  river,  397 

Seine  river,  235,  246,  250 

Seistan  swamps,  466 

Sekar,  644 

Selangor,  514 

Selaru  island,  573 

Sele,  river,  356 

Selenga  river,  400 

Seliger,  lake,  390 

Selizharovka  river,  390 

Seljuk  Turks,  441 

Selkirk,  county,  160  ;  Mountain* 
B.C.,  671,  698 

Selous,  F.  C.— Southern  Rhodesia 
and  Bechuanaland,  997 

Selvagens,  island,  384 

Selvas,  820  ;  in  Brazil,  868  ;  itt 
Colombia,  825 ;  Venezuela,  885 

Semeni  river,  333 

Semien  mountain,  934 

Semites,  107 ;  in  Africa,  897 

Semmering  Pass,  305 

Sendai,  553  ;  Bay  of,  547 

Senegal,  956  ;  river,  892,  955 

Senegambia,  958 

Senga  people,  945 

Senne,  river,  228 

Senussi  Arabs,  916,  928 

Sentis  mountains,  258 

Seoul,  544 

Septimer  pass,  127 

Seraing,  229 

Serang  island,  570 

Serchio  river,  356 

Seremban,  514 

Serere,  people,  956 

Seres,  343 

Sereth,  river,  327 

Sergipe,  8?5 

Sen  tribe,  779 

Seringapatam,  498 

Serra,  Central  of  Brazil,  866; 
Geral,  866  ;  Morumbala,  945  ; 
d'Urbion,  380 ;  da  Arrabida, 
380 ;  da  Estrella,  381 ;  da 
Gorongoza,  945  ;  da  Gral- 
heira,  379;  de  Cintra,  379;  de 
Grandola  380;  do  Mar,  866, 
875,  876 

Serrano,  570 

Serras  do  Bouro,  379 

Sert,  Gulf  of,  916 

Servia,  335-337 

Servians,  334 

Serwatty  islands,  573 

Setif,  912 

Sete  Quedas  falls,  860 

Seto,  553 

Setubal,  381,  384 

Sevastopol,  409,  416  ;  rainfall  and 
temperature  of,  401 

Seven  Islands,  1044 

Sever  river,  381 

Severn  tunnel,  166  ;  valley,  165 

Sevenoaks,  130 

Seville,  376 

Sevres,  245,  250 

Sextant,  n,  16 

Seybus  river,  908 

Seychelles,  1023  ;  structure  of,  41 

Seymour  Narrows,  697 


1082         The  International  Geography 


fifax,  915 

«'  Gravenhage,  223 

Shackerley  Mountains,  807 

Shahi  lake  (Urumiya),  463 

Shahjehanpur,  489 

Shale,  52 

Shamo,  desert,  539 

Shan  States,  518 

Shanghai,  531,  533 

Shanhaikwan,  531 

Shannon,  river,  189 

Shansi,  525,  532 

Shantung,  532,  538 

Shari  river,  892,  974 

Shark  Bay,  578 

Shashi  river,  998 

Shasi,  534 

Shasta,  Mount,  768 

Shatt-el-Arab,  river,  447 

Sheep  in  Algeria,  910 ;  in  Argen- 
tina, 853  ;  in  Australia,  586  ; 
in  the  Falklands,  863  ;  in  Trans- 
vaal, 1008 

Sheet-flood,  definition,  766 

Sheffield,  170 

Shelif  river,  908 

Shelon,  river,  393 

Shenandoah  valley,  728,  747 

Shengking,  538 

Shensi,  532 

Sherbro  river,  962 

Sherbrooke,  Canada,  692 

Sherwood  Forest,  171 

Shetland,  155 

Shibam,  455 

Shickshocks  mountains,  690 

Shiel,  Loch,  155 

Shihite  Mohammedans,  460 

Shikarpur,  491 

Shikoku,  546 

Shilka  river,  400 

Shillong,  495 

Shinana-gawa,  river,  547 

Shinshu,  547 

Shiraz,  463 

Shire  river,  945,  947 

Shires,  definition  of,  162 

Shoan  people,  933 

Sholapur,  492 

Shoshonean  people,  106 

Shotts  of  Algeria,  908 

Shreveport,  754 

Shrewsbury,  164 

Shuri,  553 

fli-Ziang  river,  524,  530,  535 

Siam,  508-511 

Siang  river,  525,  530 

Siangtan,  533 

Siao-ho  river,  534 

Sib-Song- Panna,  519 

Siberia,  388,  1045 ;  configuration, 
387 

Siberian  railway  (map),  418 

Sibree,  Rev.  James — Madagascar, 
1015 

Sicily,  353.  35,8,  364 

Sidi  Bel  Abbes,  912 

Sidlaw  Hills,  157 

Sidon,  450 

Sidra,  Gulf  of,  889 

Siebengebirge  (Rhine),  287 

Siena,  364 

Sierra,  Leone,  962-963;  Leone, 
origin,  960 ;  Luquillo,  798 ; 
Luquillo  river,  799 ;  Madre, 
672,  775;  Maestra,  794.  797! 
Maraguaca,  884  ;  Morena,  369  ; 
Nevada,  672  ;  Nevada  (Spain), 


370;    Nevada     of     California, 

767  ;    Nevada  de    Cocui,    825 ; 

Nevada  de  Merida,  886 ;  Nevada 

de  Santa  Marta,  825  ;   Parima, 

884  ;    de    Amambay,    860 ;    de 

Bejar,   373  ;    de    Gredos,    369  ; 

de     Guadarrama,     369 ;       de 

Mbaracayii,  860 ;  de  Perija,  886  ; 

de  Toledo,  369 ;  de  Las  Minas, 

783 ;    de    los    Organos,    Cuba, 

794.  796 ;  del  Mico,  783 
Sievers,  Dr.  W.— Venezuela,  884 
Sigilmassa,  906 
Sihanaka  people,  1018 
Sihun  (Sarus)  river,  440 
Sikasso  plateau,  955 
Sikhota-Alin  range,  399 
Sikhs,  481 
Sila,  357 
Sileraki,  644 

Silesia  (Schlesien),  292,  293,  308 
Silistria,  339 
Silk,  in  China,  527,  529 ;  in  Japan, 

55i 

Silla  de  Caracas,  mountain,  887 
Silurian    Formation,    Geological 

position  of,  51 
Silver,  in  Bolivia,  842 ;   in  British 

Columbia,  699  ;  in  Mexico,  780  ; 

in  New  South  Wales,  601;  in 

Peru,  836 
Silverton,  601 
Simbirsk,  390 
Simbor,  502 
S  mcoe,  Lake,  694 
Simon's  Bay,  985 
Simplon,  265;  Pass,  127;  Tunnel, 

262 

Simgson,  T.,  Arctic  Explorer,  1028 
Simum,  456 

Sinai  peninsula,  919,  923,  929 
Sindh,  471,  490  ;  -Pishin  railway, 

499 

Singapore,  513 
Singareni,  497 
Singan,  532 
Sinic  formations,  525 
Sinkiang,  539 
Sinnamarie  river,  883 
Sinni,  river,  357 

Sino-Japanese  plant  region,  433 
Sinope,  439 
Sintsiang,  539 
Sion,  265 

Siouan  people,  106 
Sioux  people,  684 
Sipan  Dagh,  mountain,  440 
Sirikol  mountains,  465 
Sisal  hemp  in  Bahama,  803 
Sitka,  770 
Sittang  river,  473 
Siva  (Siwah),  916,  928 
Sivas,  443  ;  (Sebastea),  444 
Skagen,  208 
Skagerrak,  197 
Skaw,  208 
Skeena  river,  698 
Skiddaw,  163 
Skjaergaard,  199 
Skroe,  644 

Skutari  (Chrysopolis),  443 
Skye,  155 
Slate,  52 
Slave,  States  of  U.S.,  map,  747  ; 

trade  in  Africa,  899 
Slavery,  in  Brazil,  871  ;  in  United 

States,  746 
Slavonic  languages,  132 


Slavs,  in  Balkan  Peninsula,  334 ; 

in  Germany,  276 ;    of  Russia, 

403,  404 

Slesvig,  duchy,  209 
Slieve  Bingian,  193  ;  Bloom,  189  ; 

Donard,  193  ;  Felin,  189  ;  Liag, 

187 

Sligo,  193 

Slopes,  definition,  50 
Smith,  Mr.  Leigh,  Arctic  Explora- 
tion, 1030;   Andrew,  Explorer, 

900 
Smith  Sound,  1029,  1035  ;   Sound 

Region  Map,  1029 
Smolensk,  390 
Smyge  Huk  197 
Smyrna,  443 

Smyth,  H.  Warington— Siam,  508 
Snaefell,  186 

Snake  river,  764 ;  Canyon,  672 
Snow,  effect  of,  on  Climate,  76 ; 

-line  on  Alps,  126,  259  ;  -line  in 

Caucasus,  395 
Snowdon,  164 
Snowy  river,  594,  602 
Soar,  river,  176 
Sobat,  river,  920 
Sobo  people,  967 
Sobrarbe,  valley,  371 
Society  Islands,  656 
Soerabaya,  563 
Sofia,  339;  basin,  331 
Soils  and  heat,  75  ;  of  Ohio  region, 

738 

Sokhondo  398 

Sokoto,  969,  971,  972  ;   river,  970 
Sokotra,  936 
Solar  Energy  on  the   Earth,  4  ; 

Heat,  Distribution  of,  72 
Solent,  181 

Soleure  (Solothurn)  canton,  264 
Solingen,  288 
Solo  river,  563 
Sologne,  district,  251 
Solomon  Islands,  647 
Solor  islet,  572 
Solothurn  canton,  264 
Solway  Firth,  160,  163 
Soma.  443 
Somali  people,  898 
Somaliland,  936 
Somers'  Islands,  709 
Sondenf jeldske  district,  206 
Sondershausen,  290 
Sonmiani,  499 
Sonnblick  mountain,  303 
Sonneberg,  290 
Sonrhai  people,  956 
Soo  (Sault  Ste.  Marie)  Canal,  735 ; 

map,  692 

Sorata  Mount,  817,  840 
Sorong,  644 
Sorraia,  river,  380 
Soufriere,    Hill,    808;  St.  Lucia, 

809  ;  St.  Vincent,  810 
Sound,  The,  197,  208,  210 
Soundings,  48 
South  Airica,  985-1014 ;  Company, 

950  ;  Geology,   986  ;   Mountain 

System  of,  map,  986 
South  African  Republic,  1010 
South    America,    Climate,    818  ; 

Continent    of,    813-823  ;    Con- 
figuration (map),  814  ;  Fauna, 

821  ;    Flora,    820  ;    unexplored 

areas,  12 
South,  Australia,  614-620;  Carolina 

Islands,  720 ;  Dakota,  751,  757  ; 


Index 


1083 


Downs,  1 80 ;  Esk  river,  Tas- 
mania, 613  ;  Holland,  222; 
Georgia,  864;  Island.  N.Z.,  627, 
629 ;  Perth,  625 ;  Sea  Islands, 
649;  Shields,  170;  Shields,  port 
of,  151 ;  Wales  Coal-field,  150, 
164, 165 

Southern,  Alps,  627,  628 ;  Coastal 
Plain  of  U.S.,  745  ;  Conti- 
nent, hypothetical,  n  ;  Cross, 
626  ;  Cross,  ship,  1048  ;  Hemi- 
sphere, 42  ;  Ocean,  1047  ;  Ocean, 
currents  of,  70  :  Ocean,  posi- 
tion of,  6l ;  Ocean,  tides  of, 
65 ;  Rhodesia,  997-1002  ;  Rho- 
desia and  Bechuanaland,  997- 
1003  ;  Rivers  (Rivieres  du  Sud), 
957;  Uplands  of  Scotland,  153,160 

Southampton,  181 ;  Port  of,  151 

Southland,  629 

Southport,  174 

Spain,  368-378;  origin  of,  135; 
and  South  America,  822 

Spalato,  315 

Spandau, 294 

Spanish  in  Cuba,  796 ;  Town,  804 ; 
Sahara,  953 ;  West  Africa,  952- 
953 

Sparta,  349 

Speke,  Capt.,  Explorer,  901 

Spencer  Gulf,  579,  614 

Sperrin  mountains,  193 

Spetsae  island,  349 

Spey,  river,  156 

Spezia,  363 

Sphakiotes,  350 

Sphere  of  influence,  119 

Spice  Islands,  570 

Spinifex,  622 

Spithead,  181 

Spitsbergen,  1044;  first  crossing 
of,  1032 

Spokane,  764 

Sponge  fishing  in  Anatolia,  444 

Sponges  in  Bahamas,  803 

Spree  river,  271,  295 

Spurges,  89 

Spurn  Head,  179 

Staaten  Land,  632 

Staffordshire,  174  ;  Coal-field,  150 

Stambul,  342 

Stanislau,  312 

Stanley,  Sir  H.  M.,  12,  901 ;  on 
Congo,  977 

Stanley  (Falklands),  864;  Falls, 
978  ;  Falls  province,  978  ;  Moun- 
tains, 594  ;  Pool,  959,  978 

Stanovoi  mountains,  398 ;  Khrebet, 
399 

Stans  Foreland,  1044 

Starnberg  lake,  272 

States,  definition,  109 

Statistics,  use  of,  120 

Stavanger,  207 

Stawell,  609 

Stefanie,  Lake,  931 

Steiermark  (Styria),  304 

Stereographic  projection,  21 

Steppe,  varieties  of,  388 ;  Vegeta- 
tion, 89 

Steppes,  of  Asia,  432 ;  Govern- 
ment of,  395  ;  of  Russia,  402  ; 
of  Turkestan,  396 

Stettin,  294 

Stett  ner  Haff,  270 

Stevenson,  R.  L.,  on  South  Sea 
Islands,  649 

70 


Stewart  Island,  628,  629 

Stikine  river,  698 

Stirling,  158  ;  Range,  622 

Stockholm,  site  of,  203 

Stone  rivers  of  the  Falklands,  863 

Stonehenge,  179 

Stonehouse,  167 

Stoney  Tunguska  river,  426 

Store  "Skagestolstind,  198 

Stornoway,  155 

Stour,  river,  180 

Straits   Settlements   and    Malay 

States,  511-515 
Stranja  hills,  332 
Stranraer,  160 
Strassburg,  287 
Stratford-on-Avon,  174 
Strathmore,  157 
Straw  Sea,  381 
Stream-line,  definition,  50 
Strigonium,  322 
Strike,  59  ;  definition,  55 
Strome  Ferry,  155 
Stromfjord,  1041 
Stromo,  211 
Strophanthus  in  British  Central 

Africa,  948 
Stroud,  177 
Strub,  210 

Strzelecki,  Count,  602 
Sturt,  explorer,  617  ;  explorations 

by,  596  ;  Creek,  576 
Stuttgart,  285 

Styria  (Steiermark),  304,  305 
Suaheli  people,  933,  942 
Subsequent  rivers,  definition,  59 
Subsidence  and  elevation,  40 
Suchow,  533 
Suck,  river,  189 
Sucre,  842 
Suda  Bay,  350 
Sudan,     897  ;     (French),      958  ; 

(Egyptian)  provinces,  map,  928 
Sudbury,  694 
Sudetes,  268,  291,  306,  308 
Sueira,  905 
Suess,  Prof.  E.,  38 
Suess,  Lake,  931 
Suez,  927  ;  Canal,  925,  928  ;  Canal 

map,  921 
Suf,  908 
Suffetula,  915 
Sugar,  in  Barbados,  811  ;  in  British 

Guiana,  880  ;  in  Cuba,  796 ;  in 

Fiji,  652  ;  in  Germany,  281 ;  in 

Hawaii,  661  ;  in  Jamaica,  804; 

in   Mauritius,    1022  ;    in   Porto 

Rico,    799-800 ;     in     Reunion, 

1024  ;  -cane  Industry,  117 
Sugar  Loaf  Mountain,  Ecuador, 

825 

Suir  river,  194 
Suisse  (Switzerland),  256 
Sukhona,  river,  391,  399 
Sulaiman  range,  499 
Sulden,  306 

Sulma  mouth  of  Danube,  328 
Sulitelma,  205 
Sulphur  in  Chile,  844  ;  in  Sicily, 

354 
Sulu  islands,  559;    people,   567; 

Sea.  566 
Sumao.  535 
Sumatra,  564 
Sumba,  572 
Sumbawa  island,  572 
Sumida-gawa,  river,  552 
Sunda,  Islands,  561-573  ;  Strait,  563 


Sundanese  people,  557 

Sunderland,  170 

Sundswall,  204 

Sungari  river,  539 

Sungei  Ujong,  514 

Sunk  Plain,  definition,  49 

Sunni  Mohammedans,  460 

Superior,  Lake,  692,  734,  737 

Surat,  492 

Surghab  river,  397 

Suriname  river,  882 

Surma  valley,  495 

Surinam,  882 

Surrey,  18 1  j.  Jamaica,  804 

Surveys,  extent  of,  12;  trigono- 
metrical, 29^30 

Susquehanna  rivet, .73.1. 

Sussex,  name,  144 

Susu  people,  956 

Sutherlandshire,  148,  155 

Suva,  653 

Sveaborg,  409,  412 

Svealand,  203 

Sverdrup,  Captain,  1032 

Sverige  (Sweden),  202 

Svir  river,  393 

Swabians,  276 

Swakop  river,  1012 

Swakopmund,  1012 

Swallow-holes,  54 

Swan  river,  621,  625  ;  Settlement, 
624 

Swansea,  165 

Swaziland,  1010 

Sweden,  202-205 

Swedish  Deep,  1034 

Swiss  Plateau,  256 

Switzerland,  256-265  ;  map  of 
languages,  260 ;  map  of  reli- 
gions, 261 

Sydney,  N.S.W.,  599  ;  climate, 
594  ;  longitude  of,  31  ;  Tempera- 
ture and  Rainfall,  580 

Sylhet,  495 

Symmetry  of  land  round  North 
Pole,  44 

Syme  island,  444 

Syncline,  definition,  53 

Syr-daria,  province,  395 ;  river, 
396 

Syra,  349 

Syracuse,  365  ;  N.Y.,  736 

Syria,  448-451 

Syrian  desert,  449 

Syrtes,  889 

Syrtis  major,  916 

Syzran,  390 

Szamos  river,  322 

Szeged,  322 

Szekesfehervar  (Alba  Realis),  322 

Szent  Endre,  island,  317 

Szigetkoz,  island,  317 

"T"  A  BANG,  567 
1    Table  Bay,  985  ;  Mountain, 

985 

Tableland,  definition,  49 
Tablet-tea,  529 
Tabriz  (Tauris),  462 
Tabu  in  Pacific  Islands,  661 
Tacana,    Mount,    783 ;   Volcano, 

783 

Tachin  river,  508 
Tacoma,  769 
Taconic  Mountains,  722 
Tacora,  Mountain,  841          ., 
Taft  valley,  165 
Tafilet,  905 


1084        The  International  Geography 


Tagus  river,  368,  369,  379,  380,  381 

Tahiti,  656,  657 

Tai-dong  river,  543 

Tai-o-hae,  658 

Taimyr    land,    1045;    peninsula, 

423 

Taipa  island,  538 
Taiping  rebels,  533 
Taita  mountains/931 
Taiwan  island,  553 
Taiyuen,  532 
Tajik,  people,  467 
Tajumulco,  Mount,  783 
Tajura,  Bay,  935 
Takao,  554 
Taklamakan,  431 
Taku,  531 
Talage  people,  655 
Talca,  848 
Talcahuano,  848 
Tali,  535 

Talienwan  (Dalni)  419,  539 
Talus = Scree,  57 
Taman,  394 
Tamar,    river,    162,    167  ;     river, 

Tasmania,  611 
Tamarida,  937 
Tamatave,  1020 
Tamboro  mountain,  572 
Tamega  river,  381 
Tamil,  language,  479  ;  people,  505 
Tampico,  781 
Tamsui,  554 
Tamworth,  N.S.W.,  600 
Tana  river,  892,  931 
Tanala  people,  1017 
Tanaland,  938 
Tananarive,  1019 
Tanaro  valley,  355 
Tancitaro,  775 
Tandjong  Priok,  563 
Tanganyika,  Lake,  931,  942,  947  ; 

fauna  of,  93  ;  discovery,  901 
Tangarong,  568 
Tangier,  905 
Tanjore,  495 
Tanna  island,  647 
Tantah,  927 
Taoism,  528 
Tapa-shan  range,  524 
Tapajoz,  873 

Tapti  river,  491  ;  valley,  471,  492 
Tapuae-nuku  mountain,  628 
Tarapaca,  846,  847 
Tarasp,  263 

Tarbagatai  mountains,  396,  398 
Tarento,  365 
Tarhuna  plateau,  916 
Tariffs,  121 
Tarija,  842 

Tarim  region,  433  ;  river,  540 
Tarma,  839 
Tarnopol,  313 
Tarnow,  313 
Tarragona,  377 
Tarsus,  443 
Tartars,  see  Tatars 
Tashkent,  409,  417 
Tasman  in    New  Zealand,  632 ; 

Range,  628 
Tasmania,  576,  610-613  :  climate, 

580  ;  geology,  579  ;  rivers,  578 
Tasmanian  devil,  612 
Tatars,  130,  435  ;  in  Russia,  403 
"Tateyama  mountain,  546 
Tatra,  311 
Tatta,  491 
Taunus,  268,  287 


Taupo  Lake,  629,  630 

Tauris,  462 

Taurus,  Mount,  439  ;  range,  41 

Tay  Bridge,  158  ;  Loch,  156  ;  river, 

156-  157 

Taygetos,  Mount,  345 
Te  Anau  lake,  629 
Tea,  in  China,  529  ;  in  Ceylon,  505  ; 

in  India,  484  ;  in  Japan,  551  ;  in 

Natal,  094 
Teak,  in  India,  476  ;  in  Siam,  508, 


Tebessa,  008 

Tees,  as  boundary,  162 

Tegernsee,  lake,  272 

Tegetthof  Expedition,  1030 

Tegucigalpa,  789 

Tehama,  452 

Tehran  (Teheran),  462 

Tehuacan,  778 

Teima,  oasis,  456 

Tcixeira,  Pedro,  Explorer,  871 

Telegraph  cables,  60 

Tell  in  Algeria,  907  ;  in  Tunisia, 

913 

Telok-betong,  566 
Telokh  Berau,  642 
Telugu  language,  479 
Teluk  Anson,  514 
Temperate  Zone,  definition,  78 
Temperature,  74  ;  of  deep  water, 

66;   of   Ocean,   65;  and  Rain- 

fall, 141  ;  Zones  of  hydrosphere, 

66 

Tenasserim,  472,  496 
Tenedos  island,  444 
Tenerife  island,  952 
Tenez,  911 
Tengri-nor,  lake,  541 
Tennessee,  caverns,  732;  river,  728 
Tenochtitlan,  781 
Tenryu-gawa,  river,  546 
Tenterfield,  600 
Teplitz,  307,  308 
Tequixquiac,  777 
Terceira  island,  384 
Terek  river,  395  ;  -davan  pass,  540 
Terekti  pass,  540 
Tergeste,  315 
Ternate  island,  570 
Terra  Australis,  584  ;  roxa  (Mas- 

sape)  soil,  867 
Terre  Napoleon,  617 
Terrigenous  deposits,  64 
Territories,  of  Canada,  700-704 
Territory,  leasing  of,  120 
Tertiary    Formation,    Geological 

position  of,  51 
Teslin  lake,  703 
Teton  mountains,  760 
Tetrahedral  Theory  of  the  Earth, 

42 

Tetuan,  905 

Teutoburger  Wald,  289 
Teutonic   language,   132  ;    tribes, 

144 
Texas,  754  ;  Acquisition  of,  711  ; 

Coastal  Plain,  754 
Texcoco  lake,  776 
Thai  Binh,  516  ;  people,  518 
Thales,  26 
Thalweg  =  dale  -  way,     50  ;      as 

boundary,  114 
Thames,     as     boundary,      162  ; 

Estuary,   182,   183  ;    river,    177, 

182  ;  river,  Ont.,  695 
Than  Hoa,  519 
Thanet,  Isle  of,  181 


Thasos,  island,  343 

Thebes,  348 

Theiss,  river,  317 

Therezina,  874 

Thessaly,  345-348 

Thiele  (Zihl)  river,  258 

Thingvallavatn,  lake,  213 

Thirlmere,  163 

Thisted,  210 

Thompson,  David,  Explorer,  699 

Thomson,  Joseph,  Explorer,  902 

Thomson,  Prof.  J.  Arthur,  on 
Distribution  of  Living  Crea- 
tures, 83 

Thonxldsen,  Dr.  Thorvald— Ice- 
land, 212-215 

Thorsa,  river,  213 

Thorshavn,  211 

Thos,  people.  518 

Thousand  Islands  of  Java,  563  ; 
Ontario,  693 

Thrace,  province,  332 

Thracians,  334 

Thraco-Macedonian  Region,  332 

Thun,  264 

Thurgau  canton,  263 

Thurgovia  (Thurgau),  263 

Thuringia,  200 

Thuringian  Basin,  268 

Thuringians,  276 

Thursday  Island,  592 

Thurso,  155 

Thyateira,  443 

Tian  Shan  mountains,  396,  398 

Tiahuanaco,  100 

Tiaret,  912 

Tiber  river,  356 

Tiberias,  450 

Tibet,  540 

Tibetan  region,  433 

Tibeto-Burman  people,  480 ; 
-Chinese  People,  105  ;  -Indo- 
Chinese  People,  105 

Tiburon  peninsula,  801 

Ticino,  Alps  of,  258,  259  ;  canton, 
265  ;  river,  363 

Tidal  Current,  65  ;  Wave,  65 

Tides,  action  of,  56  ;  cause  of,  24 ; 
nature  of,  65 

Tidikelt  oasis,  006 

Tidore  islet,  570 

Tientsin,  531,  532 

Tierra  Caliente  in  Andes.  825 ; 
in  Central  America,  786 ;  in 
Mexico,  777 

Tierra  del  Fuego,  814,  851  ;  map 
of  (unnamed),  843 

Tierra  Fria  in  Andes,  826  ;  in 
Central  America,  786 ;  in 
Mexico,  777 

Tierra  Templada  in  Andes,  825 : 
in  Central  America,  786 ;  in 
Mexico,  777 

Tiete  river,  876 

Tiflis,  416 

Tiger,  in  India,  477  ;  range  of,  84 

Tigris  river,  440,  447 

Tih  desert,  449 

Tihany,  peninsula,  318 

Tikhvin  canal,  406 

Tilburg,  222 

Tilbury,  184 

Timber  in  Argentina,  851 ;  in 
Canada,  691,  694  ;  in  India, 
476 ;  in  Sweden,  202 ;  in 
Western  Australia,  621 

Timbo,  957 

Timbuktu,  958 


Index 


1085 


Time,   17 ;    reckoning    in    North 

America,  678 
Timne  people,  962 
Timor,  572  ;  -laut  islands,  573 
Timsah,  Lake,  928 
Tin,   in    Banka,   566  ;   in    Malay 

Peninsula,  511;  in  Siam,  510; 

in  Tasmania,  611 
Tinne  tribe,  684 
Tipperary  Co.,  194 
Tiquina.  strait,  840 
Tiracol,  502 
Tirol,  304 

Tisza  (Theiss)  river,  317 
Titicaca,  island,  840  ;  Lake,  817, 

835,  840 
Tji-liwong,  563 
Tiilatjap,  563 
Tlemgen,  912 
Toba  lake,  564,  566 
Tobacco  in  Cuba,  706  ;  in  Egypt, 

922  ;  in  Sumatra,  566  ;  in  Trans- 
vaal,   1008 ;    trade    of    Bristol, 

166 

Tobago  island,  812 
Tobol  river,  398,  426 
Tocantins  river,  873,  874 
Todi  mountains,  258 
Togo,  972 
Tokaido,  552 
Tokushima,  553 
Tokyo,  551,  552 ;  temperature  and 

rainfall  of,  547 

Toledo,  376  ;  O.,  743 ;  O.  site,  738 
Tolima,  827  ;  mountain,  825 
Tolmezzo,  359 
Toltecs,  779 
Tomsk,  418 
Tonegawa  river,  547 
Tonga,  653 
Tongaland,  996 
Tonga-tabu  island,  653 
Tongariro  mountain,  628 
Tongas  in  East  Africa,  945 
Tongking,  516 
Tonle  Sap  lake,  517 
Tonsberg,  206 
Toowoomba,  593 
Topography   =    description     of 

places,  2 

Torbes  river,  886 
Tordesillas,  Treaty  of,  822 
Tornadoes     of     the     Mississippi 

Basin,  751 
Toronto,  695 
Torquay,  167 
Torre  de  Cerredo,  371 
Torrens,  Lake,  615  ;  river,  619 
Torrid  Zone,  definition,   78 
Tortola  island,  807 
Tortuga,  801  ;  island,  802 
Totonicapan,  786 
Toucouleur  people,  956 
Toul,  250, 
Toulon.  253 
Toulouse,    '2 

Tourane  (Turan),  520  ;  bay,  517 
Tourcoing,  249 
Tours,  251 
Towarah  tribe,  926 
Towik  (Nejd),  456 
Towns,  origin  of,  115  ;  of  India, 

486  ;  in  Russia,  409 
Township  plan  in  Canada,  map, 

684 

Townsville,  591,  592 
Trade-wind  Belts,  climate  of,  78 
Tralles,  443 


Trangsund,  412 

Tranh-Ninh,  519 

Trans,  -Alai  mountains,  396 ;  -Cas- 
pian district,  396,  416  ;  -Caspian 
Railway  (map),  417 ;  -Mississ- 
ippi States,  750;  -Saharan  rail- 
way project,  958 

Transbaikalia,  398,  419 

Transcaspia,  388 

Transcontinental  Telegraph  in 
S.  Australia,  618 

Transdnieperia,  388 

Transmontano  mountains,  3?o 

Transitional  Area,  46 

Transport,  Means  of,  121 

Transtagano,  380 

Transylvania  (Erdely),  318,  322 

Transylvanian  Alps,  327 

Transvaal  Colony,  1007-1011 

Transverse  Valley = defile,'  50 

Trapezus,  443 

Trarza,  people,  956 

Travancore,  498 

Trave  river,  294 

Traz-os-Montes,  380 

Treaty-ports  in  China,  529 

Trebbia,  river,  356 

Trebizond  (Trapezus),  443 

Tree- Kangaroo,  589 

Trelleborg,  203 

Trembling  Mountain,  690 

Trent,  river,  170,  171 

Trento,  306 

Trenton,  N.J.,  site,  720 

Tres  Sorores  (Mont  Perdu)  mount- 
ains, 371 

Treves,  288 

Triassic  Formation,  geological 
position  of,  51 

Tribal  or  Racial  boundaries,  114 

Trichinopoli,  495;  temperature 
and  rainfall  of,  474 

Trient  (Trento),  306 

Trier  (Treves),  288 

Triest,  315  ;  climate  of,  298 

Trikkala,  348 

Trincomali,  506 

Tring  Kanu,  State,  509 

Trinidad,  Cuba,  796,  798 ;  Island, 
811 

Trinity  bay,  705 

Tripoli,  916,  917,  918 

Tristan  da  Cunha,  1014 

Triumfo,  788 

Trois  Freres  island,  1023 

Trollhatta  Canal,  203 

Trombetas  river,  867,  873 

Tromso,  207 

Trondhjem,  207 

Troodos  mountain,  445 

Tropical  plant  division,  88 

Troppau,  309 

Troy,  N.Y.,  729,  736 

Troyes,  249 

Truk  Islands.  655 

Truxillo,  837 

Tsana,  Lake,  931,  934 

Tsanpo,  river,  541 

Tsetse  fly  in  British  Central 
Africa,  949 :  in  East  Africa, 
932  ;  in  German  East  Africa, 
942 

Tsiami  tribe,  518 

Tsientang-kiang,  535 

Tsimshiian  people,  084 

Tsinan,  532 

Tsinling-shan,  mountains,  522 ; 
range,  524 


Tsiribihina  river,  1016 

Tsitsihar,  539 

Tua  river,  381 

Tual,  rainfall,  785 

Tuamotu  islands,  657 

Tuareg  Berbers,  956  ;  people,  898 

Tuat  oasis,  906 

Tubuai  islands,  656 

Tucacas,  887 

Tucuman,  855 

Tugela  river,  996 

Tukang  Bessi  island,  569 

Tula,  414,  779 

Tulcan,  833    - 

Tumbez  river,  831 

Tumen  river,  543 

Tunbridge  Wells,  181 

Tundra,  89,  402,  432,  1045 

Tung-Kiang   river,  535 

Tungaragua  province,  833  ;  vol- 
cano, 830 

Tungting  lake,  524,  530,  533 

Tunis,  915 

Tunisia,  913-916 

Tupi  people,  822,  869 

Turan,  425  (Annam)  517 

Turanian  steppes,  433 

Turfan,  540 

Turin,  362,  363  ;  temperature  and 
rainfall  of,  359 

Turkestan,  540  ;  Russian,  395 

Turkey  in  Europe,  340-344 

Turki  people,  105 

Turkish  Old  Servia,  335 

Turks,  334,  442  ;  in  Europe,  134  ; 
invasion  of  Europe,  10 

Turks  Islands,  805 

Turquell  river,  931 

Turrialba,  volcano,  784 

Ttirst,  K.,  maps  of,  31 

Turumiquire  mountain,  887 

Tuscany,  364 

Tussac  grass,  863 

Tuticorin,  494 

Tutuila  island,  654 

Tweed,  river,  160,  169 

Twelve  Bens,  188 

Twilight  of  high  latitude,  75 

Tyne,  169 ;  as  boundary,  162 ; 
ports,  151,  169,  170 

Tyre,  450 

Tyrrhenia,  353,  358 

Tyrrhenian  Sea,  353 

Tyrrell.  J.  B.— Dominion  of 
Canada,  679-704 ;  Newfound- 
land, 704-707 

UBANGI  province,  978 ;  river, 
959-  975 

TTcayali  river,  816,  835 
TTdepur,  497 
Ufa,  418 

Uganda,  938  • 

Ugi  island,  648 
TTifak,  1041 

Uinta  mountains,  761,  763 
Ukamba,  938 
Ukami,  941 
Ulanga  river,  942 
Uliasutai,  539 
Ullswater,  163 
Ulm,  127,  284 
Ulster,  193 
Ulu-kem  river,  400 
Ulyungur  river,  400 
TTm  Delpha  (Es  Shayib)  moun- 
tain, 929 
Umanak  fjord,  1041 


io86        The  International  Geography 


Umbria,  364 

Umbrian  Appennines,  356 

Umea,  204 

Umm  Keis  (Gadara),  450 

Umniati  river,  998 

Umtali,  1002 

TTnare  river,  885 

Ungava,  700 

Union  island,  810 

United  Empire  Loyalists,  694 

United  Kingdom,  138-196;  coal 
of,  149  ;  government  of,  145 ; 
total  trade  of,  151  ;  seaports 
of.  150  ;  statistics  of,  194,  195 

United  Provinces,  226 

United  States  of  America,  710- 
773  ;  boundary,  113  ;  coal  pro- 
duction, 149  ;  Pacific  Islands, 
651 ;  and  the  Philippines,  558  ; 
physical  divisions  of  (map), 
719  ;  total  trade  of,  151 

Unstrutt,  river,  200 

Unterwald,  Alps  of,  258 

Unterwalden.  canton,  263 

Unyamwezi  plateau,  941 

Unyoro,  938 

TJomatako,  1012 

TJpernivik,  1043  ;  glacier,  1042 

Upland  plain,  definition,  49 

Uplands,  definition,  48 

Upolu  island,  654 

Upper,  Austria,  304  ;  Greensand, 
geological  position  of,  51  ; 
Rhine  Plain,  272  ;  Tunguska  or 
Angara  river,  400,  426 

Upsala,  204 

TTraba  (Darien),  Gulf,  828 

Ural  mountains,  398,  414,  426 

Ural-Altaic  people,  105 

Urfa  (Edessa),'448 

Urga,  539 

Urgel,  377 

Uri,  canton,  263 

Urmi.  463 

Uruguay,  856-859,  871  ;  river,  850, 
857,  876 

Urumchi,  540 

Urumiya  (Urmi),  463 

Urumtsi  (Urumchi),  540 

Urungu  river,  400 

TJsambara  Mountains,  941 

Usbek,  people,  467 

Usedom,  island,  270 

Usk,  river,  165 

Uskub,  341,  343 

Usoga,  938 

Ussuri  river,  400,  539 

Ust  Urt,  425 

Usumacinta  river,  776,  785 

"Utah,  765 

Utica,  N.Y..  736 

Utila,  island,  784 

Utrecht,  219,  222 

TJvea  island,  645 

TJxmal,  780 

VAAL  river,  1004,  1007 
Vadso,  207 
Vsero,  199 
Vaga  river,  399 
Vaitaca  people,  869 
Valaam  island,  393 
Valais,  canton,  265 
Valdai  hills,  389 ;  plateau,  128 
Valdeon,  valley,  371 
Valdivia,  848 
Valdivia,  Pedro  de,  845 
Valdivia,  voyage  of  s.s.,  1050 


Vale  of  York,  170,  171 
ensa  do  Minho,  383 

Valencia,  377,  887  ;  Lake,  887 

Valentia,  island,  194  ;  temperature 
and  rainfall,  141 

Valera,  886 

Valetta,  367 

Valira  river,  377 

Valladolid,  374,  376 

Valley,  definition,  50 

Valona,  344 

Valparaiso,  847 ;  site,  map,  847  ; 
temperature  and  rainfall,  819 

Van  (Dhuspas),  444  ;  district,  440 

Van.Rees  mountains,  642;  Diemen 
Gulf,  614  ;  Diemen's  Land,  612 

Vancouver,  B.C.,  1 16,  700 ;  is- 
land, 697,  699 

Vanikoro  island,  647 

Vanua  Levu  island,  652 

Varanger  fjord,  207 

Vardar  river,  332 

Vardo,  207 

Varna,  339 

Varthema,  565 

Vasco  da  Gama,  10 

Vasconcellos,  Capt.  Ernesto  de- 
Portugal,  379 ;  Macao,  538  ; 
Portuguese  East  Africa,  944  ; 
Portuguese  India,  502  ;  Portu- 
guese Timor,  573;  Portuguese 
West  Africa,  979 

Vassili  Ostrov,  island,  410 

Vatican,  The,  364 

Vatnajokull,  212 

Vatomandry,  1020 

Vatwa  race,  945 

Vaud,  canton,  264 

Vedda  people,  505 

Vega,  377 

Vega  Real,  801 

Vegetation  map  of  Africa,  895 

Veile,  210 

Veldt,  986,  1007 

Velikaya,  river,  391,  393 

Vener,*Lake,  200 

Venersborg,  205 

Venetia,  363 

Venezia  (Venice),  363 

Venezuela,  884-888 

Venezuelan  Coast  Ranges,  885  ; 
Guiana,  884  ;  Range,  818 

Venice,  361,  363 

Ventuan  river,  884 

Venus,  Point,  657 

Vera  Cruz,  781 

Veragua  mountains,  824 

Verano,  Central  America,  785  ; 
Colombia,  826 

Verde,  Cape,  954 

Verdun,  250 

Vereczke  Pass,  316 

Verkhoyansk,  429 ;  climate  of, 
200  ;  "rain  and  temp,  curves  for, 
401  ;  -Stanovoi  heights,  426 

Vermandois,  249 

Vermont,  724 

Versailles,  250 

Vertical,  Circles,  definition,  15 
Relief,  Climatic  Influence  of 

79 

Vestenf  jeldske  district,  206 
Vesteraalen  islands,  199 
Vestfjord,  109 
Vesuvius,  Mount,  365 
Vetter,  Lake,  200 
Vevey,  264 
Viborg,  412 


Vichy,  252 

Vicksburg,  Miss.,  750 

Victoria,  602-610  ;  B.C.,  700 ; 
(Hongkong),  537  ;  Kamerun, 
974  ;  Rhodesia,  1002  ;  Falls, 
909  ;  Lake,  Pamirs,  465  ;  Land, 
Antarctic,  1049;  Mount,  New 
Guinea,  635  ;  Mountains,  603  ; 
Nyanza,  930,  931  ;  Nyanza.  dis- 
covery, 901 ;  Peak,  Hongkong, 
537  ;  river,  S.A.,  614 

Vicunas  in  Peru,  837 

Vidago,  382 

Vidin,  339 

Vienna  (Wien),  309,  311 ;  Climate 
of,  298  ;  Congress  of,  136 

Vienne,  253 

Vieques  island,  800 

Vigo,  376 

Vilcamayu,  vale,  839 

Vilcanoto,  knot  of,  835 

Villa,  Boa,  874 ;  Clara,  797  ;  Con- 
cepcion,  862  ;  del  Pilar,  862  ; 
Nova  de  Gaia,  381  ;  Real  de 
Santo  Antonio,  381  ;  Rica,  862, 
875  ;  Velha  de  Rodam,  381 

Villages  in  India,  483 

Vilna,  406,  409,  411 

Vilyui,  river,  400 

Vincennes,  250 

'Vincent  Pincon  river,  883 

Vinchiaturo  Pass,  356 

Vindhya,  hills,  471,  473 

Vindobona  (Vienna),  311 

Vindouissa,  264 

Vine,  in  France,  243  ;  map,  244 

Vinh,  519 

Virgin,  Gorda,  807  :  Islands,  805, 
807 

Virginia,  boundary,  718  ;  City, 
767  ;  mountains  in,  727 

Visby,  205 

Vistula  (Weichsel)  river,  270,  294, 
299,  391,  412 

Vitebsk,  391,  409 

Vitegra,  river,  393 

Viti  Levu  island,  652 

Vitim  plateau,  400 

Vitoria,  376 

Vitosh  mountains,  331,  339 

Vivi,  978 

Vizella,  382 

Vladivostok,  409,  419 

Vogelsberg,  288 

Voiron,  245 

Volcanic,  Action  in  East  Africa, 
931  ;  Islands,  definition,  62 ; 
necks  as  Town  sites,  53  ;  rocks, 

Volcanoes,  of  Java,  map,  561  ;  of 
Mexico,  775;  Extinct,  of  Vic- 
toria,  map,  603 

Volga,  river,  390,  414 

Volgo,  Lake,  390 

Volkhov,  river,  393 

Volo,  348 

Volta,  river,  892,  063 

Volturno,  Monte,  358 

Volturno,  river,  356 

Voralpen,  126 

Vorarlberg,  304 

Vorosvagas,  318 

Vosges  mountains,  237- 

Vuelta  Abajo,  796,  797  ;  Arriba,  797 

Vuoxen,  river,  392 

Vychegda  river,  399 

Vyrnwy  river  and  lake,  165 

Vyshnii-Volochek  Canal,  406 


Index 


1087 


WAAL,  river,  218 
Wad,  Draa,  904;    Gheris 
river,    906 ;     Ghir    river,    906 ; 
Messaoud,  906  ;  Ziz  river,  906 
Wadelai,  921 

Wadi,  Arabah,  919,  929 ;   Feiran, 
923  ;   Haifa,   927  ;   Hams,  454  ; 

Kina,  929  ;  Refah,  918 
Wagadugu,  958 
Waganda,  people,  933 
Wagga-Wagga,  600 
\Vagner,  Prof.  H.,  hypsographic 

curve,  46,  47 

Wahsatch  mountains,  760,  761 
\Vaikato,  river,  630 
Waikolo,  lake,  571 
.Waini  river,  879 
Wairarapa,  630 
Waitemata,  627 
Wakamba  people,  933 
Wakatipu  Lake,  629 
Wakefield,  Edward  Gibbon  and 

New  Zealand,  632 
Wakhi-jui,  465 
Walachia,  327,  329 
Waldeck,  Principality,  289 
Waldenburger  hills,  292 
Waldseemuller,  n,  35 
Wales,    163-165 ;    derivation    of, 

162  ;  rainfall  of,  142 
Walfish  Bay,  985,  1012 
Wallace,  Dr.  A.  Russell,  12,  87 ; 

Island  Life,  86 

Wallace's  Line,  422  ;  map,  555 
Wallaroo,  619 
Walloon,  people,  225 
Wami  river,  941 
Wanganiu  river,  630 
Wanyika  people,  933 
Wardhouse  (Vardo),  207 
Warnemiinde,  210 
Warrnambool,  579,  609 
Warsaw  (Warszawa),    406,    409, 

412 

Warwick,  Queensland,  593 
•"Varwickshire,  174 
toash,  The,  179 
Washburn,  Mount,  763 
Washington.     D.C.,     731;    D.C., 

longitude    of,  31   ;    B.C.,  site, 

720;  Mount,  717;  State,  764 
Wastwater,  163 
Wataita  people,  933 
Watana,  508 

Water-parting,  definition,  50 
Water-partings  of  Brazil,  866 
Water  Power  in  New  England, 

725  ;  of  Ohio  region,  740 
Waterbury,  U.S.,  726 
Waterfall,  56 
Waterford,  194 
Wateringues,  249 
Waterloo,  field  of,  227 
Watershed,  definition,  50 
Watersheds,  changes  in,  55 
Waterways   in    China,  530  ;    of 

France,  245 

Watling  Island,  803 ;  Street,  183 
Watten,  shallow  flats,  270 
Waves  in  Ocean,  67 
Waziri,  people,  467 
Weald,  The,  180 
Wealden,  Geological  position  of 

Wear  river,  170 

Weaver  river,  174 

Webi  Shebeyli  river,  931,  936 

Wed-el-Kebir,  908 


Weddell,   Capt.  J.,  Antarctic  ex- 
plorer, 1048 
Wei  river,  523,  532 
Weichsel  (Vistula)  river,  270 
Weihaiwei,  533 
Weimar,  Grand  duchy,  290 
Weisshorn,  mountain,  258 
Welle  province,  978 
Wetlesley  Islands.  587 
Wellington,    Mount,    613;    N.Z., 

634 
Welsh  language,  145,  163 

Wemberre  rift,  941 

Wenchou,  535 

Wend  people,  275 

Wenham  ice,  725 

Wenlock  Edge,  164 

Wentworth.'N.S.W.,  600 

Wepener,  1004 

Werra  valley,  290 

Weser  river,  270  ;  Uplands, 
289 

Wessex,  name,  144 

West,  Africa,  952-959 ;  end  of  a 
town,  141 ;  Ham,  184 ;  Indian 
Colonies,  803-812  ;  Indies,  667, 
791-812 ;  Indies,  discovery  of, 
10 ;  Indies,  map,  791  ;  Indies, 
Sugar-cane  Industry  of,  117 
Prussia  Province,  293;  Riding 
Coal-field,  170  ;  Virginia,  733 

Western,  Alps,  126;  Cordillera  of 
Andes,  816  ;  Australia,  620-626; 
Dvina  river,  391;  Ghats,  cli- 
mate, 475  ;  Port,  602,  605 

Westerwald,  287 

Westminster,  183 

Westphalia,  288,  289,  294 

Wetta  island,  573 

Wetterhorn,  mountain,  258 

Wexford,  193 

Wexio,  204 

Wey,  river,  180 

Weyprecht,  Lieutenant,  Arctic 
voyage,  1029,  1030 

Whales  in  Antarctic,  1051;  in 
Arctic,  1039 

Wharfe  valley,  168 

Wharton  Range,  635 

Wheat  in  Egypt,  922  ;  in  France, 
243  ;  in  India,  484  :  in  Manitoba 
696  ;  in  United  Kingdom,  148 
in  United  States,  715  ;  in  Wash- 
ington State,  764 

Whitby,  177 

Whitney,  Mount,  767 

Whitsunday  Passage,  588 

White,  Fish  in  Canada,  696 ;  Is- 
land, 628  ;  •  Mountains,  N.H. 
670,  716,  717  ;  Nile,  920 ;  races 
in  Tropical  Countries,  no 
Russia,  411 ;  Russians,  404 
Sea,  407 

Whittle,  Cape,  689 

Whyda,  957 

Wiche  (King  Karl's)  Land,  1044 

Wick,  155 

Wide  Bay  district,  592 

Wieliczka,  312 

Wien  (Vienna),  311 

Wiener  Wald,  310 

Wiener's  Diagram  of  Solar  Heat, 

Wiesbaden,  288 
Wiide  Bay,  1044 
Wilcannia,  600 
Wilhelm,  Mount,  639 
Wilhelmshaven,  294 


Wilkes,  Lieut.,  in  Antarctic,  1048 
Willemstadt.  806 
Wilhamstown,  608 
Willoughby,  Arctic  voyage,  1025 
Wilmington,  N.C.,  site,  720 
Wilson,  Sir  Charles  W.— Arabia, 

451  ;  Asiatic  Turkey  and  Arabia, 

439  ;  Mesopotamia,  447  ;  Syria, 

448 

Wilson  Promontory,  602,  604 
Wimmera  District,  603,  609 
Winchelsea,  181 
Winchester,  179 

Wind,  75,  76  ;  and  Water,  67,  68 
Windermere,  163 
Windhoek,  1013 
Windmill  Hills,  613 
Windsor,  182 

Winds,  Normal  system  of,  71 
Windward,  Passage,  801 ;  Islands. 

809 
Wine  in  Algeria,  909;   in  Cape 

Colony,   987  ;  in   France,   243  ; 

in  Italy,  362  ;  in  Peru,  836 
Winnipeg,  696  ;  Lake,  696  ;  river, 

696  ;  Temperature  and  rainfall, 

675 

Winnipegosis,  Lake,  696 
Winterthur,  263 
Winton,  591 
Wisconsin  -  Michigan     Uplands, 

734 

Wishaw,  159 
Witham  river,  178 
Witkowitz,  309 
Witwatersrand,  1009 
Wodonga,  609 
Wollin,  island,  270 
Wolof  people,  956,  961 
Wolverhampton,  170 
Woods  and  Forests,  89 
Wool  in  Cape  Colony,  987  ;  in 

N.S.W.,  596  ;  in  Victoria,  603 
Woolwich,  184 
Worcester,     166  ;    county,     174; 

Mass.,  726 

Woshin  district,  456 
Wrangell  Land,  1031 
Wuchang,  534 
Wuchou,  530,  535 
Wuhu,  533 
Wupper  river,  288 
Wurno,  972 

Wurttemberg,  Kingdom,  285 
Wurzburg,  285 
Wusung,  531  ;  river,  533 
Wyoming,  757,  760.  762 
Wytfliet,  584 
Wyville  Thomson  ridge,  1034 

VANTHOCHROI,  107 
./V     Xerophytes,  89 

T/ABLONOVYI  Khrebet,  398 

1     Yachou,  534 
Yaila  Tagh,  394 
Yak  in  Tibet,  541 
Yakoba,  972 
Yakutsk,  climate  of,  402 
Yale  mountain,  760 
Yalu  river,  543 
Yambo,  454 
Yamdena  island,  573 
Yamdok-tso  lake,  541 
Yana  river,  426 
Yanaon,  503 

Yangtse     river    (Yangtse-kiang), 
522,  526,  530,  533, 534,  541 


io88        The  International  Geography 


Yao  people,  949 

Yap  island,  655 

Yaracui,  887 

Yari-qa-take  mountain,  546 

Yarkand,  540  ;  oasis,  540 

Yarmouth,  182 

Yarra  Yarra  river,  603,  608 

Yarrawonga,  609 

Yatong,  541 

Yatung,  541 

Yaunde,  974 

Yautepec,  778 

Yea,  838 

Ycdo,  552 

Yefren,  .916 

Yekaterinoslav,  415 

Yeketerinburg,  414 

Yellow  Sea,  424  ;  River  (Hwang- 

ho),  424 
Yellowstone  canyon,  763  ;  lake, 

763  ;  Park,  763  ;  river,  756 
Yemama,  district,  456 
Yemen,  45^,  454 
Yenisei,  river,  398,  399,  400,  423, 

426 

Yeniseisk  418 
Yeou  river,  970 
Yerba-mate   in    Argentina,    851 ; 

in  Brazil,    876;   m    Paraguay, 

Yes  Tor,  166 

Yeshil    Irmak   (Iris)   river,    439, 

440 

Yezd,  463 
Yezides,  447 
Yezo  island,  546,  547 
Yo  Semite  Valley,  767 
Yobe  river,  970 
Yochou,  534 
Yodogawa,  river,  552 
Yokohama,  553 
Yola,  972 
York,  Cape,  587  ;  Peninsula,  616  ; 

town  of,  171  ;  W.A.,  626 
Yorkshire,   168 ;  Coal-field,  The, 


150;    Moors,  177;   Plain,  171; 
Wolds,  178 

Yoruba    (Ilorin),   967,    968,    971 ; 
people,   971  ;    -Jekri     people, 

^   . 

Yser,  river,  225 

Yu-men  or  Jade  Gate,  523 

Yucatan,  774,  778 

Yuccas,  766 

Yug  river,  399 

Yukon,  delta,  667;  District,  702, 

703  ;  river,  68 1,  698,  770 
Yule,  Mount,  635 
Yunque,  798 
Yuruari  territory,  884 
Yungus,  definition,  842 
Yunnan,  524,  525,  534 
Yzabal  (Golfo  Dulce)  Lake,  785 

ZAB  river,  440 
Zacatecas,  780 
Zagazig,  922 

Zaghwan,  915  ;  Mount,  914 
Zagreb  (Agram),  321,  323 
Zagros  chain,  458 
Zaila,  936 

Zaire  (Congo)  river,  975 
Zaisan  Lake,  400 
Zambezi,  basin,  892 ;  name,  947  ; 

river,  944,  946,  982, 998,  999 
Zambezia,  945 
Zamboango,  559 
Zambos  in  Central  America,  787 
Zamora  river,  830 
Zante  island,  349 
Zanzibar,  island,  939  ;  map,  939 ; 

temperature  and  rainfall,  893 


Zaparo  people,  832 
Zapata  Cien 


Zapata  Cienaga,  794 

Zara,  315 

Zarafshan  (Zerafshan),  540 ;  river 

397 

Zaragoza,  377 
Zaria,  972 


Zaruma,  833  ;  basin,  831 

Zealand,  Denmark,  210 ;  Nether- 
lands, 222 

Zebu,  558,  559 

Zeehan,  Mount,  611 

Zella,  916 

Zemio,  959 

Zenith,  definition,  15;  Distance, 
definition,  15 

Zermatt,  258,  265 

Zeta  river,  337 

Zezere  river,  381 

Zihl  river,  258 

Zillerthal,  306 

Zimmermann,  M.— French  India, 
503  ;  French  Indo-China,  515  ; 
French  West  Africa,  953; 
French  West  Indies,  808  ;  Re- 
union. 1024 ;  St.  Pierre  and 
Miquelon,  707 

Zirknitz,  lake,  303 

Zlatoust,  418 

Zollverein,  23,  118 

Zomba,  950 

Zones  of  Climate,  78;  of  human 
culture,  98 ;  of  Uncertain  Rain- 
fall in  India,  476 

Zoo-Geographical  Regions,  87 

Zorn,  Valley,  287 

Zuara,  917 

Zuchiate  River,  774 

Zug,  canton,  264 

Zugspitze,  267 

Zulfikar,  465 

Zulia,  886 

Zulu  language,  1003  ;  people,  990 

Zululand,  996 

Zulus  in  Rhodesia,  1001 ;  in  Natal, 
995 

Zumpango,  Lake,  777 

Zungeru,  972 

Zurich,  canton,  263  ;  lake,  258 

Zwickau,  291 

Zwolle.  222 

Zyrian  people,  403 


(10) 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 

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WILL  BE  ASSESSED  FOR  FAILURE  TO  RETURN 
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WILL  INCREASE  TO  5O  CENTS  ON  THE  FOURTH 
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OVERDUE. 


-V     3    1937 


AU 


LD  21-100m-8,'3< 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


\ 011*4126 


